Mussolini refused to borrow money after all, and Kong Xiangxi didn't have time to stay longer, so he only stayed in Rome for two days, and then took a train to Germany to find Hitler.

Kong Xiangxi has a tight schedule this time, and he has to go to Northern Europe when he leaves Germany, begging for money everywhere like a flower. Every time he goes to a country, he has to get acquainted with each other, and if the other party has the intention of borrowing, it would be better, and he will come back after attending the coronation of the British king.

Historically, Kong Xiangxi's loan trip lasted for more than half a year, and then he fell ill directly on the way, and when he returned home after recovering from illness, the all-out war of resistance had been fought for several months.

It seems that Kong Xiangxi is still working very hard, and he did get the initial military spending for China's Anti-Japanese War. But as China's finance minister, his ability to generate money is seriously insufficient, and his ability to accumulate wealth is excessive.

Compare Song Ziwen and Kong Xiangxi, both of whom took over the Bank of China and the Central Bank of China at about the same time, and both have the power to issue fiat currency. By 1936, the Bank of China, controlled by Soong Ziwen, had 50 percent more cash reserves, 1.5 times more deposits, 150 times more securities, and three times more total assets than the central bank controlled by Kong Xiangxi.

Even though the foundation of the Bank of China is better than that of the central bank, Kong Xiangxi is the Minister of Finance, and he has a natural financial advantage, and he still can't play Song Ziwen in a bank.

In particular, the gap between the two banks is 150 times, and almost all the securities issued by the central bank have become waste paper. The source of this situation came from Chang Kaishen, who raised military expenses by indiscriminately issuing securities, Song Ziwen often resigned to disobey orders, and Kong Xiangxi always tried to cater to Lao Jiang's wishes.

When Song Ziwen was the Minister of Finance, Lao Jiang still pressed his temperament to issue bonds. When Kong Xiangxi became the Minister of Finance, Lao Jiang finally let go of himself completely, and the bond issuance frightened Kong Xiangxi, trembling and advising Lao Jiang not to play with China's financial collapse - this was last year.

Why have foreign consortia come to invest in China in recent years?

Song Ziwen has made great contributions.

After he took over the Bank of China, he vigorously rectified domestic and foreign bonds, which made the credibility of the Bank of China rise rapidly. Both foreigners and ordinary Chinese people are willing to cooperate with the Bank of China, and all countries borrow money from China through the channels of the Bank of China, and they are resolutely unwilling to deal with the central bank.

Kong Xiangxi took people to Germany, while Zhou Hexuan stayed in Italy, he wanted to discuss traditional Chinese culture with Pound, and estimated the time to go directly to London to meet the mission.

Rome, an apartment.

This is the residence of Pound's mistress, his wife lives in the seaside villa in La Barro, and his other mistress lives in the villa in the mid-levels of La Barro. He divided his time into three parts, spending the first 20 days of each month with his wife and mistress in La Barro, and the last 10 days in Rome with another mistress.

A little old man in his fifties, his life is quite chic.

The mistress of Rome was Joanna, in her 30s, slightly chubby and fair, with a feminine taste of Renaissance paintings. She brought her homemade pies, smiled, asked Zhou Hexuan and Pang De to use them slowly, and then left the study very consciously.

"Zhou, this is the Chinese poem I translated 20 years ago." Pound handed over a book of poems.

The title of the poetry collection is "Cathay", and the transliteration is "Khitan", but in the eyes of foreigners, it is "China", which is a historical misunderstanding of China by Westerners.

Zhou Hexuan opened the poetry collection and saw that most of them were popular Tang poems. How to say it, it feels very strange to read, if Li Bai Dufu understands English, it is estimated that he will have the urge to tear up the book after reading this translated poetry collection.

"Mr. Pound, you said that you only understand simple Chinese characters, so how is this collection of poems translated?" Zhou Hexuan expressed his doubts.

