Financial looting!

After Zhou Zuomin's voice fell, the British-style hotel living room fell into silence, and cigar smoke filled the room.

Li Zicheng, who was lost in thought, did not even smoke the cigar between his fingers, but let it burn between his fingers, and the smoke rose and filled the air...

Regarding Zhou Zuomin's warning, this time, Li Zicheng no longer doubted it. As early as when the plan was to gradually promote the "currency reform", the Ministry of Finance had already conducted statistics on domestic bank deposits, and the biggest resistance did not come from the bank industry. , but foreign banks, the Chinese market has more than 130,000 taels of silver deposits, and the foreign bank deposits in Shanghai alone exceed 30,000 taels, and the total foreign bank deposits in China exceed 50,000 taels.

In the past year, in order to "consume" the deposits of foreign banks, the State Council borrowed money from them under various names many times, thereby increasing industrial investment and taking advantage of future increases in silver prices to eliminate the deposits of foreign banks. Although some effects have been achieved on the currency reform, the effects are still not significant enough.

Now that those foreign banks have seen the opportunity, how could the banks not see the "profit opportunities" stored in it? If the foreign banks and banks are all involved in this speculation, and hundreds of millions of taels of silver are invested in the financial speculation market, then... Li Zicheng felt chills when he thought about the future stock market crash.

Perhaps in the next few years, with the development opportunities brought by World War I, China's industry can develop rapidly, and China is very likely to achieve national industrialization in the short term. But, how much wealth can be plundered through this looting? Maybe , the wealth created by millions or even tens of millions of people who have worked hard for several years will be wiped out by a "stock market crash".

"Therefore, now, we must take advantage of the moment when it is about to make a move and give it a heavy blow!"

When he said these words, Zhou Zuomin turned his attention to the Prime Minister.

When he is about to make a move, give him a heavy blow!

Li Zicheng was slightly surprised by Zhou Zuomin's words. After thinking for a moment, he realized that Zhou Zuomin might have other intentions for visiting him this time.

"Tell me, Wei Xin, what do you need me to do?"

On the railway leading to Tianjin, a train was running fast. This train was a "float" for the Empress Dowager Cixi ten years ago. But now it is a special train for Yuan Shikai, the great empress of the Republic of China, because Yuan Shikai rarely left Zhongnanhai, and even more Don't mention the reason for going elsewhere, so most of the time it stops at the train station. Only when distinguished guests arrive, will the "special train" drive to Tianjin to receive the distinguished guests under his order.

At this time, this special train that had been in the station for nearly half a year, after some maintenance, headed towards Tianjin along the Beijing-Tianjin Railway. It was just after ten o'clock in the evening. According to usual practice, perhaps Yuan Shikai had arrived early He went to bed early to rest, but today he is still sitting on the sofa. To be precise, until now, he has not felt sleepy at all, let alone fallen asleep.

It's ten o'clock, it's late at night, and for some reason today, the sky is covered with clouds. Outside the car window is an abyss of darkness, with neither a star nor a single light. Although the lights inside the car are bright and the temperature is comfortable, Although Yuan Shikai was wearing an expeditionary army uniform, he still felt chilly. This was not because of the low temperature, but because of his cold heart. The fundamental reason was because of the restlessness in his heart.

Just a few hours ago, he experienced the most frightening moment in his life. In his opinion, this kind of fright was even worse than when the regent drove him out of the capital, as if he wanted to kill him.

"Li Zicheng was attacked!"

This emergency may not have seemed like anything in the past, but now it seems particularly harsh and terrifying.

It can be said that after this news spread in the Presidential Palace, the hearts of everyone in the Presidential Palace were tightened. Even a shrewd person like Liang Shiyi did not know how to deal with this matter.

"Tianjin, the Jiangsu Army has three and a half divisions in Tianjin!"

Before leaving Beijing, when he heard Liang Shiyi say these words, Yuan Shikai's mind buzzed, and his hands and feet immediately felt weak. Duan Qirui's words rang in his ears again:

"If Li Zhiyuan really wants to fight, he may not be able to stop him if he is afraid of it!"

