Republic of China game

"This..." Zhou Enlai twitched his thick eyebrows, as if hesitating.After a while, he shook his head lightly: "It's not yet spring plowing, and it's too early to ask the central government for relief, and... we have already reached an agreement with the Feng Faction and the Zhigong Party to form a 'Joint Reserve Bank' Come to compete with the rightists of the Kuomintang for the right to issue the northern currency. I know that this matter will not be concealed for a long time, and their spies are very powerful! By then, the relationship between the two parties will inevitably deteriorate. You said they will still control the people in the Soviet area life or death?"

"Okay!" Zhang Naiqi slapped his hands: "With the 'money-issuing bank', we are afraid that we will not be able to solve this difficulty in the Soviet area? Isn't the population of northern Shaanxi just a few hundred thousand? Adding Longdong, it will not exceed one million Yes, a bag of 10 catties of flour in the white area is only 30 yuan. If you have a few million dollars, this disaster will be saved."

Zhou Enlai still frowned, with a serious expression on his face: "Mr. Zhang doesn't know something. Right now, our Communist Party is utterly poor. The reserve fund for the 'Joint Reserve Bank' will be jointly raised by all parties, and we need to pay 500 million yuan. Silver dollars! It's impossible to raise this money at the moment, it seems..."

Zhang Naiqi touched his bald forehead and took a deep breath: "Mr. Zhou, this time the 'United Reserve Bank' must not be done without the participation of your party. Otherwise, let Feng Fie and Chen Jiongming do it, it is better to let The Kuomintang continues to exploit the common people with legal currency. It’s just the 500 million silver dollars that the CCP needs...or else, isn’t our Shanbei Energy Co., Ltd. raising 600 million shares? Now the funds are in place, but there is still time to develop the project It’s a process, if it doesn’t work, let’s embezzle the money first?”

Hearing Zhang Naiqi's statement, Zhou Enlai was overjoyed, and quickly said: "Mr. Zhang, it would be great if that can be done! Please rest assured, Mr. Zhang, we only need to use the money for three months before we can keep it and return it. Oh, and we also want to raise another 1000 million yuan from democrats and patriotic capitalists, and the management of the bank will also be participated in by democrats and patriotic capitalists, and one-third of the seats on the bank's board of directors will be given to them. You see Is it impossible to raise this money?"

"1000 million..." Zhang Naiqi thought about it in his heart. This United Reserve Bank is doing a big business of "printing money", and it is supported by powerful forces such as the CCP, Feng Faction, and Zhi Gong Dang. It should be a bag of money.Raising 1000 million silver dollars should be out of the question.Thinking of this, Zhang Naiqi readily agreed: "Mr. Zhou, don't worry, there is such a big deal as the establishment of a note-issuing bank, and a mere 1000 million silver dollars will definitely be raised soon."

Zhou Enlai breathed a sigh of relief, and said with a smile, "That would be great. With the United Reserve Bank, the construction of our Soviet area can be on the fast track. Even in the field of heavy industry, it is not impossible to surpass the Kuomintang!"

"Oh. Does your party already have a plan in this regard? Can you reveal it? Let me be happy too." When Zhang Naiqi heard that the CCP also had a plan for the development of heavy industry, he was naturally overjoyed and hurriedly took a step forward. , It sounded like a beating.

Zhou Enlai laughed, and replied: "Of course, our party has never regarded Mr. Zhang as an outsider. Our party plans to build a large-scale iron and steel complex at the foot of Baiyun Obo Mountain, north of Baotou, Suiyuan, and plans to import from the Soviet Union. State-of-the-art technology, strive to build the most advanced steel plant in China in terms of technology and management within five years, with an annual output of more than [-] tons. After this steel plant is completed and put into operation, we will be able to produce gun steel, gun bar steel, etc. Most of the military industry uses steel. And we will build a large arsenal there, so that our Red Army will be self-sufficient in the supply of weapons and ammunition in the future, and we will no longer have to rely on other people's faces to live."

