She was taller than her peers, and in that small secret room, she was extremely uncomfortable, and as soon as she came out, she couldn't stop stretching her waist and couldn't help but coddle Han Rong: "Amma, it's too stuffy in there, and it's short and narrow, it's not comfortable at all." I haven't had a snack yet, so my daughter won't go in next time unless you make it higher. ”

Han Rong looked at her naïve attitude and smiled kindly, "Fuzi, you have to go in to see foreigners, don't you deserve to be offended?" It's okay, a few days ago, Guizhou Fansi came to worship and sent ten bottles back to Sha Moutai, and Ama rewarded you with a bottle, which is considered a reward for you. ”

When the girl heard that there was wine, she immediately squatted down with joy and said, "Thank you, Amma, it's better to be ama." ”

Behind her, there was a child who had just passed the age of ten and had a tiger brain, wiping his eyes as soon as he came out, "Amma, I don't drink, can I not go in there?" The place is small, and there are no snacks to eat. My sister blocked her eyes and didn't let me see it, and she was suffocated to death. ”

As soon as he said this, he saw his sister glaring at her, so he didn't dare to say more. Han Rong hugged the boy to his lap and instructed, "Brother Qing'er, I know about this, you don't think it's boring, but it's boring, you have to learn too." When you grow up, you want to be an official, what do you learn as an official? It's not about learning the Four Books and the Five Classics, it's all a stepping stone, and we don't need it. What I learned is this, sent to usher, negotiated and negotiated, this is what is really valuable. Fuzi, didn't you learn foreign dialect, what they said, how much did you understand? ”

"It's too fast to hear. My daughter has just been learning for a short time, and the master slowly said that it was okay, but they couldn't understand it so quickly. The girl shook her head, but then said, "But I listened to the meaning of the words, it seems that the two face-to-face interviews are not good, but the foreigners did not take advantage, so they stopped, and I don't know what to do." ”

"What? Of course, I went to discuss bad ideas. Han Rong sneered, touched his son's head, and said to his daughter Fuzi:

"This foreigner, no matter how discordant they are with each other, but when it comes to harming our gold, my heart is really thinking in one place, and my strength is also in one place. But I don't know what else is behind Zhao Guanhou. If you blindly show strength, it is not a very clever means. ”

"Amma, why don't you talk to them personally? You can also speak foreign language, and you speak very well, so why do you have to entrust it to outsiders? Han Rong's son Lun Qing was still young, and he didn't quite understand his father's thoughts, so he looked at Han Rong with big eyes and asked puzzledly.

Han Rong laughed and flicked on his son's head, "Silly boy, it's true." You just need to know about Amma's knowledge of foreign languages, don't talk about it outside. They thought I didn't understand, so they dared to say anything in front of me. If I knew what I could understand, I wouldn't have heard the truth. They all think I don't understand, so I show them that I don't understand, so that I can hear the truth. The negotiation is completed, it is my credit, and no one can take it away. The talk collapsed, the talk was broken, and this responsibility Amma could push out. This is called advancing and retreating freely, Brother Qing, this is the place to learn. Fuzi didn't understand, I understood, Zhao Guanhou bit his mouth and didn't pay compensation, and what he said was also in the number of courtesies. I think there is a follow-up behind him, it's like you listen to the big drum battle in Changsha, Master Guan pretends to be defeated, and there is a drag-knife plan hidden behind it. I see him doing foreign affairs, but I think of a person. ”

The eldest daughter, Fuzi, was more cheerful and hurriedly asked, "Amma, who do you think of?" ”

"The Hefei minister of Xianliang Temple. If this Zhao Guanhou was born twenty years early, I see, Bao Zhun is another Zhang Qiaoye. Look, if he only makes a mistake later, I'll change the general and go on my own. Anyway, the nest in front of him has already been laid for me, and I have a way to negotiate the price with the foreigners. ”

Fuzi was puzzled: "Then what if he talks well?" ”

"Then I'll give him a future, I just have an errand waiting for someone to do, and if he can negotiate it, I'll give it to him. This is his creation. Han Rong laughed and teased his son for a while, so he let this son and a daughter go back to the hanging flower door and block the bookshelf again. Pick up the Capetian treaty

"400,000 taels of compensation? What a big appetite! With Zhao Guanhou's young head stunned, I pondered that 300,000 yuan would be able to do this. I borrowed 400,000 yuan from the foreign girl, 28 discounts, this is 80,000 silver, this transaction has been done. ”

While he was thinking, there was a knock on the door, but the two consuls were already resting, and the negotiations could continue.

