Chapter 7 Plan

As for the railway, the first section of the railway built on the land of China was the section from Shanghai to Wusongkou. The British built it. Because they knocked down a spectator, the roadbed was stripped off by villagers. Later, the Qing government redeemed the railway under the pressure of conservative gentry. Although many businessmen and gentry in Shanghai strongly opposed it and demanded that the railway be retained, it was finally demolished.

Although Western skills such as telegraph and railway have not yet appeared on the land of China, Baxiali thought that these terms were impossible to obtain the consent of the Chinese, and foreigners were not allowed to enter mainland China for business, let alone build railways in the mainland.

Needless to say, the two railway plans that made British and French merchants covet, the Guangzhou-Foshan section closely connect Guangzhou and its satellite city, and its commercial value and the benefits it can be estimated. The Guangzhou-Shaozhou section will greatly shorten the distance between Guangzhou and Jiangxi and even Fujian tea areas. Shaozhou is also the throat of Guangdong Northeast China. This section of railway will be a golden channel regardless of cargo and passengers. Although this railway will build bridges and open mountains, it may be a bit expensive, but in terms of long-term interests, gold can be foreseen.

When he returned to the camp's central army tent, Sushun was not angry, took a few sips of tea, and said to Ye Zhao with a serious expression: "Did you see? The ghosts are planning to start another war with us!"

Ye Zhao flipped through the new charter and smiled and said, "Isn't it okay if you don't give them excuses?"

Su Shun was slightly stunned and said in surprise: "Do you want to agree to the new tricks of the ghosts? Jing Xiang, this is not a joke. Qingliu in Jing is staring at us both."

Holding up the colorful teacup that was bright and clear, Ye Zhao said seriously: "Uncle Six, the telegram is a thousand miles away, and the train is even a wooden ox and a horse that travels thousands of miles a day. What's wrong with introducing it to the country?"

That day, Ye Zhao was excited to explain some Western things to Sushun, which was really the foreshadowing for today.

Su Shun said in a deep voice: "Western skills can only confuse the Qing Dynasty."

Ye Zhao sighed and said, "Resisting change blindly is like stealing a bell. Uncle Six, I don't listen to my words. Don't blame me for offending me, but if I think that relying on conservatism and stability can turn our Qing Dynasty into a paradise and always a country like an iron barrel, Uncle Six, that would be a big mistake!"

"Uncle Six, I would like to say a bold saying that I can sit in the Central Plains world, whether it is the previous dynasty or the current dynasty, I have all learned the essence of "fooling the people"..." When he said this, Ye Zhao shook his head and remembered the countries in later generations. In fact, no matter what political system the country is, the ruling class has always wanted to "fooling the people". The difference only depends on what you promote.

Looking at Sushun, Ye Zhao said slowly: "But Uncle Six, in today's world, relying solely on foolish people and conservatism can't maintain our iron kingdom. Our Qing Dynasty is becoming increasingly behind the Western countries. A hundred years later, I'm afraid that our Qing Dynasty will fall apart, and you and my descendants will die without a place to die!"

Su Shun looked at Ye Zhao in shock. These words were simply "abusive". If the second person was replaced, it would be the crime of raiding the family and extermination.

Su Shun's mind was buzzing and didn't know how to react for a while.

Ye Zhao said again: "What's more, the railway telegrams, it was not a few years later to enter the Qing Dynasty. Just say that the bandits were wiped out, there were railways, and the heavenly army could arrive in an instant, and there were telegrams, and the military orders in front were reached. Since the Sixth Uncle, since he promised that the foreign ghosts could enter and exit the entire territory of Guangdong, what's wrong with introducing the telegrams and railways? If it was really as the Sixth Uncle said that the Qing Dynasty was confused, it would be a lesson. In this southern corner, Jing Xiang was still sure to destroy the poison."

