In Shenyang City, the former Northeastern Army Headquarters has transformed since the National Defense Forces left the country and became the current National Defense Forces Headquarters. As the territory occupied by the National Defense Forces becomes larger and larger, especially after the establishment of the coalition government. The former Marshal Zhang Xueliang's Mansion, which occupied a large area in the city, became the office of the coalition government.
The study room of Zhang Xueliang, the former commander-in-chief of the Northeastern Army, which has the best location in the Marshal's Mansion, unsurprisingly became the office of Li Zongren, chairman of the coalition government.
At this moment, Li Zongren was looking at Li Mengjie, who could be called his junior, sitting in front of him with a wry smile, without saying a word.
Seeing that Li Zongren, who had married her before, kept staring at her without speaking, Li Mengjie asked with a slight guilt: "Chairman Li, is there something wrong with the commander-in-chief's order"
Li Zongren nodded affirmatively and said with a wry smile: "It's not that there is a problem, but there is a big problem Look at this order given to me by the Commander-in-Chief: Whether it is to cooperate with the General Armament Department to produce new fighter jets, or to Expanding the production capacity of the major arsenals under the General Armament Department Generally speaking, they all require one thing, and that is 'money'"
"Where did you ask me to get so much money and supplies in such a short period of time Colonel Li, to tell you the truth, my position as chairman of the coalition government is very prestigious on the surface, but in fact I have reached the point where 'it's hard for a clever woman to make a meal without rice'. The situation¡¡±
"It's just that because of the sudden invasion of Outer Mongolia by the Soviet Red Army, in order not to distract the Commander-in-Chief, I did not report this series of situations and temporarily tried to solve it internally"
"When I just saw this order, I had already made a calculation in my mind. Based on the current strength of the major arsenals under the General Armament Department, in order to double the overall strength and production capacity of these arsenals, the government must provide these arsenals with Almost $150 million invested."
"Of course, even if 150 million US dollars in funds are obtained, it is still unclear whether the production capacity of these arsenals can be doubled. As far as I know, there are currently three large steel plants in the area under our control. In addition to meeting the current needs of the military industry, the annual production capacity of the factory can just meet the steel needs of a dozen provinces under the government."
"Now the General Assembly requires major arsenals to double their production capacity, which means our demand for steel in the military industry must at least double. In such a short period of time, where can I get so much steel? It is to go abroad. Importing also takes several months"
"Forget it, I won't say any more In short: you two are planning to push me, Li Zongren, to a dead end"
Li Mengjie quickly waved her hand and replied to Li Zongren, who was both an elder and a loyal supporter of her husband: "Chairman Li, how could it be No matter in terms of personal relationship or position, the Commander-in-Chief needs your strength. Support, how can I force you? You are joking"
After speaking, Li Mengjie, who wanted to solve Li Guosheng's troubles, continued to ask: "Chairman Li, as far as I know, in addition to the fiscal revenue of more than ten provinces, the coalition government's annual income also has a large amount of extra income abroad. Such a huge amount How could the government finances be in such a dilemma¡±
Although Li Mengjie only holds the rank of colonel, in terms of rank, she is not considered a high-ranking member of the National Defense Forces at all. However, because of his special status and his military position as colonel and director of the Communications Department of the National Defense Forces Headquarters, Li Mengjie was destined to have access to many secrets that only the top brass of the National Defense Forces knew.
so. Facing Li Mengjie's confused look at him, Li Zongren did not hide anything and answered bluntly: "Don't think about the fiscal revenue of each province. As large-scale infrastructure construction in various provinces begins to roll out, the fiscal revenue of many provinces does not even invest. If you can¡¯t be satisfied, let alone turn it over to the government¡¯s finances.¡±
"As for the income from foreign countries: Although there are 300 million U.S. dollars every year, under the advance arrangement of the Commander-in-Chief, of the 300 million U.S. dollars. Except for 150 million U.S. dollars, it can be directly transferred to the finance for us to use. The remaining 100 million U.S. dollars All fifty million dollars were converted into oil and gold reserves that we urgently needed."
