Buy back Formosa?

Li Hongzhang thought it was ridiculous: Who signed the treaty at Chunfan Tower in Maguan just five years ago, ceding Formosa Island to Japan? It was himself, and no one knew anything about the situation. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoBut today, an American minister suggested that he propose to the emperor and his colleagues that he buy back this small island, which had been mortgaged by Japan to the Bank of America, for sixty-five million taels of silver?

This suggestion...... What was Conger's reason for choosing him? Do you want him to change from a reviled thief to a praised loyal servant, or do you want him to add another infamy? Li Hongzhang felt that it was the second guess: 65 million taels of silver, if the imperial court really took out so much money to buy back that island, then it would be only one step away from collapse - only one step away from becoming a puppet of foreigners. If the imperial court had borrowed money from the Western Bank as was customary, that would have been the result.

Perhaps that was exactly what Conger was hoping for: as an American minister, he certainly wanted the court to become an American marionette, even if it was a dangerous gamble. The imperial court would not necessarily borrow from American banks, and the European powers would not tolerate American dominance.

It's not that simple.

Of course, a new infamy was not a great deal for him, but in any case the final development of events would not be the result of the purchase of Formosa in favor of the court, as the esteemed Monsieur Conger had said: it was only a bait to lure some young man who lacked political acumen and foresight into taking the bait.

If you follow the umbrella company Easter. Mr. Hartman's favorite phrase is, "A sugar-coated cannonball." ”

And that layer of sugar coating is not very thick.

"Mr. Minister," said Li Hongzhang, coming back to his senses and speaking at a slow pace that a man of his age should have, "do you really think that your proposal is a good suggestion for me in the Great Qing Dynasty?" ”

"Of course, Your Excellency." Conger replied.

"But I don't see it that way."

"What do you think?"

"Mr. Minister, the price offered by your bank group is 65 million taels, and the purchase of such an insignificant island with so much money may cause a lot of criticism inside and outside the government and the opposition. Moreover, given the current financial situation in our country, the redemption of Formosa will inevitably require apportionment to various localities and an increase in taxes, which will certainly cause a greater backlash among the people. At that time, the court will not get the hearts of the people. Li Hongzhang shook his head, "If you want me to make this suggestion to the emperor, I'm afraid it will be a little difficult." ”

"I am a little confused by your opinion, Your Excellency." "Originally, I thought that the people of your country, with their noble patriotic spirit, should be happy and will actively respond to the fundraising campaign launched by your government to donate money for the redemption of the land, rather than resentment because of it." ”

"The Qing Dynasty is not American, Mr. Minister."

"But I dare say that the Chinese people love their homeland as much as the American people."

"You are looking at our subjects with the eyes of your people." Li Hongzhang suggested in a pretentious manner, "On this issue, you should first seek the opinion of experts. ”

That's the opinion of the experts! Conger almost blurted out. Then he remembered that Qin Lang had not mentioned that he should advise the Chinese government on what to do—how to raise that huge sum of money was the Chinese government's own problem. Raising donations, issuing public bonds, raising special taxes, borrowing from U.S. banks...... There are many options, but it is up to Beijing to make its own choice, not tell it how. All the U.S. government has to do, and all he has to do, is get it to agree to redeem Formosa.

It's hard. At one time, Conger thought it was simple, but in reality it was difficult. An old fox like Li Hongzhang could easily see the danger of the whole thing, and he did, insisting on rejecting the suggestion - yet he was already the most enlightened minister in China, not as conservative and difficult to communicate with other ministers. If he refuses, then the other old guys will do the same.

Perhaps advice should be made to a few young counsellors, or directly to the emperor, but ......

No, these moves are superfluous, the opinions of several young auxiliary ministers and the emperor himself do not matter, it is a very obvious fact from the very beginning which ministers the power of the country really holds and whose opinions have a decisive attitude.

Li Hongzhang is the key figure, and he is not really against the proposal: he is talking ......

"Mr. Conger." Someone whispered Conger's name.

"What?" Conger turned his head. The person who called him was the third secretary of the embassy - but in reality, this man was not the real third secretary of the mission. He was the representative of the consortium, and he was supposed to negotiate with Li Hongzhang or some other auxiliary minister, but Conger himself took over the lucrative work.

