At the end of the 19th century, the gold standard was popular around the world, and the currency was directly linked to gold. At this stage, whether it was the Chinese or the British, they could take the pound sterling to the British bank to exchange it for gold. As a world-renowned currency, the pound sterling relied on the British fleet, but not entirely on the British fleet.
Compared to the pound sterling, the RMB relied on China's productivity. Whether it was Chinese or foreigners, they could buy goods in China with the RMB. The circulation function was sufficient, but the function of wealth was obviously insufficient. This was the fundamental reason why the expansion of the RMB in Europe was resisted by Europe. Ordinary Europeans would not travel thousands of miles from Europe to China just to buy those goods. If China did not have a gold standard system, it would be at a natural disadvantage if it wanted to expand in Europe and the world.
However, the report brought by the secretary seemed to solve this dilemma. China's exploration of the Rand gold mine in southern Africa had finally made significant progress. The Transvaal Republic, formed by the local Boers, signed an agreement with China, and China obtained a permit to mine gold in the area. This was the location of the famous Rand Gold Mine. Facing the current hegemon of East Africa, China's East African Administrative Region, the upper echelons of the Transvaal Republic were naturally uneasy. However, an agreement was an agreement, and business was business. In addition to the mining permit, China also signed an agreement with the Transvaal Republic to fund the construction of a railway. The Portuguese colonial authorities in East Africa tactfully agreed to build a railway from the seaport to the Transvaal Republic in China.
Although Vézé was a very strong supporter of legal currency, any determination had to face the test of reality. If it wasn't for the high demand for currency in China, and the gold standard currency was really not suitable for China, Vézé would have probably succumbed to the gold standard. Now that there was a glimmer of possibility of implementing the gold standard, the shock in Vézé's heart was self-evident. There was a strange look on his face, but that was because Vézé was able to calm down. If he was younger, he might not be able to sit firmly on the podium and continue to participate in the meeting.
Even so, when the meeting was adjourned at noon, Vézé still summoned Wang Mingshan, Lei Hu, Shen Xin, and other members of the Politburo. After a brief introduction of the situation, the governor of the Central Bank, Wang Mingshan, was already very excited. "How big is that gold mine?"
"It's said to be very big." Vézé tried his best to reply calmly. However, they had known each other for decades, and Vézé's performance could not be hidden from them. His tone and expression had already made everyone's feelings very, very heavy.
"Do you want us to dispatch the Marines?" Commander Ding Ruchang immediately asked excitedly.
"How did he react?" Vézé answered with a smile.
"Bring me the map." Lei Hu had never been interested in Africa. As for this Transvaal Republic that he had never heard of, Lei Hu had no idea where it was.
When the map was hung on the blackboard, many people couldn't help but laugh at the location of the West Gate of China. Opposite Madagascar, the West Gate of China, was the Portuguese colony. Further west of the Portuguese colony was the Transvaal Republic. China purchased ore from the Transvaal and transported it to the port via the soon-to-be-built railway. From the port, it was transported to Madagascar for smelting, and the crude gold was transported back to China for refinement. As long as there was no obstruction, this route did not even need to be invested in maintaining.
"Commander-in-chief, you're really good at calculating." Lei Hu looked away from the map and turned back with a smile. "I thought Madagascar was a sea fortress. I didn't expect to make money from that kind of place."
Indeed, the Politburo initially discussed the construction of Madagascar from a military perspective. Madagascar itself as a naval base could guard the West Gate of China and protect the economic interests of the East African administrative region. The island itself did not have anything worth mentioning. But after the appearance of the gold mine, Madagascar became of great significance. Once there was a smelting center, the value of the island would naturally soar.
"If the production of gold is very large, can we adopt the gold standard?" As the governor of the central bank, Wang Mingshan also raised a question related to his profession.
Vézé ordered a large amount of gold to buy a large amount of land. This was not only a sum of money, but also a huge transfer of wealth. The United Kingdom's gold wealth had greatly increased, which was an important reason why the British were willing to sell their land. Although China had obtained the means of production and had a significant increase in productivity, this was equivalent to an increase in wealth from the world's point of view. China's people had enough food and clothing, which was a private matter of China. China's goods were sold around the world, which was absorbing wealth from the world. The gold and silver that represented wealth were taken away by China in large quantities. This was undoubtedly a major threat to countries that had trade surpasses.
