The winter of 1922 was exceptionally cold, and after entering November, the cold wind was better than the other. What is more unbearable than the cold weather is the confrontation between China and Britain.

As a country that is still falling apart, and shijie hegemon, the consequences are actually quite serious, just after the Sino-British confrontation began, China's currency began to depreciate, and the securities trading markets in Shanghai, Tianjin, Beijing and other places also suffered an unprecedented cold snap.

During the Republic of China, especially during World War I, China's economy still ushered in a small spring. Factories have sprung up, and the requirements for financial financing have also increased, so a large number of stock exchanges have sprung up in various places.

However, since the beginning of the Sino-British confrontation, these stocks have plummeted across the board, especially those companies in the south that do foreign trade, which have been hit unprecedentedly, and many stocks have become a pile of waste paper.

On the banks of the Huangpu River, there are often people in suits and leather shoes, and they jump into the river with a puff. These are all people who have gone bankrupt in the stock market, and the proud men of the business world have become floating corpses in the river in the blink of an eye, and this change is too great for many people to endure this oppressive atmosphere.

In Shanghai's Shili Yangchang, among the restaurants and restaurants, a large number of political and business elites have gathered, and they are waiting for all kinds of news every day, looking forward to a slight reversal of the situation. But the news they were waiting for was getting worse and worse, and it cast a shadow over the hearts of these people.

The government has just issued a mobilization order, and the northeast, north China, northwest, and central plains provinces have begun mobilization one after another, and all units have also entered a state of combat readiness, and the atmosphere of fighting is getting stronger and stronger.

"Guys, what do you think Beijing thinks? Are you really going to fight the British? A stocky businessman couldn't help but ask.

"Who can say for sure, but I heard that the British went too far this time, and even used college students to make trouble, and then shot cold in the back, blaming the government, you said that this clay man still has three points of earth, put it on whom, who can stand it?"

"Well, that's not all, there's news lately. The people who came out of their church were probably British spies, who had entered the government and worked for the British. ”

The stocky merchant listened to everyone. The face is like a meat bun, all curled together. Sorrow to the extreme: "Say a thousand things and ten thousand." It's still us, an old friend of mine for more than ten years, who jumped into the river and died two days ago, I don't know when, I'm going to come to this point! ”

……

While these people were talking, suddenly several newsboys were waving newspapers. Ran over, while running, shouted loudly: "Outside, outside!" China and Britain began negotiations. Both sides claim to avoid war. ”

As soon as he heard the newsboy's shout, the stocky merchant suddenly sprang up, snatched a newspaper with a speed that was extremely disproportionate to his stature, and hurriedly read it.

"Sir, you haven't paid yet?" The newsboy shouted anxiously, and the fat man took out a piece of ocean from his pocket and threw it over, without even looking for it. The others also rushed over, divided by two, and snapped up all the newspapers, and the newsboys ran away happily.

The fat man stared at the newspaper tightly, for fear of missing a word, after reading the report, a smile finally appeared on his face, the big stone that had been pressing in his heart was finally loosened, there was hope for peace, if there was no war, there would be no war, this was almost the voice of every ordinary person.

On December 1, the delegation led by Gu Weijun officially started negotiations with the British, but from the beginning, the negotiations were destined to be very hot.

First of all, the British accused the Chinese side of violating the agreement and publishing unconfirmed content. To damage the image of the British Empire and incite anti-British sentiment, the Chinese side must immediately daoqian and clarify the issue. In the face of this unreasonable demand, Gu Weijun of course immediately refuted it, and did not admit it at all, the common people were just spontaneous actions, and the British would kill themselves if they committed many injustices.

The British had no plan, and they put forward that among the conditions of the Chinese side, such as Gengzi indemnity, tariffs, and other issues, involved other powers, so they demanded that the bilateral negotiations be turned multilateral.

The Chinese side is also resolutely resisting this, jokes, if other powers are also involved, it will not become an eight-nation alliance, and what good results can be negotiated. Therefore, China insisted on a bilateral solution and issued a mobilization order.

In addition to the troops of the six divisions that had already entered the pass, five more divisions were concentrated outside the pass, ready to enter the pass at any time, and Zhang Tinglan had already made the situation very clear, if the British did not give in, the Feng army would use force to get back what belonged to them.

This kind of tough attitude made the British scratch their heads very much, and there were also very strong voices in Britain calling for war with China and punishment for these natives who did not know what to do. For example, Churchill, the big fat man, was in Parliament, jumping up and down, and strongly demanded to defend the dignity of the British Empire.

However, the British government is still quite sober-minded, and the Feng army is already very different from before, and if it wants to win the Feng army, as long as it needs more than 100,000 troops. Is the British Empire capable of such an expedition, it is obviously unrealistic.

