Chapter 551 The Clay-footed Giant

"How are you?"

"much better."

Severus sat on a chair and took the black tea that Pomona handed him.

The child's chair is too small for an adult.

In the third grade of the magic school, it is necessary to learn how to transform tables and chairs, so that children can adjust the height of tables and chairs by themselves in the future, but Pomona feels that he does not need to do this now.

Severus began to bear a lot of pressure again, and there will always be times when the pressure is overwhelming and it will be much better to cry.

Slytherin will not show their vulnerable side in front of the world, they always look arrogant and terrible, only few people will see their weak side.

In other words, they don't try to win others' sympathy by selling misery, and they are also stingy and hypocritical. Lucius donated money to St. Mungo for tickets to the top box of the Quidditch World Cup.

That glamorous albino snake also had a miserable time. When Pomona and the others first returned to human society, Lucius had a problem with alcoholism. Many people were unhappy that he was not imprisoned in Azkaban, and he was restricted everywhere.

This Muggle financial crisis will give him a new opportunity. Instead of buying up, he can go short instead. Anyway, this disaster cannot be stopped, so why not take advantage of the trend and make a fortune.

In addition to speculating on silver, there is another place where you can operate, and that is CDS, a credit default swap contract.

Without CDSs, subprime mortgages are a form of speculation that no level-headed manager would fall for.

They are not sheep in the herd effect, but elites who have learned game theory. The creditor's rights guaranteed by CDS are generally various bonds with different credit ratings. These CDS sellers evaluate ABS and MBS that are originally B grades. A-level or AAA-level, like a wolf in sheep's clothing, it is difficult to identify, and after being packaged by an investment bank, the CDO in the hands of a hedge fund manager will be confused.

CDS is equivalent to a guarantee or insurance. If the plumber repays the loan on time, he will take away the "premium". If the plumber does not repay the mortgage, then CDS will repay the plumber.

In essence, it is a tool for betting against investment banks. Hedge funds often use this to bet against investment banks. If investment banks cannot produce CDOs, hedge funds can also receive cash flow from CDS to guarantee their own income, which is equivalent to hedge funds Got a risk-free investment, provided that the CDS does not default.

High-quality credit customers are limited. If the standard is lowered and B-level customers become A-level customers, then CDS providers can sign more such agreements and earn more money.

He turns these "insurance policies" into bonds or other products and sells them to others. By analogy, if the loaned plumber pays the mortgage on time, everyone will eat meat; if the plumber defaults, everyone will be unlucky together. Loans to plumbers are due to the Federal Reserve's 1% interest rate loans, which are to stimulate the recovery of the economy. The loan company grants 5% interest loans to plumbers, and the loan company can still earn 4% interest. The Fed raises interest rates. 10% interest, if the loan company continues to lend to the plumber with 5% interest, then he will suffer a lot, and no one will buy a house if he can’t get a loan. Ten thousand, smart people will sell, and once the downward trend of housing prices is formed, there is no way to stop it.

A plumbing repairer can’t make much money. He chooses to default, the house is taken back by the bank, and the bank has no way to maintain the income. The bank borrows 1 million and only gets back 750,000. If you can't afford it, it will lead to a series of collapses. CDS can't pay that much money. If investment banks like Lehman and Morgan declare bankruptcy, hedge funds can't get their principal back. Who can afford the loss of billions of dollars.

The little people are displaced, the big people lose their money and jump off the building. Tesla-level financial institutions cannot go bankrupt, partly because of their huge employee base, the power of the sea, and a drop of water in the sea. A little cunning will add up to a huge unknowable force, which is enough to turn the wheel of fortune.

No matter how great the heroes in history are, they will try their best. In the end, it is countless ordinary people who decide the direction of the world.

If Roosevelt's fireside chats hadn't worked, Americans would have kept their money at home instead of depositing it in banks, deflation would not have been resolved, and the United States would have turned into a Latin American country, and the outcome of World War II would have been unknown.

Before the Sino-Japanese War, Japan purchased 30,000 tons of coal and 3,000 shi of rice from the Qing Dynasty. After the war, his subordinates suggested that Li Hongzhang stop supplying them.

The defeat in the Sino-Japanese War was not a short-term weakness. The self-improvement movement has been going on for more than 30 years, but there is no improvement at all. With the 200 million taels of silver that the Qing Dynasty paid, Japan has made rapid progress.

