British civil servant

Based on the memory of his previous life, Kissinger is far more famous in Alan Wilson's mind than other US secretaries of state. He has mainly accomplished two things. He had a good talk with Saudi Arabia and broke the ice of Sino-US diplomacy.The reason for the high popularity is because of the latter.

However, most Americans do not think that the work of Nixon and Kissinger is very decisive, which can be seen from the sharp decline of Kissinger's influence later.

During the Reagan period, Kissinger was already regarded by some people as the American representative of appeasement.A certain big country believes that I have contributed a lot to defeating the Soviet Union, otherwise you would not have won.Americans don't think so.

However, in Alan Wilson's view, the failure of the Soviet Union must be the main reason for its own problems. Compared with this main reason, the external factors of any country are not the main reason.

This time, the emergency visit started directly when the dusty Kissinger landed in London. Unsurprisingly, Kissinger came to London with the sincerity of compromise. The Romans thought of the Greeks again. At the critical moment, he did not laugh at Britain for being sentimental, but hoped that Britain could help diplomatically.

Harold Wilson certainly attached importance to Kissinger's visit, and expressed his willingness to work with the United States to resolve this crisis, at least in front of Kissinger.

"Washington and London represent the world order. In fact, as long as Britain concentrates its strength and copes with the difficulties with the United States, I believe the world order will not collapse." Kissinger said with sincerity, "We even think that Britain should Europe should play a greater role, and now under the threat of the Soviet Union, it should strengthen its military power in Europe. In fact, it is not a bad thing to give up some unimportant places."

"Why? Didn't say any conditions, and Britain still wants to take the colony in?" Alan Wilson sneered after hearing Wick's report, "It's better to be clear, I hope that Britain will withdraw its troops from the Middle East and let the protectorate in the Persian Gulf truly become independent. , giving all of Britain's influence in the Persian Gulf to the United States."

The first thousand and 380 chapters in the hands of the future

There is no organized army in the UK anymore. If we send more troops to Europe, where will we draw troops?Either the Far East or the Middle East, what about after the deployment of troops?Let America build a petrodollar!

If the Bretton Woods system is in place, the United Kingdom can still rely on the earlier imperial preferential system to compete with the United States, and it has really become a petrodollar.

The abacus is sound. In Alan Wilson's view, the United States may now be looking for what the dollar will be linked to after the collapse of the Bretton Woods system.

"Maria, does the Prime Minister have time? I have something to report!" Alan Wilson took the phone and called the Prime Minister's political secretary, "Okay, thank you."

Putting down the microphone, Alan Wilson got up and went directly to No. [-] Downing Street to find out what Kissinger, the presidential envoy, said.

"It's similar to what you said. I hope that the United Kingdom will stand with the United States, and at the same time I hope that we will increase the garrison in Germany. Kissinger said that Washington also intends to cease the war now, and is happy to see the United Kingdom play a key role." I am quite satisfied with being able to cease the war, and I am a little flustered with the high hat that Kissinger put on.

Alan Wilson frowned slightly, he was noncommittal about the prime minister's optimism, and asked directly, "Is the United States ready to lose South Vietnam? Are you ready for its influence to be weakened after the defeat? If the United States cannot keep the existence of South Vietnam, Why do many neutral countries believe that the idea of ​​freedom they uphold is worth defending? Maybe they think that the ideas of the Soviet Union are the future of mankind.”

The United States can choose when the war will start. In fact, it can choose when the war will end theoretically. However, as a military power that has been shaped, it is still the world's number one military power. If it ends in a disastrous defeat, it will not only be the number one military power. The question of substitutions, in fact, since the defeat in the Vietnam War, the international community has indeed acquiesced that the Soviet Union is the world's number one military power.

With the industrial indicators of the Soviet Union reaching the top in the world in all aspects, the free world has experienced unprecedented frustration. This is all true.

The United States has always insisted on Vietnam, and the reason for hoping that South Vietnam will be preserved is also to avoid this kind of future. The defeat in the Vietnam War not only lost a South Vietnam, but the bombing of the north was quite extensive, and it also involved neighboring Cambodia and Laos. The United States lost control of three countries at once.

The influence of the United States retreated to the border of Thailand to stabilize its position. The Soviet Union took the opportunity to launch a global offensive. The United States took an evasive attitude for a long time and did not directly confront the Soviet Union.

In fact, the peg between oil and the U.S. dollar was not able to stabilize the value of the U.S. dollar at the beginning, which is also related to the United States losing its position as the world's number one military power.You can't fight anymore, why can you protect me?

