The outbreak of the economic crisis has forced all economies to move towards closed trade protection policies, making the depression of the economic crisis more severe on a global scale.

In the second half of 1929, however, China's economic figures showed signs of recovery, with a marked increase in total imports and exports, and the second round of large-scale basic investment in the colonial system, which began in 1923, finally paid off.

In 1930, both the Chinese colonial economy and the Asia-Europe alliance saw a recovery in the overall economy.

During this period, with the efforts of the German Labor Party, the German economy began to gradually come out of the shadows, and the domestic economic environment began to improve, while during this period, Britain, France, the United States and Russia were still in crisis.

Taking advantage of this critical moment, under the control of Hu Chuyuan, China, Britain and France reached an agreement on the transfer of creditor's rights, China paid 2.53 billion pounds to Britain and France to buy Germany's 2.7 billion pounds of claims against Britain and France, and China, Britain, France and Germany reached a new compensation agreement to reduce the total remaining German reparations to 3.5 billion pounds.

Austria, Croatia, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia chose to withdraw from the European continental bloc established by France and join the Chinese-led Eurasian alliance camp in exchange for China's loans to the four countries.

After becoming Germany's first creditor, China continued to provide Germany with a loan of 3.5 billion yuan during the same period to support its new domestic infrastructure construction and expand the domestic demand market.

At the same time, these countries also import machinery, equipment, motors, generator sets, transformers, trains, cranes, tractors and ...... needed for infrastructure construction from China.

After receiving 1.7 billion pounds from China, Britain and France also emerged from the effects of the financial crisis in 1931, and the U.S. economy finally stopped its prolonged depression as the U.S. government began to pursue centrist economic policies and the world economy collectively recovered.

However, in the year after the end of the world economic crisis, the whole world was completely divided into two camps.

On the one hand, the Eurasian Continental Alliance, led by China and Germany, and on the other hand, the international treaty alliance led by Britain, France, and the United States, both sides are roughly equal in terms of total GDP and military strength.

The Eurasian Alliance is led by China and Germany, while the rest of the Ottoman Empire, Persia, Ukraine, Greece, and Poland are also economically strong, while Romania, North Korea, the Philippines, Seville, and Bulgaria are more or less evenly matched.

The International Entente is dominated by Britain, France, and the United States, as well as Belgium and Italy, and among potential partners are Russia and Ben, which are gradually recovering their strength.

Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland and other countries continued to remain neutral, and Belgium had no choice but to join the International Compact Union for its own security, and also to retake the Congo.

In 1932, Kurt von Schleicher, with a more expansionist and military background, became German Chancellor and, with the support of the Eurasian Union, merged with the Kingdom of Austria to form the new German Reich.

War was finally and inevitably imminent.

Now the question will only be when it will erupt!!

…… Hu Chuyuan's three-term presidential term is coming to an end, and at this time, he is already an old man in his last years.

At the age of 73, he also wants to return to a quiet life, but he understands that in his life, tranquility is probably the most extravagant requirement.

In the office of the Yingtai Presidential Palace, he calmly listened to Hu Weitang's report on the development and production of the top-secret domestic military industry program.

In many cases, such a huge country cannot be controlled by any one person, and China is actually very dangerous, and it is on the road to accelerating expansion, and the huge state apparatus is once again starting to work, working for new victories and new expansion.

Since 1923, when China officially began to build aircraft carriers, China has built six aircraft carriers of different types and classes, and the technology of each one is constantly changing and improving.

After full demonstration and testing, a new generation of aircraft carriers is being built in China - the Yabinsk class with a design displacement tonnage of 37,500 tons, mainly carrying FEI-5 series fighters and HF-103 series light bombers.

Since the radar system still cannot be reduced, there is no room for installation on the fighter at all, but the EF-20 AWACS aircraft improved on the basis of the HF-21 can still play a very good auxiliary role, and the EF-155 improved on the basis of the KF-155 is a large early warning aircraft with the aircraft carrier formation.

