Hungary, the most tragic country after the First World War, the Hungarians, one of the worst people to suffer after the First World War.

The war between Hungary and Romania did not end with German mediation, but Eric was declaring Germany's sphere of influence in the region, thereby indicating Germany's position, that is; Don't meddle in my backyard.

As the bell rang at the end of 1919, the Federal Mark, issued by Finance Minister Yarma Schacht and more than a dozen banks in the country, finally began to circulate in Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, parts of Poland, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro and other places.

This kind of circulation and influence has shocked both France and England. Before the Deutsche Mark was in circulation in the Balkans, the British pound, the franc and the old Reichsmark were the three major foreign currencies here, and the US dollar was the least circulated here, which was closely related to the influence of the United States. As a country isolated on the other side of the Atlantic, coupled with the growing isolation at home, the influence of the dollar is far less than that of the domestic power.

The reason why the German Federal Mark was so quickly integrated into these countries is closely related to the policies pursued by Germany in these countries. France and Britain did not have enough reparations to develop their domestic economies because of the losses of World War I because they used goods and military supplies from Germany as collateral. So there is simply no power to exert influence in the Balkans.

After the end of the war, Germany's rapid development and unique model made the surrounding small countries follow suit, Eric also took advantage of the situation to increase the export of German goods to these countries, most of which were provided in the form of borrowing, although to a large extent also restricted the speed of development of the country, but Eric has a long-term vision, he is not just staring at the territory in front of him. The financial instruments of this period were still very primitive, except for the stock market in New York, USA, which was still relatively active because of the benefits of World War I, the financial scene in other places was simply a pool of stagnant water.

Under the guidance of Eric, Yarma is subtly exporting the concepts of German manufacturing, German design, German technology, and German production to the places that need to be influenced, and this method has not yet formed a propaganda force with the head of state as the core, except for Germany led by Eric.

Before the issuance of the currency, the trade difference between Germany and the Czech Republic was still inverse for Germany, but after the issuance of the currency, a large amount of German foreign exchange would flood Czechoslovakia, and under the intentional arrangement, Czechoslovakia's foreign exchange could only be purchased through the Federal Mark.

But Austria was the only one in these cases, because its strong gold reserves made Austria the biggest winner after the collapse of Austria-Hungary, but the Austrian government had no intention of abandoning Germany, and the Federal Mark soon flooded the territory with trade and military cooperation between the two countries.

Hanseatic Palace.

Yarma was excitedly reporting on the situation three months after the release of the Federal Mark, and Eric was also listening with relish.

"The exchange rate of the dollar and the exchange rate of the pound is the most important, but now a large amount of gold reserves are needed to fill it, and it depends on you, the Minister of Finance, to provide some whimsical ideas to Minister Hans Luther, it is time for the fat sheep of Austria to be slaughtered, and getting the gold reserves of Austria can increase the value of the Federal Mark a lot." Eric interrupted Yarmar's debriefing.

"Have you heard some rumors lately?" Yarma asked, closing the information.

"I don't know what you're referring to." Eric couldn't figure out what Yarma was talking about for a while, so he looked at Stresemann and asked, "Mr. Chancellor, do you know what this guy is talking about?" ”

Stresemann smiled and replied: "Our minister's ears are sharp enough, in fact, this news has been spread for a long time, but the recent issuance of the Federal Mark has made this voice a little louder. He cleared his throat and continued: "There are quite a few people on the Viana side who support the annexation to the Federation. ”

Eric didn't think it was strange when he heard it, but Stresemann and Yarma had been watching Eric's expression, and they thought that the president would be very excited when he heard such news, but they were disappointed.

"Don't get your hopes up, I've heard the voices of the Federation merging, but there is a lot of resistance, don't forget that it was we who kicked them out of the 'Empire' in the first place." Eric poured a basin of cold water on it, obviously not very optimistic.

However, Stresemann was not affected at all, but Yarma was a little nervous.

Eric also noticed the Prime Minister's expression and asked curiously, "Isn't it?" ”

Stresemann shook his head and said, "This time it's not groundless. ”

Eric made a silencing gesture and continued, "Let me guess, what it has to do with Italy?" ”

The latter nodded and said, "That's right, Italy has a new prime minister, which can be described as a great help." ”

Eric became interested when he heard this, and asked, "Let me guess?" Is this prime minister called Mussolini? ”

Stresemann raised his eyebrows and replied, "That's right, you've heard that?" ”

Eric laughed out loud and said, "Yes, it's like thunder, this is an assister." Ha ha. ”

Almar and Stresemann were puzzled and asked, "What is an assister?" ”

Just now, because of the momentary joy, Eric was a little out of shape, and after reacting, he said: "Isn't Italy's pressing on Austria helping us?" Then Eric said: "The matter of Vienna New Town is postponed, and it is said that Italy is putting pressure on Germany, making it difficult for us to do it, and you can find any excuses." However, Viana must feel that Germany is sincere, and Italy is the key factor hindering Germany and Austria. If necessary, let Austria suffer a few losses, and then build momentum, this voice will be louder and more influential. Otherwise, it's just a voice after all. ”

Stresemann then asked, "What about Hungary?" ”

The last thing Eric wants to hear about now is Hungary, because it's so troublesome that all the neighbors around him have caused trouble.

