Imperial Elite

Chapter 126 The Debt Cycle
While Joe was carrying out military reforms at NATO, in Bonitania, James, who had become a rising star in politics, was also engaging in heated debates in the newspapers.

Even James could tell from Joe's "The Protector" that his brother was upset about London.

After all, if you say that this setting is devoid of emotion, no one with an IQ above the ankle would believe it.

So, as a young man with plenty of street experience, James didn't talk about the movie itself in the newspapers at all, but instead directly stated...

Yes, while this film is theoretically a prequel to Hellgate: Paris, let's first put the film aside and talk about things outside of it.

You don't like this movie, and it's definitely not just because of its plot, right?
Yes, my brother Joe made this movie, and there must have been some emotional factors involved. I'm his brother, I know him too well.

He's the kind of person who would storm out of the house if he felt wronged at home.

He's being very polite now. Back then, after he had a fight with his father, his house was locked up for six whole months!
But excluding the fact that he is now very restrained, let's take a step back and ask ourselves, shouldn't Old Joe have some emotional reaction to this?
Should Wagner, who made such great contributions to Bonitania, be treated like this?!
You're not satisfied with the treatment we've received, even though we made a movie in protest. What kind of reaction do you want?

For a general who commands nearly three heavy armored divisions and whose soldiers are willing to fight alongside him halfway around the world at a single command, this is the kind of treatment he receives after bringing back over two hundred tons of gold for the country.

You're still not happy with just making a movie to vent your frustrations? Then let me ask you, what kind of reaction do you want?
Many people have publicly come out in support of James's statement.

This included Joe's old friend Winston.

Although Joe's movies, due to a lack of research, or rather, a complete lack of research, are entirely based on stereotypes and a bunch of books he created after two bottles of whiskey, three cigars, and three almost all-nighters, he also included the Winston family ancestors in the settings.

But Winston was not angry about such a trivial matter. In fact, among the few people in London who opposed weakening Wagner, Winston was one of the most vocal.

However, this is not because Winston and Joe had a particularly good relationship.

Winston, however, believed that as Wagner was the vanguard of the Empire's foreign intervention, weakening Wagner was tantamount to weakening the Empire.

The navy needs to recuperate, but this is not a reason for the Empire to relax its foreign intervention, especially in the post-war world, where the Empire needs an elite force that can carry out missions anywhere on Earth at any time.

If the Empire had possessed a force like Wagner during the war in the Southern Dark Continent, their war would never have turned out so ugly.

Therefore, Winston was one of the few people Joe was willing to see one more time before he boarded the ship while Joe was on the run.

After Joe fled and the military was actually reduced, Winston lamented that the Empire had really lost big this time.

Although many officers from Wagner returned, Winston was not as optimistic about the future as the army generals.

After all, towards the end of the war, the Empire had quite a few officers like Joe who commanded armored forces.

But no officer could, like Joe, break through the Teutonic defenses as naturally as coming home.

Then, as James rose to prominence, Winston discovered that Joe's younger brother was quite interesting.

For a nobleman like Winston, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, his family background and upbringing made him a pure imperialist devoid of any vulgar tastes from a young age.

For Winston, Britannia was destined to rule the world, and anyone who stood in the way of this ideal was Winston's personal enemy.

Therefore, Winston actively participated in both the Southern Dark Continent War and the Great War.

Then, after the great war, due to the decline of national power, a voice began to emerge within the empire.

With the empire's rule reaching its limit and problems constantly arising on its homeland, it's time to withdraw from those troublesome colonies.

Colonies in the Southern Ocean and the northern New World should all be relinquished and converted into member states of the Federation of Bunitania for loose, indirect rule.

This can greatly reduce the cost of governance. After all, times have changed. Now, colonies not only don't make money, but may even lose money. So, it's best to get rid of them as soon as possible.

This argument for abandoning the land was naturally opposed by Winston.

Winston became even more disgusted with this ideology after the Emerald Isle independence controversy was resolved.

