At Tianjin Nankai University, a mysterious black car slowly drove into the campus, and then parked in front of the office building where He Lian, dean of the School of Economic Studies of Nankai University, is located.
Because it was now class time, not many people noticed the car in the small courtyard of Nuo University.
The car stopped, and a slightly stout middle-aged man wearing a top hat slowly got out of the car and walked into the office building under the protection of two guards. At this moment, if you walk in and take a look, you will find that the man wearing a top hat is not an ordinary person, but Yan Xishan, who once had the power to control the wind and rain in Shanxi Province and is now the mayor of Beijing.
Yan Xishan came to Nankai University from a simple car with only one ultimate goal: He Lian, currently the dean of the School of Economic Research of Nankai University.
Walking into He Lian's office, He Lian, who was lying on his desk and struggling to write something, was obviously taken aback. With a puzzled look on his face, he asked: "I don't know if you are why do you come to my office"
Yan Xishan did not answer immediately, but asked with a smile: "I wonder if you are Dean He Lianhe"
Seeing that the other party had no ill intentions, He Lian readily admitted: "I am the He Lian you are looking for. I didn't know who you were."
¡°My dear, Yan Xishan, I have been yearning for Dean He Lian and Dean He¡¯s economic theories for a long time. I came here to visit you today Dean He won¡¯t blame me for coming too suddenly¡± Yan Xishan replied with a smile.
"Yan Xishan" He Lian's calm expression suddenly changed, and he quickly walked out of his seat and said to Yan Xishan with a look of fear.
"It turns out to be Mayor Yan Hello, Mayor Yan, I wonder what Mayor Yan has learned from his visit to Nankai University"
Yan Xishan waved his hand and said: "Don't call me Mayor Yan Mayor Yan. It's already calling me a student. As far as I know, we are about the same age. Just call me Brother Baichuan. As for me, Yan Xishan , I¡¯ll call you Brother Quelian, and let¡¯s ignore the official position, what about"
Although Yan Xishan has a military background, because of his long career in internal affairs, he often has very different views on domestic economic development. As for He Lian, although he was an economist by training. However, all he had was economic theory and no practical experience.
Therefore, when the two were combined, it took only ten minutes for the two of them to have a thorough chat about domestic economic development like a pair of old friends.
After a good chat. Yan Xishan was the first to break the topic and asked He Lian: "Brother Que Lian, being the dean of the School of Economics and educating children can give full play to your strengths in economics. But I think that any economics requires certain practical experience as a guide. Therefore, you should go out more"
As the vice chairman of the coalition government and mayor of Beijing, Yan Xishan, such an important figure, no matter how much he admires himself, would not take the initiative to go to his office and call himself brother.
Regarding this point, He Lian is still very self-aware.
so. After hearing what Yan Xishan said, He Lian immediately understood. The other party plans to invite him to serve as an official.
By personally inviting yourself as the vice chairman, you can feel that the other party values ??you. Under Yan Xishan's gaze, He Lian asked directly without any pretense.
"I don't know what Brother Baichuan means when he talks about going out for a walk"
Yan Xishan smiled and said without hesitation: "Brother Que Lian, I won't hide it here. In addition to admiring Brother Que Lian's economic theory, I also learned from Commander-in-Chief Li of the National Defense Force and the Chairman Li of the coalition government has both entrusted you to invite you to serve in the coalition government and contribute to China's economic development"
As a talent who once left a great name in China¡¯s economic history, He Lian has none of the pretentiousness and hypocrisy of the literati of the Republic of China. I heard Yan Xishan tell the truth, and he had already had the idea of ??becoming an official, but no one recommended him. He Lian asked Yan Xishan after only half a minute of silence.
"Brother Baichuan, I want to know the specific position that the coalition government has asked me to takeAlthough I have a certain reputation in the economic community, I don't have any experience in timing, and I'm worried that I won't be qualified for this position."
He Lian did not directly express his refusal, which means he agreed.
Yan Xishan, who quickly flashed a smile on his face, replied decisively: "Brother Que Lian, don't worry, you are definitely qualified for the position assigned to you by Commander-in-Chief Li and Chairman Li, and you can still use your talents"
¡°This position is the Minister of Finance of the United Government and the first Governor of the People¡¯s Bank of China.¡±
He Lian was not surprised by the position of Minister of Finance. Considering his status in the economic circle, even if he could not serve as Minister, he would still be able to serve as Deputy Minister.
However, for the so-called ChineseHe Lian was puzzled by the position of the first president of the People's Bank of China.
In my understanding of China¡¯s economy, there is no such thing as the People¡¯s Bank of China.
¡°Could it be thatcould it be that the National Defense Force was planning to set up a bank completely under its own control He Lian, who looked puzzled, immediately thought of this possibility.
With a face full of doubts, he asked directly: "Brother Baichuan, is it possible that the coalition government plans to form a bank to fight in separate chambers with the Central Bank of the National Government"
"Yes, we must not only establish the People's Bank of China, but also issue banknotes that are stronger and more valuable than legal tender" Yan Xishan said proudly, his words full of confidence
At the welcome banquet for He Lian in Shenyang, where the coalition government is located, not only government chairman Li Zongren and vice chairman Yan Xishan were present, but the very busy Li Guosheng also took time to appear at the welcome banquet to express his welcome to He Lian's arrival.
