Chapter 392
After leaving Princess Margaret's room, Hardy returned to his own room. Hardy also lived in the hotel and the distance was not far, only two rooms away.
But he was not as idle as Princess Margaret. He returned to his room to think about how to deal with the matter. Finally, he picked up the phone and called the White House, hoping to meet President Johnson before Princess Margaret's reception.
President Johnson gave Hardy a lot of face.
I made time to see Hardy in the evening.
As the sun sets, in the garden behind the White House, Hardy and President Johnson are walking and chatting. The bodyguards are far away from them, and no one knows what they are talking about.
The next day.
When Hardy woke up in the morning and went to look for Princess Margaret, he found that the princess had dark circles under her eyes and looked as if she had not yet woken up.
He didn't know that Her Royal Highness the Princess didn't get a good rest yesterday, but gambled all night and lost 20,000 US dollars.
"Didn't you get enough rest?" Hardy asked concernedly.
"Yeah, I hate jet lag."
Margaret didn't dare tell anyone about staying up late gambling last night. She was not only tired but also heartbroken because she had saved that money with great difficulty.
"I met with President Johnson yesterday and talked a lot with him," Hardy said.
Margaret immediately perked up, "Well, what did President Johnson say?"
"President Johnson said he could help delay the repayment, but the US has no plans to continue to provide aid and loans to the UK for the time being."
To put it bluntly, this is rejection.
"The situation in the UK is very bad now. Some of the previous UK government bonds have matured and are being sold off in the market. If the British government does not absorb them, it will seriously affect its financial credibility." Margaret frowned slightly.
Margaret didn't quite understand any of this, as Princess Elizabeth told her all of this. This was another problem facing Britain, so they asked the United States for help.
"The United States is now at war, and funds are mainly invested in the battlefield. All foreign aid has been suspended. I'm afraid it's difficult to ask the United States for help now," said Hardy.
Hardy knows that the United States is not well-off now and war has always been a money-eating beast. The United States has already invested 5 billion US dollars at the beginning and is expected to invest more in the future. Now, let alone asking him to lend money to others, it would be good enough if he does not charge money.
"I will talk to President Johnson in person at the cocktail party tonight. I hope he can change his mind." Margaret said.
Hardy mentally shook his head.
Negotiation results are often outside the negotiation table.
Margaret was a complete political novice and didn't understand this at all.
It was also Hadi who proposed to stop providing aid to the UK. He told Johnson that even allies should not meet every request, as that would make the other side feel emboldened.
As for the issue of aid, that was the condition Hadi was prepared to exchange with Britain.
The more you are short of money,
The better the opportunity is for me to make money.
While talking to Hardy, Margaret yawned several times. Hardy looked at the tired Margaret, stood up and said, "You should take a rest. We will go to the White House together in the evening."
"OK."
After Hardy left, although Margaret was very sleepy, she did not fall asleep. She called the butler to help her go to the bank to recharge 20,000 US dollars.
This girl is totally addicted to gambling.
Fortunately, she finally realized the seriousness of the matter. She took a nap after lunch and regained some energy.
evening.
Hardy and Margaret took a car and brought the delegation to the White House. President Johnson, his wife, and many officials welcomed Princess Margaret at the White House. Although the British Empire was gradually declining, Johnson was still very polite.
The dinner was grand.
During this period, Margaret asked President Johnson to extend the loan and continue to obtain the loan, hoping for a turnaround. President Johnson smiled and said that the loan could be extended, but the loan could not be provided because the US finances were not abundant during this period.
Exactly the same words that Hardy said.
This made Margaret a little disappointed.
Without the loan, her mission was only half completed, as the money for the national debt had not yet been settled. However, she also knew that since the other party had already made a decision, it would be difficult to convince them.
After discussing the official topic, President Johnson said enthusiastically: "It is a rare opportunity for Princess Margaret to come to the United States. If she has time to stay and visit more places, I believe the American people will welcome her visit."
Margaret nodded gracefully, "I do. I plan to go to New York and then to Los Angeles to see Hollywood. You know I have several friends in the United States."
She didn't just want money. Before she came, Princess Elizabeth also assigned her a third mission, which was to increase the influence of the British royal family as much as possible.
There are many constitutional monarchies in the world, but the royal family that is most recognized in the world is the British royal family. On the one hand, it is because of the foundation of the United Kingdom, and on the other hand, it is also because the British royal family is well managed.
They have been doing their utmost to demonstrate their royal presence.
When Margaret came to the United States, her sister told her to visit more places so that people could see and hear the name of the British royal family.
