I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 864: Multiple Gains with One Move

The difference between Canada and Australia is that Australia is an island nation.

An island nation means there's nowhere else to go, and it must rely on the navy.

At this time, England was very confident in its navy, being the world's number one naval power, with 33 battleships. This does not even include the obsolete pre-dreadnoughts, with the total naval tonnage reaching an astonishing 2.71 million tons.

Under these circumstances, England felt at ease with Australia, providing weapons and production rights whenever asked.

If Australia rebelled, they would just send the navy to blockade it.

Canada is different. It is adjacent to the United States in America, a country that could slip out of England's grasp into the embrace of the United States at any time.

Therefore, England always maintained a high level of vigilance towards Canada, consciously limiting its military industrial development.

The more the opponent fears something, the more I should provide it, Shire thought.

Moreover, the reason Canada leaned towards the United States after breaking away from England was due to its proximity and the vast gap it could never catch up with, nor compete against.

Given this situation, aligning with a stronger ally was the best and only choice.

What Shire needed to do now was to give Canada hope.

If Shire could help Canada establish a strong industrial base or even gain a slight technological edge, enabling it to contest with the United States, or make a U.S. victory over it a costly affair, these old rivals would likely not continue in lockstep.

(Note: The U.S. and Canada once engaged in war, with both sides capturing and plundering each other's capitals.)

Shire hadn't finished a cup of coffee when Major General Liam returned, with eyes brimming with excitement and desire, even greed.

"Vice Admiral," Major General Liam said, "I just spoke on the phone with the Prime Minister. He warmly welcomes Bernard Company's cooperation with Canada and has authorized me to discuss the related matters with you."

"Very good." Shire nodded, "But I'd like to know if you only need the production rights for rifles?"

Major General Liam looked at Shire with his mouth open, stunned for a long while before responding: "You, you mean, we might also obtain production rights for other equipment?"

"Of course." Shire spread his hands generously, "Why not? You are allies, and helping you build military industries aligns with the interests of France and the Allies."

"Certainly, Vice Admiral." Major General Liam's face filled with smiles, his eyes shining: "Thank you very much!"

It was fantastic to be allies with France; Shire might help us establish an entire military industry.

Liam had never thought war could come with such unexpected benefits.

"Well then," Major General Liam hesitated, "let's talk about the price. You know, due to financial issues, we might only be able to choose a part of it..."

"This is precisely one of the problems, Major General," Shire interrupted Liam, "in what currency would you settle the payment?"

This puzzled Liam.

Using Canadian Dollars was out of the question; there wasn't much trade between France and Canada to consider bringing Canadian Dollars all the way to purchase goods.

After some consideration, Liam asked: "Use Pounds?"

The Pound was the core currency of the time, used in about 60% of global international trade.

Shire gently shook his head, "You know, due to the war, the Pound has been consistently devaluing. We also have little demand for British goods."

British goods were mostly transported from the United States; what else could Britain sell to France?

Liam asked again, "Then, use US Dollars?"

Shire laughed, "I would very much like to accept US Dollars, but do you have that many US Dollars?"

Spending US Dollars was not a concern, as Bernard Company still owed a loan to the United States.

But Canada, as a British colony, had most of its foreign and trade affairs managed by the British, and the Canadian government's hold on US Dollars was pitifully scarce.

Major General Liam felt a sense of awkwardness: "You're right, Vice Admiral, this is also not a viable option."

"In that case," Shire suggested, "if Canada allows Bernard Company to purchase companies, real estate, and mineral resources as assets, things would be different. This means we could settle in Canadian Dollars and then use Canadian Dollars to buy assets."

Major General Liam was stunned: "But Vice Admiral, you know, we do not have control over mineral resources."

England had signed the 'Imperial Resources Mobilization Act' with Canada, allowing England priority access to Canadian minerals and other assets, especially strategic metals like nickel and copper.

Shire sighed lightly, removing his raincoat and taking out a pre-prepared price list to hand over:

"Then it seems there's no way. Here's the list of equipment production rights and prices I originally intended for your country."

"Unfortunately, you have nothing to trade with Bernard Company."

"If one day you think of something that could be traded, contact me anytime!"

As he spoke, Shire stood up and left without hesitation, as if he had lost hope in this deal.

But this was not the case.

The offers Shire proposed to Canada were very tempting, almost at half-price.

The issue was, before Canada could buy these things, it had to reclaim resource minerals from British colonists.

And then hand them over to Shire.

With a small price to pay, it could incite conflict between Canada and England, acquire Canadian minerals and control its lifeline, and help Canada grow into a potential adversary to the United States.

Multiple gains, why not take the opportunity?

...

Sure enough, when Liam took the list Shire gave him, his eyes went wide.

The M1 rifle production authorization was only 100,000 Canadian Dollars; he had heard that the United States offered 300,000 US Dollars to purchase production rights and was rejected.

(Note: During World War I, 1 Canadian Dollar was approximately equal to 1 US Dollar.)

Also included were mortars, "Saint Étienne 2" light machine guns, submachine guns, grenades…

The most outrageous thing was that below listed the authorization for "Camel" fighter planes, only for 300,000 Canadian Dollars!

"My God, it's the 'Camel' fighter plane." Liam exclaimed: "Unbelievable, it's the most advanced fighter plane, not even possessed by the United States."

Having participated in combat, Major General Liam knew that with "Camel" fighter planes, Canada could gain air superiority.

Then not only would it be freed from British control, but it could also prevent a potential U.S. invasion in future conflicts.

Major General Liam was beyond excited; this meant true independence.

Not just independence, but Canada potentially developing into a powerful nation!

"No, no, we must acquire this equipment." Major General Liam hurried into the telegraph room with the list in hand:

"Send a telegram to the Prime Minister: Shire's transaction list granted us the production rights for a complete set of light equipment, and also the 'Camel' fighter plane."

"The prices are within our reach. I mean, they are very reasonable—even cheap."

"The only problem is that we need to regain control over mineral resources and trade them with Shire!"