Pound explains: "I took the manuscript of the orientalist Fenolosa, made some additions, and consulted a few Japanese friends. Pound said that he was very distressed, "I know that I am not well translated, Chinese characters are vast and profound, each word can express multiple meanings, and the combination of a few words is as fascinating as a kaleidoscope, as if there is natural magic." And English is the most clumsy language, not only is it far inferior to Chinese characters, but even French can throw out English a few streets. Whenever I translate Chinese poems, it is always difficult to find the most suitable way to express them, and compared to the original Chinese poems, my translated version is as poor as a children's rhyme. ”

Zhou Hexuan comforted: "This is not only a matter of language and grammar, but also the difference between Eastern and Western cultures. Ancient Chinese poets liked to use allusions, and if they wanted to translate into English poems, they had to replace them with allusions that were familiar to Westerners, and it was very difficult to do them appropriately and naturally. ”

"That's true," said Pound regretfully, "so after I finished translating this collection of poems, I never dared to try to translate Chinese poetry again, and I felt that my ability was very small." ”

Zhou Hexuan smiled and said, "You can try to translate ancient Chinese classics, what is your specific Chinese ability now?" ”

"I know more than 2,000 Chinese characters, but I can only read, so it is difficult for me to communicate on a daily basis, and it is so difficult for Chinese characters and Chinese." Pound said.

Zhou Hexuan said: "I know 2,000 Chinese characters, and I can already read Chinese newspapers. But if you want to translate ancient Chinese books, I am afraid that you will have to continue to work hard to learn Chinese characters, and there are many rare and rare characters in ancient books. ”

Pound spread his hands and said, "That's true, but I can't find a good Chinese teacher." ”

Zhou Hexuan said with a smile: "There are also some Chinese students in Italy, some international students are financially poor, you can hire them as Chinese teachers." ”

"That's a good idea," Pound's eyes lit up, and then he asked, "if I want to learn Chinese culture, where do I need to start?" Don't talk about the "Three Character Classic", I have read that book many times, but I always feel that it is still far from Chinese culture. What is the core of Chinese culture? ”

Zhou Hexuan explained: "The source of Chinese culture is the I Ching, and most of China's cultural customs and traditions, including Chinese attitudes towards the universe and society, have evolved from the I Ching. ”

"Isn't it the Analects?" Pound was surprised.

Zhou Hexuan asked rhetorically: "Who did you listen to?" ”

Pound replied, "A Japanese friend." ”

Zhou Hexuan said with a smile: "The Analects is the source of Confucianism, and the school of Confucianism also drew nourishment from the Book of Changes at the beginning. Legend has it that Confucius, the patriarch of Confucianism, made annotations for the Book of Changes, which are collectively known as the Ten Wings. ”

Pound got up and ran to the bottom of the bookshelf, took out a thread-bound book for a long time, and asked, "Is this the one?" ”

"Yes," Zhou Hexuan nodded and asked, "You have a lot of Chinese books?" ”

Pound said with a smile: "There are many, Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist. Most of them are placed in villas in La Barro, and there are also some in apartments in Rome. But ancient Chinese books are too difficult to read, and I know many words, and I don't know how to understand them when they are put together. ”

Zhou Hexuan opened the book of "I Ching" in his hand, started from "saying hexagrams" and "hexagram preface", and said: "The preface before the main text of "I Ching" is said to have been written by Confucius, which belongs to the category of the Ten Wings of the Book of Changes. The entire "Book of Changes" was written by King Wen of Zhou. King Wen Zhou, do you know who it is? ”

"I don't know." Pound shook his head repeatedly.

Zhou Hexuan suddenly had a headache, and said helplessly: "I think you should learn about Chinese history first." ”

This little old man in his 50s immediately turned into a good student, took out a small notebook and said, "You say, I remember." ”

Zhou Hexuan snatched the other party's small notebook, drew a Chinese chronology on it, and said while drawing: "The beginning is the legendary era of the Three Emperors and Five Emperors, according to modern archaeology, those are the prehistoric tribal eras. The first dynasty in China was Xia, which belonged to the early slave state......"

From Xia Shangzhou to the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, the dense representatives of the dynasty saw Pang De's scalp tingle, and exclaimed: "God, studying history in China is really a hard job." ”

"You don't need to memorize all the details, you just need to know the general idea." Zhou Hexuan said.

Pound said solemnly: "I will study it carefully in the future." ”

Zhou Hexuan gave a general account of the dynasties, and then began to talk about the godly preface of the I Ching, and explained: "These prefaces sound strange and bizarre, but there is a deep meaning hidden in them. You can think of the Book of Changes as an ancient Chinese constitution that established the legitimacy of the Zhou dynasty's rule and the political system of pre-Qin China. The preamble of the Book of Changes is equivalent to the preamble of the Constitution, which is the overall elaboration and interpretation of the Constitution. ”

"I Ching, Constitution? That's an interesting insight. Pound said in surprise.

