The first three days of Funan's stay in Nanjing were spent in amusement, eating, drinking and drinking, although it was only three days, it was impossible to visit all the scenic spots in Nanjing, and it was impossible to pay off Nanjing's flavor food, but it was enough to make Funan feel that the trip was worthwhile.

Although Funan had been sitting in Hankou for nearly three years, Hankou was still just a small town by the Yangtze River at this time, and the great city of Wuhan in the old time and space was still divided into three independent administrative regions: Hankou, Hanyang, and Wuchang, and the economic development, development intensity, and prosperity were far less than Nanjing, which was the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, so in terms of amusement, Hankou was of course inferior to Nanjing.

However, to be sent to China as a consul abroad, Funan is not a person who does not know the priorities, and the reason why he dared to swim happily in Nanjing is because on the first day of his arrival in Nanjing, he handed over to Yuan Shikai the text of the conditions negotiated by various countries. After reading it, Yuan Shikai said that the conditions proposed by various countries need to be considered for a few days, which is also a reasonable request, and it is certainly impossible for Funan to refuse, but just take the time Yuan Shikai considers to play in Nanjing.

But on the 4th day, Funan still remembered to do business, and it was estimated that Yuan Shikai had also thought about it, so he asked Yuan Shikai for negotiation. And Yuan Shikai did not refuse, so the two began negotiations in the yamen of the Liangjiang Governor's Mansion in Nanjing.

This time, the conditions put forward by various countries to Yuan Shikai have a total of 4 major clauses, and each major clause is divided into a number of small clauses, with a total of 22 clauses. The main contents of the four major articles are:

1. Personnel from various countries should be dispatched to manage Yuan Shikai's finance, taxation and other affairs;

2. Military personnel shall be dispatched by various countries to be responsible for Yuan Shikai's military training, command, and formulation of battle plans;

3. Demarcate areas in Nanjing, set up concessions of various countries, and the system of concessions is modeled after the original Shanghai and Tianjin concessions;

Fourth, please ask Yuan Shikai to come forward, hoping that East China can resume the shipping distribution agreement;

The purpose of the first two articles is to fully control Yuan Shikai's military and financial powers, so that Yuan Shikai can be effectively controlled, after all, although the countries decided to fund Yuan Shikai to become powerful in the south, but they must also guard against Yuan Shikai's hand, in case Yuan Shikai is full-fledged, without the funding of various countries, how can we ensure that Yuan Shikai's actions can still be in line with the interests of all countries, and Yuan Shikai must have enough control over him.

The purpose of Article 3 is that the countries hope to be able to establish a comprehensive concession area in China, because after the two concessions of Tianjin and Shanghai are recovered by East China, only Hankou and Guangzhou are the main concessions in China, but Hankou is the French Concession and Guangzhou is the British Concession, which are not like the two concessions of Tianjin and Shanghai, which are concentrated in the comprehensive concession areas of various countries, so all countries are more eager to establish a comprehensive concession area in Nanjing, and at the same time, it is more convenient for the countries to control Yuan Shikai.

Article 4 represents a hope for nations. Originally, at the beginning of its establishment, East China reached an agreement on the distribution of Yangtze River shipping with Swire and Jardine Matheson, which represented the interests of various countries, but during the Far East War, due to Britain's entry into the war, East China announced that the previous agreement was null and void, monopolizing the shipping business of the Yangtze River waterway, and leviing high shipping tax rates on goods from various countries, with the highest tax rate reaching nearly 100%, because the Yangtze River coast is an area where the commercial interests of various countries are more concentrated, resulting in a significant increase in the cost of commodities and a decline in the competitiveness of commodities. and some national capitals took the opportunity to grab a lot of market share, which also made businessmen from all over the world complain.

After the end of the war, businessmen from various countries proposed to East China several times, hoping that East China could resume the shipping distribution agreement, but they were all rejected by East China, and at the same time, they also refused to negotiate with Swire and Jardine Matheson. And this time, businessmen from various countries saw that Yuan Shikai and East China ** had a good relationship, and hoped that Yuan Shikai would come forward so that East China ** could resume the shipping distribution agreement.

To be honest, when Yuan Shikai first saw these requirements, he was quite annoyed, and his good feelings for various countries were completely gone, Yuan Shikai was still mentally prepared, knowing that countries would not easily fund themselves, and they would definitely attach a lot of conditions, but Yuan Shikai did not expect that the conditions put forward by various countries would be so excessive, and they actually wanted to take over their own military and financial power, what did they think of themselves, was it Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty or Shi Jingtang, and they also wanted to set up a concession in Nanjing, which was simply to roast themselves on the fire!

It turned out that after East China ** won the victory in the Far East War and recovered the Shanghai Concession, it has greatly stimulated the Chinese's sense of national self-reliance and self-improvement, although Yuan Shikai does not understand the word national consciousness, but also knows that the spirit of the Chinese people is now inspired by East China **, at this time, if he allows various countries to establish concessions in Nanjing, I am afraid that he will be unanimously accused of traitors by the whole country.

