The Bank of Europe had a quarterly general meeting, and the initial general meeting was basically held in the headquarters, Cyprus. In recent years, the general meeting was basically held outside. Traveling thousands of miles to Cyprus in the northeast corner of the Mediterranean made the increasingly powerful bank feel uninterested.
It was no accident that the center of European banking was Switzerland. Switzerland bordered major European countries, and because it was unwilling to be beaten by European countries, it became a permanent neutral country in 1815. For nearly a hundred years, no matter how the surrounding countries fought with each other, Switzerland stayed out of it. It created excellent conditions for the Swiss banking industry. However, people of the same trade were enemies. Swiss banks maintained very cold politeness to the Bank of Europe and had no intention of cooperation.
The bank's annual meeting in June 1908 was held on a luxury cruise ship of a shipping company controlled by the Bank of Europe. The temperature in Europe was relatively low, and the cruise ship sailed in the sunny Mediterranean. Seeing Crete, which nominally belonged to the Min dynasty, from afar, a group of employees of the Bank of Europe discussed when the Min dynasty would officially control the island. When they saw the huge island of Sardinia, everyone sighed, "If only we could take Sardinia and use it as the headquarters of the Bank of Europe."
This idea was immediately appreciated by many colleagues of the bank. Sardinia covered an area of 24,000 square kilometers and was located in the center of the western Mediterranean, facing France, Italy, and Spain across the sea. It was the absolute center of the region. The terrain was flat and rich in products. Oil shipped from the Middle East could be processed here into refined oil and sold to other countries.
Such a wonderful future did not cause a long discussion. The bank staff were smart people and knew that it was not the time to fight Italy and cede land to pay reparations. The purpose of the regular meeting was to discuss and exchange banking business, not to find people to brag.
"The Osman Empire can no longer be counted on. What keeps this country in its current state is historical inertia, not unity. Since Osman began to get close to Germany and Austria, Britain's policy toward Osman has changed. In the past, Britain tried to maintain the status quo of Osman, but now Britain began to support the separatist forces of the Osman Empire with weapons and equipment. "
The Osman Empire itself did not have many industries worth investing in on a large scale. The discussion about Osman did not last long. The Bank of Europe decided to shrink its business in Osman, and the topic ended. From the perspective of the Bank of Europe, it was meaningless to be located in Asia, Europe, and Africa with a long history, large population, and rich ethnic groups. Investing in the Osman Empire had high risks and low returns, so retreating was the best choice.
The Bank of Europe did not think highly of Italy. Fortunately, the Min dynasty had been working in Italy for a long time. There were many collaborators with the Min dynasty in this country, and they had made a lot of money by taking a controlling stake. The final conclusion was to continue ploughing.
When it came to France, the Bank of Europe was divided. Some thought that France could still do something. Others thought that France's colonial policies exposed it to great risks. It all started with the people of the Congo Free State returning to their homeland.
The rule of the Belgian colonists in the Congo was extremely cruel. They held indigenous women and children as hostages and forced the men to pay taxes. The living conditions in the hostage concentration camp were extremely poor, and the death rate was very high. Only when the Congolese paid enough taxes were they allowed to redeem the hostages with goods. Under normal circumstances, if the Congo residents could not pay their taxes, they would be flogged for a light punishment, or chopped off their hands, feet, ears, or even shot to death.
In addition to this kind of plunder, the colonial authorities in the Orientale Province often sent out armed squads of black people led by white people to break into the villages, burning, killing, and raping. When the squads returned, in addition to the full load of loot, they often brought baskets of chopped off and smoked arms as material evidence to ask for rewards from the authorities. Some white colonists were extremely bored, so they used the natives as targets and competed with their marksmanship.
When the people fought back against such brutal rule, the strength could be imagined. At the beginning of March 1908, more than ten thousand black volunteers carried rifles as the vanguard, and one hundred thousand black people carried sugar cane knives, carrying cannons and ammunition followed. After defeating the local white colonists and their black squads, the returning people distributed the sugar cane knives to the hands of the black people who were still being brutally abused.
