Truman's inauguration as president of the United States was a very sudden event, and the White House did not hold an inaugural dinner for the new president. Moreover, Truman succeeded to the presidency of the United States because of Roosevelt's sudden death, and it would be very inappropriate for Truman to hold an inaugural dinner to celebrate at this time.

After Roosevelt's funeral, Chen Qiang received an invitation from the Chinese Embassy in the United States. The ambassador invited several prominent Chinese personalities, including Chen Qiang, to the party.

Chen Qiang and that Ambassador Wei had only met a few times, and when they met, they only exchanged a few polite words, and they were not familiar with each other. Ambassador Wei is different from Hu Shi before him, he is a typical bureaucrat, and he relies on his wife to prosper in official affairs, and Chen Qiang does not want to deal with this kind of person.

As for the other Chinese who participated in the party, Chen Qiang also knew him, and among the Chinese in the United States, there were not many people who could mix with heads and faces, so everyone naturally knew each other.

It was a Chinese gathering, everyone sat around a large round table, and the chef was also a Chinese cook, but the cook was probably Cantonese, and the dishes were somewhat Cantonese in taste.

Ambassador Wei sat in the escort seat, and next to him sat the guest of honor was Mr. Situ, a bigwig of the Chinese American community.

Last month, New York just held a "U.S. Hongmen Cordial Conference", and the Hongmen Zhi Gong Tang was also renamed the "China Hongmen Zhi Gong Party", and Mr. Situ was elected as the president of the United States, becoming the leader of the entire American overseas Chinese community, and was also recommended as an overseas Chinese adviser to the Chinese delegation to the United Nations General Assembly. The United Nations General Assembly will be held in San Francisco, where Hongmen is extremely powerful, and with the help of Mr. Situ, the work of the Chinese delegation in San Francisco will be much easier.

I saw Ambassador Wei raise his glass and talk eloquently: "Ladies and gentlemen, now that we are in the midst of a national crisis, the Japanese invaders have occupied our land and slaughtered my brothers and sisters, and although the front-line soldiers have resisted bravely, it is still difficult to prevent the fall of the country......

Ambassador Wei talked nonsense for most of the day, and finally got to the topic of today's treat, which is to sell bonds, and to sell bonds in the United States.

During the war, all the participating countries are selling bonds to their own people to support the consumption of the war, among which the most selling bonds is naturally the US government, because the United States itself has not been affected by the war, and the industrial production of the United States has not been affected, so Americans have the money to buy war bonds issued by the government, especially when the war just broke out, the US stock market crashed, and ordinary Americans have no better investment channels, buying war bonds is a good choice.

Throughout World War II, the United States sold $238.4 billion in war bonds, compared to $73.4 billion in U.K. bonds, $19.4 billion in France and $16.7 billion in the Soviet Union, while China sold only about $1.6 billion in war bonds.

On the Axis side, Germany sold the most war bonds, as high as $57.3 billion, Japan sold $31.1 billion in bonds, and Italy sold $17.4 billion in bonds.

Although it was the last year of World War II, and in half a year, the Allies would achieve the final victory, but in China, the Japanese still controlled the core and most prosperous areas of China, especially after the end of the Battle of Henan-Xianggui last year, China lost several major economic provinces, which suddenly made Chongqing's finances even worse.

Chongqing's finances are on the verge of collapse, and it is normal to issue war bonds to alleviate financial difficulties, but the domestic war lasts much longer than in Europe, and China at this time has little war potential to tap, even if it continues to issue war bonds in China, it will not sell much, and it will be difficult for the domestic people to survive, and where will there be money to buy bonds.

So Chongqing thought of the United States, and they planned to sell war bonds to the United States, and with the 238.4 billion US dollars in bond sales during World War II, even a fraction of it, it would be enough for Chongqing to eat and drink spicy food.

It is not new for China to sell bonds to the United States, because the Qing government sold bonds in the United States in the name of building the Huzhou-Guangzhou Railway, and later during the Beiyang warlord period, it also sold bonds to Americans, and many Americans dared to buy them. In the future, when China and the United States fight a trade war, some Americans will take the bonds of that year and demand that China return 750 billion US dollars.

