"He's an official! You can't be gentle......" When Zhang Kun arrived at the conference room, Chen Guangfu, deputy director of the General Office and Director of the International Department, had already learned about what was happening in his office, so he had some euphemistic persuasion.

"Cut! What if it's an official? What I hate most is the self-respecting bureaucrats who hold public opinion and morality, and they don't understand finance at all. knew that Ma Yinchu was this kind of person, and he should have let the guards drive him out at the beginning. As the founding father of the People's Republic of China, Zhang Kunsu looked down on these bureaucrats who sat in the world and had no ability, which couldn't help but make Chen Guangfu smile bitterly. He knows that Zhang Kun is good at everything, but he is never polite to people who don't like his eyes.

"Ready?" Zhang Kun didn't care about everything just now, he only cared about whether he was ready for the yen closing the net.

"It's all set." Chen Guangfu didn't persuade much, he glanced at Gu Yiqun, who was about to speak.

"Let's get started." Zhang Kun lit the jade pipe again, sat down and began to listen to Gu Yiqun's report.

“…… After the economic crisis, tariff wars, trade wars, and currency wars all broke out, and the United States, as the total exporter of the crisis, has raised tariffs to 30 to 40 percent in order to reduce imports and increase domestic employment. The situation in Europe is different, and the German economy, which has American capital as the blood of economic circulation, has no power to resist and has fallen the deepest; The British economy was already corrupt, the old industries such as textiles, coal, and shipbuilding were under-started after the war, and the new mechanical and electrical industries were not yet large-scale, so the number of unemployed before the crisis was as high as more than one million.

France has depreciated the franc in order to increase exports, and the domestic agriculture, industry, and services are balanced. Gold reserves are sufficient, so they are almost unaffected for the time being; Austria, Hungary and other Austro-Hungarian remnants were between Britain and Germany. If the situation changes, it will become the second ...... in Germany

…… Although the British pound is an international currency, its sphere of influence has been increasingly eroded by the US dollar after the war. Poland, the Baltics and other countries have directly replaced the British pound with the US dollar as gold reserves. In addition, European countries have invested a lot in the UK, and in the event of a run, England is very likely to close the British pound exchange channel and announce the UK's exit from the gold standard......"

Gu Yiqun is a native of Huai'an, Jiangsu, and was born in the United States by the China Education Association, and although he is considered his own, Zhang Kun still looks at his background in a large landowner family and his education from New York University -- it is well known that since the European War, the control economy represented by Keynes has been incompatible with the free economy represented by Hayek. The specific representatives of the former in China are Ma Yinchu, Liu Dajun, Chen Changxin and others of the China Economic Society, and the latter are Gu Yiqun and Tang Qingzeng. Before the partition of the Fuxing Society, the control of the economy used to be the main economic idea in China, but after the reform, the free economy began to be admired, which is the reason why Gu Yiqun was reused.

"Ji Gao, how sure are you that once there is a run, Britain will announce its withdrawal from the gold standard?" The meeting is said to be a meeting, but in fact, it is a report and a report to strangle the yen and enter the next stage. The strategy is to hit the pound out of the gold standard and leave it isolated, but this is a big deal. Zhang Kun had to be cautious.

"Sir, the pound is extremely weak, according to our survey. The Bank of England has less than 1,500 tons of gold reserves [Note 143]. Gu Yiqun said. With the previous plan, once Germany announced financial controls. The Bank of England will also announce financial controls in response to a run. Regulation is tantamount to withdrawing from the gold standard, the pound becomes a British banknote, no longer has an unlimited repayment function, and the yen ......"

"What if the Bank of England doesn't announce the regulation after the German financial regulation?" Although the plan has long been known, after all, it is against the pound, and under the prestige, Zhang Kun suddenly felt a little apprehensive.

"Sir, during the European War, once Germany and Austria announced financial controls, Britain and France immediately announced a ban on gold exports in order to prevent their own gold from being run. Britain is now weaker than it was before the war, and the Labour Cabinet, which has long been focused on the inside over the outside, will be forced to withdraw from the gold standard once Germany begins financial control, and the Bank of England will be forced to withdraw from the gold standard under pressure from domestic and foreign runs. Gu Yiqun said.

"Xingjian, Ji Gao believes that there is no need to wait until the autumn or the end of the year, now is the time to hit the pound." Chen Guangfu interjected. He was worried that Zhang Kun was too worried and missed the opportunity.