"It must be clear that as the National Defense Forces become more and more mechanized, oil consumption, both military and civilian, will increase significantly. The US$50 million in oil that the government relies on penicillin in exchange for from Europe and the United States every year is gradually insufficient. Under such circumstances, the US$150 million that will ultimately fall on the financial budget will be reduced due to increased purchases of oil from abroad if we cannot find other sources of oil in a short period of time"
"In addition to purchasing the oil we urgently need from Europe and the United States. In order to lay the foundation for the government to issue currency in the future, the remaining US$100 million will be converted into gold abroad and shipped back to the country for storage. According to the current exchange price of one US dollar per gram of gold, we have About one hundred tons of gold reserves can be obtained from European and American countries"
Li MengjieHe did not dwell on this issue anymore and continued to ask Li Zongren: "Chairman Li. Even so, a huge amount of US$150 million flows into the government finance every year With so much money, isn't there any surplus in the government finance? "
Facing Li Mengjie¡¯s suspicious look at him, Li Zongren shook his head first, and then said: "Colonel Li, so far, you have only thought about the government's fiscal revenue, not the government's annual consumption."
"Not to mention anything else, the millions of troops under the National Defense Forces consume 150 million oceans every year just for the military pay and food of the soldiers, which is about 65 million U.S. dollars. Of course, this does not count the hundred The annual equipment consumption and ammunition consumption of the ten thousand-strong army, the war consumption faced after encountering a war, and the consumption of soldiers' casualties and pensions In general, the annual military expenditure required by a million-strong National Defense Force fluctuates around 100 million US dollars ¡±
"In addition to military spending, the government has spent money on a large number of immigrants to the Far East and Outer Mongolia in the past two years. It needs money to build railways to Lake Baikal and Outer Mongolia. It needs money to build various factories If you include all these costs, you can Do you think the remaining $50 million is enough"
Seeing Li Mengjie who was slowly deep in thought in front of him, Li Zongren continued: "There is another point you should pay attention to. The expenditures I just mentioned are only non-wartime expenditures. If we encounter such a big war, our Military spending will also increase significantly as a result."
"As far as the ongoing battle in Outer Mongolia is concerned, tens of millions of dollars will be consumed just for the pensions of the tens of thousands of soldiers who have sacrificed so far. If you add in the consumption of ammunition and equipment, there is no preparation for more than 30 million dollars. Funds simply cannot support the current battle"
At this moment, Li Mengjie, who was deep in thought, finally spoke. With the last glimmer of hope, he asked Li Zongren: "Chairman Li. The government's finances really have no money"
Li Zongren nodded without hesitation and replied: "Not only does he have no money, but he is also in debt"
"However, in order to deal with the sudden outbreak of war in Outer Mongolia, I have taken the initiative and temporarily withheld the 20 million US dollars used for immigration in my hands to slow down the immigration speed and use it to support this war. As for the expansion of the Commander-in-Chief The production capacity of all military factories under the General Armament Department is ordered. The most I can do is to allocate another five million US dollars from other places to expand the weapons production plants most needed on the front line."
After finishing speaking, he ordered to Li Mengjie: "Let's do this. You immediately send a telegram to the Commander-in-Chief to report on the situation here. Let the Commander-in-Chief make the final decision on where to use the five million US dollars in special funds. A military factory.¡±
Under the gaze of Li Zongren. Li Mengjie shook her head decisively to express denial, and said: "Chairman Li, you must not report the government's economic crisis to the chief executive The war on the front line has already made the chief executive very anxious. If this matter is revealed, Not only will it not provide any help to the president, but it will help the Soviets put pressure on the president"
Li Zongren nodded readily and replied: "Okay, I'll listen to you. I won't report to the chief for the time being. However, such a big matter cannot be decided by the two of us. Do you have any good ideas"
"We can find the Chief of Staff. Although the headquarters is no longer in Shenyang, you and the Chief of Staff are both among the top leaders of the National Defense Forces. The decision made by the two of you together must be the best decision" Li Mengjie thought. Without thinking, he pushed Chief of Staff Jiang Baili out.