After the break, Antoine and James obviously adjusted their negotiation strategy, no longer entangled with Zhao Guanhou in terms of inherent compensation and prisoner handling, but focused on talking about additional compensation. James replaced Antoine this time as the protagonist.

"Your Excellency Zhao Guanhou, as I said, Hoover is my friend, and I am grateful to you for saving him. I am even more grateful that Lord Yuan and his cavalry team, like angels, appeared by our side. In order to express my gratitude, I just now persuaded my friend Antoine that everyone can do some communication and make some concessions on the details of the reparations. As a matter of fact, we have already agreed on a preliminary result, whereby the original compensation of 400,000 taels can be reduced to 350,000 taels as appropriate, and to be paid in five years. I think this is already a huge concession, and you should feel the goodwill of our side. ”

Mrs. Jenson duly spoke: "Yes, this amount may be loaned to your country by the Warby Bank, and we may negotiate the interest rate, and I believe that we will negotiate the loan on mutually satisfactory terms." ”

She winked at Zhao Guanhou, hinting that this condition could already be regarded as generous. Although the total amount was only reduced by 50,000 taels, the payment period was extended, and it was not ugly from the scene. At least since the defeat of the Goryeo army, the fact that the Daejin Kingdom was able to negotiate such a result can already be regarded as a victory. Even if those who can handle foreign affairs come to talk, most of them are the result.

Zhao Guanhou shook his head, "I'm sorry, your Excellency and the beautiful lady, I don't think I said it clearly enough. Of course, you have expressed your sincerity, but I would like to reiterate my position here. Daikin will never pay reparations, no matter what. ”

The smiles of the two consuls froze on their faces, and even Jensen's face was not good-looking. She didn't understand why her lover insisted on not paying compensation. He had already promised him just now, as long as he talked about the compensation and the loan, he would mediate from it and would not let the matter be exposed, why was he so stubborn?

Antoine gathered up the papers in front of him, apparently ready to leave. Unlike Fang Cai's intimidation, he really didn't plan to talk about it this time, if he didn't pay a penny in compensation, his consul would be too faceless. Either way, he had to defend his dignity today.

"Mr. Zhao Guanhou, is the refusal to pay compensation what you mean, or is it your Governor's intention? I think you'd do well to think about it, and if you and your Excellency the Governor insist on not paying the reparations, then our talks will have to be regretfully declared over. I think you are ready to bear all the consequences that will follow. All I can say is that I'm sorry. ”

Han Rong's face changed, and he said in his heart: This Zhao Guanhou is really young and knowledgeable, and he is only blindly strong, so what is the reason for doing foreign affairs? If it really angers the foreigners, although it will not really reach the point of meeting each other, it will be a serious diplomatic dispute, which will be extremely unfavorable to one's actions in the future. Moreover, I am afraid that in case, if the two of them are annoyed and angry, and really provoke friction between the two countries and Jinguo, how can they bear that responsibility?

He coughed, ignoring the fact that he knew foreign languages, and said loudly: "Your Excellency the two consuls......"

"Your Excellency, you also make me feel sorry. Originally, our Governor and I already had a brilliant suggestion. There are systematic suggestions for both you and us, and even for the construction of the concession. But your performance is so impatient. Could it be that the gentlemen of Europe no longer even have patience? ”

Zhao Guanhou didn't allow Han Rong to continue, and spoke first: "Mr. Antoine, our imperial court is deeply saddened by the attack on the Capetian Concession. But think calmly about what caused this attack. First, it is because of the emergence of a large number of refugees, whether in the country of gold or in any country in Europe, so many refugees mean danger. If we continue to blindly demand reparations now, the number of refugees will increase, and there is still a risk of attacks in the future. Second, because the defense forces in the concession are not strong enough, although our treaty stipulates that the military will be strengthened in the concession in the future, and China will build new barracks for the concession at our expense. But do you think that one or two barracks of troops will be enough to ensure security? ”

A smile appeared on Antoine's face, "Your Excellency Zhao Guanhou, are you going to convince your governor to add a few more barracks to us?" If that's the case, I'd welcome it. ”

"No, Monsieur Antoine, I mean, to ensure the safety of the concession and to ensure that similar incidents do not happen again. The first is that we can't create more refugees and cut off the causes of riots at the source, so we can't blindly increase spending. Second, we need to achieve more cooperation between us, so that there can be more linkage between the country and your country, just like this incident. In the event of a problem, our troops can cooperate with the armed forces in your concession to jointly eliminate the rioters and ensure the safety of the concession. In fact, in such a military operation, we also have to spend a lot of military expenses and consume a lot of weapons and ammunition, but we do not use this as a bargaining chip, because we are friends, and friends help each other, so there is no need to use it to talk about the price, what do you think? Thirdly, and the point I want to make, the construction of the concession itself is also very important. The two consuls focused on the reparations, while I was thinking about construction. ”

