June 6

Washington

With the current size of more than 1.4 million people in the new United States, it could not support the political capital of Washington, D.C., and after the independence of various countries, a large number of senators, representatives and political brokers left the city and returned to their respective countries.

Washington's population reached 132,000 in 1870, and the city's population peaked at 267,000 in early 1890 before President Benjamin Harrison declared the country bankrupt, and since then the city's population has been declining rapidly.

Today, a year and a half later, Washington's population is less than 200,000, with a total population of about 186,000 to a little over 190,000, about half of the population is unemployed, and the city is visibly depressed.

In the majestic Capitol Hill

Lieutenant General Kered Frege, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army of the Tang Empire in North America, Lieutenant General Jean-François Pesiny, Commander of the French North American Expeditionary Force, Brigadier General George Graham of the British Military Liaison Office in North America, and other military representatives signed a memorandum of understanding in the occupied areas.

Among the people present

Viscount Lin Feng, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Tang Empire, Jean-Miné Perrier, Special Envoy of the President of France, Baron Henry Linde, Special Representative of the United Kingdom for North American Affairs, and other heavyweight diplomatic officials witnessed the signing of this important agreement at the scene.

The conclusion of this memorandum of understanding and agreement on the occupied areas means that the new United States is under the military condominium of Tang, France, and Britain, and that it will demarcate defense zones among each other in order to avoid unnecessary misfires and triggering greater disputes.

While the three great powers have eliminated the danger of misfire, the "disputed area of Colombia" has lost its status as an independent state and is no longer internationally recognized.

It is also the sorrow of the new United States, which, as a region that inherited the official name of the former United States of America, has not been formally diplomatically recognized by the major powers, and is now referred to only by the term "disputed area of Colombia", thus losing its status as an independent state.

This was a demand strongly insisted by the French, and it was also to clear the way for international debt restructuring negotiations, and after several negotiations, the Tang Empire took the lead in recognizing it, and the British no longer insisted on the original position of an independent country.

The weak cannot gain even the most basic respect.

After the MoU was officially signed, there was a short working luncheon.

Representatives of the British, French and Tang powers held champagne glasses in their hands, and stood together in twos and threes chatting with gentlemen. And this local representative, known as the "disputed area of Colombia", has no right to enter this high-end coteria.

Jean-Migé Perrier, the special envoy of the French president, looked more excited, and walked over with a champagne glass and a smile......

At his insistence, most of the French demands were accommodated, and the French Expeditionary Force was confined to a few hundred square kilometers in Washington, D.C., Columbia.

The Tang-British coalition occupied most of Maryland and Delaware, including the Baltimore military base.

The French moved all of their remaining personnel to Washington, D.C., creating a strong military presence of 16,000 men.

"Guys, I think we've got off to a good start with working together, and it's time to talk about international debt restructuring next." Special Envoy Jean-Minne-Perrière said with a smile.

Viscount Lin Feng nodded lightly and said; "It can be on the agenda, but it obviously requires the participation of more professional financial officials, and international creditors, led by your country, should also show due sincerity, which is the basis for restructuring negotiations."

Baron Henry Lind, the British Special Representative for North American Affairs, also expressed his approval, and said in a voice; "I think the French can only represent themselves and make substantial debt reduction commitments, and I think 50% is the right ratio."

The British were ruthless enough, because not all of the international debt owed by the United States of America belonged to the French usurers, who accounted for about a little more than 70 per cent, and the rest came from countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, and Denmark, whose interests were undoubtedly betrayed.

Based on the principal and interest of the outstanding international debt totaling about 1.167 billion Tang before the United States officially declared bankruptcy, this knife has cut more than 300 million Tang Yuan.

The real international claims of the French loan sharks are less than 800 million Tang Yuan.

The so-called 5 percent refers to the reduction of the principal and interest of the 800 million Tang Yuan debt by half, and on this basis, we will talk about the debt restructuring issue, that is, the scale of the debt of 400 million Tang Yuan.

Such debt reductions may seem like a stabbing shot, but they are not.

During the war, the United States of America (North) borrowed a total of 1,375 million Tang Yuan (including loans of the same value in pounds, francs, and marks) from international finance, and after the war in 1861, the "International Creditors Committee" was formed to renegotiate the amortization of debts.

During this period, the United States repaid about 255 million Tang dollars through the sale of government assets, and the remaining total international borrowings were 1.12 billion Tang Yuan.

