Chapter 646 Rewards and Tests

"The crazy depreciation of the franc is a problem we have to worry about, and we must also prevent other countries from learning from France to devalue their currencies." At the diplomatic talks between Britain and Australasia, officials from the Ministry of Finance talked about the risks that the depreciation of other countries' currencies brought to Britain and Australia.

You know, compared with France, where the currency is not stable, the value of the British pound and the Australian dollar in Australasia is relatively stable.

Depreciation has definitely occurred, but the depreciation rate has basically remained below 10%, which is a completely acceptable range.

But the franc is different. If the purchasing power of the franc before the outbreak of the war is regarded as 100%, then the purchasing power of the franc is now less than 25% of the previous level.

Before the war, 25 francs could be exchanged for 1 pound, and the conversion ratio between the two was relatively stable.

But now, the exchange rate between the franc and the pound has plummeted to 247:1, and it may actually take 300 francs to equal 1 pound.

Under the premise of the plummeting exchange rate between the franc and the pound, will the French still adhere to the gold standard?

It is the government's business to discuss the possibility of adhering to the gold standard and to negotiate the alliance in this currency competition, while William's task is to sell off the assets of the Australasian royal family in London and convert them into gold and other value-preserving items as much as possible.

Although Arthur sold all the assets of the old Duke Arthur after he went to Australasia, the expansion of the royal consortium over the past 20 years cannot completely avoid the huge city of London.

As the current world financial capital, the London Stock Exchange is a place where major capitalists often move around, and the royal consortium has also listed many companies here.

The most famous one at present should be the British branch of the Benz Automobile Factory jointly opened with British aristocrats. This automobile factory can generate millions of pounds of income every year, monopolizing more than 70% of the British automobile market, and bringing a lot of income to both the British local forces and Australasia.

That is, cooperation with local aristocrats, coupled with the good relationship between Australasia and the British, has avoided the covetousness of the British government.

Without these two relationships, this enterprise that makes a fortune every day would have basically no room for resistance in a foreign country. In front of the national government, a targeted enterprise is like a lamb to be slaughtered.

Of course, the industry sold this time is not the Benz car factory in the UK, but some unimportant investments, including some real estate companies in London, etc.

Although London's economy is growing and the stock market is booming. But how long can such prosperity last? If you don't withdraw in advance, it will be too late to withdraw when the stock market fluctuates in the future.

Arthur cannot guarantee that the economic crisis will happen as in history, so it is still necessary to sell some properties in advance.

Once the economic crisis occurs, some companies will shrink several times overnight, and even risk bankruptcy if they are not careful.

But the action of withdrawing from the London Stock Exchange also needs to be gradual. It is impossible to sell all these assets at once.

Let alone whether it will arouse suspicion, if all assets are sold together, even the London stock market cannot absorb so much property.

More importantly, a large number of asset sales may cause turmoil in the stock market, or even directly cause the stock market to collapse early and cause an economic crisis.

Although Australasia is prepared for the economic crisis, it is because the London stock market crisis caused by Australasia's asset sales is a big deal.

After all, where the economic crisis occurs, the impact will be the greatest. If the British economy is accidentally destroyed, there will be no big money to provide military expenses in the future World War II.

The first to be sold are real estate companies and enterprises. The real estate speculation has been quite successful.

Although the national conditions of Europe and the United States are different from those in later generations, it is still relatively easy to speculate in real estate in some economically developed cities.

No matter how sparse the population of the entire country is, when it gathers in a certain city, the population is still prone to oversupply and saturation.

Especially in large cities with a population of more than 7 million such as London and New York, a little bit of fuel can make the real estate heat continue to grow.

The London Real Estate Company established by the Royal Consortium in London has currently built more than 50,000 properties and earned more than 2 million pounds in profits.

The price of a property in London has also soared from dozens of pounds to about 150 pounds, and the price of a slightly larger and more luxurious apartment has exceeded 200 pounds.

