Chapter 46 45. Big borrowing is like poison

After the "Cullen problem" occurred, the eyes of the whole country were focused on the external world, but the most serious problem in internal affairs was finance.As mentioned earlier, the Yuan government had already exhausted all its resources during Tang Shaoyi's time, and it could not be maintained without borrowing.The collapse of Tang Pavilion dragged on for many more months.After Zhou Xuexi became the chief financial officer, he became the chief borrower. At first, he borrowed 2 million, 1 million, and later he borrowed hundreds of thousands. In the end, he was borrowing even tens of thousands or even 10,000. Everything that can be mortgaged is being mortgaged. For example, the water company has mortgaged 40,000 yuan, and a double-guaranteed case occurred, so a big lawsuit was filed.

Since Xiong Xiling became the Minister of Finance and the negotiations with the six-nation consortium broke down, the Finance Committee was set up in the presidential palace to preside over the establishment of alternative borrowing channels, and separately telegraphed overseas representatives to find borrowing routes. object.We must know that at that time, the intermediary responsible for securing the loan, whether it is the foreign minister, the finance minister, or even the handler, has a commission to get. The loan is to save the country and benefit itself, so why not do it.So all the representatives stationed abroad were rushing around. Today the caller said: A certain large foreign company can borrow tens of millions, and tomorrow the caller said: A certain large foreign company can borrow tens of millions.Of course, these are all castles in the air, and there is no result in the talks, so every day there is good news, but every day is in vain.Zhou Xuexi is actually in charge of the Ministry of Finance and has become an ant on a hot pot. Therefore, he believes that it is not possible to completely rely on the trolley bus lines of foreign representatives, and that it is still necessary to contact the Six Nations Consortium. Bank representatives Odagiri and Cyril on behalf of HSBC Bank contacted.

The conversation between Zhou Xuexi and Cyril was very content, because Cyril reflected the views and plans of the great powers at that time on "China's request for a large loan". Zhou said: "The failure of the big loan is of course very difficult for China, and the consequences of this difficulty are also extremely unfavorable for Britain, which has close business relations with China. Because the terms of the big loan are detrimental to China's Sovereignty can easily arouse widespread opposition from the Chinese people, and actions caused by opposition may shake the newly established Chinese society. This is worthy of the attention of the great powers, especially the United Kingdom.”

Cyril said: "My personal opinion is completely consistent with your Excellency, but you should know that the conditions for this large loan are partly negotiated by the bank syndicate, and the other part is prompted by the foreign ministries of various countries. There are two points in the policies of the great powers towards China : One is that we do not want China to be annexed by one or two ambitious countries, so we must maintain a balance of power in China; the other is that we do not want to see China become a powerful country and hope that China will maintain the status quo. All countries are wary. They are deeply afraid that China will expand its national power, so they hope to maintain the balance of power among countries through large borrowings, and at the same time supervise China's finances. We do not want China to borrow our money to cultivate power and expel us, so the purpose of borrowing must be specified in detail, and supervision."

Zhou said: "During the founding of the People's Republic of China, China was incapable of foreign affairs for at least ten years. The big powers are too suspicious of this. I hope to resume negotiations on large loans, but the prerequisite for negotiations is not to damage China's sovereignty and social order." Cyril expressed his willingness to convey this meaning to the six-nation consortium. When the Yuan government borrowed money everywhere, Liu Yulin, the minister in the UK, quietly negotiated a loan of 10 million pounds with the British Crisp Company, and the loan was officially signed in London on August 30, the first year of the Republic of China. .China promised to repay the loan, and the balance of the salt tax was deposited with Macquarie Bank.It turned out that the annual salt tax revenue was more than 47.5 million taels, of which 24 million taels had already been paid out, and the remaining 23.5 million taels were used as a guarantee for the loan from Crisp Corporation.After the announcement of the loan, the banking group of the six countries strongly opposed it and notified their banks not to exchange it with China.On October 15th, Zhou Xuexi, the Minister of Finance, ordered the Changlu Salt Transport Envoy to deposit the interest payable on the loan of Cripps Company in Tianjin Macquarie Bank every month under the Changlu Salt Tax.The Beijing diplomatic corps lodged a protest on October 30, signed by all countries related to the Boxer Rebellion, because the salt tax was to guarantee the compensation for the Boxer Rebellion. The protest letter is as follows:

