From April 1935 onwards, the situation in Spain became even more chaotic.

Why is it more confusing? Because in addition to France, Russia also joined it and began to support the Spanish Republic.

So the question is, why did Russia, which had been keeping a low profile since the end of the civil war, stand up for the Spanish Republic?

This brings us to the problems that Russia's peculiar ideas have brought to Russia.

In the whole of Europe, Russia has no allies. With the exception of the Spanish Republican Government, which had a slight trend, the rest of the countries were either capital-controlled or monarchical, a far cry from the Russian form of government.

Moreover, Russia's support for Spain was motivated by a desire to limit the pace of expansion of Germany and Italy.

After all, Russia is also a neighbor of Germany, and Germany's strength is not a good thing for Russia.

With the transport of weapons and equipment from Russia to Spain, the Spanish army regained some combat effectiveness and was engaged in fighting against the German and Italian armies.

Compared to Germany and Italy, the Russian government is not so crazy. In order not to offend Britain and France, and not to violate the non-expansion pact agreed with Britain and France, Russia only provided a batch of weapons and equipment to the Spanish government, and did not have any plans to send troops to help the Spanish Republic government fight.

However, we have to admit that the batch of weapons and equipment that Russia provided to the Spanish government did play a crucial role.

When the German and Italian armies nearly captured Madrid, this batch of weapons and equipment kept the Spanish republican government holding out for some time.

But it was precisely because of this that relations between Germany and Italy and Russia deteriorated somewhat.

However, the German government still had the idea of partitioning Poland with Russia, and did not protest against Russia's actions.

In any case, the situation in Spain became more chaotic because of the accession of Russia, and the Spanish people suffered even more pain in the face of an increasingly fierce civil war.

"What? The Spanish republican government still holds a large amount of gold reserves? Somewhat surprised, Arthur looked at the former king of Spain, Alfonso XIII, who was still in Australasia.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Alfonso XIII nodded, without any regrets about his betrayal of the Spanish government: "When the Spanish royal family fled Spain, more than 200 tons of gold were left in the Royal Palace of Madrid.

Coupled with the Spanish government's long-standing gold reserves, the current Spanish government has at least more than 500 tons of gold in its hands, which is why they are able to hold on to the war. ”

"More than 500 tons of gold?" Arthur stroked his beard and had an idea of such a large amount of gold reserves by the Spanish government.

"In this case, we may have to intervene in this civil war." Arthur nodded, his mind having changed his plans for Europe.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, after the end of the Spanish Civil War, I will consider helping the Spanish royal family to restore the throne. As long as there are no accidents, within five years, you will be king of Spain again. Arthur smiled and nodded, and drew a large pie for Alfonso XIII.

Judging from the current situation in Europe, there will be an accident in Europe, and Spain will definitely not be an exception.

This also meant that Alfonso XIII could not have re-become King of Spain within five years, unless World War II had ended within five years.

But Arthur wanted to completely weaken Britain and France through this World War II, which also means that the time of this World War II cannot be short, and it is very difficult to end it within five years.

Alfonso XIII would have to wait at least five years to become King of Spain again.

Historically, Alfonso XIII died in 1941 due to illness. In this world, he stayed in Australasia, and perhaps avoided the fate of death in 1941, and even regained the throne of Spain at the end of his life.

Now that he knew that the Spanish government had more than 500 tons of gold reserves, it was naturally impossible for Arthur to let go of this gold.

Gold is very important to a country at any given time. Since the gold standard, gold has been related to a country's monetary stability and economic condition, and people's daily lives are completely inseparable from gold.

Although the gold standard has now been abolished, gold is still very important.

In addition to the domestic economic factors, the strength of each country's currency is also due to the amount of gold reserves it has.

In other words, the more gold reserves you have, the higher the rate at which the currency issued by the country will retain its value.

As long as it can accumulate enough gold reserves during World War II, the Australian dollar will be able to impact the status of the world's currency after the end of World War II, and even gradually replace the British pound.

Becoming the world's currency means that Australasia has the capital to control the world economy.

What is the Australian dollar? It's just paper that the Australasian government can print at will. That's what the dollar of later generations did.

The United States could have printed a lot of dollars and let the rest of the world use dollars to saddle its own debt.

