It is significant that this is the first loan to deal with the aftermath of the rehabilitation. The government itself, but for the Nanjing Provisional Government. Proposed by the government.

Just a week after Yuan Shikai was elected provisional president, Zhou Ziqi, the deputy head of his branch (which was the name at the time), approached the door of the representative of the Four Nations Bank Group in Beijing and said that the government of Nanjing. The government needed 7 million taels of silver, of which 2 million taels were urgently needed, and asked the bank group of the four countries to provide urgent help.

At that time, the Nanjing Provisional Government. The government continued to perform its duties under Sun Yat-sen's auspices, including seeking foreign loans. Yuan Shikai's starting point was to take the government of Beijing as soon as possible. The government replaces Nanjing. Politics. If he can find money for it, it will naturally improve his status, and thus prove his national government. The government can solve the problem for Nanjing, and the Nanjing Provisional Government. There is no need for the government to continue to exist. This money would have been more beneficial to him if it had been used to dismiss the Southern army.

For the great powers and their financial capital, now that the Qing Dynasty has abdicated and the north and south of China have come together, the question of neutrality (including financial neutrality) no longer exists. In their minds, "responsible Chinese politics. The government is about to be established by Yuan Shikai. They're happy to help. In addition, due to the changes in the situation within China and in the contention between the great powers in China since the Xinhai Revolution, it was impossible to issue the currency-based industrial loans originally scheduled for the spring of 1912, so the banking groups of the four countries also had the desire to undertake new loans to China.

In this case, the four countries bank group accepted Yuan Shikai's government. On February 28, the request of the government was handled by HSBC, and 2 million taels of silver were paid to the Provisional Government of Nanjing. The government is responsible for military and political expenses. This is the first advance made by the banking group of the four countries to the Republic of China, and it also provides an opportunity for the next large-scale loan for the aftermath.

While the loan was being negotiated, an episode occurred. On 14 March, Yuan Shikai** signed a loan contract of 1 million pounds with another international consortium, which caused an uproar between the bank group of the four countries and Yuan **.

This other consortium has its origins in early 1911, when the Russians instructed the Russo-Asian (Daosheng) Bank to form an institution to compete with the banking syndicates of the four countries. On January 24, 1912, the Russo-Asian (Daosheng) Bank gathered some British, French, and Belgian capitals that had nothing to do with the banking group of the four countries, and formally formed this international consortium. As soon as it was established, the loan was contracted by the Warby Bank to Yuan Shikai**, which is often referred to as the Belgian loan.

The contract stipulates that the interest on the loan is 5%, 97% deduction, and the payment will be made 15 days after the contract is signed. China secured the loan with its usual revenues and the net profits and property of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, and agreed to give the consortium a priority of £10 million in lending.

Overall, the terms of the loan were modest. While eagerly asking for loans from the banks of the four countries, Yuan ** quietly made this deal, apparently trying to diversify the sources of borrowing.

Negotiations on this loan began when the consortium was established, and a draft contract was concluded on February 20. The government's intention was not to use this loan to compete with the four countries' banking groups.

However, the loan contract was signed on March 9, after Yuan Shikai replied to the banking group of the four countries agreeing to give the monopoly of the advance and the loan. The government itself is in a contradictory situation.

As soon as the banking group of the four countries learned of the Belgian loan, they immediately blamed Yuan Zheng. The government "does not keep its promises" and stops advances and negotiations; On 25 March, the ministers of the four countries concerned also protested against the loans.

The essence of the matter is that Belgium has borrowed money to rob a part of the interests of the banking groups of the four countries, and there is no provision in the contract to supervise the use of the loans. This is a big blow to the conditions for borrowing from China that the banking groups of the four countries have just set, and they must undermine them.

At the beginning, Yuan Shikaizheng. The government also has to defend itself and stand its ground. Tang Shaoyi (who by this time had become Yuan's prime minister) even agreed again with Warbik Bank in Shanghai that the consortium would advance another £250,000 (even the previous one, a total of £1.25 million). However, after all, Tang Shaoyi could not withstand the pressure of the banking group of the four countries and the four countries, and after returning to Beijing, he had to personally apologize to the ministers of the four countries for the loan from Belgium, and then informed the ministers that they decided to abolish the loan contract of Belgium and demand that the bank group of the four countries resume negotiations on the loan and pay the advance to meet the needs.

Later, the ministers of the four countries agreed to order the representatives of the bank group of the four countries to resume negotiations, and a turmoil subsided.

From the night of 26 April to the early morning of 27 April 1913, Yuan Shikai sent Premier Zhao Bingjun, Foreign Minister Lu Zhengxiang, and Finance Minister Zhou Xuexi as plenipotentiary representatives to hold final negotiations with a group of banks from Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and Japan at the HSBC Bank building in Beijing, and signed a 25 million pound "China ** Aftercare Loan Contract."

Twenty-one articles of the contract, with seven annexes and two schedules. Requirements: the total amount of borrowings is £25 million, at the rate of 5% per annum, for a term of 47 years; The bonds were sold at a 10% discount, net of 6% commissions, resulting in a net proceed of £21 million.

The purpose of the loan was earmarked, and after deducting the repayment of the Gengzi indemnity and various foreign debts due, the dismissal of the provincial armies, and the offsetting of administrative expenses, only 7.6 million pounds remained, and the repayment of principal and interest when due amounted to 67.89 million pounds.

