"The roof leak was rained overnight." Zhao Liewen put down the telegram and sighed lightly, "At its peak, the National Guard in Paris had more than 190 battalions and 300,000 troops, even if the siege of April suffered a lot of casualties, there were still more than 100,000, while the regular army of the French Provisional Government was only 30,000, and I am afraid that the future is worrying." ”

He was not worried about France, but worried about Yuanqi's investment in France, the Franco-Prussian War Yuanqi bet on France, not only bought a huge amount of French bonds, but also owed a large amount of arms and medicines, once the provisional government of the Third Republic was overthrown, the money would be completely wasted.

"Huifu is too worried." Yi Zhishu was not worried at all, and said in a relaxed tone: "Although the National Guard is strong, the French army is not weak, and there are still 120,000 or 200,000. ”

Where did the ten or twenty troops come from? Zhao Liewen reacted in a blink of an eye, "The big shopkeeper said that he was a prisoner? ”

"Not bad." Yi Zhizhi said: "Nearly 100,000 French troops were captured in the Battle of Sedan, and General Bazeni led more than 100,000 French troops to surrender in the Metz fortress, and Thiers will definitely want to redeem these prisoners of war to suppress the National Guard in Paris." ”

"It's still the big shopkeeper who sees it thoroughly." Zhao Liewen nodded, "The National Guard in Paris hates Germany, and Bismarck must be willing to secretly assist Thiers, but with such a large number of prisoners of war, Thiers is afraid that he will have to pay some price......." ”

"Such a good opportunity, Bismarck will definitely not let it go." Yi Zhishu bowed slightly, but he secretly worried in his heart, the Franco-Prussian War, the French War, the reparations of 5 billion francs, and the cession of land, should have something to do with this.

"Tick bell." The crisp phone rang, Zhao Liewen hurriedly got up to answer the phone, and soon, he turned around and reported: "The big shopkeeper, Huo Qizheng Huo's shopkeeper of the exchange called, the French national debt has plummeted, do you need to eat?" ”

"Don't worry, wait and see." The establishment of the Paris Commune and the finalization of the war reparations will inevitably cause an extremely serious suppression of the French national debt, and now is far from the time to eat it.

In just a few days, the Commune elections held by the Central Committee of the National Guard, the only effective government in Paris, elected 92 members to form the Commune Council, and on March 28, 200,000 citizens of Paris gathered in the spacious square in front of the Paris City Hall to cheer the official establishment of the Paris Commune.

Fearing the collapse of the Provisional Government of the French Third Republic and the loss of French bonds, French bonds in major European financial markets and the Guangzhou and Shanghai stock markets plummeted again, causing panic and hitting new lows.

Zhennan Wangfu, Changle Book House.

"The French national debt has fallen fiercely, and it has fallen below the 4 yuan mark, and if it is not a pallet, it may continue to fall sharply." Huo Qizheng pondered: "If this continues, it may not be conducive to the ....... of issuing foreign bonds in the future." ”

"If they take over now, they will lose even more." Yi Zhizhi said unhurriedly: "Wait a few days, and I will start eating in Europe with Hu Guangyong." ”

In this case, you still have to eat a lot? Huo Qizheng couldn't help but be stunned, "The big shopkeeper is so confident in France? ”

"The Paris Commune won't last long, don't worry." Yi Zhizhi said with certainty, originally he planned to wait and see, after thinking about it again and again, he felt that there was still no need to take risks, the large and small financial forces in Europe are closely connected with the political leaders of various countries, not only well-informed, but also have a certain foresight, really wait until the beginning of the encirclement and suppression of the Paris Commune or the signing of a formal peace treaty by the French Commune, maybe he will miss the opportunity, and at present, the French national debt has fallen below 20% of the par value, and if it falls, the magnitude will not be too large, it is time to close the net.

Huo Qizheng had just stepped down, and Lin Meilian came in to report: "The big shopkeeper, the shopkeeper Lin is here." ”

"Let him in." Yi Zhicontent commanded.

In the waiting room, Lin Haoran sat on the soft sofa without squinting, he was originally the shopkeeper of the Yuanqi Waguo Branch, after the fall of the Wa Kingdom, he was transferred back to Shanghai, the Ministry of Commerce Xie Xiuyuan, Guan Changhai appreciated him, but Kong Jian'an did not let go, and directly transferred him back to the Yuanqi head office, in charge of monetary policy.

He didn't expect Yi Zhifen to pass Kong Jian'an and summon him directly, and he couldn't help but feel a little nervous, but he estimated that it should be a good thing, and when he entered the study, he caught a glimpse of Yi Zhifen sitting behind the desk, and he bowed calmly, "Subordinate Lin Haoran has seen the big shopkeeper." ”

"No need to be inhibited." Yi Zhizu pointed to the chair in front of him and said, "Sit." As he spoke, he smiled and said, "I've seen you in Maguan." ”

Listening to the other party's memory of him, Lin Haoran couldn't help but feel hot, as the other party, he didn't know how many people he wanted to see every day, a little person like him had met a few years ago, and the other party could still remember it, how could he not be flattered.

