Chapter 65 Financial Management

  Now, Tan Yankai also has a few talents in his hands, but compared to the staff of Zhang Zhidong and Li Hongzhang, it's not worth mentioning. It's reasonable that Weng Tonghe can't beat them - Weng Tonghe is only one brain, which is almost as good as Li Hongzhang's two brains, but he can't compete with the many brains of their staff, who can definitely come up with more ideas than one person.

  The guard team was led by Liu Yu, and in addition to being responsible for Fang Keqing's safety, they also carried five Maxim machine guns and a certain amount of ammunition - these were gifts for the Beiyang government. Although the Qing dynasty's technological level is now backward, from Zeng Guofan's era to Li Hongzhang's pursuit of advanced technology has never cooled down, until now Zhang Zhidong, who wants to do things in a big way and use advanced products.

  In the materials in Tan Yankai's possession, the equipment level of the Beiyang Army was still good, at least stronger than that of the Japanese. The Hotchkiss machine gun was also equipped, but at this time, the powerful killing power of the Maxim machine gun had not yet entered the Beiyang's vision. Tan Yankai's Governor's Guard had only about 100 people, and they were equipped with ten Maxim guns, which in his eyes was a waste. When the Maxim arrived in the hands of the Guards, technicians from the Mauser Weapons Factory demonstrated the powerful force of the Maxim to Tan Yankai and his soldiers - a large tree that two men could hug was shot down by the continuous fire of the Maxim within half a minute. Tan Yankai was shocked, but the shock received by the Governor's Guard soldiers was indescribable.

  Tan Yanqing was not very clear about the situation of the land war in the First Sino-Japanese War, only knowing that one Ye Zhicha escaped from the battlefield, another Zuo Baogui died in battle, and then the overall situation fell apart. He did not dare to hope that five Maxim machine guns could completely change the course of the battle, but as long as they could give the Japanese a head-on blow, it would be enough. It can be imagined that when several such "harvesters of human lives" suddenly appeared on the battlefield, the surprise of the Japanese must have been great.

  If money could buy the enemy's life, Tan Yanqing would have spent all his wealth to buy the lives of the Japanese army. Unfortunately, this was just his fantasy. However, he made as many preparations as possible and tried his best to inflict heavy casualties on the Japanese in battle.

  Li Hongzhang's mansion was naturally first-rate, and more than 20 people were packed in without feeling crowded. However, Tan Yankai was not only enjoying Li Hongzhang's material temptation but also carefully calculating which account of the Beiyang government this mansion would be charged to - the Beiyang Navy? The China Merchants Steam Navigation Company? The Telegraph Bureau... Tan Yankai shook his head: "If Old Li could use his energy in buying people's hearts to deal with the Japanese, it would be absolutely no problem for the Beiyang forces to confront the entire Japan, of course, provided that old lady is willing..."

  A pair of small hands slowly passed through Tan Yan's arm: "This time, the northern public official asked me to bring a letter to you when he left... Are you still used to being here? I heard that people in the north rarely eat rice, and you've lost weight..."

  Tan Yanqin shifted his gaze from the house to the beautiful girl behind him, just as he was about to pull his arm out of Fang Qiu's hand. Seeing the little girl frown slightly, he couldn't bear to stop and put his arm back in Fang Qiu's hand: "I didn't expect I'd already have a family!"

  "I've been doing all right here, and Zhong Tang has taken good care of me. Don't forget that Zhong Tang is also from the south, and there are many people from the two Huai regions in his government office. It's not a problem to eat rice here, but things are just busier and more complicated, that's all... Did your father have any messages for me when you were about to leave?" Tan Yanqian said softly.

  Seeing Tan Yanqing no longer withdrew his arm, Fang Rong's face relaxed again and asked: "How did you know that the old man had something to say? Didn't he have a letter?"

  Tan Yanqin smiled slightly and said, "I am his son. The old man has some habits that cannot be changed no matter how they are changed. Leaving a message on the letter is important, but if there is no language to explain it, even if you look at the letter, it will be in vain. This sentence is the topic of the letter..."

  Fang Qiong's nose wrinkled as he listened, and he smiled faintly: "'Old head'? Hehe... but indeed you've guessed it. The old man has a message to convey: 'Think more about that person's thoughts, ask if there's any way to get 500,000 taels of silver in a short time, be more filial...' What does this mean? Who needs to be shown filial piety, and why do they need so much?"

  Tan Yanqin took the letter from Fang Cong's hand, glanced at it hastily and smiled: "The old man's things are full of doors and paths, the more you look and think, the more you ponder, the more you understand. Even if I tell you, it's useless..."

  Tan Zhonglin didn't mention anything substantial in the letter, and Tan Yanqing could understand the old man's intention without even reading it. However, what gave him a headache was where to get 500,000 taels of silver, as it was clear that starting an industry wouldn't be possible in time. The woolen mill was a goose that laid golden eggs, and since the old man had opened his mouth about it, he must have absolutely no intention of touching the woolen mill. The old man wouldn't do something as foolish as killing the goose to get the eggs.