In the middle of the Warring States period, Qu Yuan implemented a series of innovations. He didn't want the old nobleman and the old family to form an alliance secretly and poison the king when Chu State was just getting better.

In the memoirs of George Macartney, it is recorded in this way that he went to China as an envoy and met with Qianlong.

The British mission presented a batch of state gifts to the Qing government, including: muzzle-loading guns and other weapons, telescopes, globes and other astronomical instruments, clocks, a model of the most advanced British gunboat with 110 guns, and a giant glass chandelier , to be installed in the Yuanmingyuan.

Its structure is very complicated, with hundreds of parts. Macartney originally thought that he would find British craftsmen to install it. As a result, two Chinese craftsmen studied for half an hour and installed the giant glass lamp.

Macartney was amazed by the dexterous thinking and super hands-on ability of the Chinese, but he quickly dismissed it. "Compared with Europe, they are great in small things, but small in big things."

At that time, the envoys gave Qianlong a lot of guns, which did not attract the attention of the eighty-three-year-old emperor who was getting old. He put them in a treasure house until the Eight-Power Allied Forces stormed into the Old Summer Palace in 1900. time to be rediscovered.

At that time, their surfaces were already covered with dust, and they were not even opened at all, let alone studied.

An old man, he has no dreams about this world. The only thing that can make the aging Qianlong interesting is a young Thomas Stangdong in the envoy. The East in Marco Polo's travel notes seems to be a perfect paradise, but what he really sees is not the same as It is different in the travelogue.

It took him almost 10 years to translate and introduce "Laws of the Qing Dynasty" to the UK. This is the first book translated from Chinese to English in China.

After returning to China, he used the information he collected to write books and expound his understanding of China's politics, diplomacy, history and culture. These works played a great role in helping Westerners understand China, and some even became the basis for the British government to formulate its policies towards China.

In 1823, Staunton Jr. and Henry Thomas Colebrooke co-founded the Royal Asiatic Society, dedicated to promoting the research on politics, history and culture of Asian countries. Little Staunton also actively promoted the study of Sinology in the UK. Thanks to his efforts, University College London and Imperial College hired professors to teach Sinology courses, and he was hailed as the "Father of British Sinology".

From 1818 to 1852, Staunton was elected several times as a member of the British House of Commons, and he was one of the members of the British House of Commons who had more influence on Sino-British relations at that time. At a time when the Stauntons were at a loss because of the dilemma between China and Britain, another force was changing the relationship between China and Britain. They are opium smugglers.

At first, the British East India Company smuggled opium just to balance the too deformed Sino-British trade. But the huge profits of opium smuggling soon exceeded the expectations of the perpetrators, and it was not only the British East India Company that participated in the smuggling. The rampant opium smuggling completely broke the balance of China's foreign trade. China changed from a super import to a super export, and a large amount of silver flowed out, causing a domestic silver shortage. And the physical harm caused by opium smoking to the Chinese made the Chinese worry that it would destroy the imperial armed forces. As a result, the voices of the Qing government to ban smoking became louder and louder. Finally, Emperor Daoguang decided to appoint Lin Zexu to go to Guangzhou to ban smoking.

Lin Zexu's sale of cigarettes in Humen immediately aroused heated discussions in the British House of Commons. MP Gladstone opposes war for a nefarious bargain. Thomas Staunton, a China hand, stood up: "Are we violating international law by conducting the opium trade? No. When the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi used his own ship to transport drugs, no one was surprised that foreigners did the same .”

"If we are not respected in China, we will soon be disrespected in India... If we are going to lose this war, we have no right to it; but if we have to win it, we have no right Give up the right." At this time, the audience was silent, and everyone was listening to his speech. A few minutes later, he gave his final conclusion: "Although it is regrettable, I still think this war is just and necessary." Immediately, there was a long applause in the hall.

Three days later, the House of Commons voted, and the result was: 271 votes for the pro-war faction and 262 votes for the anti-war faction, a difference of 9 votes. Thomas Staunton eventually contributed to the outbreak of the Opium Wars. The result of this war is self-evident, and Britain has won. Since then, the pattern of confrontation between East and West has come to an end, and the East has been subordinated to the West.

The child Qianlong once loved ruined his empire.

