Chapter 34: The Gold Rush in the Holy Land of Buddhism

Meanwhile, a few kilometers away at the Great Bodhi Temple, Wang Qiu and his team waited until they were on the verge of heat stroke from the sun, when they finally saw a regular ground force sent by the Indian government -- and an armored battalion of cowhides. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

It was already afternoon, more than twelve hours before the arrival of the Great Monster Godzilla, and the original location of this armored battalion was less than twenty miles from Bodh Gaya...... But even then, by Indian standards, this is already amazingly efficient.

-- Unlike China, India is a federal country, and the separation of military and government is relatively thorough. Without the authorization of Parliament, the army cannot run around at will, even under the command of the Indian government...... In this way, the reaction speed is naturally not much faster.

Then, like many other Indian armies in the interior, this armored battalion was severely understaffed, with only five old British-made "Captain Hundred" tanks - a tank researched at the end of World War II, only slightly "newer" than the Soviet T-34, with a total combat weight of about 50 tons, a crew of four, and a 105 mm rifled gun and a 7.62 mm machine gun. The Vietnam War and the Middle East War. It's a pity that the record is mediocre, and the overall performance is very poor in all aspects. However, even if military observers all over the world applauded, as members of the British Commonwealth, Indians still had the obligation to share the worries of their masters, so they imported more than 100 old tanks that had been eliminated by the British and equipped with the Indian Army after "modernization".

Then, because India has developed the "Arjun" tank for 30 years, the performance is really desperate, and as a result, these old tanks have been used by the "thrifty" Indian Army until the 21st century...... However, when it came time to use these tanks, which were made in the late 50s, the hapless Indian driver realized that he really couldn't handle these grandfathers. In the midst of casual conversation with them, Wang Qiu learned that when they left the station, two of the five "Captain Hundred" tanks could not fire at all. On the way to Bodh Gaya to fight monsters, another "Captain of Hundred" engine emitted a puff of smoke and broke down on the side of the road. In the end, the lineup that Wang Qiu saw in the Dabodhi Temple was only two "Captain Hundred" tanks and five unknown armored vehicles, plus a bunch of infantry riding in trucks, and the weapons in their hands were basically old-fashioned Lee Enfield rifles, which looked like they had traveled through time and space - it was really full of retro World War II style!

However, these Indian infantry, which seem to have crossed over from World War II, are not strictly speaking, the most miserable. What's even more tragic is a group of naked men who came over through the "hanging transportation" outside the car, who didn't even have to wear military uniforms, and wore a thong directly bare-chested, all unkempt and skinny. Wang Qiu couldn't understand what these guys were doing, and he only heard that the soldiers and officers seemed to call them slaves......

Hey, with such a military appearance on the street, it is no wonder that when China and India fought in the Himalayas in 62, even the men of the three People's Liberation Army captured more than 100 Indian prisoners! However, this is not the most humiliating record of the Indian Army, what is even more humiliating is that more than a dozen terrorists attacked the Indian Parliament that year, killing a few back and forth in the capital New Delhi, all the way into a no-man's land, and did not see any good performance of the Indian military and police.

Compared to American superheroes and Japan's various superpower teams, is it really okay for Indians to use such a lineup to deal with alien monsters?

However, although the appearance of this Indian armored unit is very bad, the combat effectiveness is very suspicious, and the equipment is even more antique, the Indian major who led this armored unit is quite decent, even if the weather is hot and he is sitting in a narrow and bumpy tank, but his dress is still meticulous, and even his leather boots are polished. As soon as he arrived at the Great Bodhi Temple, he ordered a small number of infantry to continue to advance in armored vehicles to reconnoitre, while he himself camped on the spot to supervise the battle. Next, after meeting Wang Qiu and others, especially recognizing Chandra. Mr. Shukla, the eldest young master of a wealthy local family in Bihar, Mr. Major's attitude was really very enthusiastic, and he hurriedly greeted them without saying anything, and invited them to have afternoon tea together.

-- Since modern times, British gentlemen have had the habit of drinking afternoon tea, so all British-designed tanks, except for the earliest models that are too simple, whether it is the Firefly in World War II, the Centennial Captain in the 50s, and the Challenger 1 and Challenger 2 tanks in the 60s, there are special electric tea brewing devices in them, which can allow the tank crew to drink hot tea safely and securely during the journey.

