"Chairman Li, our crane has been repaired. I personally directed just now to load all the goods you want into the truck. Now the truck has set off!" Liu Wenbin said in a flattering voice on the phone.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Liu!" Li Weidong replied.

"Chairman Li, you are too polite. This was originally our delay. I have to apologize to Chairman Li..." Liu Wenbin apologized sincerely again.

After ending the call, Li Weidong let out a sigh of relief. This trick of pretending to be powerful was indeed very effective.

As a big boss like Li Weidong, it was naturally impossible for him to be stingy enough to travel on the green train. When he was on the phone with Secretary Chen, he deliberately said that he wanted to buy a train ticket just so that Secretary Chen could send a car to pick him up.

Secretary Chen can use his butt to figure out where he can mobilize the vehicles. And for a small city like Xishan City, Office X’s instructions must be completed with all possible strength.

Therefore, Li Weidong only needs to wait for the car to arrive at Xishan Copper, and he can have the effect of pretending to be powerful.

Li Weidong guessed that Liu Wenbin didn't have a deep background and would definitely give in if he was given a scare.

Things were just as Li Weidong expected. This trick was successful. As soon as the Lincoln drove out of Xishan City, Liu Wenbin called and said that it had been shipped. This was much faster than going through Philips.

And after such an incident, even if Liu Wenbin was given great courage, he would not dare to block Li Weidong's supply of goods in the future. This was tantamount to solving the problem once and for all.

After solving the Xishan Copper matter, Li Weidong began to think about reporting to the leader.

At this time, an escort sitting in the front seat of the Lincoln turned around and said, "Chairman Li, there is a thermos in front of you with hot water. If you want to drink tea, I will pour you some water."

The instruction I received is to get you to the capital safely as soon as possible, and the time will be tight, so we will not find a restaurant to eat in the middle of the trip, and we will eat when we stay at night.

But I have prepared some food, including eight-treasure porridge, ham sausage, and boiled eggs. The conditions are a bit simple. If you are hungry, just make do with a few bites."

"Please leave me a can of eight-treasure porridge. I'm not hungry yet. I'll eat it later when I am." Li Weidong replied in an easy-going manner.

"Then I'll keep it all for you!" The other party continued: "If you are tired, take a rest first. Our driver master was transferred from the army. He drove special vehicles when he was in the army. In terms of safety, you

Don't worry."

"Okay, I'll just squint for a while!" Li Weidong leaned back and suddenly realized that the seat in the car was quite comfortable.

"The comfort of this back row is better than that of my Mercedes-Benz!" Li Weidong couldn't help but touch the seat under his buttocks. It was made of genuine leather and had the texture of a sofa.

"The big Lincoln is different. Should I also buy one of these? It's more comfortable to sit in the back!" Li Weidong thought to himself.

In later generations, American luxury brands can only be regarded as second-tier luxury brands, but in the 1980s and 1990s, American luxury brands were definitely first-tier luxury brands.

At that time, the two major American luxury brands, Cadillac and Lincoln, surpassed BBA in terms of luxury.

As far as business cars are concerned, Cadillac's Fleetwood and Lincoln City are superior to the Hutouben and BMW 7 Series.

Cadillac and Lincoln, after all, are the same model as the President of the United States. If it is an extended model, it will be even more business-like!

Although the British Rolls-Royce and Bentley are more luxurious, they don't always feel as domineering as Cadillac or Lincoln when driven out.

After all, it was the most glorious era of the American automobile industry. Cadillac and Lincoln were not so much American luxury car brands as they were symbols of American strength!

Of course, Cadillac and Lincoln at that time were indeed worthy of the word "luxury".

As far as the second-generation Lincoln City that Li Weidong is riding in is concerned, it is really comfortable to ride. Not to mention the large space inside, the leather seats are more comfortable than a sofa.

There is nothing to say in terms of power. Large cars like the United States have at least V8 engines and as many as V12 engines, with a displacement of five or six liters.

This kind of car also really consumes fuel, with a fuel consumption of 25.6 per 100 kilometers. Even in the years when domestic oil prices were cheap, ordinary units could not afford to drive this car.

