The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

"Please, both of you!" Marion came in with the coffee she had ground herself.

"Thank you." Zhang Leyi took the coffee, but her eyes remained on Zhou Hexuan. She wanted to know how Zhou Hexuan persuaded the French consul.

Herway turned sideways, tilted his head towards Zhou Hexuan, and asked in a questioning tone: "Mr. Zhou, where did the money come from?"

"Issuing public bonds." Zhou Hexuan said.

"Haha!" Herway laughed mockingly. He thought that Zhou Hexuan would have some good idea, but he didn't expect it to be a bad idea. He immediately asked, "In whose name will the public debt be issued? Who is willing to repay the money?"

"Tianjin tariffs," Zhou Hexuan explained, "it is most reasonable to pay for the dredging of Tianjin Port and the Haihe River by tariffs."

Herway looked at Zhou Hexuan with a smile, and said sarcastically, "Mr. Zhou, you don't have a cold and fever, do you? Why can't I understand a word?"

China's tariffs are too complicated. The highest agency is the China Customs General Taxation Department, headquartered in Shanghai, and the current director is the British Yi Qishi. The tariffs were all collected by foreigners, and then the countries divided them up according to the specific circumstances.

If you want to use Tianjin's tariffs to issue public bonds to manage waterways, you must report to the Shanghai General Taxation Department for approval, and you must also obtain the approval of various countries. The degree of difficulty here is far more difficult than persuading Chu Yupu to allocate funds. Who would spit out the fat in his mouth?

Zhou Hexuan didn't speak, just took out an American newspaper from his briefcase. This is an outdated newspaper at the beginning of the year, and the news contained is that the US Secretary of State Kellogg issued a declaration to China on January 27: "Since the Washington Conference, the United States has prepared, and is still preparing, to cooperate with any Chinese government or any Negotiations on behalf of China or representatives speaking on behalf of China not only negotiate the implementation of the Washington Treaty’s 25% additional tax, but also negotiate the complete abandonment of tariff control, that is, the restoration of China’s complete tariff autonomy.”

Herway's face changed slightly, and he asked in a deep voice, "What exactly do you want to say?"

Zhou Hexuan put down the newspaper and said: "Let me analyze the situation first. Due to the rapid expansion of the national power of the United States, the United States actively pursued a strategy of external expansion, but it was constrained by Britain, France, Japan and other countries. At the Paris Peace Conference a few years ago, the United States and China Similarly, diplomatic negotiations failed completely and did not achieve the expected goals. So it shifted its expansion targets to the Far East and the Pacific region, and regarded monopolizing China as an important goal. If the United States wants to expand its power in China, it must confront Britain and Japan. The Washington Conference In the final analysis, it is a new international conference for the United States to resist Japan’s monopoly on China, dismantle the Anglo-Japanese alliance, and restore the loss of the Paris Peace Conference. Mr. Consul, am I right?”

As the French Consul General in Tianjin, Hervé naturally knew very well about the Washington meeting. He nodded and said with a smile, "You have summed it up very well, and it is more concise than the speeches of the French members of Congress."

Zhou Hexuan continued: "In order to further expand its power in China, the United States is trying to support China in taking back some of the powers' privileges in China, so as to suppress the interests of Britain, Japan and other countries in China. Supporting the Chinese government to take back tariffs is a good opportunity. The US Secretary of State The declaration on China is not just talk, and substantive measures will inevitably be made next year at the latest. The southern government is eager to gain international recognition. As long as the United States throws an olive branch, they will be absolutely ecstatic. In this way, the United States will become the southern government The most friendly international partners, and the interests of Britain, France and Japan in China will be damaged."

Herway remained silent, but in fact, there was already a storm in his heart, and he was shocked by Zhou Hexuan's keen international perspective. He, the French Consul General in Tianjin, only learned of the news half a month ago that the domestic parliament is discussing the issue of giving up the customs privilege to China.

Zhou Hexuan, on the other hand, only read the American newspapers, coupled with some analysis of his own, and he completely understood the complicated form.

You are indeed a scholar who can write "The Rise of Great Powers"!

Herway put away his contempt and talked to Zhou Hexuan as an equal. He said: "With all due respect, China's independent tariff is the general trend, but the biggest obstacle lies in Japan. They will never agree."

Zhou Hexuan said with a smile: "If Britain, France and the United States all support China's tariff independence, Japan has to agree if they disagree."

"That's true," Herway said with a smile, "but that will happen in the next few years. What does it have to do with the current dredging of Tianjin Port?"

Zhou Hexuan's eyes were treacherous, and he said: "My proposal is to issue public bonds with Tianjin Customs tariffs three years later. Use the money from the future Chinese government to help the current countries and powers do good deeds. Not only do you not pay a penny, And it can get real benefits, and it can also gain the goodwill of the Chinese government and people.”

"Hahahaha," Herway laughed, "Mr. Zhou, I have to admit that your idea is very genius. But the question is, are you sure that China will be able to independently impose tariffs in three years?"

"I'm very sure," Zhou Hexuan said, "The Americans are already doing their part. The British can't just sit idly by, and the French government won't stand idly by."

"I have reservations about this, but I will help to contact the General Tax Department of Customs in Shanghai," Herway said.

Zhou Hexuan continued to analyze: "In fact, it doesn't take much to manage the waterway, at most 1 million Chinese silver dollars can be settled. The big powers don't care about this amount. From the perspective of the international situation, the current overall situation is the confrontation between capitalism and communism. China The north and the south are cleaning up the Communist Party together. They belong to the vanguard of resisting gcism. In order to win over China, the big powers will inevitably give up their customs privileges. As far as I know, when the Soviet Union was still supporting the southern government at the beginning of the year, the big powers paid a lot of money to support Zhang Zuolin Japan Manchukuo Co., Ltd. invested 3 million yen, British businessmen from Hong Kong and Shanghai contributed 5 million pounds, and the U.S. government sold Zhang Zuolin 100 aircraft and military supplies worth 10 million U.S. dollars. At this time, the Nanjing Nationalist Government changed From a standpoint, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Japan and other countries are already actively negotiating and contacting, and it is no problem to use a little customs money to issue public bonds."

Herway was still skeptical at first, but now he was completely convinced by Zhou Hexuan. He said with emotion: "Mr. Zhou, you should really be a diplomat."

Zhou Hexuan continued: "The sooner this matter happens, the better. Now that Tianjin is full of refugees, it is a good time to start a large-scale project. Using refugees as cheap labor will save a lot of project expenses and help refugees tide over difficulties. In this way It saves money, does good deeds, and wins the favor of the Chinese people. It’s the best of all three! Even if the country’s position is not mentioned, charity should be supported. I don’t think Mr. Consul would like to see people starve to death every day. .”

Elway shook hands with Zhou Hexuan and said, "Mr. Zhou, you have successfully persuaded me. I will notify the British and Japanese consulates and pass the situation to the customs."

"Then I will take my leave first, and wait for the good news from Mr. Consul." Zhou Hexuan smiled.

After Zhou Hexuan took Zhang Leyi away, Herway said to his wife: "China is really a magical country, and there will always be some fascinating guys."