Wild North America 1846

Chapter 699 The situation in North America has deteriorated sharply
Due to the forcible intervention of the US Alliance, the Pacific War in South America came to an abrupt end. Under the mediation of the Tang Empire, the two sides in the war started the second round of peace negotiations in Panama.

at the same time
Peru and Bolivia respectively received 4 million and 200 million Tang yuan in the second phase of war loans, which were used to purchase a large amount of weapons, equipment and supplies from the Tang Empire, and to reorganize and prepare for war.

Chile's request for a follow-up loan was rejected by several major financial consortiums of the Datang Empire. This caused great panic among the upper echelons of the Chilean government, and various speculations and rumors were flying everywhere.

In any case, the Pacific War was forcibly brought to a halt, and the Chilean army still occupied a large amount of enemy territory.

It is difficult to see any results in this kind of see-saw negotiation for half a year or a year, and it is not uncommon for it to drag on for two or three years.

A few months later
1889. 8, 26

Emperor Li Cha, who was on vacation at the Jinghu Palace in Taoyuan City, suddenly sent a secret order to the Imperial Prime Minister Baron Tang Dezhao who stayed in Chang'an, ordering the imperial government;

Immediately cancel the plan to expand the colony in the East Indies, and concentrate on preparing for the incident in North America.

After receiving the secret decree, the Tang Empire government immediately stopped the expedition that was in preparation, and the relevant field troops of the overseas military regions that were training and some of the Royal Guards stationed in the Luzon Islands also received orders to suspend military operations.

The expansion and colonization plan of the East Indies, materials and fleets have been prepared in sevens and eighties, but it was temporarily suspended, which disappointed many officials and military generals who were enthusiastic about it.

The next restart plan, do not know when to wait?
The sudden change in North America is due to the collapse of the international debt restructuring plan that has been struggling.

The government of Benjamin Harrison, who was sworn in as the new president on March 3 this year, broke down and broke down. After the negotiations on the international debt restructuring plan broke down, the US government officially declared bankruptcy and was unable to pay off the remaining debt principal and interest.

As soon as the news came out, the stock market on Wall Street immediately plunged, prices soared across the United States, and the situation inevitably split.

The unified structure that the previous US President Grover Cleveland tried to maintain was directly smashed by the new President Benjamin Harrison, and the division of the country is inevitable.

On August 8, after the US international debt restructuring negotiations broke down, it immediately caused a serious chain reaction.

The Wall Street stock market plummeted for 4 consecutive days, and nearly half of its market value fell in just 4 days. Bankrupt financial speculators jumped from high-rise buildings one after another. The scene was truly spectacular.

The violent shock in the financial industry triggered an economic crisis. Thousands of factories stopped working, and urban residents flocked to buy food, which in turn caused a sharp rise in food prices.

On August 8, New York State, which has a Chinese population of 23%, took the lead in announcing;

From now on, state taxes and other payments will no longer be paid to the federal government. This part of the funds will be used for emergency food purchases for residents of the state, disaster relief, and strengthening of the police force.The state legislature passed a resolution giving the governor greater powers.

From August 8th to August 25th, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New Jersey also officially announced;
Following New York State's decision, the state's tax revenue will no longer be turned over to the federal government, but will be used in priority for the state's support for the poor and the strengthening of the National Guard.

In just a few days, the states of the United States have been torn apart, and they are falling sharply into the abyss of division.

Facing the rapidly deteriorating situation, the French expeditionary forces were helpless, and they were powerless to prevent the division of the states. They could only watch the United States slide rapidly into an irreversible disaster.

Really want to talk

International creditors headed by French loan sharks bear inescapable responsibility for today's poor situation in the United States and are one of the chief culprits.

Originated from the international debt restructuring negotiations started in June 1887, international creditors have always held a tough attitude and refused to make substantive concessions.

The greed of French loan sharks is the main reason why debt restructuring talks have collapsed.

From June 1887 to mid-August 6, this difficult negotiation still broke down, which immediately caused a wave of panic selling in the US financial market.

Investors couldn't see the future of the United States, so they rushed to sell their stocks and fled, thus forming a stampede-style crash, and the stock market on Wall Street was pouring out...

Among them, it is not without the presence of international capital making waves.

Why did the new president, Benjamin Harrison, break the jar and declare the US government bankrupt?
As a tough white populist, when President Benjamin Harrison came to power, he still held the great ambition of saving the United States from danger. He racked his brains in negotiations with the international creditor committee and tried his best to reach a new debt restructuring. protocol.

It is a pity that the cruel reality has poured a basin of cold water on the head.

He saw

Since the signing of the North American Peace Agreement in February 1862, the United States has been deeply mired in debt and cannot extricate itself.

The loss of sovereignty of many countries has turned the United States into a playground for international capital. The federal and state finances have been unable to make ends meet for decades, and the debt burden has become heavier and heavier.

