Chapter 968: tangled……

What worries the British government is not only the international situation, but also the accompanying economic problems.
If nothing else, most of the markets that the French have withdrawn will be replaced by Austrian industrial and commercial products, and Britain can only pick up some leftovers.
The law of "the strong keeps strong" also applies here. Austria itself is the industrial hegemon, and now it has seized the French market, the domestic industry and commerce will definitely develop further.
A little bit of common sense knows that the more industrial and commercial products are produced, the lower the cost and the stronger the market competitiveness.
With such a big market, Austria's industry and commerce will develop further and will inevitably compete with Britain.
Not to mention other regions, at least Britain's market share in Europe will definitely be squeezed.
With the shrinking market, the profits of enterprises will decrease, and the money invested in product development and promotion will also decrease. This is a vicious circle.
Of course, these are long-term issues. Britain has the richest colony in the world, which can be sustained in a short time.
The big deal is to slowly transform the economy, abandon the meagre manufacturing industry, and vigorously develop the financial and service industries. The original time and space have done this, but now it is naturally possible.
The long-term problem is the next job, or the next job, Gladstone can't worry about them, the current troubles are enough for him.
As the world's number one financial empire, loan sharking is indispensable. Everyone knows that those who play financial affairs are the masters with boldness and integrity.
As long as the benefits are large enough, no matter how big the risks are, someone will do it.
In Britain, which promotes a free economy, the government does not interfere with private lending. Naturally, these speculators were indispensable in the European War.
If someone earns blood, someone loses blood. With the end of the European War, the financial groups that bet on the French government are now locked up.
If the money of the consortium is locked up, Gladstone will only celebrate with champagne and will not care about the life and death of these vampires.
It's a pity that the vampires are very shrewd, and they have carefully planned the script for a long time. The profit is their own, and the loss is raised from the private sector.
From the end of the European War to the present, more than three hundred financial institutions in Britain have declared bankruptcy and directly threw the mess to the government.
Debt collection is impossible. Judging from the current situation, even if the French government has money, it has been scoured by the anti-French alliance. It is estimated that within a few decades, it will be impossible to fulfill this debt.
Before the bad debts of the French could be dealt with, the Confederation of Germany broke its debt default and once again gave the London government a blow.
This time it is not just private loans, many of which are secured by the British government.
No way, the German Federal Government declared bankruptcy. In order to save expenses, they even cancelled the embassy in London and entrusted the business to the Austrian embassy in London.
It's not that the German federal government deliberately "reckless", they are indeed out of money now. The lower states do not pay taxes, and the districts directly under the central government have been smashed. The government has lost all its income. Even the salaries of public officials have to be paid in advance by Austria, let alone repaid.
The settlement approached the end of the year, and the government could not spend money to fulfill its debts and had to choose bankruptcy and default.
In fact, it is not only the German Federation that went bankrupt. The Belgian government, whose hometown was in vain, also declared bankruptcy at this time.
No money means no money, and there is no pretending to be poor. They are not targeting Britain alone, but all debts are in default. But Britain borrowed the most and became the biggest victim.
"Did the two German governments give an explanation?"
The French government Gladstone ignored it. Obviously he didn't think he could get the money out of the anti-French alliance.
The governments of Belgium and Germany have no money. This is a well-known fact, and Gladstone does not expect them to pay the money immediately.
It doesn't matter if you have no money, Britain has a professional financial team. As long as you can take out enough collateral, you can borrow another sum.
The key lies in the attitude to solve the problem, whether it is necessary to "suspend payment" because of lack of money, or to "reply".
"The plan given by the Belgian government is to postpone the payment for five years and use 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 Federal Government is to transfer the creditor's rights and directly deduct the corresponding amount from the war reparations, and the French will bear the debt.
Theoretically speaking, the plans of the two German governments can work. The only question is whether the French have the ability to pay. "
It's not that George is soft-hearted, it's that the situation is special now. Belgium is now a poor man, and the treasury does not need to go to the gate, and there is no oil at all.
The situation in the German Federation seems to be better, but this government is too weak and may close at any time.
If you don’t deal with the debt issue quickly, and when Austria announces the restoration of the Holy Roman Empire and disbands the illegal organization of the German Federation, then even the creditors will be wiped out.
No country will pay for the illegal government established by the rebellious parties, unless Britain can allow Austria to recognize the legitimacy of the German federal government.
This is obviously impossible. Recognizing the legality of the German federal government means that the empire is divided. Vienna was able to withstand the pressure thirty years ago, not to mention it now.
"Trouble!"
"Judging from the current situation, the Anti-French Alliance will definitely hit the French hard, and the war reparations may not be 1 billion pounds.
Belgium has made great sacrifices in this war, and Austria has to appease it, and the proportion of compensation should not be low.
With five years of buffering time, the French should have recovered a bit. Even if the compensation cannot be paid in full, the portion allocated to Belgium each year is enough to pay our debts. Even if there are shortcomings, the Belgians can make up for it.
The proposal of the German Federal Government is troublesome. We seem to have no loss in the transfer of the creditor's rights, but in fact we need to bear very large risks.
Not only must we worry about the ability of the French to pay, we must also consider political risks. If Russia and Austria play tricks on it, let the French deliberately delay, or put the transferred debts in the final fulfillment, it is estimated that at the end of this century, we will not see money. "
But Gladstone didn't worry about it. Britain had played similar tricks. Now that Feng Shui took turns, it was their turn to be passive.
