Chapter 8: The Amplified Cannon (Part 2)

  Fang Zidao, who had long been confident, was not intimidated by the occasion. He cast a glance at Song Jiaoren, indicating that he should be reassured. Then, smiling, he bowed to the audience and said: "Mr. President, esteemed elders. I have been abroad for a long time and have just returned to my country. Although I have only superficially studied economics, I know that when it comes to national borrowing, Western countries are not in the minority. There is already a common practice, just like France and Germany, which were powerful countries that borrowed heavily to get through difficult times. Therefore, borrowing is not shameful; it's like ordinary businessmen doing business - if they don't have money, they borrow from others to operate."

  Everyone smiled slightly as Fang Zida spoke, and with their mood relaxed, they listened to him continue.

  Fang Zidaton paused for a moment, turned to Zhou Xue Xi and asked: "Director Zhou, after hearing your introduction to the loan situation, I'd like to ask a question, is that okay?"

  "Alright!" Zhou Xue Xi nodded and said.

  "The total loan amount of the Five-Power Consortium is ￡25 million, and if 84% of this amount is actually received, then the actual loan amount should be ￡21 million?"

  Seeing Zhou Xue Xi had no objection, Fang Zida continued to ask: "According to the loan agreement requirements, the actual borrowed ￡21 million will also be deducted from the prepaid items, repayment of due Boxer Indemnity and foreign debt, is that right?"

  "Of course!"

  "Good! Then let me ask again, after deducting these fees, how much will the government actually receive?" Fang Zida asked calmly.

  "This...". Zhou Xuexi first glanced at Yuan Shikai, and after getting his nod, he said: "It's estimated to be around 75 million to 76 million."

  "Haha, let's just say it's ￡75 million, ￡75 million, what a huge sum of money! But Director Zhou, do you think the government can afford such a large sum?" Fang Zida asked with a smile.

  ￡7,500,000 is indeed a huge sum of money. Converted into silver, it amounts to approximately 35 million taels. However, for the vast and populous Republic of China, which was still in its infancy, this amount was merely a drop in the ocean. To put things into perspective, in 1911, the total revenue of the Qing government was 300 million taels (including various miscellaneous taxes), with military expenditures alone accounting for 137 million taels. Compared to these enormous figures, 35 million taels is hardly worth mentioning. Moreover, at present, various regional forces have formed their own fiefdoms, and apart from the areas controlled by the Beijing government, all the other provincial governors are busy collecting taxes and raising funds to support their armies, without paying a single penny in taxes to the central government. Some of them even stretch out their hands begging for money and grain from Beijing.

  Everyone fell silent, even Yuan Shikai furrowed his brow and said nothing. The huge disparity was a stark comparison, and everyone's hearts were clear: even if they borrowed money, it would be far from enough.

  "Xu Ming, I know you studied economics in Europe. This time coming north is to hope that you can help the country on the path of economics. Since you see the problem so clearly and there are no outsiders present, just speak your mind." Fang Zida's words surprised Song Jiaoren as well. These were things he had not considered before or thought about. The country was in such difficulty, and as the next prime minister to take office, he suddenly found that the road forward was so tortuous and difficult. He glanced at Fang Zida with some blame, seemingly reproaching him for not discussing these matters thoroughly earlier. But thinking again, Fang Zida had just returned home and did not understand the government situation at all. Moreover, it was only today after arriving that he heard about the big loan affair. To have such insight in the conversation among everyone just now was already quite difficult.

  "Yes, Brother Zhang Ming, please give me more guidance!" Zhou Xue Xi, who had just been hit on the head with a stick, suddenly changed his attitude and spoke hastily.

  "Hehe, my approach is actually very simple." Fang Zida said calmly: "Since the government wants to borrow money and the borrowed money is not enough, then just borrow more. Two billion five hundred million pounds is really too little, borrowing another two billion five hundred million is no problem, if possible, even consider adding more. As for interest and time, it can also be increased and extended accordingly. To make an improper analogy, after all, it's all about selling, one-off deal is not as good as selling at a high price, as long as the government has sufficient funds, everything will be easy to handle in the future!"

  "What?!"

  Fang Zida's crazy words scared everyone to jump, good guy! This idea is too absurd. For a moment, everyone's gaze at Fang Zida was filled with strange expressions, and some people who still had hope a minute ago even showed disdain, and some people even put Fang Zida in the same category as Sun Wen, not because of his revolutionary awareness, but because he spoke without any reserve, shocking people with every word, and firing cannons wildly.

  "What a ridiculous idea! You're really living in a fantasy world!" Lu Zhengxiang's face changed immediately, and he scolded: "I thought there was some clever plan, but after all this fuss, it's just this stupid idea? Laughable! Borrowing between countries, governments, is not so easy. First of all, can the five-nation banking consortium even lend us such a large sum of money? Even if they are willing to lend to us, what do we have to repay them with? You know it's 5% annual interest, and a repayment period of 47 years, and we still have to use tariffs and salt taxes as collateral. This already puts the government under tremendous pressure. If we want to increase the loan amount and pay even more...this...this..."

  His face flushed, spraying saliva on the other side, extremely excitedly gesticulating, Lu Zhengxiang almost cursed out the three words "traitor". Song Jiaoren was also startled, he never thought that Fang Zidao, who had always seemed steady, would suddenly say such an outrageous thing, this was simply unthinkable!

  "Are you crazy?" Song Jiaoren whispered, pulling Fang Zidao's sleeve: "What nonsense are you talking about? This is treasonous talk!"

  "Relax, brother...". He replied in a low voice, and Fang Zidao smiled calmly without defending himself, sitting back in his own seat as if nothing had been said or done.

  Fang Zidao's words had such an effect that the people present no longer had the mood to continue talking, and they soon took their leave one after another. Fang Zidao also left the Presidential Palace with Song Jiaoren, and after they all left, Yuan Shikai sat upright, holding his teacup as if in thought, and only spoke slowly after a long time.

  "Qiaozi, Gengfu, what do you think?"

  "What a madman!" Xia Shoutian, who had always been by Yuan Shikai's side but never spoke, snorted coldly. On the other hand, Yang Du smiled and said: "I think Fang Huiming is an interesting young man."

  "Hmm..." Yuan Shikai raised an eyebrow.

  Yang Du smiled and said, "Actually, Fang Rongming was not wrong at all. These loans are far from enough for the current situation. Since we're borrowing, why not borrow a bit more? We've already sold out our country, so it's better to sell it thoroughly. It'll save us from being scolded by others in the future. Having many debts is nothing to worry about; what matters is that we have enough money on hand to do big things."

  "Everyone understands the truth, but it's easy to talk about doing things?" Xia Shoutian shook his head and said: "It's just empty talk!"

  "Yes!" Yuan Shikai agreed: "It's easy to talk, but hard to do! Seeing clearly is one thing, being able to do it is another, difficult! Difficult! Difficult!"

  What was actually in Yuan Shikai's heart? If he really had a huge sum of money, relying on the Beiyang forces in his hands and with the support of Song Jiaoren, it was still very possible to stabilize the entire China. As long as there was stability, relying on China's vast land and endless population base, within twenty years or even ten years, the country would be completely renewed and set on the path to prosperity.

  "Great President, I think Fang Zhongying may have a hidden motive for those words, they probably weren't said in vain..." Yang Du smiled and said.

  "Haha, in that case... how interesting... Hahaha... how interesting!" A glint of light flashed in Yuan Shikai's eyes, and he suddenly burst out laughing.