Su Shun was silent and finally sighed, "Maybe what you said makes sense. Nowadays, the barbarians are strong, and there is no way to achieve the best of both worlds. It's just that the capital is full of fame, so how can we tell them?"

Ye Zhao of course knew that if he signed a peace agreement to build a telegram railway, what would happen to Beijing? If not, the people of Guangdong would be furious.

It is precisely because it is so difficult to introduce new things that it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Before I came to Guangzhou, how many powerful people in the capital had regarded the stormy southeast half as abandoned sons? The panic that was only prepared to be at peace in Jiangbei and even to withdraw from the outside of the pass has spread among the royal family. Now that Guangdong is pacified, it is even less certain whether it can gain a foothold. The pressure of "torture" in Guangdong is much smaller. At least, it is irreplaceable for the time being, and no one can say anything about stopping his official position. At most, a few words of complaints or complain in front of the two empress dowagers and the king of political affairs.

The people of Guangdong, relying on their current prestige, have drawn up a few notices. It is not difficult for them to slowly rush to the people as the "ruler" with modern thinking, and with the popularity of the limelight.

In fact, the most important thing is to explain to the public what telegrams and railways are, and to explain them with ideas they can understand, so as not to cause panic among the people, and not to spread rumors like later generations, and to describe these new things as magical things.

As for the loss of power and humiliation of the country, I would not, because I would not have allowed foreign merchants to take over the ownership of railway telegraphs.

Because this peace agreement is part of my plan.

Ye Zhao sincerely said to Su Shun: "Uncle Six, I can't care about anyone who is gossiping behind my back, but don't worry, I will definitely not humiliate the country."

Su Shun looked at his expression and after a long time, he finally nodded.

Sure enough, the next day, when he heard Ye Zhao smile and said, "Yes, we agree with the terms of setting up telegram lines and building railways by merchants from all over the world." Baxiali was so surprised that he could hardly close his mouth. Originally, he had made up his mind to urge the country to assemble heavy troops and join the fleet in India to launch a cruel revenge against China.

Ye Zhao smiled again: "However, our government is willing to invest with merchants from all countries in the construction of railway lines, telegraph lines and ports. We will pay 40% of the bank, and merchants from all countries will raise 60% of the bank to establish railway companies, telegraph companies and port management bureaus, but our Guangdong government will occupy 60% of the shares."

This is the beginning of Ye Zhao's ambitious plan. It is necessary to build a telegram from Hong Kong to Guangzhou and build a railway from Guangzhou to Foshan. It is not necessary to say that Huangpu New Port is built because the waterway of the old port of Huangpu is relatively shallow. With the development of ship technology, high-tonnage steamships are inconvenient to dock. If you want to maintain the status of Guangzhou's trade port, it is imperative to open a new port to the southeast Pearl River Estuary.

Why build a railway from Guangzhou to Shaozhou? It is also to maintain the status of Guangzhou’s trade port. With the rise of Shanghai, due to its distance from silk, tea production, inconvenient transportation, and foreign merchants have not been able to enter Guangzhou City. In the past two years, Guangzhou’s status has gradually been replaced by Shanghai. Building a railway from Shaozhou has made tea merchants in Jiangxi and even Fujian tea areas redeem Guangzhou as their first choice for tea.

Moreover, the signing of this peace agreement only allows foreign merchants to conduct business throughout Guangdong, and other measures such as setting up telegrams to build railways will make foreign merchants feel the enlightenment of Guangdong's new policy, which will make them realize that Guangdong will gradually become China's economic center and bring them back to Guangzhou.

Ye Zhao wanted to rebuild Guangzhou's glory, not to mention surpassing Shanghai's hegemony in re-monopolizing China-foreign trade, but at least he had to go alongside Shanghai.

Not to mention the effect of this on the change of people's ideological thoughts, just talk about Guangdong Customs. Because the north and south are not smooth and the war is dense, Guangdong Customs will inevitably be controlled by itself. If it can be equally matched with Shanghai Customs, at least it can intercept some silver and use it on the blade, rather than being squandered randomly.

