1905: Beer Hall Speaker

Page 69

Wu Bai said worriedly, "But General Zhao is also a great figure who has fought on the battlefield. How can we serve him tea and meals?"

Zhao Yan scoffed, "He's just a good-for-nothing disciple. It's only natural for a disciple to serve his master tea and meals. Don't worry about that!"

When Wu Bai came to her senses, she realized that Zhao Yan was holding her small hand and wouldn't let go. She blushed and tried to pull her hand back, but Zhao Yan held it firmly and wouldn't let go.

"Your Majesty, please don't do this!"

"Hey, I'm here to read your bones and predict your fortune."

"So what did you find?"

"I've figured it out, it's definitely my luck with love!"

As the saying goes, beauties love heroes. What woman wouldn't be trembling in the face of Zhao Yan, who had fought valiantly on the battlefield? After spending these days with Zhao Yan, Wu Baishi understood that he harbored ill intentions, but how could she dare to disobey him?

Moreover, after spending these days together, Wu Baishi was completely fooled by Zhao Yan, who specially arranged for her to stay by his side.

At first, Zhao Yan's condition was kept secret, and ordinary maids and eunuchs could not get close to him. However, it would not be possible to take care of Zhao Yan without a meticulous woman, so Wu Baishi took on the role of nurse.

Wu Baishi was responsible for washing her body, serving her tea and medicine, and taking care of her eating, drinking, and toileting needs. She did these things very meticulously and thoughtfully.

During the process of caring for him, Wu Baishi also saw Zhao Yan's body covered in wounds. His thighs were calloused from riding horses, and the knife scars on his shoulders and arms were hideous. The bullet hole in his chest was even more frightening.

Wu Baishi believed Zhao Yan's boasts without question.

Zhao Yan, who was lying in bed on the first day of the Lunar New Year and was on the verge of death, was brought back to life after seeing Wu Baishi. After Wu Baishi fed him medicine for two days, he was lively and started to have wicked thoughts.

Back when Zhao Yan was a fraudster, he had a bad habit of seducing his clients' wives. The main reason he was arrested repeatedly was not because his fraudulent skills were lacking, but because he insisted on deceiving others and then cheating on them.

He succeeded in his scam the last time, and before leaving, he didn't forget to have sex with another woman's wife. As a result, he was taught a lesson by the other woman's husband with a heavy truck.

Seeing Wu Baishi, this graceful young woman, with her widowhood, large breasts, supple waist, and alluring face, Zhao Yan was completely bewildered by all these advantages combined.

At this moment, Zhao Yan, facing this face so close to his own, held the other person's hand and couldn't help but move closer. Wu Baishi didn't flinch and obediently closed her eyes.

"cough cough"

At the crucial moment, a cough broke the ambiguity.

Zhang Mingqi walked in carrying a large stack of documents, and as soon as she entered, she saw the adulterous couple almost successfully making contact.

"Oh dear, how embarrassing!" Wu Baishi could no longer sit still and quickly got up and left the study like the wind.

Zhao Yan said with a displeased look, "Premier Zhang, you really know how to ruin things!"

Zhang Mingqi also looked angry: "Your Majesty, you should still prioritize your health. You were almost on the verge of death a while ago, but you've pulled through. You still need to take care of yourself."

"Relationships between men and women are detrimental to one's health; let's prioritize national affairs right now!"

Zhang Mingqi was a veteran, so he didn't hold back when he spoke. He walked over and slammed a huge pile of documents onto the desk: "These are all official documents sent from various places recently. You'd better take care of them."

"I didn't say much when you were lying in bed and looked like you were about to die, but now you have time to mess with someone's old mother, so I think you should handle these official documents!"

Zhao Yan's eyes widened in disbelief: "How can there be so many? You old codger, do you think I'm new here?"

"I never reviewed this many official documents in a single day before I went to war. You didn't bring all your copies here with you, did you?"

Zhang Mingqi said, "You only have a little over ten kilograms, while I get more than twenty kilograms every day. How about we switch orders? Right now, it's the height of a major war, and there's a lot of movement of people and supplies across the country. The south is still developing its industries, so of course there's a lot going on!"

In the past, Zhang Mingqi handled these matters alone from the rear. Zhao Yan went on the expedition for seven or eight months, and he carried it all by himself for seven or eight months. The old man is already sixty years old and can't withstand such a long period of exhaustion.

Zhao Yan smiled and invited Zhang Mingqi to sit down and chat. He was very respectful to this veteran who had been quietly contributing behind the scenes.

After exchanging a few words, Zhang Mingqi asked with a worried expression, "Has the leader ever read the Records of the Three Kingdoms?"

