In the days following the call with Thomas, nothing seemed to have happened in the international arena, as if the unpleasant call had been nothing more than a dream.
But whether it was Elder Zhou, Zhang Tianyuan, or Tong Wenshi who was just watching the drama unfold, everyone knew that this was just the calm before the Typhoon.
Thomas won't let this go so easily.
The interest groups behind him are unlikely to abandon Ark Project, so they will inevitably use other means to force the country to cooperate in building Ark.
After the successful conclusion of the second cooperation meeting, Tong Wenshi couldn't help but inquire about the relevant details during a break.
Elder Zhou smiled calmly, "We've made thorough preparations. And in this current timeline, we're barefoot and have nothing to fear. We can discard most things, and we don't need to worry about the continued development of the economy and people's livelihoods. So let them come; there's nothing to be afraid of."
The world is about to end, the economy is unsustainable and collapse is inevitable. People's livelihood can only be maintained through planned rationing for the time being, so it is no longer useful to consider these things in the "2012" timeline.
Elder Zhou and his team had long been prepared to take over everything.
Compared to Thomas and his group, who still wanted to maintain normal social order before the apocalypse, this actually became an advantage for the country.
Zhang Tianyuan, sitting to the side, also smiled and said, "However, we still need to make some preparations. I'll go back to No. 2 Spacetime to mobilize the fleet first. It's probably their turn to make their appearance next."
"Then we'll have to trouble President Zhang." Elder Zhou and the others thanked Zhang Tianyuan, and then secretly took out a battle plan to begin their discussion.
A week passed quickly.
It's already mid-January.
An economic war initiated by multiple countries suddenly broke out at the same time.
Various regulations and rules targeting domestic exports are being forcefully passed in various economies at a speed that is completely inconsistent with norms.
From the initial proposal to its approval, it only took a day or two, which was so fast that people couldn't even react.
Moreover, these regulations affect almost all of the country's major export commodities and are expected to reduce domestic exports by one-third.
In an instant, the whole world was in shock.
Apart from a few influential figures who have the ability to know about doomsday predictions, ordinary people abroad are very concerned about this matter and don't understand why so many new regulations have suddenly been introduced.
Because this has seriously affected their lives.
On the day the new regulations were introduced, the prices of various goods around them began to rise sharply.
This is the most critical issue.
economy
The crisis isn't over yet!
Within just a few days, public protests erupted in large numbers, demanding the abolition of these obviously illegal regulations.
Thomas simply didn't care.
"As long as we can get them to cooperate with Ark Project, this cost is negligible!"
During the " Ark Alliance " meeting, others complained about the protests in their own countries.
Some even inquired whether restrictions could be eased slightly to increase import volume in order to maintain economic and social stability.
Thomas vehemently refuted their capitulationist ideas at the conference and demanded that all countries issue strong statements as a further means of coercion.
Only after the meeting did Thomas inquire about the results of the economic blockade.
"What's the situation like in their country now? Are they interested in peace talks with us?"
We have not yet received any request for talks from them.
The secretary opened the latest report:
"However, we did cause them a lot of trouble, but they've already started taking steps to stabilize the market."
"What methods did they use?" Thomas asked curiously.
The secretary's expression was strange. "They... they stepped in and bought up most of the goods that couldn't be exported from the country..."
???
Thomas was completely baffled.
What kind of technique is this?
He looked at his secretary, and his secretary looked at him.
Both sides were equally confused.
The opposing party directly intervened and bought up all the extra products. This method is not only feasible, but also highly effective.
Because no matter who bought it, at least the goods were sold, the payment was received, money was made, and wages were paid...
By following this chain of events, society becomes stable.
However, goods need to circulate.
The other side has bought up all the goods that were originally intended for export. How are we going to resell these goods now?
If they can't be sold, it's like exchanging real money for a bunch of useless things.
This will lead to a continuous deficit in the national treasury.
It's equivalent to taking money directly from the country's coffers and distributing it to the people.
This pattern cannot last.
When the opposing team suffers huge losses and runs out of money, their economy will be finished.
Thomas convened a group of economists for an urgent analysis of Zhou Jianhai and his team's response, but they could only reach one conclusion—
They're trying to self-destruct!
"Could it be that he thinks the end of the world is coming and has gone mad?"
Thomas muttered to himself, then issued another order—
Let the domestic aircraft carrier
All combat groups, get moving!
Let's all go and stroll around in front of the house across the street!
Are you crazy?
Even if it drives me crazy, we have to build him an ark!
On the other side.
Facing pressure from multiple countries simultaneously, China is under considerable pressure these past few days.
Regardless of whether it's related to the economy or not, every unit is swamped with work.
Especially the railway system.
The scheduling system for the time-space railway has been continuously optimized, and recently it has reached a critical stage.
At Zhang Tianyuan's residence.
Elder Zhou and his group have arrived.
Both sides discussed the recent situation.
" Thomas ' offensive is quite fierce. Under normal circumstances, we really wouldn't be able to withstand this kind of self-destructive tactic for long."
Elder Zhou held a cup of hot tea, gazing at the heavy snowfall outside, completely at ease.
Most others are similar.
There was no sign of worry on their faces; everyone was chatting and laughing.
"Let them attack fiercely; consider it a great training exercise for us."
"Haha! I reckon our all-out effort to recycle the goods will scare the other side's eyes out of their sockets."
Elder Zhou slapped a list of assets onto the table and laughed, saying, "So what if you're scared? Money is something you can't take with you when you die. If you don't use it now, it'll be useless when the end of the world comes."
Money can be seen as a form of control over social wealth; the more money one has, the more social wealth one can control.
Social wealth can be divided into tangible and intangible. Tangible wealth refers to goods that humans obtain from nature through their own labor and process them bit by bit.
The virtual refers to the various services provided by society.
During the Great Migration, most physical wealth cannot be taken away; most items can only remain in this space-time and be destroyed by the disaster.
This also means that money, which originally represented control over goods, will have its control severely diminished after a large number of goods are destroyed, because there simply aren't enough goods left to control.
Because this money would be meaningless after the apocalypse, Elder Zhou and his team used the strategy of "sprinkling money" to deal with the economic blockade.
Spend large sums of money to build up reserves, regardless of whether they will be needed in the future, just to realize the control over the resources as much as possible.
This not only allows us to plan for what will happen after the relocation, but also helps to stabilize the current society—a win-win situation.
Over the course of more than a year, Elder Zhou and his colleagues did the same thing, not only domestically but also abroad.
What happens when you run out of money?
After finishing his hot tea in one gulp, Elder Zhou said leisurely:
"That would mark the beginning of a new era."