Alan Wilson really deals with money. Although he is a civil servant of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it seems a little inappropriate to attend the meeting of the Ministry of Finance. However, in this kind of thing, it is stipulated that the dead are alive, as long as the supreme authority is willing Special work, nothing is impossible.

After arriving at the Treasury Department conference room, Alan Wilson greeted several colleagues from the Treasury Department. Not all of them were unfamiliar. Many people had attended the Whitehall reception, at least at a familiar level.

The conference room was bustling, and after a while, Edward Bridges, the current Secretary of the Civil Service and Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, walked in, and the conference room was silent for a moment.

After Edward Bridges sat down and glanced around with a scrutiny, he said, "This meeting involves the development and outlook of the national economy, as well as the prospects for European economic recovery, because there will be an important international event soon. The meeting is about to be held, and there are colleagues from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs participating in the meeting to deal with the preparations for the meeting.”

"Then in the meeting now, we all know about the current domestic situation. Although the indicators have returned to the pre-war level, it does not mean that the British Empire does not need American assistance."

Edward Bridges set the tone for the meeting: "Sir Stafford and the Prime Minister are very concerned about this."

Stafford Cripps is currently Labour's Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Chancellor and the Foreign Secretary are the Prime Minister's right-hand man. It is not too much to say that he is also the No. 2 figure in this government.

Stafford Cripps had an excellent relationship with the general secretary of the British Communist Party and was considered an extreme leftist figure in the Labour Party.

However, Stafford Cripps is very suitable for post-war Britain. Without the existence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Prime Minister Attlee wanted to have the National Health Service and the National Health Service when the money was tightened. Alloy tube planning certainly wasn't that easy.

In addition, it was also the support of Stafford Cripps that allowed the Trade Commission of the British-occupied area to establish a rationing system in an instant. Therefore, one cannot simply distinguish between left and right, and it is complicated.

Just because the Labour Party has come to power, and from my resume, I was still very extreme when I was an opposition party, and I think that these ministers of the Labour Party must not do good deeds. Otherwise, the Marshall Plan was historically accepted by the Labour Party when it was in power. How? Explain that these ministers who participated in the labor movement in their early years received aid from the Americans?

Talking about the concern of the Chancellor of the Exchequer Stafford Cripps, Edward Bridges went on to explain the current situation in the UK and what cards he has in hand to bargain with the US.

"There is no doubt that the various developments now show that the enmity between the United States and the Soviet Union is deepening after the Iron Curtain speech by Congressman Churchill, and from my personal point of view, the most valuable card in the hands of the British Empire at present, there is no doubt that It is the British-occupied area. As the most essential part of Germany's territory, as long as you hold it in your hand, Britain will recover sooner or later. Even if the Americans throw money, it will be useless. The British-occupied area with a larger industrial scale sucked in, which is why the British-occupied area is better than the US-occupied area, which has already invested hundreds of millions of dollars.”

"Even the U.S. military in the U.S.-occupied area has to purchase some things to the British-occupied area. The U.S.-occupied area dominated by Bavaria cannot be compared with the British-occupied area in terms of industry."

Hearing Alan Wilson finish, Edward Bridges nodded in approval of the report in his hand, "Alan is right, and the report in my hand can also prove it. Regarding the existence of the siphon effect, it has now been It has become the subject of research by the Ministry of Finance, and of course it is still too optimistic to judge because of this, and the increasingly obvious hostility between the United States and the Soviet Union is a danger as well as an opportunity.”

When the United States had just entered the war, representatives of the British financial circles also made an optimistic estimate of the United States. Out of the national sentiments of the United Kingdom and the United States, they believed that after the war, "the Americans and the British will help each other by jointly adopting the Lend-Lease Act." System and industry cooperation to lead the world together.”

And his hopes will be dashed. As Keynes discovered himself in Washington, the Americans saw the coming peace as an opportunity to shame the British Empire, not support it.

After the establishment of the Breston Woods system, Warburg concluded pessimistically, "Britain's solution to the post-war problem was to connect the Commonwealth Dominion and Western European countries more closely, and could not rely on the United States at all."

He believes that the aggressive economic policies of the United States have frustrated him. Immediately after the war, the United States rescinded Lend-Lease, confirming that Britain would first have to defend itself. It also confirms that the United States may devote more resources to rebuilding its former enemies than its former allies.

