Chapter 1349 Drawing the Sword 4 Gu Xin Is at a Loss

The U.S.-Vietnam peace talks in Paris will definitely be a good opportunity for Britain to exert its influence and should be announced to the outside world in a timely manner. After arriving at Whitehall non-stop, Prime Minister Harold Wilson also agreed with this view.

After the nationalization of coal and iron was completed, he could focus some attention on diplomacy.

Harold Wilson wanted to mediate the Vietnam War as soon as he came to power, but was simply rejected by Lyndon Johnson. Now nearly two years have passed, and the entire environment has changed again. Since Americans don't like the role of the Soviet Union, the same goes for uniting France. After all, as prime minister, his moral bottom line is also very flexible.

"However, Allen, you don't seem to particularly want peace to come." Seeing the cabinet secretary's script, Harold Wilson said in confusion.

"If the Vietnam War stops, Malaya may enter a period of economic stagnation." Although Alan Wilson is in London, his heart has traveled across the ocean to his loyal Kuala Lumpur.

It is true that many people would die if the war stopped. As a gentleman, of course he also hopes for peace, but if it is at the expense of the influx of Malayan hot money? Sorry, everything has a price, including conscience.

In fact, Malaya is struggling to bite Japan. In the past two years, it has developed faster than Japan, and its per capita income has exceeded Japan. This has a great relationship with the Vietnam War.

"Alan, don't think so." Harold Wilson didn't know how to persuade him. The development of Malaya was indeed a problem. After thinking for a long time, the Prime Minister decided not to persuade him. Conscience and the importance of Malaya to the British Empire , or the latter is more important.

Alan Wilson had already adjusted his mentality without the Prime Minister's persuasion. He remembered that the Paris peace talks seemed to last for more than four years. Even if it was five years, it was still enough time for Malaya to formulate a five-year plan.

And he remembered that the Paris peace talks were only for other countries to see. The real negotiations between the United States and Vietnam were actually conducted in secret, which was probably equivalent to him talking to Fortseva about the Polish government in exile during the Potsdam Conference. When you are deported, don't think that only Britain will betray others, the city on the hill will do the same.

After making the Prime Minister happy after completing the nationalization reform and preparing to flex his muscles in the diplomatic field but had never found the opportunity, Alan Wilson left No. 10 Downing Street, returned to his office and directly picked up the phone to the Ministry of Finance. Call, "Frank, prepare some information for me and let's talk about financial issues."

Regarding the British financial system, if you think that only London is the representative of the British financial system, you are wrong.

The City of London did not exist in this era, and in the nineteenth century the Exchange was officially sanctioned by the British government. Initially, it mainly traded government bonds, and later corporate bonds and mining and canal stocks were listed and traded.

Since then, a large number of stock exchanges have appeared in other parts of the UK, with more than 30 stock exchanges at the peak. It can be said that every city in the UK has a stock exchange.

Last year, these exchanges were merged into seven regional exchanges in Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and Dublin. The long-term goal is of course to all belong to London and build London into a financial city, which can improve the financial strength of the UK. .

When de Gaulle squeezed the US dollar, he did not look down on the pound. Normally, de Gaulle would rather attack the pound, which seemed weaker. But one thing is different. The United Kingdom was chased by the United States for debt, which led to the adoption of austerity policies for a period of time after the war. It had no intention of issuing more pounds.

It's not like the United States over-issuing countless U.S. dollars because of the Vietnam War. As a result, overseas U.S. dollars are everywhere in the international market and can easily be collected by De Gaulle as a weapon for runs on gold.

The existence of the U.S. dollar in the world was used by the Federal Reserve decades later to create a U.S. dollar tide, using interest rate increases and decreases to consolidate the U.S.'s financial hegemony. That’s because the U.S. dollar is the currency used to settle bulk items in later generations, and the initiative is firmly in the hands of the United States. Although the euro in later generations is far more powerful than any other country’s currency in this era,

But there is only self-preservation and no ability to make progress.

In this era, the U.S. dollar needed to be backed by gold. After the war, the expanding U.S. trade deficit caused the old European consortium to hold more and more U.S. dollar assets. Not much attention was paid to the issue. Those European capitals that suffered heavy losses in World War II and were temporarily dormant have gradually recovered their vitality.

The No. 1 and No. 2 figures in Whitehall started a discussion surrounding the run on gold in recent years. One problem is obvious. The French are fighting alone.

"Theoretically, France's supporters, Belgium, Italy, and Spain are all standing still. The French have run out of energy. They can't expect the African countries they control to join such a high-end game, right? In the absence of other countries joining, it is already certain that The French attack is at its end and they are out of ammunition."

