Director Li Hongzhang placed a tea tray in front of him. He calmly brewed the Kung Fu tea. Time had accumulated in him a calm demeanor. Whether the tea was brewed well or not was one thing, that kind of calm and steady manner made Li Hongzhang's every movement show his elegance.
"When I met His Majesty, His Majesty also made me some Kung Fu tea. When we were talking and laughing, we both felt that the Kung Fu tea was good, but it needed more practice." Li Hongzhang washed the cup, poured out the first soak, and passed the second soak to the people sitting around the table. He spoke in a calm tone.
To be served tea by His Majesty Vézé himself, and to have the guts to comment that His Majesty Vézé's tea making skills were not good. At this time, respect appeared on the face of Jin Yujun, the most popular newcomer in Korea. The faces of several lower-ranking officials around Jin Yujun were already a little frightened. For a celestial official like Li Hongzhang to personally make tea for them, this was already the extreme of courtesy. As for Li Hongzhang's words, these people didn't dare to say a word.
Gu Dahe, who accompanied Li Hongzhang to meet Jin Yujun, didn't feel anything. There was a clear requirement in the Restoration Party that if it wasn't a special situation, the higher-ranking officials should take the initiative to pour tea for everyone, to show the "unity of comrades". Vézé pouring tea for Li Hongzhang was just a requirement of the system, not a matter of status.
Although the Kung Fu tea depended on the technique used, the quality of the tea was more important. Li Hongzhang's tea tasted good in Jin Yujun's mouth. Jin Yujun didn't come to drink tea, so he immediately said after putting down the teacup: "This tea is good. Director, I don't know why you don't agree to use Korean currency in your bank. "
Gu Dahe became spirited as soon as he heard this. It was decided by the Party Committee that China's bank in Korea wouldn't use Korean currency. After Gu Dahe described the ridiculous behavior of the Koreans, no one thought that China's bank needed to get involved in the "Korean currency". Gu Dahe was not in charge of foreign affairs. He shut his mouth and looked at Li Hongzhang.
Li Hongzhang poured tea into the teacups as if nothing had happened. He put down the teapot and said with a smile, "Xiaojin, you don't understand our painstaking efforts."
"What painstaking efforts does the kingdom have?" Jin Yujun felt a little guilty after being accused of such a big crime.
"Currency is gold and silver that has changed shape. How can a country's gold and silver be controlled by another country? Goryeo was a vassal state of the Min dynasty, but the Min dynasty was benevolent, so they naturally didn't want to be under the control of Goryeo. We believe that Goryeo will be able to do a good job in the currency department. When the people of Korea see Korean currency coming out of China's banks, they will definitely think that China is profiting from it. It's better to avoid arousing suspicion. "Li Hongzhang's tone was sincere, but it did not lose the dignity of a kingdom. Gu Dahe praised Li Hongzhang's sincerity in his heart. China was sincerely not willing to be responsible for Goryeo's currency.
After listening to Li Hongzhang's words, Jin Yujun said with a smile, "Lord Li, you worry too much. I will order all the places to send out documents to inform the people of Goryeo that our country has entrusted your country's bank to help us issue currency."
"Xiaojin, this is not appropriate." Li Hongzhang waved his hand. "Instead of us issuing currency, it's better for Goryeo to establish its own bank. If the business is simple, Goryeo can quickly get started. We are all officials. If we don't give benefits to our subordinates, if we don't even do anything for them to eat, we won't be able to survive in the officialdom. "
Hearing Li Hongzhang put the fundamental principles of officialdom on the table, Jin Yujun felt a little touched. Lord Li Hongzhang had already spoken from the bottom of his heart. From all angles, he had done his best to help Jin Yujun. However, Jin Yujun was not ready to give up. The rules of officialdom were indeed to give everyone some benefits. However, Jin Yujun felt that the people who stood by and watched when the currency was issued were now making full use of their official positions and positions to take away the benefits of the currency.
Compared to this kind of official interaction, Li Hongzhang's experience was much better than Jin Yujun's. No matter how Jin Yujun described "if China intervenes in this matter, there will be great benefits," Director Li calmly insisted on his principles. "As a kingdom, China doesn't care about these benefits, and we have no intention of getting involved."
After all, Jin Yujun was young. Under the pain of being cut by a blunt knife, he lost his patience and said, "Lord Li, if the kingdom doesn't intervene at this time, we will miss the opportunity to increase our influence on Goryeo!"
Gu Dahe still felt that what he said was reasonable, but he did not expect that Li Hongzhang's face immediately changed. "Jin Yujun!" Li Hongzhang shouted, "Goryeo is a vassal of China. China's influence on Goryeo can be said to determine the fate of Goryeo. Why does China need to intervene in Goryeo? As an official of Goryeo, you should be loyal to Goryeo. What the Min dynasty wants is that the officials of Goryeo are loyal to the Goryeo royal court and that Goryeo is stable. Where did you come up with such nonsense? "
After that, Li Hongzhang got up and said, "See the guests out!" Then he walked away with his hands behind his back, leaving Jin Yujun and his entourage in the living room. Gu Dahe did not expect the situation to change so suddenly. He looked at the stunned Goryeo people, then got up and said to the staff, "See these friends out." After that, Gu Dahe left with Li Hongzhang.
