Chapter 904

The reform of the currency standard was nothing new. The gold standard was only accepted by European countries in the last 30 to 50 years.

There were also changes in the middle. In order to prevent a large-scale outflow of gold, countries basically introduced restrictive policies during the reform period.

The most representative was the Government of Vienna's Financial Control Act, which directly stated that large capital outflows were restricted.

This was also one of the reasons why financial capitalists hated Shinra. Large capital flows were restricted, and it was impossible to quickly enter and exit, which seriously affected the speed at which everyone made money.

Before the war, Britannia was the financial hegemon, and it had long had excess capital. Naturally, there was no need to restrict capital outflows.

Now the situation was different. As the situation continued to deteriorate, the capitalists with a keen sense of politics were ready to run.

Anyone with a discerning eye knew that once the Oceanic Alliance collapsed, even if Britannia could retreat unscathed, there would be no future to speak of.

As far as the eye could see, there were enemies everywhere. How could there be future development?

The capitalists could run away with the money, but other vested interests could not. Leaving Britannia, the capitalists could still be capitalists, but the aristocrats and bureaucrats would be gone.

Although the power of capital was strong, in the British Empire, it was not their turn to cover the sky.

They had to share blessings and difficulties. If the capitalists wanted to get out of the vortex, other forces would naturally not agree.

If they were to die, everyone would die together. Everyone could not fight to the death on the battlefield and let the capitalists stab them in the back.

The "reform of the gold standard" was the countermeasure that everyone came up with. Once the capitalists withdrew funds on a large scale, the pound and gold would be completely separated.

Just like what the Government of France did at the end of the European War. While abandoning the gold standard, they also stopped the free conversion of the franc into gold.

In the era of the gold standard, the currency that could not be freely exchanged was worthless. The international capital market did not recognize it, and it was waste paper.

There was no reserve limit. In order to raise funds, the Government of France printed money unscrupulously, and inflation quickly swept the country.

In order to keep their wealth, the capitalists who held a large number of francs had to buy assets.

After the defeat of the war, the capitalists who held a large number of assets were successfully trapped in France. Some of the unlucky ones were even tried as war criminals.

The aristocrats, who were originally in a disadvantageous position in the economy, gradually gained the upper hand in the subsequent struggle and returned to the era of aristocrats and bureaucrats.

With a ready-made example, the Government of the United Kingdom naturally used it to scare the domestic capitalists.

There was no problem to run, but it was impossible to withdraw money. They could either take out money to buy bonds and donate blood to this war, or they could flip the table and crash the market, and everyone would be doomed.

To be precise, it was only the big capitalists and consortium that would be finished. To be more exact, it was that the big capitalists and consortiums would be finished.

If anyone paid attention, they would find that the correspondence between the great nobles of Britain and their relatives in Europe had become more frequent in recent times.

It was hard to say whether it was a normal interaction between relatives, or if they were looking for someone to pull strings and prepare a backup plan.

After the war, it was. After all, the conservative, the Holy Empire, the Empire, the Empire, the Empire...

Just look at France after the war. Except for a few ignorant nobles who were sent to the military court, the rest were let off lightly.

. After the war in France, except for a few ignorant nobles who were sent to military court, the rest were let off lightly. With such a ready-made example, it was not surprising that people were active.

More and more people were asking the London government to end the war. More and more people were asking the London government to end the war.

As for how to end the war, it was the government's business. Anyway, "anti-war" was not wrong.

…

In Buckingham Palace, the flustered King Edward VII was holding an encrypted telegram that had been crumpled into a ball and then reopened.

Compared to the content of the telegram, the address of the telegram was more confidential. It was the Palace of Vienna.

As the two royal families of the European monarchs, the Gotthard Family and the House of Habsburg were naturally connected by marriage, and more than once.

Franz and Edward VII were relatives by marriage. But in the European world, it had always been "relatives, and war was war."

The First World War in the original universe was a big melee between relatives. This time was no exception.

It was just that Edward VII was a little tragic. His uncle in Europe, unfortunately, stood on the opposite side of all his relatives and was now being ganged up on.

At the beginning of the war, in order to avoid suspicion, Edward VII took the initiative to reduce contact with his relatives.

Unfortunately, the development of the situation was very embarrassing. For the future of the British Empire, in order to protect his throne, now he had to restore contact.

Unlike the original space-time where hundreds responded to a single call, due to the butterfly effect, the central figure of the European royal family had become Franz instead of his European uncle.

From Edward VII's reaction, it was clear that the "in-laws" in the Vienna Palace did not give him face.

After calming down, Edward VII quickly felt relieved. When it came to national interests, it would not work no matter who it was.

The war had progressed to this point, and it was no longer something that could be stopped just because someone said so.

The anti-war voice among the British people was high, mainly due to the bombing and the lack of supplies. Everyone's days were almost over.

