Seeing that Pastor Hopkins was a little depressed, Shen Xingshi looked at him with some sympathy and persuaded: "Pastor, there are many things that you can't decide, so don't think too much. Why don't you go down and rest first? ”

Pastor Hopkins shook his head, "I'm fine, God's people still need me, and I'm going to finish this sermon." So saying, he returned to the captives.

This episode did not affect everyone's mood, and the team continued to patrol the prisoner camp. Li Xiangqian saw that Ma Angelica refuted Pastor Hopkins's sharp words, and his willingness to join the Liberation Army increased a few points.

After a long day's work, the British prisoners of war were tired, and most of them, except for the devout Christians, did not come to receive the baptism of the soul. After dinner, there was no entertainment, many people had fallen asleep early, and only some who couldn't sleep were still chatting quietly. The captive houses were open, with only a low wall one meter high on all sides, and one could see the inside clearly from a high vantage point. There were thirty or forty people living in each room, and there were two bunks in the room, each with a bed about one meter wide, and the aisle in the middle of the room was two meters wide. Colonel Ramsay protested to the Losi River, but Camp Commander Lowe returned the vote on the grounds that there were no materials to build the surplus houses. However, the officers' quarters were quite spacious, and everyone had a single bed, which calmed down a group of arrogant John Bulls.

There were no lighting fixtures installed in the prisoners' houses, but the street lamps outside the houses and the light of the searchlights swept from time to time made the whole camp impossible to see. Passing through the soldiers' quarters, there are several rooms with relatively open partitions and spacious interiors, and the officers' quarters here. Compared to the soldiers' quarters, the officers' quarters can be said to be star-rated hotels. In the same house, more than 30 soldiers lived in one room, while officers lived in two rooms for more than a dozen lieutenant officers, and four colonels lived in one room - Fleet Commander Colonel Bertramsey, First Officer Ralph Hall, Army Force Commander Lieutenant Commander Ronald Harrington, and Captain Hunter of the Palm Tree. The officers' quarters were equipped with electric lights, and although they were open like the soldiers' quarters, the curtains made of tulle guaranteed a certain amount of privacy. Each officer had a single bed and even mosquito nets to keep them out of mosquitoes and flies.

The team passed by the window of a dormitory, Li Xiangqian saw that several British officers were lying on the bed reading books, and the two 100-watt energy-saving lamps on the roof emitted cold light to illuminate the room as bright as daytime. The other lieutenant's quarters were similarly brightly lit, and a large group of Britons could be seen gathering from the outside. Li Xiangqian was still wondering, these British people blatantly gathered together, it was difficult to guarantee that they would not plot, why did the guards of the prisoner camp not care? When he got closer, Li Xiangqian realized that these British people were engaged in an activity that many people loved - gambling.

Five people sat at a small round table, and a dozen or so others stood behind them watching the battle. Seeing someone coming, these British just glanced at it casually, completely as if the Chinese did not exist. Seeing Li Xiangqian looking in with some curiosity, Li Shanglong asked, "Do you want to go in and have a look?" After seeing the other party nodding, he led the way into the dormitory. Everyone else is used to it, and no one is going to join in the fun.

The two walked to the table, and the Britons on the left and right subconsciously gave way to both sides, and several players on the field were concentrating, without distraction, and they didn't even raise their eyelids. Playing cards, coins, and cigarettes were scattered on the table, and no less than twenty cigarette butts were thrown in two ashtrays. Lee looked forward for a moment and saw that the Britons were playing a card game similar to "run fast". In fact, this is an ancient card game, and the key to winning is similar to that of ancient Chinese dominoes. Playing cards, as they are known today, are the evolution of a series of European plays. According to the 1801 book "British Sports and Pastimes", Primero was the earliest card game in England; According to Shakespeare, Henry VIII enjoyed the Primelo card game on Queen Elizabeth's birthday night. The popular bragging card game in Britain in the original time and space evolved from Primelo. Edgar Snow mentioned in his book that when he was in Yan'an, he taught the leaders of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to play "Primelo". A few Englishmen bid for a moment to bet, a moment to look at the opponent's face, a moment of frowning as if to calculate the card, guessing the opponent's hole cards, completely forgetful, addicted to the world of gambling excitement.

"What's going on?" Lee raised his chin forward. In the center of the round table was a pile of coins, except for some famous British pennies and a few unknown silver coins, all the rest were one yuan, five jiao, and one dime. This had to surprise Li Xiangqian, as well as a very serious sense of disobedience. Li Shanglong looked left and right, "It's not convenient here, let's go out and talk." ”

The two turned around and walked out of the dormitory, walked back to the patrol team, and Li Shanglong pulled Liu Kuang over. "Now let Vice Minister Liu explain where those Britons got their renminbi from."

