How powerful the purchasing power of the pound was at the end of the 19th century can be found in many literary works. In the era of the gold standard, the currency values of various countries were very stable, and there would be no large-scale inflation. On the contrary, deflation very common.
In the famous novel Jane Eyre, the heroine works as a governess at Thornfield Manor, earning only 20 pounds a year including food and accommodation.
Darwin, the author of The Origin of Species, bought himself a large country house with land in his later years, and he only spent more than two thousand pounds.
At that time, the total cost of Wembley Stadium was only more than 70,000 pounds!
The annual salary of an average male employee in London is around one hundred pounds, while that of a female employee is only over fifty pounds.
In such a comparison, the value of the 30 million pounds invested by Xiao Letian is extremely shocking!
If we convert it again, according to the exchange rate of one pound to four taels of customs clearance silver at that time, Xiao Letian spent a total of 120 million taels of silver for this war gamble.
How could Xiao Letian have so much money? I am afraid that no one in the Qing Dynasty can figure this out. People who do not have a true understanding of the modern financial system cannot understand it at all. For the confused Qing people, the series of financial tricks played by Xiao Letian are completely unfamiliar. of.
The Chinese are an independent country. Even the United Kingdom has recognized this. Since it is a country, it must have the right to tax. And the areas controlled by the Chinese have very developed commerce and have sufficient fiscal surpluses.
What's more important is that the Chinese also controlled half of the banknote printing in the Qing Dynasty, and this banknote adopted two measures: silver standard and tax protection as double insurance.
Paper money can be exchanged for silver and can also be used to pay taxes. In this way, the people have no resistance to paper money. When confidence in paper money increases, Xiao Letian will quietly add water to it.
The so-called watering down means issuing banknotes that far exceed your silver inventory. This is diluting the wealth of the people of the Qing Dynasty.
For example, when Xiao Letian had 100 million taels of physical silver in stock in the treasury, he dared to print banknotes worth 150 million taels of silver.
Theoretically speaking, once there is a run on the people and all the paper money is exchanged for silver, Xiao Letian will be unable to exchange it, but this kind of run generally does not happen.
The extra 50 million taels of silver banknotes are the wealth that Xiao Letian has taken away from the people. He can use these banknotes to purchase private supplies at will, and then transport them to the world to make high profits.
The economy of the Qing Dynasty was too large and the population was too large. Xiao Letian drained tens of millions of taels of silver from this economy every year, which could not affect the stability of society at all!
People will only feel that prices have increased partially, but it is definitely an increase that can be tolerated. This is like boiling a frog in warm water!
The fiscal surplus of the treasury and the depletion of paper currency inflation are not all Xiao Letian's means of making money. There are many other ways to make money.
Xiao Letian has industrial interests in his hands. The Yinlong Project is ultimately a Yinlong chaebol. All Chinese nobles hold shares in this chaebol. This is an economic community.
This chaebol wants to make money. They penetrate into the Chinese business field through various methods such as share exchange, direct investment, indirect investment... and the annual profit from the Hidden Dragon Project is also a large amount.
Then there is the stock market. The famous Southern God of Wealth on both sides of the Yangtze River is now not just Hu Xueyan. Mr. Liu Henzhen, who was promoted by Xiao Letian, has become the first top God of Wealth to hold the top spot.
The Suzhou Exchange, Asia's largest stock market, is the territory he controls, and he siphons off countless wealth from Xiao Letian every year.
One hundred and twenty million taels of silver!
At that time, the Qing Dynasty, coupled with the customs revenue controlled by Hurd, could only earn 30 to 40 million taels of silver per year. This was also thanks to the fall in the price of silver in the international market and the great discovery of silver mines in North and South America!
The fiscal revenue of the Qing Dynasty for three years became a bargaining chip for Xiao Letian's huge gamble. If the princes in the Manchu court knew about such a large sum, I really don't know how they should feel.
What's even more terrible is that these two hundred and twenty million taels of silver were doubled just through the Battle of Walter and the Battle of Spicilling Heights, these two bloody battles!
Two hundred and forty million taels of silver, this is what Xiao Letian got in return just one month after the war started!
But Fangguan's ambition is even stronger. She actually wants to earn twice as much. She wants to turn thirty million pounds into one hundred million pounds. She wants the head of state to return home with 400 million taels of silver!
With these 400 million taels of silver at the bottom, there is hope for the dark blue navy of Xiao Letian's dream!
Dreams are great, but the process is definitely tortuous. Not all financial markets are crazy, and there are many calm investors.
The area around the Bank of England has been crowded with enthusiastic investors, but that's not all. At least 60% of investors are still waiting and watching.
In the Prime Minister's residence in Downing Street, Prime Minister Gladstone, Crown Prince Edward, and the Duke of Newcastle were all gathered together, all analyzing the battle situation in front of them with weird expressions.
There was silence in the study room. After two glasses of whiskey, the Duke opened his mouth. "The Prime Minister invited us here today. Is it for a mute meeting? What is there to think about? Xiao Letian is our friend, and the Prussians are the queens." Our relatives, if they win the war, will it do any harm to us?"
Crown Prince Edward put down his wine glass and sighed, "I didn't expect it. I never expected that this war would start so quickly!"
"Before, I was worried that my sister and brother-in-law would suffer losses in this war. I also used the influence of the royal family to help them raise funds in the financial market..."
"But...but how come France was beaten into dough in just such a short time? This is too much to be beaten..."
"Duke, it's not that I don't want Prussia to win, I don't want them to win wildly!"
Mainland China’s policy of checks and balances, again China’s policy of checks and balances! This has become the national policy of the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom will never hope that a strong person can stand up in the face of the European continent.
Britain would like to see France fail, but what he would rather see is France and Prussia both suffering losses, or preferably a tragic victory for Prussia!
Gladstone definitely knew this well. He said with a smile, "I don't think this war will go so smoothly. Although the French Emperor suffered two defeats, his vitality has not been harmed..."
"Intelligence reality shows that the French side has only reduced its personnel by only more than 10,000 people so far, less than 20,000. This loss is just drizzle for France..."
"The King of France has nearly 300,000 professional legions in his hands. This loss is still bearable!"
"And now that France is fighting in mainland France, theoretically they will have countless sources of troops, and Prussia will have more and more difficulty fighting!"
"Look at the current financial market. Although Prussia's stocks have doubled, most investors have not made any moves..."
“Otherwise, it won’t be enough to triple it!”
