The next day, the weather in Paris was a bit gloomy, with continuous drizzle.

The water vapor and dust in the air mix together, making people sticky all over their bodies, which is really unpleasant.

For the financiers and investors active in Exchange Square, their day has become more depressing since they saw the morning newspaper.

In a bar near the square.

Due to the bad weather, there were not many customers in the bar.

The bartender was whistling boredly while wiping the glass.

At this time, the welcoming bell at the door rang loudly, and a man wearing a woolen coat and gold-rimmed glasses stepped into the store cursingly, hanging the umbrella in his hand aside impatiently.

He also held a wet financial news newspaper under his arm. Judging from his clothes, he looked like a standard Parisian investor.

"Hey, you're here, old man."

The bartender glanced at the visitor and recognized that he was an old customer. He greeted him as usual:

"Still the same thing? A small glass of white wine with chocolate?"

"No"

The investor shook his rain-stained coat, sighed and sat down at the bar and said:

"I want triple distilled whiskey."

Triple distilled whiskey is whiskey that has been distilled three times and has a higher alcohol content among spirits.

"Oh my God, you have to drink strong alcohol in the morning? Are you going to start your vacation in the afternoon?"

The bartender looked at the investor in surprise and said.

Usually, these savvy investors would only stay tipsy in this bar for a while in order to keep their heads clear.

It is extremely rare for people to drink alcohol like today.

The investor grabbed a handful of wet hair, waved his hands in a depressed tone and said:

"No, it's the market. The situation is really bad. It's better to get drunk and go home and sleep."

"What happened? I feel like there hasn't been any big news lately."

The bartender poured half a glass of whiskey for the investor and asked in confusion.

The investor reluctantly slapped today's financial news report on the bar, pushed it to the bartender, and explained:

"There is big news in the financial world. Our Crown Prince has arrived in Paris, and yesterday he met with two financiers at the Tuileries Palace, namely Montmartre, President of the Bank of Commerce of France, and Lord Mery, Chairman of the Stock Exchange.

.”

"Really, I think I heard someone say, does this have any impact?" The bartender glanced at the newspaper twice and continued to ask. After all, he didn't know much about politics or economics.

"Oh... man."

The investors let out a long sigh, not knowing where to start.

After pouring a sip of spicy whiskey into his mouth, he shook his head and said:

"You may not have read the newspapers a few days ago. Justice Maupe just said that the financial industry must be strictly controlled."

Only then did the bartender vaguely notice some connections, and said in a vague way:

"In other words, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's visit to Paris this time is also for the financial industry?"

"Yes, even though there is no evidence, it is basically impossible to escape."

The investor vowed:

"And the first thing His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did when he came to Paris was to summon the two financiers. This political signal has been clearly released. His Royal Highness is here for the financial industry."

After that, the investor held the glass in his hand tightly and gritted his teeth and said:

"And you may not know that the relationship between Justice Maupe and the royal family is very close. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is probably here to echo Justice Maupe."

"So that's what it is. In other words, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince personally represents the royal family to rectify the financial world. This is a really heavy blow."

The bartender said suddenly and at the same time patted the investor on the shoulder to express relief.

"well"

The investor's face was already a little red, as if he was drunk, he covered his forehead and complained:

"The latest news now is that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will summon newspaper reporters at noon tomorrow, and it seems that the news of control will be officially announced within the stock exchange. This news has made today's stock and bond markets plummet. I can't wait to

Damn it if you turn all the securities you have into cash."

The bartender also nodded to himself and murmured softly:

"Looks like I'm going to have to buy some triple distilled whiskey these days."

...

Conversations like this are commonplace throughout Paris' financial circles.

Financiers even reached a consensus last night that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's move to meet with the two financiers when he first arrived in Paris was a clear move to target the financial world.

There are already rumors that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince discussed specific measures to control the financial market with Lord Mellie at last night's dinner.

There are even more exaggerated claims that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will order the arrest of those financiers and confiscate all their properties to supplement France's current fiscal deficit.

Although these rumors were all groundless, their widespread dissemination further undermined market confidence.

If the Observation Daily revealed a few days ago that Justice Maupu was preparing to control the financial industry, everyone was still a little lucky, thinking that such unreasonable measures by Justice Maupu would be stopped.

Now, the personal visit of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has made many investors begin to suspect that the royal family and the government are going to be ruthless in the financial market.

Under this consensus, pessimism in the market has become more widespread, and bond and stock prices have plummeted.

Investors began to sell securities in large quantities in exchange for cash, even causing a small-scale run.

Lord Mellie also hurriedly stepped forward this morning, saying a set of cliched official words and using the power of the stock exchange to suspend trading of some stocks that had fallen seriously, thus barely restraining the spread of panic.

Even so, the average stock price on the Paris Stock Exchange today is only about 80% of the normal level in previous weeks.

Except for a very small number of gamblers and people like Mr. Montmartre who know the inside story, I am afraid that no one will be willing to invest real money in the illusory financial market during this period of time.

If you walk around the Exchange Square at this time, you will definitely hear endless complaints and wailings.

However, we cannot blame those financiers and analysts for drawing such a wrong conclusion.

After all, the logical chain of this conclusion is quite clear:

As soon as Justice Maupp expressed his intention to control the financial industry and stopped the listing of the National Silver Company, Crown Prince Louis came to Paris. The first thing he did after arriving in Paris was to summon two financiers. After summoning the financiers, he also

A press conference is to be held.

These four stages are intertwined and linked together, which makes them believe that the financial market is about to change.

However, no one can find it.

Behind these four things, there is the shadow of the same person.

...

At the same time, inside Duyinleli Palace.

"Very good, everything is as expected."

Lawrence carefully read the Financial News in his hand. The reports and professional analysis above were exactly as he expected.

In the eyes of the public, Justice Maupe is a loyal servant of the royal family. In fact, he does have a close relationship with the royal family, so everyone thinks that Prince Louis's trip is to echo Justice Maupe.

Since everyone is pessimistic, it is natural for the market to go down and the stock market to fall.

There was also a thick stack of newspapers placed on Lawrence's desk, and they all devoted a considerable amount of space to reporting and analyzing this event, even those non-financial newspapers.

At this time, Prince Louis walked into Lawrence's room with a tired face, still complaining about something.

"Thank you for your hard work, Your Highness." Lawrence stood up, saluted, and said with a smile.

Early this morning, those living in Pakistan

The great nobles of Li rushed to Duyinleli Palace to meet the crown prince. This was also a kind of etiquette custom.

However, Crown Prince Louis seemed a little overwhelmed. Throughout the morning, he had to maintain a stiff smile and chat with the endless stream of visitors, while also paying attention to the extremely detailed red tape and royal etiquette.

This made Prince Louis, who locked himself in the lock-making workshop every day, really uncomfortable.

Prince Louis fell directly on the sofa, sighed and said:

"We've dealt with all the visitors in the morning. I really don't know what these people are here for. I can't even remember their names. And there was that Marquis just now. His French was mixed with a strange Austrian accent. What he said

I couldn't understand half of it, it was really annoying."

"You will get used to this, Your Highness." Lawrence shrugged and said:

"After you become the king, such public relations activities will fill your schedule, if you want to be a diligent king."

Although Lawrence is not tired of those PR treats, he will not deny their importance.

Long before Lawrence became Governor of Corsica, he often, even deliberately, created opportunities to appear in public and interact with people from all walks of life.

For politicians, popularity is never too high.
To be continued...