After nearly two years of difficult negotiations, a 49-year package of debt repayment plans with a total of 1.12 billion Tang Yuan was finally reached, with a cumulative repayment of principal and interest of more than 2.5 billion Tang Yuan (Note, there have been several cases of early repayment of debts through the sale of some assets).

Among them, the interest on the loan has far exceeded the principal, and the United States has been repaying for 27 years, repaying a little more than half of the loan principal and interest.

There are still 22 years of loan tenure and a little more than 1.1 billion Tang Yuan in loan principal and interest.

Therefore, the 5% mentioned by the British is to guarantee the remaining 360 million Tang Yuan principal on the basis of appropriately giving some compensation, and the main part of the reduction is the interest part.

The term of the loan is pending, the interest on the loan and other preferential terms are pending.

Debt reduction must be reduced, and the specific amount to be reduced will need to be discussed in detail.

The envoy Jean-Miné Perrière looked at Viscount Lin Feng and hesitated before asking; "Do you have a similar position?"

Originally, the Tang Empire had a transcendent position in international debts, but now after swallowing three states and one feudal state, it has taken over the latter's international debts and turned into a direct party.

In terms of population and economic size, it is basically New York State, Datang and other divided countries, according to 5; The ratio of 4:1 is fairly balanced and there will be no major changes in the ongoing negotiations.

Although the Republic of New York accounts for only 46% of the population, it owns New York, the third largest city in North America, with relatively high economic output and wealthy urban areas, so it should account for half of the repayment.

The Tang Empire occupied the largest three states and one vassal with a total population of more than 8.86 million, and a 40% share of the entire U.S. debt.

The rest of the Democratic Republic of Maine, the Republic of Connecticut, plus the disputed areas of Colombia share 10% of the debt, which is roughly 5; 4;1 ratio.

Viscount Lin Feng smiled indifferently, this debt looked like the sky was falling in the divided North American countries, but the Tang Empire didn't care, and it was easy to take over.

The annual GDP of the Tang Empire has exceeded 20 billion Tang Yuan, ranking first in the world.

A debt of less than 200 million is a thick feather, and the imperial family can pay it in one breath if it tightens its cash flow.

The Royal Home Office has a reserve fund every year to cover the occasional needs, and over the years it has purchased gold reserves in a number of Royal banks, and has now accumulated thousands of tons of gold.

This money is only one of the funds that the royal family can use.

The royal family authorized these multinational banks to issue banknotes of the same size according to the gold reserves, and to maintain and increase the value of international and domestic credit, which can be used to purchase more gold reserves.

The wealth of the royal family of the Tang Empire is really not boastful, and the financial funds of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Imperial Empire are only invested in the territory directly under the royal family every year, which is as high as tens of millions of Tang Yuan.

But money is not used like this, and this plan in the United Kingdom is not the best plan, Viscount Lin Feng said;

"Purely based on the debt principal, the remaining loan principal is about 3.7~380 million Tang Yuan, and the total amount is not large.

There are a variety of possibilities to be considered in this debt repayment negotiation, including early repayment of the loan, a portfolio repayment plan, etc., as well as the debtor's solvency.

However, the premise of all this is that international creditors must show sincerity in reducing their debts, otherwise it will be a castle in the air, and it will be difficult to reach a final agreement.

At the end of the day, the choice is yours. ”

Having suffered a big loss, the French no longer insisted on their previous tough position, and the special envoy of the president, Jean-Miné Perrière, replied with a serious nod;

"The Paris government has done everything it has to do for the financial community and will do everything it can to negotiate a debt restructuring, hopefully to reach an agreement as soon as possible."

"I hope so." Baron Henry Linde, the British special representative for North American affairs, was less eager.

Based on the interests of the three countries, the British side was dissatisfied with the reckless action of the French kidnapping. But considering that France is an important plate in the balance of power in Europe, it is impossible to miss the important plate, and I have to pinch my nose and endure it.

Compared with France, Britain now has a bigger headache than the big trouble that it has single-handedly supported, that is, Germany.

In 1888, the young Wilhelm II succeeded to the throne, but could not stand the conservative policies of the iron-blooded Prime Minister Bismarck, and in March 1890 publicly dismissed him as prime minister, giving him the empty title of field marshal and admiral.

Since then, there has been no checks and balances, and Germany has entered the real Wilhelm era, which is represented by the "world policy", which is an expansionist policy of competing with Britain, France, Tang and Russia for colonies, and is extremely aggressive.

