Mediterranean Hegemony Road

Seeing Lev's face, Nicholas II quickly approved the transaction, and the handover work between the two sides went very smoothly.

The locals have two options, either return to the Russian Empire and buy all their local assets at the expense of the Bulgarian government, or stay and apply for Bulgarian citizenship.

This multiple-choice question is easy to do. Most ordinary people choose to stay. The civil war is going on, and the young men of the Russian Empire have suffered heavy losses. For military service, everyone can hide if they can.

According to incomplete statistics, before the outbreak of the World War, the population of the Russian Empire was about 160 million. After the World War, it dropped to 146 million, and now this number has dropped to 124 million.

In addition to the casualties of the war, the greater population loss is due to the chaotic situation, the poor economic situation, which has caused a sharp drop in the birth rate, and starvation and immigration have also caused a large number of human losses.

According to the estimates of the Bulgarian Population Administration, even if the war ends in the Russian Empire, the population will still experience negative growth in the next ten years. A large number of young men have been consumed in the war. Now the balance between men and women has been broken. , at least six million more than men!

Benefiting from this situation, the balance of men and women in Bulgaria has been easily resolved, and the imbalance between men and women of European immigrants has been improved.

The credit of the ruble has long since collapsed, and now the largest currency in circulation in the Russian Empire is the lev, followed by the British pound and the franc.

In the face of this situation, the tsarist government did not fail to take measures. They reissued the golden ruble, but unfortunately it was quickly dragged down by the run on the people.

Without enough credit, the people got rubles, and the first thing they wanted to do was exchange them for gold. Seeing this, the government of Nicholas II was forced to announce the termination of the exchange.

Then the value of the gold ruble also fell rapidly, and was finally abandoned by the people. Now the Russian people only recognize gold and foreign exchange, and have no love for the ruble.

The funniest thing is that after the credit of local banks collapsed,

Now the most popular banks in the Russian Empire are foreign banks, even the national banks established by the tsarist government cannot compare.

This situation exists in all three Russian governments. It should not be said that there are two Russian governments. The Moscow government has been nationalized. The rich have their homes raided and wiped, and the poor have no money to save. Even currency has been replaced by bills. Still the best.

After getting the money, Nicholas II's first thing was to pay the army, and he owed it for half a year. The soldiers who had previously issued rubles did not buy it, and there was no way but to reissue it.

Now Nicholas II has learned to be smart, no matter what, let's stabilize the army first. Not only the army has to make noise, but even the wages owed by government departments have to be settled. In this regard, Nicholas II is also a good boss.

From three to five to two, more than half of the land sales income of more than 2 billion levs was spent. With the remaining funds, he had to buy ammunition to launch a war of unification.

It would be fine if he didn't fight. The money was enough for him to spend half a year. Once the war broke out again, it would be finished in a month. Not only the worms of the government would also be consumed for him.

Nicholas II said cautiously: Prime Minister, urge Satsunov to speed up the negotiation process. We will launch a war of unification in 1922!

The Prime Minister was startled and said hesitantly, Your Majesty, should we wait a little longer, our soldiers need to be repaired after a long battle, why don't we delay it for a year!

Nicholas II smiled bitterly and said, Do you think we can still procrastinate? You are all aware of financial issues. Every year of delay will cost 5.6 billion pounds. Where do we go? so much money?

Money is only one aspect. If we are really in a hurry, we can still sell the land. Presumably that guy Ferdinand is ready to take over the land. As long as we dare to sell, they will take it!

You know, they actually packaged and sold all the German and Italian war reparations. What the Bulgarian government has now is money!

But what about the international environment? Once Britain and France resolve their internal problems, will they tolerate the reunification of the Russian Empire?

If they give blood to those two rebels, how long will the war last? One year, two years, three years, five years, or ten years, eight years?

No one can tell these things clearly. If it drags on for a long time, it will be difficult for us to unify again!

