In the late spring of March, all kinds of large and small ships on the Huangpu River shuttle back and forth, at first glance it seems to be busy, but careful people can notice that although there are still many smoky steamy wooden ships and ironclad ships among the ships shuttling back and forth, the number of ships flying foreign flags is significantly reduced, because the economic crisis has broken out in Western countries one after another, and the number of merchant ships coming to Shanghai has been greatly reduced.

After the outbreak of the economic crisis in the United States, it is rare to see ships flying the Stars and Stripes in Shanghai, this fleet is all large steam ironclad ships, and what is more eye-catching is that there are five ironclad warships escorting the fleet before and after, many people are secretly speculating that this fleet is loaded with what kind of cargo it is carrying, and it actually needs to be escorted by warships?

The fleet went all the way up the river and anchored directly at the Yuanqi Wharf, which at this time had already been under martial law, and the soldiers with loaded guns and ammunition were three steps, one post, five steps and one sentry, and a scene of slaughter, which aroused people's curiosity.

When they saw the iron boxes being carried from the ship to the wharf, the personnel wearing the uniforms of Yuanqi Bank unpacking the boxes at the wharf for inspection and acceptance, and seeing the huge gold bricks taken out of the boxes and weighed and checked for fineness, people realized that it was American gold that had arrived in Shanghai.

The news spread and attracted more and more people to watch, and even some newspaper reporters were alarmed and hurried over.

Although the annual output of the Transvaal gold mine has given the government and the opposition a reassurance, the gold and silver exchange with the United States still needs to be explained to the government and the opposition, and this batch of gold arrived in Shanghai to completely stabilize people's hearts.

In fact, this fleet was loaded not only with gold from the United States, but also from the Transvaal.

Before the gold entered the warehouse, Wei Sanwei, the American minister to China, hurriedly entered the Zhennan Palace, and as soon as they met, he smiled and said: "This batch of gold has arrived in Shanghai, Your Highness should be able to sit back and relax." ”

Yi Zhishu shook his head slightly, "There is still a gap of at least 200 million silver, how dare you sit back and relax?" ”

Wei San said with a smile: "The annual output of gold mines in South Africa is as high as 120 tons, and 200 million silver is only two years' output. ”

After stretching out his hand to give up his seat, Yi Zhizhi said: "The gap of 200 million is not a small number, let alone two years, it is two months, once it is used, it can also cause a lot of trouble." ”

Seeing him bite the gap tightly, Wei Sanwei couldn't help but feel a little anxious, the Qing Kingdom 400 million silver flowed into the United States, and the other 300 million in addition to the 100 million taels exchanged has been holding on, so that it will not play the slightest role in alleviating the economic crisis in the United States, and the country has long been impatient.

He also urged a few times, but Yi Zhizhi refused repeatedly on the grounds of Yuanqi's safety, and he was helpless, groaning slightly, before he tentatively said: "If my country borrows another 200 million silver from Yuanqi, will it be able to invest justifiably?" ”

After all, the other party couldn't help but take the initiative to mention it! Yi Zhixiang smiled secretly in his heart, as the rumors of Yuanqi's implementation of the gold standard became tighter and tighter, and the exchange ratio of paper money and gold was fixed under the guise of safeguarding national interests, more and more people exchanged silver for paper money, and Yuanqi naturally needed to export these silvers.

Yi Zhifen had already stated that he could export 600 million silver to the United States, and of course he took the initiative to add it to the suspicion of falling into the ground, so he has been ordering the branches of the United States to hold on to the dollar, of course, there is also the intention of deepening the harm of the American economic crisis.

So Wei Sanwei took the initiative to propose, he naturally did not want to hang, and immediately smiled: "This is a good method, my country's implementation of the gold standard has been the trend of the times, the export of silver will not cause panic, with the output of 200 million silver, you can justifiably invest or lend." ”

Seeing that he had guessed the other party's thoughts, Wei Sanwei also secretly breathed a sigh of relief, "I will report this matter to the country as soon as possible." ”

Sending Wei Sanwei away, Yi Zhishu immediately turned his head and instructed Zhao Liewen, saying: "Huifu's articles explain the importance of trade between the two countries, and explain the serious impact of the economic crisis in the United States on our economy. ”

The next day, the major newspapers in the southeast published an article -- "On the Economic Crisis in the United States," in which Zhao Liewen exaggerated the severity of the economic crisis in the United States, and then turned his pen on the serious impact of the economic crisis in the United States on the Qing Dynasty, called on the Qing Dynasty to aid the United States, and emphasized that aiding the United States was tantamount to self-help.

