European Financial Emperor

194 Far East (2)

In the spring of 1839, Tsarist Russia divided a vast territory from Russian Alaska to the Sakha border and sold it to Easterfield.

European experts also commented that Easterfield ‘luxured with the land’ because there are not many people in this area.

However, in any case, Easterfield’s financial power is at a level that Europe cannot match today, and it was an opportunity to confirm once again that they are the most powerful countries in name and reality.

“You skipped out a lot of strategic points, such as the Lena River Basin and Lake Baikal, and just cut them off where it was advantageous for defense.”

“In the Far East, we stopped at a key point of regional trade without being pressured by our fleet.”

“Well, they’re not stupid either.”

Lee Hwan left for the Russian Far East to negotiate a purchase, and received a report from the negotiator who had just returned.

The result was a little less than expected, but that didn’t matter.

“How are you? That’s enough if we all eat it anyway.”

“You are wise too.”

Byeongtan and amalgamation are distinctly different.

Owning territories, whether it is a military unit or annexation, is undoubtedly quite expensive.

The reason Lee Hwan dared to purchase and merge the land in the Far East was to make the area a place of money.

It was intended to build an economic foundation and later devour the Russian Empire to create a financially prosperous situation.

It is doubtful how far Lee Hwan’s intentions will work, but in any case, it was certain that the foundation was laid.

“While exploring oil fields in the Far East, select areas that can be developed and build new towns so that we have an immediate economic advantage.”

“Yes, my lord!”

As soon as the development order for the Far East was issued, the guards came to Lee Hwan’s office.

He informed Lee Hwan of the guest’s visit.

“Your Majesty, an envoy has arrived from England.”

“uk?”

“I have something to say about cash on delivery.”

I remembered something I had forgotten for a while.

It was the increase in sales of the defense industry that the war between Britain and Russia had created.

Lee Hwan smiled softly.

“Fufu, is it finally a harp? Let it go at once.”

“Yes, my lord.”

The Guards brought in an envoy from England.

But surprisingly, the person named Shinigami was a woman, not a man.

She politely bowed to Lee Hwan.

“This is Princess Ophelia. They are the only blood relatives of the royal family.”

“… … Ophelia? It’s the first time I’ve heard of such a name.”

“Soin has only lived in Denmark until now, but recently found out that I am a member of the royal family.”

Princess Ophelia had a large, voluptuous body typical of Northern Europe, and blue eyes with intense black hair.

Overall, the image of a female warrior was much stronger than that of a princess.

She spoke in a tone overflowing with discipline rather than elegance.

“Can I tell you the UK’s position straight-forward?”

“Do it.”

“The current financial situation in the UK is not very good. As a result, we are issuing a large amount of government bonds to cover the shortfall, but now we are running into a deficit just by the pressure of the interest.”

“Hmm, maybe that’s it. There must have been one or two wars that Britain has fought so far.”

“In particular, I think the last war with the Russian Empire was a decisive mistake. It was my biggest mistake not to deal with the hard-boiled molecules that were trying to harm my country.”

Lee Hwan listened intently to Ophelia’s words.

Everyone was praising Britain’s save, but she thought that her motherland’s warfare was a shovel after all.

“Yeah, that was a mistake. therefore?”

“When Soin thinks, even in order to correct such mistakes, excessive use of government bonds is no longer acceptable.”

“What can the current Bank of England do as long as it does not over-issue government bonds? The interest we owe Easterfield right now would be enough for £1 million a month.”

With interest rates similar to wagering war, all Britain could do was simply turn it into bonds and bills to block it.

But she was different.

“To be honest, right now we, the UK and Russia, are increasing our risk by exchanging bonds with each other.”

“… … Are you increasing your risk? Why do you think so?”

“It seems that they want to end the war and now become an ally rather than a normal trading partner, because the crossover of bonds made for him continues to be negative. Moreover, by exchanging interests with each other, if one fails, the other will also fail. At this rate, one day both will perish and the people will fall into a chaos.”

Lee Hwan wondered if she had ever studied economics.

No matter how simple the truth may be, in this day and age, there are no opportunities to learn economics other than to study at a university.

This is because there was no internet in this era, and it was impossible for non-specialists to understand the difficult specialized books.

“Have you ever been to college?”

“no. But my father was a banker, so I know a little bit about risk.”

“Hmm, is this because of experience gained in practice?”

“That’s right. In fact, I don’t know anything about the invisible hand or any other economic effect. However, we only know through experience what happens while money moves and intersects.”