The borrowings are secured by China's salt tax, customs duties and the central government's ** taxes designated by the four provinces of Zhili, Shandong, Henan and Jiangsu. The special condition is that in the future, it is not allowed to borrow from other countries without the permission of the banking syndicate.

Foreigners participate in the collection of salt tax, and Chinese and foreign auditors are set up in the audit office, and all receipts for borrowed funds must be reviewed by Chinese and foreign auditors together, and can only be withdrawn after signing and deferring. China Politics. The government has set up a salt administration in Beijing, which is supervised by a member of the General Office of China and a member of the Office of the Association of Foreigners.

"Each salt-producing area shall set up an audit branch, with a Chinese manager and a foreigner assistant, who shall jointly bear the responsibility of collecting and storing salt revenue. The appointment and dismissal of personnel shall be decided by the General Office of Huayang and the General Office of the Conference. After the salt in the salt area is taxed, it can only be released after being signed by the manager and the associate of Huayang. The salt proceeds shall be deposited in the designated bank, and shall not be withdrawn without the signature of the General Office and the General Office."

The main conditions attached to the loan contract:

(1) During the loan period of the large-scale loan for the aftermath, China shall not borrow money from a bank group other than the banking group of the five countries. In the future, if China needs to borrow again, it can only hire foreign technicians and handle it in accordance with the ordinary contract.

(2) The receipt voucher for loan expenditure must be signed by a Chinese and an auditor of a foreign banking group to be valid.

(3) China's salt revenue, expenditure and management must be attended by foreign associations. The tax revenues from salt and customs duties must be deposited in the banks of the five national banking groups, and they are all under the control of the five national banking groups. However, if Beiyang ** wants to use the two major taxes to repay the balance of the principal and interest of each installment of the debt, it still needs to obtain the consent of the banking group of the five countries.

One cannot but feel that from now on, China's sovereignty over salt taxes and customs duties has fallen into the hands of the Customs and Excise Department and the Foreign Affairs Office of the Salt Inspection Office, which are controlled by foreigners.

At the beginning of the discussion on the aftermath loan, the Kuomintang and people from all walks of life vigorously opposed it from the beginning because its conditions undermined the country's sovereignty. After the news of the signing of the loan contract came out, public opinion across the country was in an uproar, and there was a voice of opposition and protest, condemning Yuan's traitorous behavior.

Zhang Ji, president of the Senate and a member of the Kuomintang, and Wang Zhengting, vice speaker of the Senate and a member of the Kuomintang, received news one day before the signing of the agreement, that is, they went to the presidential palace as speaker to ask to see Yuan Shikai, intending to prevent the signing of the big loan.

On 26 July, Huang Xing issued a telegram, pointing out that it was illegal to borrow money without the approval of the National Assembly, and warned Yuan Shikai that signing the loan "without the people's deputies' promise" would "disintegrate the people's hearts and shake the overall situation, which is a matter of intent and conspiracy."

At the same time, Sun Yat-sen and Hu Hanmin went to Shanghai and ** HSBC respectively to ask for the signature of the resistance bank group.

Sun Yat-sen also sent a telegram to bank groups from various countries to express his opposition to illegal loans for the aftermath. But all these efforts have not stopped the establishment of the large-scale loan for the aftermath.

Yuan Shikaizheng. The government adopted deceptive means and secretly entered the Beijing HSBC Bank from the late night of 26 June to the early morning of 27 July to complete the signing ceremony.

After the establishment of the loan, Zhang Ji and Wang Zhengting sent a telegram to the whole country in the name of the speaker, angrily condemning Yuan Zheng. The government illegally borrows money.

The telegram stated: "Politics. The government is so arbitrary, the former Senate has been repeatedly destroyed, and the current Congress has been ravaged by it. The only way to do this is to fight to the death, and swear not to admit it. "

There was also a fierce struggle in the Congress, and the Senate, where the Kuomintang had the upper hand, was in a state of flux, with Tang Yi leading the questioning of the borrowing issue.

On the 20th, Yuan Zheng. The government only replied to the Senate with a message, saying that the loan outline had been approved by the Senate in December last year, and that the full text of the loan contract should be consulted for the record, and there was no need to submit it to the Congress for discussion.

In fact, on September 17 and December 27, 1912, Finance Minister Zhou Xuexi reported to the Provisional Senate on the conditions of the large loan and the general situation of the negotiation, and the Senate did not express a different opinion at that time. However, at that time, Zhou Xuexi's report was only in the form of a "post", not a formal message, and the Senate did not form any form of formal resolution, and the signature of the large loan was not known to the Senate.

Therefore, after receiving Yuan **'s reply, the Senate was extremely indignant and immediately made a resolution: "As for the loan contract for the aftermath of China's **, it is considered that it has not been approved by the provisional Senate and signed illegally, and of course it is invalid." "

On May 5, the House of Representatives discussed the big loan bill. Li Duan Qirui attended the parliament (after the resignation of Zhao Bingjun, Duan Daiguo. Business. Total. ), in response to questions from parliamentarians. Under the reproach of the congressmen, Duan also had to admit that "the government. The government did not compromise on the procedures of this loan case", but also claimed that the government. The government "would rather take responsibility for its mistakes than sink the country into bankruptcy" and demanded that the legislators "forgive."