Although many people agree with this view, investing in the United States is a very distant matter for the vast majority of gentlemen and businessmen in the Qing Dynasty, and even if they have the heart, they cannot do anything about it.

A few days later, the Qing and the United States signed an agreement - Yuan Qi exported 200 million silver to the United States to help the United States get rid of the economic crisis as soon as possible.

Although there is an article "On the Economic Crisis in the United States" to pave the way, the government and the opposition still caused a lot of discussion about investing 200 million silver in the United States, and many people were worried that this move might seriously affect the economy of the Qing Dynasty, but soon some people wrote articles in the newspapers, strongly agreeing with this matter, and praised this move as a triple win, which is not only conducive to the early recovery of the United States from the economic crisis, promote the development of commerce and trade between the two countries, but also conducive to maximizing profits, and more importantly, the export of silver, which is conducive to the implementation of the gold standard in the Qing Dynasty.

With the guidance of public opinion in the newspapers, all kinds of dissatisfied voices suddenly disappeared, and public opinion began to one-sidedly favor active aid to the United States.

Zhennan Wangfu, Changle Book House.

Yi Zhishu glanced at Yi Zhengxing, Zhao Liewen, and Li Hongzhang, and asked with a smile: "Do you believe that pies will fall from the sky?" ”

These words were headless and brainless, and the three of them couldn't help but be stunned, Zhao Liewen reacted the fastest, and said tentatively: "The big shopkeeper refers to copying the United States?" ”

"If your hand is stretched long enough at the right time, you will be able to receive the pie that God throws at you." Yi Zhizhi smiled and said: "This is an American proverb, this God is not the God of the Bible, but an economic crisis!"

The economic crisis has led to the bankruptcy of a large number of factories and mines, the loss of a large number of workers, and the great depression of the market, but it is not only bad but not good, every economic crisis means a major reshuffle, which means the survival of the fittest, and the law of the jungle.

At this moment, the United States is playing a good show every day, and now it is our turn to appear, the last time the United States economic crisis, our hands were not long enough, but this time, we have enough strength to cross the Pacific Ocean to the United States to pick up God's pie. ”

After hesitating, Yi Zhengxing said: "Will 500 million silver make the American economy recover quickly?" China's economic stimulus plan is only 400 million. ”

"The situation is different." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "China's economic stimulus plan is to focus on infrastructure construction projects to stimulate the demand of mining, steel, cement, machinery and other industries, so as to promote the sustainable development of China's industry and drive economic growth."

The 500 million silver in the United States is mainly used to buy the bottom, buy the stock market at a low price, and acquire high-quality assets in the United States, such as enterprises, railways, mineral deposits, land, etc.

The money will only flow into a very small number of people, and it will certainly be beneficial to the economic recovery of the United States, but the effect will not be obvious, because the silver will not stimulate demand and will not stimulate economic growth. ”

"It's still the big shopkeeper who sees it thoroughly." Zhao Liewen took over and said: "Even if you have money in hand, in the case of an economic crisis, you will not make industrial investment and financial investment, because the risks are greater than the benefits." ”

A few months after entering the palace, Li Hongzhang had already integrated in, and he asked directly: "Isn't the United States aware of this?" ”

"I don't know much about the monetary system of the United States." Yi Zhishu said slowly: "The monetary system of the United States is now in the most complex and unstable stage.

After the end of the Civil War, the United States oscillated between the gold standard and the national credit standard, the green-backed banknote, and later between the gold standard and the gold and silver double standard, the free silver coin.

Around the question of the monetary system, the United States formed a nationwide polemic and political struggle, and gradually formed two opposing camps - financial conservatives and financial reformers.

Conservatives advocated the gold standard, opposed green-backed banknotes, advocated deflation and the recycling of green-backed banknotes, and later, opposed the free minting of silver coins and opposed the gold-silver standard.