Duan Qirui's words are not an exaggeration, but rather the truth. Three and a half divisions, almost 60,000 elite soldiers from hundreds of battles, once the fight begins, those who have never been on the battlefield, but have only been training for a month

How can the border guards be their opponents? As for the two divisions of the Central Army and the one and a half divisions of the Provincial Army, then...

The chiming clock in the carriage "clicked" along with the swaying of the train, adding a bit of silence to the night. Finally Yuan Shikai couldn't stand the unbearable dullness and ordered the attendant to make him a cup of ginseng tea. At the same time,

Open the car windows, the late night air seems a bit cold but a bit fresh.

Holding a cup of hot ginseng soup and drinking it slowly, Yuan Shikai's mind gradually calmed down. From the incident until now, a big doubt emerged in his mind: Who did it?

Is it the revolutionary party again?

Thinking about the Revolutionary Party, a thought came to his mind: Could it be that the Revolutionary Party was trying to take the opportunity to create civil strife? Thinking of this and thinking of that "brother", Yuan Shikai couldn't help but feel a pity for him. He even thought of

, if Li Zhiyuan can let go a little more and see some things, maybe he and he can really have a good relationship as a monarch and a minister.

Use people like tools.

Although Li Zicheng has many shortcomings, and he is not Yuan Shikai's person in his heart, he is after all one of the few people in China today who can do things. In such a big China, people who can do things and can do things are rare.

In the past year, he had counted and ranked, but in the end, he still couldn't rank two people. At least there were few people who could handle everything as easily as Li Zicheng.

Even the most important matters at home and abroad, such as "finance", "Guanyu", "tariffs", "lijin", etc., which make him feel troublesome when he thinks about it, he can easily and calmly solve them.

Not only that, he is now tidying up the place vigorously, and he can also make the place speechless. Some things, even to him, Yuan Shikai, find it a bit unbelievable, but in his hands, they are logical.

, others can’t find any reason to come out.

If such talents can be used by the country... No, if they can be used by me...

Unfortunately, Yuan Shikai knew clearly in his heart that Li Zicheng could be used by the country, but he could never be used by him! It was precisely because of this that Yuan Shikai used hidden knives to block his policies in the past few months.

But now, an attack has pushed him to the forefront. After closing his eyes, Yuan Shikai thought of the photo sent by Lei Zhenchun. It was a photo of Li Zicheng's car and the attack site. Li Zicheng's car was almost

He was beaten into a honeycomb by bullets. If the bullets had missed a little bit, I guess... But he was alive and well, and he went to Tianjin.

At first, Yuan Shikai wanted to go to Tianjin to express his condolences to Li Zicheng to prove his innocence, but the three and a half divisions of the Jiangsu Army in Tianjin gave him a headache.

Just don't go!

But he has no choice but to go. No matter what, he has decided to go to Tianjin this time!

Not going to Tianjin is equivalent to giving Li Zicheng an excuse. It gives him an excuse to "raise troops". I am afraid that the local government will even support him. If that happens, China will fall into turmoil and interrupt the current development momentum. What will happen to Yuan Shikai?

But if you go, it will be a narrow escape!

What if, what if Li Zicheng takes a desperate risk?

"Zhiyuan, you shouldn't be that kind of person!"

Thinking about it, Yuan Shikai was inevitably worried. This was like a big gamble, just like...well, just like in North Korea.

Thinking about the fear in his heart, Yuan Shikai suddenly smiled again.

Back then, I was never afraid of one person against one country. Why are you so afraid now?

Thinking like this, Yuan Shikai, who had been always on tenterhooks, calmed down and began to think about how to calm Li Zicheng's heart and how to get through this situation safely.

Now, it is far from time to break up, we have to wait! We have to wait!

What can be used to calm Li Zicheng's heart?

Hey, it looks like I have to draw blood this time!

Thinking about the concessions he would need to make during this trip to Tianjin, Yuan Shikai sighed deep in his heart for himself, and also for Li Zicheng.

God, this thief is too kind to him!

Yuan Shikai couldn't help but feel that since he had been dealing with Li Zicheng, he had always been forced by tangible and intangible predicaments with no way out when it came to fundamental matters, and could only let Li Zhiyuan take advantage of him. Let out a sigh.

This time, it seems to be for himself and his own destiny!