When Baxiali heard Ye Zhao's promise to build a railway and other terms, he was so surprised that he couldn't speak for a long time. Then, he immediately realized a problem. According to the terms agreed by the young commander, it was clearly the "National and Guangdong alone". In Guangdong, it seems that any conditions are OK. If you want to invest and make money, come on, but you want to open more ports and enter the hinterland of China, but the door is firmly locked up.

In this way, in the foreseeable future, Guangdong will become the center of China's trade with the world, and merchants who invest in the early stage of building railways and other industries will definitely make a fortune.

But after all, the conditions were much more relaxed than what the Chinese could agree to in advance. In particular, he looked at Ye Zhao and smiled: "In Guangdong, I will definitely promote equality between China and foreign countries, so that businessmen from all countries who come to China to do business do not have to worry about their lives. If they are engaged in business disputes, they can negotiate with other countries to formulate codes." Baxiali was even more surprised, but if they could deal with local governments that act in accordance with international rules, they would be much more tempting than those who barely entered mainland China to conduct business.

Now Baxiali felt that the young negotiating opponent on the opposite side was much more complicated than he thought. What was he thinking?

"Mr. Commander, your country invests 40% of the funds but requires 60% of the shares. We cannot accept it at all!" After several Chinese merchants exchanged opinions, some foreign merchants raised objections.

Ye Zhao was originally a lion who spoke out loud. In fact, using 50% of the investment to exchange 51% of the shares was Ye Zhao's bottom line. Ye Zhao said that he would take whatever he wanted to take.

However, Ye Zhao also knew that the cost of building railways is very high now, and in fact, the land cannot be basically not invested at a discount. For example, the United States, which is developing in the western region and booming railway construction, has extremely preferential policies for building railways. Businessmen from all countries can invest. As for the land that needs to be requisitioned for railway construction, not only is it given to investors for free, but also 6 square miles of public land per mile and on each side, the government sells the land or transfers it to railway companies to help raise construction funds. The railway construction will naturally belong to investors forever. Just sign an agreement with the US government, including paying special taxes and some special terms, such as the US government’s military or political purposes, which can be used for free when needed.

Therefore, I spoke out forty percent of the funds, and it was impossible to get the land to top it. It would be an astronomical amount.

It’s okay to say anything else, but the Guangzhou-Shaozhou section is 200 to 300 kilometers, which is a quite long railway in this era.

When the railway first appeared, the cost was extremely high. One kilometer of railway was almost 50,000 to 60,000 pounds. In recent years, with the development of technology, the cost per kilometer has only fallen below 10,000 pounds. The recent emergence of new technologies such as detonators has made the construction cost of railways a little cheaper. In addition, China's labor force is low, and it is almost impossible to recruit a large number of coolies who can work if they have food to eat. However, even so, some sections of roads are afraid that they will build bridges and open mountains, and the cost per kilometer will not be less than 5,000 pounds.

Based on 5,000 pounds and 260 kilometers, it would cost 1.3 million pounds to build this railway. The Guangdong government paid 40% of the amount, which was 520,000 pounds and 170,000 taels of silver.

In addition, if you have to prepare three to four million taels of silver for construction of ports, how can you get this amount?

However, Ye Zhao knew that it was better to build earlier than to build later. In addition, the exchange rate between the silver and the pound has been depreciating, especially after more than ten or twenty years, the US dollar changed from the gold-silver standard to the gold standard. After completely abandoning the linkage with silver, the silver price fell sharply. Now one pound is exchanged for more than three taels of silver, but decades later, it fell to one pound that can be exchanged for more than eight taels of silver.

Looking at the foreign merchant who raised objections, Ye Zhao smiled and said, "Mr. Smith can completely withdraw from our discussion. I believe that the construction of this railway can easily recruit a large amount of funds in the financial market in London, your country."