Zhao Yan was stunned, then shook his head.

Zhang Mingqi continued, "What about Romance of the Three Kingdoms? The Romance is fine too!"

Zhao Yan told the truth: "I haven't read it, but I've seen it."

Zhang Mingqi ignored the details and continued, "Does Your Majesty know of Cao Mengde and Zhang Xiu?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yan immediately understood. He wasn't stupid; he grasped Zhang Mingqi's meaning.

Zhao Yan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said with a troubled expression, "Old Zhang, do you even know what love is?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Mingqi's beard trembled with anger: "Your Excellency, I don't understand love, but I do know the lessons of the past!"

It's not that we don't want you, Zhao Yan, to have women. As the head of state, let alone having women, even if you had three palaces and six courtyards, no one would say a word. In fact, everyone would be worried that you would have no heir!

But your taste in women and your preferences are truly outrageous!

Zhao Yan said with a reluctant expression, "But I fell in love with her at first sight!"

Zhang Mingqi slammed his fist on the table and stood up angrily, saying, "What nonsense about love at first sight! You're clearly just lusting after her, greedy for her body, despicable!"

Zhao Yan was annoyed: "You old bastard, do you really think I wouldn't dare to mess with you? I've fought countless battles and traversed battlefields for so long, can't I enjoy myself a little?"

"You dare to use Cao Mengde's past with Zhang Xiu to scare me? Do you think I'm easily frightened? Old Cao was just messing around with someone else's aunt, while I'm taking care of my widowed mother for my apprentice."

"A teacher for a day is a father for life. Theoretically, there's nothing wrong with what I'm doing. What am I afraid of?"

Zhang Mingqi said quietly, "In the end, you still want to sleep with someone's mother!"

Zhao Yan: ""

Zhang Mingqi stroked his beard and said slowly, "Your apprentice Wu Zifu is far more capable than Zhang Xiu. Think about it carefully!"

Zhao Yan asked somewhat uncertainly, "You mean, he'll stab me like Lü Bu did?"

Zhang Mingqi scoffed, "Dong Zhuo never slept with Lü Bu's mother, so don't make false accusations against Grand Tutor Dong!"

Zhao Yan muttered, "Probably not. Our teacher-student relationship is higher than the sky and deeper than the sea. We even swore an oath before the Party flag."

Zhao Yan became increasingly uneasy as he spoke, and eventually couldn't continue. He could only glance at Zhang Mingqi, hoping she could come up with a solution.

Zhang Mingqi spread his hands and said, "Don't count on me. Think about this yourself. While there's still time to salvage the situation, clear things up quickly."

Zhao Yan waved his hand: "Forget about that, let's get down to business. National affairs come first!"

Seeing Zhao Yan's attitude, Zhang Mingqi didn't say anything more. He was already so old, it was really too much for him to be acting as a relationship advisor.

After getting down to business, the two of them sat up straight, no longer as relaxed as before.

The situation on the front lines is deadlocked, with neither side able to take any action against the other, but neither side is willing to take the initiative to negotiate, making the situation very awkward.

Both sides have their eggs in the hands of the other. The Republic has occupied the Korean Peninsula, thwarting Japan's greatest victory since the Meiji Restoration. Its southern expedition to Burma has brought it to India, and its guns are close to the most dazzling jewel in the British Queen's crown.

But the other side was not weak either. The British held Hong Kong firmly in their grasp, and their naval guns were openly pointed at Guangzhou and Shanghai. The reason they did not fire was to deter the Indian army from invading India.

More importantly, the British tightly controlled the Strait of Malacca, thus controlling the South China Sea shipping lanes and putting all external sea routes to China under their control.

This results in extremely high import costs for China. Currently, the price of importing external war resources for the Republic is more than twice that of other countries. Japan can buy a single artillery shell for only thirty US dollars, but China needs to pay sixty US dollars.

Because you can't afford the price, no one is willing to risk delivering the goods to your door. Although the British lost the tariffs on the continent, they controlled the trade barriers at sea. They continued to collect money, and even more, unless China stopped importing anything.

Japan's control of the Kwantung Leased Territory has effectively strangled the Bohai Strait, leaving the entire Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region with toil with one eye open.

Everyone has weaknesses that the other party has in their hands, and in such cases, negotiation is the right way to resolve the issue.

The Republic's debt deficit has exceeded one billion taels of silver, and the annual interest alone costs more than 60 million taels of silver, most of which is spent on military expenses.

During this period, the Republic's finances required an expenditure of over 100 million taels of silver per month to maintain the war effort and to import military equipment, ammunition, machinery, raw materials, and so on.