After the Opium War, there were more and more voices for reform. Emperor Guangxu was coerced by Empress Dowager Cixi throughout his life and never held real power. In 1898, Emperor Guangxu implemented the "Reform of 1898", but was resisted by the conservatives headed by Empress Dowager Cixi. Emperor Guangxu was imprisoned in Yingtai, Zhongnanhai by Cixi. The whole reform lasted only 103 days.

In 1908, Emperor Guangxu died at the age of 38 the day before the death of Empress Dowager Cixi, and was buried in Chongling Mausoleum of Qingxi Mausoleum.

Emperor Guangxu was very aggressive, but like Louis XVI, he was hindered by domestic conservative forces.

Unlike young people, old people are full of dreams and vigor, but they are prone to radicalization. Although Emperor Guangxu issued a lot of edicts, some of the conditions in these edicts were all implemented immediately, and there was no room for negotiation at all. Guangxu The emperor and the scholars on the bus were too anxious.

A large population is an advantage. Although a large population will reduce the average social wealth, the large population means that the Chinese cannot be wiped out by mere smallpox like the Indians in North America.

300 million people is twice the total population of Europe, but the navy was defeated and the army, how could the Manchu Qing be defeated so easily.

It is difficult to win in the vast ocean of people's war. When the British navy first arrived in Guangdong, the Cantonese did not resist. For ordinary people, it was just a change of emperor, and they all paid taxes the same, regardless of whether he was red or not. What about ghosts?

What really angered the Cantonese was that a small number of British troops had poor military discipline, opened coffins and robbed tombs, and harassed the residents in the occupied areas, which eventually triggered the Sanyuanli War, and Hongmen activities grew day by day.

Albus hated her for her indiscretion, but she was thirty-nine at the time, and what else could have ruined her life.

Young girls are different.

She thought Tonks had made a rash decision to marry Remus, because Tonks looked like a troubled teenage girl with his Weird Sisters shirt and pink hair.

Albus asked her once, what was she thinking?

She herself didn't know what she was doing.

She was like a soul in the wrong body, and if she could be a man like Albus, and Albus a woman like her, everyone would be better off.

Albus doesn't have to worry about the exposure of his homosexuality, he can be with Grindelwald in a fair manner, and Pomona doesn't have to think about issues that these women shouldn't think about all day long, but it's a pity that they put on the wrong body and their souls don't know Feeling "distorted".

When men are vulnerable, Lily will protect Severus, and Pomona will only push him to fight back and knock down all those who bully him.

No wonder he loves Lily more.

"Won't you say something to comfort me?" He asked, staring at the cup in his hand.

"I don't know what to say." She pursed her lips. "And, I don't want you to think I'm noisy."

"Sing a song." He said "I want to hear it."

She didn't know what to sing.

"You can't even sing?"

"Would you like to dance with me?" she asked. "I can dance with you while singing that song."

He sat without moving.

"Why don't you ask me for something." He asked. "Anything."

"I said I want to smell the magic grass."

"I'll watch over your students for you." He interrupted her. "Even if I become a werewolf, you still love me, right?"

"Yes." She said calmly, "My students can marry werewolves, why can't I?"

He laughed out loud.

"why are you laughing?"

"I won." He smiled intoxicatedly and said, "You are sweeter than the taste of revenge, senior sister."

"Don't say that." She said in disgust, his tone and expression made her feel very uncomfortable.

"I'm glad to be alive." He sighed comfortably, and stood up.

Immediately afterwards, he put his arms around her and gave her a French kiss.

The mainstream historians believe that the cause of Concubine Zhen's death was that she supported Guangxu's Reform Movement of 1898 and competed with Cixi for supreme power, which offended Empress Dowager Cixi. Guangxu had a soft spot for her, and he neglected Empress Longyu, Cixi's niece, and finally ended up being killed.

The sale of officials in the late Qing Dynasty was not recorded in the official history, but there are many written records of donating officials. Although this method has many disadvantages, it can raise tens of millions of taels in the shortest time to replenish the national treasury for emergency needs.

If Concubine Zhen really took bribes, would she still be sympathized with like now?

History needs a big villain to take all the responsibilities. Leta Kistor even dared to write about Albus and Severus. After all, the person she wrote is dead, so she can’t reverse the case for herself. Of course she wants to write it How to write slightly.