This is not the first time this happened, nor will it be the last time. Not to mention the Soviet Union's global offensive, the United States performed a trapeze in Kabul, and Russia would do it immediately.Russia was trapped by Hezbollah's tactics, and NATO did not send troops, because once the United States sent troops, it would be completely unable to hold down the princes in other regions.

"The Soviet Union also hoped that the Vietnam War would end soon." Harold Wilson said uncertainly, "Kosygin has expressed this idea many times."

"In the political structure of the Soviet Union, the person who has the final say is not Kosygin, the chairman of the Council of Ministers, but Brezhnev."

Alan Wilson seriously reminded, "As long as Brezhnev does not make visible efforts, it can be judged as pending. If I were in Brezhnev's position, I would firmly support North Korea." Vietnam will unify the country and let the Americans get out in disgrace, not the so-called calm retreat."

"Of course, the Vietnam War has nothing to do with Britain. Malaya is still relatively stable. With Thailand's security, the peninsula of West Malaysia will not pose a threat. East Malaysia is an island, and the Royal Pacific Fleet is sufficient to repel any invasion from the sea. Threat. But from the perspective of the United Kingdom, we must prepare for the next response. The Republic of Kalimantan was established two years ago, and the Netherlands left a military base while preserving its economic interests. It can be regarded as a contribution to maintaining the stability of the East Indies.”

"The situation in the Far East is indeed worrying, and the local British troops cannot be withdrawn." Harold Wilson nodded, agreeing with this view.

"The Middle East is more important. If we withdraw our troops from the Middle East, the Arab countries will almost certainly fall to the Soviet Union. If it is accompanied by the defeat of the United States in Southeast Asia." Alan Wilson said to the Prime Minister in a pessimistic tone, "and we have to Consider this possibility."

"What's possible?" Harold Wilson was startled, and looked at the civil servant leader in front of him. Why is today's conversation full of riddles and speculation?

"Dear Prime Minister, of course I don't believe that you are a Soviet spy, as some Conservatives say. But can we keep the conversation a secret?" Alan Wilson said solemnly.

"Of course!" Harold Wilson replied bluntly, and then asked, "There are also voices in Whitehall who think that I have an ambiguous relationship with the Soviet Union?"

"If there are too many gossips, there will always be discussions. Conservatives always say that, and we can't help it. But I strictly curb the emergence of such discussions." Alan Wilson solemnly promised not to mention the source of discussions in Whitehall It also includes him as the cabinet secretary.

"The disintegration of the Bretton Woods system is imminent. The problem facing the U.S. currency is that if so many U.S. dollars are overissued, once they flow into the United States, it will directly cause the U.S. to enter inflation. Now the U.S. dollar in the international market is at least With a scale of 5000 trillion yuan, it is impossible to rely on the United States to take over."

Alan Wilson paused when he said this, "Washington must want to find something to bind the value of the dollar. What is the most important to modern society, and what is inseparable from all countries? Oil!"

"Oil!" Harold Wilson muttered, "but the United States has only two countries in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Iran."

"That's right, and Arab countries generally oppose Israel. The UK is inclined to Arab countries in the Palestine-Israel dispute. In a sense, the UK is an obstacle for the United States. In fact, if the Iranian crisis is not a factor of the United States, we will not back down in the end. If the United States wants to bind oil, it will definitely find a way to devour our interests in the Persian Gulf. The most intuitive and simplest way is to drive away our troops stationed in the Persian Gulf. As long as our local military power disappears, many incidental The benefits of that would disappear, which is what Whitehall has been trying to avoid."

Alan Wilson shrugged and said, "The military is also very willing to strengthen its forces in Germany. Although we are facing the armored forces of the Soviet Union, this cannot be based on the withdrawal of troops stationed in the Middle East and Far East."

"It sounds like a very likely thing to happen." Harold Wilson fell into long-term thinking. "This is not good for the interests of the United Kingdom."

"Well, the Prime Minister's opinion." Allen Wilson snorted softly. It is obvious that the Bretton Woods system Europe, including the United Kingdom, still has the ability to resist. Once it enters the rhythm of petrodollars, the United Kingdom is also in the category of being contained. There is no doubt that Britain cannot keep its current interests.

Today's discussion, especially the discussion on currency and oil, is limited to private discussions between the cabinet secretary and the prime minister. Harold Wilson also assured that only the two of them know about it and will not spread it.

The direction of the Vietnam War is actually not important to Britain. According to the Soviet camp, it is a struggle between progress and regression, truth and fallacy, light and darkness, a struggle between proletarian giants and bourgeois monsters!There was a civil war in Vietnam.Organized agitation, led battles, and orderly chaos are everywhere.The revolution of the proletariat is to constantly criticize itself.

