Although the Treaty of Versailles was successfully signed, diplomatic action belonging to Australasia had only just begun.

Australasia will receive £1.7 billion in reparations from Germany alone, but it is unclear how much that will ultimately be awarded.

At present, the government has a $2 billion loan from the United States, and the 1.7 billion pounds of reparations that do not know when it will be received Arthur does not pay attention.

Rather than letting this indemnity rot in your own hands in the future, it is better to give full play to its value as soon as possible, even if you lose a little, in exchange for more and more useful things.

The first stop of Australasian diplomacy was negotiations with President Wilson of the United States.

The $2 billion U.S. aid to the five major powers of the Entente came in the last six months of the war, and even countries like Britain and France, which had a huge consumption, did not have time to use the $2 billion loan, let alone Australasia.

Under such circumstances, the return of the loan as it was undoubtedly possible to significantly reduce the financial pressure on the government.

Neither Australasia nor the United States had any intention of recovering or paying off the loan immediately.

The United States needed to take control of some of the Allied economies through loans, and to win over emerging countries like Australasia.

Australasia needs this loan to develop the country, after all, it is more than four times Australasia's annual income.

For Arthur, if German reparations could be used to pay off the debt of the United States in advance, it would definitely be good news.

Under such circumstances, negotiations between Prime Minister Kent and President Wilson of the United States also proceeded as scheduled.

Prime Minister Kent got straight to the point, and immediately after meeting President Wilson, he put forward Arthur's request, which was to use 500 million pounds of German reparations to repay the $2.2 billion interest-free loan to the United States in advance.

If the Americans agree, £500 million of Australasia's £1.7 billion German reparations would go to the United States, but the debts of the United States and Australasia would also be written off.

At the current exchange rate, $2.2 billion is almost equivalent to £440 million, and with 500 million German reparations to pay off the debt, the Americans don't seem to be at a loss.

After all, this would have been an interest-free loan, and if it had been repaid with German reparations, the Americans would have paid quite 60 million pounds in interest, creating a large amount of income for nothing.

But the Americans are obviously not easy to deceive, after hearing Prime Minister Kent's request, President Wilson shook his head again and again, and said with a smile: "Prime Minister Kent, you are transferring the risk of reparations to the United States." I admit that a reparations of 500 million is attractive to us, and who can guarantee that the German government will have enough finances to repay these loans? The German government owes a total of £20 billion, which is not something that can be repaid in 80 years. ”

In order to enter the First World War, the Americans hemorrhagically prepared $2 billion, or 400 million pounds, in interest-free loans for each of the five major Entente powers.

This sum is as high as 2 billion pounds, which has caused some damage to the United States, which has not been affected by the war, and even affected the development of some industries and economies.

President Wilson was never convinced that Germany, which had been so badly affected by the war, would be able to pay up to £20 billion in post-war reparations, even if it would take 80 years.

Looking at it this way, it is unknown whether half of the 500 million pounds of Australasia reparations can be recovered in the end, and how can the Americans be willing to exchange 2 billion dollars of real money?

"Your fears are completely unfounded, President Wilson. I believe you also understand the attitude of the French in this peace talks, the French will not be able to give up this reparation, and the British will naturally not give up. With the guarantees of Britain and France, the Germans had to repay this reparation. Well, on behalf of His Majesty Arthur and the Government, I promise you that the German reparations will be given to you as a matter of priority, and that you will receive them as they are. The Kent butler said with a smile.

Although the Americans were dissatisfied with the attitude of Britain, France, and the four major powers of the Entente to dominate the peace talks, the proud Americans had to admit that Britain and France together at this time were the most powerful strength, and the Germans had to pay compensation even if they gritted their teeth.

"That being said, Prime Minister Kent, the U.S. still has to take a high risk. If your country is willing to pay £650 million in reparations, I am willing to facilitate this meeting. "There is also some truth in what Prime Minister Kent said, and after thinking about it, US President Wilson put forward his own opinion, that is, to increase the money.

