Chapter Thirteen: Banking Groups

  Although it was their first meeting, Feng Chengqian could tell that this capitalist named Karl was a very astute person.

  "I've heard that the Earl has proposed to the British Prime Minister to build a railway from the Bosphorus Strait to the Persian Gulf, so I've come to pay my respects."

  "Mr. Karl came in the middle of the night just for this matter?"

  "One was to express gratitude to the earl, two was..."

  "Why should I thank you?" Feng Chengqian smiled and said, "I'm doing this for the empire, serving His Majesty the Emperor."

  "Although it's said so, but the earl still helped us a lot."

  "Really?"

  Karl looked a bit embarrassed. "The Earl is unaware, the construction of the railway has been planned for some time, but no one has formally proposed it. The Earl's proposal to the British Prime Minister is equivalent to formalizing the matter. Presumably, the Imperial Cabinet will soon negotiate with the British government."

  "So it seems I inadvertently helped Mr. Karl."

  "Not helping me."

  "That is..."

  "I don't hide from you, Count, that I am acting on behalf of the Deutsche Bank and the Württembergische Bank; I believe the Count has heard of these two banks."

  Feng Chengqian smiled and said: "It's really disappointing Mr. Carl, everything I have now is given by His Majesty, it has nothing to do with the bank."

  "What about from now on?"

  "What's next?"

  "Although we are all subjects of Your Majesty, surely an earl would require some financial assistance, wouldn't he?"

  Feng Chengqian did not speak up because he understood the significance and value of finance.

  "I came to disturb you late at night, and the second thing is that I hope the Earl can provide greater assistance, and we will also provide convenience for the Earl."

  "What's convenient?"

  Karl pulled out an envelope from his pocket and placed it in front of Feng Chengqian. "This is a checkbook from Deutsche Bank, Count, with a overdraft limit of 500,000 marks."

  "Borrowed money must be repaid sooner or later."

  "The earl is a VIP of the bank and naturally won't be charged interest. As for repaying the account, there's no need for the earl to worry about it, we'll think of a way to handle it ourselves."

  "Are you trying to bribe me?"

  "The earl is worrying too much, this is just what the earl deserves."

  Feng Chengqian glanced at the envelope and said: "I don't want this thing, after all, no work no gain, the matter of building a railway has not been settled yet."

  "Isn't it going to be settled tomorrow?"

  Feng Chengqian's eyebrows jumped a few times, these capitalists' news was indeed well-informed.

  "If the Earl would exert some influence on His Majesty at the Privy Council, I will come again to pay my respects and absolutely not disappoint the Earl."

  Feng Chengqian still didn't speak up, because he knew that the Baghdad Railway only existed on paper.

  "Does the Earl think our sincerity is still insufficient?"

  "Mr. Carl, you're thinking too much." Feng Chengqian let out a long breath and said, "Things that are beneficial to the empire, I will naturally strive for."

  "So to say..."

  "It is up to Your Majesty and the Prime Minister to decide what to do."

  "But..."

  "Mr. Karl's news is so timely, I believe we can receive the news tomorrow." Feng Chengqian yawned, "It's not early anymore, I still need to rest early, and please ask Mr. Karl to go back too."

  "Very well," said Karl hesitantly, "I'll just wait for good news then."

  Feng Chengqian smiled and stood up to see Karl out.

  Of course, Karl didn't take away the envelope with the checkbook.

  Feng Chengqian's silence does not mean that he doesn't need the financial help provided by the bank. By today's standards, 500,000 Imperial Marks is absolutely not a small amount of money. To put it into perspective, the average monthly salary of an imperial worker was only a few marks. 500,000 Imperial Marks, more than a century later, is equivalent to tens of millions of US dollars.

  For Feng Chengqian, what he needs most now is money.

  After seeing Karl off, Schmidt hurried back.

  "Earl, this thing..."

  "Put it here, you go rest first."

  Schmidt nodded and tactfully left the study.

  After being lost in thought for a while, Feng Chengqian finally went to the bedroom.

  The next afternoon, Feng Chengqian arrived at Potsdam Palace several hours in advance.

  "This is..."

  "A capitalist named Karl gave it to me, supposedly representing the Deutsche Bank and the Württembergische Bank, with a credit limit of 500,000 Imperial Marks."

  "You can keep it for yourself, no need to give it to me."

  "Your Majesty, all I have done is for the sake of the Empire. If I were to bestow favors on others, would it not be considered bribery?"

  Frederick III smiled and handed the checkbook to Feng Chengqian. "Isn't the naval construction lacking in funds? If you don't want this money, it can be used for the naval military expenses."

  "This..."

  "In the future, there's no need to report such things to me. If someone sends money your way, it's not a bad thing, you just have to keep it in proportion."

  "The matter of building railways."

  "I have already consulted with the prime minister and he also thinks it is necessary, but just temporarily not beneficial to take action."

  "This..."

  Frederick III sighed and said, "Although Salisbury did not object, the British cabinet and the House of Commons will definitely not support our proposal. The prime minister means that we can use this to win over Turkey, rather than putting our hands into the Persian Gulf. Weakening Britain cannot be done in one move, it must be done gradually."

