Chapter 453 Borrowing
While the development of East Africa was in full swing, other regions in the world were not peaceful. It can be said that the stable development of East Africa benefited from the Far East Empire sharing most of the pressure. Britain, Russia, and Japan, as agreed, in the Far East Empire from the southwest, It invades from three directions: northwest and west Pacific.
East Africa is not small in the world, but Europe does not have a deep understanding of East Africa, and the Far East is something that cannot be hidden.
France did not join this time because France was digesting the results of the second Vietnam-France War (1873 to 1874). On March 15, 1874, France signed the second Treaty of Saigon with Cochin, which stipulated: France The army maintained law and order in the areas ruled by the Nguyen Dynasty; Vietnam recognized France's indisputable control over Cochin; and allowed the French to use the Red River as a trade channel to the southwest of the Far Eastern Empire.
Africa, as the last territory invaded by Europeans, can still lie down for a while. It is obvious that the entire Far East is more attractive to the great powers than other regions and even Africa (excluding North Africa).
Japan's test on Danwan Island was thwarted last year, but the northwest and southwest crises are beyond Ernst's ability to intervene. Both places are deep in the hinterland of the Far East.
To the southwest, the British have not yet taken action. If no accident occurs, a crisis will break out after next month.
The northwest direction is actually an old issue that broke out in 1864, but there was a debate within the Far East government about coastal defense and fortification defense. This debate lasted for ten years, and it was really efficient.
This year, the Far East government finally made up its mind to solve the northwest problem and regain the lost territory in the northwest, but the decision was made, but no one was willing to pay.
The empire's finances can be said to be riddled with holes. The national army owes more than 30 million taels of pay, and the important financial and tax areas are controlled by local forces such as the Hunan-Huaihe (army). This makes Zuo Jigao, who actively leads the war and defends the country, commit a crime. Disaster.
May 1875.
Hechingen Bank (Kaifeng).
As the capital of a province, Kaifeng was relatively prosperous in this era. It was also the easternmost end of the Huaihai Economic Zone, a key area for the inland business of the Hechingen Bank, and a place for negotiation between Shanxi merchants, Huizhou merchants and the Hechingen consortium. .
Today, representatives of two rare business gangs came to Kaifeng to discuss matters with Mayweather, the head of Hechingen Bank's Central Plains region, but they also brought one person with them.
"Mr. Mayweather, this is an important member of our Far East government, Mr. Zuo Jigao. I came to visit you today to ask for something!"
Mayweather, who thought he was here to discuss business, laughed and said: "Easy to talk to, easy to talk to. As long as it's not too difficult, I'm willing to help."
Qiao Zhiyong: "To tell you the truth, we are here to raise military expenses. I believe your bank must have heard about it."
Mayweather's eyes lit up: "Hades is showing tea to these distinguished guests!"
Not only had they heard about it, but actually all the big banks doing business in the Far East knew about it. However, why Zuo Jigao found Hechingen Bank was because of two business allies of Hechingen Bank.
Zuo Jigao had a good relationship with Hu Xueyan, and he was working in the northwest, so he had to deal with Qiao Zhiyong, so they came to Kaifeng together on the recommendation of the two.
Zuo Jigao: "Mr. Mayweather, this time we borrowed money to deal with the separatist forces in the northwest. The distance is long and the environment is harsh, so this battle may not be easy..."
Mayweather interrupted: "Mr. Zuo, just tell me how much you want to borrow!"
So simple? So Zuo Jigao stretched out five fingers to see what the strength of this Hechingen bank was. Zuo Jigao had also been to HSBC before. After all, HSBC had a greater reputation and had been operating in the Far East for a longer time.
"Five million taels of silver?"
"It doesn't matter if your bank can't get so much money out in a short time. We can still contact other people."
"Haha, I'm kidding. Five million taels is not much for us. I just wonder if this money is too little for you? You must know that the Russians are behind the separatist forces in the northwest."
"Can your bank borrow more money? I asked HSBC before, and they said that it would take some work to come up with such a large amount of funds. This is not a small amount."
"Haha, let alone five million taels, we can borrow even twenty million taels, but the twenty million taels may not all be silver."
"It would be acceptable if it were in pounds."