……

Wall Street, Morgan Bank Building.In the living room, several people were already sitting scattered.Among them were John Davidson Rockefeller Jr. of the Rockefeller family and Andrew William Mellon of the Mellon family.There was also an old man with an easy-going round face, slightly curly curly hair, and a neatly trimmed mustache.He is the most proud and glorious man in this prosperous embodiment of capitalism at present-John Pompet Morgan Jr.The head of the Morgan family, this well-known family, now has financial institutions such as Bankers Trust Company, Guarantee Trust Company, and First International Bank as its core, and controls companies including U.S. Steel Corporation, GM, GE, Continental Oil Company, Kenny The Copper Copper Company, International Telegraph and Telephone Company, American Telephone and Telegraph Company, Westinghouse Electric Company and a large number of drag companies, the total capital of these enterprises was as high as 740 billion US dollars before the Great Depression in [-]!One-quarter of all business capital in the United States!It can be said that the current United States is actually dominated by three people: John Pompey Morgan Jr., Andrew William Mellon, and John Davidson Rockefeller Jr.But now, these three real kings of the United States got together and discussed the topic of the East.This ancient and mysterious ancient oriental country is now ignorantly breaking into the labyrinth-like system of capitalism controlled by the three of them.

"John." Morgan smoked a Cuban cigar, then smiled slightly, and called out Rockefeller's name: "Your Rockefeller family has the earliest layout in China and knows the most about it, so please tell me your opinion first?"

Little Rockefeller sat cross-legged in a large leather sofa, holding a glass of champagne in his hand. When he heard Morgan's question, he just smiled coldly: "Mr. Robert Hurd has long said about China: that is A chicken that lays golden eggs! What we need to do now is to feed it a little bit instead of killing it in a hurry."

Morgan stroked his beard: "Those feeds are worth more than a billion dollars!"

Rockefeller Jr. shrugged: "When it lays the golden egg, we can reap $1000 billion."

"There are so many?" Morgan raised his eyebrows: "The current gross national product of this country seems to be only more than 60 billion U.S. dollars?"

"That's right." Andrew Mellon took over the topic: "So killing it now doesn't make much sense... What's more, their leaders seem to have seen the danger, and they are currently raising funds everywhere to tide them over. "

Morgan took another sip of his cigar and exhaled a circle of white smoke: "More than a billion dollars in cash is enough for an economy of only 60 billion dollars. These Chinese people are smarter than I imagined, It seems that I hope to grow up a bit, but I wonder how it compares to the United States?"

Rockefeller Jr. slowly turned his wine glass and thought for a while: "This country has a territory of more than 100 million square kilometers and a population of more than 5 million. It has always been the center of the Eastern world in history. And...they are writing For most of the recorded years, it was the richest and most powerful empire in the world. Becoming penniless and pauper is only a matter of recent decades."

"But I always feel that this investment still has a little bit of risk." Morgan shook his head, still unconvinced.

Little Rockefeller laughed out loud, as if he heard something extremely funny: "I said, Mr. Morgan, you are sometimes confused. We are doing business, how can we not take some risks? We are now investing more than a dozen If it succeeds, it will be a huge and prosperous market like the United States. Can you imagine how many precious resources should be buried underground in 100 million square kilometers? [-] million hardworking How much wealth should the people of China create by working from dawn to dusk? If this investment wins, it will be a hundred times the return! If it doesn’t win... it’s only more than a billion dollars, and we can’t afford to lose.”

"No, no. That's not what I mean." Morgan shook his head: "What I mean is that when China becomes stronger, will it become uncontrollable and become a lingering nightmare for the entire Western world?"

"No, it won't." The answer was Andrew William Mellon, the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States.He smiled and said, "Since when did China become the nightmare of the Western world? It's not like they didn't have such power in the past. And...according to my guess, China is very likely to become the nightmare of the Soviet Union!"

