The Dispute over the China Merchants' Bureau

  Yuan Shikai arrived in Jiangning the next day on board the Jian'an warship and paid a visit to Zhang Zhidong, who was temporarily in charge of the two rivers. Before meeting him, he still had some worries that Zhang would threaten his current position, but after seeing each other, he understood that this stubborn old man, who was already at the end of his life, was no longer a concern.

  So he was very polite to Old Zhang, and even when Zhang Zhidong was somewhat rude, he didn't mind at all. Why bother to fight with an old man who wasn't a match for him?

  The warship sailed away from the Jiangning Xiaguan Wharf, and Yuan Shikai gazed out at the river for a while before suddenly turning to Yang Shiqi beside him and saying, "I really don't understand, with Lin Anhua being so astute, why would he surrender to Zhang Nanpi, such an obstinate old man?"

  Yang Shi Qi smiled and said, "I thought Lord Gongbao was worried about something. It turns out it's about the financial route of Beiyang. This Lin Chong is not considered a person in Xiang Shuai's pocket. The Lin family in Taiwan was able to rise again after the internal turmoil, thanks to Liu Zhongcheng's efforts. This Lin family has always relied on Xiang Shuai as their backer. Now that Lord Liu has passed away, you have an excellent opportunity to bring them into Beiyang."

  Yuan Shikai turned his head and looked at Yang Shiqi, "Oh, tell me about it."

  "Why is Lin Anhua wearing a uniform of a high-ranking officer?" Yang Shiqi saw that Yuan Shikai nodded, and continued: "It's because of the reason of Dongjun. This brave battalion was originally formed by the Lin family's local militia in Taiwan. Later, when the Lin family moved to the mainland, they tried every means to withdraw some people back to Fujian. However, the resettlement of these thousands of people became a problem. Although the Lin family was wealthy and powerful, it was also a problem for them to support so many people. Therefore, Lin Chaodong found Liu Mingchuan, the former governor of Taiwan. At that time, Liu was already seriously ill, so he wrote a letter to Yuan Shikai asking him to take care of this matter. Yuan Shikai was indeed a man who valued relationships, and after receiving Liu's entrustment, he petitioned the imperial court to allow Lin Chaodong to rebuild the Dongjun battalion in Jiangsu Province, with the military expenses borne by the Jiangsu provincial government. Lin Chaodong then rebuilt the five battalions of the new Dongjun army based on the original militia, and stationed them in Taizhou and Tongzhou to assist the salt transport officials in checking private salt production. At that time, Lin Anhua was building a naval battalion of the Dongjun army in Tongzhou, responsible for investigating private salt production at the mouth of the Yangtze River."

  "How can Lin Anhua have such wealth? Is it from his private salt business?"

  The investigation of private salt, can't help but use every trick in the book, and collude with salt smugglers, but at most it's only an annual income of 200,000 to 300,000 taels of silver. Lin Anhua's vast wealth still comes from his unique vision. Before the Sino-Japanese War, Lin Anhua had already sold all his properties in Taiwan and converted them into camphor, which allegedly made Lin Chaodong very angry. However, it turned out that Lin Anhua was indeed farsighted. After Taiwan was ceded to Japan, the price of camphor skyrocketed nearly tenfold, earning Lin Anhua hundreds of millions of taels of silver.

  During the Boxer Rebellion, rumors spread in Shanghai's concessions that the Boxers were going to attack the concessions, and two ships carrying opium for Sassoon & Co. were looted. The warehouses at the docks mysteriously caught fire, killing several foreigners, which scared off many foreigners who fled in droves. Even wealthy locals didn't dare live in the concessions anymore, causing property prices to plummet. Lin Anhua took advantage of this and quietly bought up large quantities of land at extremely low prices. After the signing of the "Mutual Protection Treaty" with foreign powers, the situation within the concessions gradually stabilized. After 1901, property prices in the concessions rose annually, making Lin Anhua the largest landowner in the concessions, earning him no less than 30 million taels of silver.

  The concession authorities had suspected that Lin Anhua was behind this, but they couldn't find any evidence and eventually dropped the matter.

  "If this is true, Lin Anhua would be a remarkable person." Yuan Shikai said with a smile.

  "There are also rumors that Lin Anhua once found a large batch of pirate treasure at sea, worth tens of millions, but this is definitely unverifiable. However, Lin Anhua's assets are definitely not less than 40 or 50 million taels of silver. But now there is a great opportunity, the new army has encountered great difficulties, forcing Lin Chaozhong to resign and temporarily hand over the leadership to Lin Anhua. However, this may also be difficult to preserve." Yang Shiqi paused for a moment before continuing, "Because Lin Chaozhong had offended a current high-ranking minister in the imperial court, who is now determined to abolish the new army."

  "Hmm? Who has the Lin family offended?" Yuan Shikai asked.