Japan is not faring much better. The price of rice in Japan is approaching the 40 cents per liter mark. Coupled with the export of red revolutionary ideology from mainland China, the constant protests are making Japan's domestic base precarious.

Although the British were the most financially secure and resourceful players at the table, they could theoretically continue in the Far East until the collapse of the Republic.

But the British are playing at several tables at the same time, and they can't possibly put all their chips into the Far East. The core of the British poker game is still in Europe.

The arms race has now officially begun in Europe. The British began developing dreadnoughts the year of the Changsha Uprising, and the Germans announced last year that they would challenge British naval power and build a high seas fleet.

Besides the navy, the army was another area where European powers invested heavily. The British Army had only 140,000 regular troops before the war, but now it has expanded to 620,000.

Germany was a land power. Before the outbreak of the Far East war, its standing army had a total strength of more than 600,000 men, and now it has a total strength of 920,000 men.

France goes without saying; their standing army has been specifically designed to counter the Germans, and its strength has now exceeded one million.

The British are no longer interested in raising their bets in the Far East; they need to conserve their chips for the European game. It doesn't matter if they lose in the Far East, as long as they don't lose in Europe, their foundation remains intact.

Britain's core interests have always been in Europe, with Asia being only a secondary interest.

Moreover, even if the British don't raise their bets, the existing bets are still extremely difficult for China to accept. Even though Zhao Yan forced Russia to retreat, he is still having a huge headache dealing with the Anglo-Japanese alliance.

Zhao Yan and Zhang Mingqi discussed the matter repeatedly but couldn't find a way to break the deadlock. However, they both agreed that they absolutely could not back down now.

The situation soon took a turn for the better. On February 18, 1908, French diplomatic envoy John Truc visited China and arrived in Beijing, announcing the start of a new phase in French diplomacy with China.

Ostensibly, the French came to China to re-establish diplomatic ties and trade channels between China and France, but in reality, everyone knew what the French were really doing in Beijing.

Chapter 124 Sino-French Relations

French envoy Truc visited Beijing and was personally welcomed and received by Zhao Yan. Zhao Yan was very positive about the Frenchman's arrival, since all that was needed now was a peacemaker to give both sides in the war a way out.

Zhao Yan's exceptional hospitality made the French feel his overwhelming sincerity. Normally, such a matter would only require the foreign minister to intervene, but the foreign minister of the Republic had already been executed. During the subsequent purge on New Year's Eve last year, the former foreign minister Qi Minghui was implicated and then killed.

After that, the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs remained vacant, and no new minister was elected. This was because the Republic abolished all the former Qing Dynasty's ambassadors to foreign countries, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn't have much work to do anyway. At most, it was just maintaining the chargé d'affaires-level diplomatic missions in Europe and North America.

Another reason is that the French are currently one of the Republic's largest creditors, and Zhao Yan was afraid that they would default on the loan, so he personally stepped forward to appease them.

Anyone who has experienced being betrayed by Alipay knows how it feels when you need money the most and Huabei and Jiebei are suddenly suspended! Let alone being suspended, even if they just reduce your credit limit, you can't stand it.

Although the French charge high interest rates on loans, they are willing to lend, and the amounts they offer are also very high. Zhao Yan has a love-hate relationship with these French loan sharks.

Currently, China owes France 14.7 billion francs, approximately 200 million taels of silver. Of this, 60% is war bonds with a five-year term and an interest rate of 6%, while the remaining four cities are high-interest loans with an annual interest rate exceeding 7%. All interest is settled annually.

Now that his creditor has traveled a long way to visit him, Zhao Yan can only greet him with a smile. There's no other way; he's hoping to borrow even more from the other party, and ideally, he'd use loans to pay off other loans—that would be perfect.

The French weren't in a hurry to collect their debts. They were quite confident in China's ability to repay, given that China had withstood the combined pressures of Britain, Japan, and Russia so well that they weren't worried about the other side collapsing or going bankrupt.

French envoy Truc first proposed the idea of ​​re-establishing diplomatic relations between China and France. After all, the Republic currently only has one plenipotentiary embassy in Europe, namely the embassy in Berlin, Germany, while other countries are at the level of chargé d'affaires.

If the French were the ones who provided the money in this war, then the Germans were the ones who provided the labor. They did all the work, including military aid, technical assistance, selling equipment, and building military academies. Although they also made a lot of money, they did just as much work.

The French are now eager to establish normal diplomatic relations with China, after all, they also covet China's massive orders. The same industrial products can earn only one franc in other places, but two francs in China. Although such profits cannot be sustained, even if things return to normal after the war, the size of the Chinese market will be enormous.