Smith didn't expect that the young Chinese commander would know his name. After all, he just briefly introduced each other on the first day. Several businessmen did not speak out during the previous negotiations. He thought that the Chinese had long forgotten the names of their own people, and even if they remembered it, they would have been confused.

This seemingly careless young commander is very knowledgeable, but he is not just a reckless man who knows how to fight! Smith thought in surprise, and his blue eyes turned around and said nothing.

Indeed, this railway in China is completely different from the railway construction of a vast and sparsely populated railway in western America. It has many Chinese people and a vast market. This railway is even more valuable for a high commercial value. It communicates between the north and the south, and is an undefeated golden road. Even if you cannot recover your investment in a short period of time, the prospects are extremely wonderful in the foreseeable future.

If this railway enters the London financial market to recruit funds, there will naturally be a tide of followers. There are thousands of small investors who subscribe to stocks. Many British people who have never come to the East still believe that gold and silver are everywhere among the Chinese people. If you invest in China's railways, you will naturally make a profit without losing money.

It seems that this young Chinese commander is not easy to fool, Smith thought to himself.

As for lawyer Hall, he didn't look at Ye Zhao very much, but he sighed in his heart that Mr. Wells looked like a gaze. He found such a powerful Chinese cooperation. I am afraid that Mr. Wells will be the richest man in the British Empire in the future. But it is not. Just say that the gunpowder factory that cooperated with Mr. Ye has actually integrated funds into "Shenghe Bank". Mr. Wells has 60% shares and 40% shares of Mr. Ye. Shenghe Bank has developed extremely strongly. Not only does the gunpowder factory make a profit every day, but it also takes the opportunity to invest in the military market. It mainly sells well in the European continent and America with the newly developed "Angela 1856" breech gun.

Now the total assets of "Shenghe Bank" are about 200,000 pounds, which has doubled in just two or three years and is still expanding rapidly.

At first, lawyer Hall was a little confused about why Mr. Wells integrated the gunpowder factory and its income into Shenghe Bank Holdings. Just like an arsenal, Mr. Wells can invest solely. As for Mr. Ye’s income in the gunpowder factory, he only needs to be transferred to Shanghai. Why do he also need to integrate a name for Shenghe Bank, and invest in the new project in the name of Shenghe Bank and share the profits to Mr. Ye?

Now lawyer Hall has to admire Mr. Wells' foresight. He is firmly tied to a carriage with this young Chinese powerful man and will make a thousand times more profitable in the future.

Just say that the Guangzhou-Shaozhou Railway will definitely be able to participate in Shenghexing and will be given a considerable share. In the future, there will be more and more opportunities like this. As Mr. Ye as Mr. Wells' agent in China, he will definitely have a lot of money.

Although lawyer Hall now knows Ye Zhao's real name, he still habitually calls Ye Zhao Mr. Ye.

In the following days, the two sides had really started negotiations. Baxiali was unwilling to stop. Of course, he "takes the victory" and put forward many clauses on Guangdong's opening up to the outside world, such as the Guangdong customs that must be supervised by British people, such as the "business law" promised by Ye Zhao, and the rules of the missionaries in Guangdong, the privileges enjoyed by foreigners, etc.

Ye Zhao did not let go of these conditions. The only thing he let go was the equity distribution in joint ventures such as ports and railways that he talked with foreign merchants about.

The political issues that Baxiali is concerned about have not only been opened to Tianjin and Yingkou and other ports, but there is no progress in the rest.

A few days later, Baxiali put forward the clause to demarcate a large area of ​​land in Guangzhou Xiguan as a concession.

Ye Zhao was really impatient. This Laoyang Islander is really a candy. He is persevering in negotiations and is pushing you little by little. He is really an extremely powerful opponent.

Just say that compared to the previous life, in addition to the significant reduction in military compensation and fewer trading ports, although the mainland was not open, Guangdong was so open that it was amazing that it did not cede Kowloon. However, when Guangzhou developed, Hong Kong naturally benefited. In the eyes of Western countries, the benefits they have now are probably not inferior to those in the previous life. Of course, they would not have thought that this treaty was actually more beneficial to them.