From his briefcase, he took out a pencil sketch of the concession, which marked some of the locations that had been attacked. This drawing is hand-drawn by himself, and it is rough overall, but it can be understood. "Please see, the place that was attacked this time may not be defenseless without soldiers. In some areas, there were obviously soldiers from the concession to defend them, but they were still set on fire or looted, and the reason was, of course, that there were too many refugees, but another reason was that it was night, and people's eyesight was affected, which led to a decrease in the power of shooting. The rifle did not play as powerful as it should, so it could not withstand the attack. Moreover, here, I found a point, the Albian Concession of the Cheong Foreign Company, the fluff processing factory in Victoria Park, London Road, and the nearby Dutch consulate, were not attacked, don't you want to calmly analyze the reasons for this? ”

"It's not necessary to analyze it at all, because there's electricity there. They installed a small DC prime power generator and sent electricity to the nearby Dutch consulate, which was brightly lit and well-lit, so the refugees did not dare to attack it. ”

James naturally has a grasp of what happened in his concession. He pointed with his pipe that "there, a platoon of soldiers, is enough to withstand the attacks of a mob of several hundred." But what does this have to do with our negotiations? ”

"Of course, it has a relationship, if I want to say that although my country is not ready to pay compensation, it is ready to build a power plant in the form of a joint venture with Huabi Foreign Bank, erect poles, and transmit electricity to the concession. At the same time, China will come forward to replace all the street lights in the concession with electric lights, and install electric lights for the consulates of the two countries. ”

When Zhao Guanhou said this, he smiled and said, "Your Excellency, I think everyone must admit that light has the power to fight against evil. When people do evil, they will subconsciously choose to be in the dark or in a remote corner. The street lamps in the concession are all kerosene lamps. At the time of the incident, some of the kerosene lamps were not working, and the other part was working and had limited lighting. But we must admit that even such limited lights have a certain effect on the gangsters, and where there are street lights, the situation is much better for being attacked than where there are no lights. What do you think of the fact that the concession was as brightly lit as the Dutch embassy, and the soldiers could shoot through the light provided by electric lights, and even the number of refugees would be difficult to resist the troops' attacks? ”

Without waiting for Antoine to speak, James directly lit his pipe, "Very good, you go on, I'm interested." ”

As consuls, the indemnity is not a personal gift to them, but only the work performance they have obtained from Jin Guo. What I can get from it is actually very limited, and it is mainly used in the home country, or directly in the construction of concessions. Moreover, 350,000 pieces of silver were paid in five years, and the annual payment was also very limited.

The two even have a psychological bottom line, even if it is 200,000, they can accept it. In short, there is compensation, and this problem can be solved.

Compared with the mere 200,000 taels of indemnity, if the concession can be supplied with electricity, the resulting commercial prosperity and enjoyment of life will be more cost-effective. At present, the cities that have built power plants and provided electricity to the concession are concentrated in Jiangnan, and the total number is limited.

Just like the railways, the people of Jinguo are hostile to the power plant itself. Especially when I saw the towering chimney, spitting black smoke, I felt that it hurt the heavens and the peace; Building poles is like building a railway, which is afraid of bad feng shui.

As for the vibrations of the machines, they continued day and night, and the residents around the power plant were also greatly disturbed. In addition, stealing wires, destroying power supply, fiddling with electrical facilities at will, resulting in electrocution casualties, etc., are all objective problems. It often causes disputes, all of which affect the development of electricity.

In fact, the businessmen living in the concession have long had the desire to build a power plant, but on the one hand, they are limited by capital and technology, and on the other hand, they are limited by the site, and the matter of electrification can only stay on the plan and cannot be implemented.

If the electrification of the concession can really be realized this time, its significance lies in the fact that it is the first in the north, and for the two consuls, it is not only an important work achievement, but also a great benefit in reputation. Not to mention Mrs. Jensen, the only ones who are currently in Jinmen who have the ability to build a power plant and have made relevant preparations are her Warby Bank and Jensen Foreign Bank. Compared with the commission for the negotiation and the benefit of the loan, it is obvious that the power plant is more profitable, and changing the power lamps and wires is not a job that Jin Guo can complete, and in the end it has to be handed over to her, and there are huge business opportunities here.

James coughed, "Your Excellency Zhao Guanhou, with all due respect, can you decide this matter?" (To be continued.) )