"Hmm." Zhang Kun took off the pipe he was holding, but then he was silent and did not speak, he had too many things to consider.

"The Intelligence Bureau is making sure it's safe." Chen Guangfu thought that Zhang Kun was worried that China would be implicated at this time, so he gave another explanation. "There are bank bankruptcies every day in Germany, and the market is extremely volatile, and the National Socialist Party has grown in power since its victory in the general election, and they have reached a consensus that the more German banks fail, the more supporters they will ......"

The National Socialist Party used the National Socialist Party as the lead to run out of German banks, and finally forced Germany to start financial control and withdraw from the gold standard, which was what the Intelligence Bureau could do. Of course, it can be done not because of the infinite power of the intelligence bureau, but because of the chain effect. As for how Britain will decide after Germany's financial control, it is not something that the intelligence bureau can guess, but fortunately, the logical relationship between Germany and Britain is like this, and Gu Yiqun's judgment is ninety percent correct.

"Okay, let's start over there." Zhang Kun finally nodded heavily, but he still asked uneasily: "How is it in Japan, what do those chaebols mean?" ”

"Mitsui, Mitsubishi and other consortia fully support our judgment, once the pound exits the gold standard, the subsequent yen supply and run will automatically follow. In fact, it is not difficult to understand that the pound withdrew from the gold standard, and then we were also announcing a ban on gold leaving the country, and the yen will definitely not last long. As soon as the yen announces its exit from the gold standard, the pair will fall to the bottom......"

"Sir, the yen has fallen to at least 100 yen to 30 dollars or 60 Chinese dollars when it exits the gold standard." On the other hand, Gu Yiqun added.

"The original $49.85 has fallen to $30, and the difference in the price is as huge as $19, and the propertied chaebols in Japan will certainly not be able to sit still, and they will do everything possible to convert the yen in their hands into foreign exchange or gold in order to preserve its value, and at that time, the run on the yen will not be our business, it will be the business of all those who hold the yen."

"So where are our profits?" Zhang Kun suddenly asked, the political goal of the yen's withdrawal from the gold standard has been achieved, but the bank can't be without benefits. Especially on the German side, it was at a loss, and tens of millions of marks went out.

"Our profits are all on the gold and foreign exchange that we have redeemed. At that time, the yen will depreciate by 40 percent, which will be enough for us to earn. Chen Guangfu didn't expect Zhang Kun to make money in this kind of thing. It's really worthy of the general office.

"And one more question, when will Japan exit after the pound exits the gold standard?" Zhang Kun said again.

"It's hard to estimate." Gu Yiqun said, "If Junnosuke Inoue and others see the opportunity, Japan is likely to immediately announce its withdrawal from the gold standard; However, this is only a practical matter, and if there are political factors involved, such as a large dollar loan to bail out the market, or if China announces that it will not withdraw from the gold standard, then Japan's withdrawal from the gold standard will be delayed again and again. ”

"The intelligence bureau believes that after the pound fell out of the gold standard. If the Hamaguchi Cabinet does not immediately withdraw from the gold standard, we should use the US Metropolitan Bank as the starting point to run Japan's foreign exchange and gold with all our might, and then the Japanese news will break the news afterwards, especially if a few bankrupt bankers in the United States come out to put on a show and say something about Japan's incompetence, which is enough to make all the Japanese crazy. Chen Guangfu said the revised plan, his face was full of smiles, and he never thought that this hurtful idea was Yang Rui's idea.

"I want the Japanese to finally stick to the gold standard. The best thing to do is for us to declare that we will not withdraw from the gold standard. Zhang Kun didn't have the slightest smile on his face, he was thinking about both politics and practical gains.

"If we announce that we will not retreat, there will be many people who will run on Huayuan." Chen Guangfu said.