"Soviet Union?" Morgan's eyes flashed brightly: "Mr. Mellon, do you have any inside information?"

Mellon smiled deeply: "You don't need any inside information, you just need a little common sense to know. The Chinese and Russians are the kind of mainland people who put most of their attention on the mainland. And they are very concerned about the territory. It has almost the same strong possessive desire. When Russia was strong, it greedily swallowed large chunks of land belonging to the Chinese. After China became strong, it would naturally try its best to seize land from Russia, not to mention China still has the largest population in the world and needs living space! There is no way to do this. Every great empire in history has done this. And if a stronger China and a stronger Soviet Union become rivals, Our income is guaranteed."

Chapter 0398 Currency War ([-])

February 25, [-].Today, distinguished guests visited the living room of the Chinese Consulate General in New York.

Luo Yaoguo never imagined that John Pompet Morgan Jr., who hadn't responded to his request for a visit, would actually come to meet him in person!This really made him feel a little flattered.You must know that the wealth controlled by this kind-looking Jewish old man is more than ten times greater than China's current gross national product!Uh, capitalism in this era is so reactionary!How can one person have so much money!

In front of this old man who has a lot of money and can drown China, and who has the title of "world creditor".Even people who would tremble when stomping around in China sat aside respectfully like elementary school students at this time, not even daring to vent their anger.Only Luo Yaoguo, who was used to seeing big scenes and dared to call the "head of state" brotherly brother, still maintained a leisurely demeanor, sitting face to face with Mr. Morgan, with a faint smile on his face.

Although on the surface he could still hold his breath, but Luo Yaoguo's heart was a little flustered at the moment.To be honest, he couldn't figure out the purpose of Morgan's sudden visit, er, no matter how it looked, it looked like a weasel wishing a chicken a new year!The only good news is that the corn is still skinny and has no flesh. It is estimated that the Morgan weasel will not like it.

At this time, several cups of hot and fragrant coffee were brought up by Natalie and Qu Ying, who were guest waiters of the Consulate General, and placed in front of everyone in the living room.Mr. Morgan picked up the coffee, took a sip, and said with a smile: "Well, the coffee is still made well, and it tastes like it's made in Brazil. When my father was young, he made a fortune in a Brazilian coffee transaction. Windfall, my family has been in love with Brazilian coffee ever since. That time, he got a chance to buy a shipment of coffee for half the price, but that could have been a scam. My father, John Poon Sr. Peter Morgan made the decision to buy based on his judgment of the character of the seller. Fortunately, my father learned from this experience that in doing business, you must first judge whether the person is reliable, and then whether the business is reliable."

Morgan's words seemed to be spoken casually, but Luo Yaoguo seemed to mean something.Luo Yaoguo also picked up the coffee cup in front of him and took a sip, frowned slightly, as if he was considering his words: "Mr. Morgan, do you think I'm reliable? Can I become a business partner of the Morgan family?"

"Partner?" Morgan repeated the word in a low voice, and then took another sip of coffee: "I want to hear your thoughts, and then judge whether it is reliable or not, and whether we can cooperate."

Looking at Morgan's smiling face like a spring breeze, Luo Yaoguo hastily showed the most sincere smile. A smiling face seems to be necessary for walking in the rivers and lakes. For this reason, he has practiced hard for a long time with the help of Natalie.

"Mr. Morgan, you also know that China is developing at a faster than usual speed. This is also due to the current prosperity of the international market, especially the prosperity of the US economy. A large amount of capital and technology has been transferred from Europe and the United States to low-cost, China is rich in resources. This kind of thing happened to you in the United States in the last century, and it seems that every developing country has to go through it. It’s just that this prosperous international economy may not be able to support Coolidge in my opinion. The long-term 'New Century Prosperity' as the President proclaims. Maybe it's just another bubble of capitalism that will burst soon. And China's rapid development may also be hit hard by it! And my thoughts , is to reserve enough cash before the bubble bursts, so that the Chinese economy will not collapse at that time, that’s all.”

