With the British declaring war on the Transvaal, the eyes of the whole world were attracted to South Africa, because the British publicized the Transvaal incident, everyone knew that the British were going to the Transvaal gold mines, and they were going to the Qing country, which monopolized the gold mining rights. Fastest updates

Did the Qing Kingdom choose to fight? Or retreat? Almost no one considered this question, and everyone unanimously agreed that the Qing Kingdom would definitely fight! If the Qing people had retreated, they would not have made such a high-profile killing spree in the Transvaal gold mines, and they would not have put their hands under the noses of the British!

There is no doubt that this is a war that attracts the world's attention more than the Franco-Prussian War, and it is the first large-scale or real duel between the two great empires of the East and the West overseas!

Known as the 'empire on which the sun never sets', England has dominated the world's oceans for 200 years since defeating the Dutch, with colonies on all continents of the world, and its financial strength, economic strength, industrial strength, and naval strength are all known as the world's first.

As the only empire in the Far East, the Qing Empire, which has recently risen and expanded rapidly, has developed rapidly in recent years, especially in terms of weapons research and development, and has repeatedly walked ahead of Western countries. What makes the countries of the world look forward to it is whether the Qing Dynasty will show new weapons in this war?

South Africa, which has great strategic value in holding the east-west route, and South Africa, which has huge diamond and gold mines, will be the winner?

Will Spain and the Netherlands, which were once occupied by the Qing Empire in the islands of Luzon and Java, send troops to South Africa with the British? France, which was defeated in the Franco-Prussian War and suffered reparations from various places, will it send troops with it? Will the United States and Russia, allies of the Qing Empire, get involved in this war?

All countries in the world are quietly watching to see if the situation will expand further! At the same time, countries around the world have sent a large number of war correspondents, intelligence officers, and observation groups to Cape Town and Maputo in South Africa.

The news of England's declaration of war on the Transvaal was soon published in the major newspapers of the Qing Dynasty, and the government and the opposition were boiling, and England did not respond to the Cape Town incident, and now it has blatantly declared war on the Transvaal, intending to forcibly seize the Transvaal gold mines, which is not taking the Qing Dynasty into account at all!

The warmongers who broke out of national pride have strongly appealed for a decisive battle with England against South Africa at the expense of their country! After all, England did not directly declare war on the Qing Dynasty, and the newspapers soon formed two camps of main war and war avoidance, arguing with each other.

Shanghai, Zhennan Wangfu, Changle Book House.

Yi Zhizu walked into the study and glanced at the stack of newspapers placed on the desk, and said, "The battle between the main battle and the war avoidance continues?" ”

Hearing this, Zhao Liewen said with a wry smile: "If the big shopkeeper doesn't express his position, the arguments will naturally continue." ”

"Father." Yi Zhengxing said: "In the past few days, the securities market has fallen sharply one after another, and there are signs of a run on paper money........ ”

"Don't worry about the run on banknotes, now Yuanqi's gold and silver reserves have long exceeded the issuance of banknotes, and there is no problem." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "As for the securities market, the main battle is more likely to cause panic, after all, England is known as the hegemon of the sea, and this time the battlefield is in South Africa, and it is reasonable for the Chinese people to lack confidence." ”

Speaking of this, he smiled, "The securities market has matured and grown steadily over the years, and there are signs of overheating, which is not a good thing, and it is not a bad thing to cool down." ”

Zhao Liewen said thoughtfully: "Is the big shopkeeper deliberately creating the illusion of indecision to the outside world? ”

Yi Zhizu paced to the sofa and sat down, lit a cigarette casually, and then said slowly: "Yingli's movements are a little fast, if you can delay a little time, it is naturally the best." After a pause, he continued: "England has declared war on the Transvaal, although we have signed a security treaty with the Transvaal, but as long as we do not make a clear statement and do not declare war on England, the British will not take the initiative to attack Maputo, but will land and attack the Transvaal, the road from Cape Town to the Transvaal is not close, which is conducive to our time." ”

With a slight groan, Yi Zhengxing said: "The British should not have any illusions that our country will retreat from South Africa, right?" ”

"The British are notoriously arrogant, and they are full of confidence in their navy, and it is not surprising that they have illusions." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "Besides, it will take time for the British expatriates and investments in our country to evacuate. ”

Speaking of this, he glanced at the two of them, "Issue a notice that as a responsible civilized power, no matter what the circumstances, our country will ensure the personal safety and property safety of all foreigners in our country."

