Although the First World War was a very good opportunity to make a fortune, China's industrial base was too weak, production was scattered, it could not be formed, and the economic lifeline was controlled by foreign powers.

Zhang Tinglan could only rely on some villain tricks at first, through smuggling to Russia to make money, although he managed to get the first batch of machines, set up a few factories, but the scale of production is limited, a year's output is not enough to consume a few days on the battlefield, if according to the conventional method, at most to make a little hard money.

As a dignified traverser, Zhang Tinglan obviously will not be satisfied with just taking a small profit, there is no lack of business opportunities on this shijie, only the eye of discovery.

He carefully analyzed the current situation of Britain, before the start of the First World War, both sides thought that a quick victory would be made, but the cruel reality shattered everyone's illusions, the war had been going on for more than a year, Britain's finances were already in crisis, and the ill-gotten gains obtained in the colonies for many years were quickly depleted.

Britain had to ask the United States for help, peddling war bonds, and purchasing military supplies, and it can be said that without the United States, Britain could not fight. Before World War I, the United States owed Europe $4 billion in debt, and when World War I ended, Europe owed $3.7 billion to the United States, and Americans became the largest creditor on Shijie.

This shows how much money the Americans make, and will Britain, as an old hegemon, be willing to be slaughtered by the United States? The answer is obviously no, but there is no other way unless they don't want to win the war.

Zhang Tinglan guessed through the minds of the British, so he put forward this suggestion, to put it bluntly, he took the initiative to provide Britain with bargaining chips and let the British have one more card at the negotiating table. One more card, a little more initiative, and as long as American merchants believed that the British could find alternative goods in China, they would be forced to lower prices.

Of course, Zhang Tinglan will not purely help the British, he calculated that in order to put more pressure on the United States, the British will inevitably give some support to Mukden's industry. No matter what it is just for show, the British will also purchase materials from Mukden and provide some machinery.

Perhaps this little thing seems to Britain to be just a play, but for the fragile Fengtian industry, it is tantamount to rain from heaven. Things were indeed as Zhang Tinglan expected, Zhu Erdian fell into deep thought, and the old fox was weighing carefully.

To tell the truth, the British were not willing to give any support to Chinese industry, they preferred that China would always be backward and could take what it wanted. However, the huge pressure of the war forced Zhu Erdian to think about Zhang Tinglan's proposal, which could at least reduce a lot of financial consumption.

"Young man, can you make sure that your factory has enough investment value?"

"Sir Sir, with the support of Master Zhang Zuolin, we have prepared for the establishment of the Fengtian North Market, formulated a new business standard, and a large number of Fengtian merchants have joined together. We have sufficient labor, a stable source of raw materials, what is lacking is machines and a certain amount of jishu support, you can send someone to Fengtian for inspection. ”

"Okay, I will immediately ask the Consulate General in Mukden to submit a report, and if Fengtian Industry is really worthy of support, we will provide all necessary support."

"Mr. Zhu Erdian, according to my Jihua, Mukden will provide Britain with not only some light industrial products, but also wheat, corn, soybeans and other agricultural products, and we will set up a trading company to manage exports and provide comprehensive services to Britain."

"This is a very good proposal, you must give a huge price advantage over American goods, and I will persuade the country to place the first order as soon as possible, tentatively set at 500,000 pounds. If you can complete it very haode, bigger orders will follow, and the support of the machine and jishu is not impossible. ”

According to the exchange rate, 500,000 pounds sterling is equivalent to about 5 million oceans, which is not a small amount, and through this order, the factories in Mukden will be able to produce at full capacity, and the merchants will be able to purchase materials with confidence, and through the economic chain, they will be able to bring great help to the entire Fengtian economy, and the financial revenue will also increase significantly.

Moreover, this is only the first order, it is conceivable that after the final cooperation is confirmed, Mukden will be able to get a steady stream of orders, goods will completely enter Europe, share the dividends of the First World War, although not as rich as the Americans, but at least they can drink some soup.

Zhang Tinglan was still very satisfied with this result, he and Zhu Erdian came to the main hall one after the other, both of them had smiles on their faces, and everyone in the hall knew that the matter was almost done as soon as they saw their demeanor.

In fact, during the period of negotiation between Zhang Tinglan and Zhu Erdian, they didn't have the heart to care about other things, everyone wanted to know if a young man less than twenty could convince the dignified British minister, Yuan Keding also tortured Zhang Tinglan's situation to Lao Zhang, wanting to find out what was so special about this young man!

Zhang Zuolin didn't say much, just briefly explained the matter of the North Market, anyway, this is already a public matter, and this alone makes everyone amazed. While they were talking, the conversation between Zhu Erdian and Zhang Tinglan had ended, and they walked out one after another, and Yuan Keding immediately greeted them.

Zhu Erdian said with a smile: "Eldest son, I was convinced, and now I have to go back to deal with this matter, I'm afraid that I will have to stay up all night, this old bone really can't stand it." He shrugged his shoulders and left.

