Romanian Eagle

After sending off the two ambassadors, Edel invited a guard to speak to him. "Inform the prime minister that the German and Austrian ambassadors have come to visit and raise the price of Romanian oil to £9."

The guard also knew what to do, so he nodded. "Your Highness, I'll go right away."

After the two ambassadors left the palace, Ambassador Baslob said. "Ambassador Bailey, don't sit with me."

Ambassador Bailey knew that it was Ambassador Baslob who had something to say to himself, so he said cheerfully. "Alright. I haven't eaten German sausages or drank stout in a long time."

So the two ambassadors took a carriage to the German embassy on Provesley Street.

Sausages and stout were served by the servants and the door was closed, leaving only the two ambassadors to taste the food. After seeing only two people, Ambassador Baslob was the first to speak. "Ambassador Bailey, your country did not play very well in Serbia."

Faced with the topic of Ambassador Baslob, Ambassador Bailey knew that this was not too good, it was just a euphemism, and it was a complete failure to describe it. Under the command of the military governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Portiorek, who failed to protect the Grand Duke Ferdinand, he attacked Serbia with a 500,000 Austro-Hungarian army, only to face Serbia's 400,000 army mobilizing the whole country, they lost 5 After ten thousand people, they retreated.

Faced with such a topic, Ambassador Bailey could only speak up. "This is because the Russian frontline needs troops, so it was abandoned halfway. But now General Portiorek is ready this time. He will lead the army to capture Serbia again, and the country that murdered the crown prince will know the wrath of Austria-Hungary."

For the German ambassador, this is a one-sided remark of Ambassador Bailey. Whether it is really that powerful depends on the level of this General Portiorec. But he didn't mean to say this, but to make excuses.

"Mr. Ambassador, you know that the government's request to me this time is to ensure that Romanian oil can supply us with sufficient oil. As you can see now, we can only compete with Britain and France." Ambassador Baslob said. own purpose this time. "So how much did Austria-Hungary give you to buy oil."

In the face of the German ambassador's inquiry, Ambassador Bailey knew that he had nothing to hide, so he said generously. "Domestic gave me 260 crowns per ton."

Ambassador Baslobe calculated in his mind that the upper limit was 11 pounds, so he also stated the price the government gave him. "I gave a price of 260 marks per ton. If it is higher, I have to ask the government."

As for why Germany is so much higher, Ambassador Baslob did not say, nor did Ambassador Bailey ask. However, he can also guess that the German army is now equipped with more vehicles, so the demand for oil is not comparable to Austria-Hungary.

In fact, as he thought, many recent battles have reduced Germany's oil inventory to a warning level. Now the refined oil for German civilian cars is completely out of supply. Only agricultural and production units can get the supply of fuel. In addition, the government and the royal family can have a small amount of supply. So for Romania, the only country that can provide oil, they have to buy it. If there is no supply of Romanian oil, Germany will be without oil in three months, which is not only a military problem, but also a big problem for domestic production.

Now that the two have learned about the other's low price, all they need to do is wait for a response from Britain and France. The fact that the response was quick, the British ambassador was meeting the French and Russian ambassadors while they were sitting together.

In the private room of the British ambassador, Jean Bard, the visiting French ambassador, spoke in a hurry. "The German and Austrian ambassadors just went to the palace. As we found out, they offered the Romanians £9 a ton. Our strategy worked."

Seeing the beaming faces of Ambassador Jean Bard and Ambassador Firalovsky,

Ambassador Richard Mann, a veteran gentleman, also spoke with a smile. "The good game is just beginning. Now we need to make the Germans lose a lot of money economically, but it is destined that this cheap can only be earned by the Romanians."

The Russian ambassador Firalovsky said enviously. "This is really an enviable wealth. They don't have to do anything, and someone helps them raise prices. You must know that our oil is only sold at 2.5 pounds a ton, and even refined oil is only sold at 4.5 pounds a ton. They easily sell for 2x the price.”

This "them" has no one else except Romania, and the "someone" will obviously be the two in front of him.

Hearing the envious words of the Russian ambassador, the French ambassador asked Bud to persuade him. "This is nothing, as long as we defeat Germany and Austria, we have enough interests to live in. Compared with these money, territory and influence are the most important."

Territory was clearly more to the Russian ambassador's appetite than money. After hearing the persuasion of the French ambassador, he stopped speaking. And Russia doesn't need to import oil, nor does it have the economic power to play this money game.

But the three ambassadors did not come together to discuss Romania, a lucky country, but to talk about other things.

"Let Ambassador Budd, how high the purchase price is given by your government."

After the three of them sat down, Ambassador Richard Mann began to ask the French ambassador his own concerns.

In the face of the British ambassador's inquiry, Ambassador Bard told the price that the country gave him. "450 francs per ton, but due to the fact that my country is under too much pressure now, it can only purchase 40% of the export volume."

Ambassador Richardman is still not very satisfied with the price mentioned by Ambassador Jean Bard, but the price given by his own government is similar. "The price given by the government on my side is 15 pounds per ton, and the purchase volume is 50% of the export quota."

He continued. "It seems that we have a gap of 10%, but this is not a big problem. I believe our two governments will coordinate the work in this area. Now we neutralize the price basically at 14.5 pounds, then it seems that we and Germany and Austria are two. There is still competition in the country.”

In fact, Richardman is still not satisfied with the price given by the country. He believes that it is completely possible to compete with Romanian oil to the price of 20 pounds per ton. This will be a big expense for Germany, and it can be used as their naval military expense in peacetime. It's just that senior government officials are afraid that if Germany doesn't use it, accepting it will become a hot potato. And there is no way to tell the people that buying a large amount of oil four times higher than the market price is to fight the enemy and strengthen itself.

So the government can only give three times the price now, and either buy all of it, or it will become a big bleeding. For the government's order, Richard Mann can't do anything about it. After all, he is just an ambassador, not living in 10 Downing Street.

Then Ambassador Richardman discussed with the French and Russian ambassadors how the three countries could let Germany and Austria fall into the trap and fall into blood loss. Among them, the Russian ambassador did not say a word and watched the whole process. The government negotiation was also very fast, and the results of the negotiation were sent in the evening. Among them, France still has a 40% share of imported high-priced oil, but the price has been increased to 15 pounds, and the British government will purchase the remaining 60% of the share for the French price increase.

After the negotiation between the two countries, the British and French ambassadors have enough confidence to let Germany and Austria dance with their baton.