At the end of the banquet, Commander-in-Chief of the National Defense Force Li Guosheng, Government Chairman Li Zongren, Vice Chairman Yan Xishan, and the newly appointed Minister of Finance He Lian all gathered in an office next to the banquet hall to explain to He Lian the establishment of the People's Bank of China. related business.
Now that he has taken over as the Minister of Finance, He Lian no longer hesitates and directly asks a question that he has wanted to know since he agreed to be the Minister of Finance.
"Commander-in-Chief, Chairman, if you want to form a bank that can compete with the Nanjing Central Bank, you must have sufficient capital reserves. I want to know how much money the government plans to invest in order to form the People's Bank of China"
"Five million US dollars, I don't know if it is enough. If it is not enough, we can continue to increase" Looking at the economic master in front of him who has left a strong mark in history, Li Guosheng replied with a smile on his face.
"Five million U.S. dollars If Synthetic Dayang is to be synthesized, it will definitely exceed 20 million. This is an unprecedented investment in the entire country Commander-in-Chief, are you sure it is five million U.S. dollars and not five million Dayang ." After a brief shock. He Lian asked Li Guosheng in front of him with a suspicious look on his face.
Li Guosheng nodded and replied in an uncontroversial tone: "You heard it right, it's five million US dollars How about, Minister He, is the investment of five million US dollars enough"
"Enough, enough" He Lian, who got the exact answer, was almost speechless due to excitement.
Facing Li Guosheng, he sighed loudly: "General Manager, I can say for sure. The bank established with five million US dollars is definitely the largest bank in China besides the Nanjing Central Bank"
After saying that, He Lian seemed to have thought of something and continued to ask Li Guosheng: "Chief Executive, according to Chairman Yan, in addition to setting up a bank, we also need to issue our own currency. If five million US dollars are used to establish a Banks are absolutely sufficient. However, they cannot be used to issue currency"
"The reason why the Nanjing Central Bank can issue currency is because it reserves a large amount of silver and issues legal currency based on the silver standard. But we do not. Unless the central bank can obtain a large amount of silver and use this silver as a reserve. Issue it nationwide Currency. Otherwise, the currency we issue is just a pile of waste paper.¡±
Under He Lian's questioning, before Li Guosheng could speak, Li Zongren had already taken the lead and said: "Minister He, you are worrying too much about this issue. You just came to the National Defense Forces and you don't understand the style of our Commander-in-Chief. Our Commander-in-Chief has always been The principle of doing things is not to fight an uncertain battle"
"Since the Commander-in-Chief has said that he will issue a currency that is stronger than legal tender, the Commander-in-Chief has already made relevant preparations. However, what disappoints you is that the currency we issued this time is completely different from that issued by the National Government. Fiat currency¡¡±
"We plan to abandon the silver standard system of the National Government, integrate with the world, and change the banknotes we issue to the gold standard. Only in this way can the banknotes we issue truly go to the world"
As an economist, He Lian is very aware of the huge benefits that the gold standard may bring to the country.
First of all, after the banknotes adopt the gold standard, they can be circulated around the world like the US dollar. Like the legal currency issued by the National Government, it must be exchanged for equivalent gold and silver before flowing out of the country.
Of course, in addition to this, there are countless other benefits
However, because China¡¯s gold reserves are too small and insufficient to issue currency, the government has to abandon the gold standard and adopt the silver standard, giving up these benefits.
Therefore, after hearing Li Zongren's answer for the first time, He Lian's first reaction was disbelief.
In He Lian¡¯s view, when the entire China¡¯s gold reserves are insufficient, even if the National Defense Force has money, it is impossible to have enough gold reserves to issue currency.
Without thinking, he retorted to Li Zongren.??: "Impossible. As far as I know, the entire National Government's gold reserves are only three million taels. It had to adopt the silver standard to issue legal currency because of insufficient gold reserves. Could it be that our National Defense Forces store more gold than the National Government?" , I don¡¯t believe anything you say. After all, the most prosperous provinces in China are still in the hands of the National Government, and the National Government has been in power for more than ten years, and its foundation far exceeds ours"
Li Guosheng waved his hand and said directly: "Minister He, I will disappoint you"
"Our gold reserves not only exceed those of the Nanjing National Government, but are several times that of the Nanjing National Government"
After speaking, he ordered to Li Zongren: "Chairman Li, please tell Minister He the details of the gold reserves in our treasury, so that Minister He can be more confident in establishing the People's Bank of China and issuing our own currency" "
Under He Lian's incredible gaze, Li Zongren replied proudly: "Minister He, in order to form our own bank and issue our own currency, the Commander-in-Chief had already started making preparations when he was the chairman of Shandong Province. ¡±
"After several years of storage, the gold reserves in our vault have reached an astonishing 550 tons. In addition, a total of 2,400 tons of silver are also stored in the vault. However, these 2,400 tons are also stored in the vault. According to the president¡¯s wishes, 1,400 tons of the 1,400 tons of silver will all be exchanged for gold in a short period of time"
"By then, our total gold reserves will exceed 650 tons"
As soon as Li Zongren finished speaking, Li Guosheng added: "In addition, in the next three years, we can also get one hundred tons of gold from abroad every year. Not only that, the Far East we took back from the Soviet Union Although the environment is harsh, there are still several large-scale gold mines that were looted and abandoned by Lao Maozi's troops. If we reuse these gold mines, we can dig out at least fifty tons of gold reserves from the Far East every year .¡±
"That's enough, that's enough" Before Li Guosheng could finish speaking, He Lian, who was still in shock, rushed to answer.
