The 'Black Friday' that is easy to remember is a famous gold speculation case in American history - two bold speculators took advantage of the loophole of the parallel circulation of gold and green-backed banknotes in an attempt to monopolize the price of gold. Although it ultimately failed, it had extremely serious effects and terrible consequences - the panic in the gold market triggered a severe stock market crash, which led to a depression in the US economy, which lasted for six years.

Despite his good relations with the United States, Yi Zhixiang did not intend to remind the federal government, on the contrary, he did not mind falling into the trap, making money is secondary, and the economic depression in the United States undoubtedly provided a good opportunity for the rapidly rising Qing Dynasty.

More importantly, the Civil War prompted the rapid prosperity of the financial market in the United States, and Wall Street in New York has become the world's second largest capital market after the City of London, and has become a strong competitor to the Bund Financial Street in Shanghai.

In the drizzle, Su Shun, who looked a little gloomy, walked slowly into the gate of Zhennan Wangfu with a black cloth umbrella in one hand and a robe in the other.

Yi Zhishu stood on the steps outside the study as always to greet him, and when Su Shun arrived, he smiled and said, "Brother Yuting has been running hard enough these days. ”

Su Shun, who had already changed his smiling face, arched his hand and said: "Brother Guocheng will stop a little, and there will be no need to go back and forth like this, the loss is that there is a railway, otherwise you have to stay in Shanghai for a long time." ”

Yi Zhizhi smiled and said: "Coming for the matter of garrisoning Tianjin? ”

Su Shun nodded and said, "Brother Guocheng is too cautious, right?" ”

"If you are not cautious, you can't do it, and if you don't implement the constitution for a day, you won't dare to relax for a day." Yi Zhizu stretched out his hand as he spoke, "I can't blame me for this, who let the imperial court buy such a large amount of arms." ”

Entering the room and sitting down, Su Shuncai said: "At this time and that time, now the Queen Mother is already determined to implement constitutionalism, and the entry of Yuanqi's army into Tianjin is not conducive to promoting the implementation of constitutionalism, but makes the atmosphere in Beijing and Tianjin tense, and provokes suspicion from the government and the opposition. ”

Yi Zhishu glanced at him and said, "I just said it, I can't blame me for this matter." ”

"Even if the hypocrisy is constitutional, the emperor and the queen mother must save some face." Su Shun said with a smile: "The Yuanqi army stationed in Tianjin is like forcing the imperial court to implement constitutional government, so it is enough to deter and show that the attitude is enough." ”

This point is easy to be content, I really didn't take it into account, indeed, the hypocrisy of the monarch's constitution, although the emperor has no real power, he is still the symbol of the country, the spiritual leader of the people, and the dignity that should be retained, he groaned slightly, and then he said: "It's okay to withdraw the troops, and the undelivered arms of the British will be transferred to Yuan Qi." ”

It's not impossible, Su Shun hesitated for a moment before saying, "What about the silver?" ”

"Silver?" Yi Zhisuff glanced at him, "Yuan Qi is just keeping it on his behalf, it's good if he doesn't ask for a storage fee, and he still expects Yuan Qi to pay for this munitions?" ”

Su Shun smiled bitterly and said: "The situation of the imperial court, Brother Guocheng is not unaware of ......, besides, I have to give the imperial court a step." ”

"Don't cry poor with me." Yi Zhizhi said angrily: "Yuanqi's funds are also tight, and he is about to emigrate to the Japanese country on a large scale." ”

Hearing this, Su Shun smiled and said: "This can be flexible, to compensate the Japanese immigrants for this military expenses, the war against the Japanese has basically ended, and we will soon start to build a province and set up a county ......." ”

"No temptation." Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "I will not break my word, the Japanese country will follow the Korean practice and be governed by officials sent by the imperial court." ”

Seeing him so refreshing, Su Shun smiled and arched his hand: "Thank you Brother Guocheng for your success." ”

"You're welcome." Yi Zhizu said indifferently: "Yuanqi organized immigration, and the imperial court sent officials to choose some diligent and loving people, and smashed Yuanqi's signboard, don't blame me for being polite." ”

"Brother Guocheng, don't worry." Su Shun changed his head as he spoke, "I heard that the Prime Minister of the Cabinet has been decided?" ”

Yi Zhixiang didn't hide it from him, nodded, and said, "The queen called to inquire, I recommended King Gong." ”

Recommended Gong Wang? Su Shun's mind buzzed for a moment, and when he came back to his senses, he said: "The royal family is not in the cabinet...... ”

"The situation in our country is different." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "Brother Yuting is temporarily wronged and serves as the assistant minister." ”

"For the time being?" Su Shun looked up at him, as if a drowning man had grasped a life-saving straw.