And this major, who once studied in Britain, has learned the habits of the British - just like the old Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II, the officer class was accustomed to eating Western food, drinking red wine and cutting steaks, instead of nibbling rice balls with those "army red deer". India's officer class has also generally learned from the British and Americans in all aspects, speaking English far more fluently than speaking their own language, and even living habits that are different from those of most locals, looking almost like a group of Europeans staying in India.

Of course, Chandra who was with Wang Qiu. Mr. Shukla, strictly speaking, is a similar fellow......

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Although the Captain of 100 tank in front of you is very old, the electric tea making device on it is very efficient, and almost in the blink of an eye, India's most famous Assam black tea is ready. The tea soup from Assam was carefully poured into delicate bone china teacups by the orderlies, and then served in large trays, exuding a refreshing fragrance from afar - Assam black tea has a fragrant and refreshing taste, and it is a world-class famous tea as early as the era of British colonial India. Wang Qiu picked up the teacup and took a sip gently, feeling very good.

And the cookies that were then served as snacks made them feel even more overjoyed - since they encountered the Godzilla monster landing in the middle of the night the day before, until now, Wang Qiu and the others had not eaten for more than ten hours, and they were already hungry. Now when he saw something to eat, he naturally unceremoniously reached out and grabbed it, opened his mouth to chew, and swept away Mr. Major's biscuit box in the blink of an eye.

When Wang Qiu and the others had finished their snacks and reached out to wipe the crumbs of biscuits from their mouths, and were about to ask the major Mr. What kind of monster combat measures the Indian government and military had come up with, the soldiers, refugees, monks, journalists, and foreign tourists gathered at the Great Bodhi Monastery suddenly became commotion-first, a few soldiers in charge of the radio station rushed out of the field tents that had just been set up and yelled at the crowd in Hindi. Then another reporter took the walkie-talkie, showing an expression of disbelief, but soon began to roar wildly.

Moments later, a large number of Indian soldiers climbed into trucks and armored vehicles, screaming all the way to the cosmic monster Godzilla standing in the distance, their eyes full of frenzied flames, almost like the Caribbean pirates who discovered treasure in the Age of Discovery. Thousands of monks, refugees, journalists, and idle people from nowhere followed the army's ass, scrambling to be the first to run towards the monster.

Even Mr. Major, who was originally unhappy with this, after listening to the whispered words of the orderlies, his eyes turned red for a moment, and he only remembered to quickly confess his guilt to the guests, so he turned around with extreme agility and got into the tank, and walked towards the place where the cosmic monster Godzilla stood.

In an instant, the Great Bodhi Temple, which had gradually gathered a lot of people, suddenly dispersed, and even most of the monks ran away.

Only Wang Qiu and the others were left sitting in the shade of the tree, holding empty teacups, looking at each other in disbelief.

――From some of the conversations they had just heard, they already had a rough idea of the "great discovery" of the Indians on the monsters......

I have to admit that the magic power of gold, a magical metal, is really invincible at home and abroad - even the Indian white elephant, which has always been gentle and tame, contented and optimistic, has turned into a red-eyed and violent elephant in an instant under the temptation of tens of thousands of tons of gold!

“…… Wow! This Godzilla is really a golden monster...... It's the rhythm of a windfall! Dear Xiao Qiuqiu, can't you imagine that in addition to the attributes of the god of decay, you can occasionally make a cameo appearance as the god of wealth? The Indians are a blessing this time. ”

After a short silence, Shizuka Jukawa glanced at Wang Qiu with charming eyes, covered her mouth and said with a coquettish smile, "...... A big lump of gold from the stars! ”

“…… Well, the weight of the cosmic monster Godzilla is 20,000 tons, and as long as one-tenth of its body, that is, two thousand tons of gold, is made up of gold, then it will already exceed the total gold reserves of the Chinese government - our national gold reserves seem to be only more than 600 tons! Wang Qiu pondered and said.

“…… If more than half, or even all, of the monster's 20,000 tons of weight were gold......" Levi's voice began to tremble.

