On August 11, 1884, the Chinese Empire officially carried out currency reform and implemented the gold standard. The gold content of 1 yuan is 750 mg. Silver, as a secondary currency, will gradually be discontinued in the country.

Previously, Ding Yuntong had always believed that he should wait until he received reparations from Japan and had sufficient "reserves" before he could implement the gold standard.

But in fact, due to China's large-scale industrialization process, Western European and American countries have invested in the Chinese market, and at the same time, in order to win orders from China, these countries have also provided large loans. This provided China with a large amount of foreign exchange reserves and gave Huaxia Bank the capital for currency reform.

The gold standard is a metallic monetary system. Under the gold standard, or the value of each unit of money is equivalent to a certain weight of gold (i.e. the gold content of the currency); When different countries use the gold standard, the exchange rate between countries is determined by the ratio of the gold content of their respective currencies - gold parity.

The significance of the gold standard lies in an international political reality. In the Shijie trade, from the 70s of the 19th century, Europe and the United States and other countries have adopted the gold standard, and the price of silver has continued to fall, resulting in the depreciation of the currency of the silver standard countries and the instability of the exchange rate, and the continuous depreciation of silver, its purchasing power is getting lower and lower, and it is becoming less and less valuable, while the price of gold has always remained stable, so that silver countries are naturally "exploited" by the exchange rate in international trade.

Ding Yuntong has always wanted to change this situation, suffering from insufficient gold reserves. Because of the gold standard, gold is pegged to currency, which means that all currency issued must be backed by corresponding gold reserves.

For example, stipulating that 1 yuan contains 750 milligrams of gold, which means that for every yuan printed in China, there must be 750 milligrams of gold in the bank. This difference in the gold content of national currencies is used to calculate the exchange rate.

Due to the UK's economic status in the world at this time, its pound sterling as foreign exchange also has a function similar to gold reserves, so in the past two years, the Chinese government has gone all out to increase foreign exchange, in addition to loans and a large number of agricultural exports.

In domestic economic construction, in order to solve the financial pressure, Sino-foreign joint ventures and even wholly foreign-owned enterprises are emphasized. But these investments are strictly restricted, with strict precautionary clauses in place, which do not affect sovereignty and are fundamentally different from the economic aggression of previous colonialism.

For example, the Chengdu-Kunming railway, which is under construction from Chengdu to Kunming, took advantage of a French loan of 50 million francs. France, on the other hand, will receive seven years of exclusive management of the railway, as well as five years of cooperative management, for a total of 12 years. During this period, France was able to obtain huge profits from railway operations, because the completion of the Chengdu-Kunming railway would increase the material circulation between Sichuan and Guizhou dozens of times, and the changes it brought about would be revolutionary.

There is also the Fularji Heavy Machinery Factory under construction in Qiqihar in northeast China, and the United States accounts for 70% of the investment. After completion, it can produce all kinds of international advanced mining equipment, conveying equipment, crushers, feeders, vibrating screens, heavy machinery and equipment, and even military equipment such as shipborne artillery, involving metallurgy, mining, hydropower, thermal power, petrochemical, coal, hydrogenation and other fields. According to the contract, the United States has the right of first trade for 10 years after the completion of the machinery plant, which means that when the price is similar, China will give priority to the purchase of American raw materials, and when the profit is equal, the products will also be given priority to the United States to choose.

In short, a variety of flexible financing methods have greatly reduced the financial pressure and enabled the rapid increase of foreign exchange reserves. The funding problem was solved, and Hua Xia Bank already had nearly 70 million pounds sterling, laying the financial foundation for China to establish the gold standard. The gold standard was a part of Chinese capitalism and a financial symbol of competition with other powers for the shijie market.

At the same time, a new department was established, the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Chinese Empire, and the first minister was the chemist Xu Shou. Speaking of this Xu Shou, the name of "oxygen" is named by him.

In the past, China's economic development was more about "take-it-or-leave-it" than about inventions and creations. Ding Yuntong felt that China's national characteristics lacked the spirit of exploration and a serious attitude. In addition, the residual poison of China's thousands of years of feudal culture is endless, and if there is any doubt, as long as it cannot be explained, it will all be attributed to the gods and demons. As for whether this situation will change in the future with the development of the economy, it is unknown.

In order to encourage invention and creation, Ding Yuntong ordered the newly established Ministry of Science and Technology to set up five special awards under the name of the "Guangxu Prize": the Guangxu Mathematics Prize, the Guangxu Physics Prize, the Guangxu Chemistry Prize, the Guangxu Physiology or Medicine Prize, and the Guangxu Economics Prize.

These five prizes are the highest awards of the state, and if anyone wins the prize, they will not only receive an astronomical sum of money, but also be received by the emperor and politically receive a "gold medal for avoiding death": as long as it is not a criminal offense, any political mistake can be pardoned.

Ding Yuntong set up these awards to borrow from the Nobel Prize in his previous life, but added the mathematics prize and deleted the literature prize and the peace prize.

