Beiyang Dream

Chapter 44 Nanyang and Beiyang, Party A and Party B

Saturday, September 1890, 1.

Berlin, the rear wing of the Qing Dynasty's embassy in Germany.

Chang Desheng was awakened by someone poking him with a calligraphy brush.

The person who poked him had a strong grip; the hard pen handle poked him squarely in the lower back. He groggily opened his eyes and first saw a broad, Shandong-looking face.

"Zhenbang! Zhenbang! Wake up! What time is it? Still sleeping? This manuscript doesn't match up!"

His voice had a slight Shandong accent, and it was loud and boisterous.

Chang Desheng's mind was still replaying the pile of German military terms from last night: what was "long snake formation", what was "two dragons emerging from the water assault formation", what was "artillery hitting the cow across the mountain"... all translated by those four guys Duan Qirui, Shang Dequan, Wu Dingyuan, and Kong Qingtang, and it looked like a storytelling performance.

He proofread until the wee hours last night, and his eyes were almost blind from looking at it so much. Luckily, a German instructor named Reiner helped him out. That guy was a real friend; he stayed with him, scrutinizing every single word, which saved him from exhaustion.

Chang Desheng rubbed his eyes and recognized the man in front of him as Kong Qingtang. A warlord from the Kong family in Shandong, he was a fairly honest man, but his German was really bad, and he was also a bit stubborn and argumentative.

"What doesn't match up?" Chang Desheng yawned, his voice lazy.

"Here!" Kong Qingtang pointed to a line of text on the translated manuscript. "The original German text says 'artillery firing table,' but I translated it as 'fire table.' Reiner said it was wrong, saying it should be 'firing data table.' What is this? What are the data?"

Chang Desheng sighed inwardly.

What are firing parameters? Firing parameters are the firing parameters, such as azimuth, elevation, propellant charge, fuse reticle, and so on!

He sat up, grabbed his braid that hung down in front of him and tossed it back. He was getting tired of touching it and had wanted to cut it off for a long time, but for now he could only think about it.

"The parameters are... the numbers used for firing artillery." Chang Desheng managed to say, "You know that firing artillery requires aiming, right? Where to aim, how high to fire, how much explosive to use—all these numbers together are called parameters."

Kong Qingtang suddenly realized: "Oh! It's the gunnery standard!"

"Yes, artillery regulations." Chang Desheng thought to himself: Call it whatever you want.

Chang Desheng, who stayed up until late last night before finally falling asleep at his desk, stretched and yawned. His back and waist were really sore!

This job is absolutely inhuman. Going to school, translating, doing diplomacy, and still having to think about making money to marry a rich woman... I never felt this tired even when I was drawing overtime in my past life.

Forget it, I won't complain anymore.

He wasn't a high-ranking official in his past life, nor did he have a rich and beautiful woman throwing Patek Philippe watches at him.

Committee member Chang had important business to attend to today; he had arranged to have dinner with Luo Jingrou at the Zhang mansion. He had already prepared a gift: a custom-made revolver with an ivory handle... a return gift from Patek Philippe.

This is a token of our love!

He was just thinking about what to say when they met later when the door was suddenly pushed open with a bang.

Guo Shigui burst in, his face beaming with a smile.

"Zhenbang! Zhenbang! Great news! Incredibly great news!"

Chang Desheng glanced at him and thought to himself: What's making this old Guo so happy? Did he find a gold ingot?

Guo Shigui grabbed his arm and dragged him into the house, closing the door behind him. Kong Qingtang, sensing the danger, picked up the translation and slipped out.

Only the two of them remained in the room.

"Brother Jichuan, what's the rush?" Chang Desheng was pulled so hard he stumbled. "I'm in a hurry to leave."

"Going out? Going out of the house?!" Guo Shigui lowered his voice. "Just received a telegram! From Tianjin! An urgent, coded telegram!"

He pulled a telegram from his pocket; the paper was crumpled.

Chang Desheng took it, unfolded it, and began to read:

"The Empress Dowager has approved the matter of the birthday celebration ship. It has been named 'Changyuan.' You are instructed to sign the contract with the Germans as soon as possible, without delay..."

