Chapter 39: Guan Yu's Loan

  Fujian is located in the southeast, and according to what people said later, it belongs to the sphere of influence of the British. However, this sphere of influence is a very vague thing. For example, in the northeast, due to the existence of the Chinese Eastern Railway and the South Manchurian Railway, Russia and Japan both have troops stationed in the Northeast. These two countries invested heavily in industry and concentrated large amounts of capital in the Northeast. To some extent, the commercial interests and mineral resources of the Northeast are very important to Japan.

  Similarly, in the Yangtze River Delta region, foreign businessmen led by Britain invested heavily in numerous enterprises here. The presence of large amounts of foreign capital made it necessary for governments of various countries to pay attention to the interests of their own nationals in these areas, and over time they became particularly concerned about these regions. This concern for specific regions did not mean that these places were within their sphere of influence, allowing only their own country's capital to enter while excluding other countries' capital.

  Of course, this excludes the Northeast, which is nominally sovereign but has actually become a colony. The three provinces of Northeast China had tens of thousands of Japanese and Russian troops stationed there due to the presence of the Manchurian Railway and the Chinese Eastern Railway, indicating that the central government had lost actual control over the Northeast.

  For example, Fujian is geographically located in the southeast and belongs to the UK's sphere of influence in some sense. However, if we say that several decades ago, Fujian still had some effect on the UK due to tea leaves, today's Fujian is not an important place for Fujian itself. Fujian has no significant mineral resources, and its exports are mainly tea leaves, wood, and paper products. Due to the inability of ports like Fuzhou and Xiamen to extend inland, the market is limited to the Fujian region. Since the 1980s, the prosperous economic system established by importing foreign cigarettes for resale and exporting tea has declined. From an economic perspective, Fujian is not worth mentioning, far less important than Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong, or even Hubei to the UK.

  But no matter how bad the economy of Fujian is, it is located in the southeastern region and borders Guangdong to the south, Zhejiang to the north, and Jiangxi to the west. If Fujian were to become chaotic, its influence on other provinces would be significant.

  So when Zhu Julan learned that Fujian had purchased a large quantity of arms from Germany, he immediately sent a telegram to the Consul in Fuzhou to inquire about this matter with Chen Jingyun.

  What Zhu Ruijian was worried about was not Chen Jingyun, but the Germans. If it were just a matter of the Germans investing in industry and commerce, that would be one thing, but for Germany to sell large quantities of arms to Fujian in southeastern China during this time of turmoil was something worth worrying about.

  Was this an official act of Germany? Was it the intention of Germany to use Chen Jingyun's hand to stir up trouble in the south and thus cause large-scale losses to the empire's commercial interests here?

  After receiving the telegram, Odo Jones was surprised that Chen Jingyun could take out so much money and also rushed to formally ask for an explanation from Chen Jingyun about this matter!

  After listening to Odo Jones' inquiry, Chen Jingyun's expression didn't change and he didn't say a word, instead he quietly fell into silence. He was considering what the British were thinking about and why they cared. Were they worried about something?

  It was a good while later that he took another sip of the now-cold tea: "This thing does exist, but it's purely a business transaction! If the British side permits it, I'd also be willing to buy military equipment from you!"

  When Chen Jingyun said this, Odo Jones didn't plan to refute anything. His task was only to confirm from Chen Jingyun whether the matter was true or not, and also to see if Chen Jingyun would admit it. If Chen Jingyun frankly admitted it, it meant that things were still under control. Later, how to solve it and what to do next were matters for above. If Chen Jingyun didn't admit it, Odo Jones could guarantee 100% that it was the Germans' doing.

  To know that now Germans are competing with British globally, it cannot be ruled out the possibility of Germans appearing in Southeast Asia to stir up trouble.

  "The military products of the Empire Enterprise are top-notch, if General Wu is willing to buy them, I'd be happy to recommend someone to discuss the details!" Odo Jones said, thinking to himself, who knows if it's true or not, but if it is, he should be able to earn a few thousand pounds from the deal!

  Seeing that the matter had already been discussed, Chen Jingyun remembered that he was trying to make money everywhere, so he turned his attention to Odo Jones and said: "I want to buy military equipment, but Consul, you also know that Fujian is poor and white, it's really!"

  "Odious!" Jones almost rolled his eyes, just now saying he wanted to buy arms and then saying he had no money, wasn't this playing with himself?! Fortunately, he was a professional diplomat, so his expression didn't change as he said: "The Germans wouldn't give you all the arms for free, would they?"

  "I've only paid the deposit so far!" Chen Jingyun has already started thinking about loans and bonds!

  "Oh!" Since they didn't have money, Odo also didn't plan on saying more.

  "But then Chen Jingyun said: 'So I think, I don't know if the bankers in your country are interested in loans!'"

  "Oh? A loan?" Odie Jones wasn't a businessman, but a diplomat. In his eyes, political interests were more important than commercial ones, so he had no interest in loans or anything like that.

  "Although O'Donnel Jones was not very interested in the loan, he had to follow Chen Jingyun's words and ask: "General, how much do you plan to borrow and what will be used as collateral?"