One victory at a time; one repetition at a time.Do things that seem to have been done again and again, and do these things again, and each time there is a new improvement.It searches its own weaknesses, shortcomings and mistakes without mercy.

Britain is a bourgeois country full of money, so it is better not to care about any great ideals, just be pragmatic and think about not falling into the trap of the United States.The demand is also very simple. If the Bretton Woods system is a system in which the US dollar is the mainstay and the British pound is supplemented, then at least the next system, the British pound, cannot be that and so on.

Harold Wilson made at least one thing clear. The United States will almost certainly default in this dollar crisis. Once it defaults, it will mark the end of the Bretton Woods system. Not to mention that the United Kingdom is also a member of the gold run, even if it is not , Britain cannot be saved.

"Then what should we do now?" Harold Wilson whispered, as if he was in a dilemma.

"Buy time for the European run. There is no other way." Alan Wilson said without thinking, "It's okay to make an appropriate appearance of interfering, as long as you don't really interfere. After all, we can't stop it." For European bankers, I believe that after this dollar crisis, Nixon will be ready to talk about it. At least give other countries an explanation.”

Even if the Bretton Woods system holds a funeral, a sense of ritual is still necessary.As for the United Kingdom, it is time to think about the next round of open and dark arrows from the United States.

After Kissinger was promised to leave, Harold Wilson delivered a speech on currency in the House of Commons, saying that the financial chaos had attracted the attention of the government.

"The Prime Minister is just joking, and your friends can act as they please." Alan Wilson directly turned off the TV and explained with his arms around Pamela Mountbatten.

Believe in the Prime Minister or the Secretary-General of the Cabinet, what a simple multiple-choice question, of course it is the latter, at least the latter will not lie in the House of Commons.

Chapter 380 Difficult Decisions

"So what are we going to do next?" Pamela Mountbatten asked, raising her head and touching the stubble on her husband's chin, "Cheating Washington?"

"I don't know your progress, but I feel that according to the usual procedures of the government, the normal wear and tear is enough for you to get things done." Alan Wilson patted his wife's thigh and muttered, "Maybe we should take action, but nothing can not do this."

Pamela Mountbatten understood, and said, "Actually, it doesn't take a few days. Once it converges into a river, the speed of the run is still very fast. In a few days, if you say two weeks, the Americans will not be able to bear it."

"That's up to you." Allen Wilson suddenly asked, "Albert is going to join the army? Is this true?"

"Isn't that going to learn from you and serve the country?" Pamela Mountbatten was also helpless, "Father also thinks it is a good thing to enter the army for training, so that you can develop a good character."

"Obviously I don't learn from me." Alan Wilson frowned, hesitated and asked, "Can't you, as a mother, kill your dreams in the bud?"

Learn from your father?To be honest, Alan Wilson almost didn't hold back when he heard this sentence, and checked in his heart whether he was pretending too much, so that his own son didn't see his true face of hypocrisy?Is it true that he can sacrifice everything for the country?Just talking, is it true?

Thinking about it carefully, it seems that the children of ladies with the same status as their wives, although I haven't seen a few of them, seem to have grown up well, but it has nothing to do with his training.

Forget it, it's a small problem after all, it's the last supper time, everything else must give way to this matter.

Just as the Federal Reserve must frequently speak out to raise everyone's psychological expectations before raising interest rates, the Labor Party cabinet, especially Chancellor Callaghan, will take on this responsibility in the next few days.

Warnings, stern warnings, and threats will be the mainstream in the next few days. As for whether to actually take action?Anyway, the appearance of action is to be done!

Since it was the last supper, cowards were not eligible to sit on the table. If some bankers were deterred by this, it could only mean that these people should not have profited.

It doesn't prove anything to say that the words are getting tougher every time. Which democratically elected politician is unfamiliar with this?It's nothing more than a routine operation to do nothing.

After the war, the United Kingdom has been trying to restore the pound area, but it has been severely suppressed by the United States.

The UK continues to freeze foreign sterling reserves, and then gradually repays these foreign debts with British exports. This will not only stimulate employment in the UK, get rid of the shadow of post-war recession, but also stabilize the value of the pound. The most important thing is to maintain the value of the pound zone. As long as there is this economic base, it is not impossible to rise again in the future.

When the freeze is lifted, the pound zone will turn to the US dollar one after another, which will not only help the United States expand exports and strengthen the sphere of influence of the dollar zone, but the pound zone will fundamentally fall into disintegration and doom.

Today, after finally losing 80.00% of its colonies, the United Kingdom has stabilized its position, digested all the previously over-issued pounds, and built a pound zone that is not as large as before, but more flexible.