In addition, during this period, it is forbidden to assemble and demonstrate at various treaty ports, strengthen the patrol force, and foreign-funded factories, especially those run by British, need to be focused on. ”

"That's a good idea." Zhao Liewen said with a smile: "It can not only reflect the demeanor of our country, but also reveal to the outside world Yuanqi's attitude of avoiding war." ”

Hearing this, Yi Zhengxing hesitated and said: "Pretoria to Cape Town is only 1,600 kilometers, and the British army can reach ....... in two months at most." ”

"You're ignoring the climate in South Africa." Yi Zhizhi said: "South Africa is located in the southern hemisphere, and our seasons are just the opposite, our country is winter, South Africa is just summer, our country has four distinct seasons, South Africa only has summer and winter, South Africa's summer is also the rainy season, there is a lot of rainfall, the British army can reach the Transvaal within three months is good." ”

The common sense that the seasons in the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere are opposite, Yi Zhengxing naturally knew it, but he ignored it, and when he heard this, he showed a hint of a sneer, "Father reminded me." ”

"If the war breaks out in February next year, there is no need to worry." Yi Zhizu said slowly, "Our ironclad ship can set sail south at that time." ”

Before the words fell, Lin Meilian reported at the door: "The big shopkeeper, Kong Jian'an, Hu Guangyong, and Huo Qizheng, the three shopkeepers, are asking to see outside. ”

"Invite them in." Yi Zhisuff commanded, and then smiled, "It seems that they can't hold their breath anymore." ”

After Kong Jian'an and the three of them came in to greet the salute, Yi Zhizu politely beckoned the three of them to sit down, and then ordered Yi Zhengxing to serve tea, and then said with a smile: "Before the war started, you can't hold your breath?" ”

"The big shopkeeper." Kong Jian'an said slowly: "The provinces have come to report that there is a small-scale run, and there is a trend ......of getting more and more intense. ”

For this? Yi Zhishu is a little strange, Yuanqi now has sufficient gold and silver reserves, this is not a problem at all, he couldn't help but look at Hu Guangyong, after returning to China, he asked Hu Guangyong to take over as the second treasurer of Yuanqi Bank, intending to let him take over the other party's position after Kong Jian'an retired.

Seeing Yi Zhizhi, Hu Guangyong said slowly: "Big shopkeeper, Germany has implemented the gold standard, if the Transvaal gold mine is taken, my country can also implement the gold standard next year, and the paper money will return sharply, which is not a bad thing." ”

"The big shopkeeper, Yuanqi Bank has been established for more than 30 years and has always put reputation first." Kong Jian'an said in a deep voice: "The implementation of the gold standard is conducive to long-term banknote preservation, but it cannot harm the interests of depositors. ”

Needless to say, Hu Guangyong wanted to take this opportunity to promote the return of a large amount of paper money in preparation for the implementation of the gold standard, but Kong Jian'an did not agree with this practice, believing that it would damage Yuanqi's reputation and image.

After a slight sigh, he said: "The reputation and image of Yuanqi Bank cannot be damaged, the positioning of Yuanqi Bank is not a commercial bank but a national bank, and it cannot be purely for the purpose of profit, but the implementation of the gold standard is also imminent, our gold reserves are not enough, but far from enough, can there be the best of both worlds?" ”

The best of both worlds? Kong Jian'an and Hu Guangyong are silent, what can be the best of both worlds? The Qing Dynasty had a huge economy, hundreds of millions of banknotes circulating in the market, and the amount of gold needed to implement the gold standard was staggering, and a large number of paper banknotes were the simplest, most direct and only feasible way.

Seeing the two of them silent, Yi Zhizhi thought carefully and said: "China is now nominally a gold and silver double standard, but in fact paper money is only linked to silver, you might as well according to the gold and silver exchange ratio to link paper money to gold, but it is hard to stipulate that paper money can not be exchanged for gold for the time being, and after the large-scale mining of the Transvaal gold mine, it will be gradually liberalized until the gold standard ....... is fully implemented." ”

Hearing this, Kong Jian'an's heart moved, and he hurriedly asked: "Paper money is pegged to gold, is it a fixed exchange rate or a float?" ”

