Mediterranean Hegemony Road

Chapter 166: Push 1 - The Edge of War

There is a kind of gain, which can be called advancing an inch; there is a kind of loss, which can be called retreating and retreating.

This sentence vividly expounds the European international relations before World War II. For a long time, the three countries that dominated Western Europe were Britain, France and Germany.

After the end of the First World War, Germany was defeated. Restricted by the "Treaty of Versailles", it instantly lost the dignity and status that should have been in the land of Western Europe.

After the outbreak of the economic crisis in 1929, nearly 7 million people in Germany were unemployed and faced the danger of being starved to death;

The people of the German government complained, the German government was at a loss and pinned their hopes on international assistance, it is a pity that everyone is too busy to take care of themselves at this time.

"Your Majesty, the Germans once again applied for a loan from us, and promised that all the loan funds will be used to buy food!

It seems that the German government is about to run out of water, and there is no way to solve the domestic economic crisis. At this time, they have to distribute relief food in the name of the government to stabilize the situation! "Foreign Minister Megev analyzed

"Affected by the economic crisis, the total amount of grain imported by the Germans in the first half of this year has dropped by nearly 3 million tons, and the crisis has come!

If the German government has no way to obtain more food, then civil strife will break out. This crisis is not only the central government, but also several major kingdoms! said the Chancellor of the Exchequer, frowning.

"Well, now that the Germans have stopped paying war reparations, can't they afford the money to buy food?" Ferdinand asked suspiciously

"Your Majesty, the German government spent its limited resources on bailing out the market. As a result, the capitalists were saved, the government lost money, and the economy still hasn't improved.

Not only Germany, but the current bailout actions in many European countries are to relieve the capitalists and have little impact on the economy.

But under the current situation, capitalists dare not invest rashly, which forms a vicious circle, and the money is concentrated in the hands of a few people.

There was a problem with economic circulation. At this time, governments of various countries abandoned the gold standard and printed more money, saying that it was to enhance the international competitiveness of commodities.

There was actually so little money circulating in the market that they had to print money in order to get the economy going again.

However, this method does not change the fact that money is continuously concentrated in the hands of a few people.

The gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen, and the economic crisis continues to spread. According to the economic policies of various countries, the world economy will not improve in the next few years! ’ explained Chancellor Kennedy

Ferdinand nodded. Sure enough, this economic crisis in history lasted for several years, which did not conform to the laws of the market at all.

Now he understands that it is entirely because all countries have adopted the method of currency devaluation to stimulate the economy at the same time, which has weakened the scale of the economic crisis and accelerated the duration of the economic crisis.

The survival of the fittest should have been completed quickly,

A large number of backward or advanced production capacity were eliminated, and the market was restored to normal. As a result, the economic crisis was delayed for several years when the government artificially continued the life of these enterprises.

Knowing the root cause, Ferdinand of course pretended not to see it. If the economic crisis continues, everyone's interests will be lost, but the British Empire must suffer the most.

This time and space is different from the history, and the colonies alone can no longer laugh at the industrial capacity of the British.

In this context, unless the three North American countries are asked to reduce industrial production capacity, there is actually not much they can do.

From the perspective of industrial technology, the industrial production capacity of the three North American countries also lags behind the British Isles, failing to absorb European elites, and the industry in the American continent is actually far behind the European continent.

In this kind of competition, the three North American countries must suffer. Can these North American consortiums be willing to admit defeat?

In terms of destructive power, these American capitalists are not a bit stronger than their European counterparts. They are true believers in capital without borders.

For the sake of profit, what can't they do?

Don't you think that there is no conflict between the two sides because they seem to have merged with British capital?

In fact, as long as the interests are sufficient, they don't mind annexing British capital directly. They have a criminal record.

In the face of the survival of enterprises, capitalists must defeat other peers if they want to survive, and the contradictions among capitalists will definitely intensify.

For example, you have invested in five companies in the UK and three countries in North America. Under normal circumstances, any of these companies will be damaged, and you would not want to see it.

But it is different now. In order to seize the market, at least half of these companies must die, so you have to make a choice.