Even with comprehensive sanctions against China, Britain cannot afford to lose money. I just got out of the British Empire in the middle of the war, and I owe a lot of debt, and I really don't have enough to do it.

It was precisely because he saw through the British that Zhang Tinglan asked Gu Weijun to be at the negotiating table, not to give an inch, no matter how much it took, to let the British bow their heads and admit defeat.

"To put it mildly, there are many complaints about the situation in the southern provinces, especially in the Yangtze River area." Tang Shaoyi couldn't help but say.

"Mr. Shaochuan, is it a private person or a businessman?"

"Of course, there are also many merchants, and the confrontation has lasted for several months, and many people have accumulated a large number of goods, and they are losing every day, and no one can bear it. And I heard that the stock market crashed one after another, and many people committed suicide. ”

Zhang Tinglan smiled slightly: "With the ideas of businessmen, you will never be able to play politics." Politics is all about desperate bets, and it is more brutal than the battlefield. In this contest with the British, it is inevitable to suffer losses, but the key is to see whether this loss is worth paying, and nothing else is considered. ”

Tang Shaoyi couldn't help but nodded, although he didn't agree with Zhang Tinglan being so ruthless, but he also felt that if he could negotiate it, the benefits to China would be too great.

"To put it mildly, at present, the British have agreed to shelve the Gengzi reparations, and the United States and France have also proposed to return the balance, and we have defeated the Japanese, so the reparations naturally do not have to be paid, which means that the burden of Gengzi reparations is thrown off. If the British are forced to agree to postpone the repayment of other indemnities, then the annual treasury will be able to generate more than 20 million yuan, and with this money, the central government will be able to be self-sufficient without relying on blood transfusions from the three eastern provinces! ”

Tang Shaoyi has long wanted to solve the financial problem, and he can't ask for this opportunity to fight for a respite for China.

Zhang Tinglan also smiled: "Not only that, in addition to the indemnity, there is also the issue of tariffs, which is the lifeblood of whether the industry can develop, and the tariffs are in their own hands." It can not only increase fiscal revenue, but also protect our industry, and I have asked people to estimate that our fiscal revenue can be increased by more than 50 million a year by tariff autonomy alone. ”

Hearing this number, Tang Shaoyi also opened his mouth widely, and between an increase and a decrease, the financial income could increase by sixty or seventy million, which was equivalent to twice the original, and now Tang Shaoyi also had a feeling of being steep and rich.

The prime minister is a big housekeeper, everything is easy to do if he has money, and he is blind everywhere if he has no money, so when he heard the news, Tang Shaoyi was overjoyed, with money, he can be the prime minister well.

"Humble words, this is not a small amount, I don't know how you are going to spend it?"

"Cut the domain!"

Zhang Tinglan spit out these two words without hesitation, in fact, from the moment he entered Beijing, Zhang Tinglan had the intention of cutting down the feudal domain, and unifying military power was the foundation for establishing a strong government.

However, Zhang Tinglan knew very well that it would cost money to cut down the feudal domain, otherwise the troops with tens of thousands of people in various places would be disbanded, and it would be a rebellion, but it would be reorganized according to the standards of the Feng army, and Zhang Tinglan did not have the financial resources, so he could only put it on hold.

But now that Beijing's finances have seen the hope of turning around, Zhang Tinglan can't wait for this step. Tang Shaoyi has nothing to say, and he is very supportive of this idea.

"Mr. Shaochuan, in addition to at least 10 million special funds every year to support industrial and mining enterprises, I am ready to establish three large steel plants in North China, if Jihua succeeds, China's steel output within three years, can exceed 2 million tons, overpowering our evil neighbor Japan, at that time, what to do, the waist pole will be hard!"

"Humble words, what a boldness, now I am waiting for the British to bow their heads!"

Just as he was talking, Chang Yinhuai suddenly walked in and hurriedly walked in, and sent a telegram to Zhang Tinglan, Zhang Tinglan glanced at it, and immediately frowned.

"So fast?"

Chang Yinhuai's face was also a little surprised: "Indeed, these boys did a good job. ”

Zhang Tinglan They said that they were naturally the team sent to Nanyang, according to the original Jihua, they had to at least adapt to the environment before they started to act, but Jihua never changed fast.

After Li Xun had just arrived in Borneo, they, Zhang Honggang and others all disguised themselves as laborers from the mainland, and first came to Li Xun's house.

As soon as Li Xun's father saw a guest coming, he immediately went to buy chicken, duck and fish, but when he had a large amount of food in his hand, it attracted the coveting of a group of indigenous hooligans. Immediately started to rob, how could this honest man agree, in the middle of the tearing, a native grabbed a stone, smashed it heavily on the head, and instantly killed the person.

When the old father's body was carried into the house, Zhang Honggang grabbed Li Xun's hand tightly: "It's good to cry today, and from tomorrow onwards, let these animals pay the price." (To be continued......)