  Feng Chengqian nodded and said: "I mean the same thing. Since it can't be done, then don't do it."

  "I've already handed this matter over to the Chancellor, so you don't need to worry about it." Frederick III smiled and said, "At tomorrow's imperial conference, the Chancellor will definitely bring it up. As the initiator, you have to support the Chancellor. In any case, the Chancellor is more familiar with diplomatic affairs than either of us."

  "...the Imperial Navy's military expenditures..."

  "The prime minister has agreed in principle to the conditions I put forward, doubling naval expenditures, but it will have to start from next year and the increase each year thereafter must not exceed twice that of the army."

  "This..."

  "In about ten years, naval expenditure will be able to reach twenty percent of that of the army."

  Feng Chengqian sighed silently and didn't say much.

  "By the way, William told me he's willing to support the construction of the navy."

  "Crown Prince?"

  Frederick III smiled and said, "William was deeply impressed by the British Royal Navy when he was young and traveled to Britain for a long time. He mentioned it many times in his early years that the empire should have a strong navy. Last night he came to me and proposed to use half of his annual salary to support the construction of the navy."

  "This..."

  "It's indeed rare for the crown prince to have such thoughts."

  Feng Chengqian nodded and said: "Since the Crown Prince is thinking for the empire, I will definitely do my best."

  "I understand your character, it's just that the crown prince is young and inexperienced. I hope you can interact with him more often in daily life, so he knows how difficult it is to manage a country."

  "Your Majesty has spoken emphatically, the Crown Prince is wise and does not need a humble minister like me to remind him."

  Frederick III smiled and said, "If you put it that way, I'd be too ashamed. Anyway, you have to be more careful with this matter, and consider it a favor to me."

  "Being able to gain Your Majesty's trust, even if I were to die and have my liver and brains splattered on the ground, it would still be insufficient to repay (your kindness)."

  "Enough of these formalities," Frederick III waved his hand and said, "It's still early, you haven't been here for a long time, go take a stroll outside. When the other ministers arrive, I'll have Gustav call you. By the way, there are several newly cultivated peonies in the back garden."

  Feng Chengqian didn't linger, after bidding farewell to Frederick III, he followed Gustav to the backyard.

  In fact, Feng Chengqian was not interested in flowers and grass. In his time, the city covered the entire land, and flowers and grass were rare, and few people knew how to appreciate them.

  The backyard of the imperial palace was very large, and Feng Chengqian had never entered the backyard in daytime before.

  In the first month of coming to this era, Feng Chengqian was always hiding during the day and going out at night. Even at night, he rarely wandered around and spent most of his time with Frederick III.

  It must be admitted that the German royal family is much more modest than the British royal family.

  In the backyard, there aren't many rare flowers and grasses, nor are there any treasures from around the world brought back by adventurers like Buckingham Palace in Great Britain.

  But the backyard of the German Emperor has a different flavor.

  Compared with Buckingham Palace, Potsdam Palace is more peaceful and makes people feel relaxed.

  The meeting with the Emperor was scheduled for four o'clock in the afternoon, and there was still more than an hour to go. Feng Chengqian wandered around for a while until he heard a commotion and stopped in his tracks.

  "It's Princess Sophie and Princess Margaret." Schmidt said in a low voice.

  Before becoming von Sch?nthan's valet, Schmidt served under Gustav and knew every member of the royal family.

  Feng Chengqian took a closer look and indeed it was Princess Sophie and Princess Margaret, who were frolicking and playing in the flower bushes behind the dwarf wall.

  "Earl, shall we go and pay our respects?"

  "Never mind, let's go somewhere else." Feng Chengqian turned around and said, "The imperial meeting is about to begin, it's better for us to head back early."

  "There's still an hour left."

  Feng Chengqian smiled and ignored Schmidt, walking straight out of the garden.

  Although the German Emperor did not explicitly state it, the arrangement for Feng Chongyi to visit Britain has already shown that Frederick III intended to match him with Princess Sophie. If Feng Chongyi marries Princess Sophie, he will become a member of the royal family and can smoothly obtain a high position in the imperial government.

  Feng Chengqian also thought about it, but felt there was no need for it.

  Relying on the emperor is not wrong, but deliberately clinging to and fawning over the imperial family is quite unnecessary.

  Besides, Feng Chengqian didn't plan to dedicate himself forever to the German Empire; he had even greater ideals and would eventually leave his post.

  Not far away, Feng Chengqian stopped in his tracks because he saw William Crown Prince walking towards him.

  It's probably a bad impression or a problem of recognition, Feng Chengqian doesn't want to get too close to Crown Prince William, lest Frederick III becomes suspicious.

  It is worth noting that Crown Prince Wilhelm was first in line to the throne.

  It's too late to hide now.

  Heaving a silent sigh, Feng Chengqian quickened his pace and walked towards Crown Prince William. At least for now, Crown Prince William was the greatest supporter of Feng Chengqian in building the Imperial Navy.