  "It's none other than Lu Chuanlin, the brother-in-law of Xiang Shuai!" Yang Shi Qi laughed and said, "During the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, when the Eight-Nation Alliance was about to attack Beijing, Lu, who was then the Governor of Jiangsu, was eager to lead his troops north to protect the capital. At that time, Lu had ordered Lin Chong to follow him north, but Lin refused outright, saying he would only obey Xiang Shuai's orders and no one else's. Do you think Xiang Shuai would have ordered them to go north at a time when they were busy with the mutual defense of the southeastern provinces? Lu Chuanlin had no choice but to lead three newly recruited battalions north, and by the time he arrived in Jinan, the imperial court had already fled west. It's lucky for Lu that he was delayed, or he would have ended up like Li Zhongjie, sacrificing himself outside Beijing. But because of this delay, he turned back to escort the empress dowager to Xi'an, and as a result, gained her favor. From then on, Lu held a grudge against Lin Chong. After Xiang Shuai passed away, the Lin family lost its backing, while Lu entered the imperial court and became a prominent figure. Do you think Lin Chong would have an easy time? Lu used the pretext of reorganizing the new army to try to disband Lin's troops, and Lin, feeling hopeless, resigned as commander of his troops and returned to Fujian to retire. Now, however, Lin Anhua has taken over command of the troops, and he hopes to use his relationship with Xiang Shuai to preserve them. But unexpectedly, Xiang Shuai is in a difficult position, trying his best to avoid getting involved, which makes Lin Anhua feel cold towards him."

  "Ah, I see." Yuan Shikai suddenly enlightened, "What Zhang Xun meant was to ask me for help?"

  "It is indeed so, the adults are now training new troops. If they can borrow a reason to keep the Tong army under Lin's command, this Lin Xue will be used by the Beiyang, and the Tong army will also belong to Gongbao. Why wouldn't the adults do it?"

  Yuan Shikai nodded and said: "This is very good, but we still have to wait for the right moment."

  The China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company and the Imperial Telegraph Administration were the two government-run enterprises that Sheng Xuanhuai controlled for the longest period of time, and they were also the only two profitable ones in his hands. During Li Hongzhang's term, Sheng Xuanhuai was still diligent, but after Li Hongzhang lost power following the First Sino-Japanese War, his successors, Wang Wenshao and Ronglu, did not understand foreign affairs. As a result, Sheng Xuanhuai gradually took control of these two enterprises established by Beiyang into his own hands. By the time Yuan Shikai became the Minister of Beiyang, the China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company and the Imperial Telegraph Administration had already been removed from Beiyang's control, and most of the profits generated in recent years were embezzled by Sheng Xuanhuai for personal use.

  Yuan Shikai had been eyeing these two lucrative businesses since he took over the Beiyang government, waiting for an opportunity to reclaim these two enterprises that originally belonged to Beiyang.

  The opportunity soon arose. In October 1902, Sheng Xuanhuai's father, Sheng Kang, died. According to custom, Sheng Xuanhuai had to resign from all his official posts and observe a three-year mourning period for his father. Sheng Xuanhuai did not want to give up the enterprises he controlled, but he could not violate the "open vacancy" rule either. He had no choice but to petition the imperial court to allow him to open vacancies in all his concurrent positions. On the other hand, he telegraphed Yuan Shikai asking for his help in retaining his posts at the Railway and Telegraph bureaus.

  At this time, the Qing court was also financially strained and wanted to take over the two bureaus of railways and telegraphs into the Ministry of Revenue. Therefore, an edict was issued that, except for Sheng Xuanhuai's retention of his position as supervisor of the railway, all other concurrent positions were allowed to be vacated. In addition, Zhang Yi was also prepared to take over as supervisor of the two bureaus of railways and telegraphs in order to "enter into the Ministry of Revenue for financial planning". In order to deal with the imperial court, Sheng Xuanhuai wanted to get Yuan Shikai's support, so he sent a telegram to Yuan Shikai asking him to come to Shanghai to discuss the issue of the affiliation and personnel appointments of the two bureaus of railways and telegraphs. Unexpectedly, this was exactly what Yuan Shikai had been waiting for.

  Yuan Shikai arrived in Shanghai that afternoon, and Yuan Shuxun, the Daotai of Shanghai, led a group of officials to welcome him at the Jiangnan Shipyard dock. That night, Yuan Shikai stayed at the Jiangnan Shipyard.

  The next day, Yuan Shikai went to the Sheng Mansion with Yuan Shuxun and others to pay respects to Sheng Kang. Afterwards, he discussed with Sheng Xuanhuai the management and personnel arrangements of the railway and telegraph bureaus.

