Chapter Forty-Five: Lavish Gift

  After the third signing of the Qi price contract, the actual value of China Merchants' stock continued to rise, and the stock with a face value of 100 taels has now risen to over 200 taels, with an upward trend. More importantly, after signing the new Qi price contract, China Merchants thoroughly crushed the monopolistic ambitions of Jardine Matheson and Swire, especially Swire, which initiated the price war, is now exhausted and suffered heavy losses. Although China Merchants also suffered losses, the first year's profit after signing the contract was nearly 300,000 taels - the stock's face value and actual value cannot be compared to the annual dividend, like China Merchants, a well-managed company with substantial annual dividends.

  "Haha, Li Hongzhang's handwriting is really big! If you want to cash it in, throwing it out will get you 80,000 taels of silver; if you keep it in your hand, the annual dividend will also be more than 1,000 taels. This is a small fortune! Tan Yankai thought to himself: "Li Hongzhang can use 80,000 taels of silver to buy me off, but he's not willing to spend 80,000 taels to save his fleet. He's one of the top figures of this era, but in some ways, he's a complete fool!"

  Tan Yankai knew that as the leader of the Westernization Group for decades, Li Hongzhang had handled countless foreign affairs. The Qing dynasty's silver was spent like flowing water, and it was not possible to account for the tens of millions or hundreds of millions of taels. These Westernization Group figures were on the one hand crying out about a lack of money, while on the other hand they were shamelessly accepting high "rebates" of up to 10% or even several dozen percent from foreign merchants in transactions. These "rebates" made their transaction scales large or small, with some reaching tens of thousands or even hundreds of millions of taels. This money did not necessarily all flow into Li Hongzhang's pocket, but it allowed him to control the entire Huai Army from top to bottom - using national wealth to win people over and buy loyalty!

  Apart from Tang Baowen's gift being "seriously over the limit", Guangdong officials Wang Zichun and Wang Cunshan were also on the "over-the-limit list". Of course, Wang Cunshan had a close relationship with Tan Zhonglin. It was expected that they would be over the limit, but Wang Zichun's gift being over the limit is quite interesting - after all, he was Zhang Zhidong's favorite general. However, it's possible that Wang Zichun's generous gift was related to Xu Zhiyang's impeachment case not long ago, and taking advantage of Tan Yanke's wedding banquet to show gratitude could be justified. But whether there was direct instruction from Zhang Zhidong behind this is hard to say. After all, in Tan Zhonglin's eyes, Wang Zichun was just a small pawn on the front line, while Zhang Zhidong was the real boss.

  Tan Yanqing's mouth twitched into a bitter smile, and Fang Rong asked, "What's wrong?"

  Tan Yanqian didn't think much of it and said lightly: "There's nothing wrong with it, it's just that the courtesy is a bit heavier than usual..."

  "It's not like it's a big deal or anything, and I'm not directly giving you silver. If it's not suitable, then just return it..." Fang Cong said nonchalantly.

  "It's no different from directly sending silver. Don't mention anything else, but if we calculate Tang Baowen's gifts, it would be tens of millions of taels of silver that can't be covered. The visible China Merchants Steam Navigation Company stocks are at least 80,000 taels. If kept in hand, it's a guaranteed annual income of thousands of taels, and the most valuable thing is that year's yarn procurement. Thousands of looms, how many spindles were needed that year?! Li Hongzhang really knows how to be generous with others' money!" Tan Yankai tossed the receipt aside.

  The total value of this long gift list, even if calculated carefully, would be almost a million taels. Tan Yanqing even thought about getting married several times and buying the Wuhan Iron and Steel Plant would not be a problem. However, such an idea was just a black joke.

  "Then return it, we are not short of silver. These gifts are cumbersome, so let's just decline them outright. If you're afraid of delaying time, I can send someone to handle it..." Fang Rongqing said bluntly.

  Tan Yanqin looked at his wife with a strange gaze, although Fang Rong was born into a wealthy family, it was rare to have such insight into money. After all, tens of thousands of taels of silver were a fortune that couldn't be underestimated, and yet Fang Rong could remain calm and unruffled, which in itself was quite remarkable.

  "Return it?!" Tan Yanqing laughed and shook his head, saying: "Returning it is not as good as keeping it, lest we offend people again. These people all have backgrounds, especially Li Hongzhang, one of the two most famous governors in the country today. If I return his gift, I'm afraid that in the future, when we meet, we'll be sworn enemies... However, calculating the benefits I gave to Li Hongzhang, it's not a small amount! Keeping it doesn't mean I'll lose out! Moreover, if this money falls into their hands, they'll just eat and drink with it. It's better to keep it here and do something good for the country and the people!"

  "Is your husband planning to open a factory?!"

  Tan Yanqun heard the two words "husband" and his head was filled with black lines, but he had no choice. The two of them were originally a real couple, but being called "husband" by a beauty was still quite stimulating for Tan Yanqun.

