Chapter 356 Agreement Reached

"Heh, this is truly a novel thing." Deputy Head of State Salazar looked at the British Ambassador to Madrid, Samuel Hoare, who came to visit in the late evening with a surprised expression. "Does Your Excellency, the Ambassador, mean that the British Empire will provide this gold?"

Ambassador Samuel's expression was somewhat strange. He didn't know what Prime Minister Churchill was thinking, wanting to play the role of the scapegoat; it was simply inconceivable. However, Prime Minister Churchill's intention was to pay back double after the war, so he could only go along with it. "Exactly."

"The friendship between your country and the Soviet Union is truly unbreakable, it seems." Salazar said a remark, whether sarcastic or joking, rubbing his hands in excitement. "In any case, it's great news. I wonder when your country will bring the gold over?"

Ambassador Samuel coughed lightly. "Your Excellency Salazar, I am here to discuss this matter. Can you be flexible about it?"

Salazar raised an eyebrow slightly. "Flexible? How do you mean flexible?"

"After all, 560 tons of gold is not a small amount. We hope that your side can reduce it somewhat." Saying this, he took out an exquisite box and pushed it in front of Salazar.

"Reduce?" Salazar, without changing his expression, put away the box, thought for a moment, and asked, "Ambassador, just speak frankly, how much gold can your country offer?"

Ambassador Samuel extended one finger. "100 tons." Although Prime Minister Churchill had said they could provide up to 300 tons, they wanted to save as much as possible.

"Hehe." Salazar sneered. "Ambassador, you really know how to joke. 100 tons of gold is barely enough to give to beggars."

Ambassador Samuel couldn't help but curse quietly. 100 tons of gold for beggars? Considering the current price of gold, which was $1.2345 million per ton, 100 tons amounted to over $120 million. Who could be so extravagant as to give away over $120 million to beggars?

After a round of bargaining, they finally reached a consensus on the price of 270 tons; this was reluctantly agreed upon by Ambassador Samuel, who promised Salazar a considerable benefit.

Once the price was settled, Salazar stood up. "In that case, I'll go talk to the Head of State now. However, I want to make it clear that regardless of whether the Head of State agrees or not, none of my benefits can be reduced."

"Of course, I'll be waiting for good news here." Ambassador Samuel smiled and nodded on the surface, but in his heart, he cursed the damn vampire several times! When the British Empire deals with Spain in the future, you'll be the first one to be dealt with!

Salazar went straight to Arias's residence and explained the negotiated terms between him and Ambassador Samuel. "That's it. The Brits are willing to offer 270 tons of gold to make us stop supporting Finland."

"It's really interesting," Arias mumbled as he stroked his beard. "What kind of conspiracy do these Brits have? Why are they helping the Soviet Union so much?" Britain is struggling to survive right now, and they still have the energy to care about the Soviet Union? They've even taken out the coffin money?

"270 tons, huh, over 300 million dollars, you know. The cost of the upcoming George V-class battleship is not even 30 million dollars."

Salazar also expressed puzzlement. "Could it be that they reached some agreement to deal with the Empire?"

Arias nodded. "It's indeed suspicious. I need to report this immediately." After saying that, he immediately sent an urgent encrypted telegram to Berlin.

Having received the telegram, Wilhelm pondered for a moment, then agreed to the deal and suggested selling 2000 tons of tungsten ore to Britain. As for the dealings between Britain and the Soviet Union, at worst, it would only make the Soviets provoke a conflict in the eastern part of Germany, tying down the German forces. At best, it would divert most of the German troops to the eastern front, giving Britain some breathing space.

What intrigued him the most was what price Britain had paid to make the Soviets do this favor.

Having received Wilhelm's reply, Salazar returned home. "Your Excellency, I had to put in a lot of effort to persuade the Head of State to agree to recall the volunteers. However, the Head of State has a condition."

Ambassador Samuel couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. "What condition?"

"We happen to have 2000 tons of tungsten ore in stock. What do you think..."

Ambassador Samuel cursed inwardly. "That's great. We need those tungsten ores." Calculating it, Britain would still have to pay nearly 300 tons of gold, which truly pained him. "When will your country withdraw the volunteers?"

Serrano was very straightforward. "The Head of State said that as soon as the gold arrives, the volunteers will be withdrawn immediately."

Upon receiving the report from Ambassador Samuel, Churchill immediately arranged for a submarine to transport 270 tons of gold to Spain.

He thought that as long as Spain didn't interfere, the Soviet Union could flatten Finland. However, he didn't anticipate that there were more countries supporting Finland than just Spain.

After all, Finland's neighbor, Sweden, is also not welcoming the Soviet Union.

In the mid-16th century (1501-1600), Sweden was a military power and had conflicts with Muscovy. In 1721, Sweden was defeated by the Tripartite Alliance led by Muscovy (including Denmark and Poland). This defeat made Sweden realize the importance of neutrality. Due to its weakened national strength, Sweden became a pawn of the major powers at the Vienna Congress in 1815, resulting in significant territorial concessions.

Sweden's national strength no longer allowed expansion, and strict neutrality became their only way out.

Sweden's geopolitical environment is quite unique. To the east is the powerful Muscovy, to the south is the powerful Prussia, and to the southwest are the powerful United Kingdom and France. When major powers clashed, Sweden found itself uncomfortably caught in the middle. Some countries tried to woo Sweden to their side and pit it against the other. Sweden, however, remained calm, insisting on watching from the sidelines without taking sides. To offend neither, this was Sweden's national policy.

In the First World War, Sweden warned both Muscovy and Germany: "Don't involve me, my stance remains unchanged."

In the Second World War, despite declaring neutrality, Sweden felt threatened when the Soviet Union launched a massive attack on Finland. If you truly wipe out Finland, you might come straight for us. We Swedes are not accustomed to giving everything to Comrade Stalin.

So, during the original timeline of the Soviet-Finnish War, Sweden said to Finland, "Brother, I've got what you need, take it all."

Sweden fully supported Finland against the Soviet Union, providing almost all its domestic weapons and ammunition to Finland, along with substantial financial aid (according to statistics, by the end of the Soviet-Finnish War, Sweden had given Finland gifts and loans worth a total of 400 million crowns). Playing this way, Sweden infuriated the Soviet Union, questioning if there was anyone else maintaining such neutrality.

Sweden wasn't very afraid of the Soviet Union for two reasons: first, there was Finland between Sweden and the Soviet Union on land, and if the Soviet Union couldn't even digest Finland, how could it swallow Sweden? Second, the Soviet Union launching a cross-sea attack on Sweden? It seemed the Soviet Union didn't have that capability yet.

However, Sweden was aware of the Soviet Union's temper and must not cross its red line.

Finland thought Sweden was quite considerate, suggesting, "Why not send troops to help us fight against the Russians?" Sweden immediately refused, saying, "I've already angered the Soviet Union enough. I still want to live and eat."

Not only Finland but also Britain, wanting to send troops through Sweden to aid Finland, was rejected by Sweden.

Interestingly, as Sweden assisted Finland against the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union was concerned that Sweden might fully turn to support Germany. Before going to war with Germany, the Soviet Union warned that it would not allow Germany to violate Sweden's neutrality.

And not long ago, Germany and Sweden signed a secret agreement for the Soviet-Finnish War. Germany sold a large quantity of weapons and equipment to Sweden at a partially discounted price, supporting Finland under the guise of Sweden.

Therefore, even if Spain no longer participated in the Soviet-Finnish War, Finland would not receive any fewer weapons and equipment, and the British really became the scapegoats this time, spending 270 tons of gold in vain.