  Fang Qiong heard this and frowned: "You two are indeed not unworthy of being father and son, your appearance and thoughts are all molded from the same mold. No wonder the first and second branches can't get Grandfather's favor, but instead it is you who Grandfather cares about the most!"

  Tan Yanqian asked after hearing: "Is it that big brother and second brother have made some moves again?"

  "After you left, the madam arrived in Guangzhou, saying she wanted to have her liver disease treated by a foreign doctor in Guangzhou, but instead had the first wife go to the Rongxuan Weaving Factory..."

  "Hmph! Asking for trouble!" Tan Yanqian said disdainfully.

  "After knowing this, Father sent Da Fang back to Hunan and told him to face the wall and read books..."

  "Di Yang is our foundation, and in a few more years it may not be the case, but for now they don't need to think about this. The old man will take care of Di Yang. Let me remind you, so you won't make wild guesses, who can afford to lose 500,000 taels of silver?" Tan Yanqian was disdainful of such family infighting over property, and he had already proven himself not to be trifled with through his actions. The old man also understood his intentions, and it was he who first got angry when the Di Yang textile mill was ruined.

  "Hehe, are you testing me?"

  "I suppose so. As a family of government officials, you're naturally familiar with these things. Your father-in-law is also a high-ranking official, I'm sure you've seen plenty of this sort of thing... Guess correctly and there's a prize!"

  "Who can afford this 500,000 taels of silver? Probably only princes and governors... It's not for the old empress to build a garden, is it?"

  "You're really clever, you guessed it right away!" Tan Yanqin smiled and gently scratched Fang Congqian's little nose with her finger, then sighed and said: "If you can think of a way to get 500,000 taels of silver, that would be even better!"

  Tan Yanqing understood that the old man wanted him to come up with 500,000 taels of silver to pay respects to Empress Dowager Cixi. This was not a hard and fast rule, as even among provinces, there were not many that could produce 500,000 taels. The old man simply hoped to see if Tan had the potential to do so. So far, Tan and his father had directly given Cixi over 100,000 taels of silver, making Tan Zhonglin the highest donor in the Qing officialdom under personal name. However, the old man was still not satisfied, hoping that Tan Yanqing could come up with even more silver to give to Cixi in exchange for a better future - clearly this amount of 500,000 taels must have been mentioned for a reason, and the old man would not have come up with such a price out of thin air. The question was, what benefits would giving this 500,000 taels of silver bring to Tan and the old man?!

  "The old man must have had ulterior motives behind this figure, and the 500,000 taels were not just an arbitrary assumption. There are risks and opportunities involved, but silver is not the issue; the key is how to handle this problem!" Tan Yanqin thought to himself. The amount of 500,000 taels was indeed staggering, but for him, it wasn't an impossible task. If he wanted to take a risk, the value of the shares he held in the wool textile factory could easily complete this task. However, it was clear that the old man did not want to put the wool factory at stake, at least not before Tan Yanqin gave a positive response - the wool factory meant too much to the Tan family, and the old man had thought this through very clearly.

  "If time is pressing, you can sell the shares of Diyang Spinning Factory in your hands. I believe someone outside will come to buy them at a high price. In addition, the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company stocks given by Li Hongzhang are also worth around 800,000 to 900,000 taels... If time is ample, the profits from Jie Du Wan and Diyang can accumulate for a year or two, and having 5 million taels will be more than enough..." Fang Rongqing said with a smile.

  "Heh heh, you still understand these things, who told you. However, it's indeed like this, if time permits, in less than half a year, just a few months, I can get 500,000 taels, the key is that these 500,000 taels cannot be taken out from here, I have already arranged for the use of these profits beforehand." Tan Yanqian did not evade this question from Fang Congying.

  "Master has already instructed Wen Yuan and the others that as long as it's about your industry, I can ask questions, but I'm just listening to what Wen Yuan and the others have to say. The woolen mill is your foundation, I know that, and those shareholders are very hardworking, I don't want to interfere either. I just handled some wedding gifts, mainly letting Wen Yuan and the others use some loose change to buy some shares of the China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company. Now the company's stock has risen sharply, Sheng Xuanhuai heard that you wanted to buy stocks and allocated 10,000 taels worth of stocks, Wen Yuan and the others also collected a few sporadically, plus what Tang Ji Meng gave, totaling less than 70,000 taels..."

  Fang Rongying was able to manage Tan Yanqing's finances, which didn't bother Tan Yanqing much. On the one hand, it was with the old man's permission, and on the other hand, he had also seen in some big families that the inner chamber managed certain industries. Fang Rongying knew what to manage and what not to manage, which made Tan Yanqing very satisfied. At least his wife was a clever little girl, which might have something to do with her education. However, Fang Rongying unexpectedly used the capital market to increase the value of their assets by buying stocks in the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company within her "manageable" range, which made Tan Yanqing look at her in a new light.

  "Stocks are a very risky thing, they can rise today and fall tomorrow, it's something that nobody can grasp...it's better to do less of this kind of thing. The China Merchants Bureau has a big background, but you also shouldn't forget that several years ago its stock fell to only half of its face value..." Tan Yankai said.