As if he had guessed that Li Xiangqian would have this question, Liu Kuang smiled and explained: "This matter is mainly because of the lack of currency, so I took some coins to make up for it." Those British people came to fight, and it was impossible to carry much money with them, and the more than 200 pounds they carried with them was not even enough to make change, so they had to use renminbi to make change. Moreover, getting these Britons to accept the renminbi is also the first step we have taken to strive for the renminbi to become an international settlement currency. He pointed to the group of gamblers in the dormitory, "Look! Since they are using RMB as gambling money, it means that they have recognized the value of RMB. ”

Li Xiangqian thought to himself, who knows if they are using RMB as a meal ticket? He did such a thing as gambling with meal tickets. But instead of dwelling on the issue, he asked a second question. "How is this exchange rate calculated?"

"The pound has always been the most valuable currency in the world, not one of them, now or a hundred and fifty years from now. So at the moment we are pegged to the pound sterling, one yuan to one shilling, and one dime to one penny. ”

Because he didn't understand finance, although Li Xiangqian felt that the exchange rate was too low, he didn't say it so as not to be laughed at.

"The pegging to the pound is only temporary, and when we have reserves of precious metals, we can use a free exchange rate, and maybe one day we will be able to surpass the pound." Speaking of the outlook for the future of finance, Liu Kuang seems to be full of spirits. The thought that he might deal with the Rothschilds in the future is exciting just thinking about it.

Shen Xingshi looked at the gushing Liu Kuang and quietly asked Li Shanglong: "Is this too much?" That Li Xiangqian is not his own person, is it appropriate to let him know these plans? ”

"It's okay." Li Shanglong said indifferently: "If he joins us, it will be his own person, and these plans should have been known; If he doesn't join us, what does it make for us if he stays in the same world? ”

On the other side, Li Xiangqian asked a third question. "Don't those coins have the year on them? Isn't it strange for the British to see the 2010 above? Didn't they ask? ”

"Of course I asked. But we've already figured out the answer. Chen Jianhua, who had not had a chance to perform all night, hurriedly replied. We told the British that the year above is our own common year for the Chinese, and it is not the same thing as their Western calendar. Our Chinese calendar is based on the year of the establishment of the Han Dynasty, that is, the year 202 BC of the Western calendar. Add 1,858 years, then this year is the 2,000 and 60th year of the Chinese calendar, and that 2010 means that the coin was minted 50 years ago. ”

"Fifty years, too long, right? Why don't you choose a closer emperor? "Li used to convert the time according to the numbers Chen Jianhua said, and his head was dizzy." It's been fifty years, and this money is still so new? The British didn't doubt it? ”

"The representative one behind Han Gaozu is Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and his era name 'Jianyuan' is also the first era name in China, which is quite suitable for him. However, the first year of the founding of the Yuan Dynasty was one hundred and forty years before the Western Era, and the addition of 1,858 was not enough for 2,000, so it could not be used. And there are five emperors among the two of them, but their prestige and merits are not comparable to these two, so in the end, Liu Bang is used as the beginning. When it comes to these emperor's year names that give ordinary people a headache, Chen Jianhua is the first to say, "As for the money, why is it so new for fifty years?" I told the British that our coins were made of special materials, and that they were so new even for a hundred years. ”

Li Xiangqian admires the imagination of these people more and more, but he doesn't know how they made up their origins, but his identity is not clear now, and it is not appropriate to know too much.

As he spoke, the team moved on. The innermost dormitory, which is not only spacious in terms of living conditions, but also has a separate bathroom and toilet, which is completely up to the level of a star-rated hotel in this era. Four officers were also sitting at the table playing cards, but they were playing elegant bridge and not gambling. Cigars and coffee were placed on the table, and they were served by an orderly with a white towel hanging from his cuffs. The officers of the Liberation Army who saw this detail couldn't help but slander the British, when did they still be so poor and exquisite.

Li Xiangqian stood outside the window and quietly asked Li Shanglong: "These Britons are really enough, and they don't forget to enjoy them when they are all prisoners." Don't you usually arrange for them to work? ”

"The cows are said to be treated in a way that matches their status as officers." Li Shanglong saw that these prisoners were more leisurely than the top and bottom of the Liberation Army, and he was also angry. But these people could not understand the tradition of equality between our officers and soldiers, and the Lotsey River could not force them to join the labor, and Ramsey was already in his fifties, and could not do much physical work. In addition, officers were needed to help manage the soldiers, and the British were afraid of a non-violent non-cooperation movement. The Liberation Army also needs to maintain a civilized appearance in front of the public, so they can only continue to be free. "Just a few contractors we hired with high salaries." Li Shanglong finally made such a conclusion.

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After the inspection of the prisoner camp, the team returned home, and the people who needed to be on duty at various posts dispersed. Huang Fanding, Ma Angelica, Shen Xingshi, and Li Shanglong accompanied the guests to his accommodation, and several leaders needed to have a good talk with the target they wanted to woo.