Conger believed that he could do the work alone and without help, but Mr. Delegate apparently did not think so - he reminded: "Perhaps I should draw your attention to the fact that Minister Lee did not refuse our offer, but said 'I am afraid it will be difficult'. ”

"That's true." Conger nodded slightly.

"You know what that means, right?"

"Yes, I know." Nothing else, at least for politicians and bureaucrats, is a small matter of money.

"Then you know what to do. Don't be in a hurry, no one is asking for an agreement today. ”

The tone of the consortium representative made Conger very uncomfortable, but he understood that it was because he had made the Wall Street guy uncomfortable in the first place: the 65 million taels of silver business, the intermediary's share must be very substantial, and this was the main reason for his decision to get involved in the business, but for the negotiator, it meant that he ended up with much less than expected, unless they could raise the price a little more.

But that is extremely difficult to do, and there is almost no chance, so his income will inevitably decrease, and as a result, he will certainly not be happy, so he will find ways to make others unhappy.

Especially the guy who made his income less.

But it doesn't matter. Conger thought. For the sake of those cute little green pieces of paper, a little offense is not worth mentioning at all.

He raised his head slightly, looked at Li Hongzhang again, and smiled. "We can take another time to discuss this in earnest, Your Excellency. But I have always believed that the purchase of Formosa is a very beneficial proposition for your government. And for you, it's also very advantageous. ”

He accentuated the word "favorable", but the translator apparently failed to grasp his intentions and forgot to accentuate the tone on that word when retelling. For a moment, Conger was a little worried, suspecting that Li Hongzhang might not fully understand what he meant, but he soon realized that such worries were very unnecessary.

"I agree, Mr. Minister." Li Hongzhang said, "I really want to know what benefits your proposal will have for our country. ”

He did not mention himself.

He would never mention himself.

Conger wasn't surprised. "We will certainly agree, Your Excellency." He said, then changing the subject, "It seems that the security guards haven't lowered the alert level yet." ”

"Security guards are conducting a comprehensive inventory to find the rebels who have not yet been exposed." Li Hongzhang replied. He knew the situation far better than Conger: while the Minister was indulging in his own thoughts, talking to the third secretary, he was listening to the conversations of the others, looking for valuable information in them.

Although there was no valuable information in these conversations, either reprimanding and cursing the rebels, or speculating on the identity of the rebels, they were mixed with Rong Lu's harsh scoldings -- he was loudly reprimanding the officials who had arranged for the perimeter guards, and did not mention a word about the umbrella company -- the director of the umbrella company had not yet sent an official report, so no one knew the number and identity of the rebels, and how they had infiltrated the parade through strict security and search.

It must be said that this is not like something that those chaotic parties can do.

Li Hongzhang smelled a hint of conspiracy. It is indeed difficult to see the attack as part of a plot if it is seen as isolated time, but if it is linked to Conger's suggestion, it looks like part of a conspiracy.

And a conspiracy against more than one object.

Finally, the director of the umbrella company walked up to the viewing platform. Just for a moment, everyone's eyes were focused on him.

"Security found five terrorists. It can be determined that this is the total number of terrorists. "Two of them have been shot dead and three others have been arrested." ”

"How did they get in?" Rong Lu asked.

"These terrorists dressed themselves as Japanese and all dressed in Japanese costumes...... Kimono. Their outfits succeeded in deterring the Chinese soldiers who were on guard at the perimeter, and they did not dare to conduct serious searches. After a pause, the Director continued, "Upon inspection, they were carrying five Japanese-made revolvers—"

"Japanese-made pistols!" Japanese Minister Komura Shoutaro shouted, "Are you sure?" ”

"Yes," the Director affirmed, "although the terrorists filed the numbering and markings of the pistols, their work was crude, so they could still make out some of the patterns......"

Li Hongzhang quietly turned part of his gaze to Conger. He looked just as surprised as the other ministers, and there was some justifiable schadenfreude. Maybe the conspiracy was not planned by him, he was just part of the conspiracy, but sometimes, people have to take some responsibility that does not belong to them and bear the blame for others.

Of course, that's not the point, the point is, the price of keeping secrets doesn't come cheap. (To be continued, if you want to know what will happen next, please log in to the www.qidian.com, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!) (To be continued.) )