"Try to maintain the status quo, the more chaotic they are, the more we will have a chance, and our own development will be a problem, all relying on imports, and it is the time for us to intervene." Eric turned his head and said, "What happened to the mining work in Romania and the mining work in Hungary?" ”

Hungarian bauxite has always been one of Germany's main imports, and the domestic shipping industry is booming, and the demand for aluminum is also growing explosively. Oil extraction in Romania is also a part of Eric's main concern, and Germany still needs to import oil from abroad to meet its own needs when oil from the Ottoman territory has not yet been imported into the country through pipelines.

Germany's fuel consumption is still stretched to the limit in the face of Eric's deliberate tilt towards civilian use.

Uncontrolled exploitation of resources and state support policies have allowed civilian products to quickly flood the civilian market, but Eric has strictly forbidden to take the opportunity to raise prices, which has allowed the market to continue to expand. The huge demand orders have allowed German private companies to continue to expand their production lines, and the benefits brought by this are manifold, the most important of which is to reduce costs. This gave German companies a great advantage when it came to foreign trade, which is why Eric was not in a hurry to control the domestic market, but on the contrary, gave strong support. But Eric also knows that this situation cannot last long, otherwise he will fall into inflation like the United States.

At this time, such signs had already appeared in the United States, and Eric wanted to use Germany's strong production capacity to accelerate the self-squeeze of American capital. The Americas do not have a strong local consumption capacity, which requires a large part of the product to be exported overseas, which undoubtedly increases the cost. Originally, the United States did not have any advantage over the same product in Germany, and many products were only produced by Germany, and the market was greatly squeezed. Miller's trade deals, which he has been negotiating in the United States for nearly a year, are not unrelated to the trade war between the two countries. The suppression of finished products in the United States has also forced more raw materials to flow out.

This invisible trade war is actually the most test of a country's overall strength, and Eric takes advantage of Germany's eagerness to get out of the post-World War I economic predicament.

Germany is a strong young man who has been punched and wants revenge. The United States is a strong young man, but after World War I, he is a little war-weary, and his limbs have problems with coordination, he is weak, and he has no strength to wield. Without strong coordination, how can the United States gain a foothold in overseas markets, which are already at a disadvantage? American influence in the Balkans is almost gone.

John Bull, who was busy appeasing the horses, could not spare the energy to restrain German intervention in the Balkans, but pinned some hopes on Soviet intervention.

France was worse off than Britain, and without reparations, France had to repay the huge debts owed to the United States during the war, and had to maintain a large number of defense forces on the border, and the population was also weakened. The Lorraine crisis also made the French government thoroughly understand the various gaps between it and Germany, and although it was fierce, it lacked confidence.

The Soviet Union is also its own troubles, mixed nationalities and too long borders make the Soviet Union need to be distracted too much, the lessons of Germany's defeat of Tsarist Russia are still firmly engraved in the hearts of these people, coupled with the speed of development and cooperative relations between the two countries after the war, the Soviet Union has many scruples, although it is very covetous of the Balkans, but there is no obvious big action interference, can only exert a pitiful influence in private.

The question of Poland has always been the main point of negotiation between the Soviet Union and Germany, and although the two countries occupy areas that maintain the border with Warsaw, Germany has far more influence in the area than the Soviet Union.

Eric's real concern is not about any one company, but because he is afraid that the momentum of Germany will be too strong for these people to put aside their prejudices and put pressure on Germany, so he needs to drive carefully to avoid worrying about it.

Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union needed time, and Germany needed time even more, so Eric's foreign policy was not to be offended.

Let the inherent contradictions between Germany and France serve as the main focus, and set up a major hostile target for Germany to distract others.

It is necessary to ensure a tacit understanding with Britain in the navy, so that Britain can see Germany's sincerity and avoid the stupid situation before the First World War. In terms of mainland policy, we should not be too hasty.

On the other hand, it is necessary to maintain a certain degree of friendly relations with the Soviet Union to ensure that the Soviet Union will not break away from Germany and find Britain, France, and the United States, and to leave certain problems on the border issue between the two sides so that Britain, France, and the United States can rest assured.

As for the United States, Eric has always been thinking of various ways to eliminate the influence of the United States in Europe before and during the First World War, in trade, Germany should gradually turn the deficit into a surplus, and in diplomacy, Germany should also properly stand by the side of the United States and wave the flag to ensure that in some cases the United States can have a situation of equal strength with Britain and increase the differences between the two countries.

It was an intricate game of chess, and Eric had to be careful.