"Three heavy industry bases?" Robert. Bacon and the Minister Rouge exclaimed. A heavy industry base involves a lot of factories of all kinds, and if you want to build it, it will undoubtedly require a lot of money.

Obviously, the government in the north does not have so much money and can only rely on the US government. Although, these are loans. But if all of it were used to order machinery and equipment from the United States, how many jobs would it bring to the United States?

"Yes, three heavy industry bases. The first is a steel base centered on Anshan and Benxi, where the northern government plans to build a large steel base with an annual output of one million tons. The second base is the heavy industry base in Shengjing City, which will be mainly based on machinery manufacturing and military production. The third base, located in Baotou in Suiyuan, is an integrated base that includes a large steel base with an annual output of 500,000 tons, as well as machinery manufacturing. In addition, in the seven northern provinces, a number of non-ferrous metal smelting plants will be established. Wu Haoxuan told his plan and inventory.

If the steel plants in Anshan, Benxi and Baotou can be completed and put into operation, then the steel output of the seven northern provinces will reach 1.5 million tons. You must know that even in Japan today, the annual steel production is only more than 50,000 tons of pig iron and 6,000 tons of steel. After losing its interests in Tohoku, Japan's steel production will be severely affected. The seven northern provinces can take advantage of this opportunity to surpass Japan in steel production in one fell swoop. In today's era, steel is indispensable for the development of industry. Steel is needed for railroad tracks, steel is needed for the production of various types of machinery and equipment, and steel is also needed for the manufacture of guns. It can be said that without steel there is nothing and it is impossible to become a strong country.

"Your Excellency, I have to admit it. Your Excellency's plan is magnificent. However, this seems a little too ambitious, right? "Robert. Bacon said. This compares with the current annual production of more than 25 million tons of pig iron and more than 23 million tons of steel production in the United States. The 1.5 million tonnes of steel produced by the northern government is not worth mentioning at all. However, if it is realized, it will be at the forefront of the world.

"I know it's a big challenge. However, I am confident that we will succeed. Not to mention, with the help of the United States. We plan to purchase all the equipment needed for these three heavy industry bases from the United States. Of course, this requires the U.S. government to guarantee us a loan. Wu Haoxuan said. It is still the Americans who use the money of the Americans to buy things from the Americans, and in the end they make a lot of money. Of course. What the government in the north got was heavy industry bases.

Robert. Bacon nodded, if that's the case, it's not impossible.

"In addition, these heavy industry bases were not built in a short period of time, but were divided into two phases and took five years to build. The first phase only needs to be completed in the first phase of the steel base in Anshan and Benxi. As well as the first phase of Shengjing's machinery manufacturing and military industry, it is enough to achieve an annual output of 200,000 tons of steel. Phase 1 of the plan. It is expected to be completed within three years. The second phase of the plan includes the second phase of the heavy industry bases in Anshan and Benxi, as well as the construction of the heavy industry base in Baotou. If we have the full support of the United States, I am confident that we will be able to succeed. Wu Haoxuan said. It would be impossible to build these three heavy industrial bases in five years without investing huge sums of money. Of course. This will also leave the northern government with a huge amount of foreign debt.

However, Wu Haoxuan was not in a hurry. The so-called lice are not itchy, and there are more debts. As long as the country's industry develops, when the First World War breaks out, it will be able to make a steady stream of profits. America in History. Before World War I, it was a debtor country in Europe. However, after the end of World War I, they had become the largest creditors. The same is true of small Japan, the foreign debts they borrowed were all repaid in one fell swoop by the First World War, and they also made a lot of profits. If China had been able to build a well-established industrial system before World War I, there would have been nothing less about Little Japan.

Besides, after the establishment of heavy industry, it is easy to wave the army into the customs and sweep the whole of China.

"Your Excellency, in principle, the United States Government agrees to your proposal. The U.S. government could provide $100 million in interest-free loans to the government of the North. However, the loan needs to be paid over five years, with $20 million per year. "Robert. Bacon said.

Lending $20 million a year to the government in the north is nothing to the deep-pocketed US government. Moreover, if the Northern Army can be used to hold back the Japanese, the United States will be able to spend a lot of unnecessary expenses on developing armaments. In particular, if a war breaks out between the United States and Japan, the military expenditure they will have to spend in the billions of dollars in order to win the war. In this way, it will undoubtedly be much more cost-effective to support the Northern Army.