The driver who was driving was indeed a special vehicle driver in the army. With Lincoln in his hands, he drove quickly and steadily. Li Weidong leaned on the back seat of the car, couldn't help but close his eyes and fell asleep.

…

At noon the next day, Li Weidong arrived in the capital.

After Secretary Chen took Li Weidong to have lunch, he took Li Weidong to a lounge to wait. The leader had many things to do and did not know when he would be able to meet Li Weidong.

After a while, Situ Jian, an old acquaintance, also came to the lounge.

"Academician Situ, you are here too!" Li Weidong quickly stepped forward to say hello.

Situ Jian smiled and nodded, and said at the same time, "I am here to be your translator."

"Translation? Are there any foreign guests today?" Li Weidong looked puzzled, and at the same time he was guessing which country this foreign guest was from.

Li Weidong himself understands English and Japanese. If the foreign guests speak English and Japanese, there is no need for an interpreter.

Those who can come to this occasion are definitely not ordinary foreigners, but all foreign scholars with a little level of proficiency should understand English and do not need a translator.

Seeing the confusion on Li Weidong's face, Situ Jian smiled and explained: "What we are going to talk about this time is economic and financial issues. There are some professional things in it that the leaders may not understand, so I need to explain them in a simple way.

Please explain."

Li Weidong nodded with sudden realization. At this time, he already understood that Situ Jian was here to be the narration voice, and by the way, he would also give some professional advice to the leader.

Just listen to Situ Jian continue to say: "Chairman Li, you are right again this time. Thailand's cancellation of the fixed exchange rate has really caused a chain reaction. Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and other countries have all been affected.

Now it is at least a financial crisis in Southeast Asia. After investigation, it was found that the financial giants on Wall Street were behind it this time. Moreover, these financial giants were very greedy. They only wanted to make money in Southeast Asia, and they even reached out to

Hong Kong Island!”

"I've heard something, it's Soros' Quantum Fund, right?" Li Weidong asked.

Situ Jian nodded: "Yes, that's him! This is the guy we are most wary of right now, but wherever this guy appears, nothing good will happen!

Hong Kong Island is the financial center of Asia and has gathered huge wealth. Now that there are financial problems in East Asia, Wall Street vultures like Soros will definitely not let go of the Hong Kong dollar!"

Li Weidong said: "The linked exchange rate system adopted by Hong Kong Island is still beneficial to currency stability. So I am not worried about the Hong Kong dollar. On the contrary, Hang Seng may face attacks from Soros."

"Hang Seng? Stocks?" Situ Jian immediately asked, "How do you say this?"

Li Weidong smiled slightly, but then asked: "Academician Situ, the method used by international financial speculators to attack Southeast Asia should be currency lending, right?"

Situ Jian nodded: "That's right. But this trick should be useless for the Hong Kong dollar, which uses the linked exchange rate system."

"The linked exchange rate system can also carry out short-term exchange rate operations." Li Weidong added.

Situ Jian smiled contemptuously: "Don't forget, you can still increase the interest rate!"

"That's right, raise interest rates, Academician Situ, you have reached the key point!" Li Weidong sighed, and then reminded: "If interest rates rise, what will happen to the stock market?"

Situ Jian frowned slightly, and then replied: "Interest rates are rising and the stock market is falling. Chairman Li, what you want to say is not a common sense issue, right?"

Li Weidong lowered his voice and said slowly: "Academician Situ, Hang Seng is different from our Shanghai Stock Exchange. Hang Seng is a T+0 transaction, there is no limit limit, and the key is that naked short selling is allowed! The range of operability here

It’s so big!”

Hearing this, Situ Jian's expression instantly froze.

…

During the Asian financial crisis, international financial speculators made money in Southeast Asia by simply using a currency lending routine.

Take the Thai baht as an example. Previously, Thailand adopted a fixed exchange rate, and international financial speculators used the interest difference to conduct arbitrage foreign exchange transactions.

When Thailand abandoned its fixed exchange rate, the Thai baht began to depreciate, and this is when the currency lending method came into play.