“…… As soon as this news gets out, the price of gold in the international market will definitely collapse immediately......"

Wang Qiu shrugged his shoulders, "...... Since the birth of human civilization, the total amount of gold mined by all mankind in ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad, is only a hundred thousand tons, and a considerable part of these hundreds of thousands of tons of gold are still lying under the sea and sleeping forever in the tombs! ”

“…… Isn't that the same as ...... Explosive currency depreciation, plus massive quantitative easing? The global economy is about to be shaken to pieces, right? Levi muttered, "...... Moreover, so much gold falling into the hands of Indians may not be able to cover the heat. At the end of the 19th century, the British fought a bloody Boer War in order to compete for 30,000 tons of gold in South Africa's gold mines. Swap it to what is now India...... I'm afraid it's enough to choke? Even if it doesn't become the fuse of World War III, it is estimated that there will be many forces with red eyes and forced to reach out, right? ”

“…… Hehe, it shouldn't be as serious as you think, first of all, this monster's body is not necessarily made entirely of gold, it is likely that it is just covered with a layer of gold scales. Second, even if it is really 20,000 tons of gold, the current gold price in the international market is about 1,200 US dollars an ounce, that is, 40 US dollars a gram, and 20,000 tons of gold is actually equivalent to 800 billion US dollars. ”

Wang Qiu thought for a moment and replied, "...... In recent years, every time the Federal Reserve has printed money for quantitative easing, it has been printed in trillions and trillions of dollars, and now the global economy has not collapsed. As for whether this will trigger a Boer War of the twenty-first century...... I think you're really thinking too much, Brother Levi. Now the vast majority of countries in the world are not on the gold standard, almost all currencies are national credit currencies, which are guaranteed by national credit, and although gold reserves are still very important, they no longer have the special significance of the past.

If the Bretton Woods system had not collapsed, 20,000 tons of gold might indeed trigger a global tear up by the five permanent members of the United Nations, but now, it would not be enough for the five hooligans to tear their faces and play force to rob them. And the words of financial war looting...... Haven't the giants been doing it all along?

Of course, it is almost certain that so much gold will suddenly fall down, causing panic in the market. The crazy plunge in the global gold price is also to be expected. Hehe, since the birth of paper money, people have rushed to exchange banknotes for gold in turbulent times. But in the coming days, I am afraid that it will be reversed, and the people of the world will compete to exchange gold for dollars...... I wonder if the Fed should laugh or cry at that time? However, no matter how much the price of gold depreciates in the international market, the Indians have made a windfall this time, and the damage caused by the monster's fall on Bodh Gaya is nothing more than a drizzle...... Huh? Where's Mr. Chandra? Wasn't you still drinking tea with us just now? ”

“…… Do you mean him? Levi stretched out his hand, and Wang Qiu turned his head to look, and was stunned to find that Chandra and his valet had gotten two donkeys out of nowhere, and were riding in the direction of the Godzilla monster - this guy obviously couldn't reach the magic of gold.

So, the next question in front of the three foreign visitors, Wang Qiu, Li Wei and Shizuka Jukawa, is: Do you want to come over and get a piece of the pie?

“…… I guess forget it! This is India, not our land, even if we go up to grab gold, how much can we take away? With our current net worth, will we still lack a few kilograms of gold? I really can't afford to risk this thing! ”

Wang Qiu, who was already accustomed to seeing the big world, scratched his hair and persuaded Li Wei and Shizuka Jukawa, who were a little eager to try, "...... According to the major of the armored corps, a United Nations investigation mission has arrived in New Delhi and is heading for Bihar. We'll just sit here and wait, and then we'll just go home with the Chinese representatives. If you want to take risks, there will be opportunities in the future, and for now it is better to be safe......"

In short, under Wang Qiu's persuasion, the group gave up the idea of taking advantage of the chaos to make a small fortune, and continued to stay in the Great Bodhi Temple, patiently waiting for rescue.

As it turned out later, this was a very correct choice - the people present at the time seemed to have lost their minds under the magic of gold, but they forgot to go back and think about it carefully, is the gold from the stars on the cosmic monster Godzilla really so easy to take?

Unfortunately, they were all carried away by the golden light at the moment, their eyes were red, and they couldn't think of anything more......