"$20 million a year, a total of $100 million, seems like a lot. However, it seems that if a few heavy industry bases are to be built, it will not be enough. Wu Haoxuan frowned.

Yang Du didn't know what to say anymore, Wu Haoxuan and the two foreign devils chattered, and got an interest-free loan of 20 million US dollars every year. Although this is to be repaid, it has finally alleviated the urgent need!

"Your Excellency the Assistant Secretary of State, I hope to repay these interest-free loans in ten years, and the same is 20 million dollars a year, and they will be repaid in five installments." Wu Haoxuan said.

"Ten years? It's a bit long, but it's not unacceptable. "Robert. Bacon nodded.

"However, Your Excellency the Assistant Secretary of State, a $100 million interest-free loan alone is not enough to support the development of the Northern government. What's more, in addition to the development of heavy industry, we also plan to develop education. As you may know, 99 percent of the people in this ancient country are illiterate. It is impossible to rely on such a labor force to develop industry. In addition, it may not be five years before another major war breaks out between us and the Japanese. So, we need more loans! Wu Haoxuan said. This time he had already made up his mind to squeeze out as much of the interests of the Americans as possible. The more these loans, the better, anyway, after the outbreak of World War I, they can be repaid by selling arms and industrial goods. Now the more money you borrow, the faster you can develop your industry.

"The U.S. government can vouch for you and take out loans from commercial banks. Interest can be given a little discount. However, you will need to come up with sufficient collateral. "Robert. Bacon said. For example, the Morgan consortium to which he belongs can provide loans to the northern government. But the prerequisite is that there is collateral.

"Your Excellency the Assistant Secretary of State, I can use the West China Group as collateral. Xihua Group has a chemical plant, a pharmaceutical factory, an arsenal, and shares in two large oil fields. You will be able to find out this easily. I don't know, how much can I borrow with Xihua Group as collateral? In order to raise more funds, Wu Haoxuan did not hesitate to use his property in the United States as collateral.

Robert. Bacon also checked the assets of the Xihua Group, whether it is a chemical plant or a pharmaceutical factory, which are all high-quality assets. The two large oil fields are now the most productive oil fields controlled by the Rockefeller family.

"Your Excellency, if this is the case, we can lend you twenty million dollars at an interest rate of seven percent per annum. What do you think? "Robert. Bacon said.

Wu Haoxuan shook his head again and again: "Your Excellency Assistant Secretary of State, $200 million is too little, which is completely an underestimation of the assets of Xihua Group. I asked for a loan of $500 million at an interest rate of three percent per annum. After ten years, the repayment will begin, and it will be repaid in five installments over five years. Wu Haoxuan shook his head.

"Your Excellency, $500 million is too high, and no bank in the entire United States can take out so much cash at one time." Robert. Bacon now seems to have entered merchant mode and has begun to bargain with Wu Haoxuan.

Eventually, after some heated arguments, an agreement was reached. Wu Haoxuan borrowed $350 million from the United States with the Xihua Group as collateral at an annual interest rate of 5 percent, which will be repaid in five installments after 10 years. The loan will be paid to Wu Haoxuan in three installments, the first tranche of $150 million, which will be paid in the first half of this year. The second instalment, $100 million, will be paid next year, and the third instalment, also $100 million, will be paid the year after.

This loan, Robert. Bacon planned to convince the Morgan consortium to eat it all in one fell swoop. Although, the profit is not very large. But that means they have a chance to swallow the West China Group. As long as ten years later, Wu Haoxuan can't change money. So, hasn't Xihua Group become a company produced by the Morgan consortium?

Robert. Bacon simply didn't believe that Wu Haoxuan would have the ability to repay the loan in ten years. After all, China is too backward, and if it wants to develop in ten years, it will be impossible at all.

Of course, Wu Haoxuan will not tell Robert. Bacon, in less than ten years, the world war will break out. At that time, China, which had completed industrialization, would be able to make a lot of money by selling arms and various industrial products to the warring parties. Hundreds of millions of dollars in loans, that's just a minor problem.

That war wiped out the wealth accumulated by the belligerents. In particular, Britain, the world hegemon, not only spent all his savings, but also owed a lot of debt. (To be continued......)

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