And the last one is even more unhappy for Yuan Shikai, in fact, it is not impossible to help countries to put forward this condition to East China, after all, it is also a matter of moving their mouths, but the problem is that the conditions proposed by various countries before are clearly to set aside Yuan Shikai, and they also want to make Yuan Shikai ruined, and they actually have to help them do things themselves, I really don't know what to think.

At that time, Yuan Shikai wanted to tear up this document, drive Funan away, and simply go to surrender East China**, it's a big deal to be an official, and it is better to go home and be a rich man in the next life than to be operated as a puppet by various countries.

However, Yuan Shikai is still a calm person after all, and he is not willing to quit like this, but if he wants to maintain the situation, he can't do without the support of various countries, of course, negotiation and negotiation are naturally the first to negotiate before judgment, since the countries are asking for a price, they can also pay back the money on the spot, anyway, these conditions must not be agreed, the big deal is to break up, he does not have the support of various countries, at least he can mix in the position of the governor of Liangjiang for a few years, and the countries have no self, I am afraid that life will not be easy, if the negotiations are completely collapsed, the countries may not be better。

So after Yuan Shikai and Funan began to negotiate, Yuan Shikai first said: "Mr. Consul, I think the first article is very inappropriate!"

Funan remained silent and said, "Your Excellency the Governor, is there anything wrong?"

Yuan Shikai said with a smile: "Liangjiang's money, finance, and taxes, have their own political departments, Taoist platforms, and state officials who are responsible for them, all of which are appointed by the imperial court, and I can't be the master. ”

Funan laughed and said, "Your Excellency, in your country's words, let's 'open the window and speak brightly', we all know what your trip south is for, and what we are funding you for?" Isn't it up to His Excellency the Governor to have the final say in the Liangjiang region now? The imperial court is beyond the reach of the whip, not to mention that the imperial court only has one or two years, and it is busy dealing with the threat of East China, so there is still energy to take care of the affairs of the two rivers!"

Yuan Shikai laughed dryly twice, and said: "Okay, I won't say anything false, just say it, please forgive me for this article, if all countries must insist, then there is no need to talk about it anymore." ”

Funan did not show surprise at Yuan Shikai's reaction, but continued: "Your Excellency the Governor, it seems that you have mistaken our motive for proposing this article, we have never violated the authority of His Excellency the Governor, or the intention of his Excellency the Governor, otherwise we would not have chosen to support His Excellency the Governor in the first place, please don't misunderstand Your Excellency the Governor." ”

Yuan Shikai snorted and said, "In this way, the countries are still kind. ”

Funan said with a smile: "Of course, it is good intentions, frankly we have little confidence in the financial management ability of the Chinese, in our opinion, the financial management ability of the Qing court can only be described as 'pathetic', the financial department of the Qing court is full of inefficiency, incompetence, chaos, Corruption, and His Excellency the Governor wants to establish a foundation in the south, such financial management ability is absolutely not possible, and we have excellent financial management ability and experience, which has been fully proved in the customs management of the Qing Dynasty in the past, so if the financial affairs of His Excellency the Governor can be managed by us, we can ensure that every penny of His Excellency the Governor is used in the most suitable place, and there will never be a penny of waste and greed. ”

Although these words are high-sounding, it is still far from enough to fool Yuan Shikai, but now it is a negotiation, and Yuan Shikai cannot simply and rudely deny Funan's reasoning, and must also say a big reason in order to refute Funan, so Yuan Shikai thought for a while and said: "Mr. Consul, you can't say that, the finances of the imperial court do have many shortcomings, but this is not that our people are not good at managing money, but there are too many constraints in the imperial court, such as East China ** After they took over Tianjin and Shanghai Customs, their management ability is by no means under the management of various countries. ”

Funan's face also became a little difficult to look at, because Tianjin and Shanghai Customs were forced by East China from various countries, and Yuan Shikai is now carrying East China out, obviously ridiculing all countries, but what Yuan Shikai said is not wrong, East China's financial and tax management capabilities are indeed not inferior to any country, and Funan must also respect the rules of negotiation and be reasonable, so Funan thought for a while and said: "We recognize the financial management ability of East China, but the financial system of East China, The financial management method is in the same vein as us, that is to say, East China ** is to use our financial management method, which must be the ability that the Qing court does not have, I think that among the subordinates of His Excellency the Governor, there are no people who are proficient in our financial management methods. ”

Yuan Shikai said with a smile: "Then it's easy to do, I can ask East China ** to send someone to help me manage my finances, and ask my subordinates to learn from them, we are all Chinese, everything is easy to say." And I have some friendship with East China**, this request, I think they will not refute my face, so that countries can rest assured!"