With Britain and France as a guarantee, the Germans would have to repay at least eighty percent of the reparations, even if they were no longer satisfied with the reparations.

If the loan can be repaid with a 650 million pound reparation, President Wilson estimates that the United States will also receive at least a final reparation of more than 500 million pounds, which is the real sure deal.

"That's too much, Mr. Wilson. The idea of paying off £440 million in debt with a £650 million reparations is simply insane. We accept up to £550 million in reparations, which is His Majesty Arthur's bottom line. Prime Minister Kent shook his head in feigned surprise and refused very decisively.

In the negotiation of a monarchy, the monarch with power is the best excuse. President Wilson did not doubt the words of Prime Minister Kent after hearing this, after all, Arthur's prestige and power in Australasia are rare among all monarchies.

Subsequently, President Wilson and Prime Minister Kent negotiated at length and determined a final figure, which was that Australasia would pay off all debts owed to the United States in advance with German reparations of 615 million pounds.

The Prime Minister of Kent also specifically mentioned that Australasia would not be responsible for any aftermath after the official exchange.

How much reparations the United States will receive depends on how much the Germans can reparate.

However, with Britain and France at the bottom, coupled with the scale of 615 million pounds, President Wilson was convinced that the United States would not lose anything no matter how much it lost, so he was very happy to sign this treaty.

After the talks with the United States, Prime Minister Kent met with Prime Minister Lloyd George of the United Kingdom to discuss the post-war cooperation between Britain and Australia.

The Anglo-Australian re-alliance, which can also be called the Anglo-Australian re-alliance, was an agreement between Britain and Australasia before and during the war to deal with the rise of the United States.

The previous Anglo-Australian treaty was mainly aimed at Germany, and the terms were basically aid to Europe and the Indian Ocean region.

Now, the new pact negotiated by Prime Minister Kent and Prime Minister Lloyd George is mainly aimed at the Pacific region and the United States, sharing some of the pressure on Britain.

Because during the war, Australasia's planes and tanks showed quite excellent combat effectiveness, and the leading degree of design and technology even surpassed that of British and French planes and tanks.

George Lloyd was very interested in Australasia's aircraft and tank technology, and even specifically mentioned in the new treaty that Britain and Australasia should strengthen the exchange of military technology.

The head of Kent also has no opinion on strengthening the exchange of military science and technology, after all, the military technology that has been eliminated in Australasia also needs a large amount of money like Britain to buy.

At least in the short term, Australasia still needs allies like Britain to better develop its head.

One of the agreements that the Prime Minister of Kent paid more attention to was the new immigration treaty between the United Kingdom and Australasia.

Because of the impact of the previous war, the number of British immigrants to Australasia has become smaller and smaller, and even fell below 50,000 in 1917.

This is not good news for Australasia, which is still dominated by British-Australasian people, who make up less than 60% of the population.

Australasia can also be accepted by Russian immigrants, who also need to have a period of English language training, which increases the cost of immigration.

Lloyd George agreed to the Prime Minister's request for immigration from Kent, but said that because of the war, the British government could not ensure that enough people would emigrate to Australasia every year.

In other words, the British immigration channel is open to Australasia, but how many immigrants can really attract depends on the efforts of the Australasian government.

The British were concerned about Australasia's tank and aircraft technology, and Australasia was also concerned about the British warship construction technology.

Prime Minister Kent also proposed to strengthen exchanges with Britain on the construction of warships, especially the construction of capital warships, such as aircraft carriers that are already in various countries.

It is not at all a loss to cooperate with the British in the construction of warships, because the British were the first to build dreadnoughts, super dreadnoughts, and even aircraft carriers.

Especially in this era, the military power of the United States has not risen significantly, and the shipbuilding technology of the British is still the first in the world, at least for twenty or thirty years.