"In the "Xin Chou Treaty", the total amount of salt payment, except for those that have been used to repay debts, guarantees the compensation for the boxer incident. The order of the Ministry of Finance on the 15th of this month is to limit the meaning of the salt administration treaty, which violates public law. In principle, now that the compensation is owed, the diplomatic corps believes that all the income of the Salt Administration cannot be used for other purposes.” When the "Xin Chou Treaty" was signed, China's salt tax revenue was only 12 million taels, so the salt tax was used to guarantee the compensation for the Boxer Incident was only 12 million taels.When the Republic of China was founded, China's salt tax had increased to 47.5 million taels. Except for 12 million taels to pay the "Xin Chou Treaty", the Chinese government should have the right to freely control the rest of the salt tax. The surplus of the 12 million taels of salt tax was used as a guarantee for other loans.The diplomatic corps did not protest in the past, but this time it is so oppressive. The purpose is to force China to have no other way out, so it has to bow to the consortium of six countries and accept the conditions of a large loan.

On November 8th, Cyril and Meiyu, representatives of HSBC Bank, visited Zhou Xuexi together and raised two issues: one was a letter from the Ministry of Finance of China to the banking group on August 8th, stating that large loans should be suspended. receive.The intention of the bank consortium is to show that China has not stopped the negotiations on large loans, and of course it should not borrow from Crisp.Zhou Xuexi took out the document book issued by the Ministry of Finance, and Cyril's reply card when he received the letter, which also had Cyril's signature on it.Mei Yu said: This is not his signature.Cyril said: At this time I was still resting in Beidaihe, everyone knows, how can I sign it with my own hand, I cannot admit this receipt.Zhou Xuexi said: You will not admit that you have received our official letter, and we will not admit that you have not sent this official document.The parties did not continue to dispute this issue.The second issue was discussed, which was the protest against the Changlu salt tax being deposited in the Macquarie Bank. Zhou Xuexi took out a new order from the Ministry of Finance, which was to cancel the previous order to deposit the salt tax in the Macquarie Bank. This meant that the Beijing government had already Gave in to the protests of the diplomatic corps.

So Zhou Xuexi renegotiated the big loan with Cyril and Meiyu, the general representatives of the six-nation banking group. After Zhou Xuexi and the six-country bank consortium reopened negotiations on large loans, many consultations were held in November and December of the first year of the Republic of China on the details of the loan. Except for the interest, they generally reached an agreement, especially the conditions for monitoring the salt tax. The bank consortium agreed to China has set up a Salt Auditing Office, which employs foreign personnel to support it. The condition for supervision purposes is that the Chinese government establishes a foreign debt auditing department in the auditing office, and foreigners are used as auditors.Zhou Xuexi reported the negotiation situation to the Senate, which was generally recognized, so he arranged for a formal contract.Unexpectedly, there was another unexpected accident. The ministers of Russia and France in Beijing objected to the terms of supervision and employment, and insisted that each country must send a person to join the supervision agency.This accident caused disagreements among the diplomatic corps, and they called their governments to ask for training.Afterwards, the diplomatic corps reconvened the meeting, and it was agreed that the Salt Tax Audit Office should hire an Englishman as the host and a German as the deputy.The National Debt Bureau hired a German as its general office.Russia and France each hire one audit consultant.After obtaining the agreement, the diplomatic corps notified the Chinese government in this way. This happened on March 3, 2002.The Chinese government believes that this kind of arrangement is not a principle agreed upon during the negotiations, and it is very unfavorable for China to use all the people in the six-nation group as the supervisory authority. What's more, Russia is helping Outer Mongolia to become independent at this time. If China's financial power is supervised by it, it will indeed It is extremely dangerous, so the Yuan government rejected it.

At this time, an earth-shattering murder occurred in Shanghai, Song Jiaoren was stabbed to death.In order to deal with domestic opposition, Yuan Shikai needed a large loan to obtain financial support, so he resumed negotiating with the bank syndicate. Among the six-nation consortium, the United States has the most fair attitude.The U.S. government thinks it is inappropriate for the banking consortium to request China’s financial supervision power, and ordered the representatives of the Bank of America to withdraw from the banking consortium, and at the same time rewarded individual investment in China. Therefore, the attitudes of the other five governments were stimulated by the actions of the United States. In the past, it was easy to carry out, and the borrowing conditions were slightly more concessional than in the past.

