The heat wave of the autumn tiger is overwhelming on the land of Germany, for the Germans, they do not have the autumn tiger, and the weather in early autumn in Germany is changeable, and it may be hot at noon, but in the early morning and afternoon, a wind blowing from the North Sea, it will make people enjoy the coolness of late autumn in advance.

Hu Nianzu, who had not slept all night, walked out of the bedroom restlessly, opened the curtains on the living room on the second floor, pushed open the window sash and took a few deep breaths, then walked to the balcony, and breathed a few breaths of cool air from the lake, before slumping heavily on the bamboo chair on the balcony on the second floor. Feng? Bronna's private villa, this time in order to welcome this "distinguished guest" from China, Karl specially gave this villa to him, and it is also Hu Nianzu's residence in Germany for a month and a half.

At this time, sitting on the bamboo chair specially bought from the "Little China" on the jewelry street in St. Pauli's district, Hu Nianzu's brows couldn't help frowning again.

It had been a month and a half since he arrived in Germany, and the results of the interviews with as many as 29 German companies through Lai Ho & Co. were far from as optimistic as he had imagined, and the Germans were not willing to make as much concession as he had imagined, although he had repeatedly reminded them during the negotiations that the benefits they had received were even higher than the original orders.

But the German businessmen were not fooled, and the joint representatives of the companies were reluctant to lower the price. And in yesterday's negotiations, the German negotiator Alfred revealed to him another bad news, besides him, another Eastern country is now interested in that batch of equipment.

That Eastern country is that country? Even if you think about it with your toes, you can guess which country it is.

"Five out of five!"

Thinking of the bottom line that Chen Moran gave him before leaving, Hu Nianzu shook his head and sighed, now don't say it's this bottom line, even if it is half a percent, the Germans are unwilling, this sigh is not finished, and there is a knock on the door.

"Come in!"

The door opened, but a young man came in, Zhang Hao, a graduate of the Hamburg Commercial School, one of the 15 Chinese employees who came to Germany to recruit this time, Hu Nianzu came to Germany this time, in addition to negotiating with the Germans about the equipment of the steel mill, there was also a task to recruit as many experts and technicians as possible. In the past month and a half, more than 160 people have been successfully recruited.

"Mr. Hu, domestic telegram!"

Zhang Hao respectfully took out a telegram from the document bag in his hand, the telegram was full of a combination of numbers and letters, this is a coded telegram.

After Hu Nianzu received the telegram, Zhang Hao withdrew from the bedroom without waiting for his instructions, and it was obviously not suitable for him to stay here at this time.

After Zhang Hao left the room, Hu Nianzu got up and closed the curtains, and then carefully opened the special leather belt, which had a small box with a hand-copied code.

“3s6d23…… 72d12f13”

According to the index of the decoder, Hu Nianzu copied a series of numbers on a piece of paper, each group of numbers is divided into three groups, in the past, when Hu Nianzu translated this code, it took at least half an hour, but in the exchange of dozens of telegrams, it only took a few minutes, a few minutes later, the decoded book was put back into the cassette with the belt, and then he took out a book from the bookcase, three sets of numbers, just corresponding to the page number, the number of lines, and the first few words.

After a few minutes, looking at the telegram in his hand, the originally wrinkled brow on Hu Nianzu's face finally relaxed, and after burning the piece of paper in his hand, as soon as he opened the door, Hu Nianzu gave an order outside.

"Prepare the carriage now, I'm going to see Mr. Alfred!"

The carriage of Lihe Bank was driving on the stone road in the city of Hamburg, Zhang Hao in the carriage glanced at Manager Hu, at this time he swept away the sad face of the month, but his face showed joy, but the joy on the manager's face made his mood sink, what was said in the telegram that he could not understand, there is no doubt that there is only one thing that will make the manager so happy, that is, the original price of the Germans who have approved it in the country without concessions, this discovery only makes him sigh in his heart, the manager in front of him is an expert in metallurgy and even machinery, But he doesn't know how to negotiate, originally in Zhang Hao's opinion, his biggest mistake is probably his bottom line exposed prematurely, he has no patience to talk about, and he often falls into the trap set by those Germans.

Hu Nianzu, who was in a good mood, noticed Zhang Hao's expression and asked.

"Zhidan, why don't you seem to be very happy!"

"I didn't ...... It's nothing! ”

As a translator, Zhang Hao knew that it was inconvenient for him to speak on the matters at the negotiation table, not to mention that he was not an entourage, but an employee recruited in Germany, and he usually had reservations about people like him who "defected" to foreign countries, and out of caution, Zhang Hao did not want to get involved in any turmoil.

But thinking that he might lose millions of taels of silver because of this, Zhang Hao still couldn't control himself.

"Manager, Alfredo just needs to make a statement!"

"Huh?"

Just turned his eyes to the car and was about to finalize the contract, Hu Nianzu, who went to the Ruhr industrial area for a tour, was stunned.

"Tell me about it!"

