The Continuation of the Struggle for Hegemony

Inside the British Foreign Office's reception room, the atmosphere was exceptionally strange. One side of the negotiations was tense beyond measure, yet had no choice but to keep smiling; the other was clearly uninterested, yet still pretended to listen attentively.

This bizarre scene was the Anglo-Prussian negotiation. From the very moment talks began, the two sides had occupied unequal positions.

It was like an ordinary man with no money in his pocket and an empty stomach, having to borrow money for a meal. To secure that loan, he had to...

British Foreign Secretary Edward waved a hand. "My apologies, Count. There is nothing I can do about this matter. Lending is the banks' business. You should speak with the bankers."

Attitude alone was obviously not enough to borrow money. Without sufficient benefits, how could John Bull possibly open his purse?

Prusso-Polish Federation Foreign Minister Friedman said, "Sir, we have already discussed the matter with the banks. They require your government's endorsement. Please rest assured, we are being exceedingly sincere this time.

"We can raise the interest rate by 30% above the international average, and we can use fiscal revenues, colonies, railways, mines, and ports as collateral."

International loans might bring immense profits, but the risks involved were equally enormous. Without a government "endorsement," anyone daring to make an international loan would be a fool.

With a government "endorsement," should the debtor default, the government would intervene to collect the money. It could not guarantee recovery, but it did raise the cost of default for the other side.

Without a government "endorsement," then they could go collect the debt themselves! There were plenty of cautionary examples—such as the Tsarist Government's earlier debt default.

Debts endorsed by national governments were ultimately resolved through negotiations, allowing at least some of the money to