Nobel did not set up a mathematics prize because of his contempt for mathematics, or because he thought that there were already international awards, and it was even possible that his girlfriend was snatched away by mathematicians.

And the literary award is such a thing, the benevolent and the wise have their own opinions, radish and cabbage have their own love, there is never a good or bad, only a difference between likes and dislikes. Just like the Nobel Prize in Literature, at best, it is just something that a few Nobel Prize judges like, and a few old men like it to represent all mankind?

As for the Peace Prize, it is even more, all Nobel Peace Prize laureates are criminals, without exception, imprisoned, exiled, fugitive, attacking the government. So what are the criteria for awarding these criminals? Personal preference? Who gives the power? After a full shijie vote?

In the cultural tradition of the Chinese, there is no scientific gene in itself. Since Confucius, "gentlemen are not instrumental, wise men are not confused", and Confucianism has degraded science and technology as "strange skills and ingenuity". Shinong industry and commerce, except for "shi", the others are basically regarded as villain occupations.

The most developed discipline in China is human relations, and the study of how to kill others is to study and study. Chinese thought has only moral precepts, no logic, no true philosophy.

Lao Tzu's philosophy is "I don't care about anything, I don't do anything, the wind blows every day, and everyone doesn't come and go."

The philosophy of Confucius is "you listen to me, I listen to him, and everyone listens to the emperor".

Mencius is to tell everyone how to pretend to be forced, how to be a hypocrite, and hide the tail.

Zhuangzi is a relic of all kinds of dreams.

To sum it up, two words "".

Ding Yuntong hopes to use the "Guangxu Award" to improve the social status of scientific and technological personnel and promote the development of science and technology. He once hoped that the knowledge of his previous life would give some forward-looking hints to intellectuals. But think about it, he is not deep in natural science, and it is meaningless to just provide some ideas, which requires a lot of accumulation in basic disciplines, as if Leonardo da Vinci once created the design drawings of helicopters, submarines, etc., but in addition to amazing future generations, there is no practical effect.

On August 17, under the guard of the guards, Zhang Yinheng, the minister stationed in Tibet, marched into Lhasa with great pride.

The so-called Shibei three days should be impressive, this time back to Lhasa, Zhang Yinheng's momentum is very different, quite a good people who follow me to prosper, against me to die, on the same day the Potala Palace into his own office.

He then announced the dissolution of the Kashag government and the resignation of all bureaucrats. The Preparatory Committee for the Tibet Autonomous Region was formally established to exercise the functions and powers of local government in Tibet. Zhang Yinheng served as the director of the preparatory committee, and invited Lobsang Yundan, Tashi Daji, Panchen Danbai Wangchuk and others to serve as deputy directors.

On the other hand, Zhang Yinheng also asked Danbai Wangchuk to send a letter to the regent Dacha: "As long as you bring the Dalai Lama back to Lhasa, the future head of the Tibet Autonomous Region will be yours." ＂

On August 21, Da Cha, who had fled to Yadong, received a letter from Zhang Yinheng, tore it to pieces with a sneer, and then fled to Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, with the little Dalai Lama. Before leaving, he also ordered Ishirob Wangqu to command the remnants of the Tibetan army to conduct guerrilla warfare in southern Tibet, Kham and other places.

Ding Yuntong received Zhang Yinheng's report, and at this time, most of Tibet had already turned to the wind, and only Shannan, Nyingchi and other places were still harassed by the remnants of Tibetan troops. He decided to carry out serfdom reform in Tibet while quelling the rebellion, and as long as the serfs were liberated from shackles and shackles, they would become the government's most loyal allies, and the whole of Tibet could be completely pacified.

At this time, a sudden situation ruined Ding Yuntong's good mood.

On the Outer Mongolian side, it was also going well, Liu Jintang had already beaten the Zasaktu Khan and had nothing to do, and by August 20, the three-way army had approached Durbot, and the pacification of Outer Mongolia was just around the corner.

However, on August 21, Tsarist Russia's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Gilles suddenly and urgently met with Yang Ru, the Chinese minister in Russia, claiming that Tsar Alexander III had received a distress message that China's brutal military operations in Outer Mongolia had seriously threatened the lives and property of many Russian citizens, including Russian merchants in Outer Mongolia, so the Russian Empire formally demanded that China stop using force and peacefully resolve the Outer Mongolia issue.

On the same day, Russian Minister to China also sent a diplomatic note to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, strongly protesting the "human rights violations" of the Chinese army in Outer Mongolia, demanding that the facts be immediately ascertained and the mistakes corrected, and threatening that "Russia reserves the right to take necessary actions."

These actions shocked Ding Yuntong, and he was a little overwhelmed for a while. You must know that the previous analysis believes that Russia should not have the ability and energy to interfere with China at this time, and the situation will take a sharp turn for the worse?

Where did the trajectory of history go wrong?

Ding Yuntong was very puzzled.