Rise of Australia

Chapter 466 Indemnity and loan repayment, Anglo-Australian re-covenant

Although the Treaty of Versailles was successfully signed, the diplomatic actions belonging to Australasia have just begun.

Australasia will receive £17bn in reparations from Germany alone, but no one knows how much that will end up being.

At present, the government already has a loan of 20 billion U.S. dollars from the United States, and Arthur does not pay attention to the 17 billion pounds in reparations that he does not know when he will get it.

Instead of letting this compensation rot in your own hands in the future, it is better to realize its value as soon as possible, and even if you lose a little, you have to exchange for more and more useful things.

The first stop of Australasian diplomacy is the negotiation with President Wilson of the United States.

The US$20 billion in aid from the United States to the five major powers of the Allied Powers arrived in the last half of the war. Even countries such as Britain and France, which consumed a lot, did not have time to use the US$20 billion in loans, let alone Australasia.

Under such circumstances, returning the loan intact will undoubtedly greatly reduce the financial pressure on the government.

Neither Australasia nor the United States intends to call back or pay off the loan immediately.

The United States needs to control part of the economy of the Allied countries through loans and win over emerging countries like Australasia.

And Australasia needs this loan to develop the country, after all, this is more than four times the annual income of Australasia.

For Arthur, if Germany's indemnity can be used to repay the debt of the United States in advance, that is definitely good news.

Under such circumstances, the negotiations between Prime Minister Kent and President Wilson of the United States proceeded as scheduled.

Prime Minister Kent got straight to the point. After meeting President Wilson, he immediately put forward Arthur's request, that is, to use 5 million pounds of German compensation to repay the US $22 billion interest-free loan in advance.

If the Americans agree, £17 million of Australasia's £5 billion German indemnity will be transferred to the United States, but the debts of the United States and Australasia will also be written off.

If calculated according to the current exchange rate, 22 billion US dollars is almost equivalent to 4.4 million pounds. Using 5 million German indemnities to pay off this debt, the Americans do not seem to suffer too much.

After all, this was originally an interest-free loan. If the German reparations were used to repay it, the Americans would earn a considerable 6000 million pounds in interest, creating a large amount of income for nothing.

But the Americans are obviously not easy to deceive. After hearing the request from Prime Minister Kent, President Wilson shook his head again and again, and said with a smile: "Prime Minister Kent, you are passing the risk of compensation to the United States. I admit that the compensation of 5 million yuan is right We are very attractive, and who can guarantee that the German government has enough finances to repay these loans? The German government owes a total of 200 billion pounds, which cannot be repaid in 80 years."

In order to join the First World War, the Americans prepared an interest-free loan of 20 billion U.S. dollars, or 4 million pounds, for each of the five major powers of the Allied Powers.

This sum of funds adds up to 20 billion pounds, and the United States, which has not been affected by the war, is a little bit shattered, and even the development of some industries and economies has been affected.

President Wilson never believed that Germany, which was greatly affected by the war, could still pay up to 200 billion pounds in reparations after the war, even if it took 80 years.

Looking at it this way, it is unknown whether half of Australasia's 5 million pounds in compensation will be recovered in the end. How can Americans be willing to exchange 20 billion US dollars in real money?

"Your worry is completely unnecessary, President Wilson. I believe you also understand the attitude of the French during this peace talk. The French cannot give up the indemnity, and the British will naturally not give up. With the guarantee of Britain and France, the Germans must repay it. This indemnity. How about this, on behalf of His Majesty Arthur and the government, I promise you that Germany's indemnity will be given to you first, so as to ensure that you can receive this indemnity truthfully, how about it?" Kent Butler said with a smile.

Although the Americans are dissatisfied with the attitude of Britain, France and the four major powers of the Allies to dominate the peace talks, the proud Americans have to admit that the combination of Britain and France is the most powerful force at this time, and the Germans must pay compensation even if they grit their teeth. .

