Big Time 1958 Chapter 120

   These words may sound a bit ugly, but even if De Gaulle was present, he couldn't say that Serov's words were wrong. If France had the ability to put out guerrilla warfare, not only would it not lose Algeria, but even Vietnam would not be able to become the United States.

  Algeria is already the last bottom line for the French. If it can't keep it, it will enter a rapid decline like the UK. No country can keep France's status as a veteran powerhouse, and neither can the French themselves! Algeria is within the French mainland, and France can proudly claim to be a great power. If it is the other way around, if France declares itself to be a big country again, it may become that it only believes in itself, and it is good to say that it is entertaining itself.

Does    Territory Matter? Of course it matters! In the Hundred Years' War between Britain and France, why did Britain become smaller and smaller? Isn't it just that there are many adults in France, can they withstand consumption? It is entirely possible to keep losing until the United Kingdom cannot support it. After the Hundred Years War, the United Kingdom began to try to play the continental balance of power policy. If the United Kingdom had the strength to do it on its own, why would it still use the continental balance of power? Just throw off your arms and go it alone.

   So when François said that France does not have to suppress Algeria, it can also conditionally allow it to become independent. Serov directly made a gesture of invitation without saying a word, "This is a good thing for France and Algeria. I will tell the country the news immediately, and I am ready to congratulate Algeria on its independence! The Soviet Union has always been willing to cooperate with the newly independent country. To build friendship, we have always been clear in our anti-imperialist and anti-feudal stand!"

   changed his tone, almost as if it was really the case. Serov's degree of transformation is natural and unpretentious! In fact, this attitude is more in line with the impression the Soviet Union has always given people. But François knew that if the matter had been so simple, Serov would not have been in touch with France. Why say these words. Just to show that Serov has already settled on the French attitude, which is a pity. Serov really settled on France.

   "When has the KGB replaced the duties of the Soviet Foreign Ministry!" François's eyes wandered, and he lightly reminded Serov to pay attention to politeness. It is not appropriate to use secret agents at the negotiating table.

"This is the responsibility of the KGB, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has no right to intervene in this matter!" Serov lit a cigarette unmoved. When he came back from the United States, Serov wanted to bring some cigars back, but he happened to give the women sex, Perfume and cosmetics, all the money was spent inadvertently, otherwise Serov could wear a cigar in front of François...

All right! After looking at each other for a long time, François understood that it was impossible for the head of the secret police to take a step back.

"Mr. Francois, the matter is not complicated. Now it is France who is begging the Soviet Union! You have wasted so long and you are unwilling to touch the actual problem. Are you waiting for us, the Soviet Union, to take the initiative to pull you?" Shelov pressed the cigarette **** out. Said, "Are you insisting on the illusory pride of France? If Algeria really secedes from France, will the pride of France still exist?"

   "I want to communicate with China! I believe there is no problem with the Soviet Union's means and control. The question is why does the Soviet Union help us!" Francois directly asked Serov this question before ending the meeting.

"Because France is an independent country with its own great power ambitions! It is not a member of NATO or the Warsaw Pact. I don't know about Mr. Francois and Mr. de Gaulle behind him. Are you satisfied with my answer!" Francois bowed his back slightly and gave his answer slowly.

François paused slightly, and he understood what Serov meant. Unlike the Federal Republic of Germany and other NATO member states that were garrisoned by the United States, Charles de Gaulle was very dissatisfied that the leadership of NATO could only be shared by the United States and Britain. NATO cuts. Some details have apparently been discovered by the Soviets.

   once again attributed the omniscience of Serov to the identity of the head of the KGB. Francois left the place where the two negotiated, preparing to communicate with the country. The two sides can already talk about specific issues.

  François came back again, obviously discussing the issue with a cooperative attitude, and really understood that France wanted the Soviet Union, not the other way around!

"There is no idiot's lunch in this world, and the Soviet Union is definitely not helping us out of some internationalist spirit! Director Serov, let's just say it! What are your conditions?" Francois asked directly, allowing the negotiations to enter into a substantive stage, rather than squeezing each other.

After clearing everyone out, leaving only Staciana as an interpreter, Serov said, "An Algeria can't be too cheap, this is more than two million square kilometers of land! So the French government has to spend four billion dollars! "

  $4 billion? What age is this? This is the era when the dollar and gold are bound, the Breston Woods system is still very stable, the Soviet Union represented by Serov is completely open to the lion, François protested calmly, "General Serov, don't you think this issue is very difficult? Reality? Four billion dollars, you might as well grab it..."

