Seeing that the Russians had the upper hand on the battlefield, the prepared Government of Berlin was still able to calm down, but the financiers couldn't sit still.
"The one who owes money is the boss." This sentence might be a bit exaggerated here. But the essence didn't change. Once the Pubo Federation was defeated, it would be difficult for the creditors to get money.
The "collateral" promised by the Government of Berlin in advance depended on whether the Russians were willing to recognize it.
According to the Tsarist government's usual style, the probability of pretending not to see it was as high as 80%. The remaining 20%, even if they saw it, they wouldn't admit it.
In order to win this war, the Government of Berlin tried its best to borrow money and signed various secret agreements.
If the Pubo Federation was finished, it was unknown how many financial institutions that lent the debt would be finished. If the consortium wanted to transfer the loss, a financial crisis was essential.
Not only would the financial institutions be unlucky, but the real industry wouldn't be much better. Many companies seemed to make a lot of money from the war, but in fact, many of them were profits on their books and owed a lot of money.
It couldn't be helped. Owed money was the biggest problem in commercial circulation, and it ran through almost every part of the capitalist market economy. This was a problem that all production companies had to face.
No one knew how long this war would last, and no one knew how much this war would cost. In order to support for a longer time, the Government of Berlin naturally had to spend as little as possible.
It didn't matter how much "debt" they owed, and it didn't matter if the interest was high. Those were happy troubles. Only when they won this war, they would have the need to consider these issues.
After the outbreak of the Prussian War, the export prices of all strategic materials in Europe rose sharply.
Nominally, they enjoyed the dividends of this wave of commodity price increases, and the companies made huge profits. In fact, the Government of Berlin only paid part of the money, and many only paid a deposit. The remaining production costs needed to be paid in advance by the capitalists.
The Government of Berlin was rich, and there was a lot of money in their bank accounts. The well-informed people had heard of this.
It was just that the purchase of materials was mortgaged. Usually, when the next batch of goods was purchased, the previous payment would be settled.
Looking at the high profits, the capitalists naturally wouldn't refuse. Many companies with weak economic strength had to borrow from the bank in order to pay in advance.
To some extent, the Pubo Federation had held the British economy hostage through debt, and both sides suffered losses.
Of course, everyone knew about the "risks", but they couldn't resist the huge benefits. In addition, the Prussian Federation had already won a war against Russia, and the London newspapers constantly belittled the Russians, which invisibly increased everyone's confidence.
Everything changed after the Battle of Smolensk. Everyone suddenly realized that the Russian Empire was still the same European gendarmerie, and the Pobol Federation seemed to be on the verge of collapse.
That won't do. I've already invested so much, I can't let the Pu Bo Federation be destroyed! If the Government of Berlin came to an end, everybody would be in trouble.
The capitalists didn't want the Pubo Federation to be destroyed, and the Government of London also didn't want to see the Pubo Federation to be destroyed. It wasn't easy to support a chess piece, and now it was gone just like that. No one wanted to see it.
For a time, the pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin increased, and the interest groups in the country demanded that the government take action to prevent the worst situation from happening.
Putting down the document in his hand, Benjamin asked incredulously, "The situation is so serious that Britannia was actually kidnapped by the Prussia barbarians?"
The thick disdain between his eyebrows was enough to prove how bad his mood was. The relationship between Britain and Prussia had always been good. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't use insulting words like "barbarians."
Minister of Finance Garfield, "The situation is even worse than this. I suspect that even if the Pubo Federation won this war, they may not be able to repay these debts.
Let's not talk about the arrears of supplies for the time being. They at least paid a part of the money. As long as the company isn't too greedy, it will basically cover the production costs. Even if they lose money, they won't lose much.
The problem is the loans and bonds. Once the Pubo Federation is defeated, almost all the collateral is not guaranteed.
The gold they took out was not even enough to repay one-tenth of the debt. Even if all the overseas assets of the Pubo Federation were added, it wouldn't be enough to fill this hole.
In the case of incomplete statistics, we even found that there were multiple mortgages, especially the loan agreements that the Government of Berlin signed with financial institutions in private. The multiple mortgages are very serious.
The debt that the Pubo Federation owes us is far more than the 180 million pounds on the surface. The real number may be 200 million, or 300 million. No one knows except for the Government of Berlin. "
These days, Britannia's financial regulation was not strict. The Government of London didn't care about the loans that the financial institutions gave out in private.
The sale of bonds was even more chaotic. On the surface, one million was reported, but in reality, it was common to issue three to five million.
In this era that relied on manual supervision, it was too difficult to accurately calculate these data. As long as there were no problems, the Government of the United Kingdom wouldn't care at all.
If there was a problem, the Government of the United Kingdom wouldn't care. The financial problems, small problems would not be exposed at all. Once the big problems were exposed, the institution wouldn't be far from bankruptcy.
"Bankruptcy" was the best weapon to avoid responsibility. At most, the government would catch a few scapegoats. Most of the time, they wouldn't even be able to find a scapegoat.
Prime Minister Benjamin was too lazy to investigate the specific debt figure of the Government of Berlin. It was meaningless.
In terms of investment, this investment was already a garbage asset. Stopping the loss in time was the best choice.