"That being said, Prime Minister Kent, the United States still has to take high risks. If your country is willing to exchange 6.5 million pounds in compensation, I am willing to promote this negotiation." What Prime Minister Kent said also has some truth, After thinking about it, President Wilson of the United States put forward his own opinion, which is to add money.

With Britain and France as guarantees, even if the Germans are dissatisfied with the indemnity, they must repay at least [-]% of it.

If the loan can be repaid with a compensation of 6.5 million pounds, President Wilson estimates that the United States can obtain at least a final compensation of more than 5 million pounds.

"That's too much, Mr. Wilson. The idea of ​​repaying a debt of 6.5 million pounds with a reparation of 4.4 million pounds is simply crazy. We accept up to 5.5 million pounds in exchange for reparations, and this is His Majesty's bottom line." Prime Minister Kent shook his head pretending to be shocked, and refused very decisively.

In the negotiation of a monarchy, the monarch with power is the best excuse.President Wilson had no doubts after hearing what Prime Minister Kent said. After all, Arthur's prestige and power in Australasia were rare among all monarchies.

Subsequently, President Wilson and Prime Minister Kent had a long discussion and determined a final figure, that is, Australasia used 6.15 million pounds of German compensation to repay all debts owed to the United States in advance.

Prime Minister Kent also specifically mentioned that after the official exchange, Australasia will not be responsible for any aftermath.

How much compensation the United States can get depends on how much the Germans can compensate.

However, with Britain and France at the bottom of the list, coupled with the scale of 6.15 million pounds, President Wilson firmly believed that the United States would not lose any losses, so he was very happy to sign this treaty.

After the negotiations with the United States, Prime Minister Kent met with Prime Minister Lloyd George of the United Kingdom to discuss the re-cooperation between Britain and Australia after the war.

The Anglo-Australian re-cooperation, also known as the Anglo-Australian re-covenant, was an agreement between Britain and Australasia before and during the war to deal with the rise of the United States.

The previous Anglo-Australian agreement was mainly aimed at Germany, and the terms were basically aiding Europe and the Indian Ocean region.

Now, the new alliance negotiated by Prime Minister Kent and Prime Minister Lloyd George is mainly aimed at the Pacific region and the United States, sharing part of the pressure for Britain.

Because the aircraft and tanks of Australasia showed excellent combat effectiveness during the war, and their design and technology were even more advanced than those of Britain and France.

Lloyd George was very interested in Australasia's aircraft and tank technology, and even specifically mentioned in the new treaty that Britain and Australasia should strengthen military technology exchanges.

Prime Minister Kent also has no opinion on strengthening the exchange of military technology. After all, the military technology that has been eliminated in Australasia also needs big money like the United Kingdom to buy it.

At least in the short term, Australasia still needs an ally like the United Kingdom in order to better develop itself.

One agreement that Prime Minister Kent has put more emphasis on is the new immigration treaty between the United Kingdom and Australasia.

Due to the impact of previous wars, the number of British immigrants to Australasia has decreased, and even fell below 1917 throughout 5.

This is not good news for Australasia. After all, the main ethnic group in Australasia is still British Australasians, and the proportion of this group of people is less than 60%.

Australasia can also accept Russian immigrants. Russian immigrants also need to undergo English training for a period of time, which will increase the cost of immigration.

Lloyd George fully agreed to the immigration request made by Prime Minister Kent, but said that because of the impact of the war, the British government could not ensure that enough people immigrated to Australasia every year.

In other words, the channel for British immigrants has opened to Australasia, but how many immigrants can really be attracted depends on the efforts of the Australasian government.

The British miss Australasia's tank and aircraft technology, and Australasia also misses the British's warship construction technology.

Prime Minister Kent also proposed to strengthen exchanges with the United Kingdom in the construction of warships, especially the construction of major warships, such as aircraft carriers that are already in the pipeline in various countries.

Australasia is not at a loss to cooperate with the British in warship construction, because the British are the first country to build dreadnoughts, super dreadnoughts, and even aircraft carriers.

Especially in this era, the military power of the United States has not risen significantly, and the shipbuilding technology of the British is still well-deserved No. 30 in the world, at least it will be like this for [-] to [-] years.

