Han Qirui didn't want to speak, but Xu Shichang didn't let him go. In consultation clarity. After Gong Buzhen's opinion, Xu Shichang asked Duan Qirui for his opinion on the coal war.

"Xu Gong Mingjian. On the one hand, we are hoarding a large amount of coal in order to dump it at a low price and defeat the Jin and Yimei carbon groups, on the other hand, the government must also have some support, and now that the provincial government and the provincial parliament are in our hands, it is up to the central government to support it, but what is the position of the central government on the issue of coal incessant at present. It is not clear to anyone that it is not the cabinet that really calls the shots. It's not a nominal congress and political committee, but Zhao Zhenhua, who doesn't nod. We are afraid that we will also work in vain, and we can only cheapen those power plants and steamship companies. ”

Duan Qirui had no choice but to talk eloquently. When I said the last few sentences, I was very stunned, back then. He ran a steamship company, but he suffered from the high price of coal, and he had been exhibiting in the south at that time, so that he missed the best opportunity to join this Beiyang industrial circle, as a result. can only look at other people's wealth, but he is so depressed that he needs to be rescued by his old boss.

"You don't have to worry about the center, tomorrow when the president returns to Beijing, there will be someone to talk to the president about the charcoal syndicate, in my opinion, the president now also supports the big industrial exhibition, the cost of large butterfly mines is low, the efficiency is high, the profit is also high, and it is better managed, the center should not object."

Speaking of this, the butler hurried over, holding a letter of worship in his hand.

"Master, Wang Yitang asks to see you." The butler presented the prayer post.

"Wang Yitang? What is he here for? Xu Shichang took the greeting post and took a look, sure enough, it was Wang Yitang's greeting post, which was still printed on it

Wen.

"There were also two Japanese who came with him, one named Nishihara Kamezo, who is said to be a close confidant of the Japanese minister, and the other is the translator of Nishihara Kamezo, in fact, the Japanese wanted to see the master, and Wang Yitang just led them over

"The Japanese? Missing! You replied, I am cold, I don't see a guest today Xu Shichang shook his head.

"Master, the Japanese said, I heard that the master is now worried about the capital problem of butterfly charcoal investment, he can share the worries for the master, now Japan's domestic economy is also very good, the bank has sufficient funds, unlike my country's banks, now all parties are lending, the bank is too tight, if the lord wants to borrow from the bank, the Bank of Japan can help." The butler said.

"Oh? He himself is well-informed. ”

Xu Shichang was a little surprised, now in order to bake the matter of the formation of the syndicate, Beiyang Industrial Group is worried about the shortage of funds, and the domestic banks and financial institutions are nervous because of the active investment, as a result, the interest rate of borrowing from the bank is too high, and everyone is not sure, therefore, the matter of funds is still the focus of attention of Beiyang businessmen, and today Xu Shichang ran outside all day, and it is precisely for this financing problem.

"Look, this Japanese. Do I see it or not? Xu Shichang asked Duan Qirui and Wang Shizhen.

"Nope.

Wang Shizhen shook her head.

It's okay to see it, but Duan Qirui nodded

"Wang Long" and "Duan Hu" had a difference of opinion, and Xu Shichang hurriedly asked the reason.

Wang Shizhen said: "Wang Yitang used to be the secretary of Xu Gong in the past, and there are some talents in this person, but his character is really not very good, and he is now the president of the Sino-Japanese Friendship Promotion Association." Being close to the Japanese, he has no problem dealing with the Japanese, but there is no need for Xu Gong to get too close to the Japanese, on the one hand. Japan's wolf ambitions, although two years ago were hit head-on, ambitions have been curtailed, but in the past two years, relying on the European war, Japan's economy has recovered, and its national strength has increased, and it is precisely because of this that Japan dares to provoke Australia in New Guinea. On the other hand, the national sentiment can not be ignored, there are people who are friendly to Japan, but there are also many people who hate Japan, plus the Beiyang Industrial Group and Japanese enterprises are engaged in the weaving industry, whether it is the competition for the market, or the competition for cotton raw materials, it is very fierce, Xu Gong, as the spiritual leader of Beiyang, naturally should not get too close to the Japanese, otherwise, it may lead to the split of Beiyang, in the past, Beiyang has been divided once, and now it is difficult to unite again. We can't afford to repeat the mistakes of the past. ”