Your choice is not equal to the choice of your partners. They may not have invested in these companies at the same time, and the distribution of equity is also different.

If your base is in the UK, then you must choose to sacrifice the industry in North America, but the partners in North America will definitely disagree, so everyone can only go their separate ways.

Even if it is capital, there is me in you, and you in me, but the market is not unlimited. In the economic crisis, in order to survive in the end, you still have to see the red with a bayonet.

You can't have both, you can only choose to maximize your benefits, and when you make a choice, conflicts will naturally arise.

After the conflict broke out between North American capitalists and British capitalists, where will the London government stand? Do you still need to think about this question?

"Now, how much money do immigrants from Germany send to China every year?" Ferdinand asked with concern

"Your Majesty, the money sent by German immigrants to the country reached a peak of 860 million levs in 1923, and then began to decrease year by year. By the end of 1929, it had dropped sharply to 380 million levs.

After obtaining Bulgarian citizenship, many people chose to take over their family members, so the foreign exchange income of the German government will slowly disappear in the future! " Chancellor of the Exchequer Kennedy replied

Ferdinand smiled slightly. This is inevitable. People tend to be strong. Not everyone can persist in giving for a long time without expecting anything in return.

Beginning in 1917, Bulgaria began to poach people from Germany. At the beginning, these people were really just planning to go out to work and let their families live a better life, so they sent money home if they had money.

But after a long time, they gradually got used to life in Bulgaria, and the domestic situation has not improved for a long time, and the original contract expired again. At this time, they faced a choice again.

Either stay in Bulgaria and live a good life; or go back to China and live a precarious life, with no future in sight, and dawdle in the foundry every day.

Many people first returned to China full of enthusiasm to seek development, but it didn't take long for them to be crushed by reality.

Ideals need to be supported by bread. In Bulgaria, with a high salary, they engage in technology and scientific research, but after returning to China, they can only go to the foundry to work hard, with a different salary that can fill their stomachs. Such a gap is not for everyone. insistent.

For their family, for bread, and for themselves, they had to come to Bulgaria again with disappointment, and this time they usually chose to immigrate with the whole family.

Doesn't the German government know about this situation?

Obviously impossible!

They are more aware of the dangers of brain drain than anyone else, but they know that, facing huge foreign debts, the government is no longer able to spend a lot of money to save these people.

The whole family has moved away, can they still be expected to continue to send money?

Without this amount of foreign exchange, the life of the German government will naturally be even more difficult. At this time, even buying food has become difficult.

"Do the Germans have a mortgage? Or what do the Germans need now?" Ferdinand asked after pondering for a moment

"Your Majesty, I think that apart from human resources, Germany has nothing worth fighting for at this time. In terms of scientific and technological innovation, the Germans have not made any progress for ten years.

Except for that group of high-quality basic industry workers, they actually have nothing now, and the high-level talents have almost been divided up by various countries! "Prime Minister Constantine thought for a while and said.

"High-quality basic industry workers? We don't have any shortage of these people now, so let's reject the Germans' loan applications. Their debt repayment ability is really worrying!" Ferdinand said with a sigh

Unless the government guarantees the Germans, the German finances are bankrupt at this time, which bank is willing to lend to the Germans, this is clearly a meat bun beating a dog and going back!

At the same time, he also knew that this decision would undoubtedly push Germany to the brink of war!

The German government has no money, and the German people have no money, but this does not mean that German capitalists also have no money.

In the face of crisis, what kind of decision will the Germans make?

At this time, it is the turn of the German capitalists to be unlucky. There is a price to be paid for greed. In the face of life and death, the fighting power of the people is often overwhelming.

If there is no accident, the "oil" capitalists will be unlucky again. Who will make them the richest?

European countries have summed up the lessons of history and banned the "oil" Jews from owning land, let alone allowing them to enter the military and political circles.

In addition to doing business and working, the "oil" Tai people actually have no other occupations to choose, and the traditional culture of the "oil" Tai ethnic group is to train businessmen, so they have become the richest nation in the world.

The so-called "no business, no evil", the "oil" people have done a lot of treacherous business behaviors such as lending usury, monopolizing industries, hoarding goods, and raising prices.