Under the influence of such exaggerated real estate prices, the British economy has also been rising steadily, with an annual growth rate of more than 7% and continued to prosper and grow.

Of course, compared with London, which is not deliberately hyped in Australasia, the real estate prices in New York are the most exaggerated.

The housing prices in New York were originally below US$700, and the current prices of the cheapest second-hand houses have increased to more than US$1,000, and even every one is a target of competition.

Those newly built houses are basically priced above US$1,500, and the better ones have exceeded US$2,000, which is equivalent to twice the price of London's housing prices.

Fortunately, Americans do have money, and even if the price of a house exceeds US$2,000, Americans' enthusiasm for buying houses remains unshakable.

The real estate company of the royal consortium in New York is the largest investment, with more than 20,000 properties built each year, and the annual profit has even exceeded 10 million US dollars.

This is not much. Behind the rising housing prices, some American capitalists have seen business opportunities and influenced the government to promote various policies to restrict self-built houses.

Now in the suburbs of New York, it is very difficult to build a house by yourself. Not only do you have to pass the government's qualification approval, but you also have to spend a lot of money to connect to water and electricity, and build roads to connect to highways, etc.

These are all regulations written in the qualifications for self-built houses, and they are also the price that Americans must pay for choosing to build their own houses.

In this way, self-built houses may not necessarily be a suitable and cost-effective choice. Not to mention the difficulty of completing various conditions, the extra cost of connecting water, electricity and roads alone is enough to discourage some ordinary families.

It is worth mentioning that this real estate company in London invested by the Australasian royal consortium is now completely owned by William.

This is a gift from Arthur to William after he turned 16, a real estate company with a market value of more than 3 million pounds.

The concept of private property in the West is still quite profound. Even if they are father and son, William cannot spend Arthur's money recklessly without permission.

This also means that in addition to the fixed annual funds for royal members, if William wants to have extra expenses and income, he can only earn it by himself.

The annual annuity of the Australasian royal family members is fixed, and the funds William can get are only 50,000 Australian dollars, which is the same level as the Duke's dividend.

Although 50,000 Australian dollars seems a lot, it is not much under the premise of maintaining the luxurious life of the royal family members.

Even if William does not waste money, the annual cost of food, clothing, housing and transportation exceeds tens of thousands of Australian dollars, plus other expenses, at least 20,000 Australian dollars.

This is because William is not an adult, and he has not made too many friends, so he does not need to spend extra money on private banquets.

Small banquets for nobles, such as those often held by Queen Mary, cost tens of thousands of Australian dollars for each banquet. The cost of drinks alone was enough to consume the annual pension of the duke.

As the first heir to the throne, it was impossible for William not to hold banquets after he came of age.

Especially when he cultivated his own power with Arthur's permission, the cost of the banquet could not be too low, which was also a test for William's ability to make money.

Even if William had been frugal enough before, the total amount of annuity he received from Queen Mary for temporary custody was only about 500,000 Australian dollars.

But if this real estate company with assets of more than 3 million pounds was added, William's net worth would instantly exceed 7 million Australian dollars, making him a well-known rich man in Australasia.

What is the value of 7 million Australian dollars? According to the current exchange rate between the pound and gold, which has not changed, 7 million Australian dollars is equivalent to 3.5 million pounds, which is equal to 25.655 tons of gold.

According to the price of gold in the future market, 25 tons of gold is equivalent to more than 10 billion yuan. Whether now or in the future, he is a rich man.

Of course, just because the real estate company is worth 3 million pounds does not mean that William will be able to get the full 3 million Australian dollars after selling the real estate company.

Even if it is not handled properly, the sale of the real estate company will become extremely difficult, and it is very likely to be dragged down by the stock market crisis.

The current real estate company seems valuable, but if the economic crisis breaks out, the market value of the real estate company may even shrink by more than half.