Everyone present was boiling, and those who still had questions closed their mouths at this time, and the young man in front of him really convinced Zhu Erdian. In their impression, that old British man is so shrewd that even President Yuan Da will inevitably suffer, what kind of ecstasy soup did Zhang Tinglan pour into him!

"Tinglan, what business have you negotiated, tell everyone!" Yang Shiqi asked with a smile.

"Mr. Xingcheng, Zhu Erdian and I have preliminarily negotiated trade cooperation, and he promised to provide the first order of 500,000 pounds!"

"A lot, a lot, it's really young and promising!" Yang Shiqi patted Zhang Tinglan on the shoulder, but the corner of his eye secretly glanced at Liang Shiyi, the face of the God of Wealth was almost the same as Guan Gong's, and he was blood-red.

"A whole five million oceans, it's not a small number!"

"Didn't you hear that this is still the first order, and there will be a second order in the future!"

"Young people are courageous, have ideas, dare to think and dare to do!"

……

Everyone present had a lot of discussions, but most of them were praises, although Zhang Tinglan did not say specific cooperation, but the big order of 500,000 pounds was there, and they couldn't help but be unconvinced.

"What is there to show off, it's just a trade cooperation, although there are 500,000 pounds, but how much profit can be made, it's just a pie to satisfy hunger!"

Liang Shiyi was slapped in the face today, which made him feel an unforgettable pain, he was known as a financial expert under Yuan Shikai, which was also his reliance on being reused by Yuan Shikai. But in addition to Liang Shiyi's manipulation of banknotes and taxes, he also borrowed money from foreigners, which is an out-and-out method of accumulating money.

Whether it is currency depreciation or tax increase, it will attract the dissatisfaction of the common people, and lending money to foreigners is tantamount to becoming a slave of foreigners.

A few years ago, Yuan Shikai reached a large loan for the aftermath, the total amount of the loan was 25 million pounds, but the result was only 84% of the actual payment, only 21 million pounds, in addition to the repayment of Gengzi indemnity, other foreign debts, and the dismissal of the provincial armies, Zuihou fell into the hands of Yuan Shikai only 7.6 million pounds, the gap before and after is so big, it is simply outrageous.

For this money, Lao Yuan had to hand over all the salt taxes and customs, and the Beiyang government worked hard to collect taxes, but even the interest could not be paid.

Zhang Tinglan accused Liang Shi of amassing wealth, saying that he harmed the people and misled the country, which was to the point and appropriate. Moreover, Zhang Tinglan not only scolded people, but also slapped Liang Shiyi with practical actions, he reached a trade cooperation agreement with Zhu Erdian in an instant, which did not betray national interests at all, on the contrary, it would promote industrial development and increase fiscal revenue.

None of us are stupid, Zhang Tinglan is just a young man less than twenty years old, even if Zhang Zuolin can represent, it is just a provincial force. Fengtian is still a notoriously poor province, they can talk about a list of 500,000 pounds, and the dignified finance minister gets 5 million, or even 50 million is not much, Zhang Tinglan's actions prove Liang Shiyi's incompetence even more.

Liang Shiyi only felt that the Venus in front of him was shaking at this time, and he had completely lost his former demeanor, so he directly opened his mouth to expose the shortcomings: "Everyone, Master Zhang said that this kid worked hard to build the North Market, have you ever thought that opening the port and trade is the power of the government, why do they overstep their authority to do this kind of thing, and is there a big president in their eyes?" ”

"Yansun, it is true that the government can decide to open the port for trade, but the North Market is not open to the outside world, and the investors are all Fengtian businessmen, it is just a commercial center in Fengtian, and it has nothing to do with it." Yang Shiqi is determined to stand on Zhang Tinglan's side.

Liang Shiyi would only lose face if he continued to argue when he saw it, so he could only say angrily: "I will definitely report to the president, let's see!" Saying that, Liang Shiyi flicked his sleeves and left.

Let Liang Shiyi make such a fuss, the banquet naturally dispersed unhappily, and everyone dispersed, Zhang Zuolin knew that Zhang Tinglan had helped Fengtian win a big order, and he was in a very comfortable mood, and words of encouragement were indispensable along the way. As soon as they arrived at the Liuguo Hotel, the presidential palace sent a notice asking Zhang Zuolin to meet Yuan Shikai at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning.

This time Lao Zhang entered Beijing, other things are secondary, meeting Lao Yuan is the most important, after getting the notice, Zhang Zuolin was also slightly nervous. Throughout the night, Lao Zhang kept deducing in his mind, what Lao Yuan would say, and how he should deal with it.

Finally arrived the next day, Lao Zhang dressed in military uniform, went straight to the presidential palace, Lao Yuan is the first head of Beiyang after controlling the country, and Lao Zhang is the last head of Beiyang, both of them can be called a generation of heroes, as Zhang Zuolin strode into Huairentang, the confrontation between them also began.

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