"Then you Lao Chen!" Hu Xueyan said, "The monthly interest rate on the last two payments is 8% (these two refer to the two loans that Hu Xueyan handled with HSBC through Chen Guohua in April 1867 and January 1868, the amounts are 1.2 million taels and 1 million taels respectively), this time the matter is urgent, even if it is a little higher, it does not matter!" In short, it is better to do it as soon as possible! ”

"As long as there is no problem with the guarantor, there is no other problem. "Chen Guohua is still a little worried about www.biquge.info the guarantee.

"If you do it, you will definitely succeed. Lao Chen, I still have two meanings, let me tell you, first, this matter must be done secretly, and there must be no leakage, otherwise, if someone in Beijing plays a book, there will be more than bad things. At that time, if Lord Zuo changes his words, it will be a big trouble. ”

As soon as Hu Xueyan said this, Chen Guohua was surprised, "Then," he said worriedly, "When the talk is successful, if Lord Zuo says 'no', it is not a joke!" ”

"Don't worry! There will be no jokes, and I am absolutely sure that he will do what I say. Hu Xueyan said confidently.

"That's good! Let's talk about the second piece. ”

"Second, I want to entrust a foreign businessman, in fact, if someone is willing to lend, he might as well take a share and earn a few more interest. I also have a letter here, it is from Xi Ye of the Dongting Mountain Gang, introducing me to HSBC, we are old acquaintances, so I came to you first, if you can't do it here, I will have to use this letter. ”

"Mr. Hu rest assured, as long as the guarantor is fine, there will be no problem." Chen Guohua said.

"I'm saying this just to give you peace of mind, and I won't do it without being completely sure." Hu Xueyan said, "As long as the loan is in hand, I will be rewarded." ”

"I'll go to Zhang Luo."

In order to maintain confidentiality, Chen Guohua invited Milling out to meet Hu Xueyan in a foreign hotel, and as soon as the two sides sat down, they went straight to the point.

After listening to Chen Guohua's explanation, Milling did not answer, he faced Hu Xueyan and sent out a series of inquiries first.

"I remember that many of your court's officials have always been resolutely opposed to the proposal to borrow money from foreign banks, regardless of whether the terms of the loan are generous or not.

"Quelling the rebellion and recovering Xinjiang are top priorities in China." Through Chen Guohua's translation, Hu Xueyan replied very calmly: "If the minister with the troops can raise enough military funds by himself, without the need for the imperial court, of course the imperial court will fully support it." ”

"As far as I know, China's troop leaders have their own spheres of influence. His Excellency Count Zuo Zongtang (Zuo Zongtang is now a first-class Ke Jingbo) seems to have had only two provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu, which are the most barren places in China. ”

"Not really." Hu Xueyan refused to admit the territory, "The prestige of the imperial court extends to all provinces, as long as the imperial court agrees to this loan, and the method of apportionment and repayment by the provinces, you don't have to worry." ”

"So, why don't you ask your government to come forward and borrow this loan?"

"Count Zuo came forward to represent the Qing court." Hu Xueyan opened his mouth, "All negotiations should be about the status of reciprocity, if the Qing court comes forward, it should be negotiated with your 'household department', and it should not be discussed by us here." ”

Milling nodded deeply, but then asked: "Your Excellency Count Zuo Zongtang represents the Chinese government, and you represent Your Excellency Count Zuo Zongtang, which means that you represent the Chinese government." Is that so? ”

After Milling finished speaking, his eyes were fixed on Hu Xueyan's face, waiting for his answer.

Milling's words made Hu Xueyan breathe. For the first two previous loans, Zuo Zongtang gave him a clear authorization, but now that Zuo Zongtang has spoken, he did not ask him to borrow so much, it was completely his own initiative, and he couldn't talk about the authorization of the imperial court at all. If it is false, Hu Xueyan is stealing a false name, swaggering and insulting the country, and the crime is not light. But if you don't dare to admit it, you will lose your support, and you won't be able to talk about it at all.

Hu Xueyan had a brain teaser and replied calmly: "If the talk is successful, I will represent the imperial court, and if the talk is not successful, I can only represent myself." ”

"Mr. Hu's words are brilliant and subtle, but they are also very real. Okay, I'll treat you as a representative of the Chinese government. I can agree to this loan, but I must state that you should not talk to any other bank until our negotiations have been concluded. ”

"Naturally, I firmly believe in your credibility." When Hu Xueyan heard Millin's agreement, he was secretly happy in his heart, and hurriedly said, "However, we should set a deadline for negotiations, and at the same time, I also have a request, that is, until the negotiations are inconclusive, Your Excellency must keep it a secret. ”

"That's a constraint that both sides should accept. As for the deadline, it is difficult to set a deadline because it often takes a long time to negotiate the details. ”

"Then we'll talk about the details now."

This is equivalent to determining that Milling has made a promise to borrow, and even Chen Guohua smiled.

After some talking, the two sides basically reached an agreement. I made a draft contract and wrote a record, and I never regretted it. The agreed approach and conditions are as follows:

First, the total amount of loans is 3 million taels of Guan Pingyin, which is divided into two tranches, the first of which is 1.2 million taels, which is underwritten by a consortium formed by HSBC.

