After the Russian representative offered to exchange gold for sufficient foreign currency, the talks on loans could proceed normally.

In any case, gold is attractive enough for a country, especially in the current era when the world is generally on the gold standard.

It can be said that the amount of gold owned by the country also represents the amount of currency that the country can issue.

Having sufficient gold reserves is not only related to the credibility of a country's currency, but also to the specific value and preservation of a country's currency.

Australasia has accumulated a lot of gold in the past 20 years, but it is destined not to be compared with those old powers.

In particular, the old powers, led by Britain and France, have amassed a great deal of wealth during their centuries-long hegemony, including property and gold absorbed from colonies and other countries.

Australasia's gold reserves currently exceed 1,000 tonnes, which translates to almost $272 million.

This figure is still far behind the gold reserves of Britain and France, but the gold reserves of 1,000 tons are not small in the whole world, at least at the level of the great powers

If Arthur guessed correctly, Russia still has at least a thousand tons of gold reserves, if not a little more.

At present, Russia sells or mortgages only a few hundred tons of gold, which is not in line with Russia's status as a top power before.

With such a vast territory and a huge population, the Russian royal family would have accumulated only more gold.

Because of this, Arthur was intrigued by Nicholas II's offer to exchange gold, and he was also curious about how much gold Nicholas II could come up with.

"How much gold can you come up with?" Arthur asked, slightly curious.

"If Your Majesty wishes, we can transport at least 200 tons of gold from Russia to the Baltic, and Your Majesty only needs to send a fleet to receive it." After getting to the point, the Russian ambassador did not dare to hide it in the slightest, and directly stated the figures that were within the acceptable range of Nicholas II.

200 tons of gold is not a small number, if calculated according to the current gold price, it is equivalent to about 27.28 million pounds, which is equivalent to most of Australasia's military spending for half a year.

Although the Russian army is larger, the Russian navy is basically not going to be dispatched, and with the assistance of other countries, there is no problem with this fund to support it for half a year.

This is exactly what Nicholas II expected, and the government will be able to survive the summer offensive in terms of funds.

As for the funding after the summer offensive, it depends on whether the summer offensive can be successful.

If successful, Tsarist Russia would defeat Soviet Russia and regain control of most of Eastern Europe, and funding would no longer be a problem.

If this campaign fails, Tsarist Russia will completely lose its advantage in Eastern Europe, and Nicholas II will have to flee from St. Petersburg at that time.

"Two hundred tons of gold? It's a big deal. Arthur nodded in satisfaction, still satisfied with the amount of gold.

The gold could increase Australasia's gold reserves by 20% and make the Australian dollar more secure.

Compared to this, those banknotes are nothing, after all, the value of paper money is determined by gold, and more gold is the last word.

"According to the current exchange ratio between the pound and gold, 200 tons of gold is equivalent to 27.285 million pounds, do you plan to mortgage or convert it directly into paper money?" Arthur asked with a smile.

In Arthur's gaze, the Russian ambassador on the opposite side had become a big fool, and was pulling out the gold from his pocket little by little.

"Your Majesty, although it is true that gold and pounds are exchanged like this, you must know how important gold is to a country's monetary system. We hope to be able to mortgage a loan of at least £50 million, and if we fail to repay it after ten years, then this gold will be compensated to you as collateral, which is the condition of His Majesty the Tsar. The Russian ambassador smiled awkwardly, and did not agree with Arthur's statement that the ratio of mortgage and exchange should be determined according to the specific value of the gold, but put forward his own opinion.

Arthur shook his head and directly rejected the proposal of Nicholas II, as stated by the Russian ambassador, and retorted: "Although gold is very important to a country, its value is also limited. £50 million is almost double the value of this gold, which is difficult to mortgage in your country at the moment. ”

"If you really want a mortgage, 200 tons of gold can be mortgaged at a maximum of 30 million pounds, even for the sake of the face of the royal families of the two countries, Australasia does not want to lose Russia as an ally." Arthur continued.

The difference between the value of £30 million and 200 tonnes of gold is less than £3 million, and Arthur is perfectly acceptable.

After all, it is also necessary to take into account the depreciation of the currency in the future, and the exchange of 30 million pounds sterling for 200 tons of gold reserves is still a very good deal on the whole.