  "I wonder how much I can borrow with the remaining shares of Fujian Province as collateral?" Chen Jingyun asked straightforwardly.

  As soon as Jones heard the two words "Guanyu", he immediately became vigilant. The so-called Guanyu refers to the remaining silver after deducting the monthly compensation, debts and other payments from China's customs tax revenue. Although the main part of the customs revenue has been taken away by foreigners, the remaining small part is not insignificant either. The Guanyu of a single province like Fujian amounts to tens of millions of yuan per year. Originally, these customs taxes were handed over to the Chinese side for safekeeping, but after the Wuchang Uprising, due to the turmoil in China, various countries, in order to ensure that various compensations and loans could be repaid on time, deposited the customs revenue into foreign banks such as HSBC, resulting in the complete loss of China's customs authority.

  "General, I must remind you that according to the relevant treaty, the remaining customs duties will be directly handed over to your central government by the Bank Committee, while the Fujian Military Government is only a local government and has no right to accept the surplus, so the surplus cannot be used as collateral!"

  Chen Jingyun was not to be underestimated: "So you also know that Fujian no longer recognizes the ruling authority of the Northern Government, which means these terms do not apply to Fujian! And since Fujian and the Northern Manchu court are at war, I will not tolerate sending the remaining taxes from Fujian Province to Beijing!"

  "General, are you saying that you refuse to acknowledge the treaty previously signed between our two countries?"

  "Consul! I didn't say that I don't recognize the treaties signed between our two countries, nor did I say that I want to take back all the customs duties. I just want to close the remaining ones!"

  "What if the Empire says no!" Odie Jones thought it necessary to ask ahead of time what Chen Jingyun's reaction would be.

  Chen Jingyun said: "The customs of Fuzhou, Xiamen and Santuo Ao can proceed as usual, but I will turn other ports in Fujian into free ports, dismiss all personnel who inspect and confiscate smuggled goods, set up a new customs office 50 li outside the original one, and uniformly levy transit taxes!"

  What is a free port, that is a tax-free port, and then dismiss the officials who crack down on smuggling. Chen Jingyun wants to turn Fujian into a duty-free zone! According to various treaties, even if Chen Jingyun sets up new customs ports, he cannot manage them himself and must hand them over to foreigners. Since I couldn't get any tariff revenue and for various reasons couldn't establish new customs to collect taxes, I would support smuggling. In short, let the three major customs of Fujian become decorations, don't give me tariff revenue, and you can't even collect taxes!

  If Chen Jingyun really wants to do this, the British will have no way to suppress it. Although the customs is currently managed by foreigners, if Chen Jingyun really withdraws the customs and makes Fujian a province that does not collect customs duties, the British will be helpless! As for using the central government to suppress, Fujian has already broken away from the rule of the Qing court.

  In the face of Chen Jingyun's helpless display, must we really send warships over? If a military conflict were to occur with Chen Jingyun, an important military leader of this allied faction, at this critical juncture, it is highly likely that the revolutionaries in the south would view Britain as leaning towards the Qing dynasty. This would not be good for the Empire, given that its main commercial interests lie in the southern provinces. If the revolutionaries were to determine that the Empire supports the Qing court, the Empire's interests in the south would likely suffer a severe blow.

  O'Donnel soon made things clear, Chen Jingyun wanted to give up the surplus, it's not impossible, after all, the surplus is not for Britain itself, giving it to the Chinese central government or local government is just a gift. Besides, he said he wants to lend money, and it's a loan with the surplus as collateral!

  Although Otton Jones' financial prowess was not outstanding, he knew that if these loans could be secured with a surplus, the risk would be small, making them excellent assets that domestic bankers should love. Moreover, if these loans were used to purchase British products, the domestic business community would also benefit.

  What is national interest? Simply put, it's money!

  When Odo Jones thought through this series, he felt that this matter should be feasible. When he looked up at Chen Jingyun again, he didn't think he was so annoying!

  Odell Jones, still maintaining a professional smile on his face, said: "The matter of the customs duties and loans has gone beyond my authority, I will report this to Lord Cholerton! However, I remind the General once again that the customs are related to various indemnity issues of your country, and hope that the General will handle it properly!"

  After seeing off Odo Jones, Chen Jingyun returned to the backyard and saw Luo Li sitting on the railing, lowering his head and fiddling with something in his hand. Walking over to take a look, he found that what Luo Li was holding was an embroidery and needlework.

  "What's embroidered on it?" Chen Jingyun lowered his head and took a look at it with one hand.

  Luoluo saw Chen Jingyun, who had arrived at some point, and initially was stunned, but in an instant, a smile appeared on her face: "It's Peony!" Seeing Chen Jingyun carefully examining her embroidery, she felt a bit embarrassed: "I'm not good at embroidering!"

  Luō Liú said is the truth, that Paeonia suffruticosa embroidery's general appearance can still be seen as a flower, but absolutely cannot recognize it as Paeonia suffruticosa. However, Chén Jìngyún will not say so, instead saying: "I think it's quite good!"

  He held her hands and said: "How did you embroider this? What if your hand gets pierced?"