The Prime Minister was silent. We all know these questions, but they just selectively avoided them. Otherwise, Nicholas II would not have their support when he wanted to sell the Crimean Peninsula!

...

Satsunov, who received the telegram, started to have a headache. It was already troublesome enough to argue with the bank representative, and now there are still domestic urgings to speed up!

On October 22, 1921, the negotiation meeting between Bulgaria and Russia on the loan issue officially opened. The protagonist this time was no longer Metev. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs only provided a venue for both parties.

The bank's delegation is headed by Cage Nicholas, the chief executive of Union Bank, and the two deputy heads are Wolf Regus, representative of National Bank, and Marshall Priesteff, representative of Royal Bank. .

In addition to these three people, the three major banks have also set up a temporary evaluation team, a financial team, and a negotiating expert team. The total number of messy personnel is as high as more than 300 people.

Seeing this posture, Sassunov felt a little dizzy. It would be strange if he didn't come prepared!

Metev, who is the middleman this time, took the lead and said: On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I welcome everyone here. In order to maintain the traditional friendship between the two countries, I hope that everyone can successfully reach cooperation in the future.

Well, my nonsense is over, Mr. Sassnov, and Mr. Cage, now you can start!

Cage said: Thank you, Mr. Metev, for providing us with this venue, and I hope that our next negotiations can proceed smoothly.

In business, Mr. Sassonoff, how much loan does your government need this time, and what is it willing to provide as collateral?

Satsunov was stunned for a moment. Of course, the more loans, the better, but the mortgage issue was a headache. There are no domestic regulations. In theory, he can call the shots wherever the mortgage is.

This is based on the fact that the government can repay the loan. As long as the loan can be repaid on time, it does not matter if he mortgages St. Petersburg!

If the government cannot repay the loan on time, it will be in big trouble. He who has lost a lot of interests will definitely not have good fruit to eat in the future!

Sassunov asked back: Mr. Cage, I would like to know how much loan your bank group can undertake?

Cage smiled slightly and said, It depends on how big the benefits are. If the benefits are big enough, I think we can provide all the funds your country needs!

Satsunov was shocked, and he returned to normal immediately. It is impossible for a bank that monopolized the finance of such a powerful country as Bulgaria to be short of funds. There is not even a consortium in the world that has a large cash flow!

Of course, a more important reason is that Lev, who was loaned by the Russians, has to return to Bulgaria in the end.

It was impossible for Nicholas II to go to war with Lev. They had to buy weapons and ammunition, as well as various strategic materials. As soon as they changed hands, seventy-eighty-eighty funds flowed back into Bulgaria, and the money ended up in Bulgaria. will enter the bank again.

Sassonov thought for a while and said, We plan to lend 10 billion levs. The Russian Empire can use the Warren Heights, the heights along the Dnieper River, and the Black Sea coast as collateral, with an annual interest rate of 5%, once in 30 years. Sexual debt service!

Cage shook his head and said, Mr. Sassonoff, with all due respect, no bank in the world dares to do this business on the terms given by your country!

Even if there is no civil war in your country, it would be very difficult for you to obtain this loan under such conditions as a peaceful age, not to mention this is a time of war, if it is not good, we will lose everything!

Satsunov's face sank. He knew that the negotiation might be so smooth, and the conditions just thrown out were just a test.

Instead of answering directly, he threw the question out: So, Mr. Leitch, what do you want?

Leitch thought about it and said, There is no problem with the loan figure of 10 billion levs, but there will be changes in loan interest, repayment methods, and collateral!

Loan interest, we have to calculate the interest on a monthly basis, 8/1000 of the monthly interest, monthly balance, the funds are linked to gold, and you have to bear the inflation by yourself.

Collateral We propose to use the Great Plains of Ukraine controlled by the Russian Empire as collateral, so that everyone can accept it!

Sassonov was like a frying pan, and roared loudly: Impossible, you are taking advantage of the fire!

Cage said calmly: Mr. Sassnov, you must also take into account the risk cost I bear, once you lose the war, we will lose everything!