The National Defense Forces Headquarters is less than one kilometer away from the government offices. After hearing Li Zongren's concerns about the current government finances, Jiang Baili frowned subconsciously.
He did not answer immediately, but asked Li Mengjie in a deep voice: "Colonel Li, are you saying that the Soviet Far East Army that attacked us was not in a hurry to invade Outer Mongolia. Instead, it was on the Sino-Soviet border through this kind of protracted war. , step by step weakening the strength of our national defense force Is this conclusion true"
"Yes. Chief of Staff This is what the chief executive told me personally before I left" Li Mengjie replied.
Jiang Baili nodded silently and analyzed: "In a protracted war, we don't have to worry about light weapons. Because, whether it is the captured Soviet-made weapons or the tens of thousands of semi-automatic rifles stored by the General Armament Department, they are definitely enough for the front line"
"As for heavy weapons, there are some shortcomings Although our National Defense Force has the largest arsenal in Asia. However, after all, there is only one arsenal. According to the current arsenal production capacity, we can only provide one brigade to the front line every week. Fighter planes, a battalion of heavy artillery and a battalion of heavy tanks.¡±
"Even if all these outputs are sent to Outer Mongolia, they will only be able to reach the daily losses on the front line. If consumption continues at this rate, it won't be long before the heavy artillery, tanks, and aircraft on the front line will be exhausted.It will be completely consumed"
Li Zongren asked with a thoughtful look on his face: "Chief of Staff, you mean to invest all five million US dollars in the production of heavy weapons such as heavy artillery, tanks and aircraft"
At this point, Li Zongren changed his subject and asked: "But Chief of Staff, have you considered the issue of relevant raw materials Whether it is heavy artillery, tanks or aircraft, a large amount of special steel is needed. And the National Defense Forces The production capacity of the several major steel plants under control is only that large, and there is simply no excess steel for the military factories to expand their production capacity."
Jiang Baili replied with a helpless look: "With the overall strength being weak, the only thing we can do is to 'tear down the east wall to make up for the west wall' to temporarily allow the National Defense Forces to overcome the current difficulties"
Li Zongren's eyes lit up, and he asked eagerly: "Chief of Staff, how can I dismantle this"
¡°There are two directions in total¡¡± Jiang Baili said firmly.
"First, in a short period of time, the steel needs of ordinary people in several provinces will be reducedSecond, all the special steel that should be invested in major shipyards will be transferred to these major arsenals, and in a short period of time, we will be able to provide Frontline troops produce more heavy weapons."
Li Zongren nodded and said with a wry smile: "In this case, the navy will have complaints However, in order to repel the Soviet attack, local efforts are necessary Chief of Staff, I will go to the general equipment immediately. Minister Fu, turn the decision we just made into reality and increase the production capacity of heavy weapons"
Although Li Zongren and Jiang Baili, the former enemy headquarters of the Outer Mongolia National Defense Force, did not report that the government finances had fallen into an economic crisis. However, through the routine information sent to him by the Intelligence Department every day. Li Guosheng still found some clues.
In addition, the anxious war on the front line basically does not require any tactical level. At least in the next month, the operations department can play the overall coordination role. Li Guosheng, who was on the front line, directly turned his attention to how to obtain large sums of money for the National Defense Forces and solve the government's economic crisis
¡°Use part of the government¡¯s gold reserves to temporarily solve the current economic crisis¡¡± This was Li Guosheng¡¯s first idea.
