Chapter 1053 ?1944: Speed and Lightning (3)
The countries invited to the scene today are all "time-tested" old friends of Germany. Although France once fought with Germany, it simply surrendered in 1940, and later followed Germany in the surrender of the fleet. , troop dispatch, material transportation, equipment coordination, and arms production are carried out in accordance with German requirements. It has the largest number of German national debts (partly formed by goods and services, and partly by the active intervention of French financial capital). It is strong in itself and counts as one of the axis. Waiting for the allies, Hoffman kept talking about "Franco-German reconciliation and European Union" all day long, and no one regarded France as a defeated country anymore.
It’s hard to say whether the French are truly convinced in their hearts, but on the surface they appear to be very harmonious. All French prisoners have been repatriated. The original act of forcibly occupying northern France and extorting 100 million francs a day has long since stopped. French companies continue to provide products to Germany, and Germany also A lot of military technology has been provided to France. Among the major European powers, France can produce both No. 4 tanks and Voluntary Wheels. Now it has obtained the Axis-level drawings and is ready to start construction.
We also had a very harmonious discussion about post-war arrangements.
For the first time, France proposed that it still had nearly a thousand tons of gold reserves in North America (the United States and Canada), which it had originally transferred. Before France surrendered, the Bank of France had 2,226 tons of gold reserves, which was relatively large among major powers. Because France’s economic structure relies heavily on finance, without this batch of gold, France’s financial credit would immediately go bankrupt. Some of the more than 2,000 tons of gold ended up in the tropical jungles of Senegal, some went to Martinique, and some went to North America—the Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve each kept a portion.
The gold stored in Senegal was shipped back to Paris as relations between France and Germany improved, and the gold stored in Martinique returned to China with the aircraft carrier Béarne. Although the ship was finally handed over to Japan according to German arrangements, the Japanese did not know that the aircraft carrier was on board. There was a special batch of cargo, but on the contrary, it took the Béarn back to Europe in a mighty manner, acting as an unknowing bodyguard.
Regarding the issue of North American gold raised by France, Germany patted its chest and said that it is no problem. It will be covered by your buddy, and you will definitely get it back after the war.
It’s not that Hoffmann is not jealous of this batch of gold. After careful consideration, he believes that this batch of gold cannot be obtained. Although embezzling this batch of gold can increase some reserves, the relationship between France and Germany, the European Union, and even Germany’s financial reputation will be completely bankrupt. The reason why France At present, I dare to openly raise the hope that Germany will help recover the gold, because Germany can still be trusted, and this mutual trust is much more important than more than 1,000 tons of gold.
Besides, Germany currently has no shortage of gold reserves. After the European War, Germany’s gold reserves exceeded 2,000 tons (in addition to Germany’s own reserves, it also includes the Czech Republic, Austria, Denmark, Poland, etc.), plus the total amount obtained from Japanese trade. With nearly 1,600 tons of gold, Germany’s gold reserves have exceeded 3,700 tons, ranking second in the world, slightly less than the United States.
Once the golden problem is solved, other problems can also be easily solved:
France said that the British turned against me and stabbed me in the "Ballista Project" and wanted to take revenge. Germany said no problem, the Channel Islands are yours now, and also asked Black Cat and Attlee to come to Paris to apologize - this The matter is done.
France said that it agrees with the idea of the European Union and a unified currency, but the French financial industry is very developed, and the implication is that it wants to gain more say. Germany said that as long as you agree, the European Union Central Bank will be located in Alsace and Lorraine, with a Frenchman as the governor of the central bank, and all countries will deliver gold and silver as joint reserves.
The European Central Bank is a political central bank that governs economic and financial policies across Europe. It is impossible to go beyond the EU treaties and provide France with additional care. But the other bank, the European Development Bank, is a commercial policy bank dedicated to European revival and development. It is essentially a commercial bank. If France wants to increase its voice, it can hand over more reserves and increase its shares. The French recognize this. .
France then said that I still have some overseas territories in the Caribbean, but I can't defeat the Americans now, and I don't want to declare war with the United States. Germany said that I will help you settle this matter. France is also a well-known world power and cannot be bullied by the Americans. However, Germany is tight now. France's economic and financial situation is good. Can it subscribe for 50 billion mark treasury bonds first? Germany guarantees that all corresponding orders will be handed over to France. In addition to normal interest, it will also hand over the technology of Volvo, Axis-class aircraft carrier, and Mercedes-Benz liquid-cooled engine to you. France agreed after some hesitation, and Germany indeed placed corresponding orders in France.
After the general mobilization of Germany, Speer ordered that all German domestic civilian industries should be converted into military industries as much as possible. By the peak of the general mobilization, German military industry production began to explode, while civilian industry, especially light industry, shrank to such an extent that It was a complete mess. The proportion of labor force and industrial output in the overall industrial structure was less than 10%, evolving into an industrial structure even more deformed than that of the Soviet Union, which had always focused on heavy industry.