No matter how old she was, it didn’t seem like she was in her 30’s yet.

No, maybe he was just over 20 years old.

‘My head is open.’

If the risk was analyzed correctly, she would want only one thing.

Not creating any more risks.

“The dwarf came to negotiate an interest freeze.”

“Hmm, yes. Freezing interest is probably the only way to save Britain at this time.”

“Actually, we can no longer expect the economy to revive just because we run a colony. The debt ratio is so high that the debt is piling up day by day.”

“So, what kind of card are you going to freeze interest with?”

Ophelia was a woman with as much guts as she had brains.

She offered Lee Hwan a big deal.

“I would like to sell some of our British territories while giving you the power to acquire various companies.”

“Are you saying it’s land and company after all?”

“But I know that for Easterfield, further territorial expansion doesn’t mean much. So, in the UK, I would like to withdraw from the North American continent without being greedy for Canada any longer.”

“… … Are you going to close the fur business and the wood business altogether?”

“Right now, I think it is unreasonable to run a fur business and a wood business. The company is also in a situation where it is difficult to take any more profits because the money rotation is not smooth. Maintaining a single East India company is now too difficult.”

The British royal family, which runs a state-run business, had no choice but to evaluate the company’s profit every time.

No matter how much a project is done to fatten the country, wouldn’t it be difficult if it creates a reverse flow of money?

Besides, she had good reasons for making this suggestion.

It was just the resin deterioration.

“To be more honest, the balance we get from trading with Easterfield is always negative. Of course, isn’t it impossible to live without using Easterfield’s high-quality products? In addition, we have to use Easterfield’s products to build automobiles and factories, and Easterfield is also producing all of the fuel. In fact, it can be seen that it has become difficult for the UK to take any more profits now, no matter how hard it tries. Even the trade in fur is declining day by day.”

Easterfield’s synthetic fibers, which are easier to obtain and feel better than natural fur, are dominating the global apparel market these days.

Even rumors circulated that clothes were made with a material better than silk, so the oriental silk merchants stopped doing business.

It was unclear how much money could be made with fur under such circumstances.

“And the bigger problem is that Easterfield already has the best fur production in the world. There is virtually no reason we should have Canada.”

“In that case, would it be better to clean up Canada along with debt in order to sort out the worsening of the balance sheet?”

“That’s right. Some think that colonial management is no longer meaningful.”

In fact, the reason colonies exist is to improve the balance of payments and increase the country’s productivity and trade volume.

Taken from readwn.com

Making unequal treaties and, in effect, reaping profits through subjugated states is the way the great powers live.

However, Britain today cannot profit from colonization.

The people living in the colonies have no choice but to depend on Easterfield to live, so what is the benefit from there?

“Yeah, running a colony costs money.”

“It’s not just about money. It consumes time, effort, and even national power. If we, Britain, try to further expand our territory, we may be able to self-destruct.”

Her analysis was quite sharp.

It has already been proven through Spain that colonial rule is not a good thing, and in fact, they are now living dependent on Easterfield.

Anyone who thinks of such a picture will have no choice but to give up on territorial expansion.

‘But nevertheless, Britain will not give up on colonial expansion.’

It would be terrifying to say that all of this was done under the British plan to occupy Italy and devour Asia.

Lee Hwan decided to sneak a peek at what she was really thinking.

“Then what would happen to Britain if we went to war under these circumstances?”

“It will be one of the two. If we can win the war, economic revival will happen, and if we lose, the empire will be divided and the country will fall.”

“Nevertheless, will Britain achieve what it wants if it plans to go to war with Russia?”

“Well, wouldn’t it depend on how smoothly and well the commander distributes the battle plan?”

The military of the 19th century differs in concept from the military of the future.

The army goes to war with the support of the state, but that does not mean that it can receive 100% of all its military expenses.

Although this was often the case in the previous Napoleonic Wars, the army did not receive support from the mother country, so it was common to loot the surrounding area.

This is because the royal family had no choice but to issue bonds or issue bills to finance the war.

Rather, it is not really impossible for bonds and bills, which are less reliable than money, to finance 100% of the cost.

Paradoxically, if the commander’s ability is excellent and can wage war without the foreign exchange loss of bonds, the morale of the soldiers will be different.

This is because an army does not move unless it is full, and an army that is moderately wealthy has high morale.

“So, does your country have such a commander?”

“It is said that there will never be another soldier like that after the Duke of Wellington. But as long as I am there, the board can be turned over.”

“… … A princess in war?”