The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 623 Moore: There must be no stock and bond futures in heaven, right?
In the study room of the Luoyang headquarters, the charcoal basin was burning brightly, and the flames reflected on Wanzhen's pale face. She grabbed a stack of documents and slammed them on the table, making the teacup jingle. "Zeng Guofan, that old villain! He first forced my sister to restore the Qing Dynasty, then turned around and used the 'Nine Generations of Revenge' to incite the Hunan, Huaihe and Shandong armies to massacre the Eight Banners, and finally he put on the yellow robe. This treacherous villain is even more vicious than Cao Cao!"

Yao Chongjing stood in the shadows with his hands hanging down, and caught a glimpse of Luo Yaoguo slowly sharpening a pencil with a knife. The blade made a rustling sound as it scraped across the lead core. This small, inconspicuous pencil was actually imported from Prussia, and China couldn't even make it itself. The road to industrialization is truly long and arduous!

"Maria," Luo Yaoguo suddenly said, "help Wanzhen go to the back hall to rest."

When Maria helped Wanzhen up, she grabbed the corner of the table and said, "Your Highness! Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang are also developing industries in Guanzhong. The ironworks in Weinan can produce thousands of kilograms of steel every day. It is said that they can make 300 Minié guns every day."

"Got it." Luo Yaoguo put the sharpened pencil into the pen holder, "The most important thing for you now is to take care of the baby."

When the footsteps disappeared outside the corridor, Yao Chongjing pulled out a sealed wax letter from his sleeve: "A joint letter from Li Shaoquan, Duke of Tang, and Princess Mathilde of France."

When Luo Yaoguo opened the letter, Li Hongzhang's unique arrogant handwriting hit him in the face: Brother Xueyan: It has been many years since we last met, and the borders and rivers are deserted. I am deeply grateful for the meeting in Jiangpu that day. Today, the Great Zhou is newly established, and there are many things to be rebuilt. However, the bitter cold in the northwest is not a place for heroes to use their talents. Her Highness Mathilde will go to St. Petersburg to meet the emperor soon. If the Russian emperor allows the expedition to Central Asia, within two years, the Ili cavalry will drink from the Aral Sea. If you are willing to join us, you can send an envoy to Weinan to discuss the plan. In addition, although the south of the Yangtze River is warm, it is not as good as the fine wine brewed by the snow water of Tianshan Mountain. I hope that on the day of reunion, I can lie drunk on the battlefield with you and watch Europe and Asia with a smile.
"Laugh at Eurasia?" Luo Yaoguo sneered, "Everyone can brag. But Yao Baiwan, has he done anything practical?"

Yao Chongjing took a step closer and said, "Your Highness, Lord Li has ordered the French mining division to inspect the iron and coal mines in the Ili River Valley. If there is any harvest, the Weinan Iron Works under his command will also be moved to Ili. In addition, the military settlement in Ili should be able to reach 300,000 mu this year. It seems that he and Princess Mathilde really want to open up the western border."

Luo Yaoguo nodded, picked up a brush, took a piece of letter paper, and began to write a reply to Li Hongzhang. While writing, he said to Yao Chongjing: "Yao Baiwan, I will tell you the truth. Within three years, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will definitely fight and kill Zeng and Zhou. I will definitely take Shanxi, and Chen Decai will continue to hold on to the base of the True Yue faction in northern Shaanxi. But I will not really fight in Guanzhong and Hanzhong. You and Li Shaoquan can rest assured!"

In the banquet hall of the Western Expedition Camp in Luoyang, Wen Xian stared at the delicious food and wine and said with a wry smile: "Your Highness, King Wu, this is the best meal I have eaten on the way from Chang'an."

Luo Yaoguo smiled bitterly and said, "Eastern Shaanxi and western Henan are now frontline areas. What good food can we eat in such a chaotic situation?" He suddenly asked back, "What do you think of Zeng Guofan's Zeng Zhou?"

"It's a deformed combination of feudal military clique and Confucian theocracy." Friedrich drew a circle on the tablecloth. "But compared to the Qing court, they at least have a broader ruling base and are more popular."

Wen Xian shook his wine glass and interrupted, "Winning the hearts of the people? The grain tax that the Great Zhou levied in Shaanxi and Gansu is 30% higher than that during the Xianfeng period!"

Moore shook his head and said, "Although Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang have been working hard to promote industrial construction, to be honest, there is no future."

Luo Yaoguo tapped the edge of his bowl, seeming a little undecided: "What do you think, should I send troops to destroy Zhou immediately, or should I start industrialization first?"

Moore put down the spoon and said, "The Great Zhou is isolated and backward, and can only rely on the most conservative gentry to maintain its rule. The reforms and construction that can be carried out are very limited. Time is on your side."

"Time? It won't take much time, right?" Luo Yaoguo laughed. "When my stocks go up to the sky, I will have enough military pay to attack Gansu and Shaanxi in one fell swoop. That will be the best strategy!"

Friedrich frowned and said, "Are you referring to those railway stocks on the Shanghai Stock Exchange? Excuse me, sometimes the stock price does not reflect the true value of the company, but a bubble!"