Alan Wilson talked about his views on the run on gold in France. Although the Cabinet Secretary does not have any advanced financial knowledge, this kind of thing is like eating when you are hungry. In high-end operations, it will eventually fall on the real thing. , the French have no US dollar bonds in their hands, and the run will naturally end.

"France's crazy run is certainly dangerous, but it is not enough to establish the new international financial order that the French say they want to establish." Frank agreed with this view, and then said, "If the Germans were to participate this time, Washington's heads would be The Germans hold no less dollar bonds than France, maybe even more."

Alan Wilson also agreed that as both defeated countries, Germany was much stronger than Japan. Germany's force was called the army, while Japan's force could only be called the Self-Defense Forces. Germany dares to challenge the United States in the financial field, while Japan has been hit hard by the United States even in its industrial competition. The difference between the two countries is still quite obvious. It seems that the statistical difference between Japan and Europe is not big, but in fact it is far different.

"If you were the United States, what would you do after this round of runs?" Finance is really Alan Wilson's shortcoming. On the contrary, Frank often contacts people in the financial industry. Even if his ideas are wrong, he can still As a reference answer.

Frank was stunned for a moment, then smiled mysteriously, and said with a relaxed expression, "If I were an American, I would just do nothing and watch the French suffer from indigestion."

"Why?" Alan Wilson was surprised. Don't you need some shocking operation to make the French pay the price?

"You can't say nothing. To put it simply, it is to cut off the franc's financing channels. The U.S. dollar is an international currency, but the franc is not. Since the franc does not have the attributes of an international currency. France, which lacks cash and only has gold in hand, still needs the U.S. dollar. .”

Frank gestured while saying, "If the French can squeeze out the U.S. gold reserves, then they can naturally rebuild the financial order. But now that there are no US dollar bonds, it means that the French cannot do this. , the U.S. dollar will still be the U.S. dollar, and the franc will still be the franc, which cannot replace the status of the U.S. dollar."

"The same is true for financing capabilities. The financial system of the United States is much stronger than that of France. Even if it starts from scratch at the same time, the United States will have the last laugh."

understood! Alan Wilson nodded with an expression of being taught, but in fact he didn't understand what it meant at all. However, he understood Frank's metaphor and said, "That is, we must find a way to block the financing channels in the United States in order to Pour dollars.”

"Secretary-General, this is almost impossible." Frank shook his head. "This requires a large amount of U.S. Treasury bonds and Federal Reserve bills, which is exactly what the French lack this time. If the goal is to share financial hegemony, category?"

"This won't work. This is the current status of the pound. The pound area will only be slowly eroded by the dollar. Do you know how much energy we have spent on stabilizing the pound area? Even so, the share of global settlements last year fell to 3%. Thirteen. After a little decline, even one-third of the global share is less than one-third." Alan Wilson put his hands in his trouser pockets, "Sharing is useless, and the situation is only better than the fate of the franc this time."

But the two still reached consensus on one thing, that is, the Bretton Woods system is no longer so indestructible.

With de Gaulle's attack this time, more and more countries are ready to take action.

It is roughly equivalent to the period from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period, the beginning of the collapse of rituals and music. France's role was similar to that of Russia in later generations who claimed to resist the international order of the United States. The first peasant uprising may not conquer the world, but it is often a cause of great chaos. beginning.

"We have to make decisions that are in the interests of the UK." Alan Wilson got two cups of coffee and pushed one of them in front of Frank.

Frank took it and blew it gently, and said, "Of course, with the national interest as the criterion."

"So who exactly should the knife be aimed at?" Alan Wilson seemed to be thinking.

Frank chuckled and said, "In terms of safety, now is the time to step hard on the fragile France."

"Wait a minute!" Alan Wilson thought. "I'm not against doing anything to France. France has gotten enough this time. But we also need some preparation time. And the Paris peace talks between the United States and North Vietnam are about to start. What is the situation in France? Anyway, wait and see..."

Alan Wilson is not opposed to France taking action, but he has not yet figured out how to deal with the May storm. What does he think of de Gaulle?

Help with the May storm, or what? What consequences this will have, I'm still thinking about it now.

Historically, the person who later replaced de Gaulle was Georges Pompidou. Some people say this person was Sima Yi next to de Gaulle, and some people say he was Zhuge Liang who was left alone. But Alan Wilson didn't know whether he was Sima Yi or Zhuge Liang. He only knew one thing: Georges Pompidou had cancer, and he hid this fact and became de Gaulle's replacement.

If you don't want this man to replace de Gaulle, just reveal that he deliberately concealed his cancer.