Especially in Africa

Germany's aggressive expansion was everywhere, and it quickly became one of the main players in the colonial boom in Africa, occupying a large colony second only to Britain and France.

While actively expanding, Wilhelm II focused on the development of military power, and with his strong support, the German Krupp company expanded rapidly like a balloon, and the scale and production capacity doubled year after year.

When Wilhelm II visited England, he was very envious of the large fleet of the Royal Navy, and he was determined to build a strong navy that could match the German status in the world, and this undoubtedly touched the sensitive nerves of the British.

Although the German Emperor Wilhelm II was the grandson of Queen Victoria and the cousin of Edward, Prince of Wales, there was nothing to talk about when it came to the fundamental interests of Britain.

Therefore, now Britain is deeply wary of the rise of Germany, and has gradually distanced itself from Germany, and it has become a realistic choice to win over France as the main force against the German, Austrian, and Russian alliances.

The change in the situation in Europe has also changed Britain's foreign policy, weakening France is no longer an option A, and when dealing with the North American problem, the British have also changed their tunes.

"Watch out for the British, who may sell our interests to satisfy the appetites of the French." Viscount Lin Feng, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, stepped aside and whispered to Lieutenant General Escalade Freych.

He smelled something wrong from the statement of the British, so he came over to remind him.

Lieutenant General Escalade Freich stared, turned his face to look at Baron Henry Lind, the British Special Representative for North American Affairs, and nodded in response;

"It's our home turf, whether it's the British or the French, you have to play according to the rules of the empire, otherwise we can flip the table."

"That's right, the main opponent of the French in this negotiation is us, it is a strong dialogue, and it will be a wonderful international negotiation." Viscount Lin Feng took a sip of the champagne glass in his hand, his eyes full of anticipation.

The upcoming international debt restructuring negotiations will be a wrestling between Tang and France and a stage for diplomats to show their skills.

More than a month later

Washington

The International Creditor's Committee, which is mainly composed of French creditor banks and big capitalists, and a multinational delegation led by Lord Pan Shouguo, Minister of North American Affairs of the Tang Empire, launched-for-tat debt restructuring negotiations here.

Negotiations begin

The two sides had a fierce confrontation over the ratio of debt concessions, but the two sides failed to reach an agreement after several rounds of negotiations due to the large gap in their positions.

In this case

Lord Pan Shouguo directly declared the first round of negotiations a failure, and the current mood and position of international creditors are not suitable for continuing negotiations. It is necessary to restart negotiations at the right time after calming down.

As for the timing of the second round of negotiations, it could be sometime next year, but it is uncertain at this time.

This statement directly made the international creditor syndicate led by France dumbfounded, and they didn't know what was going on?

In the face of such an unexpected situation,

President François of France urgently sent a telegram for consultation, but the Tang Imperial Government directly rejected it, and there was no room for discussion in the reply.

Looking at the roughly 45,000 Tang Imperial troops gathered in Maryland, the French finally understood something......

The international creditor banks, led by France, have never been in the right position, but they do not know that the protagonists of the negotiations have changed, and the original strong position has been reduced to a disadvantage.

Failing to meet Datang's requirements, debt restructuring negotiations are far away. Whether it is delayed for a year or two, or three or five years, the debtor country is not in a hurry to designate.

Just take this opportunity to recharge your energy and get back a wave of blood, anyway, there is nothing to lose.

As for the "disputed area of Colombia" occupied by the French army, they can occupy it if they want to, and now they are cleaning up the snow in front of each other.

There was an army of the Tang Empire to suppress the scene, and the French expeditionary force did not dare to mess around. The longer it drags on, the greater the loss for international creditors.

The biggest points of divergence at the moment are;

Many delegations requested that a certain percentage of debt concessions be made on the basis of the unliquidated principal, i.e., 363.2 million Tang Yuan.

The international creditor syndicate made a certain proportion of debt concessions on the basis of the outstanding principal and interest of nearly 800 million Tang Yuan in the previous debt restructuring treaty.

This includes huge interest accruals over the next 20 years, which is of course more beneficial to the syndicate of creditors.

Objectively speaking

The appeal of the international creditor syndicate is not unreasonable, because there is an international treaty written in black and white, which is the international debt repayment obligation that the debtor country should fulfill.

However, the appeal of the multinational delegation led by the Tang Empire is also tenable, because the Tang Empire is the formulator and defender of the rules of North America.

(End of chapter)