For example, the supply of grain in Germany is in short supply. For the sake of profit, the "oil" people would rather dump the grain that many people cannot afford into the sea than sell it at a lower price.

In order to maximize their benefits, they can watch the German people starve to death on the streets, and they are unwilling to lend a helping hand. You must know that during this period, the "oil" capitalists do not lack foreign exchange.

As long as they are willing, they can import more grain from abroad, sell it at a low price, gain a good reputation, and reverse their political disadvantage.

Obviously, they are all qualified capitalists. They are pursuing the maximization of interests. In the face of fame and interests, they choose interests. This is the source of disaster.

During the economic crisis, they chose to take advantage of the fire. Most of the banks in Germany were controlled by them. They also became the creditors of 70% to 80% of the Germans, which once again pushed them to the point of no return.

With or without Citra, the Germans would have to turn against oil. This is caused by interests. Ordinary people have stood on the opposite side in order to survive.

In contrast, another group of capitalists in Germany, the Junker nobles, are much smarter, or it is their status as nobles that makes them restrain their behavior.

Although they are also taking advantage of the fire to rob, their reputation is much better. Everyone lends usury together, hoards together, and seeks huge profits together. While doing all this, the Junker nobles still take out a small part of their income to buy people's hearts.

This has something to do with their traditions. Junker nobles will basically enter the army and become officers. In order not to be blacked out, they can't do too much.

Occasionally show kindness, lend a helping hand to former comrades-in-arms, or save a few worms.

Although these behaviors are insignificant, but with "oily" people as a comparison, everything is different.

Even if it's just for show, the influence caused by doing it and not doing it is different. Of course, "oily" people just want to do it, and they have to do more to get the same effect.

Originally, the outbreak of the economic crisis was their best chance to change their reputation. As long as the "oily" people stand up and do a wave of charity at this time, they can eliminate the public's hostility towards them.

Then the disaster will naturally not exist. The sins committed by the capitalists, in the end, the people who really pay for it have become ordinary "oily" people.

Before the crisis broke out, the "oil" capitalists had basically run away, and the rest were unlucky people without money. After all, after the outbreak of the anti-"oil" movement, there was still a long time to evacuate. But need to buy road money.

Of course, Ferdinand couldn't understand their behavior of wanting money and life. You must know that "Citler" still has a quarter of "oil" blood, and he was not against "oil" when he was young.

In the end, it was because of the needs of economic interests that the two sides had no way to negotiate, so they took the extreme path, and the betrayal of the "oil" capitalists in World War I was also an important reason.

"Your Majesty, the British and the German radicals have been mixed together. If the economic crisis continues, they may manipulate the Germans behind the scenes to break the order of the European continent in order to divert the economic crisis!

If we don't give the German government a hand now, I'm afraid they will fall soon. A chaotic European continent is not in our interests! " Prime Minister Constantine said cautiously

"I also know this problem, but the problem now is that we can't move the German government at all, and they don't even have the intention of getting closer to us!

It is impossible for us to spend a lot of money to support a German regime that is doomed to collapse and has not been personally protected. This is a waste of resources!

Now it is easy for the Germans to start a war, but it is very difficult to win a war. I don't think they have the strength to challenge France and Austria.

This time they also have no allies, except for a semi-crippled Italian, no one wants to challenge the world order at this time! ’ Ferdinand said after thinking for a while.

In this world, the situation of the Germans is much more dangerous than in history. Whether they can unify the country is a question mark. Even if the country is unified, their population is only more than 50 million, including ethnic minorities.

The total amount of industry has exceeded the same period in history. It is a pity that this is only light industry, and scientific research and technology are still stuck in the period of World War I. Whether the comprehensive national strength can reach half of the Third Reich is a question mark.

After all, Austria is gone, and the Czech region is gone. Even the west has been eaten up by France and Belgium by tens of thousands of square kilometers, and part of the heavy industry and millions of people have been lost.

So Ferdinand can watch the excitement. The French and the Austro-Hungarian Empire will not let them rise so easily. Facing the attack of the two great powers at the same time, and the cooperation of several internal kingdoms, the Germans will not be able to withstand it. of!

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