"From the current point of view, if the US aid is in place, the UK can end the rationing system within a year, and the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer also want to get aid. Of course, we also know that nothing is for nothing. , Americans have shown this in times of war."

After Edward Bridges finished speaking, Alan Wilson replied, "In fact, there is no need for us to wait like begging. From the example of the British occupation of Germany, it can be seen that the industrialized areas have some influence on the backward areas. The siphon effect. From the point of view of Europe, which is now in ruins, American industry is unscathed. It has the conditions!"

"So the so-called aid plan is not so much that the United States came to the world as a savior, but that the Americans played a trick and asked European countries to borrow money to buy American goods. I think there may be some problems with the wording, but in fact That's it. Like our Two Wings plan, just a variation."

"Let's think about it, during the war, the United States directed its economy to the track of war. Enterprises that produced a large number of civilian products switched to producing military products, and increased their output and scale. Before, a large number of housewives went out of their homes to work in factories. As a result, the war ended and disarmament , the demand for military products has plummeted. The huge production capacity of these companies has no market to digest. But at this time, Europe is facing the problem of reconstruction, and there is a strong demand for various heavy machinery products, such as Portugal and Iceland, which have not experienced war. Other countries also have a lot of construction needs.”

Everyone in the Treasury Department nodded in approval, and one of the deputy secretary-generals said, "We also have our own advantages. According to the news from the US embassy, ​​the US aid has some strings attached."

"It's not surprising, Americans never do business at a loss." Alan Wilson hummed, "Recipient countries must buy a certain amount of American goods, withdraw tariff barriers as soon as possible, and cancel or relax foreign exchange restrictions. It must be there in a few days, right?"

Seeing the colleague who spoke nodded, Alan Wilson said, "To be honest, once the foreign exchange control is lifted, with the current strength of the US dollar, the pound will definitely encounter a run on the pound, causing problems in the exchange rate."

"We can let out the interests of the British-occupied areas, but we must be immune to these restrictions. After all, the domestic recovery is far beyond expectations. From a larger perspective, the United States also needs us. After all, we do not have a million-scale French republic in our country. The Italian Communist Party, to a certain extent, we can cooperate with the United States, but too much concession is not a good thing.”

"It can't be said that if the Americans give enough. We can agree to some conditions." Edward Bridges finally gave his opinion, "It depends on how big the number is from the United States."

If you want the UK to cooperate, you have to add money, which is what Edward Bridges means, and it is also what colleagues in the Treasury Department mean.

After the meeting, Edward Bridges informed Chancellor Stafford Cripps of the outcome of the meeting, who then went to the Prime Minister's Office.

At this time, Prime Minister Attlee was looking at the report on the appraisal value of the colony, just happened to see the Persian Gulf chapter, and the Suez Canal chapter in the next part has not yet been seen.

"Stafford, you're here." Prime Minister Attlee put down the report in his hand, saw the Chancellor of the Exchequer come in, seated him and asked, "Is it about the European Recovery Plan?"

"Yes, the Ministry of Finance has already discussed the results." Stafford Cripps took out the minutes of today's meeting and said, "Is it too optimistic? Although the recovery situation has exceeded expectations, but for the current situation As far as the UK is concerned, American aid is also very important."

Although there is a clear demand from Europe in history, there is not much qualification to consider bargaining different.

Now the UK has returned to the level before the war, but huge foreign debt also exists. If this aid can be obtained, it will still be a great financial benefit.

"If the Americans do not attach too many conditions, we will continue to resume production in the British-occupied areas." Prime Minister Attlee shrugged and said, "Just signed a supply agreement with the Soviet Union for tin ore and rubber, if the United States does not show its sincerity If so, we are not without room for manoeuvre.”

The sky in British India was bluer, but so was the sky in British occupation. And because of the geographical location and industrial scale of the British-occupied area, the sky in the US-occupied area, which was blocked inland, was also higher and bluer.

As Prime Minister, Attlee knew the role of the British-occupied areas in promoting the development of the British economy. If the Americans took too much advantage, Attlee might not cooperate.

Before his trip to Paris, Alan Wilson received another negotiable condition. He did not rule out supporting the annexation of the Saar region by France. He could talk to the Americans on this condition. The annexation of the Saar district.