Today we lose the New World, tomorrow the Southern Ocean, the day after tomorrow the Emerald Isle, and if we keep losing, will we lose Scotland, then Wales, and if we keep losing, there will be nothing left to lose, and the empire will be left with only London!
Winston could accept that the colonists had autonomy, and even have their own seats in Parliament like the Emerald Isle, but independence? Absolutely not!
However, due to practical reasons, Winston did not have many supporters, except for the rapidly rising Bonitania Best Party.

Although Winston wasn't particularly interested in the seemingly left-wing views of the Best of Bunitania Party—that the country should vigorously develop industry, provide more jobs, improve workers' conditions, and promote the United Agricultural Company model to other colonies—he wasn't particularly interested in them.

However, while James strongly opposed this abandonment theory, he also believed that the Empire's current problem was not that it should give up those colonies, but that the Empire's unity was not strong enough.

If Emerald Isle can remain within the Imperial system, then the other colonies should also remain within the Imperial system, becoming overseas provinces or autonomous dominions, with their representatives entering the Imperial Parliament.

If the empire wants to weather these difficult times, it should not abandon the members of the imperial family, but rather unite everyone more closely.

Winston thought this young man was quite good, considering him to be a leftist, but not entirely leftist, imperialist.

Furthermore, the fact that James is Joe's brother makes Winston treat James with even more special regard.

After all, Old Joe has already been driven away in anger. If we don't keep James now, what if something really happens in the future? Are we going to rely on those generals who only learned how to use knives and forks in military academy to protect the empire?
So even though Winston insulted his own ancestors in the movie "The Protector of the Nation," he was still willing to publicly support James and Joe in the newspapers, saying that it was just artistic expression and that we should respect the right of artistic expression.

With Winston getting involved, the other gentlemen in London politics naturally couldn't sit still either.

The issue has now escalated from an initial discussion about whether the film insulted Britannia to a broader movement of political factions in London taking sides and tearing each other apart.

The impact was so great that even the Gauls across the Channel, after watching the film, exclaimed that Joe truly deserved to be called the defender of Paris, and that the artistic merit was almost on par with the Eiffel Tower.

Opening the newspaper also allows you to see the Buntanians across the strait arguing with each other, which makes you a little happier.

Since the Great War physically eliminated involution, the Gauls were doing relatively well at this time. Not only was the unemployment rate very low, but anyone who was willing to look could always find a job.

At the same time, they are also satisfied spiritually.

Not only did they defend Paris twice, something even the great emperor couldn't do back then.

They also recaptured the Alsace-Lorraine region and stationed troops in the Rhineland.

This was simply the most glorious moment for Gaul in a hundred years.

Sitting in the buildings constructed during the reign of the Great, the Gauls felt that this glory, like the house they were in, would last forever.

The Teutons in the north had a slight objection to this.

Like the Gauls, I think Joe's new movie is too artistic, but the costumes aren't very good.

The armor was shattered to pieces, why was he still wearing it?
We should be more carefree.

Of course, unlike the Gauls who focused primarily on the relationship between the swaying of the armor and the actress's figure, and whether a formula could be used to calculate this relationship.

The Teutons thought the plot was really well written; the Britannia were just a bunch of vampires!
Although the film received good reviews in Teutonic society, many Teutonics could only guess what the film was about based on the poster and word-of-mouth accounts of the plot.

Because the Teutonic government had started printing money at full speed, inflation in Teutonic countries began to soar, and it looked like it was about to break out of the solar system.

Everyone must spend their wages as soon as possible after receiving them, otherwise their newly earned wages will soon become worthless.

Even a loaf of bread costing 500,000 marks is no longer news.

Because at this point, prices had reached a level that would leave even a professional mathematician stunned.

At this time, one flower coin can be exchanged for 4.2 trillion marks through official exchange channels.

In response to this situation, the Teutonic Republic government took a straightforward approach, writing in the upper right corner of the previous mark's face value how many times the current mark was equivalent to the previous mark of the same face value.

Such rampant inflation naturally dealt a heavy blow to the Teutonic economy, but even so, the Teutonic government was prepared to persevere.

