Hidden Dragon in Qing Dynasty

The currencies of the major European countries were all here. Of course, the most common were sterling and the Gold franc, the largest clearing currency in the world right now.

The neatly stacked bills were stacked in neat piles, each stack was as heavy as a bean curd, and the white paper seals on each stack indicated the amount of money.

"One hundred thousand... Fifty thousand... "One hundred thousand francs …"

"One hundred thousand marks …" "Fifty thousand dollars …"

Bundles of cash were placed in leather cases, and ten soldiers began packing rapidly under the watchful eyes of four French accountants.

Each bundle of banknotes being removed made France's heart ache, especially the face of the one leading the way. The muscles on his face began to tremble, and the pen in his hand started to shake.

In this era, monetary policy was a gold standard in Europe. Although these were all paper money, according to the regulations of the central banks, these money could be converted into gold.

One pound equates to 7.32238 grams of pure gold, one franc to 0.2903225 grams of pure gold, and one dollar to 1.50463 grams of pure gold... These are the laws of the countries fixed by law to exchange ratio, but also support the exchange of paper money and gold.

The Chinese took not boxes of paper, but boxes of gold! How could the French not be pained?

Xiang Ying stood in the middle of the treasury with his hands behind his back. On the surface, it looked like he was monitoring the process of cash delivery but his eyes were darting around, the iron lockers in his surroundings becoming the focal point of his attention.

There was also the brown paper bag on the middle table, which revealed a number of words in English and French that made his heart pound.

As the monetary policies of the various countries in Europe were strictly tied to the gold standard, the exchange rates among the various currencies were still relatively stable. Unless there was an extremely large adjustment in the production of gold and silver or a war, the exchange rates among the currencies rarely changed.

A pound is twenty-five francs, five dollars, twenty marks... Xiang Ying memorized all these exchange rates, so even though there were many types of currencies, clearing them would not be slow.

Very quickly, Chinese soldier brought out four huge luggage cases. The compensation of 3 million francs had already been moved out of Canal Company, and by this time, Canal Company's cash drawer had already been emptied out.

"I'm very sorry, but Counsellor does not know the financial situation of our company this morning. A batch of cash was transferred from the Egyptian headquarters this morning, so we can only provide you with four million francs …"

"The remaining three million shall be promissory notes in the name of the Canal Company … "Can I?"

Xiang Ying closed his eyes and muttered to himself for a dozen or so seconds, "In principle, I could only accept a promissory note of one million. Three million was simply too much.

"How is this possible? Our canal is a river of wealth with gold flowing through it. This little bit of money we can raise for you in a month! No, no, no... It will only take half a month! "

"Haha …" I won't be able to wait for you two for half a month, because once we settle the matters here, we will be leaving Port Said the day after tomorrow at the latest … How about this, you give me collateral! I'll pay you back when the cash comes in. "

"Mortgage? "What collateral do you want …" The four accountants asked in confusion.

"Stock!" I want the shares of the Canal Company... Three million francs' worth of shares, I'll keep it for safekeeping. When the cash will be delivered, when will I return it to you? "

"Stock?" The four Accountants exchanged glances, then retreated to a corner to engage in conversation.

Xiang Ying patiently waited, he knew that the other party would definitely agree to it, because the nineteenth century's stock market was a real name system, and there was a manual delivery system.

That was to say, stocks that had the name of the French Canal Company written on them would become scrap paper in Xiang Ying's hands. Because there was no transfer procedure, Canal Company could not give Xiang Ying a share, and might not even recognize the legitimacy of Xiang Ying's stocks.

Because there was no normal party A and B, and no middleman who had transferred over, Canal Company could completely determine that these shares were obtained illegally. Even a French rogue could declare that the stocks in Xiang Ying's hands were abolished and then print out a new batch of shares.

The four accountants had come to the conclusion that a three-million-franc stock was not much of a problem as collateral. The total value of the canal stock was close to thirty million pounds, worth a full seven hundred and fifty million francs. Even if the Chinese were given three million, it wouldn't pose any threat to the stock.

"Alright! We agree to use stocks as collateral, and we'll give you promissory notes and stocks... " As he said this, the accountants used the keys to open a brand-new iron chest, which was wrapped in kraft paper.

This was the moment Xiang Ying was waiting for. His eyes were like falcons as he stared at the documents in the cupboard and engraved the words on it into his heart.

Although Xiang Ying didn't have photographic memory, the most important thing for Ancient China scholars was to memorize their basic skills.

Xiang Ying's IQ had to be said, although he did not dare to say that he remembered all of these words, he could at least memorize 60% of them.

From the time the cabinet was opened to it being closed, it had only been three minutes, but in these three minutes, Xiang Ying had already memorized a lot of words of value, and he did not dare to waste anymore time, he had to leave this place as soon as possible and write down everything he could remember on the paper.

"Oh!" My God, my appetite is terrible... "My stomach is sick again …"

"Captain, what happened to you?" the soldier beside him asked anxiously.

"I need to go out and get some medicine... Let the Count handle the rest! "I'll leave first …"

The four French accountants did not know what Xiang Ying was up to, but when they heard that a Count was going to pay, they did not care, as long as they could send away these Chinese people, who would come?

Rushing out of Canal Company, before Bing Tai could ask anything, Xiang Ying grabbed a windproof kerosene lamp and squatted in the corner to quickly write down a few words on a piece of paper. No one around him knew what he was doing.

Bing Tai couldn't be bothered to care about this madman, he turned and walked into the Canal Company to pay the final three million that he owed as a Count. Bills would naturally happen very quickly, and in a short while, he walked out with a thick brown paper bag.

"Are you done? "My nerves are out …"

Without waiting for Bing Tai to finish speaking, Xiang Ying threw away the cigarette he had just taken and grabbed his arm. He said softly, "Let's go, we have left the Port Said.

"I know you have doubts in your heart. When we return to the Zhiyuan Warship, I will explain them to you personally!"