Generally speaking, Prime Minister Lloyd George and Prime Minister Kent are quite satisfied with this new covenant, and both sides can be regarded as getting what they need, and both of them have satisfied smiles on their faces.

Before signing the covenant, Prime Minister Kent also put forward his final request, which was the exchange of colonies in the Middle East with the British Empire.

The scope of the exchange is on the Persian Gulf coast. Currently, the British Empire controls Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, and Australasia controls the Saudi Persian Gulf coast, Qatar and Bahrain.

Although it seems that Kuwait's area is more suitable for development and has a larger population.But Arthur is more aware that the UAE region, which is now the truce states, has richer oil resources.

Compared with Kuwait, which is next to Iraq, tasteless, and a pity to abandon, the truce states that are more vast and have more oil resources are what Arthur really wants.

If Kuwait is exchanged for the United Arab Emirates, Britain can obtain the entire Mesopotamia Plain and expand the development potential of the Iraqi region.

Australasia can also achieve Arthur's goal, occupy more oil areas along the Persian Gulf coast, and compete for more oil reserves for Australasia.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Middle East accounts for more than [-]% of the world's oil, and the Persian Gulf coast accounts for more than [-]% of the Middle East's oil.

After Lloyd George heard the request from Prime Minister Kent, he did not rush to nod or refuse, but raised his own question: "Kuwait has a plain area and a larger population. Why do you use it to exchange the truce states?"

Compared with Kuwait, the truce states have no advantages. The only advantage may be that they are close to the Strait of Hormuz and can more effectively control the Persian Gulf.

But the problem is that Prime Minister Lloyd doesn't believe that Australasia's goal is to control the Persian Gulf. After all, the countries and forces along the Persian Gulf are only Britain, Australasia and Iran.

To put it bluntly, the great powers are only the United Kingdom and Australasia, both of which are allies. It is impossible for Australasia to be so stupid as to forcibly control the coast of the Persian Gulf.

In this way, Australasia's request to change colonies becomes somewhat meaningful.Prime Minister Lloyd did not dare to make a decision without knowing the real purpose of Australasia.

Of course, such an important matter as changing the colony cannot be decided by Law and Prime Minister George alone.

At least with the nod of the British government and the House of Commons, and ostensibly with the consent of King George V.

"Although the Kuwaiti colony has greater development potential, the current Australasia does not have the energy to develop this area. You know, Prime Minister George, His Majesty Arthur has plans to move the capital. The construction and development of the new capital can be done It is far more important than the development of the colony. Because of this, we want a more stable colony, and the truce states with a smaller population are very suitable." Prime Minister Kent explained calmly.

"At the same time, it is also to show the sincerity of our allies. We are also willing to let your country control the entire Mesopotamia Plain to dominate the situation in the Middle East. Please rest assured that our goal has never been the Strait of Hormuz. Your country Some islands in the Strait of Hormuz can still be preserved, and the entire Persian Gulf belongs to Australasia and the British Empire.”

Hearing Prime Minister Kent's explanation, Law and Prime Minister George nodded and said: "This is indeed beneficial to both of us. You know, this is not my decision alone. Please rest assured, I will try my best Get His Majesty's consent to facilitate the exchange of colonies."

As a qualified politician, Prime Minister Lloyd George still gave George V a lot of face.

Although most people know that George V no longer has much power in the UK, what Lloyd George is talking about is still seeking the consent of George V, not the government and parliament.

"This is natural, Prime Minister George. No matter whether the exchange of colonies will be reached or not, it will not affect the good relationship between Australasia and the United Kingdom. We are eternal allies." Prime Minister Kent nodded as a matter of course and smiled Said.

The prime ministers of the two kingdoms raised their wine glasses amidst laughter, and after touching each other lightly, they drank each other in one gulp.

For a politician of this level, the fate of a colony with an area of ​​hundreds of thousands of square kilometers and a population of hundreds of thousands is nothing more than a word.

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(End of this chapter)