In their eyes, the draft of the peace agreement should be very tempting and reached the psychological price of their signing. You should know that the British and French coalition forces in the previous life were in the capital and signed the constitution after the Old Summer Palace was burned. In this life, the British and French coalition forces suffered a lot.

But they are so tough that they can remain calm, as if they are extremely reluctant, and they throw out one proposal after another, in short, try their best to squeeze your negotiation bottom line.

No wonder, when it comes to negotiations, compared with Western countries, China is a toddler. Since ancient times, China has not studied real peace talks. In the era of unification, it either regards the above-mentioned countries as mentality or seeks peace when they are at a disadvantage. There is almost no precedent for negotiations with "foreign countries" with an equal mentality. As for the era of separatism, negotiations are nothing more than because they have no certainty of winning, and ultimately to eliminate the enemy country and unify China. The so-called peace talks are almost never about wanting to live in peace with the other party. The negotiations are just for cede land and compensation.

The Western countries, from the Roman era to the medieval era, were full of vassal states, fighting and talking about it, signing various peace treaties and trade treaties, but they could not get it on the battlefield, and they were realized at the negotiating table. War for politics is actually a service to the economy. Westerners understood its essence hundreds of years ago.

Ye Zhao didn't even look at the new charter thrown by Baxiali, and smiled and said, "Mr. Baxiali, if your country engages in trade with China, it will rely on the concession to maintain it. Don't you think this is a deformed business model and cannot last long? I hope that Guangdong will live in equality between China and foreign countries so that trade can prosper. I also believe that Guangzhou City will become the best sanitary city in Asia in the next few years."

Bashali fought with this young Chinese powerful man for a few days, and he had to sigh that he was young but was not impatient. He gradually moved forward and always controlled the direction of the negotiation without realizing it. Every little progress he made made makes people feel extremely difficult. After thinking about it carefully, he always felt that it was the situation of this young man, which made people fall into a trap without realizing it. It was like you worked hard to conquer a fortress. After cheering and gladly, you suddenly realized that this fortress was deliberately given up and given to you.

Bashali has almost never felt like he was restrained. Even when facing a scheming political enemy in China, he has never felt like he could not see through his opponent's mind at all.

Now that he heard the words of the young commander, Bashali's dark gray eyes flashed and he smiled: "Your Excellency General is very confident, but we Westerners believe that seeing is true. Without the protection of the concession, can you take full responsibility for the safety of our businessmen?"

Ye Zhao smiled and said, "Mr. Consul was joking. Even in London, there are many murderers and serial killers. Will your prime minister be responsible for this?" After pausing, he said, "Of course, I will do my best to restrain the people. I also believe that China is a country of etiquette. As long as your country no longer launches a war of aggression, merchants from all countries think they are friendly and respectable in the eyes of the people."

Bashali was speechless for a moment.

Ye Zhao said seriously: "From my personal perspective, I sincerely welcome merchants from all over the world to come to Guangzhou for trading, and I also welcome merchants from all over the world to invest in industry and infrastructure construction. As for the safety of merchants from all over the world, I will use twelve efforts to ensure the safety of merchants from all over the world."

Hearing Ye Zhao's sincerity, several merchants nodded slightly, but they had never seen such a kind Qing official, who had been servile and cold-eyed, but there were very few people who treated each other with an equal mindset. This young commander almost forced the coalition into a desperate situation, but no one would have thought that he would be so detached and calm when dealing with foreign missions, which was very different from the legendary God of Killing on the battlefield.

Ye Zhao certainly knew that businessmen from all over the world came to China to make money, but similarly, changes brought about by foreign trade and Western technology will increase the efficiency of citizens in creating wealth, and will also promote the birth of the first batch of national industries.
Chapter completed!