Empire Rising: Spain

Chapter 198: Chapter 149: The Value of the Treasure and National Integration

“Your Majesty, Prime Minister, after four days of counting, we have finally determined the entire inventory of this batch of treasures.

The gold and gold products alone amount to nearly 80 tons, with nearly 3 tons of various precious gems and metals, and over 500 kilograms of diamonds and other valuables.

Based on our conservative estimates, calculating only the intrinsic value of the assets, excluding the added value of antiquity, the total value of this batch of treasure has already reached 900 million Pesseta.

However, unfortunately, only the gold and its products, as well as various gems and pearls, diamonds, etc., can be directly sold. The assets that can be directly sold are valued at approximately 620 million Pesseta, and there are nearly 280 million Pesseta worth of assets that will take longer to sell,” reported Loren, the Imperial Palace Chief Steward, respectfully to Carlo and Prime Minister Prim.

Upon hearing that the total value of the treasure exceeded 900 million Pesseta, both Carlo and Prime Minister Prim’s expressions changed significantly.

Prime Minister Prim was delighted and excited on one hand, and on the other, he was filled with admiration for Carlo who provided the intelligence.

Although this treasure is highly valuable, more importantly, it was Carlo’s clues about the treasure that gave the Spanish Government the opportunity to acquire it.

Without the clues, this treasure would have continued being buried underground and might have been discovered in years to come by the British Colonial Government or the Indians.

As it currently stands, although the government can only claim half of this treasure, it still amounts to nearly 450 million Pesseta, almost equaling the government’s total annual revenue.

This sum is even more critical for the Spanish Government than the 500 million franc loan from the French Government because the loan from France has interest, while this treasure requires no interest, nor any repayment.

The only regret is that many of the gold products bear distinct Hinduism symbols, so they can only be forcibly remelted.

This will devalue many of the gold products, transforming them from centuries-old antiques to ordinary gold items.

But this is unavoidable. If these gold products with conspicuous Hinduism symbols flow into the Spanish or other markets, they will surely catch the attention of the British.

After all, aside from India, Hinduism is not very widespread in other regions. The gold products with Hinduism symbols most likely originate from India itself. After the temple was looted, the British will surely pay more attention to the gold and jewelry circulation in markets worldwide.

Since the value of the Temple Treasure is roughly determined, the most important task now is the distribution between the government and the Royal Family.

Carlo was also excited; according to the agreement with Prime Minister Prim, the Royal Family can receive half of this treasure, which is about 450 million Pesseta in assets.

Currently, the total value of all enterprises under Carlo’s control barely exceeds a billion, meaning that this treasure hunt alone expanded his wealth several times over.

“Prime Minister Prim, since there are a large number of pearls, gems, and diamonds in this treasure, how about allocating those without Hinduism symbols to the Royal Family?

The Royal Family can take less of the gold and its products, which would be beneficial for both the Royal Family and the government,” Carlo proposed.

For the government, the gold and gold products in these treasures are obviously more important. Those seemingly invaluable gems, pearls, and diamonds, are of little use to the government.

It would be better to allocate these assets to the Royal Family, to increase their treasure stockpile and also allocate more gold to the government, thereby enhancing the Spanish Government’s gold reserves.

“Certainly.” Prime Minister Prim nodded, showing no intention to refuse.

He also understands that Carlo is allowing more gold reserves for the government, strictly speaking, it’s advantageous for the government.

After the simple allocation by Carlo and Prime Minister Prim, the distribution ratio of gold and gems between the Royal Family and the government was smoothly finalized.

Out of over 80 tons of gold and gold products, the government acquires a full 50 tons of gold, thus increasing the government’s gold reserves.

Although the Royal Family received just over 30 tons of gold, the good news is that they obtained a full 3 tons of gems, pearls, and diamonds, out of the total 3.5 tons of these assets.

The government received the remaining 0.5 tons because these assets have distinctive Hinduism symbols, and cannot be sold immediately. The assets with Hinduism symbols are split evenly between the Royal Family and the government, to be dealt with slowly at a more appropriate time in the future.

Although it’s said to be an even split, the detailed distribution couldn’t possibly be precise to the Pesseta.

Overall, the government gained a slight advantage, but not too much. The total value of this treasure is approximately 930 million Pesseta, and the government obtained assets totaling 480 million Pesseta in value.

The Royal Family has slightly less, but with 450 million Pesseta, it meets Carlo’s expectations for this treasure excavation endeavor.

On the day the specific asset allocation was finalized, Prime Minister Prim dispatched personnel to quietly transfer the government’s assets to a more secure warehouse.

All gold with distinctive Hinduism symbols was remelted, while the gold without obvious symbols was placed in the warehouse as the government’s gold reserves.