Yi Zhishu nodded, "Brother Yuting will succeed King Gong and take over as the next prime minister, and having these two of you as a transition will help ensure the smooth and smooth realization of the true constitutional government of the Qing Dynasty." ”

Su Shun looked at him with some suspicion, "Brother Guocheng really doesn't plan to form a regent?" ”

"Brother Yuting, don't worry." Yi Zhishu said with a smile: "Even if I want to form a regent, it will be after you, not to mention that I really don't have this plan at the moment, you also know that I have a loose temperament, which is not suitable." ”

Su Shun was still a little uneasy, and said, "The second prime minister is also designated?" ”

"Of course." Yi Zhichu said: "At present, the Qing Dynasty does not have the basis of constitutional government, and the election of members of the Jiangsu Consultative Bureau fully illustrates this point.

Appointed by the emperor? It's strange that the emperor can designate it! Su Shun couldn't help but laugh secretly, and the gloom in his heart was also swept away, in comparison, he preferred to be the second prime minister.

Coming out of the Zhennan Palace, Su Shun immediately sent a telegram to the Yangxin Palace, reporting that Yi Zhizhi agreed to the conditions for withdrawing troops, and the next day, Ci'an's reply arrived, just two words - allowed.

With the establishment of the Jiangsu Consultative Bureau, the advisory bureaus of the two Nanyang provinces, as well as Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Hubei, and Hunan, have also been set up one after another.

The most striking are the two provinces of Nanyang, as a large province of immigration, the population of the two provinces is not large, but the ratio of voters to the total population is the highest, reaching 2.5 percent and 6 percent respectively, far higher than the southeastern provinces, and Guangdong, which is the foundation of Yuanqi, has only reached 1.2 percent.

"According to a detailed survey, the reason why the proportion of the two provinces is high is because of the universal compulsory primary education, and the valuation of rubber plantations is generally higher." Yi Zhengxing glanced at Yi Zhizhi as he spoke, and said thoughtfully: "Nanyang has a great advantage because of the popularization of primary education, which is easy to accept ....... After hesitating, he said: "But the rubber plantation is generally highly valued, often three or five thousand yuan, is there any suspicion of fraud?" ”

Yi Zhizhi smiled contentedly, "You should understand the price of rubber in detail, and then understand the output of rubber plantations and the economic life of rubber trees, that is, how many years of rubber can be cut, I can tell you with certainty that the current valuation of rubber plantations is seriously low, because the price of rubber is still at a low price." ”

"Still underestimated?" Yi Zhengxing's face was incredulous.

"Seriously underestimated." "The application of rubber will become more and more extensive, the demand will be more and more large, and its price will inevitably continue to rise in the future, or even double." ”

Hearing this, even Zhao Liewen was shocked, he knew very well that since the conquest of Nanyang, Yuan Qi has spared no effort to promote the planting of rubber trees in Nanyang, as early as then, the other party expected the huge value of rubber? It's like turning a stone into gold!

Yi Zhengxing still didn't believe it, "The value of rubber is so great? ”

"If nothing else, the pneumatic tires used in bicycles, horse-drawn carriages and rickshaws that run all over the streets are made of rubber, and this alone shows that there is a huge market for rubber." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "Not only China, but also Western countries have a huge demand for rubber, and rubber has now become another major export commodity in China after tea and raw silk." ”

Seeing Yi Zhengxing, he was silent, and Zhao Liewen pulled the topic back with a smile, "Nanyang and the southeastern provinces have long been prepared for the establishment of local councils, and local officials are also well aware of the situation under their rule on weekdays, and the other provinces are far apart, and it is estimated that it will take half a year or even more than half a year to be fully established, which will inevitably delay the establishment of the Information Administration Yuan, isn't it ......?" ”

"Don't be in a hurry." Yi Zhizu waved his hand, "Once the urging is too hasty, the local officials will inevitably be perfunctory, I hope they will be slower, more serious and responsible, and the advisory bureau that has been established can hold a meeting with them first." ”

In the afternoon, Yi Zhishu was taking a nap in the lotus garden, and listened to Lin Meilian's somewhat hurried voice in a daze, "Big shopkeeper, Chief of Staff Yan is here, saying that there is an emergency military situation." ”