As a result … the earth was dyed red with blood.
Sugar cane knives were easy to produce, and no special training was needed to master how to use them. Sugar cane knives quickly expanded from one hundred thousand to five hundred thousand. They were no longer limited to the south and east of the Congo Free State, and the angry troops surged west like a tide. By the middle of April 1908, the troops that had devoured countless white rulers and their lackeys met a group coming from the north. This group was also led by the black rifles, and the black sugar cane knives followed closely. Many of the Black Uncle Cane Cutters had lost a hand. Seeing such a familiar broken hand, the two groups of Black Uncle Cane Cutters quickly merged and headed west.
By the beginning of May, the white rulers of the Congo Free State were cowering in their fortress in Kinshasa, shivering in fear. The land that was still under their rule was only a very small area around and west of Kinshasa, and the other areas were controlled by the black sugar cane knives.
Belgium, of course, asked for help from the European countries, hoping that they could send troops to help. The first to respond was France. The black uncle from Cameroon passed through the French colony, and in the process, killed all the colonial troops along the way. The French colonial authorities were in a great panic. The black sugar cane knives in Africa had been fighting against the colonial rule, and if they did not quickly suppress this group of people, the black sugar cane knives would definitely turn against their masters.
"I firmly believe that France will lose, and the more the Gauls lose, the more they will send people to Africa to suppress them. The more they suppress, the more they will fail, and when the last drop of France's blood is exhausted, Germany can easily finish off the Gauls. "
"I don't think France will lose to Germany's armed blacks, and France is not stupid. When they suffer a heavy loss, won't they immediately return to Europe to give Germany a fatal blow?"
"Look at the agreement from back then, the countries that made the agreement only recognized actual rule. Most of the land in the East African administrative region was obtained through actual rule. "
"How long ago was that? Now, the whole world has probably only been divided up in South America and Africa. Only in these two places can there be a relatively easy possibility of changing the status quo, and the colonial countries will definitely fight there. Then the conflict will return to Europe for a final settlement! "
…
The young people argued endlessly, and finally, the meeting asked everyone to observe first. Any risky investment against the current situation in France must be handled by the investment department.
After putting France aside, they continued to discuss the European countries. Because Germany implemented a risky policy in Africa, the Bank of Europe believed that even if Germany could get a piece of the Congo Free State, it might not have the ability to continue to develop. What's more, they had to face the French colonists in Central Africa and other places, and their days might not be easy. Germany was also included as an unstable factor.
As for the Northern European countries, they were not poor, had a small population, and were not economically active. There was really no investment profit. Finally, there was Russia. Russia had an economic crisis in 2006, and now it had improved. Stolypin, the Prime Minister of Russia, treated opponents cruelly, hanged, sentenced, and exiled. Under such cruel means, the cry of injustice in Russia temporarily dissipated. But from the perspective of the Min Dynasty, this approach did not look like it would last long.
There was a lack of reliable investment opportunities throughout Europe, and the Bank of Europe was also very depressed. The president finally encouraged, "Many industries don't rely on who can run a perfect business, but on who can persist for a long time. According to our expectations, the situation in Europe will become worse. At that time, European banks will definitely collapse in large numbers, and when those clients see that we are the only one left, they will rush to us. We have to have confidence in our own judgment. "
Everyone had no other choice but to endure it for now.
At the end of the meeting, the branch president of the Dutch branch went back by boat. His subordinates on the same boat sighed and said, "President, if this is the situation, when can we produce results? We have visited all the clients that can be visited, and there will not suddenly be a group of rich people in the Netherlands. "
The president smiled bitterly. He was also worried about this matter. The bank was not a place that did not make mistakes. They had to calculate their performance every year. There were many capable people here, and even in the most dangerous places, there was money to be made. Just like the economic crisis in Russia that caused European banks to bleed, in Germany and France, there was a group of staff from the Bank of Europe who had long felt the problem and made a lot of money by selling short. However, these people were smart and did not blow their own trumpet. Instead, they used the money they earned to improve the performance of the year, and even used it to improve the performance of the next year.