They returned to Li Hongzhang's office. Gu Dahe saw that Li Hongzhang breathed a sigh of relief, sat down and took out a cigarette from the cigarette box. He hurried forward to help Li Hongzhang light the cigarette. Li Hongzhang also gave one to Gu Dahe. As they smoked, Gu Dahe asked, "Old Li, why did you lose your temper?"
Li Hongzhang did not show any anger at this time. He replied with a smile, "Xiao Gu, to deal with such a villain, we have to wait for him to get carried away and hit him in the head. If we let him think that we are also people like him, he will definitely pester us. We have to set rules first, then they will be obedient. "
Gu Dahe had personally witnessed an official struggle, so his words made him feel suddenly enlightened. When he was the vice president of a bank in China, Gu Dahe did not set rules. He blindly compromised when he should not compromise, blindly gave in when he should not, and did not insist on when he should not. That was why he was dragged into the debt quagmire step by step by the local government.
Thinking back, Gu Dahe felt that he was strict when they were chatting, which was completely different from the warm and cordial attitude that Li Hongzhang had when they were chatting. When it was time to shout, Gu Dahe softened and became overcautious. Therefore, the local people took advantage of the situation and dragged Gu Dahe down step by step.
"Then what should we do next?" Gu Dahe asked Li Hongzhang.
This sincere attitude of respect made Li Hongzhang feel very good. Ever since Yan Fu was above Li Hongzhang, the young generation of lively and energetic people showed their ability. Li Hongzhang hoped to be able to reverse this situation. Now, Gu Dahe finally admired Li Hongzhang, which was very good for Li Hongzhang to get more leadership.
"Next, we will follow the Party Committee's arrangements. No matter what, we must not let Korea's notes and our RMB exchange rate be the same. "Li Hongzhang cleverly turned the knowledge he got from Gu Dahe into his own point of view.
Gu Dahe felt relieved. As a professional financial officer, he knew very well the huge difference between Korea's notes and RMB. Forcing two completely different things to be the same was equivalent to waiting for China to suffer losses.
"But should we think of a way to set up a new bank, or turn a bank into a bank that deals in Korea's currency? Xiao Gu, what do you think? "Li Hongzhang continued.
Gu Dahe frowned and thought for a while, and he unconsciously smoked a cigarette that Li Hongzhang passed to him. He said: "Let's set up a new bank. Now that Korea is doing this, it will be unreasonable if we can't deal in Korea's notes. Many Koreans have come to our bank and asked to deposit Korean money. If we really refuse to deposit Korean money, I'm afraid the Korean currency will not survive. But this kind of thing should be discussed with the Koreans. Director Li, you are the best at this. "
Li Hongzhang was waiting for this sentence. He patted Gu Dahe's shoulder and said: "Xiao Gu, you are the best at this. You should come out and say it first. Although I want to help, I need everyone to say something first. How can I say it myself if everyone is not convinced? "
"Director Li, I think you can do it. Let me speak to our comrades. "Gu Dahe heard what Li Hongzhang said was reasonable and immediately said it.
The meeting was more lively than the last time, and a few new Party members joined the meeting. The meeting emphasized the organization's discipline. Don't say what cannot be said, and don't ask what cannot be asked. The meeting began. The Party Committee members first heard about Korea's current situation, and Li Hongzhang rejected the Koreans' request without hesitation.
Yuan Weiting said: "Should we use Korea's currency to pay our employees?"
Yuan Weiting saw everyone's surprised look and added: "Some Korean employees have discussed this privately. I think we should ask them."
Gu Dahe immediately retorted: "No. Then there is the issue of the exchange rate. We can't set an exchange rate for them now. Korea's currency will depreciate very soon. At that time, if the cornered Koreans want us to pay them according to the old exchange rate, we will definitely lose money. "
Yuan Weiting was slightly stunned, but he was quite free and easy. He laughed at himself and said: "If there is really a Korean employee who wants Korea's currency, I will tell him to get lost."
This caused a burst of laughter. Yan Fu did not laugh and said in a serious tone: "The Korean employees we hired, we have to make it clear this time. Our system is the same. We will not change because of the change in Korea. We need to spread this first. "
"Okay! I will arrange it immediately after the meeting. "With Yan Fu's help, Yuan Weiting immediately stopped smiling and replied seriously.
Li Hongzhang looked at these people's behavior and sighed in his heart. They are all smart people!
The meeting continued, and Gu Dahe proposed to set up a new bank that deals in Korea's currency. The Party Committee was a bit confused, and Gu Dahe was the one who was most pessimistic about Korea's currency. Gu Dahe explained: "After Korea's currency is used up, there are two possibilities. One is to abolish the currency, and the other is to grit their teeth and continue. I feel that we can't completely let Korea's currency be used up. Our RMB is also a currency. If the Koreans completely give up on the currency, our RMB will definitely be affected. Moreover, since the RMB won't be used up, they won't think that Korea's currency must be used up. We have to do something about this. "
Everyone asked a lot of questions, and in the end, the Party Committee voted to do this. Under Gu Dahe's recommendation, Li Hongzhang also took over the responsibility of contacting the Korean royal court.
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