The French have stopped engaging in discriminatory diplomacy at the ministerial level; they're now asking for an ambassadorship, which is a significant show of respect.

In the past, the powers sent envoys to China, and there were four levels of diplomatic rank: ambassador, minister, chargé d'affaires, and severance of diplomatic relations or declaration of war. In the past, China's international status was in the hands of the Qing Dynasty, and they did not bother to send ambassadors.

The great powers would send ambassadors to European countries, even small ones like the Netherlands, but they only sent ministers to China, clearly showing their contempt for China.

This time, the French directly sent an ambassador, which shows the power of their position. If you have the strength and ability, then you must be respected.

In addition to establishing normal diplomatic relations, the French also negotiated with China on trade and concession issues. In trade, the French hoped to obtain the same fully open treatment as Germany and the United States. On this point, the French were very sincere and expressed their willingness to open up trade with their colonies.

Even if France included its colonies, it wouldn't be at a disadvantage. China has an effective consumer market of 400 million people, but France, including its colonies, only has less than 100 million. Moreover, the North African desert and Central African countries are not considered consumer markets at all.

Zhao Yan readily agreed to this request. It seemed that China was at a disadvantage, since China is an agricultural country while France is an industrial country. France could dump its products in the Chinese market, but China would find it extremely difficult to influence the French market.

But Zhao Yan wasn't interested in trade profits; he had his eye on the French East Indies colony. Once the market was open and Chinese merchants could do business there, Chinese troops would soon be able to enter as well.

You covet my market interests, but I covet your colonial interests! When we can't repay the money in the future, Zhao Yan's idea isn't to sell his blood to pay off the debt, but to attack the French Far East colonies and then use that money to settle the debt!

After the trade issues were settled, the two sides began negotiations on the issue of expatriates. The two countries agreed to grant each other's citizens national treatment within their respective spheres of influence. The French thought it was harmless, since there weren't many Chinese people who could come to Europe anyway.

Finally, there was the issue of concessions. All of France's concessions in China had been occupied by the Nationalist Army. The Republic government reclaimed all of its concession areas in China, except for the Kwantung Leased Territory and Hong Kong Island, which had not yet been recovered.

France had many concessions in China. Of course, the French did not expect to restore their concessions in China, but they still hoped that China would return the property on the concession land. After all, many of these properties were legal properties built with French money, and you can't just swallow them up.

In particular, the banks and various companies in China whose assets were frozen by the Chinese were not compensated by unequal treaties; they were built with real money by the French.

Zhao Yan responded that this was open to discussion, stating that the Republic absolutely respects the legitimate property of all countries in China, and that the government of the Republic will never forcibly confiscate property acquired through fair means and market profits.

Zhao Yan's attitude pleased and earned the trust of the French, because apart from his somewhat outrageous treatment of the Japanese, Zhao Yan was quite reasonable with other countries.

When the Qingdao concession was taken back from Germany, money was paid; it wasn't a matter of simply taking it all back. When it came to taking back concessions from other countries, Zhao Yan took back everything related to territory and sovereignty without any room for negotiation. However, the private property within the concessions was mainly frozen.

Even the Russians managed to get some compensation from Zhao Yan through negotiations, so they didn't lose everything.

Zhao Yan ruthlessly reclaimed everything that other countries had seized through trickery and coercion, especially property linked to inequality, which he confiscated entirely.

However, Zhao Yan did not take the profits you earned legally through the market and through your own abilities; he simply froze them.

In this respect, the great powers still appreciated Zhao Yan. Even in Britain, which had declared war and entered a state of war, Zhao Yan did not touch most of the assets of their expatriates and the enterprises and banks in the concession areas; they were merely frozen.

Only a small portion of assets are confiscated, and the Republic only confiscates them after a trial and a conviction of the overseas Chinese or the enterprise.

Apart from Japan, Japan was truly subjected to a complete annihilation policy, with even its overseas citizens being sent to "re-education camps" for reformation. This was because China did not treat Japan as a normal country, but rather as a vassal state.

The great powers were very satisfied with these things. Even the British had to hold their noses and say something, because Zhao Yan still respected the rules.

Zhao Yan did this not out of weakness, but to establish national credibility and to build an independent, strong, and trustworthy nation.

Because postwar China needed to develop, it couldn't do without overseas investment and technology. Without the backing of a country's credit, who would dare to come in? At best, they might do business with you and borrow money at high interest rates. Investing in technology was out of the question!

The reform and opening up of the original Dongda University was aimed at attracting foreign investment, which was essentially a market-for-technology exchange. However, it was extremely difficult in the early stages because people were afraid of it.