"£30 million? Your Majesty, I still have to discuss this matter with the country, and I am afraid that I will not be able to give you an answer in a short time. The Russian ambassador said with a little embarrassment.

This was a difference of £20 million from Nicholas II's expectations, and it was clear that the Russian ambassador could not make a claim, so he needed to consult the domestic government and Nicholas II.

"Of course, Australasia is always welcome to take out mortgages. In any case, Australasia will always be an ally of Russia, please convey my greetings to His Majesty Nikolai. Arthur smiled and nodded, undeniably said.

Although the Russian ambassador did not agree to it in person, according to Arthur's current situation in Russia, Nicholas II's consent was inevitable.

Although Russia can still get loans from Britain and France, the hearts of Britain and France are much darker than Arthur's, and it is a question whether 200 tons of gold can get an equivalent loan, let alone a loan with more collateral than value.

In addition, a considerable part of Russia's arms trade is with Australasia, which is actually the reason why Russia sought out Australasia.

It is more about grain trade and other material trade with Europe, after all, Europe is closer to Russia, and the transportation of materials is still relatively convenient.

Sure enough, just the next day, the Russian ambassador approached Arthur again and agreed to Arthur's proposed loan of £30 million.

Of course, because it was a loan made in Australasia, the loan amount was actually equivalent to £30 million of $60 million.

However, this has little impact on loans and subsequent purchases, after all, Australasia has a close relationship with the British Empire, and the release of the Australian dollar is directly linked to the British pound, and the exchange ratio of 2 to 1 between the two is almost fixed.

Coupled with the fact that Australasia suffered almost no losses during World War I, and even obtained a lot of gold reserves from Russia, the Australian dollar was even stronger.

At present, there is no significant depreciation of the world's currencies and only the British pound and the Australian dollar, and there is a relatively fixed conversion ratio between the two, and the currency of the loan, whether it is the British pound or the Australian dollar, has no impact on the loan itself.

The chaotic situation in Russia itself is doomed, and it is almost impossible to hide the occurrence of relatively important things in this country.

Within a few days, the news that Russia had mortgaged 60 million Australian dollars with 200 tons of gold spread all over Europe, and everyone was very greedy for the Tsar's gold reserves, and they were also trying to squeeze Nicholas II's gold reserves through various means.

However, Nicholas II was not a fool after all, and naturally it was impossible for any trade to use gold.

Especially after the mortgage loan of 60 million Australian dollars, Nicholas II's funds are also abundant, and there are almost no problems in the first half of the year, so naturally he will not take the initiative to use gold to mortgage the goods.

In the Russian government, Nicholas II was quite satisfied with this mortgage, after all, the current situation is different from usual, and it is good news that he has not been extorted.

With the funds officially arriving, Nicholas II couldn't wait, called the prime minister again, and couldn't wait to ask: "Prime minister, with this $60 million fund, can the government survive the summer offensive stably?" ”

"Theoretically, yes, Your Majesty. The purchasing power of the Australian dollar in Europe is still maintained, and as long as it does not experience a major depreciation, there will be few problems in surviving the summer offensive. The prime minister thought carefully for a while, and then gave a more appropriate answer.

Nicholas II, in the liquidation of some nobles and capitalists, had already shown his means.

This also led to the fact that the prime minister did not dare to give more precise guarantees at all, after all, Nicholas II would really settle accounts after the fall.

"Well, in that case, the government quickly prepared the supplies needed for the summer offensive. I do not want the front line to face a shortage of various supplies during the offensive, which is likely to affect the final outcome of the war. Nicholas II nodded in satisfaction and commanded.

During the First World War, Australasia traded heavily with European countries, which also allowed the Australian dollar to go to Europe, where it was recognized by European countries and circulated in small quantities.

Compared with the depreciating mark and franc, the pound and the Australian dollar are still relatively strong, and even if they do, they are not destined to be too large.

It was precisely because of this that Nicholas II believed the government's answer that it would survive the summer offensive steadily.

There is only a little more than a month left before the start of the summer offensive, and this more than a month is the stage of preparing Russia's most precious supplies.

At least the reserves of materials must keep up with the speed of consumption, otherwise, before the aid of Western countries arrives, the supplies will be exhausted, and it will be impossible to survive this war.

3000 words for the first update, ask for a monthly pass, ask for support!

Today, 10,000 days, more 3000/10000, ask for a monthly pass, ask for support!

(End of chapter)