Luo Yaoguo had never said this to anyone before, so it was the first time that Song Ziwen and Kong Xiangxi, the two Gods of Wealth, had heard of it.The faces of the two of them turned pale immediately, and they looked at Luo Yaoguo with "strong condemnation".Uh, to say that the US economy is a bubble in front of other Wall Street gods!This is indeed impolite, and no matter how you listen to it, it is nonsense.

Morgan's smile remained the same, and he nodded slightly: "You are very honest in front of me, but... Now that you have seen the problems of the American economy, do you have any idea of ​​taking advantage of this rare opportunity? Maybe In one fell swoop, enough money can be made to industrialize China."

"No." Luo Yaoguo gave a negative answer without even the slightest hesitation.

"Why?" Morgan asked again.

Luo Yaoguo said with a smile: "With all due respect, Wall Street is a big casino in the world in my opinion. You, Mr. Mellon, and Mr. Rockefeller are the owners of this casino. All the rules of the game and winning or losing are determined by the will of the three of you." .And I... if I want to play, I will build a casino in China by myself, I will be the boss, I will set the rules, and I will decide whether to win or lose."

Morgan laughed, and gave Luo Yaoguo a thumbs up: "Okay! Young man, you really have extraordinary insights. You are right, but not completely right. In fact, this casino not only includes Wall Street, but also includes the whole world! Regardless Where do you open the same 'casino', the final victory or defeat will be determined by Wall Street!"

Luo Yaoguo waved his hands, and said with a serious face: "Mr. Morgan, what you said is wrong. Wall Street can no longer control the world, because there is a place called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in this world! The boss there is Joseph Stalin. He and his Bolshevik party established a completely different game rules, Wall Street does not work there. In fact, there are some remote areas in my country that are controlled by the Communists, and there are no You don't care. If...the half of China we control goes bankrupt in the next capitalist crisis, I am afraid that the whole of China will also be swept away by the revolution led by the Communists? By then, Wall Street will lose a lot of territory .So, I hope that you, the 'casino owner', can help us cheat once and let us get through this safely."

As soon as these words came out, the room was silent.Song Ziwen and Kong Xiangxi opened their mouths wide, staring at Luo Yaoguo who was "full of nonsense".At the main entrance of the living room, the head of the little beauty Qu Ying poked in at some point, but she couldn't understand what was being said inside, but she was just trying to remember, but she didn't make a sound.

I don't know how long it took before I heard Mr. Morgan put down the coffee cup in his hand, and said with a smile: "It is actually... possible for China to get through this crisis safely. You are not in the current situation. It's just that ...do you know what to do?"

Luo Yaoguo took a deep breath, his heart was still full of uneasiness, wondering if this Morgan in front of him really planned to let China go.He slowly turned the coffee cup in his hand a few times, and replied after thinking: "Our current plan is to reserve some foreign exchange funds. I guess when the crisis really breaks out, the capital that is rushing in now will be withdrawn quickly, and by then At that time, our foreign exchange reserves may be difficult to cope with, and domestic liquidity will be insufficient. I want to use long-term foreign exchange loans to offset the adverse effects caused by the withdrawal of this part of the funds. In addition...we can also maintain domestic liquidity through large-scale government investment. After all, China is still very backward at the moment, and there are too many places where we can invest in construction.”

Morgan nodded, and looked at Luo Yaoguo with a smile: "This can indeed slow down the impact, but it is still not enough! Your banking system is fragile, and your monetary base is also very weak. The entire economic growth is completely driven by foreign capital. The common people are also very poor. , the domestic consumer market is actually built on the basis of large-scale investment. If foreign capital withdraws, there may only be a bunch of factories that have not been built! And if a considerable part of these factories are to be built, they will need to use a large amount of foreign exchange funds To purchase equipment and technology. Therefore, foreign exchange reserves are extremely precious to China after the outbreak of the crisis, but your current foreign exchange management is...almost blank. In addition, a healthy banking system is also very important to survive the crisis , especially the big banks that are related to the lifeline of the economy, you don’t seem to have any preparations for how to protect the banking industry. If the Chinese banks fail one after another, I’m afraid your economy will collapse immediately. At that time, we Americans Investors’ hard-earned money is about to go to waste.”