Margaret readily agreed to this task.
Because this way she can play outside openly, which is much more interesting than staying in several palaces all day.
The reception is over.
Hardy accompanied Margaret back to the hotel. They had drunk some wine tonight. Margaret's face was flushed. After returning to the room, the servant brought tea and left. Margaret frowned and said:
"When I came here, my sister said that the Prime Minister was worried about the maturity of the national debt. That's hundreds of millions of dollars. If it's not delivered on time, it will have a huge impact on Britain's financial reputation. My sister is very worried. I want to share her worries. Do you think there is any way to solve it?"
"Go to the bank to borrow money," Hardy replied.
"But several British banks simply can't come up with this amount of money. If they could, the government wouldn't have to worry."
"Can I get a private loan?"
"Hundreds of millions of dollars, who has so much money? I'm afraid only your American consortiums can do it. My sister said that your consortiums were not interested in national debt during the last aid. In fact, the government also tried to contact several of them, but they all rejected it." Margaret said.
Margaret looked at Hardy and said, "Baron Hardy, why don't you buy those national debts?"
Hardy immediately shook his head.
"Have you forgotten that I have already sold a large amount of British government bonds and lent a sum of money to the Bank of England? The low return rate on government bonds puts too much pressure on funds."
Hardy rejected Margaret's proposal outright.
Although he wanted to make a deal with the British government, he couldn't let the other party see his intention at a glance. He wanted the other party to take the initiative to propose it and rush him so that he wouldn't be exposed.
"What are your plans for the future?" Hardy asked.
Talking about the next trip, Margaret suddenly became energetic, "Hadi, you promised to accompany me well, how do you plan to arrange the program for me?"
"I can take you wherever you want to go, and I'll arrange the rest," said Hardy.
"I'm going to Las Vegas to see the casinos there. I'm also going to Hollywood. I hope to see all the stars I've seen in the movies." Margaret said excitedly.
"No problem." Hardy agreed.
If it were someone else, this requirement would be difficult to achieve, but for Hadi it was not a problem at all.
After Hardy left, Margaret called the butler and asked him to report to her sister Princess Elizabeth about the meeting with President Johnson tonight.
The telegram quickly reached England.
When Princess Elizabeth saw her sister's telegram, there was no joy on her face. The extension of the war loan was one thing, but more importantly, the national debt was due. If it was not handled in time, Britain's financial credibility would decline and the consequences would be very serious.
Even a country as strong as the United States dares not default on its national debt.
......
The next day.
The group left Washington on a private plane and arrived in New York, the largest city in the United States. Princess Margaret's visit to the United States had already been reported in the newspapers. After her plane landed at the New York airport, many people came to pick her up.
Margaret waved and greeted everyone.
Princess Margaret then went to Wall Street to experience the prosperity of the New York Stock Exchange, and then visited the Statue of Liberty. The next day, she watched a dance show on Broadway and visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue.
The entire trip took two days, and Hardy accompanied us throughout.
Afterwards, the group flew to Los Angeles. This time their destination was Hollywood. In order to welcome Princess Margaret, Hardy specially organized a welcome reception, and hundreds of Hollywood stars attended the reception.
At the cocktail party,
Princess Margaret gave a speech, expressing her hope that Britain could develop its film industry like Hollywood.
There were many British people among these stars, and they were very respectful to Margaret. Elizabeth Taylor and Margaret were good friends. Taylor took Margaret's hand and introduced her to a group of Hollywood stars.
That night.
Margaret and Taylor slept together and had long conversations.
Afterwards, the princess team announced that Princess Margaret was a little tired due to the long journey and needed to rest in Los Angeles for a few days. In fact, no one knew that Hardy took Princess Margaret and Taylor to Las Vegas on a private plane the next day.
In order to conceal the truth.
Hardy specially found two special makeup artists from the film company to do makeup for Margaret and Taylor respectively. When they were dressed up, the two seemed like different people. Although they were still young and beautiful, they had lost their original look. They could not be recognized as the big star Elizabeth Taylor and the British Princess Margaret at all.
Now you can relax.
As for the two makeup artists, they naturally kept their mouths shut following the boss's order.
Caesars Palace Casino, even Margaret, who had lived in a palace since she was a child, was amazed, "This casino is more majestic and luxurious than Windsor Castle."
In the casino,
Margaret and Taylor each held a plate filled with chips, which Hardy gave them, $200,000 each.
The two girls started to go into crazy gambling mode.
Hardy planned to let Margaret enjoy a full range of food, drink, whoring and gambling services here and feel the hospitality of the people of Las Vegas.