As time entered October 1918, the whole of Europe finally determined that the war was about to end. Even in the British Legation in China, ten thousand miles away from the battlefield, the same topic was being discussed.

British Minister Jordan's expression revealed a rare anxiety, while the British gentlemen working in banks sitting opposite Jordan had expressions of dejection as if facing the end of the world.

"...Strange diseases are prevalent in Europe and America. No matter how the patients' blood is examined, no abnormal bacteria can be seen inside. Yet people just sicken and die like that, just like a curse! Good God!" The British gentlemen crossed themselves with lingering fear as they spoke of the tragic situation in Europe.

Jordan didn't know why, but he immediately thought of the epidemic prevention He Rui had been implementing for several months. There is a saying in China: after a great disaster, there must be a great epidemic. Entering the 20th century, the Northeast of China had outbreaks of plague and cholera several times. He Rui, the young supreme military and political chief of the Northeast, confidently announced that he would thoroughly solve the epidemic in the Northeast, and his method was strict blockade.

According to Morrison, the epidemic in the Northeast had indeed been brought under control. Moreover, the Chinese side had also increased vaccination. In addition to the smallpox vaccine, they had also obtained a vaccine for tuberculosis from an unknown laboratory in France.

Perhaps because he had become He Rui's Director of the Investment Promotion Bureau, Morrison was quite appreciative of He Rui's epidemic prevention work in the Northeast...

"...Your Excellency Jordan, there is a result regarding the matter you entrusted to us." The words of the banking gentlemen interrupted Jordan's wandering thoughts, and he quickly looked at the gentlemen. The gentlemen continued to ask, "Your Excellency, do you think Your Excellency He Rui can understand the request you put forward?"

Jordan had originally considered returning to Britain for retirement after the end of the European war. He was 76 years old; as the Chinese saying goes, fallen leaves return to their roots. Jordan indeed wanted to return to the hometown he hadn't been back to for decades to enjoy his old age.

Hearing about the mysterious epidemic prevalent in Europe with a huge number of deaths, Jordan decided to stay in China for a while longer and return to Europe after the epidemic ended. The considerable amount of time in between was enough for Jordan to do some things very beneficial to him. So Jordan answered confidently, "I will make General He understand these things, and I also believe General He will accept such a suggestion."

Seeing Jordan so confident, the gentlemen didn't say more. Ten days later, Jordan and his party finished their seven-day quarantine observation, left the epidemic prevention station in Fengtian, and were invited into He Rui's office.

Jordan didn't act as the main lobbyist but introduced these British gentlemen working in the banking industry to He Rui. In the European diplomatic corps in the Dongjiaomin Quarter, the young Chinese warlord He Rui was highly rated and considered the most Europeanized Chinese power holder. So the British gentlemen, wearing British top hats, took them off after seeing He Rui.

He Rui also elegantly expressed his welcome to the gentlemen. The gentlemen wanted to know very much if this reportedly most Europeanized local Chinese warlord was as rumored, so they got straight to the point. "We heard that Your Excellency is seeking collateral for Northeast Bank notes. We wonder how much Your Excellency knows about the pound sterling?"

After the waiter brought black tea, milk, and sugar, He Rui replied, "I know the pound was on the gold standard before the war and could be exchanged directly for gold. During the war, the pound was delinked from gold. Do you gentlemen already have news that the pound will return to the gold standard?"

The British banking gentlemen were very satisfied with He Rui's answer. It wasn't that no one among China's power holders knew the pound was on the gold standard, but He Rui truly understood British monetary policy and international trade. With such a knowledge base, things could continue to be discussed. "We suggest Your Excellency use the pound as collateral for the Northeast currency; this will be very beneficial to Your Excellency."

After making the suggestion, the few people waited for He Rui to ask questions. He Rui indeed asked a question. "The war is about to end. Britain borrowed a huge amount of debt during the war, especially from the United States. I don't know if the U.S. government will exchange a large amount of gold from the Bank of England and transport it away. If that happens, will the gold content of the pound be greatly affected?"

Hearing this, Minister Jordan picked up his black tea and sipped it slowly. The question He Rui raised already matched Jordan's praise of He Rui in front of the banking circle. As for those specific questions, let this group worry about them. Jordan himself had already gotten rid of the trouble.

Sure enough, the banking gentlemen began to explain to He Rui, the content of which exceeded the scope of Jordan's understanding. He Rui listened quietly. When the banking gentlemen finished speaking, He Rui asked, "If things indeed develop as you gentlemen predict, then our side must become an offshore pound settlement center. Using the pound as a reserve, our side must obtain another power: to become the pound settlement center for the entire Northeast Asian region, or even the entire North China. Which banks do you represent in making this proposal?"

Jordan couldn't understand the meaning of these words anymore. This was not because Minister Jordan lacked knowledge, but based on the characteristics of the language itself. English is different from Chinese; in Chinese, one can guess the meaning from the characters, but English is just simple words. When old words cannot satisfy the description of new things, new words are added. These constantly increasing words lead to the fact that mastering three thousand Chinese characters is enough to cope with the vast majority of textual needs, while mastering thirty thousand English words might not achieve the same purpose.

The banking system has many words belonging to itself, and Minister Jordan really didn't know what they meant.