"Foreign exchange management...bank supervision..." Luo Yaoguo softly read out two terms from the memory of later generations.However, he didn't know how to do it. I'm afraid he would have to discuss this with the experts before he could find out.

"Bank matters... are easier to handle. After all, your big banks seem to have government shares, but I'm afraid you need to think about foreign exchange matters." Mr. Morgan's tone was still relaxed and cheerful. After saying this, he smiled. They looked at Luo Yaoguo, Song Ziwen, and Kong Xiangxi.

Luo Yaoguo thought about it for a while, and found some foreign exchange control policies adopted by some countries in later generations from his memory.Of course, this is also an expedient measure, and the impact on the current economy is quite severe.However, in order to avoid greater harm, I am afraid it has to be implemented.It's just...will the bigwigs in the Kuomintang agree?

"Okay, let's end today's meeting. There are still many things waiting for me to deal with on Wall Street." At this moment, Morgan stood up and was about to say goodbye, but before leaving, he made another promise: "If you can be together Find a way to control foreign exchange in [-], and I can help you issue a government bond of no more than [-] million U.S. dollars in the United States..."

……

Beijing, Shuncheng Prince's Mansion, inside the study.

"Little Six, Neighbor... Do you think there will be a fight?"

Zhang Zuolin's old eyes seemed to be closed but not closed, he just looked at the letter in his hand with his head propped up.It was Duan Qirui's personal letter sent from Shandong, and the letter was full of words worrying about war.Right now, half of the Anhui faction has been buried in the ground, and it is next to the territory of the Kuomintang, and they will be suddenly disarmed by them at some point.Uh, Duan Qirui and Lu Yongxiang don't have the slightest confidence in the sacrifice spirit of the veteran soldiers under their opponents.It is estimated that once the tanks of the National Revolutionary Army overwhelm them, they should raise their hands and surrender...

There was silence in the room, and it was Zhang Xueliang who broke the silence after a long while: "Father, I can't seem to fight this matter. I discussed it with Mr. Matsuoka from the Manchurian Railway. He believes that the current weakness of the Kuomintang is that it is too dependent on foreign capital. These foreign capitals It is very unstable. They are now flocking to promote the rapid development of the economy in the Kuomintang-ruled areas. They can also withdraw overnight, allowing the Kuomintang to climb high and fall hard! The key to all this is the stability of China , do not have a long-term civil war or foreign war. During the war on the Middle East Road last year, some foreign capital in the area ruled by the Nationalist Government flowed out. It ended with a victory. Therefore, the enthusiasm for foreign investment has been further improved. In their view, the successful defeat of the Soviet Union is a sign of China's take-off. After that, Sun Yat-sen became the president and the order to prohibit the civil war was issued, which attracted investors from all over the world. They saw the hope of China's take-off, so they flocked here. If once there is a fight..."

Zhang Zuolin suddenly opened his eyes and glanced at his son. Zhang Xueliang was sitting on a grand master's chair leisurely, holding a cup of black tea in his hand, and slowly sipping it.

"Once we fight, how sure are we?"

Zhang Xueliang smiled and shook his head: "Not a single point."

Zhang Zuolin sighed a long time: "I'm not even sure, but I have to gamble. Otherwise, they will become stronger and stronger, but we will stay where we are, and within five years they will win without a fight."

Yang Yuting frowned, and seemed to be thinking hard: "Commander, if we don't bet, we are waiting for death, and betting is sending death. The only chance of winning is to count on the Kuomintang to retreat and withdraw from the northern banknote issuance market. It's a dangerous step. It’s a dangerous move! But it’s still a move, and if it’s done well, our entire game will come to an end.”