Years of the Republic of China 1913

() This choice is very difficult. Whether it is Song Jiaoren, Fang Zida and Cao Rulin, whether to agree or reject, it is particularly difficult. The three sat silently for a long time, and it was Song Jiaoren who finally made the decision.

"As the saying goes, the lesser of two evils, who can tell what will happen in the future? The most important thing is to solve the present."

"But Brother Dun, once Nicholas II establishes a government in exile in our country, I'm afraid..."

Cao Rulin hurriedly persuaded, in his opinion, it is better to delay this matter, neither rejecting nor agreeing, waiting for changes in Tsarist Russia, if the temporary government or other parties attack Nicholas II, or there are other The country agreed to the tsar's application for political asylum, so that the Chinese government could get out and not have to face such problems.

"This is inappropriate." Song Jiaoren waved his hand and said, "China is a big country, and a big country must have the bearing of a big country. Although China has lost the glory of the heavenly kingdom in the past hundred years in the late Qing Dynasty, the war in Europe is now our China. Opportunity to rise again. On the surface, the political asylum of the Tsar is only a state affairs of Tsarist Russia or a political affair of Europe, but in terms of the overall situation of the world, when countries such as Britain and France reject the Tsar, our country extends a helping hand, no matter for our country Both the international image and the political aspects are favorable. As for what will happen after Nicholas II arrives in our country, this is a matter for later, and the discussion can be postponed."

Fang Zida's heart moved, he looked up at Song Jiaoren and seemed to understand what he meant.

"I agree, Brother Runtian, Brother Dunchu is right. Now we agree that the benefits of Nicholas II's political asylum outweigh the disadvantages. As for the future, who can say for sure? At least in the short term, it is beneficial to our country Yes. Just a little is enough."

Song Jiaoren smiled slightly, sighing secretly that Fang Zida understood his intention.And Cao Rulin saw that both of them agreed to accept the tsar's political asylum. As the foreign minister, he only had the right to make suggestions but not to make decisions. The prime minister made a decision and Fang Zida approved it.

The matter does not need to be discussed by the cabinet, nor does it need to be referred to parliament.After the three of them made a decision that night, Cao Rulin hurried back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His Excellency the Baron, who had been waiting anxiously at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saw Cao Rulin rushing back and hurriedly asked about the decision of the Chinese government. Cao Rulin told him with a smile that Prime Minister Song had agreed to Czar Nicholas II request for political asylum.Immediately, Baron Peter Nikolaevich Wrangel was ecstatic.He hugged Cao Rulin tightly with Russian passion and kissed wildly, shouting "Ula!" Cao Rulin's face turned pale and his chrysanthemum tightened in fright, thinking that Your Excellency the Baron had turned into an old rabbit, but it's okay, Baron Peter Nikolaevich Wrangel gnawed at Cao Rulin's head for a while, and then excitedly went back to report, leaving the drooling Chief Cao's face blue and red with embarrassment.

The reply from the Chinese government to grant political asylum to Czar Nicholas II and his family spread throughout the capital the next day. After hearing the news, Britain and France couldn’t sit still. The ambassadors of the two countries came to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to verify this. thing.After learning that this was indeed the case, the faces of the ambassadors of the two countries were very ugly.I hurried back to the embassy.

The British and the French rejected Nicholas II's application for political asylum, but that didn't mean they agreed to Nicholas II's coming to China.Regarding the great changes that took place in Tsarist Russia, Britain and France were both anxious and secretly happy.If it weren't for the fierce war in Europe, Britain and France would even publicly applaud the news of the Tsar's downfall, but in today's situation, they can only react with regret and regret.He was even very anxious about the result of Tsarist Russia's withdrawal from the war, and asked China and the Japanese government to send troops to Europe as soon as possible.

However, neither the British nor the French were willing to see Tsar Nicholas II's family go to the Chinese territory and then establish some kind of organization like zheng fu in exile.For more than half a century, Tsarist Russia, Britain and France have been competing for interests in the Far East, fighting openly and secretly.Destroy each other.In the Japanese-Russian War that year, if it weren't for the shadow of the British standing behind the Japanese, Tsarist Russia would not have been defeated by the Japanese, thus losing control of Northeast China.As the saying goes.There are no permanent friends in this century, only eternal interests.When countries come together with interests, they can also turn against each other with interests.Once the temporary government of Tsarist Russia in China stands firm and successfully counterattacks, and regains control of Tsarist Russia, Britain and France absolutely do not want to see the reappearance of a unified and huge Tsarist Russia that makes the whole of Europe uneasy.This is also the purpose of their rejection of Nicholas II's political asylum, because in their view, a turbulent, divided Tsarist Russia without a strong leader is the most in line with the interests of Europe.

But no one thought that not long after Britain and France refused political asylum to Nicholas II, as a neighboring country of Tsarist Russia, China, which once had glory but has declined, but has gradually recovered in recent years, actually agreed to Nicholas II request and agreed to allow him and his family to come to China for political asylum.This is tantamount to knocking a sap on the heads of the British and French and breaking their plans. Britain and France are extremely annoyed by this, but in view of the agreement of the Allied Powers and the need for Chinese troops and material support, Britain and France He could only hold back his anger and acquiesced to the matter.

"Hehe, I didn't expect a resigned emperor to be so eye-catching."

