Chapter 1478: Financial Tsunami
In the interconnected global economy, any country’s problem could not be viewed from an isolated perspective.
The Xin-UA War detonated by twelve Trident missiles ignited not only the flames of war between two countries, but the countries involved in the aftermath of this war covered almost every inch of the world. Politics, economy, military, and even culture were sucked into the vortex of conflict.
The first thing that collapsed was the dollar, the currency of the UA, which was triggered by the fall of the Federal Reserve’s vault.
Although the investors were uncertain of Celestial Trade intent with the gold, the scene of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier stranded in front of Wall Street was enough to make every investor holding the dollar desperate about the prospect of this currency.
A financial tsunami triggered by the dollar began to spread from the East Coast of North America to the rest of the world. The value of foreign exchange reserves evaporated from different countries could no longer be valued, given that the dollar used as the measure of value, was at the center of the storm…
Everyone was desperately attempting to reduce their exposure to the dollar and their holding of treasury bonds. However, when the panic began to spread in the market, it was foolish to think that one can weather the storm.
In this financial tsunami, the only beneficiary seemed to be Xin.
Since the twelve Trident missiles were intercepted by the Holy Shield, the price of the Xin New dollar in the foreign exchange market began to skyrocket. To curb the continuously rising exchange rate, the Xin Reserve had to revise its quantitative easing plan for this year and next year, as it operated its money printers to the limit in both joy and agony. It injected a large amount of currency into the market to stabilize the exchange rate by opening the flood gate.
However, even so, it was difficult to curtail the strengthening Xin New dollar.
The widespread belief on the street was that if Xin demanded war reparations, it was very likely to seek gold from the Federal Reserve. Because of this, it seemed that Xin New dollar was the only “safe-haven asset” in the financial turmoil.
To quell the flames of war and save the deteriorating economic situation, many people made attempts to a certain degree. Some tried to mediate through diplomatic channels, and of course, some tried to use military intervention.
Some people frowned, some people put on a show, and some people attempted to profit from this.
It was worth mentioning that, as the two major states of the Earth Defense Alliance, both Hua and Russia chose to continue to monitor the situation without further intervention.
The decline of the dollar could bring unbearable short-term pains to the economy in Hua that relied on exports. However, from a long-term perspective, the decline of a hegemony was still more beneficial to the country. It was true both from the perspectives of national unity and geopolitical stability.
Russia shared the same thought.
The decline of NATO would ease the military pressure on the Russian border, and more funds could be used for economic construction instead of wrestling with NATO on the long border.
However, if Russia decided to sent troops, it would be too risky. After all, Moscow did not have a Holy Shield.
Although the Earth Defense Alliance’s terms included collective defense, before Celestial Trade actively called on allies to participate in the war, they were also happy to use peaceful means to support their already dominant allies. These included increasing troops at the border, launching military exercises in coastal waters, and simulating large-scale airborne landings.
On the other side, NATO was also strangely silent.
24 hours after Celestial Trade landed in the Capital, the British Prime Minister urgently convened parliament, and a proposal involving foreign war was taken to the Palace of Westminster for discussion. Although the representatives of different parties all shared the same indignation, in the voting session, this radical proposal was ultimately not passed.
The focus of controversy by lawmakers was Article 5 of the Washington Convention.
It stated that when a country encounters aggression, the remaining member states will defend together.
However, the current situation was that Celestial Trade did not seem to be the aggressor. The UA, who misjudged Celestial Trade’s strength, was the aggressor in this war. Instead, Celestial Trade, who landed in North America, seemed to be on the defending side…
If the Columbia War was separated from the Xin-UA War, the UA’s Trident missiles launch carried out a pre-emptive nuclear strike which led to this war. The Ford aircraft carrier battle group was captured in the Columbia War and could not be regarded as the fuse of the war…
Ultimately, they were all excuses.
If NATO really wanted to intervene, there was precedence where they bypassed the United Nations and launched military strikes.
There were only two reasons which made the British Parliament reconsider.
One was the SS Expedition’s main gun on the synchronous orbit. After people witnessed the indestructible shield that could not be penetrated even by nuclear weapons, and the invincible spear, mutually assured destruction was no longer applicable. If one party’s nuclear weapons could not assure that the other party was destroyed after a strategic strike, then there was no significance to the idea of deterrence.
Even if the British wanted to help, they still had to consider the possible consequences of sending troops.
And the other concern was that the main force of the NATO Coalition Force was still pinned down in the mess known as Colombia, including the British army. If Britain intended to send troops to the UA, it would have to launch the largest war mobilization since World War II. However, the idea was just a joke when the country could not even solve its own problems.
It was worth examining what the British did over the years.
The 108,000-strong British Army, under the command of 100,000 Ministry of Defense civil servants, had to shut down a tank production line to purchase a large number of high-end massage chairs for the Ministry of Defense office and the sky-high price of ten pounds per roll of toilet paper. To save money, the Labor Party stopped its own missile production line, with the plan to equip India’s Agni missile series, known for disappearance and explosion. Fortunately, this plan was not passed after protests from the military.
To some extent, the “younger brother” situation had already reflected the dilemma faced by NATO as a whole. The Austrian Air Force sold all the training aircraft and only used simulators to train pilots. In the end, even airlines refused to recognize these people as pilots. The Polish Marines had no landing crafts and had to rent the museum’s sailing ship for exercises. The Greek government once expressed its willingness to donate a three-mast sailing ship (because the theme park on Salamis was closed due to the economic crisis), but it needed Poland to paddle the ship from the Aegean Sea to the Baltic Sea, which Poland ultimately rejected …
If it hadn’t done so many stupid things, Trump would not have included the “request for unpaid military expenditures from NATO member states” in the campaign platform.
As for Turkey, the country was still powerful. After all, the large number of soldiers meant strength, and no matter how low the training level was, the size of the army alone was enough. However, Turkey was already fighting on two fronts and was unable to drag itself from Colombia and Syria.
Not only that, but Russia, which increased its troops at the border, also exerted pressure.
Well, although many problems existed, there was no doubt about NATO’s combat capability.
However…
What could they do when their “big brother” couldn’t even protect himself?
Most NATO member states were already dragged into a war that was difficult for them.