"So it's a matter of killing a thousand enemies and losing eight hundred. Don't think too much about profit, the key is to make the account even. Zhang Kun's mind was extremely calm, and he finally glanced at Chen Guangfu and Gu Yiqun who were looking forward to it. Smiled: "Let's start, send a report to Berlin." ”

The morning in Shanghai is dusk in Germany. At nightfall, cars drove out of the secret stronghold of the National Socialist Party in Berlin. The car was loaded with new marks. Watching the room full of new marks and propaganda leaflets swept away, Goering smiled at the SA commander beside him, wearing a swastika, wearing a brown uniform, and dressed as an all-soldier: "Ernst, tomorrow morning, the entire German bank will be crowded." I'm sure everyone will remember the 1923 Jewish ransack of us, and they'll drop everything and go to the bank for anything, as long as it's not a mark. ”

Negotiations with the Chinese Intelligence Service were limited to Yu Goering, but even he did not know that the ultimate intention of the run on the Deutsche Mark was to hit the yen, and he fully believed the advice of the Intelligence Agency - the more people lost their jobs, the more people joined the National Socialist Party, and this operation was China's support for him.

"Is that guy so stupid to give us all the money?" Goering can get a lot of benefits in the operation, although Rom does not get much, but he is still very satisfied with 200,000 marks, not to mention that other SA leaders can also get a sum of money.

"Of course, the big guy only needs gold. But one day, the gold of the big man will become the property of the state. Goering laughed, and he pointed to the two boxes of things that had been prepared, "A case of Scotch whisky and a case of Bordeaux wine, both of which were given by the big guys." ”

"Oh ......," the bullet mark on Rom's face twitched, and he was overjoyed. Herman, you are truly my angel. ”

"No, this should be thanks to Count Christian, who generously donated three million marks to us." Seeing that Röhm was satisfied with the gift he had prepared, Goering smiled even brighter. "He increasingly decided that it was better to help us than to help the Weimar government."

"The Chinese are really our angels." Röhm knew about the help of the Socialist Party by Count Christian, who had the title of Chinese, and almost made him forget that China was also a member of the Entente. "Well, since the Count needs it, tomorrow morning the stormtroopers will crowd the banks of all Germany."

"Yes, but never in uniform. Ernst, this is crucial. Göring concluded, though this had been repeated.

Goering was on the move, and Rebecca was not idle, but unlike her husband, she was trying to convince only one person.

- Almar Schacht was a rigid German with a straight collar always held high, and although he was no longer the governor of the German Central Bank, his reputation for curbing hyperinflation in 1923 made him famous in German and international economic circles, but above all, he was a firm believer in classical economics, and supported the gold standard, balanced budgets, and free trade. If he opposed Germany's withdrawal from the gold standard, then all the efforts of the SA and Goebbels would be ruined.

"Mr. Schacht. My view is to avoid a recurrence of the crisis and an increase in unemployed workers. Maybe getting out of the gold standard is a good option; Tariffs should also be appropriately raised, and most importantly to open up new markets...... "thanks to the exposition education of the aristocracy." Rebecca knows a little bit about everything. As Shacht's wife walked away, she began to make her point of view in its entirety.

"New market, ma'am?" The German Duke Rebecca was honored to visit his home. Despite this, Schacht only agrees with the views in the duchess's discourse to open up new markets, and it is difficult to pick the other ones.

"Yes." Rebecca put down her glass, "I got the news when Germany could give up the gold standard." Then Chinese tend to give more orders to Germany than to the United States, and most importantly, the prepayment can be significantly increased......"

"Dear Madam, Chinese...... Why do they want us to abandon the gold standard? Schacht asked curiously, he didn't doubt everything Rebecca said, but it seemed to lack the necessary logic.

"All I got was this promise." Rebecca picked up a napkin and wiped her mouth carefully, "As for what the Chinese are going to do, I don't know." Yarmar, do you think it's worth it for Germany? If they add an additional five to one billion marks on their purchases in Germany and pay half of the purchase price in advance......"

"It's a big deal." Shacht was somewhat incredulous. With such a huge purchase, can it be said that the increase will increase? He couldn't believe it and asked, "Madam, is this delivered in dollars?" ”

"Of course, it can also be Chinese dollars or pounds, or soybeans." Rebecca laughed. She was pleased with Schacht's response. In her view, it seems that it will not be difficult to change the position of Shahr, who is close to Goering and herself, and now China has promised to place additional orders. It would have been even easier for him to change his position.

