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Text Chapter 655: Conspiracy against the world (4)

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    Five years, $3.8 billion!  The first batch amounted to US$1.2 billion in the first year, and it reached US$2.2 billion in the next two years!  Even the last two years, it's $200 million each year.

    Before 1929, this order would only attract some attention, and then everyone would do whatever they wanted to do. After all, the total export volume of the United States a year at that time was as high as 27 billion U.S. dollars.  But now the total export volume of the United States last year was only 10 billion US dollars, and this year it was expected to drop sharply to 6 billion US dollars!

    No wonder the entire United States is cheering for the signing of the contract.

    You must know that this is just a purchase order from the Chinese central government, nearly half of which will be used for national infrastructure construction.  But after being induced by this government order, how can China's rising large and small enterprises be content to lag behind others?  Besides, even if the economic crisis reduces procurement demand, the demographic factor is always there. Even if Sino-US private trade cannot return to its heyday, at least there will not be a complete ban on imports.

    Shipment, shipment!

    Within a few days after the contract was signed, the oligarchs who learned the news took action one after another. They used their connections to find people and tried their best to contact the members of the Chinese trade delegation closest to them.  The reason is simple, because this is government trade, so the government is only responsible for signing, and the specific procurement details need to be negotiated by the merchants on both sides.

    With Zhou Yu willing to fight and others willing to suffer, the details were negotiated very quickly, and the oligarchs began to load the cargo ships with the machine tools and equipment they needed in the list.  The bankers are even more happy. You know, they were almost crying when faced with thousands of mortgage machines. Now these things have suddenly become popular, why don't they rush to get rid of them!  In order to grab orders, the buy-one-get-one-free scheme was used, and some people even used a honey trap to make Leng Jie, who was buying scientific research equipment, come back with a red face and report that during the purchase, in order to get him to sign an additional order of hundreds of thousands of dollars,  An American company unexpectedly forced two women to spend the night with them.

    Of course, it is impossible to buy all second-hand goods, so many factories that have received orders have recalled workers to work overnight, trying to complete the orders as soon as possible and send them to China to collect payment.  Even the shipping industry seems to have been given a shot in the arm.  3 billion US dollars!  How many trips do you need to make?  The shipowners who sold their ships were so angry that they wanted to rush to the Chesapeake Bay and snatch the ship back from the Continental Shipping Company.

    The news of ending the ban on imports and offering an unprecedented large contract also caused a strong sensation in the world. Special envoys from Britain, France, Germany and Italy immediately rushed to Beijing after the ban was lifted. Even Japan sent a delegation, hoping to strengthen  Sino-Japanese trade.

    The worst thing was undoubtedly the Soviet delegation. Since they were unable to compete for such a large order, they could only watch many new second-hand equipment being stuffed into the fleet bound for China. They could only pick up what others had discarded.  Rubbish Stalin was so angry that he recalled Kuibyshev to the country overnight.

    Sino-US friendship, Sino-US cooperation, Sino-US alliance all the arguments have come out. Even the US Congress has catered to this Chinese style and stated that it will seriously consider canceling it, which once again proves that money can make people push around.  This famous saying.

    But amidst the joy and excitement, some people still maintain a cool head.

    The black Ford sedan stopped at the entrance of the Georgia Hot Springs Sanatorium. Henry Morgenthau Jr. got out of the car and hurried inside with his briefcase under his arm.  The staff all knew the famous chairman of the New York State Agriculture Committee, so they came to a spacious and bright room without any hindrance.

    Under the window of the room, there is a wheelchair parked quietly. In the wheelchair, New York State Governor Franklin Roosevelt is holding a book and reading with gusto. Since he contracted polio, he has come here every year to take vacations to recuperate.  Perhaps he was so absorbed that he didn¡¯t even hear Morgenthau walk in.

    "Franklin."

    "Henry! Hi, when did you come?"

    Roosevelt turned around and saw that it was him. He quickly put down his book and happily pushed his wheelchair over.  Due to his limited mobility, little Henry Morgenthau quickly put down his bag and stepped forward to push up his wheelchair and said, "I just came from New York. Are you feeling better?"

    "Still the same, sit down." Roosevelt was reluctant to talk more about his physical problems. He knew that Henry Morgenthau Jr. must have something to do after coming all the way here, so he asked: "Henry, why did you come to see me?"

    Little Henry Morgenthau nodded, seeing that the weather outside was nice, he pushed his wheelchair and said, "Let's go out for a walk."

    The Georgia Sanatorium is a private sanatorium that occupies a vast area. It is named after the hot springs and attracts many wealthy people to come here for vacation every year.  The park has beautiful scenery and green trees, and it doesn't feel hot even in summer.

    On the boulevard, Henry Morgenthau Jr. told Roosevelt everything that had happened recently. When he learned that China and the United States had reached orders totaling nearly 4 billion U.S. dollars, Hoover also raised tariffs to protect Chinese tea, jute, and raw silk.  WaitAfter the product entered the U.S. market, Roosevelt couldn't help but feel a little moved.