Chang Desheng stared at those two words, stunned.

It's not "longevity" or anything like that, it's "eternal"!

This name... why does it sound so familiar?

He suddenly paused, startled.

Chang Yuan... that was his name in his previous life!

Well, before he even became president, his name was already being used to name the future flagship of the Beiyang Fleet.

Isn't this... the life of a president?

Guo Shigui, oblivious to his unease, continued his "word analysis": "Zhenbang, what a wonderful name! 'Changyuan' signifies the enduring stability of the social order and the long-lasting prosperity of the nation! The Empress Dowager's intention is brilliant!"

Chang Desheng snapped out of his daze, forced a smile, and casually asked, "Did the Empress Dowager approve the funds?"

"Approved!" Guo Shigui nodded, but his smile faded. "But not entirely approved."

"What do you mean?"

"Only 500,000 taels were approved." Guo Shigui counted on his fingers, "Adding the 1.08 million taels raised by Beiyang itself, the total is 1.58 million taels."

Chang Desheng quickly calculated the accounts in his mind.

The total price of the "Changyuan" warship was 2.3 million taels. 1.58 million, still 720,000 taels short.

"We're still short 720,000." His voice sounded a little annoyed. "What are we going to do?"

Guo Shigui smiled wryly and pointed to a line of text on the telegram that Chang Desheng hadn't looked at closely.

"The remaining 720,000 taels are to be raised by you yourselves. You may inquire with the Germans about the possibility of a syndicated loan..."

After reading it, Chang Desheng cursed under his breath.

That old hag is really stingy. She only gave 500,000 taels of silver for a "birthday celebration ship." Li Hongzhang is spineless too; the money's in your Beiyang account, just dig it out first! What can the Empress Dowager do to you? Are the 50,000 Huai Army troops stationed near Beijing made of paper?

He glanced at Guo Shigui, and the smile on that guy's face completely vanished.

"Zhenbang, isn't this a bit difficult?" Guo Shigui lowered his voice. "Seven hundred and twenty thousand taels is no small sum. Should we ask the Germans for installments? Will they agree? And even if they do, how high will the interest be?"

He paused, then leaned close to Chang Desheng's ear: "The Germans did set up a German-Chinese bank last year, could you perhaps...?"

Chang Desheng quickly waved his hand.

"Let's not think about foreign debt yet." He lowered his voice even further. "Jichuan, don't we have channels in Southeast Asia?"

"Nanyang?" Guo Shigui was taken aback. "Is it for soliciting donations?"

Chang Desheng shook his head.

"Jichuan, we can't always rely on those nouveau riche from Southeast Asia to donate money. Donating once or twice is fine, but who's happy about donating too much? That's real money, not something that falls from the sky."

Guo Shigui frowned: "If we don't encourage donations, what else can we do?"

"You can borrow money from the West, but not from Southeast Asia?" Chang Desheng looked at him.

Guo Shigui was taken aback again.

"Borrow money from wealthy merchants in Southeast Asia?" His eyes darted around. "That...the imperial court probably wouldn't be willing to do that, would it?"

He lowered his voice, almost whispering, "Besides, what if the imperial court reneges on its debt..."

He didn't go on.

Chang Desheng smiled.

"Jichuan, so we need to arrange a way for Beiyang to repay its debts." He spoke softly, almost inaudibly to the two of them. "We need to make Nanyang not only Beiyang's creditor, but also its major customer. With business dealings and shared interests, Nanyang will trust Beiyang. This is much more reliable than a few empty official positions or plaques proclaiming 'charity'."

Guo Shigui's eyes lit up, but quickly dimmed again.

"Stop beating around the bush." ​​He leaned closer. "So, how exactly are the two sides going to communicate?"

Chang Desheng also joined in, and the two of them almost touched heads.

"Jichuan, do you know about the Kaiping Coal Mine?"

"I know!" Guo Shigui blurted out, then suddenly realized, "Zhenbang, you mean...?"

"What I mean is," Chang Desheng said, quickening his pace as if reporting a project plan, "a three-step process, with each step closely linked to the next."

He held up three fingers.

