Chapter 2145 High-Level Meeting Three
"We want Gabon and the French Congo, Central Africa is still left to the French, but how about some other economic and political rights? For example, the right to garrison troops in Madagascar, and the use of places like Dakar or Algeria Port rights?" Ruprecht thought for a while and said.
"Are you going to build a system of naval bases across the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean? This idea is very good. If possible, other islands in the Indian Ocean that originally belonged to the British, such as Diego Garcia, will also be taken over. , the entire Eastern Atlantic and Western Indian Ocean regions will be our sphere of influence, and the sea power of other powerful countries will be squeezed out." Grand Duke Baden said.
It seems that it is okay to exchange the Central African region for Germany to use the French African ports, but the Grand Duke of Baden himself thinks it is too cheap for the French. Because in his opinion, the French are the defeated after all. In fact, they have no right to choose compared to the British. After all, the German Army can consider entering Paris at any time now! It would be nice not to use it in Europe this time, and the colonies don't want much, even if the French are harsher, they will accept it.
"Actually, we don't need to haggle over these issues. The French should be very clear about their position. They have failed, and the losers will have to pay the price. Let them be lucky." Grand Duke Baden said.
"France needs to pay a price, that's for sure, but we can definitely make this price softer, such as economically. The empire has gained enough territory in this war, and it doesn't make much sense to have more or less And Central Africa is not a very rich place. In this regard, I agree with Crown Prince Ruprecht’s opinion, we can just take Gabon and French Congo.” At this time, Battelle said, at this point , he is more supportive of opening up to the French.
"So how much will the French pay economically? In the Franco-Prussian War, we received 5 billion francs in compensation from the French. What about this time?" the Grand Duke of Baden asked.
"How about providing an interest-free loan of 200 million pounds per year within 10 years? The term is 5 years, please repay in the fifth year?" Ruprecht thought for a while and said. Under the gold standard system, one pound is equivalent to 7.32 grams of gold, while a hair lang is 0.29 grams of gold, and one pound is equivalent to about 25 francs. An interest-free loan of 200 million pounds a year is equivalent to approximately 5 billion francs. If the annual interest rate is 5%, then the German government has received 1.25 billion francs in interest if the accumulation is not counted for 5 years. Of course, these things can’t be counted as such, but for France, it’s okay to get such a result after the end of the war. This is the same as William and the French joked that once the war broke out, William believed that the compensation of 50 billion francs from the French would be much lower!
"This is still too little." The Grand Duke of Baden frowned and said.
"If it still feels less, then we can only take it from the British. I am going to get 3 billion pounds in compensation from the British." Ruprecht said with a smile. Historically, in the Versailles Peace Treaty, the total amount of German compensation was 226 billion gold marks, or about 11.3 billion pounds, which was later reduced to 132 billion gold marks, or about 4.99 billion pounds. However, in fact, the compensation and interest were not paid until 2010.
What Ruprecht wants is real money, not a number in the treaty. If the number is too much, what should the British do if they can't afford it? Although Britain's financial situation is much better than that of Germany in history, but if you want to pay 30 pounds in a short period of time, such as 20 years,
This difficulty is still great. After all, the fiscal revenue of the British government in 1913 was only 189 million pounds! Of course, you have to say that the British fiscal revenue in 1918 was 700 million pounds in history. There is no problem with this figure, but after all, you have to consider the problems of high profits and high wages under inflation and excessive taxes. This is not true in wartime and peacetime. French.
The 3 billion pounds mentioned by Ruprecht naturally cannot be the value of the pound during the war, it must be before the war! Moreover, it is impossible for the prince to directly say that it will be paid off in 42 years like in the Versailles Peace Treaty. Please, in 42 years, who can say clearly what will happen 20 years later? Therefore, the entire repayment period must be compressed within 20 years, at best, 15 years! Because within 15 years, Ruprecht can guarantee that the British will not have the ability to show their teeth. If 20 years later, who knows what the attitude of the United States will be? What is the attitude of the Soviet Union? Britain is not terrible, what is terrible is the international environment!
"Isn't £3 billion too little?" Barthes said.
"So what do you think is the upper limit for the British to pay? What we need after the war is pounds that will land in our wallets, not a treaty figure," Ruprecht said. "Of course, I don't know much about economic issues. This aspect can be handled by you, as long as Bavaria can get its own share."
It is impossible to give all of the 3 billion pounds to Germany, and the French will not give all of them to Germany. In fact, the compensation from Britain and France will go to Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As for the specific proportion, no one has mentioned it. Rupre Hitt didn't mention it either. After all, this issue is very sensitive. Who made Ruprecht's wife the future Queen of Austria-Hungary? To some extent, for Bavaria, and for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it seems to be a concept!
So you can say that whether Ruprecht avoids suspicion or makes an exchange of interests, after gaining the dominance of the territory, the crown prince is willing to hand over the right to negotiate compensation with the UK to the Kaiser and Parliament Pie, himself just made a suggestion.
"I think His Excellency the Grand Duke of Baden and I will definitely be able to get back the economic interests belonging to the empire at the negotiating table." Bart expressed his appreciation for the crown prince's concession, while the Grand Duke of Baden nodded in satisfaction.
"The British representative is coming soon, so who will be in charge of receiving him?" the Grand Duke of Baden asked.
"This will be a relatively long wrangling, and I estimate that 80% of the British will not give in. Therefore, I will be the leader of the first negotiation, and it will be fine for the next few times to be handed over to the two. And I have to consider how to make The British hurt more!" Ruprecht said with a smile.
"Then, on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor, I wish you a perfect end to the final stage of the war." The Grand Duke of Baden said with a smile.
"The Imperial Council will hold a grand celebration for you after the war. Your achievements make you the most dazzling star during the Imperial War." Barth's words on the side also contained praise.
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