And began to try again to expand their sphere of influence. First of all, naturally start from Asia, such as in Myanmar, which requires a country to be the backing of the production base in Malaya. Obviously, Australia, which is the top resource country, is on this is qualified.

For the sake of sustainability, of course Alan Wilson will not regret selling the colony. The only thing he feels wrong in retrospect is that he should ask the Soviet Union for a price when he sold Poland at the Potsdam Conference. , even how many tons of gold?It turned out that nothing was really mentioned.

Maybe even if it was mentioned, the Soviet Union would eventually reject it, but not mentioning it would be an unforgivable mistake. Every time Alan Wilson thinks about it, he feels bitter about it, thinking that the Soviet Union has taken advantage of him.

"Washington calls almost every day, don't worry, soon, we will see strong measures right away."

Of course, Alan Wilson knew exactly how many calls the prime minister had answered. The people next to the prime minister were also paid. He couldn't know the content of the calls, but it was easy to know how many times the calls had come.

"I think what we should do now is to carefully find out the current industries of European countries, including the United Kingdom, and where they feel inadequate compared with the United States."

Allen Wilson called the head of MI[-] to ask him to figure out whether the European and American industries can be independent of the United States. Most of the later generations think that it is possible, but the difference lies in the Internet and USD, but this kind of thing is not always reassuring without investigating it yourself.

After the head of MI[-] left, Alan Wilson was still thinking about what was missing. In this era, industry is still honestly fighting. The financial nuclear bomb is just beautiful. What is power?

The power lies in the fact that tens of thousands of workers, like swarms of silent black ants, suddenly swarm out from many small streets and alleys that look like ditches full of muddy water and some houses that look like big garbage cans on the edge of the city, making people There was the sound of footsteps in the street, the clatter of tin utensils gleaming in the streetlights, the clattering of the dry wooden soles of many flat shoes, the clatter of people who had not had enough sleep, and the trampling of feet in the mud. The gurgling sound.

Crowds of people from all directions filled the entire street, some of them were densely packed on the sidewalk, and some were walking in the center of the street full of black sewage and sludge.Some people gathered chaotically in front of the factory gate, while others lined up like a long snake. When they entered the gate, they seemed to be slowly swallowed by the light from the gate.

The tense and intense working life of thousands of factories begins.The low rumble of the machines echoed in the smoky air, the windows of those factory buildings and the black bodies of workers or huge machines that appeared in the windows, this is the real power, and finance can only be used as an alternative , the real power can only return to the essence.

This kind of power can create a torrent of wealth. If the UK only counts its homeland, it certainly does not have such power. I don’t know if the European Community countries have such power together.

For some reason, the staff of the White House always feel that today's weather is particularly gloomy, and there is a feeling that the mountain is about to rain and the wind is overwhelming. Maybe they don't know this adjective, but it probably means it.

The past two years have been difficult for the United States. The Vietnam War has made great progress in the military. It has repeatedly inflicted heavy damage on North Vietnam, but it cannot be transformed into victory. Even the State Department and the CIA do not think that there will be any results if the war continues. Only the Pentagon thinks You can still work hard, and there is also the retired US Army Commander in Vietnam, General Westmoreland, who keeps giving speeches everywhere.

The timidity of criticizing the government is the root cause of the army's inability to win on the battlefield.

The wave of anti-war came one after another, and the dollar crisis appeared frequently, and the European allies counterattacked. This time, this time, the question of how to end the Vietnam War was briefly replaced.

President Nixon's fury made his staff involuntarily stay away from the president's office, whispering what happened to make this tough-looking president lose his composure?

After a while, Dr. Kissinger hurried to the White House and entered the Oval Office amidst the curious eyes of others.

He was not afraid of what would happen to Nixon. After all, Kissinger was a friend of the Rockefeller family. He had also served as a director of the Rockefeller Brothers Foundation, which was established by the five Rockefeller brothers.

"The British deceived us." Nixon couldn't hide the anger in his heart. He didn't expect the news that he finally got. cheat.

"This is a difficult time. The raging US debt is engulfing the United States." Kissinger is actually not willing to go to the UK. Before he went, he felt that things would not go well.

Kissinger was extremely surprised by the promise that Britain finally agreed to work hard for it and to advance and retreat with the United States. He just saw that Nixon relaxed and did not say anything. fart.

Due to the genetic defect of the gold exchange standard, the growth of the US dollar must exceed that of gold, and maintaining the locked price between the US dollar and gold has become an illusion that cannot continue to exist logically.

The bottleneck is that when the output of the U.S. dollar is larger than its own gold reserves, it will automatically detonate the crisis that the world will use U.S. dollar banknotes to run on the U.S. gold reserves.