"Bubble?" Luo Yaoguo pretended not to know what "bubble" was. He grabbed the wine pot and poured wine for everyone while smiling and saying, "I don't know what the bubble has to do with stocks. I only know how popular the berberine from Jiangnan Pharmaceutical Bureau is. The English East India Company just ordered 50 bottles! I also know how profitable Xuzhou Steel's steel is. The cost of 200 silver dollars per ton can be sold for silver dollars, with a gross profit margin of %. This secret of making big money is of course what everyone is scrambling for."

After hearing what Luo Yaoguo said, the same thought came to Moore, Friedrich and Bonham's minds: It seems that there are no stocks, bonds, and futures in his "paradise". This is also natural. If there are always people being swallowed up by various financial storms, can it still be called "paradise"?

When leaving the banquet, Bonham, who was in a good mood, was so drunk that he put his hat on backwards. Friedrich carried him out, but Moore stayed in the corridor.

"Your Highness, do you really want to raise funds for the Western Expedition through those stocks?" Moore suddenly asked in fluent Chinese.

"We can also issue bonds," Luo Yaoguo said with a smile, "In addition, I just need to pledge those stocks to the bank, and the money will come out. The total value of the shares held by Shengku is now more than 8000 million! By pledging million, we can destroy Zeng Guofan, and by the way, it won't delay the construction of factories and railways."

Moore suddenly asked, "Angel Luo, there must be no stocks, futures, or bonds in heaven, right?" "No," Luo Yaoguo shook his head, "there are none of these in heaven."

So that's it! Moore thought to himself, "As expected! You don't understand this at all! You don't understand and you don't listen to me, now you're in trouble!"

The British Posthouse in the south of Luoyang was originally the government office of the Qing Dynasty, and the cracks of the blue bricks were still stained with old blood. Moore pushed open the creaking door, and Wen Xian had sobered up and was smoking a cigar. Friedrich lit the kerosene lamp, then took out his notebook and placed it on the desk.

"It seems that Luo Yaoguo has become a little bit arrogant!" Wen Xian sat on the armchair and untied his tie. "He must have thought that the surge in stock prices has made the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's treasury very full."

As Friedrich wrote down what he had seen today in his notebook, he analyzed, "The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's finances only have a surplus of two to three million a year, and the value of the eight stocks held by the Heavenly Kingdom Treasury is probably over a hundred million!"

Suddenly, there was a sound of broken porcelain from the next room. The three of them looked at each other, and Wen Xian tiptoed to the wall. Through the hole in the paper window, Bai Siwen was stuffing a bag of silver dollars to the postman: "Change a few sets of clean bedding! And get three roast chickens, wrapped in lotus leaves! And two pots of good wine."

He was accompanied by two boys and a middle-aged man in his thirties.

"Svenson, you are in Luoyang too?" Wen Xian pushed the door open and startled Bai Siwen so much that he knocked over his tea bowl.

"Sir Wen, Sir Wen," Bai Siwen hurriedly wiped the splashed Datong Newspaper with his sleeve. The headline of this official newspaper of the Datong Association was "HSBC shares soared 30%."

"The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's stock market has been rising recently," Friedrich said, looking at the "Weekly Stock Price" on the Datong Newspaper. "If I'm not mistaken, this should be Nathaniel's work, right?"

Moore walked to the leaky window and said, "The Rothschilds are the best at using the ups and downs of stock prices to reap investors' profits. I remember when the British railway boom came, the stock price increased fivefold before the railway from Liverpool to Manchester was opened."

"That frenzy buried 100,000 families!" Friedrich threw down his pen, "but the Rothschild family made a fortune!"

Bonham smiled and interrupted, "In this financial frenzy of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, each of us still has a 1% profit!" He looked at Friedrich and Moore, "Have you finished writing your report? Nathaniel Rothschild is still waiting to see it!"

"I'm already writing it," Moore nodded, frowning slightly. "When we return to Shanghai, an analysis report on the Northwest War and the Great Zhou's economic problems will be delivered to Mr. Rothschild's desk immediately."

At this moment, Friedrich was writing quickly in his notebook: February 1858, 2, Luoyang. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom’s financial system was facing an unprecedented crisis:
1. The stock market bubble is serious, the market value far exceeds the actual value, and the stock price is likely to be inflated by the European consortium headed by the Rothschild family;

2. Excessive issuance of government bonds has completely exceeded the safety line, and the interest burden is heavy;
3. The price of silver was in jeopardy, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom did not have enough gold reserves. Once the price of silver plummeted, it would likely trigger a chain reaction;

4. The war in the northwest was the biggest problem. Shaanxi and Gansu were very short of food and it was difficult to sustain a large army. They had to be mobilized from the east. However, the transportation in Shaanxi and Gansu was extremely inconvenient and transportation was very difficult.
1. The war may also give rise to a large number of refugees in need of relief, which will aggravate the food shortage of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

2. The top leaders of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and even China as a whole lacked knowledge of financial issues and had no idea that they had actually been served a dinner table.

Once the crisis breaks out, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's industrialization process will suffer a severe blow and may even cause great social unrest.

Moore stood by the window, looking at the brightly lit Luoyang City in the distance, and sighed softly: "Luo Yaoguo doesn't understand finance at all, let alone that finance is actually a weapon. This crisis is probably more terrible than we imagined before."

Bonham sneered and lit his cigar: "Moore, you are right. But for us, this is a feast - a feast that destroyed, or at least severely damaged, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom with the financial crisis."

(End of this chapter)