Jet aircraft research has yielded good results, with a number of experimental models, the problem is that the acceleration run distance is too long, unless there is a more powerful turbojet engine, it cannot be used as a carrier-based aircraft, even if used as a carrier-based aircraft, the runway length of the aircraft carrier must be at least 300 meters, and a more powerful steam catapult must be used.

The jet fighter is a very top-secret development program, and at present, some German experts in this field have also been invited to China to secretly develop it at the Air Force Engineering Research Institute in Xi'an.

Hu Chuyuan is still Hu Chuyuan.

After Hu Weitang finished his report on the issue of aircraft carriers and fighters, Hu Chuyuan thought silently for a moment, and finally made a new reply on the report: let the shipmaster develop a 70,000-ton aircraft carrier, and at the same time carry out research on jet fighters and carrier-based aircraft, which can be launched together, and it is advisable to solve the above problems within two years, and make a coordinated plan for large-scale production and deployment in China.

After making the reply, he returned the report to Hu Weitang and said, "Make a call to Li Kaiye and tell him that he will eat here at noon." ”

Hu Weitang nodded silently, and then turned around and left with the newly approved report.

He couldn't help but sigh in his heart, time flies so fast, his father is already a 73-year-old man, he is also in his forties, and his eldest brother is almost fifty years old.

Sometimes, he really envies Hachi, who is always so young.

Hu Weitang wanted to go back to the State Military Industry Research Institute to deploy some things, and he left in a hurry.

When he left, Hu Chuyuan sat silently in the office, looking at the scenery of Yingtai through the window.

For the first time in his life, he began to feel unconfident about the coming war, and cooperation with Germany was already the best choice he could make, and for this, he also paid too much price.

In order to free Germany from the restrictions on the debt of Britain, France and the United States, China did not hesitate to exchange Germany's freedom, but also gave Britain, France and the United States 2.53 billion pounds, and now, Germany owes China a huge debt of 29.7 billion yuan, which will be repaid in 70 installments.

With 2.53 billion pounds directly allocated by China, the economies of Britain, France and the United States have recovered rapidly and have basically returned to the level before the crisis.

The only good news for China is that Germany is stronger than expected, and the pace of military recovery is significantly accelerating, military schools are reopening at all levels, new officer corps is being trained at an accelerated pace, and the army has expanded to 550,000 men.

It was very difficult for the German Navy to recover as soon as possible.

At this point, the new commander-in-chief of the German Navy, Erich Raeder, has secretly arrived in Yanjing and is currently holding secret talks at the General Staff of the Chinese Navy.

Hu Chuyuan only knows one thing...... To win the war, China has to spend a lot of money.

Very much money!

Worldwide, China has a total of more than 87.3 billion Chinese yuan (£10.5 billion...... Very high) international creditor's rights, the national sovereign debt accounts for 33.4 billion, and the rest is the result of the export of national capital, more than 70% of these claims are concentrated in China's colonial system and the Asia-Europe Union, and the proportion of Northern Europe and South America has also reached 20%, which is the main reason for the collective neutrality of the Nordic countries and South American countries.

In the world economic crisis of 1928-1931, the old world monetary system had collapsed, and all major world currencies had depreciated by 10% to 30%, and after 1930, each Chinese dollar could only be exchanged for 0.097 grams of gold, while the dollar fell even harder, only 0.073 grams, and the pound fell to 0.805 grams.

The United States has basically lost most of its world claims in this economic crisis, and the US dollar has been replaced by the British pound again, followed by the Chinese dollar.

At present, the National Gold Reserve Administration of China reserves 21,284.3 tons of gold (which can maintain the gold standard exchange of 278.6 billion yuan, accounting for about 7.3% of the total issuance of Chinese yuan) and 225,800 tons of silver (about 6 billion taels of silver, accounting for 27.5% of the existing world silver reserves, and the Fukang consortium holds another 25.3%, which is the reason why the world silver to gold price is maintained at 15.7:1).

