Funan's eyes suddenly became solemn, of course he knew that Yuan Shikai did not really plan to invite someone from East China ** to help him manage his finances, but reminded all countries that if Yuan Shikai was really forced to be in a hurry, Yuan Shikai could choose to cooperate with East China**, then the countries would not get anything.

If Yuan Shikai completely falls to East China**, of course, it is not in the interests of all countries, but this does not mean that all countries will be held by Yuan Shikai's threat, after all, a completely uncontrolled Yuan Shikai is also not the ideal candidate that countries need, and countries will never invest money and resources in an uncontrolled person. So Funan rubbed his hands and said: "Your Excellency the Governor has enough confidence in your financial management ability, we can have reservations about this for the time being, but this time we will support His Excellency the Governor with 2 million taels of silver, which is not a small amount, and these money are donated by merchants from our countries, we hope that this money will play its due role in the hands of His Excellency the Governor, and it will not be wasted or privately appropriated, so there is management and supervision over the use and whereabouts of this money. The requirement for censorship, this is not excessive. ”

Yuan Shikai nodded, and he was relieved in his heart, to be honest, he was afraid that the talks would collapse completely, and Funan only proposed that the funds of various countries support Yuan Shikai, in fact, he took a step back, and no longer insisted on fully intervening and even controlling Yuan Shikai's finances, which was of course an acceptable result for Yuan Shikai, so he said: "That's natural, the funds supported by various countries to me, of course, have the right to supervise and review, I have no objection to this, you can send someone to supervise, and even manage the use of this fund." The review is all right, but it can only be limited to the funds you have supported me, and my taxes, the use of other funds, etc., are not within this scope. ”

Vernan said: "Okay, thank you for your understanding, in fact, we have no intention of interfering in the affairs of His Excellency the Governor, but we have paid the price, and of course we should be given reasonable powers, which should be a very reasonable request." ”

Yuan Shikai smiled and said: "Of course this is very reasonable, there is an old saying in China, it is called 'there is no lunch without money in the world', since you have made efforts, of course you have the right to ask for a return." ”

Fernan: "Then the support we give to His Excellency the Governor is not only financial assistance, but also political, economic, and military support, so I think we should ask for the corresponding powers, what do you think?"

Yuan Shikai sneered in his heart, the other party gave himself a set here, but he has also made full preparations in the past few days, so he said: "This is natural, but for now, the support of various countries for me is mainly in terms of funds, and other aspects are not available for the time being, even if there is, there are not many, which Mr. Consul cannot deny." ”

Funan was stunned for a moment, but still nodded, because now the Qing court has not perished, and the support of various countries for Yuan Shikai can only be carried out in secret, not on the surface, so at present, it is true that there can only be practical support for Yuan Shikai in terms of funds, and the other parties are not feasible for the time being, and when they are not feasible, they reach out to Yuan Shikai for power, which is indeed a bit inappropriate.

At this time, Yuan Shikai said again: "I don't think it's better to do this, and I will hire foreign consultants in the name of the governor of Liangjiang, so that I can explain to the imperial court." You will arrange the corresponding personnel to form an advisory group, and then in the name of the advisory group, manage the funds that support me, and the specific operation methods can be discussed in detail, and the second article, on the military side, I think you can also use the name of the adviser to participate, as for the other aspects, wait until it can be implemented, I wonder what Mr. Consul thinks?"

Hiring foreigners as consultants is a very common thing in the Qing court, which was limited to the economic aspect earlier, and later when Li Hongzhang formed the Beiyang Naval Division, the foreign advisers were expanded to the military aspect, and after the Gengzi State Change, the Qing court began to engage in new policies, and finally also introduced foreign advisers in the political field. When Yuan Shikai formed the Beiyang New Army, he also hired many foreign advisers. Now the Qing court has also developed a set of methods for the institutional management of foreign advisers.

And now it is still Yuan Shikai who has a request from various countries, and it is better than a request from all countries to Yuan Shikai, and it is impossible not to give up some power to various countries, so Yuan Shikai thought of setting up an advisory group to deal with the demands of countries that want to intervene in their own power. After all, the power of foreign advisers is large and small, and it can also be collected or released, which is also the bottom line that Yuan Shikai can accept.

