Since the nations of Europe had joined together, even if only in a temporary and shallow union, their aim was highly pointed. Aside from Russia, the open enemy, the United States and East Africa should also be classified as "potential enemies."
East Africa's decision to yield on the debt issue could instead, to a certain extent, intensify the competition between Europe and America. America could only swallow this silent loss, after all. It could not truly abandon the enormous benefits it had gained during the First World War simply because it feared Europe.
Smith cursed Gels, that "traitor," hundreds of times in his heart, but when facing the European nations, he still maintained America's hard-line stance.
"America cannot possibly yield completely on the debt issue. This is not some minor matter involving millions or tens of millions, but a major issue involving billions, one tied to the economic and social development of the United States and the savings of all American citizens."
"We can hold new negotiations with the European nations over the debt issue. For debts that truly cannot be repaid, we can extend the deadline, but we absolutely cannot allow the wealth of the American people to be written off for nothing."
He did not completely nail the coffin shut with his words, but it was foreseeable that America and Europe's debtor nations would engage in a long war of attrition next.
For America, this was not entirely a bad thing. As long as Europe still acknowledged its debts, America could use the opportunity to infiltrate Europe. A creditor failing to collect payment did not mean the indebted European nations could truly act like uncles. When facing creditors, debtors generally still had to bow and scrape, and it was common for them to sacrifice some unimportant things in