  "Xingrui, you are currently unable to manage both the railway and telegraph bureaus due to your mourning period. Many people are now eyeing these positions, but you should be aware that once they get their hands on them, it will be extremely difficult to take back later. I have carefully considered the telegram you sent me, and I think it would be more advisable to first merge the two bureaus under the Beiyang government. Firstly, the railway and telegraph bureaus were originally part of the Beiyang's industry, so returning them now is justified. Secondly, as an old member of the Beiyang, this arrangement is only temporary, and once you recover from your mourning period, you can continue to oversee the various foreign affairs of the Beiyang." Yuan Shikai appeared determined from the start, showing concern on the surface but actually advising Xingrui to hand over his powers.

  Sheng Xuanhuai was extremely unwilling in his heart and shirked, saying that the China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company now had half of its shares held by merchants, and personnel arrangements needed to be decided at a board meeting.

  Yuan Shikai had long been prepared and calmly said, "Alright then. Originally, Zhu Baogui of the China Merchants Steamship Company was working as the general manager at the Beiyang Trade Bureau in the north. I'll have him return to discuss with you how to convene a board meeting."

  Sheng Xuanhuai was shocked, his whole body covered in cold sweat. Zhu Baogui was a fellow townsman of Sheng Xuanhuai from Changzhou, and had been part of the same group of children sent to study in America as Tang Shaoyi. Later, he had been recruited by Sheng Xuanhuai and enjoyed his complete trust. Zhu Baogui had followed Sheng Xuanhuai for many years, managing the shipping and telegraph bureaus, and was well aware of how Sheng Xuanhuai used his position to accumulate wealth and line his own pockets. Now, Yuan Shikai was deliberately bringing up this name as a warning to Sheng Xuanhuai: "I have something on you, I don't want to deal with you, otherwise it would be easy for me to ruin your family and destroy your reputation."

  Sheng Xuanhuai, under the pressure of Old Yuan, had no choice but to hand over the control of the Railway and Telegraph Bureau to Yuan Shikai. Old Yuan easily took control of the Railway and Telegraph Bureau, and then stopped bothering about the corruption case involving Sheng's embezzlement of public funds from the two bureaus, which would have revealed how much money they could make each year, and he also lost the opportunity to take a cut from them.

  Old Yuan was very satisfied with the trip north by boat, and soon appointed Yang Shiqi as the deputy minister of telecommunications and general manager of the China Merchants' Bureau. This trip to Jiangnan was a complete success, but only Xiang Xianghui hated it so much that he gritted his teeth, but could only endure for the time being and wait for revenge.

  Lin Xiang returned to Xiamen to reunite with his mother before the new year.

  At that time, there was a Minqing person named Huang Naitang who was recruiting villagers to open up wasteland in Southeast Asia. Lin Xuan heard about this and immediately went to visit him.

  Huang Naiying was a jinshi in the 20th year of Guangxu, and among the scholars at that time, he was considered to be relatively unconventional. He was a Christian who studied at the Fujian Qing Church School. It is remarkable that such a scholar, who had received Western education from an early age, could pass the imperial examination on the eight-legged essay and become a jinshi.

  Huang Nai-yang, due to his early contact with the church and acceptance of Western ideas and scientific knowledge, was already a new-school thinker. In 1897, Huang Nai-yang went to Beijing to take part in the imperial examination but failed, and his third younger brother, Huang Nai-mo, who served as second-in-command on the Zhiyuan, died heroically in the Yellow Sea Battle. The failure of the First Sino-Japanese War and Huang Nai-mo's death stirred up his enthusiasm for seeking political reform and strengthening the country, leading him to participate in the reformist political activities.

  After the failure of the Wu Xu Reform, Huang Naiyang was wanted by the imperial court and escaped back to Fujian. Later, he went to Southeast Asia to avoid capture. In Southeast Asia, Huang Naiyang saw many places with vast lands and sparse populations, fertile soil, and thus conceived the idea of recruiting landless migrants from China to cultivate wasteland in Southeast Asia.

  In the 26th year of Guangxu, Huang Nai Song and Sultan Sharif ul-Hashim formally signed a contract to open up Sibu for colonization. As the "Kangchu", he undertook the colonization rights of Sibu and named the place "New Fuzhou". At the same time, he established New Fuzhou Colonization Company. He was busy setting up the company while personally returning to China to recruit people, mainly farmers, to go to Southeast Asia for colonization.

  At this time, Huang Naiying's biggest trouble was the problem of funds.

  Huang's family was originally poor, and later, due to his brothers' official positions, they had some savings, but their financial resources were still limited. Lin Xiang saw Huang Naiyi and expressed his willingness to invest in the new Fuzhou company, which was like sending charcoal in the snow. In the end, both parties agreed that Lin Xiang would invest 200,000 silver dollars to become the owner of the new Fuzhou company, while Huang Naiyi would be the general manager with a 20% stake in the company.

  Lin Zhen and Huang Naiyong took their first step in pioneering agriculture in Southeast Asia.

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