With such a high risk, we ask for a little more interest. Is this excessive? Now the benchmark interest rate for international loans is basically maintained at 4.5-6/1000 per month, and I just raised it a little bit!

As for the issue of collateral, mortgages all over the world have to be discounted. As long as you can guarantee to repay on time, these are not problems at all!

Unless you are not sincere and have no intention of repaying the loan in the first place, there is no need for you to struggle with the issue of collateral at all!

Sassonov said with a sad face: Your interest rate is too high, it has exceeded the capacity of the Russian Empire!

As for the collateral you want, it has far exceeded the value of the loan. Even if the collateral is to be discounted, it cannot be so ruthless, right?

Cage smiled and said, We have increased the cost of risk for this problem! Everyone knows that the greater the risk, the greater the benefit!

You have no way to reduce our risks, so you can only increase our interests. Otherwise, what is the point of doing this business for us?

Mr. Sassonov, might as well ask again, the banking people in your country, and ask them, are our demands really excessive?

Satsunov's face sank. Bankers in the Russian Empire have become the laughing stock of the world. At the same time, they have also become wanted criminals by the government. Isn't it funny to consult them?

If there is no Bulgarian government, the risk factor of this loan is almost 100%, and normal people will not accept this business!

But this loan is obviously endorsed by the Bulgarian government. They have the ability to recover the loan. If they can't, they can sell the mortgaged land to the government. The risk has been transferred!

Sassunov thought for a while and said, We can bear the highest interest rate of 6/1000 per month, which is also a normal international loan, and the repayment standard can also refer to the international standard.

As collateral, the Russian Empire can take out all the factories and enterprises in St. Petersburg, plus half of Ukraine, with the Dnieper River as the dividing line, these assets are worth 20 billion levs!

Cage shook his head and said: We are not interested in companies in your country, no matter how much their value is, they are equal to zero for us!

And this half of Ukraine, if your country is willing to sell it directly, I think it is not a problem to sell 18 billion levs at all, but it is not enough as collateral.

We are a bank, not a charity. We must make money in all business. If we cannot guarantee profit, we would rather not do this business!

The two fell into silence, and Metev suddenly said: Mr. Sassnov, in fact, Mr. Cage's proposal just now is very good, you might as well consider it, sell the Ukraine area directly, you can Get a lot of money and no worries!

Satsunov cursed inwardly, the good guy just suggested that half of Ukraine should be sold.

Do you really think that the Russian Empire has no thieves? If it goes too far, the Russian people will also punish the traitors!

However, on the surface, Satsunov still did not change, but politely declined Metev's proposal.

He said that although the Russian Empire is vast, there is not an inch of land that is redundant. He said it as if the land was sold earlier, and he did not do it!

The negotiation on the first day was naturally fruitless. Everyone only had a preliminary touch on each other's bottom line. It is estimated that there is still a long time to reach an agreement.

Although Ferdinand didn't care how much the interest was, he thought from the very beginning that Nicholas II could not repay the debt, but as a bank, if he didn't care about the interest and focused on the collateral, all fools knew there was a problem?

Therefore, the bank representatives must negotiate with the Russians on the interest rate, and convince them that this is an ordinary loan. It is nothing more than a larger amount and a higher interest rate, and finally relax their vigilance on the collateral!

As for Chekov's proposal to buy Ukraine, this is also a conspiracy. If many things are clearly stated, it will be reassuring; if the Bulgarian government has no intentions at all, will the Russians still suspect that they are engaged in a big conspiracy?

The more active the Bulgarian government's attitude towards buying land, the more reassured Nicholas II will be. At least they can be sure of Bulgaria's position, and they just want to buy Ukraine from them, not use conspiracy to seize Ukraine!

Well, these questions were not conceived by Ferdinand alone, but were finally come up with plans after two or three years of research by the government think tank!

The effect has only just begun, and no one knows whether it will succeed or fail. Anyway, this is a long-term strategy, and results cannot be achieved in a short time!

...

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