Accepting the assignment of claims from the Deutsche Commonwealth implies high risk; rejecting the assignment of claims does not even have the opportunity to take risks.
The current German federal government is like a limited liability company that is about to go bankrupt with huge debts, or the one with the lowest registered capital.
Anyway, everyone only assumes responsibility within the scope of the registered capital. Both the legal person and the shareholders have chosen to stop the loss in time and have no intention of saving the company.
As a creditor, Britain is in a tragedy, either to collect the bad debts of the company outside or to wait for bankruptcy and liquidation.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs George added: "Not only us, but other creditors of the German Federation are now treated the same, including the Royal Austrian Bank.
Now King George I has thanked his guests behind closed doors and threw everything to the German Federal Government. The Kingdom of Hanover and the German Federal Government have completed the cut.
In order to stop the loss, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposed to use the colony to repay the debt, but they refused. Ayvar still clamored, as long as they dare to move their colony, they will go to war with us. "
They are not fuel-efficient lamps, even the sons of Britain are rebellious now. No matter how good the relationship is in the past, they will never take the debt.
Even if they know that this has offended Britain to death, people are now fearless. Anyway, the revived Holy Roman Empire is the European hegemon, and the British people want to make trouble, but the central government will stand it up. There is no need to persuade them.
...
It is not only the British government who is also struggling, but the Japanese government in Tokyo is also not feeling well. Even if the Japanese army had occupied the Philippine Islands, they did not comfort Emperor Meiji.
There is no way, the plan does not change fast. Originally planned to speculate after the situation became clear, but unfortunately, the news from the Japanese government was delayed by a few days due to the inconvenience of communication.
However, in just a few days, the French surrendered. Even the war books prepared by the Japanese government could not be sent out.
You can't force it to touch porcelain. The French Indochina peninsula was preempted by the British, and several small islands in the South Seas of the French fell into Austrian hands, none of which they dared to provoke.
The failure of speculation puts Japan in a very embarrassing position. The international situation is not friendly to them, especially the upcoming Vienna Peace Conference.
Spain is a European country and a member of the anti-French alliance. It is clear who everyone will support in Vienna and the meeting.
Unable to gain the recognition of various countries, the Philippine Islands they occupy are rootless, and they may be snatched away at any time.
In the following days, they will not only worry about the Spaniards counterattack, but also be wary of Britain and Austria against them.
In the past, Spain was able to hold the Philippine Islands, but not only because of its strength, but simply by its strength. Spain, the Netherlands, and Portugal were not qualified to hold the colonies in their hands. It was more political.
Now that the situation in Europe has changed drastically and the Philippine Islands have fallen into the hands of the Japanese, the original political factors are no longer applicable at this time.
Missing the opportunity for speculation, the Japanese government can only speak on its strength if it wants to defend the Philippine Islands.
"Prime Minister, what is the position of European countries?"
Ito Hirofumi's expression tightened, and he said with some embarrassment: "The situation is not optimistic. I personally visited the ministers of various countries. Even if the empire made concessions, I did not get any clear support from any country.
The position of the British among the big powers is vague, as if they don't care about our occupation of the Philippine Islands; the Russians are also more inclined to Spain, and after the empire made concessions, they did not get their guarantee.
Austria’s position is most unfavourable to us. Minister Antonio made it clear that he hopes that we will abandon the Philippine Islands and stop our expansion into the South China Sea.
The only good news is that Austria’s position is not too firm and has no intention of armed intervention. The opposition to our occupation of the Philippine Islands should be because Spain is their ally.
According to news from Europe, the Spaniards have begun to form an expeditionary fleet. There are currently three new battleships and ten ironclad ships, all from the French Navy. "
The Minister of the Navy Xixiang Congdao asked suspiciously: "Aren't all French warships going to auction? How did they fall into the hands of the Spanish?"
Hirobumi Ito explained helplessly: "The French warships are the spoils of the anti-French alliance, and Spain is a member of the anti-French alliance. It is not a big deal to borrow it before the auction.
Even if it is going to be auctioned, it is just a cutscene, and these warships will also fall into Spanish hands. The warships that can really be bought by the outside world are also left over by the anti-French allied countries. "
Opening the back door couldn't be more normal. As a member of the anti-French alliance, it is a problem if there is no privilege.
Xixiang Congdao was silent. The century-old navy is not a joke. Regardless of the terrible decline of Spain, there is still no shortage of people’s navy heritage. As long as you have money and warships, you can quickly draw out a fleet.
The Japanese Navy’s assets are limited, and the most advanced battleships are just a few armored ships, or cruisers, and the most advanced battleships simply don’t exist.
Warships are not ordinary weapons, and they cannot be bought with money. The warships that can be bought on the international market are all second- and third-rate warships, and they may even be simplified versions. In this regard, the British play the most slippery.
The 10,000-ton former dreadnoughts and the several thousand-ton cruisers are not so much fighting as slaughter. The Navy does not rely on blood and courage, and the technological gap cannot be made up by a few slogans.
No matter how confident he is, Xixiang Congdao does not think that the Japanese navy's broken ships can be comparable to the French navy's elite warships.
Seeing the navy's counsel, Army General Da Shanyan hurriedly expressed: "Don't worry, Your Majesty. The Imperial Japanese Army is not afraid of any enemy's challenge. As long as we are there, it can definitely defend the Philippine Islands."
Unlike the navy's worries, the army is confident. In the previous offensive and defensive battles in the Philippine Islands, the Japanese army beat the Spaniards all the way.