In the living room of the suite on the tenth floor of the Invalid Hotel, there were only two people facing each other at this time. Looking at this "sworn brother" who was not even as old as his youngest son, Yuan Shikai's honest and honest face like an old farmer suddenly flashed a hint of excitement. .

"Zhiyuan, you..."

While speaking, Yuan Shikai had already walked up to Li Zicheng, held his hand tightly with both hands, and said excitedly.

"As long as it's okay, it'll be okay!"

As he spoke, Yuan Shikai couldn't help but look very emotional and burst into tears.

"President, you..."

Holding Yuan Shikai's shoulder, Li Zicheng also said emotionally:

"President, okay, I have nothing to do, I have made you worry!"

Although there was emotion on his face, Yuan Shikai's narrowed, tearful eyes were looking at Li Zicheng. When he heard what he said, he saw sincerity in his eyes and a heavy heart. Suddenly he felt relaxed: It seemed that Li Zicheng had passed this test. With his intelligence, how could he not see the joints involved?

But performance is performance, and Yuan Shikai knows that no matter what, he has to come up with something. This has always been the case in politics. Without appropriate sacrifices, how can there be, um, compromise?

After a simple courtesy, in the living room of this slightly British-style hotel suite, Li Zicheng and Yuan Shikai, dressed in Western-style casual clothes, sat opposite each other on the large cowhide sofa. A cup of dark brown espresso was placed in front of him. Put a bowl of clear green Longjing tea in front of you.

It seemed that the two different cups of tea revealed the differences between the two de facto "supreme rulers" of China. After a conversation that seemed to be serious but not serious, the conversation slowly began to get to the point.

While drinking tea, he felt that the groundwork had been laid, and even though he was avoiding talking about "Assassin" Li Zicheng, Yuan Shikai knew that it was time to come up with something, so he said intentionally or unintentionally:

"The Constitutional Convention is scheduled for October 12th this year. It will be a brisk autumn day. Although it is appropriate to hold a meeting, I think it may be a little too late. If possible, I think it is okay to move it forward a month. After all, this is

The constitutional representatives are not voted on by the whole province. They are recommended by the generals and then voted by the provincial assembly. If it is prolonged, I am afraid that there will be long nights and many dreams."

From Yuan Shikai's words, Li Zicheng could hear that he wanted to give in, so he thought for a while and said:

"The president's suggestion is very reasonable. If it is done in advance, it doesn't matter. As long as they send appropriate constitutional representatives, the central government only needs to preside over and hold a constitutional conference!"

Yuan Shikai nodded and continued:

"I am going to send letters to all provinces to emphasize the significance of the Constitutional Convention and order each province to quickly select competent representatives for the constitution!"

When he finished speaking, Yuan Shikai continued speaking, ignoring the doubt flashing in Li Zicheng's eyes.

"Previously, Zhiyuan, you thought that in order to maintain neutrality, neither the Presidential Office nor the State Council should send personnel to participate. But recently, I have looked at the constitutional conventions of foreign countries, and it seems that Washington has participated in the U.S. Constitutional Convention.

Already..."

Yuan Shikai's words only made Li Zicheng immediately vigilant, and he said quickly.

"The president is busy with these things. Come to think of it, there is no need for the government to get involved!"

Li Zicheng's rejection seemed to have been expected by Yuan Shikai. He smiled lightly and said:

"One of the two of us must participate in the meeting. Only in this way can it be shown that the government attaches great importance to the Constitutional Convention. Moreover, it will save others from making irresponsible remarks! Zhiyuan, you are a lawyer licensed in the United States, but

I haven’t even read the books of saints, let alone any Western laws, so I think you should participate in the Constitutional Convention and preside over it!”

Yuan Shikai's suggestion only surprised Li Zicheng, and at the same time he began to think about Yuan Shikai's intentions. If it were normal, he would feel that Yuan Shikai's suggestion must be directed at him. What he said before,

It's just an introduction. The letters and telegrams to the provinces, the recruitment of representatives as soon as possible, and the end are all foreshadowed by such a sentence. Is it possible that Yuan Shikai wanted to use the Constituent Assembly to tie himself there?

wrong!
To be continued...