As time entered October 1918, the entire Europe finally confirmed that the war was about to end. Even in the British Embassy in China, thousands of miles away from the battlefield, this was discussed.

The British ambassador Jurdin showed a rare anxiety in his expression, and the faces of several British gentlemen working in banks, who were sitting opposite Jurdin, looked like they were frustrated in the face of the apocalypse.

"...A strange disease is spreading in Europe and the United States. No matter how you check the patient's blood, you can't see any abnormal bacteria inside. However, people die of illness, just like a curse! God!" The British gentlemen said the tragic situation in Europe and drew a cross with lingering fear.

Zhu Erdian didn't know why, and immediately remembered He Rui's epidemic prevention for several months. There is a saying in China that there will be a major epidemic after a major disaster. In the 20th century, several plague and cholera broke out in Northeast China. He Rui, the young military and political chief of Northeast China, announced confidently that he would completely resolve the epidemic in Northeast China, and his method was to strictly blockade.

As Morixun said, the epidemic in the Northeast has indeed been under control. Moreover, China has also stepped up vaccination. In addition to the smallpox vaccine, it has also obtained vaccines for treating tuberculosis from unknown French laboratories.

Perhaps because of He Rui's director of the Investment Promotion Bureau, Morrison praised He Rui's epidemic prevention work in Northeast China...

"...Hisser Juerdian, the things you entrusted us have already come to an end." The words of the gentlemen in the bank interrupted Juerdian's random thoughts, and he quickly looked at several gentlemen. The gentlemen continued to ask: "Hisser, do you think Your Excellency He Rui can understand your request?"

Juerdian originally considered returning to the UK to retire when the European war ended. He was 76 years old. According to China, he returned to his roots. Juerdian really wanted to return to his hometown, which he had not been back for decades to enjoy his old age.

Hearing the mysterious epidemic in Europe and the number of deaths was huge, Juerdian decided to stay in China for a while and return to Europe after the epidemic ended. The amount of time in between was enough to make Juerdian do something very favorable to him. So Juerdian replied confidently: "I will let General He understand these, and I also believe that General He will accept such suggestions."

Seeing that Zhu Erdian was so confident, several gentlemen stopped talking. Ten days later, Zhu Erdian and his group finished their seven-day epidemic observation, left Fengtian's epidemic prevention center, and were invited to He Rui's office.

Instead of acting as the main lobbyist, Zhu Erdian introduced these British gentlemen who were engaged in the banking industry to He Rui. Among the European missions in Dongjiaomin Lane, the young Chinese warlord He Rui had a high evaluation and was considered to be the most European-oriented Chinese powerhouse. So several British gentlemen wore British top hats and took them off after seeing He Rui.

He Rui also expressed his welcome to several gentlemen elegantly. The gentlemen wanted to know whether this is said to be the most European-oriented local warlord in China, as the rumors say, so he went straight to the point. "I heard that you are seeking collateral for the Northeast Bank bills, I wonder how much do you know about the pound?"

After the waiter brought black tea, milk and sugar, He Rui replied: "I know that the pound was in the gold standard before the war, and it can be directly exchanged for gold. During the war, the pound was decoupled from gold. Have you already heard that the pound had regained the gold standard?"

The gentlemen of British banks were very satisfied with He Rui's answer. Not everyone in China's powerhouses knew that the pound was the gold standard, but He Rui really understood the British monetary policy and international trade. With such a knowledge base, things can continue to be discussed. "We suggest that you use the pound as collateral for the Northeast currency, which will be very beneficial to you."

After making the suggestion, several people waited for He Rui to raise the question. He Rui did raise the question, "The war is about to end, and Britain borrowed huge amounts of debts in the war, especially from the United States. I don't know if the US government will exchange large amounts of gold from the banks in England. If that happens, will the gold content of the British pound be greatly affected?"

Hearing this, Minister Zhuerdian picked up the black tea and savored it slowly. The questions raised by He Rui were in line with Zhuerdian's praise for He Rui in front of people in the banking industry. As for those specific issues, let them worry about them. Zhuerdian himself has gotten rid of the trouble.

Sure enough, the gentlemen in the banking industry explained to He Rui, and the content was beyond Zhu Erdian's understanding. He Rui listened quietly and waited for the gentlemen in the banking industry to finish speaking, He Rui asked: "If things really develop as you expected, then we must become the offshore pound settlement center of the British pound. We, who use pound as a reserve, must obtain another power to become the pound settlement center of the entire Northeast Asia region, and even the entire North China. Which banks do you represent? "

Zhuerdian can no longer understand the meaning of this sentence. This is not because the Master Zhuerdian is not knowledgeable, but based on the characteristics of the language itself. English is different from Chinese, and Chinese can still express meaning, and English is a simple word. Past words cannot meet the description of new things, so new words will be added. These words continue to increase, resulting in the fact that Chinese only masters three thousand words, which is enough to meet the needs of most texts. Mastering 30,000 words in English may not achieve the same goal.