The central bank holds a total of about 13.53 billion yuan of foreign exchange and 21.2 billion yuan of reserves for international trade settlement, and 72.75 billion yuan of foreign government bonds.

The total market value of national assets held by SASAC in China is about 94.845 billion yuan, and the total market value of national investment assets held in colonies, protectorates, allied countries and other countries is about 237.3 billion yuan.

These numbers have become Hu Chuyuan's only confidence.

Sitting on the chair, silently thinking about the data that he kept in mind, he couldn't help but sigh: It's really pitiful, is it so old, he has lost his ambition to make progress, and can only rely on numbers and money to support his courage.

What a pity!

He continued to sigh in his heart, and he couldn't help but think of the spirit he had when he was young.

Because I am old and have lost the courage to fight, can I only rely on money and experience?

During his 15 years as president, during his 15 years as prime minister, he added 20,000 tons of gold, 220,000 tons of silver, and many other state assets to the treasury of the Chinese Central Government.

These are his last confidences.

Fortunately, sometimes, experience is also a good wealth, and he at least has special ability and experience in investment and financial management!

In the turbulent period of economic crisis, under Hu Chuyuan's control, national assets continued to buy assets at low prices in the international market, and while paying 2.53 billion pounds to Britain, France and the United States, the three largest opponents were out of the economic crisis, and at the same time, national assets were also soaring extremely rapidly.

All this he did was very hidden, and many of the SASAC investments were done using the National Intelligence Agency and the Fukang Foundation.

Therefore, not only is it unclear to the international community how much money China's central government has, but only a very small number of people in China know.

As the international economy continues to prosper, the total market value of national assets held by the central government will continue to rise.

This money and these assets are valuable assets that he left to his successors.

And he ...... He is no longer worthy to be a Chinese boiled federal republic...... The president of the world's most powerful country, because he has long lost his enterprising spirit and courage, ambition, because he is too old, so to the point where he is afraid of losing.

Looking at the snow scene outside Yingtai, in the silver-white snow sea, the spring flowers in the corner of the wall have quietly puffed up clusters of apricot yellow flower bones.

Spring is finally coming.

Hu Chuyuan sighed calmly in his heart, thinking, yes, it's better to be in spring, or it's better to be young.

It won't be long before he will leave the throne of the Chinese president, in this position, he has stayed for too long, just like a world footballer who has lost his desire for honor and championships, just like Li Hongzhang gradually only wants to stabilize the power in his hands, just like Zuo Zongtang only wants to keep the job of the Hunan army, just like Zeng Guofan only wants to keep the power of the entire Hunan system for a while.

It's all the same.

Because they're just too old and have lost their ambition.

What would have happened if Zeng Guofan had pacified the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom at the age of thirty?

Will he still dismantle the Hunan army and just want to be the governor of Liangjiang?

Old.

It's just old.

We must learn to admit that for the sake of the world's number one power, for the sake of ourselves, Hu Chuyuan knows that he must give way to Xian, and China is about to usher in a new war, a war of unprecedented scale and unprecedented proportion.

He is too old, and China needs a new mentor who is grounded in the war and can lead China to continue to grow after the war.

Who would that person be?

This is a question that even Hu Chuyuan himself is not aware of.

Of course, this person may be right in front of his eyes.

He thinks about it these days, and even all these years.

There may be many answers.

For the time being, Hu Chuyuan chose Li Kaiye.

Li Kaiye is also old, but he still has stronger ambitions and demands, and he can control the army and know how to win a war.

What about after Li Kaiye?

That's another issue, a much more complex one.

The time for noon was fast in coming.

Hu Chuyuan's lunch is very simple, usually only four dishes and one soup, the portion is very small, only enough for him to eat alone, and he will usually eat it all.

The people around her have changed batch after batch, and the female secretary is still Niu Shuxian.

When the time came, Niu Shuxian asked two lunches to be brought into the office, and at this time, Li Kaiye seemed to have pinched the time, and walked in hurriedly and happily.