Unfortunately, this was impossible. No one wanted to see their money go down the drain. The Government of London had to be responsible for the aftermath.
In the original timeline, Britain and France used this trick to successfully pull the Americans onto the chariot. Although it hadn't reached that step, it still gave Prime Minister Benjamin a headache.
"Damn barbarians, how did they suddenly become so insidious!" Prime Minister Benjamin complained.
"No, these situations are only against us, or are they in all the countries?"
This question was very critical. If all the countries were held hostage by the debt of the Pubo Federation, then the problem would no longer be a problem.
Minister of Finance Garfield shook his head. "I'm sorry, Prime Minister. Although similar problems have occurred in other countries, the number involved is not large.
Even if we add up the debt that the Pubo Federation owes to all the other countries, it is not even one-third of our debt.
Besides us, the second largest creditor of the Pubo Federation should be France, followed by the German Federal Empire. The rest of the countries can be ignored.
The Government of Berlin doesn't have the ability to borrow money from the whole world. "
Hearing this news, Benjamin almost fainted. He swore that this was the worst news he had heard this year.
The main reason for this situation was that the British were too rich. There was a lot of idle money in the private sector. Secondly, it was the foreign policy of the Government of London. Without the support of the government, the private financial institutions wouldn't be so enthusiastic.
Everyone assumed that the government wouldn't let the Pubo Federation lose the war. If that was the case, what was there to worry about? Would the Government of Berlin dare to renege on the debt?
Other countries were different. Not everyone was optimistic about the Pubo Federation, and not everyone had the confidence to guarantee the safety of the debt.
For example, the Austrian financial community wouldn't lend money to the Pubo Federation. The reason was very practical – the Government of Vienna was supporting the Russians.
Due to the influence of politics, no one was optimistic about the Pubo Federation. Naturally, no one would lend money to them.
Not to mention the small European countries. Not to mention whether the money could be returned, the key was that they didn't have much in their pockets!
Under this background, it wasn't surprising that France became the second largest creditor and the German Confederation became the third. Who asked you to have money in your pockets and have a good relationship with the Government of Berlin?
Benjamin asked in an unquestionable tone, "What about the Russian Empire? Don't tell me that the Tsarist government also borrowed a lot of money from us! "
Garfield nodded helplessly. "I'm sorry, Prime Minister. The Tsarist government does owe us a lot of money. Of course, it's not as much as the Pubo Federation. It's about fifty to sixty million pounds.
A large part of it was borrowed before the war. It can also be considered as an advance payment for the import of Russian agricultural products. There was also the balance of the purchase of supplies after the outbreak of the war.
We roughly counted the foreign debts of the Russians. Without any surprise, their biggest creditor is Austria. The total amount of debt should be no less than what we lent to the Pubo Federation.
Most of it is loans and a small amount of bonds. There are very few remaining payments for the purchase of supplies. Because the Tsarist government has a precedent of reneging on their debts, most of the Austrian companies require cash. "
It seemed that the news was too heavy. After a pause, Prime Minister Benjamin recovered.
"This is the worst situation. We can't watch the Pubo Federation be defeated. The Government of Vienna can't watch the Russians be defeated. This war is no longer just between Russia and Prussia! "
The confrontation between Britain and Austria, or a proxy war between Britain and Austria through Prussia. No matter which one it was, the final outcome wasn't optimistic.
Especially now that the Pubo Federation was at a disadvantage on the battlefield, it was even more passive for Britannia. If they wanted the Pubo Federation to turn the tables, the price they had to pay was too high.
Foreign Minister Edward: "The situation isn't that bad. In fact, we are the ones who are held hostage by the debt. Austria still retains the initiative.
The Russians' loan from Austria only involved a few big banks, and they also used their territory as collateral. Although the valuation is a bit higher, as long as they can cash in, they won't lose everything.
Looking at the current situation, I don't think the Tsarist government has the ability to default. On the contrary, we are in big trouble. The same debt involves hundreds of thousands of people, or even millions of people. "
It was hard not to have a headache. Lending money to two parties at the same time seemed glorious, but in fact, it was hard to say. No matter who won or lost, there would be a debt default. It was just a matter of how much.
However, the Government of London couldn't control the financial world. The bankers' investments were based on their own interests, and the national interest wasn't within their consideration.
It was fine if they could get it back smoothly, but once there was a debt default, these financial groups would escape and use the omnipotent "bankruptcy" method.
Of course, there were also idiots who weren't smart or had slow reactions. They didn't transfer the risk in time, and they played themselves to death.
Fortunately, the Russians' reputation wasn't good, and there were few capitalists who were willing to lend them money. Otherwise, the Government of London would have experienced what it was like to be in a real dilemma.
Minister of Finance Garfield shook his head: "I don't think there is any difference. Even if the Government of Vienna has more choices, they won't let the Pubo Federation win the war.
They will even be happy to use our hands to weaken the Russians and clear a big obstacle for them to unify the German Region.
Think about it, the Pubo Federation was defeated and disintegrated, the Russian Empire was greatly weakened, and our economy was hit hard by the debt default. Is there a more ideal situation than this?
From the perspective of the beneficiaries, I have reason to believe that the current situation was planned by the Government of Austria.
Of course, it could also be France, but I don't think that kid Napoleon Iv has this ability. "
…
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