Today, Ambassador Wei summoned everyone in the hope that these well-known Chinese in the United States can come out and take the lead in actively buying the war bonds issued by Chongqing. In this way, even if the Americans do not buy it, relying on the influence of these well-known Chinese, those Chinese living in the United States should also buy Chongqing's war bonds.

Everyone also knew that Ambassador Wei had invited everyone, and he must have gone to the Three Treasures Hall for nothing, and many people had already guessed that Ambassador Wei had come to ask for money nine times out of ten, so when Ambassador Wei said about the war bonds, everyone was not surprised.

I only heard someone ask: "Ambassador Wei, I don't know what the maturity of the bonds issued by Chongqing this time is?" ”

"This time the government issued long-term bonds, with maturities of more than 10 years." Ambassador Wei replied.

Chen Qiang pursed his lips slightly, and secretly said in his heart Ten years later, you guys will all go to the treasure island to survive, can these bonds still be exchanged at that time? Buying bonds issued by Chongqing now is not a waste of money!

However, Chen Qiang thought about it again, even if people ran to the treasure island, they would definitely not dare to offend the Americans, so the bonds sold to the Americans would definitely be redeemed, so there is no need to worry about not getting a return on this investment.

"The domestic financial situation is really not optimistic, since it is to support the anti-Japanese war, then it is better to buy some." Chen Qiang said secretly in his heart.

At this time, someone asked: "Ambassador Wei, if you want to buy the bonds issued by the government in the United States this time, you should also use US dollars, right?" ”

Ambassador Wei nodded: "You're right, we don't accept US dollars or fiat currency." But don't worry, if you exchange bonds in the future, you will also be given US dollars. ”

"I wonder how the government plans to use the dollars?" The man then asked.

Ordinary people go to the bank for a loan, and the bank will also ask whether it is a car loan or a housing loan, not to mention a huge amount of bonds. Investors will also feel uneasy about selling bonds without talking about the use of the funds raised by the bonds.

Moreover, this time it is a bond issuance in the United States, and all the money received is US dollars, and the future repayment will have to be US dollars, which is even more special, and investors certainly hope that Ambassador Wei will make it clear.

I saw Ambassador Wei cough dryly and said: "The government issued bonds this time, and all the dollars touched were US dollars, so this fund will mainly be used to purchase weapons and ammunition in the United States, so that domestic soldiers can use them in combat." ”

"So that's the case, since it's buying weapons to fight the Japanese, then we should give our full support." The man nodded.

Chen Qiang thought of another thing, so he opened his mouth and asked, "Ambassador Wei, the situation in the country is tense, I don't know when this batch of weapons and ammunition will be shipped back to China?" What about the transportation to the front-line soldiers in the country? ”

Ambassador Wei thought for a moment and replied: "If you want to buy weapons and ammunition from the Americans, you must first sell the bonds, so that the government can have the money to buy things, and if the bonds are sold well, we should be able to raise the funds we need within half a year, and then negotiate the price of weapons and ammunition with the Americans, our soldiers will be able to use these weapons. ”

Everyone at the table nodded, but Chen Qiang secretly smiled coldly.

It was already April 1945, and there were still four months before Japan's surrender. And the weapons and ammunition exchanged for this batch of bonds will not be shipped to the country until next spring, and the daylily will have already cooled! It is estimated that at that time, American GIs began to find girls to flirt with on the streets of Japan.

"What's the use of selling bonds, buying weapons, and having to wait until next spring to ship them back home? The Japanese have surrendered long ago! I'm afraid that these weapons will be used to fight a civil war! Thinking of this, Chen Qiang took a deep breath, and he decided not to buy this batch of war bonds.

If it is to support the post-war reconstruction of the country, Chen Qiang does not mind giving generously, and will do his best. But thinking that his money would be used to fight the civil war, and that the weapons he bought with his own money were not aimed at the Japanese invaders, but at his own compatriots, Chen Qiang could not accept it.

So this time, Chen Qiang won't give out a penny!

At the dinner table, everyone generously donated money, saying that they would buy the war bonds issued by Chongqing, and some even said the amount they were about to buy to show their support for the cause of the domestic war of resistance.