The reformers advocated the establishment of a flexible monetary system that could be adapted to economic development, first advocating for the government to further issue green-backed banknotes, and then supporting the free minting of silver coins, trying to overcome monetary tightening and long-term price declines through the free minting of silver coins. ”

At this point, he paused for a moment before he continued: "Since the end of the Civil War, the United States has been in a state of deflation because of its monetary policy. Prolonged deflation leads to a decrease in the amount of money circulating in the market and a decrease in prices, which in turn suppresses investment and production, triggering a recession.

It was the United States that was well aware of the dangers of long-term deflation, coupled with the continued outflow of gold, that the reformers gradually gained the upper hand in the struggle for the monetary system.

The outbreak of the financial crisis in Europe, the rapid withdrawal of European capital, led to the outbreak of the financial crisis in the United States and then the outbreak of a serious economic crisis, China's proposal of a huge silver inflow plan, is in line with the reformers' wishes, because this move can not only alleviate the economic crisis to continue to worsen, but also alleviate or even reverse the deflationary state.

It is also important to note that this economic crisis is different from previous ones, as the world's financial and industrial hegemon has not yet experienced an economic crisis, and the United States fears that the economic crisis in England will be a second shock.

The influx of capital in our country, if not the rapid recovery of the American economy, will withstand the second shock of the economic crisis that broke out in England. ”

What are the factors behind this? The three people present were speechless for a while, silent for a while, and Yi Zhengxing said with concern: "Will an economic crisis really break out in England?" Will it be a second shock to the United States? ”

"The outbreak of an economic crisis in England will affect all countries, and conversely, the outbreak of an economic crisis in various countries will inevitably affect England, there is no doubt about this, the English economy is now depressed, and the outbreak of economic crisis is inevitable." Yi Zhi said confidently: "The second impact on the United States is also inevitable. ”

Yi Zhengxing asked: "In this way, isn't my country's funds in the United States very dangerous?" ”

"High risk is high return." Yi Zhifen said in a relaxed tone: "The total industrial volume of the United States is now second only to England, and this investment, as a long-term investment, will bring unimaginable returns to Yuanqi and the Qing Dynasty." ”

Zhao Liewen said: "Didn't the big shopkeeper say that the United States should implement the gold standard? ”

"The gold standard is the trend of the times." "It is only a matter of time before the United States implements the gold standard, but for the United States, the top priority is to get out of the economic crisis and recover the economy as soon as possible, rather than to implement the gold standard. ”

The room suddenly fell silent, Yi Zhishu glanced at the three of them, and said, "Call Zhou Dachang in New York and copy the bottom!" ”

United States, New York, Manhattan, Yuanqi Sub-branch Headquarters.

In the conference room on the second floor, Zhou Chang, manager of the overseas investment department of Yuanqi head office, glanced at a few people present, showed a smile on his face, and said: "I just received a call from the big shopkeeper, you can buy the bottom!" In addition, Yuanqi has signed an investment agreement with the United States for 200 million silver, and it will not be shipped soon! ”

Hearing this, several people present were excited, and finally waited for this day, a serious economic crisis broke out in the United States, thousands of factories and mines went bankrupt, they had a lot of money in their hands, but they could only watch, this taste is not comfortable.

"I've already conveyed the meaning of the big treasurer before." Zhou Dachang restrained his smile and said in a deep voice: "I repeat it here today, low-key, unassuming, and make sure that every dollar is used on the blade!" ”

"Understood!" Several people hurriedly responded in unison.

"Good!" Zhou Dachang nodded slightly: "According to the plan formulated before, the army is divided into three routes, railways, oil refining, and mineral land. The stock market dip is also carried out at the same time, focusing on these three goals. ”

A few people to be ordered to go, Zhou Dachang lit a cigarette and got up and walked slowly to the window, looking at the rather deserted street outside, before leaving the country, Yi Zhizu specially summoned him and told him to copy the United States, not to scratch the beard and eyebrows, and to form an industry monopoly as much as possible, railways and oil refining are the key targets of the bottom.

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Chapter 987 (Page 1/1)

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