"First, equity transactions. The Nanyang side will use its money to buy a portion of the government shares in Kaiping Coal Mine—Kaiping Coal Mine already has shares traded in Shanghai, so it's reasonable for the Nanyang side to buy some. At the same time, the Nanyang side will also contribute funds to participate in the share increase and production expansion of Kaiping Coal Mine, making Kaiping bigger and stronger. The Nanyang side will become the major shareholder of Kaiping, and its interests will be tied to those of the Beiyang side."

Guo Shigui nodded: "I understand, then what?"

"Second, misappropriation of loans. The Nanyang side will establish a 'Nanyang Bank' in the Shanghai concession, just like HSBC and Deutsche Bank. This bank will provide a low-interest loan to the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company. Then, the Zhili Governor-General's Office will 'borrow' from the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company and transfer this money to the Beiyang account. The China Merchants Steam Navigation Company has more credit than the imperial court, and it looks more respectable."

Guo Shigui's eyes lit up even more: "Brilliant! This is a roundabout way to get a loan!"

"Third, repay the loan by mining coal. A coal sales company will be established in Singapore by the Southeast Asian side. This company will sign long-term agreements with the Kaiping Coal Mine and the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company, using the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company's ships to transport Kaiping's coal to Southeast Asia for sale. In this way, the increased coal production in Kaiping will have a stable export channel; the Southeast Asian side can also make a profit as middlemen. The principal and interest of the loan will be repaid from the profits of selling coal!"

Chang Desheng paused for a moment, then looked at Guo Shigui.

"Jichuan, in this way, the money from Southeast Asia becomes the ships of the Northern Ocean, and the coal from the Northern Ocean then occupies the market in Southeast Asia. The debts of the Northern Ocean become the golden chains that bind the two oceans together. Aren't the Southeast and the Northern Ocean now of one heart and one mind?"

Guo Shigui stood there stunned for a full three seconds after hearing this.

Then he slapped his thigh hard.

"Brilliant!" He gave a thumbs up. "Zhenbang, you're absolutely brilliant!"

Chang Desheng smiled but didn't reply.

He was calculating something else in his mind: if this succeeded, the Beiyang warlords would have Southeast Asian capital behind them...

From then on, the relationship between the Southern and Northern Ocean powers was no longer one of begging for the other, but rather their interests were intertwined, with each acting as the other's client and the other's service provider.

After Guo Shigui finished being excited, he remembered something else: "But Zhenbang, will the people in Southeast Asia agree to this? Master Zhang is a shrewd man."

"So we have to talk." Chang Desheng patted him on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go to the Zhang mansion together later. Let's find out what they're up to first, and then send a telegram back to the Grand Secretary once we have some information."

He paused, then added, "This time, I'll send a telegram to the Grand Secretary in your name, without signing it myself; you'll handle everything."

Guo Shigui was taken aback, then he understood.

This is to give him the credit.

He cupped his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you, Brother Zhenbang."

"No need to thank me." Chang Desheng waved his hand. "We're all on the same side."

As the two were talking, footsteps came from outside, followed by the voice of a servant from the legation:

"Lord Guo, Lord Chang. The carriage from the Zhang residence has arrived. They say Miss Luo invites you both to come and sample some freshly transported Qingliangshan stir-fried green vegetables from Jiaying Prefecture."

Chang Desheng smiled at Guo Shigui: "Looks like they're quite well-informed... Come on, let's go to the Zhang mansion for tea!"

......

Inside the carriage, Chang Desheng and Guo Shigui were heading to the Zhang residence. Guo Shigui noticed an exquisite wooden box beside Chang Desheng and asked, "Zhenbang, what are you carrying?"

Chang Desheng opened the box. Inside lay a revolver with an ivory handle and a gleaming barrel, along with six bullets neatly arranged in a velvet groove.

Guo Shigui was dumbfounded: "You...you gave a girl a pistol?"

Chang Desheng closed the lid: "She gave me a pocket watch, I gave her a pistol."

He paused, then added, "Her family is from Southeast Asia, which isn't very peaceful, so she needs a gun for self-defense."

Guo Shigui chuckled: "You two... really... birds of a feather flock together."

Chang Desheng didn't reply, but turned to look out the window at the snow-covered streets of Berlin.