On March 17, 1929, at Downing Street No. 10 in London, the famous residence of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
At this moment, Prime Minister Baldwin’s expression was grave as he sat surrounded by senior members of the British Cabinet.
"Gentlemen, let’s discuss, how should we handle the situation in the United States?" Prime Minister Baldwin began, his voice reflecting the weight of the issue.
The ’handling’ he referred to was not about partitioning American territory but rather managing the recent chaos that had erupted in New York.
Indeed, New York had descended into chaos once again.
With a population exceeding 12 million, New York’s population was second only to London, regarded by the Powers as the world’s second largest urban city.
To have New York under British control seemed a great advantage, but those who understood the situation in the United States knew that the British had also inherited a huge problem.
If American chaos stemmed from racial conflicts, national disputes, and class struggles, then as America’s largest and most affluent city, New York perfectly inherited these issues. To call it a miniature, chaotic United States would not be an overstatement.
As a bustling international metropolis, New York was home to hundreds of thousands of urban white-collar workers who constituted a majority of the city’s population and workforce.
Also, New York hosted several American consortia and had a substantial number of enterprises and factories with sizeable assets in the city.
Beyond that, New York naturally attracted a massive influx of refugees and lower-class citizens, making the city’s actual situation far worse than imagined.
If the American Government previously fretted about these issues, it was now naturally the British Government’s turn.
What was worse, due to the earlier Washington Massacre, the American people were extremely opposed to violent suppressions.
Although violent suppression was one option, if the British were to employ it, establishing a compliant state in America would prove quite difficult.
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Moreover, the substantial Black population along the United States East Coast posed another problem. If these Black people were not accepted, finding a solution for them would be challenging.
But if these Black individuals were accepted, the racial tensions between Blacks and Caucasians could cause a considerable rift in the new state poised to be established on the Eastern Coast.
Unfortunately, the British couldn’t address the Black population as had been done in Australasia. Australasia occupied the Western Region, where there were fewer Blacks, as the overall population was not large.
Small populations are easier to manage, dispersing them to other regions without causing significant strife.
However, the Eastern Coast was different. The British-controlled region was home to millions of Black individuals, for whom there were no suitable relocation areas available.
Furthermore, these Black individuals would undoubtedly be unwilling to return to Africa. After all, compared to the comfortable climate and prosperity of the United States East Coast, the hot and barren Africa was hardly a place for them.
Besides the Black population problem, the powerful consortia of the United States East Coast and the multitude of immigrants from European nations posed significant issues as well.
The reason consortia had been able to dominate American politics wasn’t only because they had substantial financial power but also because they controlled numerous enterprises in the United States, indirectly controlling a large portion of the American workforce.
If the consortia were not cautiously guarded against or even controlled, they would pose a significant challenge to the emerging state.
Of course, the abundant number of workers on the Eastern Coast also presented a not-insignificant force, potentially influencing the situation on the United States East Coast.
What did such chaotic circumstances give rise to?
Naturally, they spurred the much-beloved massive protests among the people of Europe and America.
If you were to walk the streets of New York, you could see many protesters. Naturally, each group’s slogans and purposes varied, as did the specific demographics of participants.
Each group’s protest focused on their interest, with a wide variety of demands on display.
Most Caucasians demanded that the British Government look out for their rights, restore order to factories and enterprises, and secure their jobs, among other things.
Black individuals demanded that the British distribute relief grain to them while also ensuring their political status in the future new state, guaranteeing that Blacks were also lawful citizens.
Workers, besides demanding job security, also asked for wage increases and a reduction in the currently high grain prices in the United States.
Speaking of grain prices in the United States, they had soared since the outbreak of war and reached a particularly alarming figure.
Additionally, the substantial devaluation of US dollars following the downfall of the United States made the grain prices almost uncontrollable, except in some areas under military control.
Apart from these protests, some vested interest groups also demanded that the British Government open up a currency exchange channel between the Pound and the US dollars and temporarily guarantee the value of the US dollars.
The US dollar system was established by the United States and naturally collapsed after its demise.
The worst affected were naturally those American people and enterprises with large savings in their hands, as their US dollars instantly turned into worthless paper, dealing a huge blow to both the American citizens and enterprises.
Although in theory, US dollars could also be exchanged for Pounds, nobody was willing to exchange their Pounds for US dollars at this point.
The future of the US dollar is an issue worth contemplating, as it pertains not only to the vital interests of numerous American enterprises and citizens but also to whether the economic crisis in the United States can be alleviated.