But the Holy Roman Empire was different. Now, from top to bottom, everyone wanted to pull the British Empire off its throne and become the world's hegemon.

Now that Britannia wanted a truce negotiation, it was impossible that the conditions would not be harsh. Just like the three requirements in the telegram:

First, transfer of all the colonies;

Second, independence for Ireland, Scotland, and Wales;

Third, compensation for the losses of the Continental Alliance.

Apart from the third compensation for losses, which did not have a specific figure and there was room for negotiation, the first two were hard and fast rules. If they were satisfied, then they would negotiate. If they were not satisfied, then there was no need to negotiate.

If Edward VII dared to agree to these conditions, Buckingham Palace would have a new master in less than three days.

Although he knew that the ending was not ideal, George could not help but ask, "Father, what did the telegram say?"

"See for yourself!"

Edward VII said as he handed over the telegram. It was obvious that he was in a very low mood and did not even want to say much.

"This is impossible! This is simply intolerable! The great British Empire will never tolerate this … "

Without waiting for his son to finish speaking, Edward VII interrupted, "Don't say these useless things. There's no meaning in it.

Franz dared to be so tough because we did not perform well on the battlefield, which made him think that the Holy Roman Empire was sure to win.

The war has been going on for more than half a year, and the empire has been defeated. It has never won a large-scale battle.

Now that the world has joined the Continental Alliance, the strength of the enemy is like a rolling snowball. If I were in his shoes, I would do the same. "

Calmness was Edward VII's greatest strength. Even if the situation was so disadvantageous, he could still think rationally and did not blame others.

George said, "But we …"

"No buts! In this era where the weak are prey to the strong, being weak is the biggest sin.

In the past, when Britannia was strong, they also treated the other countries like this, and they were even more aggressive.

Now that Britannia is not strong enough and has fallen in the international competition, it is our turn to be unlucky.

Unless we can turn the tables in the upcoming war, the final armistice agreement will only be worse than this. "

Edward VII said earnestly.

After listening to his father's explanation, George frowned. "I'm afraid the people won't be able to accept this truce. For the royal family …"

Perhaps it was because of tradition, Queen Victoria did not like Edward. She thought that he was superficial and could not be a king.

Now that Edward disliked his son, he felt even more hopeless about George's political response.

Fortunately, Edward VII was not a transmigrator. Otherwise, if he knew that George had given up the monarch's power in history, he would find a way to change the heir.

"Accept the truce?"

What a joke. How could the royal family do such a thing?

The people of the country could testify that since the outbreak of the war, the honorable Edward VII fell ill, and all government affairs were entrusted to the cabinet government.

Anyone with a little political brain would know that it was not only power that was entrusted, but also responsibility.

From the beginning to the end, Edward VII did not participate in this war. Even if he wanted to cause trouble, he had to use a fake identity.

Since he did not participate, no matter how serious the consequences were, the royal family would not be implicated. All the responsibility was on the cabinet government.

Now that he contacted the House of Habsburg, it was nothing more than an additional insurance to ensure that the royal family would not be punished after the defeat.

…

The capitalists wanted to escape, the royal family and the great nobles were busy preparing for an escape route, and the Government of London, who was dancing on eggs, once again received bad news.

On October 2, 1905, the four-month-long Indo-China Peninsula War came to an end. Britannia suffered another crushing defeat. The mainland coalition army swept all the way to Burma, and the vanguard headed straight for India.

Before there was time to grieve, on October 7, 1905, the Suez Canal, which had been blocked for nearly a year, was restored to navigation.

The coalition fleet could freely go east, and the biggest problem that restricted the mainland coalition army from attacking India — logistics — could be solved by sea.

The coalition fleet dared to divide its forces, but it did not mean that the Royal Navy could also divide its forces. It had to be known that taking the inner route of the Mediterranean Sea was much closer than taking a detour to the Royal Navy.

Once the royal family divided its forces, the coalition fleet would definitely take advantage of the time difference to catch them off guard and jeopardize the safety of the homeland.

However, without sending reinforcements, the connection between India and the homeland would be cut off, and they could only fight alone.

Think about the tragic scene of the Indian colonial army versus the European coalition army. Without India, would the British Empire still have an "empire"?

In front of the Government of the United Kingdom was: "India" or "homeland." There was no doubt that this was a suicide question.

Without waiting for the Government of the United Kingdom to make a choice, the countries of the Oceanic Alliance, who were still hesitating, instantly made a decision — disembark, disembark at all costs.

Even Japan and the United Kingdom, who had not yet negotiated the terms, immediately cut off the British in order to minimize the fact that they were hostile to the mainland alliance as much as possible.

Everyone had jumped ship, and John Bull, who was all alone, naturally couldn't continue fighting. If he did not negotiate while he still had some capital in his hands, and dragged it to the end …