Because the Teutonic government, which went bankrupt during the war, owed money not only to foreign countries but also to its own people.

While it's impossible to default on foreign debt by over-issuing currency, it's possible to liquidate domestic debt.

You said you bought 10,000 marks in government bonds and now want to redeem them? Okay, here's 1 trillion marks, keep the change.

Regardless of the difference in purchasing power between 10,000 marks before the end of the war and 1 trillion marks now, just tell me whether the money has been repaid!
Besides trying to default on its foreign debt, the Teutonic government was also playing cowardly games with the Gauls, as well as the Buntanians and Americans.

As inflation soared, the Teutonic standard of living naturally began to decline precipitously. Meanwhile, the lives of those in the left-wing territories of Eastern Teutonia, or the enclaves of the People's Revolutionary Union, which occupied Upper Silesia, seemed like paradise in comparison.

With the Lucia Civil War temporarily over, the People's Revolutionary Union (PRU) began its New Economic Policy and industrialization.

To industrialize, we need to develop industry, and to develop industry, we need machinery.

So where in the People's Revolutionary League is the equipment manufacturing industry most developed, so that it can act as a locomotive to drive the entire People's Revolutionary League to industrialization?
There is only one answer: Upper Silesia.

Even though the People's Revolutionary Alliance had already begun to implement a planned economy at this time, the rapid industrialization period, the price scissors between industry and agriculture, and the collective farm policy that was initiated to support industrialization and increase grain production.

This caused the price scissors to widen more dramatically than ever before, with a massive influx of resources and demand into Upper Silesia, making the standard of living in Upper Silesia the highest in the entire United People's Revolutionary Union for a time.

Even Moscow, the capital of the People's Revolutionary Union, did not have a higher standard of living than Upper Silesia, which was originally an important industrial area of ​​the Teutonic Kingdom.

And what people fear most is comparison.

Although separated by Danze, I know what the standard of living is for those East Sototons, and what kind of environment I am in now.

In addition, the rapid industrialization period created a demand for skilled workers, and the Teutons already had relatively close ties among themselves.

As many Teutonics began to move eastward to Teutonia with their families, the previously suppressed leftist movement also began to resurface.

The Teutonic government is now gambling that, before it truly begins to shift to the left under this hyperinflation, its fear of the left will lead Wagner to create a NATO-like country like Bonitania in the East, and that such countries will compromise.

At the same time, despite the terrifying inflation, the continued subsidies for striking workers in the Rhineland prevented the Gauls who occupied the Rhineland from getting what they wanted.

Without workers, machines won't produce by themselves, and hoes won't dig by themselves.

Therefore, militarily, controlling the Rhineland gave the Gallic army a natural defensive line that they had long coveted.

However, economically, the Gauls were certainly losing money by sending a large number of troops to maintain order.

If they can persevere, whether out of concern for the Teutonic shift to the left or due to economic issues, the Gauls will eventually withdraw from the Rhineland.

Then, just as this game of cowards was about to determine a winner, someone came along and caused trouble.

Although he had stepped down and gone into exile, the Teutonic emperor still wanted to return to Teuton. However, many preconditions needed to be met before he could return, such as how to get the Teutonics to accept that their emperor had returned!

And to allow people like those from Bonitania, Gaul, and Caucasus to return.

Coincidentally, the Tsar of the United States in exile was also unwilling to remain idle.

As someone who, while passing through Bonitania, was capable of asking old Joe if he would like his daughter, and then becoming a prince to help him restore the monarchy.

His Majesty the Tsar was naturally trying to find a way to return to Lucia.

So, during the great war, both sides wished the other dead.

However, after the war ended, although they were separated by an ocean, the two, who were relatives by blood and shared the same goals and experiences, quickly became entangled together.

Then, with the help of the two exiled emperors, the Caucasus and the Buntania convened a meeting with Gaul and Teutons to discuss how to get the Teutons to pay off their huge debt.

Ultimately, the Teutonic Emperor, who had interrupted this cowardly game, used almost all the belongings he had taken from the Teutonic train as collateral.