Duan Qirui disagreed with Wang Shizhen's opinion and said: "It's too cautious to hire a secretary. In my opinion, Xu Gong doesn't have to worry about Beiyang being divided because of meeting a Japanese, not to mention that this person can also provide loans to Beiyang Industrial Group, so what's the harm in meeting him? As for Wang Yitang, although he is only a senior adviser to the Presidential Office, in Zhao Zhenhua's eyes, this person is very useful, and Ping Qing thinks. Why is the current trend of "pan-Asianism" in China rampant? It was Zhao Zhenhua who single-handedly supported it, in order to unite Japan and squeeze out European and American forces, but he was only concerned about the mood of the people and to prevent the vigilance of the great powers. It was through the Sino-Japanese Association for the Promotion of Friendly Relations that this matter was carried out. Therefore, although Wang Yitang does not have a prominent position now, he has a lot of weight in the presidential palace, if Xu Gong refuses to meet the people he introduced, he is afraid that he will offend him, Wang Yitang is not a gentleman, he is a villain, a gentleman can be offended, but a villain can not be offended, and I hope that Xu Gong will learn from it. ”

Wang Shizhen and Duan Qirui have a point. This made Xu Shichang ponder for a long time, and then instructed the housekeeper to lead Wang Yitang and the Japanese politician to the living room.

Xu Shichang left Wang Shijian and Duan Qirui in the study, and then rushed to the living room.

Seeing Xu Shichang coming, Wang Yitang and Xiyuan Guisan hurriedly stood up, bowing deeply, and the etiquette was fully done.

Xu Shichang returned the salute, sat down, and got straight to the point.

"Two of you are visiting today, I don't know what is going on? What did Mr. Nishihara mean by what he had just said to my butler? ”

Wang Yitang naturally didn't speak, and Nishihara Kamezo explained his reasoning by telling the truth.

"Mr. Xu is now the most authoritative person in the industrial industry in northern China, and it is no exaggeration to say that some people in Japan have even written books and said that they have introduced Mr. Xu's business philosophy to Japanese businessmen. In the Japanese industrial and commercial circles, Mr. Xu's prestige is said to be a representative of Japan, and he does not know Mr. Xu, and at the same time, he also hopes to have comprehensive cooperation with Mr. Xu on financial issues. I am not only a special envoy of the Japanese government, but also a special envoy of the Japanese people, and I am deeply honored to be able to cooperate with Mr. Xu. I have heard that Mr. Xu has recently encountered some trouble with the financing of coal companies, and if Mr. Xu feels that he can cooperate with Japanese companies and foundations, I will guarantee that the cooperation between the two sides will be smooth and pleasant, and I believe that this will become a model for cooperation between businessmen and foundations between the two countries in the future.

"I wonder where Mr. Nishihara learned about my consortium and encountered financing problems?" Xu Shichang asked.

Nishihara Kamezo said: "I heard from some Chinese businessmen doing business in Japan, and I heard that Xu Xianmang's opponent this time is the German Hannagan, and according to reliable information from the Japanese business community, now Hannagan has reached an agreement with the American consortium, and the American consortium will support the acquisition of the Hannagan Group, it is conceivable that the merger of coal companies will inevitably be a tragic tug-of-war, if Mr. Xu does not have enough financial support behind him, then he will be at a disadvantage in this business competition." ”

"The Americans are also getting in.