  "There are still many things to be done, the factory is just one of them. Although the industries under my hands are not short of money, it's easy to set up a new factory, but where can I find so many talents? Let's put it aside for now and talk about it when I get back! As for the gifts on the list, you can entrust someone reliable from Mofangtang to handle them all. Also, take care of the Wheelock Stock Exchange stocks...” Tan Yanqing said calmly.

  "Hundreds of thousands of taels, just take a look at her attitude towards money"

  "How could this be? It's also a good deal, and I'll have to earn even more money in the future. But being swayed by tens of thousands of taels is just ridiculous... Even the most basic trust would evaporate..." Tan Yanqian thought to himself.

  Fang Qiong took the gift list handed over by Tan Yanqing with a calm expression, without realizing that it was an item worth nearly one million taels of silver. She turned around and put it on the table to the side, not thinking that this was a test set by her husband, if she had made any changes to the gift list, Tan Yanqing would have abandoned her without hesitation.

  "In the capital, it's also spring, but after all, it's different from here. The weather is still a bit cold, and in the rush, there wasn't enough preparation. Fortunately, I was able to buy a fur-lined cloak, which can keep out the chill to some extent. When I arrive, I'll have to add more warm clothing..."

  Guangdong is always spring, it's harder to see snowflakes here than giant pandas. Tan Yanqian is quite careless in life, but he also knows that buying a fur coat in Guangdong is not easy, especially within such a short period of time. Thinking about this, his heart feels warm.

  "After all, I've settled down and having a wife is really different from being single... Although there's still an age gap, she's actually quite good at taking care of people..."

  —

  Tan Yan's face softened a lot, but he still put down the teacup and said faintly: "Today's homework is not finished yet, I still have to deal with some problems in the study room, you...you go to sleep first!"

  Fang Congqin's face flushed slightly after hearing this. However, he soon felt a little disappointed mixed with a hint of relief, and nodded silently: "Tomorrow we still have to board the ship, it's better for you to go to bed early..."

  Tan Yanqin did nothing in the study outside, there were many things to do, but he didn't have the heart to do them. His mind kept flashing with Fang Rong's voice and appearance, thinking to himself: "That girl should be asleep in the next room, right?"

  Actually, after this short day of getting along with each other, Fang Xiangyu had already left a deep impression on him. Whether he admitted it in his heart or not, Fang Xiangyu was able to leave an impression on him, and it wasn't just because she was his wife. Of course, Tan Yanqing's brain was always dominated by rationality, so there was no way he would have any "love at first sight" thoughts. However, it couldn't be denied that there was something special about Fang Xiangyu that had unknowingly touched his heartstrings...

  Although Tan Yanqin's body didn't need much rest, he slowly stretched out his slightly stiff body and still felt quite uncomfortable. However, he also discovered that a thin blanket had been placed on him at some point. As he picked up the blanket from the ground, he happened to see Fang Qiong walking out of the inner room, and his heart skipped a beat as he said: "You're the one who covered me with this, right? I fell asleep last night and lost track of time..."

  Fang Qiong nodded in agreement with Tan Yanqing's explanation, but from her slightly disappointed eyes, Tan Yanqing felt a pang of pain behind his back. Last night, he had made up his mind to spend the whole night in this study, not even thinking about going to bed. After all, "having grown up" with a woman suddenly by his side made him feel like he was sitting on pins and needles. Facing a wife who he regarded as a "little girl", he felt psychologically inhibited from sharing a bed with her.

  Fang Qiong didn't understand why Tan Yanqian was unwilling to share a room with her. On their wedding night, her husband was drunk and incoherent, and the next day he simply "hid" in his study and slept on a chair. As for today, he would be leaving soon for a distant journey of thousands of miles... Despite being intelligent, she couldn't figure out the reason behind this - not to mention that she wasn't bad-looking, but rather an extraordinary woman; as for her husband having someone else before their marriage, that was even more impossible. Not only had she never heard any rumors, but based on her understanding of Tan Yanqian, it would be harder for him to find another woman than for a cow to climb a tree...

  There was no doubt that Fang Qiong was a clever "woman", although she was still a young girl, but she was much more mature than Tan Yanqian had imagined. After a while, she brought over a basin of warm water for washing her face and said softly: "Master, please hurry up and wash your face..."

  Tan Yanqian wasn't without attendants, these two years as the son of a governor-general, he was used to being served by exclusive house servants, but this basin of washing water was fetched by his own wife, a special feeling silently echoed in Tan Yanqian's heart...

  Fang Rongyi was not supposed to see off Tan Yankai in public, nor could she even appear at the gate of the Governor's Mansion. Of course, she could go shopping on the streets with her attendants, but her activities were extremely limited, and it could be said that she was in a cage compared to before her marriage. When Tan Yankai walked to the door of his small courtyard, he couldn't help but turn back and take a look. Fang Rongyi, dressed as a woman, stood at the door, looking lonely.

  "It will be three months at the earliest, and six months at the latest. I will definitely come back once before the imperial examination!" Tan Yanqi couldn't help but make this promise to this "little girl" who was two years younger than him, and he turned around and left without waiting for Fang Congying's response. At that moment, Fang Congying saw her husband suddenly turn around and say such a sentence as he walked out the door, and at first she was somewhat stunned, but then a faint smile floated to her lips...