"Naturally, it's a fixed exchange rate." Hu Guangyong said: "Since we want to implement the gold standard, we must maintain a high gold-silver exchange ratio, so as to continue to attract gold into our country, and at the same time, it can also eliminate the phenomenon of paper money runs, after all, the exchange of cash and silver has to bear certain risks." ”

Yi Zhishu nodded and said: "Just set the exchange rate according to the current gold-silver exchange ratio, and pegged the banknotes to gold, but they cannot be freely convertible for the time being. ”

Without waiting for Kong Jian'an and the two to speak, Zhao Liewen said: "Big shopkeeper, once it is announced that Huayuan is linked to gold, it will be equivalent to announcing Yuanqi's determination to implement the gold standard, which shows that my country is determined to .......win the Transvaal gold mine." ”

"Huifu reminds me." Yi Zhizhi said: "It seems that this method is not the best of both worlds." After a pause, he continued: "The matter is prioritized, the military is the priority, this matter will be let go for the time being, let them run on it, and recover the cash at the same exchange rate in the future." ”

Listening to the military priority, Kong Jian'an and the two naturally would not be uninteresting, and hurriedly nodded yes. Seeing Yi Zhizhi was content to look at the country, Huo Qizheng then spoke: "Big shopkeeper, the stock market has been falling sharply in recent days, and it seems that someone is deliberately creating panic ....... ”

Someone deliberately creates panic.? Yi Zhizu frowned and said: "The situation is unstable, there is a possibility of war between the Qing and Britain, it is normal for foreigners to sell their stocks, and it is .......reasonable to cause panic, will you be suspicious?" ”

Huo Qizheng shook his head slowly, "This time the stock market fell a little abnormally, it was thrown quickly and violently, it fell by 30% in just a few days, and the momentum of the decline is still strong........" Speaking of this, he hesitated for a while before saying: "The big shopkeeper had better check whether there are any foreign funds entering the country on a large scale." ”

Could it be that Britain intends to use a two-pronged approach, causing panic by suppressing the stock market of the Qing Dynasty, thereby forcing the Qing Dynasty to retreat from South Africa? This possibility seems to be small, just when Yi Zhizhi pondered, Hu Guangyong said softly: "Could it be that European capital is trying to come to our country to stir up trouble and make trouble?" ”

There is no foreign exchange control, foreign capital comes and goes freely, it is not a small risk for the stock market, the stock market has grown up after these years of development, and it is not uncommon for foreign capital to take this opportunity to come to shear sheep.

After a slight groan, Yi Zhishu slowly bowed his head and said: "This is not a trivial matter, I will check it carefully with Yan Shikuan, but remember to pay attention not to startle the snake." ”

The crisp phone rang, Zhao Liewen hurriedly stepped forward to pick up the phone, and immediately reported: "The big shopkeeper, it's Su Xiang'......." ”

Seeing this situation, Kong Jian'an and the three of them hurriedly got up and said goodbye, Yi Zhixin sent a few steps, sent the three of them to the door, and then turned around and took the phone, and said "hey" lightly, and then listened to the solemn voice, "Brother Guocheng, there is more than a month to be the constitution period, is South Africa a war or peace?" ”

"Whether South Africa is a war or a peace, it will not affect the implementation of the constitution by the imperial court." Yi Zhizhi said: "Brother Yuting, who is this trying to find out the news?" ”

Su Shun laughed and said: "I am worried that the constitution has just been announced, and then a war will break out, which is unlucky." ”

"The situation in South Africa is complicated, and the war is difficult to determine." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "The constitution is a major matter, although you can rest assured, it will definitely not affect the constitution because of the South African matter." ”

Su Shun said with a smile: "With Brother Guocheng's words, we will have the bottom in our hearts." ”

After he put down the phone, Zhao Liewen said worriedly: "It won't be that there may be a war in South Africa, and the emperor plans to push back the constitutional, right?" ”

"It's possible." Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "It is common for the emperor to be unwilling to establish a constitution, but it is impossible for Yi and Sushun to give the emperor a chance, so we don't have to worry about this." ”

Yi and Su Shun are not good men and women, there is really no need to worry, Zhao Liewen nodded, and said: "There is another thing that the big shopkeeper has considered, if we don't declare war, will the Transvaal be shaken, will it fall to England?" ”

Yi Zhizu said coldly: "It's best if the Transvaal is not shaken, if the position is not firm, we don't mind a pot of stew, we don't necessarily have to support the Boers, and the blacks can also support it." ”