During the negotiation of the big loan, there was another important figure named Morrison.He is British, but he was appointed as Yuan Shikai's political adviser, and he played an important role behind the scenes in negotiating large loans.Although he is British, he stands on the side of China's position and interests.When the negotiations between the two sides were most deadlocked, Morrison made a statement to the reporter of the Beiyang "Dehua Daily". He advocated the disbandment of the six-nation banking group and the restoration of the four-nation banking group, because he believed that Japan and Russia entrusted the good name of economic cooperation. , and secretly carrying out political purposes is extremely detrimental to the banking group itself, and it is difficult for the Chinese side to tolerate it silently. His speech is quite valued by the banking group.

In short, the Yuan government at this time was in fact an urgently needed emergency medicine for large loans.What's more, after Song Jiaoren was assassinated, the Kuomintang launched a second revolution, and the Yuan government could not deal with the Kuomintang without this loan.At the same time, another important significance is that the signing of the large loan will connect the Yuan government with the great powers. The great powers not only recognized the Yuan government in fact, but also insisted on supporting the Yuan government.The United States did not participate in the aftermath of the five-percent gold coin loan, so only the consortium of Britain, France, Germany, Japan, and Russia borrowed. The banks represented were HSBC in the UK, CA-CIB in France, and Deutsche Bank in Germany. , Japan's Yokohama Specie Bank, and Russia's Sino-Russian Daosheng Bank.The total amount of borrowings is 25 million pounds, converted into currencies of various countries: Germany 511.25 million marks, France 631.25 million francs, Russia 236.75 million rubles, and Japan 244.9 million yuan.The interest on the loan is five percent, nine deductions from the issue price, and eighty-four percent on actual receipts. The establishment of this loan put the Chinese salt regime into the hands of foreigners. It can be said to be a major pain in China's financial history. Four paid in, but the actual loan was only 21 million pounds.After deducting the various advances from the four countries, the six countries, and Belgium, as well as the loans from the five-nation bank group and the banks, a total of 6 million pounds, the 2.8 million pounds borrowed by the provinces from the five-nation bank group, and the revolutionary period The damages paid by various countries amounted to 2 million pounds, and the loan that was actually obtained was only 40% of the debt. The total interest on the loan for 47 years was 42.85 million pounds, and the total principal and interest was more than 67.85 million pounds.I was tortured during the negotiation period before the loan, and I got 30% off after the loan. I got so little, and the guarantee procedures were so harsh. In the end, I had to pay such a huge amount of money back, which is really a poison. On April 26th, 2nd year of the Republic of China, China and the bank consortium signed a five-cent gold coin loan treaty, the terms of which are as follows: 1. The Chinese government borrowed the 25,000,000 gold list from the banking consortium for rehabilitation and administrative purposes, which is called the Chinese government's 1913 rehabilitation five-percent gold coin loan. 2. In addition to the prepayment of the first interest coupon, this loan is exclusively used for the following purposes: A. To repay the due repayments of the Chinese government (a total of 4,317,000 7,780,000 pounds), b, to redeem all the existing loans of the provinces. (a total of 2.87 million pounds).C. Compensation for the repayment of various funds due to the Chinese government and the damages suffered by various countries due to the Chinese Revolution (a total of 3,592,630,000 pounds).D. For the demobilization of the army (a total of three million pounds).E. For the current expenses (5.5 million pounds in total).Self, for the rectification of salt administration affairs (a total of 2 million pounds).G. For other administrative expenses agreed upon by the Chinese government and the bank consortium. 3. China Salt’s income, except for guaranteeing the unpaid debts of previous loans, all of China’s Salt’s income is used to guarantee this loan. ... 4. The Chinese government recognizes that it has rectified and improved the method of salt collection, and that it will use foreigners to help.The method is as follows: The Chinese government set up the Salt Affairs Administration in Beijing, which is under the jurisdiction of the Chief Financial Officer. The Salt Administration has a head office of auditing, which is mainly responsible for Chinese people and will handle foreigners.Set up auditing branches in each salt-producing area, with one Chinese manager and one foreign assistant, who are jointly responsible for the collection and storage of salt revenue.If the principal and interest of this loan are paid on time, the salt administration affairs shall not be intervened. If the principal and interest are in arrears by the due date, the salt administration affairs shall be handed over to the Customs for handling. 