"Sir, if it is really as Alfred said, that this is going to buy this batch of equipment, then I am afraid that in the style of this book, I am afraid that we have already sent expeditions to various companies to investigate, and naturally we can find the news in the newspapers, and this batch of equipment itself is worth nearly 50 million yuan, and the investment of the government-run Yawata Iron and Steel Institute is only 19.2 million yuan, and the people still need to raise money from various sources in addition to relying on the compensation from the First Sino-Japanese War; last year, the financial expenditure was only more than 200 million yuan, and the military expenditure of the army and navy exceeded 50 percent, leaving only 100 million yuan, and there were still nearly 20 million yuan in education funds. Sir, with the financial resources of the capital, the political axe will not invest 50 million yuan in one fell swoop to develop the iron and steel industry, not to mention that this is only the cost of equipment, such a huge amount of money invested in the steel industry with higher risk, not yet urgently needed, it is impossible to pass the political axe budget, and the people have no such capital, said that the machinery manufacturing industry last year invested only 10 million yuan. ”

Zhang Hao's words made Hu Nianzu silent, almost yesterday after Alfred said that he also wanted to buy this batch of equipment, he was anxious, and it was because of this that he sent a telegram to China, and the domestic call back was very simple, if the German side agreed to provide fifty percent credit and sell another batch of equipment, it could be purchased at the original price.

After repeated consideration, Hu Nianzu looked at Zhang Hao with an extremely sincere expression.

"Zhidan, how can you get Alfred to make concessions? You just have to say, you are from business, I am from engineering, I am a layman at the negotiation table, you can say this, you have already expressed your heart, now there is no need to taboo anything! ”

stretched his head forward, but Zhang Hao suppressed his voice to the point that only the two of them could hear it.

"Sir, buy some tickets to Italy!"

In the conference room of the headquarters of the Hamburg Lihe Foreign Bank, the representatives of the foreign companies and 29 companies made around the conference table were obviously very solemn.

"This afternoon, they bought a total of 19 tickets to Italy, and at the same time that Mr. Hu visited me, their group members went to Hamburg to buy tickets."

Alfred casually threw a report in front of everyone, and as soon as his voice fell, several people whispered to each other.

"The client is threatening us, they can't kick us out!"

"This threat is completely feasible, our contract with Italy has not been completely annulled, and the Italians can pay the full balance at any time within a year and a half and continue to execute the contract! And now they have a month left! ”

The representative of Siemens AG gave an appropriate reminder.

"And until now, the Italian bank group that has provided loans is still haunted by the 30 million lira they have lost, and as long as they can make up for the loss of even 10 million lira, I think they will choose to accept it. After all, by accepting this suggestion, they can at least recover some of their losses. ”

The words of the representative of Demark Company only made the people in this conference room more solemn, and they clearly knew that the leading power at the negotiation table was no longer on them at all, and the outcome of this negotiation had been set for them from now on.

"Gentlemen, let's discuss it now, and then return to the company!"

Looking around at everyone, Alfred, who is the representative of Krupp and the chief negotiator, shrugged helplessly and said, now what he is most curious about is who made this suggestion to that "third-rate businessman", almost when he first came into contact with Hu Nianzu, saying that he was a first-class expert third-rate opponent, he was not a businessman at all, and Chinese always liked to make the same mistakes!

"I don't think we have much time left, the cruise to Milan will be departing in two days!"

Finally, Alfrey added.

After he said this, the negotiators withdrew from the conference room one after another, and after a while, there were only three people left in the conference room, and one of them was a person who had always had a bitter face, in fact, he was not happy almost after he and Hu Niantou and his party set foot on German soil, on the one hand, although there was no progress in the negotiations, but on the other hand, it was because of his loss in China, which cost him nearly 300,000 marks, and this loss was something he could not afford.

"Karl, what do you think prompted them to go to Italy?"

As a professional negotiator, the biggest setback Alfred felt, I am afraid that the third-rate opponent not only withstood the pressure, but also gave him a powerful counterattack.

Abrupt changes at the negotiating table are often related to the pressure exerted on each other, and what Alfred struggled with at this time was where he made a mistake, and today the other side has changed this way.

Carl just shook his head and didn't say anything, he was equally curious about what caused the sudden change on the Chinese side.

"Personally, I think!"

Heisenberg puffed out his chest, he was able to stay here because he brought this order, otherwise he would not have been able to participate in a meeting of this level with his seniority, and now I am afraid that no one wants to make this deal more than him, he needs that 1.5% commission to make up for the deficit caused by that loss, and he must fill the hole before the end of the year before the head office takes inventory.

"I'm afraid it has something to do with it! Sir, you have been in a bit of a hurry in this negotiation, since 1895 there has been a certain wrestling between the people of the Qing and Qing countries, and because of this, they realized that instead of wasting time here, it would be better to seek other opportunities, not to mention that this is after we have directly denied the possibility of making concessions! ”

"What do you mean......"

Alfred's brow furrowed, and Heisenberg's words made him understand where his mistake was.

"Alfred, it's not that we don't have a chance to recover, many banks are willing to provide credit support to the industrial companies represented by Hu Nianzu, and this condition is something that no private company, especially a private company in the construction period, can refuse!"