Obviously, the dollar tsunami this time is more violent than previous ones. When the Vietnam War had no results, Europe had obviously reached the limit of its tolerance for the U.S. dollar. here.

This is something that no country can do. Such a large amount of U.S. debt and the U.S. dollar are two-pronged. Only the United Kingdom and Germany have this condition in Europe. It is more likely that everyone in Europe will have a share, and there may even be a run on the last time. Golden France.

The United States does not have so much gold, nor does the world have so much gold. The British role must have played a negative role, if not the main culprit.

"President, call the chairman of the Federal Reserve. We can't watch our hard-earned gold be taken back by the Europeans."

Kissinger said that this may be a difficult choice, but sooner or later, the Bretton Woods system has come to an end, and the dollar has actually defaulted.

Arthur Burns is the current chairman of the Federal Reserve. Because of his close relationship with Nixon, he got the throne of controlling the entire financial empire. Because of this personal relationship, he is also considered a political chairman who directly obeys Nixon himself. .

"[-] million ounces." Knowing the current gold reserve figure, Nixon fell into deep thinking, and now she needs to make a decision that may change the international financial order.

The first thousand and 380 chapters and three of the British suffered heavy losses

The news that Nixon and the United States stopped fulfilling the obligation of foreign governments or central banks to exchange U.S. dollars for gold in the United States stunned bankers in various European countries. Still give all participating countries a slap in the face.

In fact, this has been considered the disintegration of the Bretton Woods system. If the US dollar cannot be converted into gold, why should countries reserve US dollars?Where is the value of the dollar reflected?

"It's simple, buy private gold in the United States. Although there are definitely not many private gold stocks, it's better than nothing. It's better to be quick, otherwise the United States will find this loophole and it will be filled immediately." Alan Wilson was not surprised. As expected, the United States will not actually watch its gold reserves be emptied.

What if you breach the contract?Can you beat America?Since you can't, you can only let it go. The world is realistic after all, and it is wise to start from the position of strength.

"Nixon's words are really straightforward." Pamela Mountbatten said in disbelief, "It's so straightforward, the power to exchange gold is abolished. Now there are seventy-eight billion US dollars of funds pouring in." Entering the United States, even if it is not a U.S. debt, he dares to renege on it directly."

"It may not be so straightforward. The United States will explain it specifically after a while, but it will still renege on its debt in the end."

Alan Wilson explained, "All the gold in the world can't exchange 800 billion US dollars of funds. What can I do if I don't want to be bad? Now it's serious to ship the exchanged gold back, and then sell it according to the market price. Scan goods within the United States."

Although Nixon cut the mess quickly, he would definitely find an opportunity to explain in the face of raging accusations. Alan Wilson thought for a while and said, "It's time to find some representatives of the Middle Eastern royal family and come to London as a guest. Finish the matter at hand, Did I make the invitation or did you make the invitation?"

"I'll do business matters!" Pamela Mountbatten knew that it was more reasonable for her to come forward than her husband who was in public office.

"Okay, then you come and have a good talk with them, especially Bahrain and Qatar, they are small in population and easy to buy. I will assist you then. After all, we still have troops stationed in the Persian Gulf. We will offer a very generous offer Conditions, reaching an agreement will definitely not be a problem." Alan Wilson looked at the time, Nixon announced the stop of gold exchange, a year earlier than the original history.

Alan Wilson sighed a little. An era is over, and the United States still cannot bear the backflow of massive international dollars. In fact, the base camp of international dollars is London. London has long been an international financial center for 200 years, and it is also a distribution center for Eurodollars. .The so-called international dollar is actually the euro dollar.

The reason why the UK can choose to stand by is because of this. The Bank of England stipulates that British people are not allowed to buy foreign bonds, unless they are US dollar bonds for "real investment" purposes in the strict sense: in these two strictly isolated markets, the UK The pounds held by foreigners and the dollars held by foreigners, everyone does not violate the river water.

Foreigners can do whatever they want in the completely unregulated dollar capital market, and all activities in this market will not affect the British domestic capital market at all.

The so-called real investment dollars are actually not a problem for British bankers. Any provision is to stop ordinary people, not real public servants of the people.

Nixon will definitely make an explanation. Of course, this explanation is almost equivalent to the fact that Britain promised Kissinger to deal with it with the United States and then did nothing.

Nixon's explanation was to appease the European countries' sense of betrayal afterwards, and that was all there was to it.

However, it is not necessarily the best time to start from the status of strength. The pound zone has not been defeated, at least not completely defeated, and the dollar is still far from being able to dominate the world.