After all, the economic crisis has broken out. Will anyone use their valuable things to buy a house?

No matter how important a house is, it is not as good as food and supplies that can guarantee your life safety in times of crisis.

At that time, there will even be many people who sell their houses at low prices and use the micro-income from selling houses to buy enough food for themselves and their families.

In this way, the price of real estate will also experience a sharp drop, and after the market is in chaos, the value of the real estate company will also plummet.

Although it seems that Arthur's handing over the London real estate company to William is a reward, how to sell the company inconspicuously and get his first pot of gold is also the biggest test for William.

If he can't even handle a small real estate company, how can Arthur trust William to handle the huge country of Australasia?

The total value of the real estate company is only 3 million pounds, but the GDP of Australasia is in the billions, which concerns the fate of more than 30 million Australasians.

From this diplomatic visit, Arthur's test of William has officially begun. As long as he passes the test, William will be the crown prince of Australasia and the next heir to the throne.

But if he fails to pass the test, for the development of the royal family, for the future of the country and tens of millions of people, Arthur can only reconsider the heir to the throne carefully.

In order to make William have manpower available, the Minister of Royal Affairs, Ajadin Blanc, also accompanied him this time.

The Minister of Royal Affairs is also a special position in the cabinet. Basically, they are all candidates who are extremely loyal to the royal family. The loyalty requirement for this position is far greater than the ability.

The last Minister of Royal Affairs was the current Finance Minister Hunt, who was the younger brother of the former Prime Minister Kent and the second son of the palace butler Kent.

Of course, Ajadine Blank's identity is also quite special. This is the first confidant that Arthur cultivated in the true sense, not the power inherited from the old Duke Arthur.

In the early days of coming to Australia, Arthur trained a large number of Australian orphans and trained them in a more suitable direction as a great help for himself and the future heir to the throne.

The power inherited by the old Duke Arthur also made Arthur understand that it is important to cultivate the heir to the throne, but it is also very important to cultivate a large number of loyal and capable subordinates for the heir to the throne.

Arthur came to Australia and was able to carry out his own rule so smoothly. The large number of subordinates inherited by the old Duke Arthur to Arthur is not unimportant.

The reason why the expansion of the royal consortium is so smooth is that Arthur has a large number of confidants who are loyal to him, which is completely different from those government officials.

Although the Kingdom of Australasia also belongs to Arthur's territory, government officials and the king's private ministers are completely two concepts.

Government officials tend to think more towards the country. Although they are loyal to Arthur's rule most of the time, there are inevitably exceptions.

The king's private ministers are completely different. The meaning of private ministers is very simple. They are the subordinates of Arthur's center. When thinking about problems, they will prioritize the interests of Arthur and the royal family, and the interests of the country.

This is also the difference in the importance of the monarch and the country in the monarchy. Those who focus on the country think that the country is above everything, and the king is just the ruler of the country.

But the private ministers who focus on the monarch will think that the monarch is above everything, the monarch is the master of the country, and the interests of the monarch are far greater than the country.

From different perspectives, these two concepts naturally have different reasons. For the monarch of a country, how to better control these two forces is the key to governing the country.

There are many ways for European monarchies to check and balance the government, one of which is the two-party system. That is, introduce two parties with completely opposite ideas, and find opportunities for the monarch to control power through the competition between the two major parties.

However, this method is not used in Australasia. There are many parties in Australasia, such as the National Party, the United Party, the Country Party, the Liberal Party, etc.

But when it comes to the most specific party ideologies, a considerable number of parties are still relatively conservative royalists.

Because of Arthur's great prestige, Arthur has also become a symbol of Australasia. No one in Australasia would demand the abolition of the king and the royal family, because this would also be equivalent to abolishing the Kingdom of Australasia, turning their beloved country into a battlefield of division and separatism.

This is the only update today, 21st Editor-in-Chief, 21-27th, 40,000 per week.