In Fang Zida's office, Yang Du was drinking tea and commenting on the news in the newspaper with a smile, while Yang Yongtai was smoking a cigarette with a smile on his face.

"Yes, neither the British nor the French are good people. No wonder they refused the Tsar's request."

"Barbarians are barbarians, no matter how much they dress up as civilized people, they can't escape the habits in their bones." Yang Yongtai sighed: "It is said that Nicholas II and the King of England are still relatives, and even the Kaiser and him are cousins. The emperor of the great empire extended a helping hand to his allies when he was desperate. Even if it was not for the sake of being an ally, it would not be an exaggeration to extend a hand as a relative? But they were good and refused, and let the tsar fall. Precarious in the hands of the rebels, poor! Alas!"

"That's it. All these foreigners have no benevolence. It's unbelievable. This reminds me of Cheng Ming's suggestion to the cabinet that sending troops to Europe must first negotiate conditions. At first, I wondered if this was too much Now, I finally understand Zhang Ming’s concerns. When dealing with these barbarians, you can’t deal with them with benevolence and righteousness. You have to bargain like a merchant, otherwise the other party will turn their backs and deny you, and you will have to eat the bitter fruit. .”

Yang Du said a few words with emotion, shook the folding fan in his hand and looked at Fang Zida, Fang Zida couldn't help but laugh.I couldn't help but scolded him with a smile.

"That's enough, Xizi, there are only you, me and Changqing here, putting gold on my face is not such a method, and no one else knows about it."

"Hahaha, what Zhang Ming said is extremely serious, brother Xizi, you are flattering the horse's legs." Yang Yongtai said cheerfully at the side, and Yang Du didn't feel annoyed, just laughed at himself.Several people laughed together.

After joking a few words, Yang Yongtai got back to business.Report to Fang Zida about Jiang Zhiqing's work in Shanghai*Shanghai.According to Fang Zida's plan, the work of the investment bank is progressing very smoothly. As of yesterday, 2 million has been credited. Jiang Zhiqing's message is full of confidence in completing this year's task ahead of schedule. %above.

"The target for this year should be 8 million? If it exceeds 30%, it will be equal to more than 10 billion? This is the average of the original plan. Jiang Ruiyuan is so sure?" Fang Zida was a little skeptical after hearing this, and took Yang Yongtai's hand After carefully reading the incoming telegram twice, I asked back.

"Yes!" Yang Yongtai nodded.With an excited expression on his face, he said: "Maybe you don't know, Zhang Ming, that the funds, bonds and wealth management projects we launched are very popular now. According to news from the United States, not only Japan, Tsarist Russia and other countries are rushing to buy them, but Even the allied countries have sold a lot. Last week alone, a businessman in Germany bought nearly 2000 million funds at a time. It is said that even businessmen from Britain and France are interested in investing in it. If we look at this situation, The 30% excess proposed by Jiang Ruiyuan is not a problem at all.”

"No wonder..." Fang Zida suddenly realized that he had been paying attention to Japan and Tsarist Russia.Unexpectedly, the Germans could not sit still.As the war continues, no one knows what will happen to the final outcome of the war, except for the Germans, the British and the French as well. As businessmen, they know the truth that they cannot put their eggs in one basket and invest separately In order to diversify risks, let alone the United States as a neutral country, it is an excellent choice for them to purchase these financial derivative products marketed by Americans.

"Yes!" Fang Zida thought for a while and nodded, "Reply to Jiang Ruiyuan and let him do it, but remind him that all currency settlements are settled in US dollars or gold and silver, and no other currencies are accepted."

"Not even pounds, francs, and marks?"

Fang Zida frowned, hesitated and finally made up his mind: "Yes! I don't accept it at all, this is the bottom line!"

"Okay, since you said so, let's arrange it like this, but you still have to say hello to the United States, Jiang Ruiyuan can't make the decision."

"no problem."

After Yang Yongtai finished speaking, Yang Du reminded from the side: "By the way, Zhang Ming, I have something to tell you."

"Please tell me, Xizi."

Yang Du said: "my country's silver dollar system has been implemented for several years, but it has always been limited to silver reserves and casting speed, and the silver dollars issued every year are still not enough. Moreover, the industry and commerce have developed rapidly in recent years. Although silver dollars are good as currency, they are very difficult to carry. It’s an inconvenience, someone has been suggesting to me that Zhongyang Bank should change from currency to yuan, so I’ve thought about it…”

"It's not suitable for the time being!" Before Yang Du could finish speaking, Fang Zida interrupted him, shaking his head and said, "Xi Zi, why don't I know the disadvantages of silver dollars as a currency in circulation? But now the currency is changed to yuan, and paper money is officially issued The time has not yet come, so let's put this matter on hold for a while, and wait for another two or three years."

"This... good." Seeing that Fang Zida was so assertive, Yang Du could only not mention it for the time being, but he still wanted to remind Fang Zida of one thing: "You can put aside the currency change, but Zhang Ming, according to the following banks According to the news that has been collected recently, it seems that the demand for silver dollars in the market has suddenly increased. I think this is very strange, and I hope you send someone to investigate it carefully. "

"Is there such a thing?" Fang Zida was taken aback. It was the first time he had heard of it. Yang Du was the vice president of Zhongyang Bank. He came to deal with it. Since Yang Du told himself that it seemed that this incident did happen, Fang Zida became vigilant for a while. ()