The banking gentlemen originally held no illusions about He Rui. At this moment, they couldn't help but exchange glances, seeing surprise and joy in each other's eyes.

The reason for coming to the Northeast initially was simple: these guys felt they were bringing benefits to He Rui. The reason for dragging Minister Jordan along was naturally to use Minister Jordan's official status to pressure He Rui. In return, once Minister Jordan could make Northeast China use the pound as currency collateral, Minister Jordan could be promoted at least one level after returning to his country; rising two levels wasn't impossible either.

At the beginning of the negotiation with He Rui, the banking gentlemen became increasingly happy; He Rui knowing some financial knowledge was actually conducive to persuading him to accept the pound. The happy negotiation proceeded until He Rui casually talked about an 'offshore pound settlement center', and the gentlemen were truly startled. It turned out that the Chinese warlord chieftain opposite not only understood finance but really understood finance.

A settlement center has a huge function; pound operations in the region would operate centered on the bank controlled by He Rui. While He Rui would certainly bear many risks, he would also collect handling fees for bearing the risks. Moreover, He Rui could control the flow of funds, understand the operation of the pound, and provide lending services; this was huge power in the financial world.

Since He Rui raising this request completely exceeded the British gentlemen's expectations, the crowd asked respectfully, "Does Your Excellency's banking industry have such talent?"

"No," He Rui answered crisply and neatly.

The British gentlemen couldn't help but reveal smiles with complex meanings. There was a sense of 'as expected', a little ridicule, and also considerable respect for He Rui's own frankness and boldness.

The meeting ended normally without any result, which was something everyone could have imagined. If settlement business could be achieved so simply, wouldn't the accumulation of the British Empire over hundreds of years be meaningless?

He Rui sent the British away and said to the confused comrades around him, "Tell the French Consul that Britain wants us to use the pound as currency collateral."

Not even waiting for the next day, that very evening, the French Consul in Fengtian personally asked for a meeting. Upon seeing He Rui, the French Consul spoke urgently, "Your Excellency, our franc is by no means inferior to the pound. If you can relax a bit on epidemic prevention, people arriving the day after tomorrow can discuss with Your Excellency about using the franc as collateral for the Northeast currency!"

"Our epidemic prevention policy cannot be changed," He Rui smiled.

Seeing the French Consul looking troubled, He Rui smiled, "But making a phone call from inside the quarantine station is always possible."

The French Consul immediately revealed a smile. "Apologies for disturbing Your Excellency's rest; I will take my leave."

At the Internal People's Party meeting the next day, He Rui informed the leading cadres of this matter and requested the personnel departments of all units to recommend reliable and capable comrades to prepare for banking and financial training.

Even Wu Youping was shocked by this arrangement. Although the Wu family hadn't engaged in the financial industry, they knew the importance of exchange. When the comrades saw Zheng Silang, a soldier, talking back and forth with He Rui and Wu Youping, they were even more surprised.

Zheng Silang was considered to have made mistakes; after returning from Mongolia, he was assigned to the Tractor Manufacturing Plant as a 'military representative'. Many people thought this was He Rui preparing to temper Zheng Silang, but they hadn't expected Zheng Silang to even understand bank settlement, a rather obscure job.

Seeing everyone's expressions, Zheng Silang smiled heartily. "My family ran the Zhuyou Security Escort Agency; we had to do these things anyway. I didn't expect the international settlement center to be quite similar to an escort agency."

The comrades hadn't expected this to be family-inherited knowledge, and someone couldn't help asking, "Did the Chairman's family also do this?"

He Rui didn't answer this silly question but answered Wu Youping's question from just now. "Comrade Wu Youping, I don't intend to introduce Britain and France to compete together. If we try to speculate from it, we'll probably fail to steal the chicken and lose the rice. A big reason I use pounds and francs as Northeast currency collateral lies in the fact that we originally need trade settlement anyway. Although trade volume with Britain and France has plummeted recently, it doesn't mean trade will continue like this in the future. If currency settlement ultimately falls into the hands of other countries, just the handling fees will be a large sum of money."

Facing a problem he didn't understand, Wu Youping wasn't willing to continue the discussion either. Finally, the comrades expressed, "We will listen to the Chairman for everything."

He Rui knew this was probably the only way at this stage, so he warned everyone, "We lack talent in this area, so we must hire some foreign experts to work for a period of time. Everyone must be mentally prepared."

As He Rui expected, the youths' faces turned very ugly; letting foreigners control China's banks triggered many bad imaginations. He Rui continued, "These people are our employees, not people sent by some foreign government. Managing these people is just like managing the German, Austro-Hungarian, and Russian worker prisoners."

After recovering the Chinese Eastern Railway, the Northeast Army captured a large number of Russians. Previously, the Beiyang government also held some German and Austro-Hungarian prisoners. Beiyang initially just fed them, but He Rui asked for the German and Austro-Hungarian prisoners and arranged work for them.

Now under He Rui, besides British and French people like Morrison serving as officials, there were also a group of prisoners serving as various laborers. In a sense, this quite satisfied the feelings of the young comrades.

Seeing everyone's expressions improve a bit, He Rui continued, "Tell the German and Austro-Hungarian prisoners that the war is about to end, and they can prepare to return to their countries."