1887年6月，彻底偿还完毕高达5亿唐元的战争赔款本息（注；25年期本息合计9.21亿唐元）之后，剩下的就是国际债务。

It was supposed to be easier, but it wasn't.

In recent years, the United States has been under the pressure of repaying huge amounts of debt and interest. In most years, it cannot even repay the interest, let alone the principal.

So for a long time, the United States can only tear down the east wall to make up for the west wall, and fool the past by borrowing new debts to repay the old debts, which has caused the debt to become heavier and heavier.

Instead of reducing the total size of the debt, it has expanded.

The customs control power that the United States desperately wants has not returned to its own hands. If this situation continues, it will take another 50 years or even longer to repay so many debts.

The greed of the French loan sharks and the breakdown of international debt restructuring negotiations broke his last hope, and he had no choice but to declare the government bankrupt.

The United States is like a snail with a heavy shell that can no longer crawl.

Without money and without an army, the government of the United States of America was just a show and couldn't do anything.

The power to dominate the economy is restrained by international capital and the states, and national security and diplomacy are tied to the chariot of the Tang Empire. It is simply a stiff puppet.

this situation continues
President Benjamin Harrison has foreseen the outcome of this administration, just like the previous one, Grover Cleveland, or, like the previous US administration after the defeat, it is only a puppet in the face.

If you want to break this predicament, you have to break through and then stand up.

So the U.S. government turned the table and stopped playing, and the real problem was handed over to France...

Paris, Elysee Palace

"God, let those damn usurers go to hell, I curse them." President Marie-François Sadi Kano said nervously, waving his hands with his nose twisted.

The Paris government has been paying attention to the international creditor negotiations and has done a lot of work for this, but in the end it has not been able to impress the greedy French loan sharks.

Actually

The United States has repaid the principal and interest of its 27-year debt as scheduled, and all the principal of the original loan has been withdrawn, and there is a small surplus. The international creditor committee does have room for substantial concessions.

The U.S. government hopes that the interest rate will be cut in half from the original 6.6%, and the maximum will not exceed 3.3%.

At the same time, it is necessary to take back the control of the US Customs.

It stands to reason that these demands are reasonable. Anyway, the repayment period of the next 22 years will be profit. The amount belonging to the French loan sharks is between 6.5 and 7 million Tang yuan, which is still a huge sum of money that makes people jealous.

The problem is that greedy loan sharks hang on to their vested interests, in their view;
Every 1% reduction in the loan interest rate means an economic loss of hundreds of millions of Tang Yuan, accounting for about 4 million francs. The average loss is tens of thousands of francs for each loan shark. That is cutting flesh with a knife.

Therefore, the International Creditors Committee insists that the minimum interest rate can only be cut to 4.9%. The two sides have huge differences, and this most important point cannot be reached.

Now that the debt restructuring negotiations have broken down, the US government has declared bankruptcy, and states have begun to split. This biggest problem has been handed over to the French government.

Should we continue to increase troops to North America, maintain the unity and integrity of the United States of America, and safeguard the interests of more than 400 million French loan sharks, or should we let it go completely?

The United States is a regional power with a total population of more than 3 million. If it continues to increase its troops to North America, it means going to war with the divided states of the United States.

The 3.7 French expeditionary forces currently stationed in North America are definitely not enough, so how much is enough?
How long this war will take, the Paris government will have to pay a huge amount of war funds for it, maybe 10 billion francs or even 20 billion francs, and the French finances can't afford so much money.

If everyone is not forgetful
It should be remembered that after the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, the French government raised a huge war indemnity of 50 billion francs from the people in just two years and handed it over to the German Empire, which resulted in the withdrawal of Germany.

The French government’s finances are still tightening their belts to repay the money, and more than half of it has been repaid so far.

Now to fight to maintain the unity of the United States and to fight for the interests of the 400 million loan sharks in France, no matter how you look at it, it looks like you have been taken advantage of. It is no wonder that President Carnot scolded loudly.

"Mr. President, look... what should we do? Do we need to send more troops to North America?"

"Of course, immediately order an increase of no less than 1.5 troops to North America. France must show a tough attitude. We have no way out."

"You mean... to fight a war against the division of America?"

"No, no, no... We need to let the French see the government's resolute attitude. But to use taxpayers' money to protect the interests of loan sharks, to sacrifice the lives of thousands of French soldiers, I believe that the vast majority of French No one would agree."

"I see, what you mean...it's just a gesture."

"Yes, François, it's not a good idea to go to war, but in North America you have to fight some wars." President Mary Francois Sadi Cano said something that seemed contradictory, but The subordinates understood as soon as they heard it.

The action of the French army was only for the majority of the people in the country, and it was also a temporary comfort for the loan sharks.

This is like a pacifier for a child. Although it cannot relieve hunger, it retains hope after all.

(End of this chapter)