Chapter 68: New Coins and Stink Bugs

  In a few days, it will be the New Year's Day. Most government departments have been closed for holidays, and even the prime minister's office is not as busy as usual. Song Jiaoren, who has been busy for half a year, finally has some rare time to rest.

  Similarly, this is the first New Year that Fang Zida has spent after returning to China. As he felt the approaching festive atmosphere, Fang Zida couldn't help but sigh with emotion. However, on the eve of the Lunar New Year's Eve, instead of staying at home to prepare for a peaceful celebration, Fang Zida took a wooden box and went to visit Song Jiaoren.

  "Zheng Ming, you're not here to give me a gift, are you?" Song Jiao-ren, who was entertaining friends in the living room, was delighted to see Fang Zi-da arrive, but upon catching sight of the wooden box in his hand, he couldn't help but furrow his brow.

  Fang Zida burst out laughing and pushed the wooden box into Song Jiren's arms: "That's right, it's a gift! Take a good look, this is a big gift! What antiques, treasures are not comparable to this thing? Borrowing the festive atmosphere of the New Year, I'll give it to you in advance. Say, how will you thank me, Premier?"

  Song Jiaoren was taken aback and suddenly laughed. Since Fang Zidao said so, how could he not guess what was in the box? He hurriedly beckoned everyone to come over and take a look.

  The two of them were talking in a low voice, and the bystanders looked at each other in confusion, not understanding what was going on. Only Liao Zhongkai and Tang Shaoyi, who knew a thing or two, seemed to have thought of something and hurried over.

  Slowly opening the wooden box, a silver light flashed, and inside were placed coins of different sizes, exquisitely made.

  "Is this newly minted coin?"

  "Right, the sample was just sent over this afternoon. How is it? Not bad, huh?" Fang Zida asked with a smile.

  Carefully taking one out, under the lamp light, Tang Shaoyi couldn't help but exclaim: "Beautiful, truly beautiful! It's been three years since the Republic of China was established, and finally our country has its own currency! Meng Ming, your achievement is great!"

  Everyone stretched their heads to take a closer look, and they all murmured in admiration. Indeed, as Tang Shaoyi said, this batch of coins was really too beautiful, each one placed on the red velvet-lined wooden box, arranged from large to small in three rows, looking especially exquisite and eye-catching.

  This batch of silver dollars and subsidiary coins took Fang Zida a lot of thought, from design to processing, the whole process was supervised, and it was finally cast out just before the Spring Festival, and someone sent them to Beijing for the first time.

  The obverse of the coin features a side portrait of Yuan Shikai, the head of state, wearing a military uniform, with the year of casting marked above and the Central Bank of China logo below. The reverse features an olive branch wreath, with the denomination in the center, and intricate floral patterns along the edges on both sides, shining brightly in silver light, making it hard to put down once picked up.

  Among them, the largest denomination of silver coins is one yuan, followed by five jiao, two jiao and one jiao. The auxiliary silver coins are reduced in weight and size according to their denominations. The angle coins are cast in a 16-sided shape, and their patterns and decorations also differ slightly from those of the one-yuan silver coin for distinction.

  Next are the fen coins, which are divided into three categories: wu fen, er fen and yi fen. Unlike the yuan and jiao silver coins, the fen coins use a nickel-silver alloy craftsmanship. Although they do not have the same luster as silver coins, they are also exceptionally exquisite and compact. As for the last row in the box, there are three auxiliary milli-coins. The milli-coins are mainly made of copper-nickel alloy, with a value of one cent, and are the same size as the fen coins. They will be used to directly replace the various copper coins currently circulating on the market. It can be said that these minted coins will be China's main currency for a long time.

  Holding the silver coin and tapping it lightly, a long and clear humming sound was heard. Song Jiaoren smiled and nodded repeatedly, unable to help but ask: "This white silver content is very high! Deng Ming, how much silver does this one-yuan coin contain? How is your central bank's exchange preparation?"

  "One yuan silver coin weighs 26 grams, cast in a ratio of nine silver to one copper, which means it contains 23.4 grams of pure silver. The value of other silver coins will decrease accordingly based on the one-yuan coin standard. As for its value, the central bank has made preparations and will announce a standard exchange rate when the time comes. After formal issuance, whether it is private silver or current copper coins, or foreign silver dollars, etc., they can be exchanged directly at the bank according to the exchange table. At the same time, the foreign exchange system with Western countries will also be announced, and the specific details will be known after the new year."

  The other party's answer was still very satisfactory to Song Jiaoren, who smiled and nodded, playing with the silver coin in his hand, and asked casually: "Has this good news been reported to the President?"

  "The samples were sent in two batches. Si Zhen was just about to head back to her hometown, so she took the other batch with her." Fang Zi Da replied with a smile.

  "Haha, Zhēng Míng is indeed a two-headed snake! Wu Jǐng Biān chuckled and teased: "You should spend more time with your new bride, you should go to the Presidential Palace together to report the good news. After all, everyone here is on our side, why are you in such a hurry to come over? Aren't you afraid of your father-in-law scolding you?"