Like Hu Chuyuan, he is also one of the only few old people left during the Far Eastern War, Lu Guangquan, Yang Zongli, and Ye Bojun...... All gone.

Now, Li Kaiye is one of the only two people left in the country who have the rank of field marshal.

However, he is also 69 years old.

Fortunately, his body is still good, his complexion is also very good, and his years of military career have not only not destroyed him, but have made him harder, waiting for more challenges at any time.

He walked in, smiled, and saw that Hu Chuyuan had four dishes and one soup to entertain him, although his portion was more, but it was not enough.

He smiled and said, "My great president, you continue to entertain your chief of staff in such a humble way, for so many years, I have no credit and hard work, change it, change it for me!" ”

Saying this, he grabbed Niu Shuxian and insisted that Niu Shuxian give him a plate of braised pork.

Niu Shuxian is not that little girl anymore, she smiled, ignored him at all, and left in a hurry.

Hu Chuyuan said: "Didn't the doctor say it, you can't eat these high-fat foods now, I am very thoughtful for you, Wuchang fish with braised egg whites is also a good dish." ”

"That's actually what it means!"

Li Kaiye smiled and said, "I'm paying attention, if there is braised pork, no matter how delicious it is...... Then I'll just eat one piece and taste it. ”

Hu Chuyuan nodded slightly, asked him to sit down, and ate together first.

Chewing slowly, with his plate of rice and side dishes, Hu Chuyuan slowly talked about the presidential election.

Hearing this, without waiting for Hu Chuyuan to finish speaking, he said: "Duan Qirui's voice is very high, I listen to him, and it seems that I want to do it too, but he hopes that the chairman will continue to do it." ”

Hu Chuyuan waved his hand and said, "The constitution comes first, I will not be president again, and I can't set this precedent." Actually, I want to recommend you within the party. ”

"Me?"

Li Kaiye was a little surprised.

He has always felt that he is the most suitable in the position of chief of the General Staff, and he can't fight a war, and it's still okay to do strategic planning.

Hu Chuyuan said very seriously: "Yes, it's you." I see that in the current situation, sooner or later there will be a large-scale war in the world, and if you are the president and chairman of the State Military Commission, then you will be able to do a good job in preparing for war and planning for deployment in advance. ”

Li Kaiye thought silently.

After waiting for a while, he asked Hu Chuyuan, "You say, how is Weizhong?" In fact, I think he can be elected within the party, I also talked to Duan Qirui about this matter, and he said that if the adult is elected Weizhong, he will not have any objections! ”

Hu Chuyuan said: "Weizhong can't do it, being the prime minister, his ability is enough, and the president is completely two concepts...... Let him exercise for a while longer! ”

Hearing this, Li Kaiye seemed to understand something.

He thought for a moment and said, "What if I can't do it too?" ”

Hu Chuyuan said: "Cai Yi will be a suitable candidate, the problem is that his merits and prestige are not enough." If you want to become president, there are basically two conditions, the first is to be the prime minister for two terms, and the second is to be the marshal of the three armed forces, with very high qualifications, and he does not have both. ”

Li Kaiye sighed silently, paused, and said, "That's fine, in fact, this time...... If I want to fight Russia again, I plan to use Cai Ye as the commander-in-chief of the main attack on Russia and go to Europe to fight, then Yang Zhenlin, Li Jishen, Zhang Xiaozhun, Cai Tingkai, Chen Mingshu, Jiang Guangnai, and Bai Chongxi are all very good candidates. ”

Hu Chuyuan didn't say anything.

It has been 16 years since the end of the First World War, and although there are still many of the older army commanders, they are basically older, and the youngest ones are all in their sixties.

It would be terrible to wait another six years for the war and still count on these seventy-year-old veterans to be the commanders of the army group.

For this reason, the Central Military University began to speed up the selection and training of outstanding group army commanders in 1923; at present, the division commanders of 84 army divisions in China have been replaced, and more than 10 major generals, with an average age of 40 to 50 years old, have been promoted to various corps in the army general staff, and they have been assigned to various corps to serve as corps commanders and train them on a rotational basis.

