It was not only the international situation that worried the Government of the United Kingdom, but also the accompanying economic problems.
If there were no accidents, most of the markets that the French withdrew from would be replaced by Austrian industrial and commercial products, and Britannia could only pick up the leftovers.
The law of "the strong are always strong" was also applicable here. Austria was an industrial hegemon, and now that they had seized the French market, domestic industry and commerce would definitely further develop.
Anyone with a little common sense knew that the more industrial and commercial products were produced, the lower the cost and the stronger the market competitiveness.
The market was only so big, and the further development of Austrian industry and commerce would inevitably create competition with Britannia.
Not to mention other regions, at least Britannia's market share in Europe would definitely be squeezed.
The market shrank, and the profits of enterprises would decline, and the money invested in product development and promotion would also decrease. This was a vicious cycle.
Of course, these were long-term problems. Britannia had the richest colony in the world, and it could hold on for a short time.
At worst, they could slowly transform the economy, give up the low-profit manufacturing, and vigorously develop the financial and service industries. Since the original timeline did this, it was naturally possible now.
The long-term problem was the next president, or the one after that. Gladstone didn't have to worry about them, and the current problems were enough for him to have a headache.
As the world's number one financial empire, it was natural to have usury. Everyone knew that those who dabbled in finance were bold and unscrupulous.
As long as the benefits were big enough, no matter how big the risk, people would do it.
Britannia advocated a free economy, and the government did not interfere with private lending. In the European War, speculators were naturally indispensable.
Some people made money, and some people lost money. With the end of the European War, the financial groups that bet on the Government of France were now trapped.
If the consortium's money was trapped, Gladstone would only open champagne to celebrate and wouldn't care about the lives of these vampires.
Unfortunately, the vampires were very shrewd and had carefully planned the script. The profits were their own, and the losses were raised from the public.
Since the end of the European War, more than three hundred financial institutions in Britannia had declared bankruptcy, and the mess was directly thrown to the government.
It was impossible to collect the debt. Judging from the current situation, even if the Government of France had money, it would have been plundered by the anti-French alliance. It was estimated that it would be impossible to repay this debt within the next few decades.
Before the French debt could be dealt with, the German Confederation defaulted on its debt, giving the Government of London another blow.
This time, it was not just private loans. Many of the loans were backed by the Government of the United Kingdom.
The government of the German Confederation declared bankruptcy. In order to save money, they even closed their embassy in London and entrusted the business to the Austrian embassy in London.
It wasn't that the German Confederation government was deliberately "reneging on their debt." They really didn't have the money now. The states under them didn't pay any taxes, and the central district was destroyed. The government lost all its income. Even the salaries of public servants had to be paid by Austria, not to mention paying back the money.
As it was nearing the end of the year, the government had no money to pay the debt and could only choose to go bankrupt and default.
In fact, the German Confederation was not the only one that went bankrupt. The Belgian government, whose hometown was in ruins, also declared bankruptcy at this time.
No money was no money. There was no need to pretend to be poor. They weren't targeting Britannia alone, but all debts were defaulted together. It was just that Britannia lent out the most and became the biggest victim.
"Did the Belgian and German governments give an explanation?"
Gladstone ignored the Government of France. Obviously, he didn't think they could take out money from under the nose of the anti-French alliance.
It was a well-known fact that the Belgian and German governments didn't have money, and Gladstone didn't expect them to take out the money immediately.
It didn't matter if they didn't have money. Britannia had a professional financial team. As long as they could come up with enough collateral, it wouldn't be a problem to borrow again.
The key was the attitude to solve the problem. Whether they had to "suspend payments" because they didn't have money, or "renege on their debt."
"The plan given by the Belgian government is to delay payments for five years, using the French war reparations as a guarantee. After five years, the war reparations paid by the French will be paid to us first.
The plan given by the German Confederation government is to transfer the debt, directly deduct the corresponding amount from the war reparations, and let the French bear the debt.
In theory, both the Belgian and German governments' plans are fine. The only problem is whether the French have the ability to pay. "
It wasn't that George was soft-hearted, but the situation was special. Right now, Belgium was a pauper. They didn't even need to open the doors of their national treasury. They couldn't even make money from frying.
The German Confederation seemed to be in a better situation, but the government was too weak and could shut down at any time.
If the debt problem was not dealt with quickly, when Austria announced the restoration of the Holy Roman Empire and the dissolution of the illegal German Confederation, even the creditors would be gone.
No country would pay for an illegal government established by rebels, unless Britannia could get Austria to recognize the legitimacy of the German Confederation government.
This was obviously impossible. Recognizing the legitimacy of the German Confederation government meant the division of the empire. Vienna could withstand the pressure thirty years ago, let alone now.
"This is troublesome!"
"Judging from the current situation, the anti-French alliance will definitely extort a lot of money from the French. I'm afraid the war reparations will not be one billion pounds.
Belgium has sacrificed a lot in this war, and it is reasonable for Austria to appease them. The proportion of reparations should not be low.
With five years as a buffer, the French should have recovered a bit. Even if they can't pay the full amount of reparations, the part that is given to Belgium every year is enough to pay our debt. Even if there is a shortfall, the Belgians can make up for it.
The proposal of the German Confederation government is troublesome. The transfer of the debt seems to have no loss for us, but in fact, the risk we have to bear is very high.
Not only do we have to worry about the French's ability to pay, but we also have to consider the political risks. If Russia and Austria play tricks and let the French deliberately delay, or put the transferred debt at the end of the year, it is estimated that we will not see the money until the end of this century. "
Gladstone couldn't help but worry. Britannia played a similar trick. Now the tables had turned, and it was their turn to be passive.
