On their way from Petrograd to Moscow, Hersman and his party split into two routes. Milch and Junkers took turns flying the plane with Tupolev for a ride. Accompanied by Rakovsky, Kollontai and Natalie, Hersman and others got on the "luxury slow train" and glided slowly on the track for three days. Then he met Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin in the Kremlin.

It was not 1917, Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin were already the rulers of every day, and the fact that they were able to meet Hersmann and his party at the same time shows that they have been moved by Hersmann's "market for technology".

"Ludwig, my old friend, we meet again!"

In a large room in the Kremlin with Russian luxury, Lenin and Hersmann embraced each other and said in the tone of an old friend: "They told me you and Chloe were married?" ”

"Yes, I got married in the Netherlands in August last year." "She's pregnant now, so she didn't come to Russia with me." ”

"Pregnant? Are you sure? Congratulations. Lenin had an envious expression, he liked children, but he did not have a son and a daughter.

"Thank you." Hersmann then shook hands with Trotsky and Stalin. The Bolshevik Party of Soviet Russia established the Political J in March 1919, consisting of Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, Kamenev and Krestinsky.

In addition to Lenin, Trotsky, who was in charge of military work, and Stalin, who was in charge of national work and prosecutorial work, were all big men in real power - the so-called national work included the establishment of the Soviet Union, and the prosecutorial work could involve the Cheka.

In addition, Stalin went on several trips to supervise the army, serving as chairman of the military council of the military district in Tsaritsyn and Petrograd. He had a certain influence in both the army and the Cheka, and was a rival to Trotsky among the Bolsheviks in Soviet Russia.

"Ludwig," Stalin and Hersmann were also acquaintances, so by his name, he spoke Russian, and behind him there was an interpreter with a notebook, taking notes and interpreting. "Your proposal to exchange the Russian market for German technology is of great interest to political J. We are currently working on a 10-year plan to build Russia into an advanced industrialized country. German technology was exactly what we needed, but we didn't have enough gold to pay for it. ”

"Gold? We don't need that. Hersman shrugged, "Marx said, by the time of communism, can gold only be used to repair toilets?" ”

"Haha," Stalin laughed, "it's a pity that it's not communism yet." ”

"But trade between Russia and Germany should not rely on gold and silver," Hirschman said, "and it is an extremely wrong rule of the game to settle international trade with gold." It has turned gold into a kind of capital hegemony, making the factors that make up productivity, labor, technology, and resources all dependent on gold.

For Britain and the United States, which own most of the world's gold and gold production, their banknotes now have the same value as gold. This gave Anglo-American imperialism a great advantage in international trade and investment. They can buy everything they want with paper, and they can make capital investments in foreign countries with paper.

And we, Russia and Germany, although we have technology, resources and labor, because we do not have enough gold, can only be controlled by others in international trade and investment, and even have to be forced to accept paper money from other countries as a reserve for international trade payment and even money issuance. This is extremely detrimental to our two countries. ”

Lenin listened and nodded frequently. He was a great revolutionary, and at the same time an economist, and he certainly understood Hersmann's questions.

"The result of the world war was the establishment of the hegemony of the pound and the dollar!" Lenin interjected, "Before the World War, the German mark, the Russian ruble, the Austro-Hungarian krona, and the French franc were very strong. But after the world war, only the dollar and the pound remained strong. ”

Needless to say, the mark, ruble, and krona, even the franc is now plummeting - in its original history, the franc to the pound would have fallen from 25.22:1 in 1914 to 240.2:1 in 1926, almost one-tenth of its original value. The golden franc system, established by Napoleon III, collapsed completely.

"Yes, Britain and the United States now have world currencies in their hands!" Hersmann said, "If you have the currency of the world in your hands, you will be able to control the capital of the world, and if we in Germany and you Russia succumb to the monetary hegemony of Britain and the United States, we will face the problem of extremely difficult capital production." ”

This problem was particularly fatal for the Weimar Republic! The loss of gold reserves and the indemnity of tens of thousands of tons of gold left the German mark very vulnerable throughout the Weimar Republic. First there was a super-inflation, and then everyone became wary of brushing the mark - so that during the Great Depression, the Weimar Republic had to grit its teeth and austerity, which resulted in millions of job losses and the rise of the Nazi Party!

"Comrade Lenin, I suggest that trade between our two countries should be carried out in a 'barter' way." Hersman then made a suggestion.

"Barter?" Trotsky touched his goatee and said, "Something for something?" Doesn't that seem like a lot of convenience? ”

"No, it's not." "Barter refers to the fact that our two countries have a balanced trade overall. Let's say we sell you 1 billion gold marks worth of goods every year, and you sell us goods of the same value. There are no surpluses or deficits in trade settlements between the two countries, and no gold, silver or other currencies are used. The concept of money, either in the ruble or in the gold mark, can be used in the bookkeeping and settlement of individual trades. But this is only a number recorded on the books and contracts, and it is not necessary to really hand over the gold and currency to the other party to take away. ”

"Well...... "does this mean that trade between our two countries must be planned?" Trotsky, who also understood economics, pondered for a moment. ”

"Yes," Hirschman nodded, "marketization and liberalization do not apply to trade between Russia and Germany. Trade between us should be carried out through monopoly import-export companies, which in the case of Germany are economic promotion companies.

I would like to suggest that you also set up a company of the same nature, through which all trade and economic cooperation projects will be carried out. As much technology and machinery as we export, you have to export to Germany the same value of the goods we need. Of course, this is the general principle, and short-term credit and arrears can still exist. But this credit must be repaid in kind, not in gold or currency. ”

Stalin asked: "Does this mean that we can pay for grain, oil, timber and non-ferrous metals?" ”

"Of course, we accept it." Hersman nodded, which was exactly what he wanted.

Reserve oil and non-ferrous metals for a world war 20 years from now on! Moreover, the reserves would be carried out in a small stream through barter with the Soviet Union - most of the crude oil and non-ferrous metals readily available from the Soviet Union would be sold to German companies for cash receipts, and only a small part would be stored for war readiness.

Hersman paused, as if thinking about something, and then said: "But the grain, oil, timber, and non-ferrous metals you pay us must be discounted by eight percent according to the spot price in the international market. In the event of a credit payment, the party who owes the credit will pay interest equal to 5% of the total amount of the credit amount each year, which will also be settled in kind. ”

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