Regarding this issue, Hu Chuyuan did not have much worry.

In addition to the three highest military academies of the Central Army University, the Naval University, and the National Defense University, there is also the Central Military University, which is dedicated to training first-class front-line commanders and high-level staff officers.

These military schools train 17,000 lieutenants to enlist in the army every year, and at present, the domestic army has not yet expanded its armament warfare, and the average officer:non-commissioned officer:soldier ratio of the Chinese National Defense Force is 1:2:3.5, and the army can be expanded tenfold on a large scale at any time.

For so many years, the army has maintained the style of "the army is a military academy", and it is also constantly cultivating talents within the army, and most of the lieutenants have graduated from high school to enter the army, and selected qualified talents from them and then recommended them to the military academy for further study.

Therefore, China must have many of the best generals, and only when they enter the battlefield can they prove their true talents.

Even if you rely on the quality of the basic officer corps and soldiers, as well as the traditional glory and confidence, with the same equipment, it is difficult for the squadron to be defeated.

On the other hand, during the period when Germany was extremely restricted, Sino-German military exchanges were further increased, but they were all hidden under the water, and China was studying the new trends of training within the German army, and the German army also absorbed the idea of "the army is a military school" from the middle [***] team, as well as the systematic theory of mechanized combat and overall warfare.

At present, China and Germany have too many similar surnames, at least in the army, and both are actively promoting the theory of mechanized large-scale operations and rapid operations, and are constantly improving the theory and training of large-scale air force operations.

However, in terms of the navy, the German army has always been in a weaker direction, and the German army can only secretly train naval officers in China.

After all, China has the largest navy in the world, which is still 30 percent higher than that of Britain and the United States, which are in second place.

Germany is currently not even able to build battleships of more than 10,000 tons.

Of course, this is in the past tense.

Germany was building 22,000-ton battleships and began to rebuild its new naval system, and from the day it joined the Asia-Europe Union, the military restrictions imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles were over.

If Germany were to be held accountable for its breach of contract and attack Germany now, it would be tantamount to directly provoking World War II.

So, under the patronage of China, Germany quickly began to restore its military power.

Although battleships were not built for sixteen years, relying on the technology transfer exported by China, Germany built its own Saxony-class battleships directly from the design drawings of the Valian-class battleships.

At present, 14 cities in China, including Vladivostok, Dalian, Qinhuangdao, Tangshan, Tianjin, Weihai, Qingdao, Shanghai, the Yangtze River (Ma'anshan and Chaohu areas), Fuzhou, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Haiphong, and Pontianak, have established a completed shipbuilding industrial system, and there are a total of 17 shipyards with a capacity of 30,000-ton battleships.

Within the scope of the Asia-Europe Union, in addition to Germany and Ukraine, which have the production capacity of warships second only to China, Poland, Persia, Ottoman, Greece, and the autonomous regions of Maputo, Mata, and Libreville in Africa all have good shipbuilding capabilities.

According to Hu Chuyuan's plan, it only takes one year for China to help restore Germany's naval strength to the top 10 in the world, and in two years it will reach the top 5.

Before war breaks out and Britain begins to blockade the strait, it is necessary to restore the German navy to the point where it can contain the main force of the British navy, so as to create conditions for the Chinese navy to fight a decisive naval battle with the United States in the Pacific.

This is an unprecedented war, and even if all the warships of the United States are destroyed, it will be difficult to achieve victory in the operation of landing on the United States soil.

Therefore, it is destined to be an extremely tragic, but also a long world war.

Even if the only remaining opponent is the Americans, it will take a long time to completely defeat the United States, and the attrition of fighting on American soil for a long time is even more staggering.

Even if China and Germany join forces, Hu Chuyuan is not really sure.

Moreover, he does not have many secret weapons in his hands.

(To be continued)