"It's a lot of recognition." Schacht excitedly picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth, "But I can't imagine in the case of a tender." How the Chinese handed over these orders of five to one billion marks to us. ”

"This is a Chinese thing. And even in previous procurements, there were many projects that were not procured through tenders - as long as there were no more than three suppliers. The Chinese will be able to negotiate prices in accordance with the provisions of the bidding law. The bargaining is not public, so it is a very simple matter to give more orders to German companies. Rebecca said, "Yarmar, the Chinese have always liked German products, although their infrastructure construction is about to be completed, but industrial construction has just begun, the economic crisis is not very good, and the domestic demand is strong." I think if the German economy wants to get out of the trough, the Chinese market must not be lost. ”

"Madam, I fully agree with you." Shacht nodded slightly, but he was not one to compromise easily. "But what should we do? Another important issue is that once the mark withdraws from the gold standard and the Chinese dollar sticks to the gold standard, then the depreciation of the mark is equal to the appreciation of the Chinese dollar, which is equivalent to us selling goods at a discount, which is unfair to Germany, although it has no impact on Germany. This is exports, imports, a lot of raw materials for German goods come from abroad, and the depreciation of the mark is equal to a decrease in the real purchasing power of the mark. It is likely that the increase in import costs will not be enough to offset the increase in imports due to the increase in the cost of imports. ”

"It's really a problem." Rebecca laughed that the possibility that Mark's purchasing power would decline more than the depreciation after he withdrew from the gold standard was something she had failed to consider, so she praised Shahr even more as a banker who took the initiative to take refuge.

"The other is the issue of reparations." Schacht continued: "According to the previous treaty signed by Germany, even if China handed over more orders to Germany, Germany would have to pay reparations in accordance with the regulations, which would largely offset the profits of German enterprises, and all they could get was that the workers had work." Although the reparations have been stopped, the depreciation of the mark will still increase the value of the gold mark, and if Germany starts to pay reparations again after the negotiations, then a withdrawal from the gold standard will do more harm than good to Germany. ”

"If the negotiations had been completed and Germany had to pay reparations again, the economic crisis would have brought all European countries out of the gold standard long ago." After listening to all of Shacht's opinions, Rebecca began to refute. "Therefore, there is no need to consider the increase in actual compensation due to the depreciation of the mark. As for the problem of the decline in purchasing power abroad due to the depreciation of the mark, I think if China pays in Chinese dollars or dollars, this is not only not a problem, but a good thing. Even. If we need to evade reparations, we can barter with China. Machine for soybeans, which is acceptable to many traders. ”

"You convinced me. Madam. "When he heard the brilliant idea of bartering to evade reparations, Schacht was completely convinced." Please tell me, what should I do? To lobby Mr. Luther of the Central Bank? ”

"This is one of them." "You should also strongly express your opinion in the newspapers that Germany should withdraw from the gold standard for the time being and return to it when the economy is booming, which is good for Germany rather than harmful, because Germany has no investment abroad, and giving up the gold standard and letting the mark depreciate will only stimulate exports." ”

"I can do all of that. But I still doubt that the government will agree to this. "The prime minister is likely to stick to the gold standard because of pressure from the United Kingdom and the United States, unless other countries also withdraw from the gold standard." ”

"There's no need to worry about the government." Looking at Mrs. Shahr, who had come smiling, Rebecca hurriedly ended the conversation, and she concluded: "Tomorrow morning you will understand that it is necessary to withdraw from the gold standard." ”

Shahr didn't pay any attention to Rebecca's hurried last sentence, but when he went to work the next day, sitting in a black Mercedes sedan, he saw some clues in the newspapers, and the greater miracle was after the driver exclaimed God - the long queue in front of the major banks, obviously. Judging by the length of the line, it was clear that they had been waiting for most of the night.

"What's going on?" Shahr thought about Rebecca's last words last night, his eyes rolling, and he began to imagine some kind of involvement.

"Sir. It is said that the Mark will soon depreciate as it did in previous years...... "While Shahr was thinking, the driver quickly opened the door and went to the long queue to ask about it, and the results made him very uneasy. "Yes. Is that really the case, sir? It's horrible. My God! ”

"Of course......" Thinking of Rebecca's explanation yesterday, Shahr's words choked for a moment. He understood perfectly well what the gold standard was for Germany. This was supposed to be the chain of the overlord to the colonies, and as an exporter of goods, they had to stick to the gold standard in order to ensure that the overlord's goods were constantly imported without losing money. Germany was supposed to be the suzerain, but now it is not.