"According to the current exchange rate between gold and the U.S. dollar, 650 tons of gold is equivalent to 650 million U.S. dollars. And the current exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the ocean is 1:4.5. In other words, if we use this gold to issue the same silver dollar Banknotes of the same value can be issued at least 2.925 billion yuan"
"According to my daily research and statistics, among the more than ten provinces occupied by the National Defense Forces, the total amount of silver dollars actually in circulation is only about 2 billion. Unless the commander-in-chief wants inflation to break out in the more than ten provinces occupied by the National Defense Forces. Let the newly issued banknotes devalue, otherwise, we only need to issue two billion banknotes to meet the needs of these more than ten provinces"
"Of course, if the Commander-in-Chief wants the banknotes we issue to replace legal tender little by little and become the real hard currency circulating throughout the country, then the specific number of issuances must be determined"
After hearing this professional answer, Li Guosheng is not good at economics. However, he still nodded in agreement. Because, in later generations of China, not only an ordinary citizen knows what inflation is and what banknote depreciation is, not to mention a senior military talent who masters various advanced technologies.
After a brief reflection, he decisively ordered to He Lian, who was talking eloquently in front of him: "In that case, Minister He, I will leave the people who established the People's Bank of China to you. The manpower and material resources required in the entire preparation process, Please apply all to your Chairman Li. Try to put up a stand for the People's Bank of China within a month."
"Of course, in the process of preparing to establish a bank, you should not forget your other identity: the Minister of Finance of the coalition government. Although the current government revenue is very small, most of the fiscal revenue of each province is retained in the local area for infrastructure construction. , However, in terms of financial approval, the Ministry of Finance must check it carefully."
¡°In addition, the Ministry of Finance also has another important responsibility¡±
"My idea is to collect all taxation rights from all provinces in the occupied area in the next few years. In other words, in the future under the rule of the National Government, local governments will not have any taxation rights. All taxes All will be directly handed over to the government finance through the soon-to-be-formed People's Bank of China to avoid layer upon layer deductions"
¡°For this issue, I hope Minister He can pay attention to it and come up with a plan for us to discuss as soon as possible.¡±
He Lian nodded affirmatively and replied: "Commander-in-Chief, I understand everything you said Centralizing taxation power to the government can not only avoid local government deductions at all levels, increase the coalition government's control over local governments, but also reduce The people bear the burden. More importantly, only when tax revenue goes to the government finances can the government have the money to carry out various large-scale infrastructure construction"
"but, as you just said, the tax power should be returned to the coalition government in a timely manner, and banks also need to control the tax process. Therefore, I will definitely set up the bank framework as soon as possible and strive to open it as soon as possible to promote China's economic development"
After He Lian left the office with expectations for the future, Li Zongren suddenly let out a hearty smile.
Seeing Li Guosheng quickly surrendering his puzzled look, Li Zongren explained with excitement: "Chief Commander, tell me, what would Nanjing Chiang Kai-shek think if he knew that we were about to establish the People's Bank of China "
"It goes without saying that he will be so angry that he will vomit blood" Yan Xishan, who had been suppressed by Chiang Kai-shek for the first half of his life and was unable to display his talents at all, seemed to have found a punching bag and followed closely behind him.
Then, he said to Li Guosheng: "General Manager, if nothing else, there will be an opening ceremony when the bank opens, and a large number of reporters will be invited to promote it. As the vice chairman of the government, I took the initiative to come and represent our coalition government. Preside over the opening of the bank, fight against the Nanjing National Government on the economic front, and make Chiang Kai-shek angry."
Of course Li Guosheng would not refuse. Similarly, Li Guosheng, who had been kicked in the back by Chiang Kai-shek many times, also wanted to see Chiang Kai-shek defeated. Without thinking, he agreed: "Okay"
"But I guess that no matter how angry Chiang Kai-shek is by then, he won't have the energy to take care of these small things"
"Our war with the Soviet Far East Army is over. Although the results have not been announced, with the veteran's methods, we can definitely get the result. When he knew that we not only defeated the Soviet Far East Army, but also captured hundreds of thousands of Soviet prisoners of war on the battlefield, What kind of expression will he show"
"It goes without saying that we were once again taken aback by the strong combat effectiveness displayed by our national defense forces. Heavy troops were mobilized from various places to defend the front lines of Shandong and Shanxi to prevent us from taking advantage of the power of victory and continuing to advance southward"
Li Zongren seemed to have let out a breath of bad breath, and shouted loudly with a smile on his face.