More than 95% of the daily necessities needed by the German people, including clothing, shoes and hats, furniture, ceramics, glass, etc., are imported. Even German military uniforms are produced abroad. The only remaining domestic textile industry only produces special fabrics and Specialty products such as parachutes used by pilots. This policy is not bad for the people, especially for girls who love beauty. It used to be that German military uniforms were very handsome, and civilian clothing was always said to be tacky. Now the clothing is all imported from France, Italy, and Spain, and the taste has improved instantly.
This arrangement not only ensured that Germany's living standards did not drop too much, but also laid the foundation for the explosion of Germany's military industry. The only headache was that the structure had to be slowly adjusted back now. Speer believed that no matter how much adjustment was made, the original industrial layout and economic structure could not be restored. Hoffman was more confident about this and said, "Let the French and Italians do the light industry. Their products are of good quality and the people like them. Germany should work hard on the new industry!"
What is the new industry?
The first is chemical industry. After the crude oil problem is solved, Germany can use oil to produce a variety of artificial materials. The quality of chemical fiber (nylon) currently produced is well-known;
The second is the electronics industry. Computers, radars, integrated circuits, etc. are typical outbreak points in the next scientific and technological revolution. Their life cycle is at least 60 years. Even in the era when Hoffman travels through time, they are still economic driving engines;
The third is aerospace. Combat aircraft will become civil aircraft. After the rocket is successful, spacecraft and satellites will start waiting in line;
The fourth is the use of nuclear energy. It is a field that cannot be promoted for the time being, but there will be great development in the future;
The fifth is the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries. For example, the management level of German railways is not only famous in Europe, but also in the world. Hoffman wants to use the European Transport Consortium to build a railway network from the Atlantic to the Ural and build high-speed trains; the German automobile industry is also second to none in Europe. After the war, the "car into every home" project will be launched. Otherwise, how can you make money by controlling so many oil fields; for example, machine tools and precision manufacturing, Germany is also a global leader, and the future development direction is digitalization and automation.
There are many other innovation categories. Hoffman is not an industrial expert after all. He cannot explain the whole system clearly and completely for a while. He can only tell Speer what he thinks. The latter is not in a hurry. He first records the head of state's ideas bit by bit and then slowly integrates them. It is still a war stage. Although the battlefield situation has improved and some transformation can be achieved, production must still be maintained with the mentality of military industry first.
Moreover, who says that military industry does not make money? If it does not make money, where did the 1,600 tons of gold and nearly 5,000 tons of silver delivered by Japan come from? What are the minerals, agricultural products, and daily necessities delivered by the peripheral allies in exchange for?
France then said that I will deal with Charles de Gaulle, the traitor, but can I not kill him for the sake of national unity? Hoffman said that there is no problem at all. This is France's internal affairs. You can judge it as you like, as long as Charles de Gaulle does not make trouble.
After seeing Britain take back Pakistan, France recently hopes to take back southern Indochina-the north was "voluntarily" handed over to Japan by France, and the south was occupied by Japan. Germany expressed its understanding and helped to find a solution, but after it was taken back, Cam Ranh Bay had to be used by the European Joint Fleet.
After these conditions were met, the French government readily signed the Treaty on European Union (common market, common currency, common economic and social policy), the Convention of the Founding Member States of the United Nations, the European Coal, Steel and Electricity Pool, the European Transport Pool, and the European Defense Treaty (the first was Germany, the second was Italy, and the fourth was Western Russia). Once the four major countries of Germany, France, Italy, and Russia signed, European countries signed in turn. Even Portugal, a country that has always been on the fence, rushed to sign. The last major country to sign was the United Kingdom. Hoffman signed after arriving in Madagascar, and had to wait for the parliament to vote, so the British representative was not invited to this exercise.
Italy and Japan are all-weather friends of Germany all over the world, and the most intimate steel axis. Northern Italy and Germany have implemented industrial integration, and the military system, especially the army and air force, has basically merged with the German army. All kinds of weapons and equipment are basically unified with Germany. What is even more rare is that the political system is also highly consistent. It can be seen from the seating arrangement that Count Ciano attended as Prime Minister and Chief of the Air Force General Staff, and his seat was next to Hoffman. Marshal Badoglio was received by General Zeitzler as Chief of the Army General Staff.
Although Japanese dignitaries did not come, as the most effective ally in military cooperation, the head of the observation group, Ito Seiichi, squeezed among a group of marshals and generals with the rank of Lieutenant General of the Navy, showing his different status. Regarding the South African Campaign, Japan also took the initiative to propose to send the army to "help out". Anyway, Yamashita Tomoyuki's Indian Expeditionary Force was idle anyway, and coming out to "work" could not only make money but also get some equipment, so why not? The German Supreme Command finally declined due to limited transportation capacity.
Japan cannot become a member of the European Union, but it has an observer status and a high status in the United Nations. It not only has the status of a permanent member of the Security Council, but its voting rights in the United Nations are also higher than those of Britain, France, and Italy.