The four countries reached an agreement on a way to get the Teutonic Kingdom to pay off its huge debt.

Citibank's private banks and consortiums provided large-scale loans to Teutons, which in turn used these loans to develop the economy and pay off debts.

The Teutonic government needed to restructure the tax system, strengthen control over railways and industry, and use them as collateral for indemnities.

At the same time, part of the Teutonic Railway Company's revenue was directly mortgaged to the compensation payment agency.

Then the Teutons and Buntania, having received the reparations, were able to use the money repaid by the Teutons to repay the loans they had taken out from the Citizens during the war.

Basically, it's a debt cycle of Citibank loans → Teutonic → Bunitania, Gaul → Citibank.

A single Citibank coin, circulating through several Citibank accounts, can help countries escape their debt spiral.

Of course, there is one prerequisite for completing this debt agreement that satisfies everyone.

That means the Gauls must withdraw from the Rhineland.

If they could, the Gauls would not want to leave the Rhineland.

However, although Gaul's economic situation was passable, the Americans held a large amount of their bills in their hands.

While occupying the Rhineland region did not pose a significant military challenge, maintaining that occupation presented immense economic pressure.

So in the end, the Gauls agreed to the agreement and prepared to withdraw their troops from the Rhineland from the time the agreement was implemented until the withdrawal was completed in 1925.

At the same time the agreement was signed, the Teutonic Republic government, having finally achieved its goal and defaulted on the vast majority of its domestic debt, immediately began economic reforms in preparation for controlling this alarming hyperinflation.

Although the outcome was good, what they didn't expect was that because the late emperor stepped in to set up this scheme, they almost emptied their own coffers, even though it wasn't much compared to the huge debts.

But ordinary Teutons don't care about that.

Although the emperor has left, he is still protecting us, which has moved many Teutons to tears of gratitude.

After the economy improved and more Teutons were able to go to the cinema, they felt even more grateful to the emperor after watching "The Protector of the Nation".

Our emperor is the best emperor in the world.

At the same time, these Teutons also began to feel dissatisfied with the Teutonic Republic government, or more precisely, with this republican government that no one wanted in the first place.

The idea of ​​welcoming back the emperor began to circulate among the Teutonic people.

However, compared to the fierce battle between the left and right sides that was still raging on the streets at that time, this school of thought was very low-key.

Just as discreet as the Teutons, who wanted to welcome back their emperor, was Joe's other brother, Ron, who went to MIT.

Perhaps because James and Joe used up all his intelligence points, Ron has always been known for his physical strength within the Harrison family.

Joe knew that his younger brother wasn't as ambitious as James, and that he just hoped he could make a living by following him or James in the future.

Surely the old Harrison family wouldn't let him go hungry.
However, following that minor incident, Joe let Ron go to college in Citibank.

Ron, who was going abroad for the first time, was somewhat unaccustomed to the dazzling world of Citibank.

Although he had experienced the treatment of being the younger brother of a celebrity in the past.

However, studying at a prestigious private school in Brittany is clearly a different experience than studying at a technical university in Citibank.

In Britannia, although his classmates were curious about Ron, the dignity of the nobility kept that curiosity relatively restrained; at most, it was the kind of lecherous "I'll keep watching you!"

But Citibank is clearly not like that.

As a country known for its passion and exuberance, Ron was surrounded by curious classmates on his first day of school.

If Dorn hadn't come with him and grabbed Ron when things got bad, Ron, when he came to his senses, felt he would probably have been crushed to death in that classroom.

Then Ron, a campus celebrity, began to encounter all sorts of things he never thought he would encounter in the past.

From a female fan who wanted to have her baby because she was a huge fan of Joe, to a kidnapper who wanted to kidnap her and demand compensation from Joe.

Then there are those who see their own strong physique and want to join the school's football team.

And the professor who wanted to expel Ron from school because his grades were so bad.

This novel experience made Ron think, "Is this the New World? It's so wild!"
(End of this chapter)