Chapter 32 Section 32 Borrowing money

On the day when Hu Xueyan rushed to Ningbo by boat with his entourage, even though it was getting late, he didn't care about resting, so he took a sedan chair and rushed to the tax office to meet Ri Yige.Riyige was not there, saying that he was in the barracks.Hu Xueyan rushed to the Chang Jie army camp outside the city without stopping, and he saw Ri Yige as expected. Riyige was twenty-nine years old at the time, tall and big, with fair skin and a high nose bridge, with a pair of glass goggles on it; yellow hair, with a thick fake braid behind his head; He wears French combat boots, a steel helmet on his head, and a leopard embroidered uniform of a third-rank military attache of the Qing Dynasty. Inside the patch is a brand-new French military uniform, which looks nondescript.

When Ri Yige saw Hu Xueyan, he first shouted in blunt Chinese: "Observation Hu, my God of Wealth, why are you here?" Hu Xueyan took Ri Yige's hand and said, "Why, doesn't the Japanese general welcome me?" Ri Yige hurriedly said: "Where are you talking! You observe that Mr. Hu is my friend in France, and also my friend. I will go to General Le Boledon now and ask him to fire a salute to welcome you." Hu Xueyan patted Riyige's shoulder affectionately with his hands, and said in a low voice, "brother, you go back to the city with me now, my brother wants to comfort you."

Riyige shouted happily: "Xiao Hu, you mean to invite me to the city to eat flower wine? That's great! Would you like to invite General Le Boledong to go with you? I guess he hasn't been with a woman for many days Go to sleep!" Hu Xueyan shook his head and said, "I want to invite my brother alone when I come to Ningbo this time, and I also want to give him a good way to make a fortune. How about it? Let's go now?" Ri Yige agreed with all his mouth, and hurried inside first to change into his regular clothes, and brought two more soldiers, and followed Hu Xueyan into the city in a sedan chair.Hu Xueyan led Riyige into a brothel that he frequented frequently, and found a private room to sit in.The bustard asked people to bring in tea and snacks first, and then took the list and asked Hu Xueyan to call names.

Hu Xueyan waved his hand and said, "Don't make such a fuss. After we finish talking, we need not only to order flowers, but also to order wine. You can earn your money. If the service is good, we will live here today. You go and greet us first." Those who brought you here, do not come in unless you are told." The bustard hurriedly withdrew, and closed the door behind her back. Ri Yige was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help asking in a low voice: "You observer, you said you wanted to invite me to eat flowers and wine, but now you don't call it a game, why did you trick me here?"

Hu Xueyan took a sip of tea and said, "Brother, don't be impatient. There are a lot of good wines here, and there is a long line of pleasant bureaus. When it's time to drink, we naturally have to drink, and when it's time to call the bureau, we don't call them. They will also come to serve, that's what they do. Come, let's talk about business first. Brother, you have probably heard that the newly appointed Lord Futai is borrowing foreign money through the Prime Minister's Office." Ri Yige was taken aback again, and asked: "Master Futai wants to borrow foreign money? Why didn't I hear about it?"

Hu Xueyan waved his hand and said: "Don't be in a hurry, let me tell you slowly. You may not know yet, but Master Futai's loan is extremely secretive. Not only France doesn't know it, but even Britain doesn't know it. Why? What? Because the purpose of Mr. Futai’s borrowing is to purchase a batch of foreign guns and cannons. If it is publicized, all countries will inevitably rush to talk to Mr. Futai. How can Mr. Futai be so busy? So, Mr. Futai Your Excellency wants to keep things a little more secret, as long as he gets the money, he will always find a trusted foreign friend and quietly transport the foreign guns and cannons back."

Riyige said anxiously: "Xianhu, go and tell Mr. Futai, isn't I Riyige the most reliable friend? I helped him train Chang Jiejun, a gunboat of Chang Jiejun, and I purchased them all by myself. These guns are the best among all countries, and the prices are the fairest." Hu Xueyan saw that Ri Yige was really moved, so he said calmly: "I haven't met my brother for a few months. Why is my temper so anxious? When is it good? Didn't this official list my brother Is it the first choice? But this matter has a lot of twists and turns, not anyone who wants to set up Futai can give it to anyone. There is a reason for this, because the batch of funds that Futai needs to borrow is short-term, and the amount must be within It looks like 10,000,000 yuan from the official bank of the Household Clearing Department, and the interest rate should be moderate."