Xu Shichang was quite surprised, on the one hand, surprised by the wide range of information about the Japanese, and on the other hand, surprised by the madness of international capital, for the sake of profits, Hannagan did not seem to care at all about the fact that the United States declared war on Germany. "Yes, and it is said that Mr. America's ambassador to China was the one who pulled the strings, and it seems that they are determined to get the coal syndicates from Shanxi and Hebei. Now that your country's financial market is active, the interest rate of commercial loans is very high, and if the interest rate of the commercial loan is followed, Mr. Xu's consortium will inevitably bear huge financial risks, but if Mr. Xu raises money from the Japanese consortium, not only can he get enough loans immediately, but he also does not have to bear huge financial risks, because the Japanese consortium can provide low-interest loans, and if you allow the Japanese side to take a stake in the coal syndicate, these loans will not even have to pay interest. ”

Nishihara Kamesan's words made Xu Shichang a little undecided, now the domestic monetary base is very tight, so the central government and the Ministry of Finance have relaxed the restrictions on the scope of foreign investment, the Japanese consortium to invest in coal Xinqijia itself is not too difficult, but the key is whether it will be controlled by others, Han Yeping's teaching is still vivid, Xu Shichang has to be cautious, after all, the amazing profits of coal Xinqijia are enough to make any consortium crazy.

In fact, Xu Shichang thought a little too complicated. The reason why Nishihara Kamezo came to him specifically and told him that he wanted to provide him with a preferential loan was actually very simple, that is, to win over the Beiyang Industrial Group and lay the foundation for the further improvement of Sino-Japanese relations.

The most important factor in determining Sino-Japanese relations is, of course, the will of the "madman president." However, the influence of public opinion cannot be ignored. So, who is controlling public opinion now? Newspapers, of course, and who controls them? Consortium, of course.

As one of the most powerful consortia in northern China, Beiyang Industrial Group controls a large number of newspapers and shouts for them, two years ago. After the lifting of import restrictions on Japanese textiles, exports to China began to resume immediately, which challenged the relevant business of the Beiyang Industrial Group, and it is precisely for this reason that since two years ago, the newspapers controlled by the Beiyang Industrial Group have been "unfriendly" to Japan. From time to time, we should incite hatred against Japan. In short, if the trouble of Beiyang is not solved first, then the Japanese government will not be able to improve its bad image in the eyes of the Chinese.

It is precisely because of this that the Japanese government decided to make overtures to the Beiyang Industrial Group in order to improve the relationship between the two, ease the competition, and achieve reconciliation, so the "business" of Nishihara Kamezo appeared

Fund.

The Japanese government refers to this as "Nishihara Meter, according to this plan, if everything goes well, Japanese capital and Beiyang capital will fully worship."

Xu Shichang doesn't know that this "Xiyuan Jige" will inevitably be suspicious, but on the other hand. Although Zhang Sai's Southeast Consortium has this strength, because they are still in an ambiguous relationship with the Hannagan Consortium, the Beiyang Industrial Group has not received a clear statement from the Southeast Consortium. This financial support has been hanging in the air.

"Mr. Nishihara does not know, according to the relevant regulations of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of our country, foreign consortiums must obtain the consent of the central government in advance to invest in China's basic industry, butterfly charcoal is related to the military, but also related to industry, therefore, if you want to take a stake in the coal syndicate, you must first apply for the approval of the central government, otherwise, even if I agree with you to invest in the coal syndicate, but in the end, you may not get anything, you can only return empty-handed." Even if there is no return, this point must be made clear to Mr. Nishihara first. ”

After pondering for a while, Xu Shichang still decided not to say it to death, after all, the southeast consortium is at both ends. It's not clear whether we can count on it. If the Southeast Consortium falls to the Hannagan Consortium, then if the Beiyang Industrial Group does not want to withdraw from the North China media charcoal industry, it will have to rely on the strength of the Japanese consortium to fight against the water.

"In this regard, the Japanese Foundation has also taken into account, and one of my tasks in this visit to China is to consult with your President on this matter, and this kind of industrial and commercial cooperation is completely equal and mutually beneficial, Japanese companies can take shares in Chinese companies, and Chinese companies can also take shares in Japanese companies. If the two sides can work together, the future Asian market will inevitably be completely occupied by Chinese and Japanese enterprises, and a new industrial and commercial order in East Asia and even the whole of Asia will be established! ”

In the end, Nishihara Kamezo was somewhat out of shape, and when he thought of the "new East Asian order" that some people in the Japanese government and some people had been advocating, even he was a pessimist.

But will Japan be able to unite with China against the European powers? In this regard, Nishihara Kamezo does not have much confidence now, and everything can only be said after he goes to Beijing to meet with the president.