"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I think we should temporarily guarantee the value of the US dollar until the Pound completely replaces it," the Minister of Finance was the first to stand up and say, "This will also benefit the promotion of the Pound, and our currency will become the true global currency."
Prime Minister Baldwin nodded and asked, "Has the Ministry of Finance calculated how much funding this would require?"
Although converting all the US dollars circulating on the Eastern Coast into Pounds would be beneficial, it would also require a substantial amount of Pounds for the exchange.
"It’s simply incalculable," the Minister of Finance replied with a troubled look, stating frankly, "The Eastern Coast is the core territory of the United States. If we were to replace all US dollars with Pounds, the amount of Pounds needed is beyond calculation, and might even reach a number we can scarcely imagine."
Prime Minister Baldwin bit his lip with a headache, but in the end, he said, "Then let’s temporarily guarantee the value of the US dollar. Issue announcements to all regions of the Eastern Coast that we will guarantee the value of the US dollar and assure them."
"Make urgent contact with Australasia. The work of establishing the country should be entering the preparatory phase, and let the Americans resolve their own troubles."
"We have already contacted Australasia, and they have indicated that they are preparing for the World Airplane Exposition and that the work of forming a new nation will not start until May," the Minister of Foreign Affairs stood up and responded.
"Damn!" Prime Minister Baldwin cursed inwardly, but his expression showed little change.
The World Airplane Exposition was clearly just an excuse, and the more laid-back Australasia obviously had no desire to unite with the British, which also meant that the British would have to deal with various issues on the Eastern Coast alone.
"Don’t they need to prepare for the election of a King?" Prime Minister Baldwin asked somewhat morosely.
Seeing the unusual expressions on the faces of the Cabinet members, Prime Minister Baldwin realized how amusing his question was.
According to the negotiations between Britain and Australasia, the two countries in North America are essentially at the Kingdom level.
Of course, such a title of Kingdom doesn’t carry much recognition in Europe and could only be considered an amusement between Britain and Australasia.
Yet these were still two Kingdoms with populations ranging from several million to tens of millions, and their overall strength could definitely reach the third tier in Europe.
Australasia would certainly prioritize Arthur’s two sons over conducting a Kingdom-wide election across Europe, as Britain had done.
The reason for such a stark difference was actually the distinction in the royal powers of Britain and Australasia.
In Britain, royal power was in actual opposition to the Prime Ministerial power. The Prime Minister was the highest authority in Britain, and naturally, he would guard against a King holding royal power.
This also meant that the two Kingdoms Britain was to establish could not possibly be fully comprised of British Royal Family members, as that would equate to Prime Minister Baldwin nurturing a competitor for his own Prime Ministerial authority.
The situation in Australasia was much simpler. Arthur held a great deal of power, and the government had neither the strength to oppose nor any intention to do so.
Truth be told, given Arthur’s prestige in Australasia, between Arthur and the Prime Minister, the citizens would undoubtedly support Arthur without a second thought.
For matters like electing a King, the people would definitely prefer to see one of Arthur’s sons become the king of a new nation.
As far as the opinions of Americans were concerned, they could essentially be ignored. Since the two nations in Australasia had relatively small populations, the complexity of the operation was naturally much lower.
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With a slight change in his expression, Prime Minister Baldwin quickly recovered and instructed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, "Tell Australasia that establishing Kingdoms in the United States requires joint efforts from both of our sides. Work-related progress should be made before May, after the World Airplane Exposition has concluded."
Before May was the latest deadline that Prime Minister Baldwin could accept. Because in May of this year, the United Kingdom would embark on a new round of general elections, which would also decide whether Prime Minister Baldwin could be successfully re-elected.
Although defeating the United States was a huge positive news, during Prime Minister Baldwin’s term, there had also been instances of large-scale worker protests and the impacts caused by the economic crisis.
Currently, there was still a large number of unemployed people in the United Kingdom, which could greatly impact Prime Minister Baldwin’s votes.
After all, Prime Minister Baldwin’s opponent was no ordinary figure; the man slated to replace Baldwin as Prime Minister this year, had been the previous Prime Minister and the leading figure of the Labour Party, MacDonald.
If not handled properly, leading to public dissatisfaction, Prime Minister Baldwin could very well say goodbye to the Prime Minister’s seat once more, only to watch his rival sit in his place, nitpicking at the policies he once devised, or even fully rejecting them.