If China adopted the gold standard, it meant that the renminbi would also be endowed with wealth, which was of great significance to the expansion of the renminbi in the world. Wang Mingshan was very concerned about this.
"The production of gold is limited. Even if there are 20,000 tons of gold, how are you going to implement the gold standard?" Wei Ze still insisted that the Americans failed to adhere to the gold standard in the end. From the beginning of the Bretton Woods system to the decoupling of the US dollar from gold, the United States, which was at its peak, only persisted for 29 years. The gold reserves and industrial strength that the United States had back then, as well as the alliance that the United States established, were not comparable to the current Min dynasty. This was also the reason why Wei Ze was able to persevere. Learning from the mistakes of the past was a good lesson for the future.
Before traveling, Vézé knew that the United States engaged in QE and pushed the capitalist system to a new level. They overissued a large amount of money and could maintain the status of the US dollar in a situation where the quantity was maintained. Even if there were various other factors that played a major role, this could be said to be a huge success. If the gold standard was still in place, the United States would not be able to escape the fate of the Great Depression of 29 years.
Wang Mingshan wanted to continue discussing this issue with Vézé. As the president of the Central Bank, the temptation of adopting the gold standard was too great. However, this kind of profound economic issue was not something that the Politburo members were interested in. Gold and silver represented wealth to these brothers who were born poor, but their experience made them think that copper coins were the currency in circulation. Now that copper coins had become paper money, they did not feel that there was anything wrong with it.
The issue of currency may be profound to the Politburo members, but these seasoned veterans had some clues from Vézé's attitude, and with a little thought, they could think of a very high possibility. If China reaped huge benefits from this large gold mine, other countries would not be happy to see such a situation.
"Are we going to war with the United Kingdom?" Lei Hu asked this obvious question.
In order to seize the Rand gold mine, the United Kingdom launched the Boer War. This Boer War was a war with a huge disparity in strength, and the outcome was not worth discussing. If the United Kingdom was willing to commit genocide, it would not be difficult to kill all the Boers.
In Vézé's history, the Boer War not only greatly depleted the United Kingdom's financial resources, but it also showed the United Kingdom's military strength to the European powers. In the face of the Boers' guerrilla warfare, the United Kingdom built turrets, erected barbed wire, repaired railways, and mobilized troops, but in the end, they still fought badly.
Back then, Vézé was only very interested in the process of the war. At his current age, with such an experience, Vézé was concerned about another matter. No matter what, the United Kingdom seized the Rand gold mine, and from then on, became the world's hegemon in the gold market. On the one hand, the European countries were worried about the United Kingdom's military strength weakening, and on the other hand, they were worried that the United Kingdom would gain a greater say through its control of the world's gold. When contempt and fear existed at the same time, the idea of challenging the United Kingdom's position and toppling it from the throne of the world's hegemon naturally became logical.
The Boer War announced the overall decline of the United Kingdom, and this decline itself was very layered. Now that China had intervened in the Rand gold mine, Britain's fate would be completely different. And what kind of existence would China, which had always appeared to be full of vitality, be in the eyes of the world? Vézé was very uncertain.
"It might not be the United Kingdom. There are bound to be many countries that want to profit from this. The Transvaal Republic will not let us, China, monopolize all the resources in their gold mine. Even if it is to protect themselves, they will pull in many countries to balance each other and compete with each other. "Vézé made a judgment based on this logic.
Just as everyone was digesting the content of domestic politics that Vézé said, Vézé revealed a smile, a smile of confidence. "But right now, the only two countries in the world that can compete on this big cake are us, China and the United Kingdom. Although the other countries will also want to show their faces, their strength is not enough to give them a chance to perform here. "
"Who are we going to fight with?" Lei Hu asked straightforwardly. The complexity of international politics was far beyond the imagination of these old brothers, and they were not interested in that much. The Military Governor Of Vaize always told everyone the truth, and his analysis was very reasonable. Because of this, everyone was not too interested in these complicated things. As long as the Military Governor Of Vaize gave the order, everyone would follow it.
At this moment, Ruan Xihao asked, "Commander in Chief, how are we going to split the gold?"
"Huh?" Lei Hu was stunned. He did not expect Ruan Xihao to ask such a question.
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