'If Chinese really add 500 million marks to the order and barter or pay in dollars...... Schachhel thought about this, his heart burning. Although Germany's withdrawal from the gold standard ignores the European economy, Germany is only a blood transfusion of Britain and France, and breaking away from the gold standard is a complete break from the transfusion vessel. "Take me to the Treasury Department." Thinking of this, Shahr decided.

"Mr. Minister, you must have the police disperse those people!" Hans R. Luther, the governor of the German Central Bank, rushed to the Ministry of Finance before Shahr arrived, but he did not want to control foreign exchange, but to control the runs. "This is a premeditated run, it is no accident, if it is allowed to develop, more and more Germans will join the run, and the only foreign exchange and gold we have will be emptied by them!"

"Of course I know the urgency of the matter, but it's not in accordance with the law unless foreign exchange and gold controls are introduced." Finance Minister Hermann Dietrich also saw a long queue in front of the bank on his way to work, and as soon as he arrived at the office, he called Luther to find out what was going on.

"But......" was so excited that Luthor forgot the little leaflet he had been holding in his hand, a Communist, with a fat-headed, big-eared bourgeois banker clutching a handful of gold and laughing wildly, and in the corner of the picture was a bunch of little people snatching the Reichsmark he had thrown from the air, with the phrase 'It seems that we need more printing presses!' -- Obviously, this is a deliberate run.

"Mr. Minister, this is the leaflet I found from the queue, the Communists are instigating this run, they want a repeat of the inflation of 1923, and the chaotic situation will make it easier for them to carry out their intrigue." Luthor handed the leaflet to Dietrich and began to state his opinion. "Even if we can't legally arrest all the Communist Party, we should disperse those who crowd the banks and prohibit them from running."

"Nope! Mr. Minister, this will only cause more confusion. Shahr, who arrived a step late, finally arrived, and when he heard that Luthor was going to expel the crowd that was waiting in line, he immediately objected. Mr. Luther, perhaps the Communists or the National Socialist Party are hoping that we will send the police to expel them, and in the event of bloodshed it will bring down the current Cabinet. ”

Schachhel resigned from his position as central bank governor a few months ago because Prime Minister Brüning wanted to implement a new economic plan regardless of tax implications, and other war debt relief, which was frowned upon by all countries, especially the Americans. Although Shahr resigned, his influence in the Ministry of Finance and the central bank is still there, so ministers and governors look at him intently when they hear his voice.

"Germany needs a stable government and, above all, a stable economy. Now, our foreign exchange and gold are not enough to cope with the run on the people, so why not ban the exchange of foreign exchange and gold from now? Shahr said. Then we have Congress elect representatives to look at the foreign exchange and gold to make sure that they are still in the hands of the banks and not exchanged by the bourgeois bankers. ”

"But......" Luthor looked at Shahr in surprise, surprised at the change in his attitude, which had previously been on the gold standard. If foreign exchange and gold are regulated, then what will we use to pay for war debts and imports? ”

"Germany can't afford to pay its war debts now, and when the economy improves and it needs to pay its war debts, we can lift foreign exchange controls." Shahr replied fluently, he had already thought about these questions. "As for the foreign exchange required for imports, we can adopt an approval system, and in the case that the enterprise has an export order, we will place foreign exchange according to its order. If it is not an export order, then domestic production should be encouraged, so as to stimulate the domestic economy and reduce unemployment. ”

Shahr replied seamlessly, and in Dietrich's approval, Luthor asked: "Regulated foreign exchange will devalue the mark, and now many German companies are bidding in China, and if the Chinese pay in the mark, then we will actually get less money; And countries will not approve of our regulation of foreign exchange and gold, which will bring chaos to the entire European economy......"

Luther's ability to take over the position of central bank governor is obviously not in vain, and the disadvantages of controlling foreign exchange gold have all been said by him, but Shahr is prepared, he smiled and said: "Mr. Luther, the Chinese are famous for not liking foreign exchange, they pay all dollars for purchases this time, and the depreciation of the mark will not reduce our income; Of course I know that countries do not approve of our control of foreign exchange and gold ......, but control is the only way to stop the run, and at the same time, control is also a matter of time, and I do not see any signs of improvement in the economy for the time being, but the economy is deteriorating. It can be said that even if we do not control it today, we will control it tomorrow, and even if Germany does not control it, Austria will control it, is there any difference in that? (To be continued.) )

PS: [Note 143: World Gold Council official website: www.gold.org.] Its reserves were 1080 tons / (1930). ]。