Ri Yige said anxiously: "Xiao Hu, don't make any detours, just say clearly, which country does Futai want to borrow the money from? Is there any hope for us in France? What is Futai going to use to repay the loan? How much interest can you give?" Hu Xueyan pondered for a while, and said: "I have been dealing with my brother for many years, and I am already an old friend. To be honest with my brother, Futai originally wanted to handle this matter with Russia, but because I heard my brother After some persuasion, he changed his mind. Before the old brother left, Futai repeatedly explained that the governor’s office will issue an insurance policy for this loan, and the repayment will be repaid with the salaries given to Zhejiang Province by the provinces. It will be repaid in about half a year, at most not It will be more than a year. My brother thinks, can a French firm do this?"

Ri Yige hurriedly asked: "Xian Hu, you haven't told me yet, after this is done, what good will I benefit from?" Hu Xueyan sneaked a peek at the wooden door, then approached Yige, and said mysteriously: "Is your brother really confused or pretending to be confused? After the money is in hand, I will recommend your brother to come forward to purchase guns and ships. Are you still young? Is the business of ten million taels of silver okay?" Ri Yige smiled and asked: "Is your Futai willing to listen to you?" Then he shook his head and continued: "Unless I see the message from the governor's office, I won't be fooled."

Hu Xueyan laughed, and said relaxedly: "My brother is right. Even if I recommend my brother to purchase these guns, Futai will not agree. Why? Because Futai thinks your brother is only good for playing around. , can’t do too much. Okay, the two of us have finished talking. My brother will let them present the menu now, and we will order food and wine. After drinking, my brother will let the best girl in this building How about accompanying you?" Ri Yige grabbed Hu Xueyan's sleeve and said: "Observant Hu, you can't do this! We are friends, and if there are benefits, you can't leave me alone. Tell me quickly, who does Futai want to appoint to purchase this Batch guns? Is it Le Boledong? Or someone from another country? Could it be the British Hurd again? This bastard Hurd is too lucky, he has benefited too much from you!"