As long as the dollar collapses, it will affect the economic order of the world, and it will be a huge blow to some countries that are extremely dependent on the dollar.

This also leads to the fact that in the dollar countries of later generations, even if they know that the United States will squeeze income from other countries by printing dollars, countries can only bear it silently.

If the dollar is allowed to collapse, it will not necessarily cost itself much less than the revenue extracted by the United States.

If an economic crisis were to be triggered, it would be even more costly.

How do you get this gold from the Spanish government? The easiest and most effective way to do this is to exchange interests with the Spanish government.

What does the Spanish government need most at this time? Of course, a large amount of weapons and equipment, strategic materials urgently needed in the war, as well as food, medicine, and so on, which are very much needed by the army and the people.

It so happened that Australasia had stockpiled large quantities of strategic goods and food, medicines, and medical equipment, which could be exported in exchange for Spanish gold.

Why was Arthur so sure that the Spanish government would exchange gold for these supplies?

Because the Spanish government at this time has reached the most critical moment. Although Russia has provided a batch of weapons and equipment support before, it is only a drop in the bucket.

German and Italian weapons and equipment were still being shipped to Spain, and even their armies were constantly being rotated.

Under such circumstances, it would have been impossible for Spain to overrun the two great powers, Germany and Italy.

For the sake of the final survival of the Spanish government, I believe that the Spanish government will make a wise choice and exchange gold for a greater chance of victory.

Without further ado, the Australasian government immediately contacted the Spanish government and expressed its willingness to support Spain.

This is a relief for Spain. Under pressure from Germany and Italy, few countries in Europe would support Spain.

Even France and Russia had limited support, and they did not dare to risk offending Germany and Italy to help Spain, a small and medium-sized country in Europe.

Australasia was also quick to put forward its own conditions, which was to export large quantities of weapons and equipment to Spain in exchange for Spain's gold reserves.

As a matter of good faith, Australasia could sell a large amount of weapons and equipment to Spain, including valuable medicines such as penicillin.

This is a difficult choice for the Spanish government. If the Australasian government's request is agreed, it means that the Spanish government will lose a large amount of gold reserves, allowing gold to flow to Australasia.

But if you don't agree to the Australasian government's demands, what can you do to keep the gold?

If the Spanish government had perished, wouldn't the gold have gone to the Spanish National Army and to Germany and Italy?

Anyway, the final result is to lose this batch of gold, it is better to let this batch of gold play its due value, in exchange for more weapons and equipment and strategic resources for the Spanish government.

With this in mind, the Spanish government, after hesitating for a few days, agreed to Australasia's request.

Of course, the Spanish government has made further requests.

Among other things, the Australasian government must send a team of military advisers.

This team of military advisers will help the Spanish government reform the Spanish army, and at the same time help the Spanish army to master weapons and equipment from Australasia more quickly.

Second, when the Spanish government used gold to buy goods, the value of gold should be equal to 1.2 times its actual value.

At present, the exchange rate between the Australian dollar and gold has fallen to 1:1.03.

According to the Spanish government, the original value of 500 tonnes of gold should have been equal to $515 million. At 1.2 times its value, the Spanish government is asking for at least $618 million in supplies for 500 tonnes of gold.

Such a request is actually normal, and Arthur agreed without even thinking about it.

Although currency can be exchanged for gold, this does not mean that the value of currency and gold is equal.

Currency can be printed at will, but gold can only be mined.

With 500 tons of gold in exchange for 618 million Australian dollars in supplies, Australasia is definitely not a loss.

After all, the cost of the $618 million material will definitely not exceed the actual value of 500 tons of gold.

Coupled with the importance of gold to the country, the Australasian government soon signed an agreement with the Spanish government on Arthur's orders, and immediately began trading in strategic goods.

Half a month after the agreement was signed, the first batch of weapons and equipment containing 200,000 rifles, 500 machine guns, 1,200 artillery pieces and corresponding bullets and shells, along with more than 10 million Australian dollars worth of food and medical supplies, was delivered to Spain.

In order to ensure the safety of the supplies, the supplies will be escorted by Australasian warships through the Mediterranean Sea and directly to the coast controlled by the government of the Spanish Republic.

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

(End of chapter)