Funan thought for a moment, nodded as well, and said, "Okay, Your Excellency the Governor's suggestion, I will truthfully respond to the ministers to see what their opinions are, and we will discuss it here for now." ”

Although Funan said that it still depends on the attitude of the ministers of various countries in Beijing, but with Yuan Shikai's experience, his proposal has already been completed, so he is also in high spirits, and said: "Okay, as for the matter of discussing shipping rights with East China, I can only do my best, but I dare not guarantee that it will be successful." ”

Vernan nodded and said, "This is natural, Your Excellency the Governor will do your best and strive for the best result." In fact, this article is completely Swire, Jardine two foreign firms shoehorned in, because of the loss of the Yangtze River shipping rights, the impact on these two firms is the greatest, not only less shipping income, but also the scope of influence of these two firms, with the Yangtze River shipping rights, these two firms can expand their business scope to the entire Yangtze River Basin, although now there is more competition in East China, but the market in the Yangtze River Basin is very large, and it is impossible for East China to completely occupy, Swire, The two foreign firms of Jardine Matheson will always share some markets, and among the funds that were supported to Yuan Shikai this time, Swire and Jardine Matheson contributed the most, each contributing 100,000 taels of silver, so the opinions of these two foreign firms certainly cannot be ignored.

However, Funan also knows that this article really cannot be forced, and if it can be included in the conditions of negotiation, it is already worthy of the two foreign firms of Taikoo and Jardine, as for how much energy Yuan Shikai will spend to negotiate with East China, and whether East China will let go, it can only depend on God's arrangement.

Funan said: "Then now there is only one last article left, we hope to set up a comprehensive concession in Nanjing, which is conducive to better cooperation between us and His Excellency the Governor, of course, now the Qing Imperial Court is still there, His Excellency the Governor can not decide for himself, but you can first sign an agreement, in the name of the establishment of a commercial house to demarcate the area, and start the construction of buildings, roads and other facilities, and when the time is ripe, you can announce the establishment of the concession." After a pause, he said: "There is another way, that is, His Excellency the Governor will declare the Qing court, and the ministers of various countries in Beijing will operate the activities again, so that the Qing court will issue an order, so that the concession can be established in Nanjing immediately." ”

Yuan Shikai shook his head and said categorically: "Mr. Consul, the establishment of a concession in Nanjing is absolutely impossible. I would never sign such an agreement, nor would I appeal to the imperial court, and even if the imperial court aimed to establish a concession in Nanjing, I would strongly oppose it. If the imperial court still insists on its own opinion, then I can only resign and return to the forest. ”

Before the negotiation, although he also considered that the difficulty of this article was not small, he still felt that it was still lower than the first two, but he did not expect Yuan Shikai's reaction to be fierce, which seemed to be worse than the first two, so he also hesitated for a moment before saying: "Your Excellency the Governor, we hope to establish a concession in Nanjing, in order to facilitate the establishment of consulates in Nanjing, so as to communicate with His Excellency the Governor, Negotiations are smoother, and support for His Excellency the Governor is more convenient. ”

Yuan Shikai said: "Mr. Consul, please forgive me for saying bluntly, now the Chinese people have a deep hatred of the concession, and the concession that has been established will be forgotten, but if a new concession is established in my jurisdiction, it will definitely be angry. ”

Hearing this, Funan was silent for a while before he said: "Your Excellency the Governor's worries are a bit exaggerated, but the establishment of a concession area in Nanjing, isn't it enough?" ”

Yuan Shikai smiled bitterly and said: "If there is no East China **, naturally there is no big problem, but now the world has changed, not before the Gengzi country changed, I think that all countries should also move forward with the times, and they can't still act with the old way of thinking, so this matter must not be mentioned again, if all countries must insist on setting up a concession in Nanjing, then my cooperation with other countries can only stop there, and countries should go to others to cooperate." ”

Funan frowned and said, "Your Excellency the Governor, if this is the case, our negotiations today are meaningless, because none of the conditions we put forward have been met." I'm afraid I won't be able to explain it to the ministers of various countries!"

Yuan Shikai spread his hands and said: "Then I can't help it, with all due respect, if I meet these conditions you put forward, I'm afraid I will be driven down immediately, I don't think this result countries want to see it." ”

Fornan was silent for a long time before he said, "Okay, I will report the results of our negotiations today to the ministers of various countries to see what they think, and ask His Excellency the Governor to wait for a few days." ”

Yuan Shikai nodded and said, "Okay, I don't know if Mr. Consul is waiting in Nanjing!" Let's go back to Hankou first. ”

Funan thought for a moment and said, "Just wait in Nanjing." ”

Yuan Shikai smiled and said: "That's good! There are still many places in Nanjing where Mr. Consul has not yet visited, and it is rare to come once, I will definitely arrange it for Mr. Consul." ”