In general, Prime Minister Lloyd George and Prime Minister Kent were quite satisfied with the new covenant, and both sides took what they wanted, and both had satisfied smiles on their faces.

Before the signing of the Covenant, Prime Minister Kent also made his final request, which was to exchange with the British Empire's colonies in the Middle East.

The scope of the exchange is on the Persian Gulf coast, currently, the British Empire controls Iraq, the UAE and Yemen, and Australasia controls the Saudi Persian Gulf coast, Qatar and Bahrain.

Although it seems that Kuwait is a more development-friendly area and has a larger population. But Arthur knew better that the UAE region, now the truce states, had much more oil resources.

Compared to Kuwait, which is close to Iraq, tasteless and abandoned, a truce state with more oil resources is what Arthur really wants.

If Kuwait were exchanged for the UAE, Britain would gain access to the entire Mesopotamian plain and expand the development potential of Iraq.

Australasia could also achieve Arthur's goal of capturing more oil areas along the Persian Gulf coast and competing for more oil reserves for Australasia.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Middle East accounts for more than 60% of the world's oil, and the Persian Gulf coast accounts for more than 60% of the Middle East's oil.

When Lloyd George heard the request of the Prime Minister of Kent, he did not nod or refuse in a hurry, but asked his own question: "Kuwait has plains and more people, why do you want to exchange it for truce states?" ”

The truce states had no advantage over Kuwait, and perhaps their only advantage was their proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, which allowed them to control the Persian Gulf more effectively.

But the problem is that Lloyd's does not believe that Australasia's goal is to control the Persian Gulf, after all, there are only three countries and forces along the Persian Gulf: Britain, Australasia and Iran.

To put it bluntly, the great powers are only Britain and Australasia, and they are both allies, and Australasia cannot be stupid enough to forcibly control the Persian Gulf coast in the open.

In this way, Australasia's request for a change of colony becomes somewhat meaningful. The Prime Minister Lloyd's did not dare to make a decision until he knew the true purpose of Australasia.

Of course, such an important matter as changing colonies is not something that Law and Prime Minister George can say alone.

At least with the nod of the British government and the House of Commons, and ostensibly with the consent of King George V.

"Although the Kuwaiti colony has greater potential for development, Australasia does not currently have the energy to develop the region. You know, Prime Minister George, His Majesty Arthur has plans to move the capital, and the construction and development of the new capital is far more important than the development of the colony. That's why we want more stable colonies, and a truce with smaller populations is appropriate. Prime Minister Kent explained unhurriedly.

"At the same time, to show the sincerity of our allies, we are happy to let your country control the entire Mesopotamian plain to dominate the situation in the Middle East. Rest assured, our purpose was never the Strait of Hormuz. Your country can still retain part of the islands in the Strait of Hormuz, and the entire Persian Gulf belongs to Australasia and the British Empire. ”

Hearing Prime Minister Kent's explanation, Prime Minister Law and Prime Minister George nodded and said, "It's really good for both of us, you know, it's not up to me alone." Rest assured, I will do my best to obtain His Majesty's consent to facilitate the exchange of colonies. ”

As a qualified politician, Lloyd's Prime Minister George still gave George V a lot of face.

Although most people know that George V no longer has much power in Britain, Lloyd George is still talking about seeking George V's consent, not the government and parliament.

"It's natural, Prime Minister George. Whether or not the exchange of colonies will be made, it will not affect the good relations between Australasia and the United Kingdom, and we are eternal allies. The Prime Minister of Kent nodded as a matter of course and said with a smile.

The prime ministers of the two kingdoms raised their glasses in laughter, touched them lightly, and drank from each other.

For a politician of this level, the fate of a colony with an area of hundreds of thousands of square kilometers and a population of hundreds of thousands is nothing more than a word.

4000 words for the second update, ask for a monthly pass, ask for support!

Today, 10,000 days, it has been more 7000/10000, ask for a monthly pass, ask for support!

(End of chapter)