Second, the monthly interest rate is 10%, and the payment is deducted first.

Third, Hu Xueyan and Chen Guohua introduced Chinese businessmen to deposit with HSBC, with a monthly interest rate of 4% in the open market and 6% in the dark market.

Fourth, the customs have a constant monthly income, and the tax departments are mostly foreigners, so the loan receipts should be printed by the customs and stamped by the governors of the provinces, and cashed out to the customs when due.

Fifth, starting from July of this year, 200,000 taels per month will be withdrawn and repaid in half a year.

Among these five measures, the third is the benefits obtained by foreign businessmen and Hu Xueyan and Chen Guohua, with four percent in the open market and six percent in the dark market, that is, the middleman gets a commission of two percent, that is, foreign businessmen borrow money from the Chinese, transfer it to Chinese officialdom, earn four percent in and ten percent out, and get six percent of the benefits, which are divided equally between each half.

As for the stamps that must come from customs, this is Milling's firm opinion. Because although he believed in Hu Xueyan and Zuo Zongtang, but did not believe in the governors of the relevant provinces, the previous two loans, there were similar incidents, and then Hu Xueyan reported to Zuo Zongtang, one by one to solve, but that time the efficiency and credibility of the Chinese officials left a bad impression on Milling, Millin was afraid that when the time came, the printing of stamps would be like waste paper, and it would take trouble to negotiate, and the customs would be served by foreigners as the tax department, once promised, they would not be untrustworthy.

This is a difficult problem for Hu Xueyan, but Hu Xueyan also came up with a solution, that is, Zuo Zongtang played the Ming court, and the provincial vassals were responsible for handing over the payment of the Western Expedition to the provincial customs every month. For example, the two customs of Fujian and Guangdong borrow 240,000 taels each month, the Zhejiang customs borrow 420,000 taels, plus the 180,000 taels that the Jiangxi customs itself should solve, a total of 1.08 million taels, and the shortage is only 120,000 taels. Hu Xueyan's plan was to suggest that Zuo Zongtang ask Hubei to pay 20,000 taels per month, and Jianghan would issue a stamp of 120,000 taels to form an integer of 1.2 million.

When the big event was decided, Hu Xueyan couldn't help but let out a long breath in his heart.

In order to celebrate the completion of the business, Chen Guohua specially took foreign wine and asked Millin and Hu Xueyan to clink glasses, although Hu Xueyan was not used to drinking foreign wine, but in order not to upset Millin, he still drank it.

While they were celebrating, one of Millin's HSBC foreigners walked in, handed Milling a cigarette case, and walked out. Millin opened the cigarette case and glanced at it, and his brow couldn't help but raise.

Milling raised his head and looked at Hu Xueyan, who met his gaze with a smile, but couldn't help but feel empty in his heart.

Could it be that the news that he wanted to borrow money for his own use leaked the news and let this foreigner know about it?

"I just got a message, Mr. Hu." Milling looked at Hu Xueyan and said slowly, "Your Excellency Baron Hayashi Yoshizhe, Minister of the Admiralty, has proposed to your imperial court to borrow 8 million pounds from the banks of Britain, France, and Italy. ”

Hearing the name of Lin Yizhe in Chen Guohua's translation of Milling's words, Hu Xueyan felt as uncomfortable as if he had eaten a fly, and the foreign wine he drank just now was also churning in his stomach, which made him feel uncomfortable for a while.

And when he heard the astronomical figure of 8 million pounds, his heart also chuckled.

He couldn't imagine that Lin Yizhe would dare to give such a large amount of loans to the imperial court!

"Is your message accurate?" Hu Xueyan asked calmly.

"Of course it's accurate, have you forgotten that Beijing and Shanghai have already telegraphed?" Milling was very unimpressed by Hu Xueyan's words, "We can all know what is important happening in Beijing at the first time." ”

"I don't think the court will agree." Hu Xueyan thought for a while and said, "This number is too big, it is difficult for the interest account alone to afford, there will definitely be many people who oppose it, and it is impossible for the imperial court to agree to this loan." ”

"On the contrary, Mr. Hu, the news I have received is that your government has agreed." Milling glanced at the note in his hand again and shook his head, "Because there is no interest on this loan." ”

"No interest? How can it be? Hu Xueyan was so taken aback that he almost jumped out of his chair.

"There is no doubt that this is an interest-free loan that will be co-hosted by a consortium of banks from the UK, France and Italy, Rothchild Bank." "That's all I know now, and I need to inquire further to find out." ”

"This ......" Hu Xueyan was shocked by Lin Yizhe's generosity for a while, but he quickly returned to normal, "If something is abnormal, it must be a demon, and there must be a shady scene in this." Hu Xueyan sneered.

"What do you say? Shady? Millin was stunned.

"You may not know it, Mr. Milling, this man named Lin Yizhe, his true face is not what is written on newsprint." Hu Xueyan was jealous and hateful, and couldn't help but slander Lin Yizhe.