Heisenberg, who had always been interested in negotiating, spoke out decisively against Karl almost as soon as he made his proposal, knowing that this might be his last chance, on the one hand, prison, on the other hand, the continuation of brocade food, he had no third choice.

"Mr. Carr, do you think it is possible to satisfy them with a loan alone? We have disclosed the possibility of providing credit support before, but four years ago, our bank group resold Daye Iron Mine loans without consultation with the Chinese side, which led to the fact that the company obtained the equity of Daye Iron Mine, which directly affected the credibility of China's banking group. ”

"Mr. Heisenberg!"

Karl looked at Heisenberg with a smile, and he was probably the only one who had a stake in the deal, and if it worked, he could become the new director of the foreign firm, which is why he was more willing to broker the deal than anyone else.

"As the representative of the interests of German enterprises in China, we must first consider the interests of German enterprises!"

Although it was only a few simple words, Heisenberg looked embarrassed, and he knew that Karl had always been dissatisfied with him. Although Carl's words did not accuse him of only caring for personal interests, the meaning of his words was very clear, and he couldn't help but be angry in his heart, so he scolded back in his stomach, but with a smile on his face.

"Mr. Karl, it is precisely because I see the interests of German business first and foremost that I say this, and I have not said anything from beginning to end, but have only provided information about the industrial company and Hu Nianzu and his team as much as I can, gentlemen, now that the negotiations are about to break down, we have to make a choice, right?"

After thinking for nearly two minutes with his head in his hands, Alfred looked at Heisenberg.

"What do you suggest, Mr. Heisenberg?"

Smiling politely and sitting up straight, Heisenberg offered his proposal in the briefest of words.

"Appropriate concessions as well as non-transferable credit with contractual restrictions!"

"Will they accept it?"

Hu Nianzu looked at the young man in front of him in surprise, after returning to the villa from Alfred, the two had been discussing the steps and methods of negotiation by the Alsterne Lake at the end of the garden, and now he was stunned by the young man's boldness.

"It's just a bottom line, out of politeness and negotiation tactics, Alfred will do everything possible to keep you, we can accept it, but we must send someone to Italy, going there is not a bluff, but direct contact with the Italian banking group, there is only one month, the Germans will do everything possible to delay time, we will use the Italian banking group to impose on Germany, even if the Italians let Yicheng, we have to sign a letter of intent with them, and then the Germans will be in a hurry."

Zhang Hao, who was still a little restrained, couldn't help but get excited, and even a little fluttering, and when he said this, he clenched his hands into fists.

"My purpose is to use Italy to put pressure on the Germans, and if the Germans really don't budge, then we will directly turn the letter of intent into a contract, at least save 10%, right?"

"Wouldn't it be a bit risky?"

"Manager, the mall is like a battlefield, there is always a need for adventure! Running a large steel mill is inherently risky, and there are also risks associated with purchasing equipment! ”

Although he was a little flustered in his heart, Zhang Hao didn't think that there would be any risk, and seeing that Hu Nianzu was a little hesitant, he hurriedly added.

"Manager, this is always the case at the negotiating table, and deception is just a common thing, and Mr. Karl has not expressed it in private. One of the reasons why they refused to give in was that they could give Italy the same price, but it was impossible to give it to the East, and they paid a high price for the equipment of the Yawata Iron Works themselves. ”

"But will the Italians provide credit support?"

Hu Nianzu asked a question he was most concerned about, the reason why he did not make concessions on credit in the past was, on the one hand, because he was vigilant, on the other hand, he knew that this might be his last bargaining chip, and enterprises in European and American countries have always been closely linked with financial capital, and financial credit is a bargaining chip for enterprises, and it is also a bargaining chip for buyers.

"Iron and steel enterprises, the cost of equipment purchase accounts for only forty percent, and all steel mills are completed and put into operation, at least 100 million silver dollars are needed......"

Hu Nianzu sighed helplessly in his heart, when he persuaded Chen Moran, he only mentioned the equipment, and did not mention the cost of completion, originally he was thinking about the future of Pudong and the Industrial Bank, which can naturally provide part of the financing for the steel mill, as for the rest of the natural need for foreign bank financing, such a huge amount of financing, is a piece of fat.

"No banker will give up the fat on his lips, maybe Italy is a weak country, but it does not mean that its banking syndicate does not have excess capital!"

Zhang Hao, who knows the surname of the banker, was very confident when he said this.

"What's more, the French bankers still have a lot of money, and they are always looking for investment channels, as long as we grasp the principle of only accepting loans and rejecting any investment, they will not take advantage, and even if they do, it will only be cheap in interest."

To deal with the greed of those foreign bankers, Zhang Hao naturally has some of his methods.

While the two were talking, an attaché walked from the direction of the villa to the lake.

"Manager Hu, Mr. Carl asks to see you!"

As soon as they heard this, Hu Nianzu and Zhang Hao glanced at each other, their eyes were full of joy, the Germans took the bait!

(To be continued)