5. From the first month of the sale of the bonds under this contract, because the salt business is still in the stage of consolidation and there is no definite income, the central taxation of the four provinces of Zhili, Shandong, Henan, and Jiangsu will be used as the first guarantee. After the first year, the salt business will be fully recovered, and the responsibility of the provinces can be temporarily suspended... 6. The term of this loan is forty-seven years, and the principal will be repaid on schedule from the eleventh year onwards. From the seventeenth year to the thirty-second year, if the Chinese government wishes to redeem all or part of the undue money, All listen to China's convenience. 7. The right of the Chinese government to this bond is based on the price issued in London, and the bank will deduct 6% of the face value as a handling fee... 8. The Chinese government promises to immediately implement the provisional rules of the Audit Office promulgated by the President on November 16, the first year of the Republic of China, and declares that any changes to this rule in the future shall not interfere with this contract.All payment receipts must be signed by the Huayang Auditors of the External Debt Audit Office under the Audit Office.All receipts or withdrawal orders for withdrawals must be signed by an agent appointed by the Chief Financial Officer, and the receipt receipt signed together with Huayang auditors and handed over to the bank representative.If the bank representative has any doubts about the funds that have been paid, he can ask the foreign auditors of the foreign debt audit office of the Audit Office. Nine…… This loan contract is different from the loan contract in the previous Qing Dynasty. One is for outsiders to audit salt affairs, and the other is for outsiders to audit.This is tantamount to allowing foreigners to intervene in China's finances. After the success of the big loan, Yuan Shikai sent a message to the National Assembly for the record, briefly saying: "According to Premier Zhao Bingjun, Minister of Foreign Affairs Chen Zhengxiang, and Minister of Finance Zhou Xuexi, it has been more than a year since the negotiations on the theft of the syndicated loan from the banks of the six countries... We are planning to sign regularly, The group suddenly used the originally proposed 5% interest rate as an excuse for the war in the Balkans and the tight money in the European market, so they demanded an increase of 50% and had to temporarily suspend the discussion. It’s like an urgent need, and it’s impossible to deal with it. Over the past few months, all his loans have been turned into cakes. The United States has left the mission, but the other five countries have not changed their policies. The overall situation is precarious. Urgent way. Get close to the governors of various provinces to call to force each other. For example, the governor of Jiangsu Chengdu said: "Don't lose your reputation for a while, and turn it into a sinner for all ages." The phrases such as "can still survive in death" are particularly distressing, and we have to continue to negotiate, but fortunately, we have made some progress. On April 22, the President ordered: "The five-nation bank loan contract, appointed Zhao Bingjun, Lu Zhengxiang, and Zhou Xuexi to sign with full authority, This order!' For other reasons, I signed a draft contract with the bank syndicate on the 24th, and then signed the full contract on the 26th, and shared the deposit certificates with each other to avoid complications. It is reasonable to make two copies of the Chinese and foreign language contracts , and attach two copies of the purpose statement, which will be submitted to the President for review and approval, and I will give it to the House of Representatives for inspection and recordation to ensure compliance! etc. The inspection of the loan conditions was approved by the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance on December 27 of last year The report before going to the Senate was approved by vote, and it was recorded in the minutes of the Senate, of course it is valid, and it is also possible to consult your court to check and file accordingly!" The Senate and the House of Representatives objected to the case. Yuan made another consultation, threatening, saying: "The signing of this contract is irreversible. If the Congress can forgive the difficulties, it will be a blessing for the country. Otherwise, we can only blame the representatives of the people. Responsibility for self-blame."The National Assembly still opposed it, and the governors and civil affairs chiefs of all provinces joined forces to oppose it, but the opinions of the provinces were inconsistent. After the Second Revolution, Yuan Shi forced it to pass.