After the other party sat down, Yi Zhizhi said slowly: "With the continuous improvement of silver production, silver is also constantly depreciating, and the gold-silver exchange ratio is gradually increasing.

This is not conducive to the preservation of the value of the banknotes issued, nor is it conducive to the development of commerce and the economy, and Yuan Qi has been saving gold for many years, preparing for the implementation of the gold standard ........ ”

A gold standard? Lin Haoran was stunned for a moment, he felt a little sudden, over the years, Yuanqi Bank has absorbed gold by increasing the gold-silver exchange ratio, and he guessed that Yuanqi would follow the example of England to implement the gold standard, but he still felt that it was too early.

After a moment's hesitation, he spoke: "As the big treasurer said, China has been practicing the silver standard for hundreds of years, so the domestic silver circulation is huge, which is not comparable to Western countries, and the hasty abolition of silver may cause great panic." ”

"According to international practice, there should be a transition from the silver standard to the gold and silver double standard, and then to the gold standard." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "However, the current market in my country is circulating silver dollars and Chinese coins (paper notes issued by Yuanqi), and the circulation of Chinese coins has exceeded that of cash silver, even if the silver standard is abolished, Chinese coins can be directly exchanged for silver." ”

"The big shopkeeper." Lin Haoran said solemnly: "Once the abolition of the silver standard is announced and the implementation of the gold standard is announced, it will inevitably have a great impact on the Chinese currency, and even trigger a large-scale run. ”

Hearing this, Yi Zhishu said slowly: "Monetary policy is closely related to people's livelihood and economy, and it must indeed be prudent, but the gold standard is imperative, and time waits for no one. ”

Seeing that he seemed to have the meaning of a comparison, Lin Haoran didn't dare to speak casually, and pondered for a moment before saying: "If the big shopkeeper wants to implement the gold standard quickly, the only way to greatly increase the gold and silver exchange ratio is to greatly increase the exchange ratio, but in this way, it will inevitably cause Western countries to follow suit, resulting in gold and silver being cheap, and the huge circulation of silver in my country will inevitably outweigh the losses." ”

Pay for one's whistle? Yi Zhizhi smiled, today's gold and silver exchange ratio is one to eighteen, this is still the result of Yuan Qi's intentional improvement, he knows very well, in twenty or thirty years, the gold and silver exchange ratio is as high as one to thirty or forty, if it is really delayed until that time, it will really outweigh the losses!

"Keep improving!" Yi Zhizhi said in a deep voice: "Mention twenty within a year, try to exchange silver for gold and increase the reserves of gold." ”

This is no longer the tone of discussion, Lin Haoran did not dare to hesitate, and hurriedly said: "Subordinates obey orders." ”

Out of the room, Lin Haoran's mind was still a little chaotic, such a large increase in the gold and silver exchange ratio, not to mention that it would have a huge impact on Western countries, it was not a good thing for the Qing Dynasty, and the most beneficial was England, he secretly thought in his heart, he had to report to Kong Jian'an quickly, it was best to let Kong Jian'an persuade the big shopkeeper to dispel this idea.

In the room, Yi Zhizu slowly paced to the window and lit a cigarette, as a big silver country, he took the initiative to increase the exchange ratio of gold and silver, he had no choice, he must take measures as soon as possible to make the Chinese currency issued by Yuan Qi the only currency in circulation in the market, and expel silver from the circulation market, so as to firmly control the financial economy of the Qing Dynasty and control the finances of the Qing Dynasty!

"Tick Ring" The crisp phone rang again, Yi Zhizhi glanced at it, strode over, but thought in his heart that the phone should be moved out, and a special telephone room should be set up, with the laying of telephone lines, there will be more and more calls, and it is inevitable that it will not disturb him.

"I'm content." Picking up the phone, Yi Zhishu reported to his home as usual, after all, there are not many cases where he answers the phone directly, "Brother Guocheng——。 A clear voice came from the phone, "Thousands of miles away, it seems to be close at hand, and the ears of the wind are just like that." Yi Yi's voice was full of joy, and it was obvious that he was in a very good mood.

It was actually Jingshi's phone that was connected, and Yi Zhixiang was also happy in his heart, and said with a smile: "King Gong's call is from the military aircraft department or from the prime minister's official residence?" ”

"Brother Guocheng said with a smile, naturally it is the Military Aircraft Department, and the official residence will not be completed until the summer." After a pause, he continued: "The military system reform plan has been passed, I wonder when Lord Yan will go to Beijing to take office?" ”

This efficiency is not slow, Yi Zhixiang groaned for a while, and then said: "I immediately urge the General Staff to move to the Beijing Division." ”

Only then did he put down the phone, and saw Zhao Liewen walk in, he smiled and said: "The phone of the Beijing division has been connected, and King Gong has called, and the military system reform plan has been passed." ”

"It's much easier to get on the phone." Zhao Liewen said with a smile, paused, and then he said: "The wind of the Beijing master is rumoring, and he is choosing a concubine for the emperor, has the big shopkeeper heard of this matter?" ”

The rumor of Qixiang's choice of concubine, Yi Zhixiang naturally heard about it, but he didn't take it to heart, and immediately said casually: "The emperor has reached the age of sixteen, and it is time to get married." ”