Zhou Hexuan said: "Of course, the Book of Changes was not only a constitution in the pre-Qin era, but also a secret manual for divination. You know, politics in ancient times was often combined with divination, whether it was a war or a sacrifice, or a wedding or funeral, it was necessary to determine the auspiciousness and date through divination. Therefore, the "Book of Changes" has developed into modern times, and has lost the role of the constitution and has become a book based on divination. Through the elaboration and development of Chinese thinkers throughout the ages, the Book of Changes can be read as a philosophical book. ”

Pound nodded again and again, and concluded: "Therefore, the Book of Changes is a Chinese classic that integrates constitution, philosophy, and occultism. ”

"Understood correctly. Let's not look at the preface, let's start directly from the text, let's talk about the Qiangua first, "Zhou Hexuan completely told according to his own understanding, "Qian: Yuan, Heng, Li, Zhen." Qian represents the sky, represents the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty, represents masculinity and justice. Yuan is the original and natural, Heng is smooth and peaceful, Li is harmonious and beneficial, and Zhen is stable and firm. Taken together, these five words are the unified governance of the Zhou Dynasty as a matter of course, just, smooth, harmonious and lasting. Combined with its symbolic phrase 'Tianxingjian, the gentleman is constantly striving for self-improvement', so we extend these five words to all things, from small individuals to large countries, which can be understood as the world runs in cycles and cycles, never stopping, and no one can stop it. Individuals and countries should also follow this law, be self-reliant, and strive for development. ”

Pound clapped his hands and praised: "I see! I used to read these five words, I didn't know how to understand them at all, and if I didn't have a good teacher, I was afraid that I would never be able to know the answer by self-study for the rest of my life. ”

Zhou Hexuan continued: "If you look at the Qiangua again, 'Dazai Qianyuan, the beginning of all materials, is the ruler of the sky', this sentence explains the word 'yuan' in detail. From a philosophical and divination point of view, dry is the beginning of the universe, just as God in the West said to have light, so there is light. From a political point of view, it expresses the rationality of the rule of the Zhou Dynasty and conforms to the changes of the laws of heaven and earth. From the philosophical and divination point of view, dry is the sky, which brings about the changes of seasons and climate, moistens all things in the world, and makes the development of the world smooth. From a political point of view, it was the Zhou Dynasty that provided security for its princes and subjects, so that the country could run smoothly and the people could live happily......"

Just the five words "Qian: Yuan Henry Zhen", Zhou Hexuan spoke for more than 40 minutes. In addition, from the ninth day of the first day of the Qiangua to the use of the ninth hexagram, I didn't close my mouth for two hours, and this thing is too difficult to understand.

The words are equivalent to the use of hexagrams, such as "the ninth day of the first month: do not use the hidden dragon", that is, the development of individuals or forces still needs to be cultivated silently, and do not use or show their power casually. To paraphrase the terminology of the game, it is: don't be rigid, just cowardice, steady development, eat the line, don't fight.

And "Shang Jiu: Kang Long has regrets" means that when you are in a high position, or when you are sure to win, you must not be arrogant and carried away, and you are likely to suffer a huge defeat at this time, the most obvious example is Napoleon's Waterloo.

After listening to the various proverbs of the Qiangua, Pound already bowed and worshipped, and praised: "Chinese culture is really broad and profound, but the first hexagram of the Book of Changes contains so many philosophical truths, and it is still the kind of great truth that can be applied to life and politics." I believe that as long as you understand the Book of Changes, you can solve all the problems of mankind. ”

Well, Pound is the kind of madman who likes to think about philosophy and solve big problems for mankind.

This product meets the Book of Changes, just like a hungry person meets food, and it is almost too late to see each other. He couldn't even take care of his mistress, and pulled Zhou Hexuan to talk for a day and a night, and Lao Zhou dozed off when he spoke, this guy was still in good spirits.

Zhou Hexuan was very worried, and when Pound finished studying the entire "Book of Changes", it is estimated that he will not become a serious scholar, but will become a magic stick for divination everywhere.

For example, when Mussolini lost the war that day, Ponda took Mussolini's hand and said, "Old Mo, you can't do this, let the old man calculate a hexagram for you!" Hey, you're stuck in a lot this time. The water flows without surplus, the risk does not lose its trust, and the heart is maintained by the middle. When encountering difficulties, keep your mind, be courageous, and don't be discouraged by the slightest failure. Lao Tie, come on, you can do it, persistence is victory, you will be able to turn things around and turn danger into disaster! ”