Accepting the transfer of the German Confederation's debt meant high risk; refusing the transfer of the debt meant not even a chance to bear the risk.
The current German Confederation government was like a limited liability company that was about to go bankrupt with huge debts, and the lowest registered capital.
Anyway, everyone only took responsibility within the scope of the registered capital. Whether it was the legal person or the shareholders, they chose to stop the loss in time and had no intention of saving the company.
As the creditor, Britannia was tragic. They either had to collect the company's bad debts outside or wait for the bankruptcy liquidation.
Foreign Minister George added, "Not only us, but the other creditors of the German Confederation are also now treated the same, including the Royal Bank of Austria.
Now George I has closed the door and thrown everything to the German Confederation government. The Kingdom of Hanover and the German Confederation have completed the separation.
In order to stop the loss, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposed to use the colonies to pay off the debt, but it was still rejected. Eival is still clamoring to go to war with us if anyone dares to touch their colony. "
None of them were easy to deal with. Even the son of Britannia was now rebellious. No matter how good their relationship was in the past, they would not bear the debt.
Even if they knew that they would offend Britannia, they were now fearless. Anyway, the revived Holy Roman Empire was the overlord of Europe. If the British wanted to find trouble, the central government would take care of it. There was no need to be afraid.
…
The Government of the United Kingdom was not the only one who was in a dilemma. The Government of Japan in Tokyo was not feeling well either. Even though the Japanese Army had occupied the Philippines, it did not make Emperor Meiji feel relieved.
There was no other way. The plan could not keep up with the changes. Originally, they were prepared to take a chance after the situation was clear. Unfortunately, due to the inconvenience of communication, the Government of Japan's news was delayed by a few days.
However, in just a few days, the French surrendered. So much so that the letter of challenge prepared by the Government of Japan could not be sent out.
Even if they wanted to force an accident, they could not. The French Indochina Peninsula was seized by the British. Several of the French islands in Southeast Asia fell into the hands of Austria. They did not dare to provoke any of them.
The failure of the speculation put Japan in a very awkward position. The international situation was not friendly to them, especially the following Vienna Peace Conference.
Spain was a European country and a member of the anti-French alliance. It was clear who everyone would support in Vienna and at the conference.
Without the recognition of other countries, the Philippines that they occupied was rootless and could be taken away at any time.
In the following days, they not only had to worry about the Spanish counterattack, but they also had to be wary of the British and Austrians.
Previously, Spain was able to defend the Philippines not only because of strength. Based on strength alone, Spain, the Netherlands, and Portugal were not qualified to defend their colonies. It was more due to political factors.
Now that the situation in Europe had changed, and the Philippines had fallen into the hands of the Japanese, the original political factors were no longer applicable at this time.
Having missed the opportunity for speculation, the Government of Japan could only rely on strength to defend the Philippines.
"Prime Minister, what's the position of the European countries?"
Ito Hirobumi's expression tightened and he said with some embarrassment, "The situation is not optimistic. I personally went to visit the envoys of the various countries. Even though the Empire has made concessions, it has not received any clear support from any country.
Among the major powers, the British's position is vague. It seems that they don't care about our occupation of the Philippines at all. Russia is also more inclined to Spain, and even after the Empire made concessions, they did not receive any guarantee from them.
Austria's position is the most unfavorable to us. Minister Antonio made it clear that he wants us to give up the Philippines and stop our expansion into Southeast Asia.
The only good news is that Austria's position is not too firm and they have no intention to intervene by force. They oppose our occupation of the Philippines because Spain is their ally.
According to news from Europe, the Spanish have begun to form an expeditionary fleet. At present, there are three new battleships and ten ironclads, all from the French Navy. "
Navy Minister Saigo Congdo asked doubtfully, "Aren't all the French warships going to be auctioned? How did they fall into the hands of the Spanish?"
Ito Hirobumi helplessly explained, "The French warships are the spoils of war of the anti-French alliance, and Spain is also a member of the anti-French alliance. It's not a big deal to borrow them in advance before the auction.
Even if they are going to be auctioned, it's just a formality, and these warships will still fall into the hands of Spain. The warships that can really be bought by the outside world are also the leftovers of the anti-French alliance. "
It was normal to open the back door. As a member of the anti-French alliance, it would be a problem if he did not have special privileges.
Saigo Congdo was silent. A century-old navy was not a joke. Although Spain had declined greatly, they still had a navy. As long as they had money and warships, they could quickly pull out a fleet.
The Japanese navy had limited resources, and the most advanced warships were only a few ironclads or cruisers. The most advanced battleships did not exist at all.
Warships were not ordinary weapons, and money could not buy them. The warships that could be bought on the international market were second or third-rate warships, and some might even be simplified versions. In this aspect, the British were the best at it.
More than 10,000 tons of pre-dreadnought warships against cruisers of thousands of tons, rather than a battle, it was more like a massacre. The Navy did not rely on bravery, and the gap in technology could not be made up with a few slogans.
No matter how confident he was, Saigo Congdo did not think that the broken ships of the Japanese navy could be comparable to the elite warships of the French navy.
Seeing that the Navy was scared, Army Admiral Oyama hurriedly said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. The Imperial Japanese Army is not afraid of any enemy's challenge. As long as we are here, we can definitely defend the Philippines. "
Unlike the Navy's worries, the Army was full of confidence. In the previous battle of the Philippines, the Japanese Army beat the Spanish all the way.
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