“…… That's it, sir. ”

Respectfully putting the information in his hand on the table, a middle-aged white man said eagerly: "If as you expected, there will be a war between the two countries in July...... Judging by the current situation, the possibility of this war will be very high! God, I don't know how you judged it a year in advance, but we're going to make a lot of money without a doubt! ”

The middle-aged white man's eyes were full of admiration and adoration when he looked at John.

As the de facto leader of Huntelaar Bank, Ben? Klaus finds himself unable to seem to see through his big boss forever. Just like before, he always felt that John bought Huntelaar Bank early, but when the economic crisis reached its climax last year, Huntelaar Bank lightningly annexed more than 20 banks, which changed his thinking dramatically - if there is no solid foundation in the front, how can so many banks be acquired in the future?

And this time, John's prediction of the Sino-Japanese war once again shocked Klaus!

When John called Klaus to his home a year ago and told him to prepare for the Sino-Japanese war a year later, Klaus couldn't understand it. Because in his opinion, neither the Qing Kingdom nor Japan could have a major war under the control of many European and American powers! But while he was arguing with his arguments, John insisted on his opinion and demanded that he be well prepared for it.

A year later, when the signs of war became apparent, Klaus was convinced.

No one is better prepared than Huntelaar Bank and his partners, and on the basis of ensuring that the interests of the major powers are not touched, whether it is materials or financial markets, Klaus has prepared enough chips to wait for the war to make a big profit!

As soon as he thought of the huge benefits that he might get in the future, Klaus trembled with excitement and asked eagerly: "Sir, who do you think will be the victor in the war between the two eastern countries?" ”

"This ......"

John's pupils shrank slightly, and he fell silent for a moment.

However, this time the silence lasted only a few seconds, and John sighed softly, waved his hand, and said, "Let's prepare according to the Japanese victory...... Don't ask me why a small country can defeat a big one, you have been preparing for so long, don't you have your own judgment? …… Alright, that's it, you go down......"

……

"Whew...... Come out. ”

After Klaus left, John breathed a sigh of relief with some tiredness, and then let out a faint cry.

Behind the innermost shelf in the study, Su Li, the oriental chef of the Huntelaar family, walked out, widened his eyes and exclaimed, "First, sir, do you think we will definitely go to war with Japan?" ”

"It's not that I think, but Japan is ready."

Leaning back into the wide, comfortable chair, John gently rubbed his temples.

"But...... How is this possible?!|"

After swallowing hard and spitting hard, Su Li exclaimed: "For a small country, you dare to take the initiative to fight with me?" And listen to what you just meant...... Is it possible for Japan to emerge victorious? We are the ones who will win! ”

“****？ Win? Hehe. ”

After listening to Su Li's words, John finally couldn't help but laugh.

The two used Chinese when they were alone, and he understood what Su Li meant as soon as he heard it.

In his previous life, John had always been educated that the Qing Dynasty was poor and weak, and he was bullied by foreigners, but after learning about the specific situation in this era, John found that the facts were not consistent with what he had always believed. In fact, in this era, or before the First Sino-Japanese War, China was barely one of the great powers!

After the "Tongzhi Zhongxing" and the "Westernization Movement", the country has already had a little foundation, and in addition, the internal Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and other civil strife have been completely calmed, the damage caused by the war has gradually subsided, and the economy has made great progress; There has been no major war with the foreign powers in the past twenty or thirty years, and the only humiliating thing is the Sino-French war, although the result is disappointing, but the process is not a shame. In particular, after the Beiyang Navy bought the "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan", the Beiyang Navy became the strongest fleet in Asia at that time, and when it visited Japan, the Japanese were envious and jealous.

But at the end of the day, the country is rotten from the roots.

Moreover, modern warfare is no longer just about who has more soldiers and more money, but also about soft power such as system and information, and Japan has far surpassed China in this regard after the Meiji Restoration. In particular, Japan's attitude towards this war was that the whole country was united, and everyone knew what the Qing government was like. Not to mention how much Japan had prepared for these wars, no one knew better than the people of the Huntelaar Bank.

So looking at the chef with an unbelievable face, John just smiled bitterly and said, "Forget it, I'm afraid you won't believe what I say at this time, so let's wait until the war is over to discuss this matter." “

"Yes, sir."

Biting his lip tightly, Su Li's eyes were still full of stubbornness.

"Alas!"

Sighing, after John waved his hand to signal Su Li to go out, his mood became heavier than ever.

After coming to this era, John thought countless times about how he could help his country, the real country, and so he thought about it many times as early as he was a child. But when he really wanted to do it, he realized how naïve his thoughts were, and how weak a person's power was!

Again, the country is sick!

The root of the disease is the decadent and backward political system of the Qing Dynasty, as well as the cultural and economic system of the entire country, and these cannot be changed by one person or one group, at least John does not have the ability to turn the tide and create amazing miracles like the protagonists of other time-traveling novels.

At the end of the day, he's just an ordinary person.

With knowledge and vision ahead of his time, John could gain great wealth, but it would be a bit of a joke to say that he could influence a country, and it was a huge country. So after recognizing this fact, John came to New York honestly, and then walked step by step to the present! During this period, except for caring about the news of the East in the newspapers, John never went back once, and never did anything for China, and even the Sino-Japanese First Sino-Japanese War, which was the heaviest in his memory, John had to intervene and grab amazing wealth from it!

Everything had an account in John's mind: he knew what he was doing and what he wanted to do.

If you are sick, you must be cured!

It is a pity that John is far from qualified to be a physician for this disease, and the situation in China cannot be solved purely by external factors. So John didn't think he should be in a hurry, after all, it was only 1894, although the Qing government was rotten to the roots, but the rule was still stable, without this year's Sino-Japanese War, without the Eight-Nation Coalition a few years later, how could this country really wake up?

And to be honest, John's strength was not enough.

Don't look at the fact that he has amassed an astonishing fortune, which is not inferior to Morgan and Carnegie and others, but in terms of influence, it is far behind.

"Hoo ......"

With another breath, he got up and walked to the window, and John opened the heavy curtains, and the blazing sun of early July instantly filled the entire study.

Subconsciously raised his hand and narrowed his eyes slightly, John's heart suddenly became quiet: "No matter what, just do your best." (To be continued.) )