You must know that through penicillin, a strategic drug, Li Guosheng has exchanged a total of 300 tons of gold reserves from European and American countries.
In addition to the more than 130 tons of gold originally obtained from the treasury of Zhang Xueliang, commander-in-chief of the Northeast Army. More than 2,000 tons of silver and more than 120 tons of private gold reserves were seized from the Japanese Kwantung Army during the entire operation to occupy the three northeastern provinces. Li Guosheng's gold reserves have reached an astonishing 550 tons.
¡° If you include the two thousand tons of silver that can be exchanged for two hundred tons of gold at any time, the gold reserves of the National Defense Forces are 750 tons.
In the eyes of many people, instead of keeping such a huge sum of gold in their hands, it is better to use part of it for emergencies.
But, in Li Guosheng¡¯s view. Not only can the more than 700 tons of gold in hand not be used, but it will continue to increase.
Because, coming from later generations, he clearly knew that in the future international financial market, China would be affected by economic crises many times due to insufficient gold reserves, and the value of the RMB would also depreciate again and again.
More importantly, the U.S. government in later generations relied on its huge gold reserves to make the U.S. dollar the world's currency, and through these gold reserves. Control the economy of many countries in disguise¡.
Therefore, for the future of the entire country and nation, I must not use the gold reserves I have worked so hard to accumulate for temporary needs. Not only that, he also has to find ways to increase his gold reserves.
Since the gold reserves cannot be moved, all Li Guosheng can do is find another way.
¡°Using the old method he used when he first made his fortune, he made money from abroad Li Guosheng immediately thought of it.
However, after several hours of analysis. I have to reject this idea. Because I have almost exhausted all the ways to make money that I can think of. In addition to penicillin and other monopoly drugs that continue to make money for themselves from abroad, there is another way, and that is the foreign stock industry. Use your foresight to make money from stocks.
However, although this money-trapping method is very effective, due to its long-term layout, it cannot achieve any results in a short period of time.
After much deliberation, Li Guosheng had to shift his focus from international to domestic.
In future generations, which industry will be the most profitable and the fastest to make money
Thinking of this question, the first answer in Li Guosheng's mind is the bank with the right to issue currency. In all the countries of later generations, no institution can make money faster than banks. Of course, this bank includes private banks and state-owned banks.
Can I follow the example of the People's Bank of later generations and form a state-owned bank outside the central government in Nanjing that spans all provinces under the control of the National Defense Forces? Through this state-owned bank, more stable new currencies were issued in all provinces under the control of the National Defense Forces, and even war bonds were issued to help the government raise enough funds for the war
After this idea appeared in my mind, a situation that was out of control emerged.
Because, just by issuing new currency to several provinces under the control of the National Defense Forces, banks can obtain very huge benefits from it. Not only that, banks can also, to a certain extent, nationalize gold and silver scattered among ordinary people and turn it into national reserves to avoid the outflow of gold and silver.
In addition to issuing currency, which can be called a golden egg, bank mortgages, banks issuing special war bonds, and even national debt are the best ways to raise funds.
It is certain that once this plan is implemented, the currency issuance in several provinces under the control of the National Defense Forces alone can bring hundreds of millions, or even billions, of fiscal revenue to the National Defense Forces and the government.
With such a huge amount of funds in hand, the government will no longer need to worry about money in the next few years. Of course, after the provinces have invested heavily in infrastructure construction in the past few years, their annual fiscal revenue will also increase significantly. Gradually, there will be excess taxes to pay to the government finances, completely bulging the government's pockets
Of course, before this, there is another problem that must be solved, that is, all the independent fiscal revenue of each province should be included in the government finance, under the direct jurisdiction and collection of the coalition government, and collected by the newly established bank. This can prevent local governments from withholding fiscal revenue to a certain extent, and even avoid corruption and bribery by local government personnel.
Thinking of this, Li Guosheng immediately took out paper and pen and wrote down all the advanced ideas that came to his mind