The banking system has many words of its own, and Minister Jurden really doesn't know what it means.

The gentlemen in the banking industry did not have any fantasies about He Rui, but at this time, the few people couldn't help but look at each other and saw surprises in their eyes.

The reason for coming to Northeast China was very simple. These guys felt that they were giving He Rui benefits. The reason why they brought the Minister Juerdian was naturally trying to put pressure on He Rui with the help of the official identity of Minister Juerdian. In return, once Minister Juerdian could use the British pound as currency collateral in Northeast China, Minister Juerdian could at least be upgraded to one level after returning to China, and it was not impossible to upgrade to two levels.

At the beginning of negotiations with He Rui, the gentlemen in the banking industry became more and more happy. He Rui's understanding of certain financial knowledge was conducive to persuading He Rui to accept the pound. The happy negotiations went on until He Rui casually talked about the "offshore pound settlement center". The gentlemen were really frightened. It turned out that the Chinese warlord leader on the opposite side not only understood finance, but also really understood finance.

The settlement center plays a huge role. The pound business in the region will be operated centered on banks controlled by He Rui. Although He Rui has to bear many risks, he will also charge handling fees because of the risks. Moreover, He Rui can also control the flow of funds, understand the operation of the pound, and provide dismantling services. This is a huge power in the financial world.

Since He Rui made this request completely beyond the expectations of British gentlemen, everyone asked respectfully: "Do you have these talents in the banking industry?"

"No." He Rui's answer was neat.

Several British gentlemen couldn't help but smile with complex meanings. It was right, a little ridiculed, and they also respected He Rui's frankness and boldness.

The meeting was normal and no results were discussed. This was something everyone could think of. If the settlement business could be achieved so simply, wouldn’t the British Empire’s accumulation over hundreds of years be meaningless?

He Rui sent the British away and said to several confusing comrades beside him: "Tell the French consul that the UK wants us to use pounds as currency collateral."

Before the next day, the French Consul in Fengtian asked for a visit in person that night. As soon as he saw He Rui, the French Consul said anxiously: "Your Excellency, our francs are no less than the British pound. If you can relax in epidemic prevention, those who come the day after tomorrow can discuss with you the use of francs as collateral for Northeast currency!"

"Our epidemic prevention policy cannot be changed." He Rui smiled.

Seeing that the French consul looked embarrassed, He Rui smiled and said, "But it's always okay to make a phone call in the quarantine center."

The French Consul immediately smiled, "Sorry, I disturbed your rest, I surrendered."

At the internal meeting of the People's Party the next day, He Rui informed the leading cadres of this matter and asked the personnel departments of each unit to recommend reliable and capable comrades to prepare for banking and finance training.

Even Wu Youping was shocked by this arrangement. Although the Wu family had never engaged in the financial industry, they also knew the importance of exchange. When the comrades saw Zheng Silang, the soldier, and He Rui and Wu Youping, they were even more surprised.

Zheng Silang made a mistake. After returning from Mongolia, he was assigned to a tractor manufacturer as a "military representative". Many people thought that He Rui was preparing to temper Zheng Silang, but he did not expect that Zheng Silang even knew the rather remote job of bank settlement.

Seeing everyone's expressions, Zheng Silang smiled happily, "My family is an escort agency for helping friends, and they are going to do these things. Unexpectedly, the international computing center is quite similar to the escort agency."

The comrades didn't expect that this was still the family's knowledge, so some people couldn't help asking: "The Chairman's family has also done this?"

He Rui did not answer this stupid question, but answered Wu Youping’s question just now, “Comrade Wu Youping, I don’t want to introduce Britain and France to compete. If I want to speculate, I will probably lose the rice. I use pounds and francs as collateral for Northeast currency. The big reason is that we also need trade settlement. Although the recent plummeting trade volume with Britain and France does not mean that trade will continue like this in the future. If currency settlement eventually falls into the hands of other countries, the handling fee alone will be a lot of money.”

Faced with the problem that he didn't understand, Wu Youping was unwilling to discuss it. Finally, the comrades said, "Everything is something that the Chairman has."

He Rui knew that this was probably the only way at this stage, so he warned everyone, "We lack talents in this area, so we must invite some foreign experts to work for a period of time, and everyone should be mentally prepared."

As Hu Rui expected, the youth's faces became very ugly, allowing foreigners to control China's banks, which triggered many bad imaginations. He Rui continued: "These people are our employees, not people sent by foreign governments. Managing these people is the same as managing the German Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russian workers' captives."

After the recovery of the Middle East Road, the Northeast Army captured a large number of Russians. Before, Beiyang had some prisoners of Germany and Austria-Hungarian Empire. Beiyang initially raised them, and He Rui wanted to come over the prisoners of Germany and Austria-Hungarian Empire and arranged work for them.

Now, in addition to British Frenchmen such as Morrison, He Rui's subordinates also serve as officials, there are also a group of prisoners acting as various laborers. In a sense, it is quite satisfying the mood of young comrades.
Chapter completed!