Listening to the emergency military situation, Yi Zhizhi came to his senses, turned over and sat up, "What about people." ”

Listening to the voice, Yan Yangtian quickly walked in and saluted: "Principal, there was an earthquake and a tsunami in the palace city of the Japanese Kingdom last night....... ”

Extraordinarily large tsunami? So unlucky? Yi Zhixin's heart tightened, and he hurriedly asked, "How are the casualties?" ”

"The Seng Lingqin Division lost one battalion, and the Beiyang Naval Division lost eight warships and more than 300 officers and men." Yan Yangtian said in a low voice: "It is reported that the waves set off are dozens of meters high, and many places have been submerged. After a moment's hesitation, he continued, "There are rumors that it is....... Retribution. ”

"What retribution?" Yi Zhi's face sank, "There have been many volcanic earthquakes in the country since ancient times, and the monk Greenqin blocked the news!" The officers and men who died were generously compensated, and the lost warships were replenished for them. ”

"Yes!" Yan Yangtian hurriedly said loudly, seeing that he saluted and was about to turn away, Yi Zhishu stopped him again: "Tell Monk Greenqin that it is not retribution, this is God bless me Daqing!" If the war had not ended, what would have been the consequences of this massive tsunami? ”

If the war does not end, the East China Sea Fleet and the Beiyang Naval Division will inevitably suffer heavy losses in this extraordinarily large tsunami! Yan Yangtian reacted and said with an excited face: "The principal has seen it thoroughly, it is indeed God bless the Qing Dynasty!" ”

"Go ahead." Yi Zhishu said and looked at Lin Meilian, "The tsunami will inevitably affect the coast of our country, so call immediately to find out the situation." ”

The two of them retreated, and Yi Zhizhi was also apprehensive, the Yuan Dynasty encountered a terrible storm, and now there is a particularly large tsunami, there are really some evil sects, but no matter how evil the sect is, he has now been destroyed!

Although he ordered the news to be blocked, he knew in his heart that this news was only afraid that it would be difficult to block, and the extermination of the Japanese Kingdom was a bit unpopular, and he was afraid that someone would make a fuss about it, so it was better to take the initiative to promote the blessing of the Qing Dynasty, and after thinking about it for a while, he felt that it was better to wait and see first.

After several days of no reports about the tsunami in newspapers in the north and south, Yi Zhizhi was relieved and turned his attention to the gold exchange market in New York.

"Big shopkeeper, after the summer, the price of gold in New York began to rise steadily, but the magnitude was very small, and it was obvious that someone was secretly absorbing it." Hu Guangyong said slowly: "It is estimated that this situation will continue until July. ”

Yi Zhizhi glanced at him and said, "Why?" ”

"The United States is a big exporter of agriculture." Hu Guangyong said without thinking: "In order to avoid losses caused by the fluctuation of gold prices, merchants will sell short gold in the gold trading room to hedge after the grain is sold. This pressure to sell short cannot be ignored because the amount is huge. ”

It seems that he has done enough homework, Yi Zhishu nodded approvingly, "The left and right are hand exercises, according to your judgment, eat in and out." ”

"The big shopkeeper." Hu Guangyong hurriedly said: "The New York gold trading market is very hot, most of them are speculative, as long as you pay a small margin, you can carry out gold speculation operations in the gold trading room....... The highest, $1,000 can buy five million gold contracts. ”

Yi Zhizhi gasped when he heard this, "They're crazy? ”

"Crazy indeed." Hu Guangyong smiled wryly: "The gold market in New York is a place that is more likely to make people rich or destitute in a matter of minutes than anywhere else in the world. On average, there is a daily trading volume of nearly $70 million. ”

It's crazy to this point! No wonder a gold speculation case will have such a huge impact and serious consequences, Yi Zhizhi pondered for a long time before he spoke: "This is also convenient, there is no need to mobilize funds, you practice first, but you have to collect news at any time." ”

"My subordinates understand." Hu Guangyong hurriedly bowed his head.

Hu Guangyong's prediction was right, the gold price in New York has been rising steadily, by July, it has risen to $140, as a large number of grain export traders short gold for hedging, the price of gold began to fall slowly, by the end of August, the price of gold has fallen back to $132, and the trend is still down.

In the face of this market, Hu Guangyong was also a little incomprehensible, and estimated that this wave of market should be over, but he felt that something was wrong, but he didn't know what was wrong!