"Mr. Francois, you don't really think the dollar can really be compared to gold, do you? Yes, thirty-five dollars an ounce of gold, but the dollars in circulation are far from what the U.S. gold reserves can handle. This time I didn't bring experts who study economics, it doesn't mean that I can't even see such small problems!" The old **** Serov said, "Your French dollar reserves are enough to 40 billion, if you all follow the current gold Exchange with the price of the US dollar can empty the United States! So although I don't understand how your Breston Woods system works, don't try to steal the concept and make the dollar and gold really equal..."

Gold has been used as a means of payment for a long time. It is precisely because the output of gold is small and cannot be replicated that it is more reassuring to use it as a means of payment. The collapse of the Bretton Woods system has nothing to do with gold, and gold is not directly related to the currencies of various countries. The problem should be that it is a currency that can be used to exchange gold, that is, the excess issuance of US dollars cannot support the US-gold swap, which has led to the chaos and collapse of the system.

   "General Serov, even if it is one-tenth of our French foreign exchange, it is a huge amount of money! We can settle it in francs!" Francois stretched out his finger and made this suggestion.

But this suggestion of falling into the pit, Serov will never jump in by himself, and he flatly refuses, "The face value of the franc is not as good as the ruble, and now the French inflation is serious, the franc is almost a waste of paper! I heard that the de Gaulle government is preparing to reform the currency. , I hope you can succeed in France!"

   Shelov directly exposed Francois's move to introduce him into the deep pit, but he did not continue to pursue. Francois was thinking about countermeasures, while Serov was thinking about another issue, that is, the ruble of the Soviet Union is also preparing to carry out currency reform next year, and the specific news is already in the pipeline. The Soviet Union and France carried out currency reforms in the same year, which speaks volumes, as if the world seems to be changing. Serov really wanted to find an expert to teach himself a lesson, and he could obviously feel that something amazing was brewing in front of him.

   "Are you still considering it? Mr. Francois?" Sheloff was also very helpless at this impasse. The two of them had no assistants and only brought an interpreter each, and they had been in this cabin for nearly ten days. François always kept the country informed of the current progress.

   It sounds like Serov faced the entire French think tank, which is very unfair to Serov, but he actually didn't care about such details. For the Soviet Union, this matter will not have much impact. Who would be anxious about eating steamed buns or porridge this morning? Maybe someone will, but Sheloff won't...

"Four billion dollars, plus the military supplies that the Soviet Union gave to the Algerian National Liberation Front. These military supplies also need to be paid by the French government!" Serov repeated like a repeater no matter when Francois came back. This sentence.

"We still have to pay for the weapons used by the Soviet Union to kill our soldiers? General Serov, don't you go too far?" François resisted his anger and said, "The French are a proud nation, and we can solve Algeria's problems by ourselves! "

"If you want to solve it, you have already solved it! Are you still using it to talk to me in the GDR?" Shelov scratched his head and said indifferently, "We will send military supplies and military advisers, and we will go to the great desert of North Africa to fight with you. In a battle that must be lost, how to calculate casualties? How to calculate the consumption of military supplies..."

   "Impossible, we France will never pay for military supplies! Four billion dollars must include everything the Soviet Union has done, and military supplies cannot continue to be counted!" Francois said decisively.

   "The reputation of the Soviet Union in the third world is very valuable!" Shelov cut his ears and squinted at Francois.

   "Our reputation in France is also very valuable!" Francois insisted, staring at him unmoved.

"Okay, I'll show you something to show my sincerity! You can ask a translator who understands Russian to come in and read it together for you, but you can't take any piece of paper with you!" Shelov ordered, and Issemotny passed by. After a while, he brought over some records of the intelligence meeting of the Nine Nations, and Serov said without disturbing him, "Mr. Francois, if you think that the entire socialist camp will make a collective move, even a mere four billion dollars. It's not worth it, then I have nothing to say!"

   Throughout the day, Francois and the Russian-speaking translator were looking at the documents provided by Serov. Since Serov refused to take even a piece of paper, Francois could only squat in the room and climb over. Francois did not show up the next day, but was in contact with the country and fed back some of the information provided by Shelov to the country.

Sheroff couldn't imagine how the debate in France was happening, but as a result he could see that when he saw François again, Sheroff could clearly feel a familiar and comfortable temperament in the other party. This temperament is called imperialist cooperation. . I have to say that François was a lot more pleasing to his eyes at once, and it really depends on his temperament. (To be continued~^~)

Chapter end