Hu Xueyan pushed Riyige's hand away, and said: "Brother, this matter has nothing to do with you, we still eat at the bar. Anyway, I was ordered by Futai to go to Ningbo this time, so I know my brother's intentions." , your country does not want to do this business with Futai. I can return to Futai by taking a boat tomorrow!" When Ri Yige heard this, he stomped his feet and shook his head anxiously, and said repeatedly: "Xiao Hu, you misunderstood. It's not that I don't want to do this business, but I'm afraid that I won't be allowed to do this at Futai." Business!" Hu Xueyan patted his chest with his hands and said: "My brother's words are wrong! My brother can't trust Mr. Futai, can't you still trust Hu? It wasn't that I patted my chest at Futai. Futai is willing to appoint me to take this trip to Ningbo From an official point of view, Hu Mou is a dignified fourth-rank Taoist in the Qing Dynasty, and from a business point of view, Hu Mou is a first-class businessman in Zhejiang Province. The notes issued by Fukang Bank can be cashed in the capital, and I Qing Yutang The approved medicinal materials have always been high-quality goods at low prices! My brother, do you still use my brother to continue talking?" Riyige was dazed by Hu Xueyan's words, nodded again and again, and said in his mouth: "Tomorrow, I will write a letter to Lord Triane in Shanghai to discuss the loan with him." Seeing that Riyige had made a promise, Hu Xueyan arranged for the bustard to serve food and wine.After drinking, they each called a girl to wait and stay. The Japanese-Italian-speaking Elleni once served as the Minister to China, invested in the banking industry after leaving office, and is now the major shareholder of the French Bank of Shanghai.In order to facilitate domestic businessmen to do speculative business in China, the bank specially set up a temporary office in Shanghai, and Saene often traveled between Shanghai and Paris.At this time, Eni was in Shanghai, working with the British Sassoon company in the opium business. Cianni quickly replied to the letter, and after reading it in Japan, he couldn't help being shocked: Ciani did not agree to borrow money from the Zhejiang governor's yamen, saying that the risk was too great. At that time, Cerni was occupying a certain amount of funds due to opium trafficking, saying that the risk was too high, but in fact it was the bank he worked in, and he couldn't immediately take out the French currency equivalent to ten million taels of Qing Dynasty silver. Riyige was in a hurry, and on the day he received the letter, he invited Hu Xueyan to the Taxation Office. He didn't say that Cienei disagreed with the loan, but that Cienei claimed that the matter was of great importance and asked him to have an interview in Shanghai.Hu Xueyan didn't dare to be negligent, so he took his entourage and boarded the ship with Riyige and rushed to Shanghai that night. After seeing Cianni, Riyige said to Ciani: "My lord, I am anxious to come from Ningbo to meet you, and I want to tell you that this opportunity is once in a lifetime. As long as we give the money now Lend it to them, and they will return it to us as soon as their payment is settled, and we can earn a considerable amount of interest without any effort. Why don't you agree? Are you afraid that the money will be too hot?" Cianne patted Riiger's shoulder and said, "Young man, I appreciate your kindness. But I don't want to make this deal with them, because I am doing a large amount of opium with the British." Business, the profit is already considerable. Domestic banks really can’t afford to lend them such a large amount of legal currency!” Riyi said anxiously: "Your Excellency, you are a veteran of our country's financial sector. Wouldn't you borrow from other bankers? For several years, the prime minister's office in the Qing Dynasty only dealt with the British, and we, France, had no chance. Now, Zuo Zongtang gave us this opportunity, but we have to miss it, don't you think it's a pity?" Eni pondered for a while, and said: "Young man, you are quite right. It would be a pity if we miss this opportunity that Zuo Zongtang gave us, and this lord does not want to do that. But this lord can only regret it." Let me tell you honestly, our domestic banks really can’t afford such a large amount of money.” Riyige asked back: "Your Excellency, how much money can our bank give?" Cieni replied: "Young man, my lord is telling you the truth. The banks in China can give out at most two million taels of French currency equivalent to the official silver of the Qing Dynasty. My lord would like to ask, Zuo Zongtang borrowed What are you going to do with so much money? In your letter to the lord, you only said that you want to buy munitions, what kind of munitions? Guns? Cannons? Warships? Does their prime minister agree?" Riyige replied: "Your Majesty, you don't know something. The newly appointed Zuo Zongtang has a big appetite. He not only wants to buy guns and cannons, but also warships. He is willing to borrow money from our country now because the provinces should give him money. The salary will not be available for a while." Ciyeni pondered for a long time before saying, "Young man, have you already found out who Zuo Zongtang wants to entrust to purchase this batch of munitions after he has borrowed money?" Riyige patted his chest and said: "Your Excellency, don't you understand that he borrowed money from our country, so he naturally entrusted people from our country to handle this matter. Do you need to ask?" Cianni finally bit his lip and said: "Young man, this is the only way to handle this matter. Go and talk nonsense with that observer, we can lend them a sum of money, which is about the same as the official bank of their household department. Three million taels. But the money cannot be given to him. The lord can use the money to directly purchase the guns, cannons and ships they need, and then ship them over. The lord can guarantee that the batch purchased for them by the lord The price of arms is much lower than what the British buy for them." When Riiger heard this, he jumped up, and he shouted: "Your Excellency, you have borrowed the French currency and have already received the interest. You should not interfere with the future. We are here for What? Isn’t it all about getting rich?” Ciene was neither in a hurry nor annoyed, and said with a smile: "Young man, I will not accept your suggestion, because we paid for the money, and I will naturally have the final say on future matters. This is a matter of course, there is no There is no doubt at all. Now tell the observer what the lord has said. You ask the observer to tell Zuo Zongtang to them that we, France, sincerely handle all kinds of things for him, as long as he is willing to pay the money .” Riyige stared at his blood-red eyes, muttered something in a low voice, and then walked out of the inner room angrily.After he met Hu Xueyan, he immediately changed his face and said: "Your Excellency and Your Excellency had a very good talk, and I believe that we will reach an agreement soon. But I have to tell you with regret that we The honorable lord is old, and he can no longer make decisions about some things, and needs to ask the country for instructions. Observe Hu, how about it? Shall we go to the inn to wait for news?" Hu Xueyan, who was used to dealing with foreigners in the Jiuli shopping mall, quickly saw the differences between Eni and Riyige from Riyige's facial expressions.He stood up with a smile, went to the inner room to say hello to Saneni politely, and then walked out of the hall with his entourage and Riyige. There is a semicolon of Qingyutang in Shanghai. Hu Xueyan first settled Riyige in the inn of the semicolon, then sent someone outside, and called a skinny businessman to wait on him with half-closed doors. It took a few days to handle it. As a result, let the copywriting be written into a report and sent to Zuo Zongtang quickly.