Episode 139 Close the Door and Talk About Business
Episode 139: Close business and discuss business
On September 10, a secret mission from Ming Dynasty arrived in Washington, USA, and began secret talks with the Roosevelt administration of the United States.
The main reason why it is a "secret mission" and "secret talks" is that Ming Dynasty is now a belligerent country, while the United States is a neutral country, and what is to be discussed is the upcoming all-out war against the Soviet Union and the issue of U.S. support for Ming Dynasty. On this issue
The Ming Dynasty tried it and failed.
The current problem is that the U.S. federal government is divided into three independent parts, the executive one, the legislative one, and the judiciary. Now President Roosevelt very much hopes that the United States will fully support the Ming Dynasty, but he only talks about the "executive" one.
After all, when it comes to breaking through the Neutrality Act, the two main areas that play a role are the "Legislative (Congress)" and the "Judiciary (Federal Courts)".
To amend the neutrality law, you need the support of the legislative branch. If you want to skirt around the neutrality law, you need the support of the judicial branch. And Ming's current plan is to import materials and loans from the United States in the name of "Free Russia".
That's just a side shot. Although it's legal in theory, whether it can be successful depends on how the federal court decides. The characteristic of the Anglo-American legal system is that it is more flexible and the judge has greater discretion. If the judge feels that it is too outrageous or insulting
Even with my own IQ, I wouldn't buy it.
But this time, we are definitely much more confident than during the last unification war. At least there is no legal problem, and the enemy is the Soviet Union and the Bolsheviks. People's support is here. Anyone who has a sense of morality and justice
The judge will support Daming.
Now it is equivalent to Ming Dynasty coming to say hello to the "executive branch" of the United States first, to communicate with each other, and to support each other when the time comes. Now we have to discuss how the two countries will exchange interests, and there are some specific issues.
The first is the port issue. The Ming Dynasty plans to capture Vladivostok first and use it as the arrival port for "Free Russia". However, Vladivostok is a frozen port and will freeze in winter, and usually one port may not be able to meet the huge shipping volume. In this case
, Ming Dynasty can adopt the "lease" method, select one or two ports in Guangdong, and "lease" them to Free Russia for a few years, then in these few years
China, this port is considered the "territory" of Free Russia. When the United States transports supplies to this port, it does not violate the Neutrality Law. There are two advantages to choosing Guangdong. First, it is very close to the Philippines, making it convenient for American cargo ships to transit nearby.
For supplies and rest, we took the Oceania-South China Sea route instead of passing through the Ryukyu Islands and the dangerous East China Sea, thus avoiding Japanese maritime attacks.
The second issue is how Ming Dynasty pays the bill. If Ming Dynasty circumvents the neutrality law, Ming Dynasty will definitely not be able to pay the United States directly. It will definitely have to be transferred from Free Russia. But the problem is, with such a huge amount of war materials, if Ming Dynasty pays all in cash,
Even though the Ming Dynasty was rich, the pressure was too great. In order to fight this war, the people in the country really had to tighten their belts to raise military expenses like the Japanese did.
After discussion, Roosevelt proposed a plan that combined cash payment, barter, port leasing, and technology exchange for materials.
Needless to say, paying in cash. Bartering means exchanging things with the United States for things that are produced in large quantities in Ming Dynasty and in great demand in the United States. For example, tungsten ore, rare earths, and various non-ferrous metals. The value of these things is
It's quite high, and one ship can often be exchanged for several ships of American goods.
Port leasing... To put it bluntly, the United States coveted several Nanyang ports in the hands of the Ming Dynasty, namely Pontianak, Surabaya, and Palembang, which were just acquired during the Ming-Dutch War. Roosevelt offered to do so if the two countries could sign a treaty.
, if one or two ports are leased to the United States on a long-term basis, it will be able to offset a considerable part of the bill, and Ming Dynasty's financial pressure will be much less.
Because these Nanyang ports are very close to the Philippines, if the United States leases them, they will be easily connected to the Philippines. The United States' "sea power radiation circle" in Southeast Asia will be greatly expanded, and the protection of Southeast Asian interests will be much enhanced. Moreover,
Britain, France and other countries will also be happy to see this form of lease
Because this will greatly increase the military presence of the United States in Nanyang, it can form a certain counterweight to the Ming Dynasty in Nanyang, and increase the sense of security of these third countries. In the words of Roosevelt, "Objectively speaking, it is good for everyone, because the United States
Ming Dynasty is a peace-loving country and can trust each other."
This article involved national territorial sovereignty. The special envoy did not dare to neglect and immediately sent a message back to Nanjing to ask for instructions on what attitude to adopt.
Technology for materials means that Ming Dynasty transferred some high-end technologies to the United States to offset part of the bills. Ming Dynasty got a lot of high-tech and blueprints from Germany, and the United States certainly knows about it. Now the United States is not short of money, since there is a country that exchanges materials for materials.
Of course, we will not let go of technological opportunities. These are mainly the latest chemical technology, metallurgical technology, engine technology from Germany, as well as some drawings of high-precision machine tools, aircraft engine drawings, etc., all of which are coveted by the United States.
Inside.
There are also some weapons, such as Messerschmitt fighter jets, Woodpecker machine guns, and Lightning series tanks. Although these German and Ming series weapons have different styles and ideas from American weapons, the United States also has its own corresponding series, but the United States
Some weapons experts are also very interested in taking a look, "Reference
In return, the United States offered to help the Ming side produce a batch of these weapons for free. In other words, it would bring Lightning tanks and Goshawk fighter jets to the American assembly line to "explode the sea." Since the Ming side provided the drawings,
You can get a batch for free, and there will be considerable discounts in the future.
While the Mingfang envoy was negotiating, he secretly lamented that these old Americans were really shrewd, and they were really not ordinary people who knew how to do business, they were no worse than the Jews.
A few hours later, instructions from Nanjing came. Shen Rongxuan discussed with several ministers and came to a consensus that there was no problem with "barter" and they could openly exchange things like tungsten ore and rare earths.
, the United States will give us as much as we want, as long as they can ship us weapons and supplies of equal value. There is no free lunch in the world, this is normal.
As for the port exchange for supplies proposed by the Americans, Shen Rongxuan ordered the special envoy not to insist on it, not to say yes, and not to say no, but to accept it vaguely first. Then we will wait and see the future war situation. If it goes smoothly, then that's okay.
It’s not like using the port to exchange for war supplies. If it really comes to that, in order to win the war
In the war against the Soviet Union, in order to regain millions of square kilometers of land, there was nothing wrong with leasing one or two ports in Southeast Asia to the Americans. The United States needs our ports, and we need American weapons and industrial products to regain the two countries in the North and South.
Xinjiang, take back the Xing'an Mountains and Lake Balkhash. They are all overseas territories anyway, so naturally we can get them the most cost-effective way.
However, there is one thing that Shen Rongxuan and several ministers clearly affirmed: the leased port can only be chosen between Surabaya and Pontianak. Palembang must not be sold. Because Palembang guards the Strait of Malacca, it is of great significance. It can be said that a Palembang, The strategic location is more important than the northern and southern frontiers.
There is also the exchange of technology for materials, which is more feasible. You can agree first and then discuss it slowly depending on the war situation. Because there are many technologies, some important and some unimportant, you can slowly decide what to give and what not to give. , very flexible.
The two sides have already settled on these major principles behind closed doors. The next step is for "Free Russia" to officially appear.