    "The United Kingdom has protested to us, believing that unfair tariffs will cause serious losses to tea farmers in Ceylon and IndiaI calculated that they will lose US$100 million per year in tea alone."  As soon as Henry Morgenthau Jr. finished speaking, Roosevelt snorted coldly from his nose: "Humph, are you protesting now? Have they forgotten the fact that they were the first to raise tariffs after the crisis broke out?"

    Roosevelt, like all Americans, has not forgotten the ugly face of Britain after the crisis broke out.  To be honest, if the UK had not used its huge colonies and tariff barriers to build the pound zone, US exports would not have shrunk to this extent!  Therefore, he supported Hoover's special treatment for Chinese tea and the crackdown on trade in tea and jute between Ceylon and India.  Since the United States cannot produce these things on its own, it might as well exchange trade orders with China.

    Henry Morgenthau Jr. knew him very well and said: "I also support President Hoover on this policy, but the following thing may not be good."

    "Oh? What could make our little Henry worried?" Roosevelt originally wanted to make a joke, but turned around and saw little Henry Morgenthau's serious face. He realized that it must be a big deal, and immediately stopped and asked, "What's going on?"  Something happened?"

    "I heard that President Hoover allowed the Chinese government to exchange 2 billion US dollars of treasury bonds in advance in order to win orders, and was also prepared to accept Yang Qiu's suggestion to allow individuals and countries to freely exchange our country's treasury bonds, but all exchanges can only be settled in U.S. dollars.  , the converted U.S. dollars must be used to purchase Chinese goods and stimulate export trade, and the bill has been prepared to be submitted to Congress for review!" Henry Morgenthau Jr. recounted the contents of the talks he had heard and said worriedly: "I'm worried  , this will lead to the collapse of Europe and will also leave us in the United States with long-term weakness!"

    Roosevelt frowned. It was not a problem for China to exchange its unmatured treasury bonds in advance. After all, China was also in crisis. Although it was the least serious among all countries, it would eventually affect the country's trade.  There is nothing wrong with releasing funds from national debt when there is a lack of foreign exchange, not to mention that all the money has been used to purchase American goods.  On the contrary, he can't understand why Yang Qiu placed such a large order. Isn't he worried about the impact on the country's manufacturing industry?  But he didn't think much about it. Anyway, as long as the money was in the United States, it would be fine. He was a little puzzled by Little Henry's suggestion that free convertibility of national debt would lead to long-term weakness. He asked: "Why? Open the free convertibility of national debt and can only be used for purchases."  Isn¡¯t it a good policy for our country¡¯s products? With money, everyone can consume, factories can start operating, and exports can be increased.¡±

    "It seems like a good idea on the surface." Henry Morgenthau Jr. let go of his wheelchair and walked slowly to Roosevelt.  He was an outlier among the Jews and a devout believer in Keynesian theory. After the crisis broke out, he pointed out that the outdated gold standard should be abolished and devaluation and additional currency issuance should be used to regulate the market. But at that time, panic spread and no one believed his words, and because he was  One of Roosevelt's best friends was inevitably ostracized by the Republican Party and President Hoover, so he couldn't speak at all.

    But when facing Roosevelt, he did not need to hide his clumsiness. He expressed his understanding with a serious face: "But the economic crisis has not yet reached the bottom!"

    "Bottom?"

    Henry Morgenthau Jr. nodded: "Yes, the bottom! Any economy is cyclical. The downward trend of this round of economic crisis has not yet bottomed out. Originally, I thought it should reach the bottom in 2031 or 32, and that's when it will be  To rescue the market. But nowit is particularly stupid to rescue the market during the decline stage, just like a flood can only be channeled but cannot be blocked.

    Although on the surface this is a good idea, because now everyone knows that the crisis is caused by overproduction, deflation and abuse of credit. To solve it, a large amount of liquidity must first be released.  There are two ways to release liquidity. One is to cancel the gold standard and issue a large amount of credit banknotes to flow into the market through government spending and other methods.  The second method is his method of opening up the free exchange of national debt.  Currently, countries around the world hold about 50 billion of our country¡¯s national debt, and the domestic total is about 150 to 160 billion. In theory, if all of the bonds are exchanged and flowed into the market, liquidity will indeed be increased.

    The problem is that the crisis has not yet bottomed out, and even releasing a large amount of funds cannot immediately reverse the downward trend.  Moreover, the number released by free convertibility cannot be that large. This is because the converted dollars are US dollars and can only be used to purchase our goods. This will inevitably lead to increased pressure on the British and French manufacturing industries and make the already tense international market even more pessimistic.  When they need to protect their own industries, it is absolutely impossible for the two of them to exchange the national debt in their hands, which is equivalent to a crushing loss of 40 billion.  Many people in the country will not exchange it, because national debt has a natural ability to maintain value, and they would rather keep it than sell it.