  On Tan Yankai's Ability

  Tang Bowen was deeply moved when he personally handed over the letter of surrender to Weng Tonghe in Beijing. Although there was a gap between their ages, their ideas and concepts were quite close. Therefore, on the ferry from Guangdong to Shanghai, the two men chatted enthusiastically and didn't feel lonely at all.

  This time, traveling by the same boat gave Tang Bingwen and Tan Yankai an opportunity to understand each other. Tang Bingwen may have a high position in Li Hongzhang's government, but such a person only made Tan Yankai feel some surprise at his talent, without any special feeling. After all, in this era where chaos is just beginning to appear, there are countless "heroes and heroes", and Tang Bingwen is just a superman with modern ideas, not yet reaching the level of Li Hongzhang behind him.

  However, in comparison, Tang Bowen's inner evaluation of Tan Yanqing has been increasing day by day as they spend more time together. At first, when he heard the name in the government office, Tang Bowen didn't pay much attention to this imperial examination-born official. However, after a series of events and two meetings, his evaluation of Tan Yanqing had completely changed. As young people, especially since Tan Yanqing was several years younger than Tang Bowen, it's impossible for Tang Bowen not to have a competitive heart. But in his view, from every aspect, this young man who sailed the same boat as him surpassed him in many ways - excelling in the imperial examination, running new-style newspapers, publishing "Exhortation to Study", managing large factories, and even making scientific inventions... Now Tang Bowen has completely ignored Tan Yanqing's age, and his vision and abilities have unconsciously made this somewhat arrogant capable person begin to look up to him.

  However, the biggest shock for Tan Yanqing during his journey to Beijing was when he transferred to the Beiyang Navy's warship in Shanghai, which was the Jiyuan ship. Tan Yanqing had a very superficial understanding of the Beiyang Navy before, and as for warships, apart from the famous Zhiyuan, he only knew about the two largest warships, Dingyuan and Jingyuan. He had never heard of the Zhiyuan ship before, and later on, he also worked hard to collect information about the navy. The captain of this Zhiyuan ship was Fang Boqian, who was a classmate of Deng Shichang and other famous Beiyang Navy generals.

  Standing on the 2,300-ton Jiyuan warship, Tan Yankai finally had the opportunity to take a closer look at the Beiyang Fleet's warships. He knew that during the First Sino-Japanese War, the elite Beiyang Fleet was completely destroyed, and it was possible that some ships were captured by Japan, but China no longer had any large-scale warships. Tan Yankai didn't understand the navy in his previous life, but he knew that modern China did not have a large battleship, a symbol of national military power, while Japan did. The gap between China and Japan began with the upcoming First Sino-Japanese War, which would take place in a few months, and the two countries took different paths. Fang Boqian, the captain of the Jiyuan warship, was a man in his late 30s who was shrewd and cunning, making Tan Yankai feel that he was more suited to being a politician than a naval officer.

  "How can two people who have both been abroad be so different? If Tang Bowen were a bit more robust, it would be quite suitable for the two of them to switch places..." Tan Yanqian couldn't help but feel amused.

  The fate of the Jiyuan ship in the Battle of the Yellow Sea was unclear to Tan Yankai, but it could only be one of two outcomes: either sunk or heavily damaged and captured. Thinking about this made Tan Yankai feel a bit stifled. However, from Fang Baqian's words and actions, Tan Yankai also saw the worry between the eyebrows of this naval commander, knowing that the storm of war had already descended upon China and Japan.

  However, the Jingyuan warship still left a good impression on Tan Yankai. Before the emergence of those massive battleships in his past life's video materials, warships like Jingyuan were still quite advanced at that time and could be considered top-notch in East Asia. Fang Boqian knew that these two young men had impressive backgrounds - one was Li Hongzhang's right-hand man and the head of the Tianjin Machinery Bureau; the other had an even more impressive background, being the third son of the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, who could represent Tan Zhonglin in the governor-general's mansion. Although Fang Boqian wouldn't have any interactions with these two young men, he still accompanied them with great respect, taking the opportunity to introduce the warship's weapon systems on the deck as they walked.

  On the Jiyuan ship, Tan Yanqian saw a real big gun for the first time - the main firepower of the Jiyuan ship was a twin 210mm caliber Krupp front main gun and a 150mm caliber rear main gun. Even with his past life memories, Tan Yanqian felt a chill when facing the dark muzzle of such a large-caliber gun. In his previous life, he had heard that the Beiyang Navy's discipline was very poor, to the point where they would even dry clothes on the big guns, but on the Jiyuan ship, he hadn't seen such an exaggerated scene yet. The sailors' uniforms were not neat, but the officers and soldiers he saw throughout the ship all had a solemn expression that couldn't be described, and there was rarely any laughter to be heard.

  "Look at the solemn faces of the officers and men on this warship! Is it because Commander Ying's strict discipline has instilled a sense of awe in his subordinates?" Tan Yanqian asked with a smile as soon as he sat down in the cabin after viewing the main guns on the deck of the Jiyuan ship.