  What's wrong with Wu Jinglian? An originally happy event was made unpleasant by his sarcastic comment, and for a moment, everyone felt embarrassed.

  Tang Shaoyi hastily interjected with a laugh, explaining to Fang Zidao that the Yuan family had an old rule in Xiangcheng: new sons-in-law were not allowed to visit until after New Year's Day, and must wait until the second day of the Lunar New Year to pay their respects. Fang Zidao was also following this rule of the Yuan family.

  Everyone suddenly realized and nodded in agreement, as for whether the Yuan family really had this rule or not, no one pursued it. At least Fang Zida himself understood that he had never heard of this rule before.

  "What the hell, have I offended you or something?" He felt very depressed in his heart. Wu Jinglian and he didn't usually have much to do with each other, except for a few times when they met, both sides had no intersection at all, what was going on?

  One mouthful of stagnant air didn't dissipate even after Wu Jingrui and the others left, Tang Shaoyi, who knew Fang Zida's thoughts, quietly pulled him aside and told him with a smile that Wu Jingrui was a man of romantic nature but narrow-minded and fond of saving face. He had once fought with a certain congressman on the spot for drinking flower wine and competing for favor, and had chased and beaten another congressman who was jealous and resentful out of the house for 50 taels of silver, almost causing a big disturbance. Since Fang Zida married Yuan Sizhen, Wu Jingrui felt that Fang Zida was not pleasing to the eye, simply put, it was jealousy at work.

  There was another thing that Fang Zidao did not know until today, when he learned from Tang Shaoyi that Wu Jinglian's ancestors were very famous, and his ancestors were actually Wu Sangui. He didn't learn other things from his ancestor Wu Sangui, but the temper of rushing to the crown for a beauty was learned thoroughly, which had long been passed down as an interesting story among acquaintances.

  Fang Zidao was speechless with laughter and shook his head repeatedly.

  The foreigners have left, and Fang Zidao and Tang Shaoyi entered Song Jiaoren's study directly. As Fang Zidao will be heading south after the festival, many things still need to be discussed and arrangements made.

  Fang Zidao is most concerned about the formulation of laws in Congress, which cannot be relied upon, and nothing can be done. In response, Song Jiaoren reassures Fang Zidao that as Premier, he is also very concerned about legal matters and will definitely keep an eye on Congress to quickly produce various draft laws. However, his concerns differ slightly from those of Fang Zidao. Song Jiaoren is worried about the reform of the national defense army. As Premier, he naturally supports the construction of the national military, but the situation in the south is different from that in the north. After the Second Revolution, the KMT's southern forces are stronger than those of the Revolutionary Party, but some people within the Revolutionary Party still hold considerable power, making it difficult to reform the national defense army and separate military and political powers.

  "The key is not below, but on the side of Tuan Chih-yueh and President Yuan. "The pain of parturition is unavoidable," said Fang Tzu-ta with a confident air. "It is just like an illness; if one takes medicine or undergoes an operation early, although it may be painful for a time, yet in the end the patient will recover and be healthy again. If, on account of certain considerations, we do not take drastic measures, but follow the course of events as they come, the situation will eventually become unmanageable."

  "I knew it all along." Song Jiaoren paused, let out a long sigh and said: "Yixian is causing trouble again in Japan. I'm worried that if the revolutionaries stir up more trouble, it will be...".

  He raised an eyebrow and Fang Zidao hastily asked, "What's the specific situation? How come I don't know?"

  Liao Zhongkai smiled wryly and said, "This news just came in. It's a matter of law that triggered it. Yixian learned that the National Assembly is enacting laws and plans to replace the current provisional constitution with a formal one. He thinks this is an illegal act by the central government and shouted slogans claiming to protect the law."

  "Protect the law? Who is he kidding?" Fang Zidao sneered, "Temporary laws are just a transitional phase. Does the country plan to use this kind of thing to govern forever? Legislation is proposed by the government, approved by the president, and passed by Congress. From any perspective, it follows legal procedures. What law does Sun Wen want to protect with this as an excuse? Is legislation that doesn't have his approval illegal? Who does he think he is? Does he think he's the law?"

  "Alas... this Sun Yat-sen, really is..." Song Jiaoren shook his head and sighed. He was both resentful and angry towards this old friend, who had been so autocratic and troublesome, causing constant headaches for him as the Premier.

  To be honest, after Song Jiaoren took over as Premier and the two houses of Parliament began to function normally, people from all walks of life across the country saw hope for a successful constitutional government. Moreover, during this period, Yuan Shikai, as President, also showed an attitude of cooperation with Parliament and the Premier. With the failure of the Second Revolution and the increase in central authority, Sun Yat-sen's approach was abandoned by many people, who instead cooperated with the central government under the identity of the KMT or other parties to jointly build the country.

  However, Sun Yat-sen still had a considerable number of followers. These radical revolutionaries held extremist views and not only opposed the central government but also regarded the KMT as the running dogs of the Northern Warlords. Most of these people were overseas, and neither Yuan Shikai nor Song Jiaoren could do anything about them. Moreover, they had to endure their occasional disruptions, which would sometimes bite if they weren't careful, making them even more annoying than catching fleas.