    Calculating it this way, in fact, only 40 to 50 billion can be released at most.  Although it seems like a lot, it will indeed boost exports and consumption in the short term.  But don't forget!  Now is the economic crisisThere are no signs of a turnaround yet. Once this money circulates, I'm afraid I'm afraid more of it will flow into the capital market, driving investment in value-preserving products. The end result is the money just taken out will be used again.  Locking up value-preserving products will also cause the prices of gold, silver and real estate to skyrocket, consuming funds in vain, making it more costly to cancel the gold standard in the future.  "

    Roosevelt understood something. He suddenly thought of another question. He leaned forward with both hands on the armrest and asked, "What do you mean is this a trap deliberately set by Yang Qiu?" I don't blame him for being like this.  Guess, everyone who is interested in competing in the world will not ignore people like Yang Qiu, so he started to study his opponents very early, but the more he studied, the more terrifying he became because he discovered that Yang Qiu used crises and international frictions.  The methods are very helpful and there is almost no fault to be found, so it is not ruled out that he will take the opportunity to trick the United States again this time.

    But Henry Morgenthau Jr. shook his head: "We can't draw such a conclusion now. I heard that Yang Qiu's original suggestion was the same as the method discussed by the two of us, which was to ask President Hoover to abolish the gold standard, but our Mr. President did not  I was willing to cancel, so I came up with this suggestion.¡±

    "Did you guess wrong?" Roosevelt thought secretly, feeling that Yang Qiu would not be so kind.  Because he discovered that Yang Qiu was a pure nationalist at heart and should not give up this opportunity to catch up with the United States and the world.  What's even more strange to him is that since Henry Morgenthau Jr. can see it, why doesn't anyone speak out about such an obvious conspiracy?  Are Mellon and Morgan fools?  Will the consequences of releasing the national debt be seen?

    Henry Morgenthau Jr. twisted his lips and smiled bitterly: "No, they have all seen it, but this is what they want to see most! Don't forget, if you do this, the biggest beneficiaries will actually be them!  Because of their inventory, the bad debts such as machines and equipment that their banks have taken back can be wiped out! Most of this money will eventually flow into their pockets. Secondly, most value-preserving products are related to the financial industry, and our country¡¯s financial industry is all about them  in business, so they'll get richer and richer.

    Roosevelt¡¯s face became increasingly gloomy, and after a long time he asked: ¡°Can you stop Congress from passing this bill?¡±

    "I'm afraid it's difficult, my old friend. You have to know who controls Congress! In their eyes, the crisis is not important. What is important is that it must not change the rules of the game." Henry Morgenthau Jr. waved his hands helplessly, raising his hands  Staring at Roosevelt, he said word by word: "Unless you can become president."

    "No, I want to go back to New York and give it a try." Roosevelt was still unwilling to give in. This did not mean that Yang Qiu wanted to use the contradiction between the United States and Europe to play a conspiracy!  The United States is already like this. If it succeeds again, how will it contain China in the future?

    Seeing his anger, Henry Morgenthau Jr. quickly stopped him: "No! Franklin, listen to me! You can't stop it. Have you forgotten what happened 10 years ago? I'm afraid even Britain can't stop this matter! Because Yang Qiu elected  What a good time. The American people now, like you, hate Britain and France very much! Therefore, this bill will be promoted as the only option for patriotic bailout! If you stop it I'm afraid the election in two years will be  very bad."

    ¡°The election¡­.¡±

    Roosevelt stopped the wheelchair, his mouth moved but he did not speak. He looked at Henry Morgenthau Jr. and slowly frowned.  Ten years ago, he ran around for Wilson's peace plan. As a result, Wilson was defeated and he was implicated in the election failure.  If we go against the trend now, if we operate well, we will be American heroes, but if we operate poorly the election in two years' time may be completely hopeless.

    "Yang Qiu!"

    what can we do about it?  Roosevelt closed his eyes, chewing on the name, and slowly tapped the armrest with his fingers as if thinking about something.

    Henry Morgenthau Jr. understood him. This was a difficult choice for him. If he went back to stop it, he would probably lose the chance to run for president. It would also make Hoover take the risk and choose to cancel the gold standard, thereby truly solving the crisis and becoming an American hero.

    Time seemed to freeze all of a sudden. The sunlight penetrated the shade of the trees and fell on Roosevelt, and the tiny spots of light looked extremely messy.  Neither of them knew how long it had been before the physically disabled governor slowly opened his eyes and said something unrelated.

    "Henry, I heard that someone wants to buy the Northern Maria Islands, and Congress is also discussing the independence of the Philippines. Is that true?"

    "Yes, but"

    Before little Henry Morgenthau understood what he meant, he heard faint words: "If one day, the United States withdraws from the South China Sea, what do you think will happen?"

    Little Henry Morgenthau thought for a while, then suddenly opened his mouth and his eyes were sharp!
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