International financial speculators will use the US dollars in their hands to borrow Thai baht. If the Thai baht increases in the market, it will depreciate rapidly. After that, the international financial speculators will return the Thai baht in order to make a lot of profits.

For example, 1 US dollar can be exchanged for 10 baht. Later, the Thai baht depreciated and 1 US dollar can be exchanged for 100 baht.

However, when you borrow money, you borrow 10 baht, and when you repay it, you still repay it at 10 baht.

Thailand's finance is completely open, and the Thai baht and the U.S. dollar can be freely exchanged at any time, so for international speculators, if you lend me 1 U.S. dollar, after the Thai baht depreciates, I only need to pay you back 0.1 U.S. dollars. Every time I borrow 1 U.S. dollar from you

, I can earn $0.9.

Since this kind of lending method is to borrow first and then repay, it means that the more you borrow, the more you earn. As long as the currency is still depreciating, then the lending method will always be a sure profit.

International financial speculators used this method to make more than 10 billion US dollars in Thailand and more than 10 billion US dollars in Indonesia.

Using the same means to attack the Hong Kong dollar will not be effective because the Hong Kong dollar uses a linked exchange rate system.

The linked exchange rate system is to fix the exchange rate between the local currency and a specific foreign currency, and to exchange it strictly in accordance with the established exchange ratio. It can also be regarded as a fixed exchange rate system.

The linked exchange rate system was invented by the British. At that time, the British had colonies all over the world, so the British established the linked exchange rate system, linking the currencies of the colonies to the pound exchange rate, and the pound system was established.

The Hong Kong dollar was first pegged to the British pound. Later, when the United States established the U.S. dollar as an international currency through the Bretton Woods system, the Hong Kong dollar began to be pegged to the U.S. dollar at a fixed exchange rate of 7.8 Hong Kong dollars to 1 U.S. dollar.

Under the provisions of this system, when Hong Kong Island issues Hong Kong dollars, it needs to submit equivalent U.S. dollars to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority at a ratio of 7.8 to 1 and enter the accounts of the Exchange Fund.

In other words, for every additional 7.8 Hong Kong dollars issued, you need to deposit 1 US dollar first, which is equivalent to using 1 US dollar to exchange for 7.8 Hong Kong dollars. This ensures a fixed exchange rate between the Hong Kong dollar and the US dollar.

Strictly speaking, Hong Kong dollars cannot be regarded as currency in the true sense, but can only be regarded as vouchers. All Hong Kong dollars also have the words "pay on demand" on them.

Under the linked exchange rate system, if the Hong Kong dollar depreciates, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority will use U.S. dollars to buy back Hong Kong dollars. If the Hong Kong dollar appreciates, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority will release Hong Kong dollars. In short, it is the exchange rate for converting Hong Kong dollars to U.S. dollars.

Stable at 7.8 to 1.

Because of this system, it is useless for international financial speculators to earn price differences through currency lending. As soon as the Hong Kong dollar depreciates, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority will buy it back immediately, so that the exchange rate of the Hong Kong dollar will be stable.

When you borrow, it's 7.8, and when you pay it back, it's still 7.8. Doing lending is a waste of time, and you also lose a wave of interest.

The linked exchange rate system has an automatic adjustment mechanism, which is not easy to be broken by international speculators. However, the linked exchange rate system also has a disadvantage, that is, the automatic adjustment mechanism takes time to complete.

For example, when a currency depreciates, it takes a while to buy back currency in the financial market to support the exchange rate; and when a currency appreciates, it also takes a certain amount of time to release currency in the financial market.

International financial speculators, before launching an attack, will also hoard chips and accumulate bullets, which is equivalent to hitting superior forces and launching a sudden attack.

After all, the defense is a passive party and will definitely not be able to keep up with the pace of the attack. Therefore, when the currency is attacked and the linked exchange rate system is reflecting, it is easy for the exchange rate to rise or fall sharply.

If the exchange rate is unstable and goes up and down like a roller coaster, this will inevitably have a great impact on the entire financial system.

The solution is simple: raise interest rates.
To be continued...