These Chinese elites who have lived in the United States for a long time are still quite patriotic, especially at this moment of national crisis, they are very willing to pay for the motherland, but these people do not know that their efforts this time cannot be used on the battlefield of resistance against Japan.

Chen Qiang looked at these patriotic Chinese with some regret, he believed that these patriotic Chinese did not want to see China fall into war again, but Chen Qiang could not do anything, he could only sit there without saying a word.

Ambassador Wei was pleased with the patriotic Chinese performance, but he also quickly noticed that while everyone was giving generously, Chen Qiang was sitting there, sipping tea as if none of this had anything to do with him.

No matter how stupid Ambassador Wei is, he can see Chen Qiang's resistance.

"This Chen Qiang, everyone here counts that he is rich, but if he doesn't speak, shouldn't he want to pull out a dime?" Ambassador Wei was a little unhappy in his heart, he coughed dryly, and asked, "General Chen, what do you think of the government's issuance of bonds this time?" ”

"It's a good thing, everyone is responsible for fighting the Japanese invaders!" Chen Qiang said a beautiful word without hesitation, but did not mention the purchase of bonds at all.

Ambassador Wei didn't come to listen to the beautiful words, so he continued: "General Chen Jian said well, everyone has a responsibility to fight against the Japanese invaders, and everyone here is indeed generous to support the war of resistance!" ”

Ambassador Wei said, looking directly at Chen Qiang, as if to say: Everyone has paid for it, how much are you going to pay?

Chen Qiang continued to pretend to be stupid and said: "I really admire you for your generosity, come, I toast you, and I hope that we will drive out the Japanese invaders as soon as possible and win the War of Resistance!" ”

Chen Qiang said, picked up the wine glass, and made a gesture to toast. Ambassador Wei's face turned embarrassed. But on this occasion, Chen Qiang made it clear that he wanted to be an iron rooster that would not pull out a dime, and Ambassador Wei could not ask Chen Qiang for money openly.

Everyone present also saw that Chen Qiang was not going to pay for it, and all kinds of strange eyes also looked at Chen Qiang.

Some of them know Chen Qiang, and some don't. Those who know Chen Qiang will find it strange why Chen Qiang is so desperate to buy bonds, you must know that this is to support the domestic anti-Japanese war cause; People who don't know Chen Qiang probably think that Chen Qiang is a stingy ghost and is reluctant to pay money, or they think that Chen Qiang is a national scum who has no patriotism.

This banquet, because of Chen Qiang's "uncooperative" attitude, the atmosphere cooled down.

……

At the end of the banquet, everyone left the table, but Mr. Situ called Chen Qiang into his car, he wanted to ask why Chen Qiang was so resistant to the war bonds issued by Chongqing, and was not willing to buy even a dollar.

Chen Qiang had already guessed Mr. Situ's intentions, and after getting into Mr. Situ's car, he asked directly: "Sir, do you want to ask me, why didn't you pull out a dime today?" ”

Mr. Situ nodded: "You kid is not short of money, and I know that you are absolutely unambiguous in terms of national righteousness, why did you coax it today?" I guess there's a reason for that, right? ”

Chen Qiang nodded: "What Mr. said is, mainly because I think that this money will not be used on the battlefield of resistance against Japan." ”

"What do you mean by that?" Mr. Szeto asked.

"Sir, how long do you think the Japanese will last?" Chen Qiang asked.

"The Japanese still have millions of troops, and it shouldn't be a problem to support them for another year, and if you're lucky, you might be able to support them for another two or three years." Mr. Szeto spoke.

Chen Qiang shook his head: "I don't think so. On the European side, the Allied forces have already invaded Germany, and the destruction of Germany is imminent, and once the war in Europe subsides, then the main forces of the Allied forces will move to Asia and make every effort to deal with Japan. Although the Japanese still have millions of troops, how long can they hold out under the attack of the United States and the Soviet Union? I think the war will be over within this year! ”

Mr. Situ nodded, and then said, "So you just went to ask when the weapons and ammunition would be shipped back to China, for this reason, right?" Do you think that by next spring, the war will be over, so it will be unnecessary to buy weapons and ammunition? You kid, you have your own ideas, but you're still too short-sighted, you did something wrong! ”

Mr. Situ said, posing as an elder teaching a junior.

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