After copying the telegram in Zong, Gao Envoy Biwen understood why Liu Renxiang was stunned when he saw Bu Jianxing, it turned out that he had just received the telegram, and just this morning, Austria-Hungary had assassinated the crown prince under the pretext of assassination. Accusing Serbia of being the mastermind behind the scenes, and declaring war on Serbia in this way, and as an ally of Serbia, the Tsarist Russian government immediately reacted to this, and at noon today, the Russian Tsar officially issued an edict, announcing that Russia had entered a general mobilization, and the European war was already on the verge of a moment.

As an industrialist who often deals with foreign businessmen. Both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Liu Renxiang are well aware of the current international situation, and in addition, they are both frequent visitors to the presidential palace and often listen to the president's high-level arguments, so they can see the current international situation more clearly than ordinary businessmen, know who is whose ally, who is the enemy, and the conflict of interests between countries and the fundamental means of resolving the conflict of interests envisaged by the politicians of various countries.

In Europe today, the Entente and the Allied bloc are two opposing international political and military blocs, and according to the alliance treaties signed between them, they will provide each other with military assistance in the event of an attack on their allies. Or even directly join the war and fight alongside your allies.

Germany was an ally of Austria-Hungary, Russia was an ally of Serbia, and Britain and France had a military alliance treaty with the Russian Lion, assuming military obligations for Russia, and now Austria-Hungary had declared war on Serbia, and Tsarist Russia immediately announced the general mobilization of the whole country, and the next. It can only be a declaration of war between Russia and Austria-Hungary, and then, Germany will certainly also invoke its obligations under the treaty of alliance with Austria-Hungary to declare war on Tsarist Russia, and once Germany declares war on Russia, Britain and France will probably not sit idly by and watch Russia be attacked by Germany and Austria-Hungary, and Britain and France will certainly declare war on Germany and Austria-Hungary, and in turn, Germany and Austria-Hungary will certainly declare war on Britain and France in accordance with their military obligations under the treaty.

It may seem a bit dizzying, but this is the way it is in international relations today, treaties between countries are not verbal promises between hooligans, they have the force of law, and they are linked to the national image of each country, and once one of these treaties is touched, then the whole chain of treaties will turn and will never stop because of the will of a few politicians.

Obviously, the president's prediction back then was quite accurate, that war in Europe was inevitable and would certainly bring drastic changes to the current international relations.

Now, the changes in Europe have proved the president's accurate judgment of the situation, and the ministry Tingbi and Liu Renxiang can't help but admire the president again.

However, admiration is admiration, the president is the one who controls the situation in the country, while Gao Tingbi and Liu Renxiang are businessmen, although they have strong political overtones. But it is undeniable that they are more of a businessman, and their main purpose is to pursue economic interests, and making money is their main purpose.

The outbreak of war in Europe will certainly have a far-reaching impact on the commerce of the Far East, not to mention the most ordinary imitation fabrics, which will definitely cause shortages with the explosion of the war in Europe, and the raw materials related to the military industry will also be bullish. Cotton, tung oil, pig bristles, iron and steel, butterfly charcoal, and petroleum, which are closely related to the military industry, will undergo a series of profound changes. And the most obvious change is definitely the price. "Kind!

Bu Tingbi vigorously slapped the transcript of the telegram on the coffee table, and then paced back and forth between Liu Renxiang and Wei Zifeng with his hands behind his back, with a look of excitement on his face.

"What a chance! What a great opportunity! Once there is a full-scale war in Europe, the European powers will not be able to take care of the Far Eastern market, and then it will be time for us Chinese businessmen to show their skills

Bu Tingbi was a little excited and lost his temper, but fortunately, he quickly reined in his mind and walked to Wei Zifeng.

"Brother Wei, I don't think you have to go to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce to send any petitions, you hurry back to Guangdong. Hurry up and arrange it, and cover the goods at hand first. Whether it is an industrial product or an industrial raw material. Don't be in a hurry to make a move, when the news of the war in Europe spreads, the price of these things will definitely rise immediately, and there will definitely be a shortage of goods in Nanyang, and when the time comes, it will not be you who will go to Britain and France. Their gang of foreigners and traitors came over in a low voice and begged you to give them the goods, you Guangdong merchants, just wait to sit and count the foreign money

"Forget not to collect banknotes, either to collect silver dollars, or to collect gold, that is, not to accept banknotes from belligerents, British pounds, francs, marks, rubles, all of them, at most, to collect some dollars, even if you collect paper money, you must also exchange it for gold as soon as possible

Seeing Gao Tingbi so excited about his tirade. Liu Renxiang, who was standing on the side, interjected, but this was not his insight, but the president's high opinion, when he was talking with the president about the situation in Europe in the presidential palace, the president had made an evaluation of the currencies of various countries after the outbreak of the war, and the president was obviously not optimistic about paper money, but only about gold.

"Oops! I have forgotten this verse."