Seeing the president's expression, the subordinate lowered his voice and said, "President, I know a brother from Beijing. He comes from a good family and is very familiar with those ministers and central bank presidents. If you are willing to meet him, he can probably get you tiao. The central government has ordered that it should be much easier for you to be promoted to our head office. Do you want to meet him? "
Hearing this, the president could not help but be tempted. Recently, he had also heard a lot of news about tiao in China. It was said that there were now people who specialized in tiao. "Let me think about it first," the president said to his subordinate. This subordinate was also from a relatively high-ranking family, and the president did not doubt his subordinate's connections.
When they returned to the Dutch branch, the president finally made up his mind. He called for his subordinate and ordered, "Contact your friend."
The Bank of Europe was studying Europe, and Europe was also observing the Min dynasty. In 1908, the Min dynasty experienced a price increase, but the price increase did not appear in North America. This was a large granary of the Min dynasty and a base for many basic products. The price increase only made the farms and enterprises in North America full of money.
When the British ambassador received an order from home asking him to ask if the Min dynasty was going to annex the Congo Free State, the British ambassador had just ordered him to send the information he had collected back to Victoria City. The report described in detail the information collected by the British embassy and consulates everywhere.
From the middle of 1907, the people in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, and other places, stimulated by the news that "prices were going to soar several times" and "RMB was going to be worthless," went to the streets to buy all kinds of products. The leaders of some cities were dizzy and failed to respond. The leaders of some cities were still clear-headed, especially in Nanjing and Shanghai. The leaders of the two cities mobilized their intelligence agencies. When they heard that the people thought that food prices were going to rise, they began to rush to buy food. They ordered the major shopping malls and food supply points to put up big signs on the street that read "The soaring price of food is a rumor" and "Momentary impulse, lifelong regret." Next to the signs, bags of rice and flour were piled up like a small mountain, and other oil and other products were also piled up high.
Because the price did not change, and they put on a "we will support you buy it," although the people still rushed to buy, it calmed the panic.
Some people clamored that the price of grain was going to rise, so they piled up grain. Some people clamored that the price of cloth was going to rise, so they piled up cloth. Some people said the price of soy sauce was going to rise, so those enterprises put a lot of soy sauce on the street. Later, even salt was robbed, and the people in charge of the two cities sold salt on the street.
The people had a habit of going with the flow, but after all, some people were very rational. Although most people were not rational enough, they did not lose their rationality. As for the irrational people who rushed to buy goods, the money in their hands was always limited. When the money was spent, no matter what they said to others, they could not take the lead.
From 1907 to 1908, first in the cities, then in the countryside, the panic of the people about inflation led to four waves of panic buying. By July 1908, the panic had to be suppressed because people had no money. But the price did not soar as expected. Not only did it not improve the image of the government, but the people who felt that they had suffered a big loss were angry at the government for not being able to stop the irrational behavior of the people. Based on this anger, all kinds of dissatisfaction turned into all kinds of full criticism and even criticism of the government.
The saying of "the collapse of the government" became popular in a very short time, both sides of the Pacific Ocean. Yes, in this irrational panic buying, the government was the only unit that made a lot of money. The food, soy sauce, and cooking oil, which would have taken a long time to sell out, were the only sales channel controlled by the government.
All kinds of attacks spontaneously came out, and spontaneously became strange and dazzling. The British ambassador was naturally overjoyed. For decades, the Min dynasty had shown a stability that frightened the British. The relationship between the government and the people was very stable, the people trusted the government, and the government was also stable.
The most classic example of this was the North American War. If it was Britain fighting the United States, there would be all kinds of incitement and mobilization. In the end, the large fleet and hundreds of thousands of British troops went to North America. They might have won a series of victories, but there was no way to conquer the vast land of the United States.
However, Emperor Vézé said, "For the American Hua Sheng gang that attacked China, if we don't surrender immediately, there will only be death. When that day comes, don't say I didn't warn you. " Then about 20 million people of the Min dynasty joined the army to fight, ran thousands of miles away, and drove the United States away from North America. Such social mobilization made the British feel fear from the bottom of their hearts.
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