  "Since you don't want to, I'll just sell all these stocks then. It's a pity though, the 100 yuan face value stock of China Merchants Steam Navigation Company has already risen to around 240 yuan. Wen Yuan and others said that after China Merchants signed a contract with Jardine Matheson and Butterfield & Swire, there won't be much change in the next two or three years... China Merchants has a big backing now, having undertaken the transportation of troops to Korea, with even greater profits. When I passed through Shanghai on my way here, Wen Yuan said at the dock that the stock prices had risen very well..."

  Tan Yanqun carefully sized up his wife, who was still quite unfamiliar to him. He hadn't expected her to have such a strong personality and economic sense. However, thinking back to the time they parted ways, he recalled the receipt written in small characters with a hairpin flower, which should have made him realize that Fang Rongying had a good head for finance; it was just that now, from her involvement in buying China Merchants Bank stocks, his previously vague thoughts were further confirmed.

  Tan Yanqun stretched out his hand to gently stroke Fang Rongyin's long hair and said in a warm voice, "Tomorrow I will send a telegram to Wen Yuan, asking him to sell all the shares of China Merchants Bank. This game we won't play anymore!"

  "Why? Isn't it good enough?! Fang Qinger didn't expect Tan Yanqing to actually reject her work, originally she wanted to give her husband a surprise through this, but didn't think it would end up like this."

  "This is not your fault, Shen Wenyuan's thoughts are also correct, but some things seem right on the surface, yet they hide great risks! I know Sheng Xuanhuai of China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company, he is Li Hongzhang's protege. With Li Hongzhang as a backing, China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company will naturally be fine, but if this big tree itself has problems, what kind of outcome will China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company have?!" Tan Yankai said calmly.

  "Is it really going to war recently? Didn't the Beiyang Fleet win with weakness and sink a Japanese warship?"

  "Your message is quite timely, but the war has indeed begun. Just two days ago, the imperial court declared war on Japan. What I want to say is that the success or failure of a single warship cannot determine the outcome of an entire war. Although the Beiyang Fleet has gained the upper hand for now, it's not certain that this war will be won! One can't put all one's eggs in one basket. Although I'm with the Beiyang Fleet, I don't have much confidence in this war. We can't hang ourselves on a single tree; making more preparations is always better..."

  Tan Yanqing didn't know if Fang Keqing understood or not. Although he didn't understand finance and stocks, the Beiyang government's preparations for this war were really no match for the Japanese. Li Hongzhang had a slightly higher chance of crossing this threshold than in history, but it was still just a possibility, and a very small one at that. When the skin is gone, where can the hair attach? If Li Hongzhang unfortunately repeated the mistakes of history, the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company might not go bankrupt, but the stock market would definitely be severely impacted by the defeat. As they say, it's better to have a bird in hand than to chase after a whole flock in the woods. Tan Yanqing had easily made this money and didn't want to suffer an unexpected disaster, so he decided to withdraw and observe - for him, there was no loss in doing so, and he wasn't willing to take such a risk.

  "You don't think this war will go well?"

  "War is fought by men, and I don't think much of the Huai Army's upper or lower ranks. Perhaps the old man is eager to use these 500,000 taels of silver, and more than half of it will probably be spent in vain. If you have any other stocks on hand, sell them off together, except for our own shares that we won't sell... This war isn't going to be so simple, even if luck is good, it'll only be a repeat of the Sino-French War ten years ago, and who knows what kind of world will come after..."

  Fang Qiong tightly grasped Tan Yan's hand, but didn't say a word. To her, the man in front of her was already her everything, despite his young age. He was already outstanding, even more so than anyone she had ever seen. However, there was always a thread of worry entwining itself around her heart.

  Tan Yanxin felt the temperature of her hand, and naturally understood that the little girl had some worries in her heart. He smiled and said: "Don't worry, a scholar like me who can't even tie up a chicken will not be sent to the battlefield... But I'm worried about you, Tianjin and Beijing are different from Guangzhou, there are many powerful people here, and those who fly high and swagger are too numerous. When there's nothing going on, try to go out less, and when you do go out, let Liu Yu and others arrange for guards to protect you, understand?"

  Fang Qing nodded lightly and said: "I understand..."

  Tan Yanqin smiled slightly and said, "Alright, you stay here and rest for a while. There are many things to attend to at the General Office, I'll go take care of them first. I'll come home for dinner tonight..."

  Li Hongzhang's strong counterattack was beyond Weng Tonghe's expectations. He did not expect that Li Hongzhang, who had been deceived by the French three times before signing a treaty ten years ago, would now dare to loudly advocate for an all-out war with Japan. However, there was another thorny issue for him - military expenses! The various war preparation expenditures listed in the memorial made Weng Tonghe's head sweat profusely. If everything were to be purchased and prepared, it would cost at least tens of millions of taels of silver, and this was only during the preparation stage; if actual fighting were to begin, even more silver would be needed.

  "This move is really ruthless!" Weng Tonghe thought to himself, but he didn't realize that he was originally trying to force Li Hongzhang.