Gao Tingbi heard Liu Renxiang's reminder, and suddenly remembered something, so he whispered, and let the two people on the side both Yi Xunshu dry fine notches and mixed clams

"What's the matter? Brother Gao, what do you think? Wei Zifeng was also a little excited, so he hurriedly asked.

"Nothing, nothing. I just think of those foreign banks in China, and now that the war in Europe is imminent, all countries are raising military funds, even though we are a little further away from Europe. And it's a little poorer, but no matter how small the mosquito is, it's still meat, and it's hard to guarantee that the warring countries in Europe don't make up their minds about these banks in China. Brother Liu, you are also the comprador of the Bank of France, so you have to find a way out first. ”

Bu Tingbi's words were like holding the pipa and half-covering his face, but the meaning of his words Liu Renxiang and Wei Zifeng understood it, and what he meant was to take this opportunity to create public opinion, cause a frenzy of foreign bank runs, and then further expand the financial group he controlled, and finally dominate the rivers and lakes and become China's financial hegemon.

Businessmen should seize every opportunity to attack their competitors, and this is the same as China's war against Japan, and the opponent must not be given any respite, as long as the opportunity is right, good businessmen will also become treacherous.

The three businessmen in the living room all smiled knowingly. Liu Renxiang was thoughtful, and Bu Tingbi let out wild words.

"The war in Europe is better to be fought, the longer it is fought, the better, and it is better to fight for a few years, in that case, even if our Chinese industry is on a speeding train, it is not vain to travel thousands of miles a day. As long as we do a good job and don't worry about foreign businessmen still pressuring our Chinese businessmen, in a few years, I think that the power of foreign businessmen in China will subside, and the power of our Chinese businessmen will also be able to rush out of the country, at least occupy the part of Nanyang first. ”

"Brother Gao, you seem to have forgotten one thing, now. We're still at war with the Japanese. As long as this war is still fought, then the trade routes at sea will not be safe, and Britain and France will not open the markets of the South Seas colonies to us, so they will rely on smuggling. But it's not a long-term solution. ”

Seeing that Gao Tingbi was a little too optimistic, Liu Renxiang poured a scoop of cold water at the right time to calm him down. "Yes, yes. As long as China and Japan do not stop fighting. This Far Eastern feast is not our turn to eat. ”

Zou Tingbi nodded again and again, and glanced at Wei Zifeng, who was stunned.

"Brother Wei, you still go to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, I'll go with you, let's negotiate with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce to see how to make a statement to the center. In any case, it is better to stop this battle first, if there is no peace, there will be no profit, and now, my Gao family is also a leader of peace. ”

"Brother Gao, I'm afraid that the Japanese Chamber of Commerce has also learned the news of the war in Europe, will they also think like this? If the Japanese send someone to contact us again about peace talks, you will not be in Tianjin. Wouldn't it delay things? In my opinion. It's still Brother Wei, when he goes to Beijing, let's send a capable long entourage to follow him, and it's easy to get close to the president with our post. Liu Renxiang reminded.

Ministry Tingbi thought for a moment. But he shook his head.

"No, no. The stakes are high. How can you let someone do it? I still personally accompanied Brother Wei to Beijing to make a speech to the president. ”

"But the president is now inspecting the battlefield in Liaodong, and I don't know when he will return to Beijing." Liu Renxiang said.

"War in Europe is imminent, and the president will not stay in Liaodong for long. He will soon return to Beijing. If I don't go back to Beijing, it's a big deal that I will also go to the front line in eastern Liaodong, when the north and south of Henan fought a decisive battle, I also went to the front line. Ministry Tingbi said.

"Then, I'll sit here and wait for news from Japan." Liu Renxiang glanced at Gao Tingbi.

"No, Brother Liu had better rush back to the British Concession immediately. Get in touch with Isuke and test the Japanese Chamber of Commerce to see if they have changed their minds. To tell the truth, now that the Japanese army has suffered consecutive defeats on the battlefield, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce uses the phrase "Goryeo Independent State." Now that the war in Europe is imminent, Japanese businessmen are not fools, they should be able to see where the interests lie, and the Japanese political circles are just doormen raised by the chaebol, and as long as the Japanese chaebol moves their minds, the Japanese government may directly seek peace talks. ”

Speaking of which, the ministry ordered the servants to rush to the train station to buy tickets, and his current mood to enter Beijing was very urgent, even more urgent than when he tried to catch up with the commander-in-chief in Wuhan, which was his businessman's instinct.

Liu Renxiang and Wei Zifeng were also a little anxious. Liu Renxiang immediately ordered the servants to clean up, and then hurried back to the British ancestral realm in Tianjin. And Wei Zifeng and Bu Tingbi jumped in this small courtyard in the countryside, until in the evening, the servants rushed back with train tickets, and they immediately took the long entourage to the train station, and took the train that night to Beijing.

For businessmen, the choice between war and peace is not only the instinct of businessmen, but also the instinct of human beings, the military serves politics, and politics serves the economy.