"No, it's the East African Rhine Guilder, which is also a national currency."
Hu Xueyan explained on the side: "The Rhine Guilder is a paper currency issued by the East African Kingdom. One tael of silver is equal to the face value of five Rhine Guilders."
“Is this currency reliable?”
“You can exchange gold directly at the Bank of Hechingen.”
"!"
Mayweather: "Don't worry, Mr. Zuo, the East African Rhine Guilder only has a small amount of circulation in the world, but it is indeed the genuine currency issued by the East African Kingdom. It is backed by gold and its currency value is very stable."
"Isn't it troublesome to use this currency to buy supplies?"
"Don't worry, just tell me what do you need? We at Hechingen Bank can provide this, military rations, military uniforms, ordnance, and we can even hire European military instructors."
"This..." seems to be missing.
Regardless of anything else, let's first see what conditions Hechingen Bank can offer. Zuo Jigao put aside his thoughts and said: "If, I mean, if our government borrows 10 million taels from your bank, what conditions can you offer?" ?”
Mayweather didn't accept the move: "Then it depends on what price your country can offer?"
Zuo Jigao tentatively said: "My expectation is that it will not exceed five!"
"Deal!" Mayweather said directly.
"..." Did you cum yourself?
"certainly……"
Sure enough, there are still conditions. Zuo Jigao guessed that Westerners would not agree to him so easily. According to the current market price of international loans, the interest rate is about 4%. If he only raises it a little, I am afraid that no one will do it casually. promise.
Just listen to Mayweather continue to say: "We can borrow money from your country, but the corresponding procurement of military rations should be handed over to our bank. We also need to take part in the ordnance." Mayweather, President of the Kaifeng Branch of Hechingen Bank said.
Zuo Jigao: "Your bank is also engaged in the grain business?"
Hu Xueyan explained from the side: "Mr. Zuo, Hechingen Bank looks like a bank, but it is actually a top Western plutocrat with many operations. It is a well-known large bank in Germany."
Zuo Jigao: "But this war is far away in the northwest. Do you have the ability to send food to the front line?"
Mayweather: "This matter is easy to handle. We have mature commercial routes that can go directly from East Africa to Jiaozhou and finally to Kaifeng by land. The rest is what you need to consider."
Qiao Zhiyong on the side said: "We can do this for you, and there is absolutely no problem from Henan to the northwest."
The business alliance is not just talk. In fact, without this war, Shanxi merchants would still transfer grain from the Huaihai Economic Zone to the northwest.
Zuo Jigao: "Let's not talk about the food issue first, but I'm afraid about the arms!"
Mayweather: "Haha, Mr. Zuo, don't worry, we are also quite good at the arms business. Whether it is German or Austrian weapons, as long as we have money, we can get them, and there are also cheap ones, like Dreiser's backward rifles. We still have a lot of stock, and if it’s a more advanced rifle, it’s fine. We also have supplies of Prussia’s most advanced Mauser rifles.”
Good guy! Not long ago, Li Hongzhang also bought a batch of 90% new Dresser rifle production lines from the Germans. In an instant, they became outdated rifles?
Feeling that this was not enough, Mayweather added to the fire: "As we all know, your country's equipment is mainly British. Although Britain is strong, it is more reflected in the navy. When it comes to the army, we Germans are the best in the world. , even the French Army, formerly known as the number one in the world, was defeated by our Germans."
The fact that France lost to Germany will probably be talked about by the Germans for decades to come.
"These are easy to solve, but what other conditions does your bank have?"
"In addition to these, we need to see sincerity in the collateral. After all, this is a high-risk investment. Feelings are more important than feelings, and business is business. Don't dare to make random loans without collateral."
"Are there really no other additional requirements besides these?"
Mayweather shook his head and said, "No."
It's not that Mayweather doesn't want to, but there is an order from above that the interest rate for the Far Eastern Empire cannot be too high this time. Although other banks have lowered the price, according to Mayweather's psychological expectations, the interest rate should be at least around 7.
Five is not bad, you can still make some money. The interest rate of four in the market is already quite a lot. Most people will not borrow money unless there is an emergency. Hechingen Bank’s business in the entire Far East is similar to that of HSBC, so loan sharking is also a business, such as Japan and North Korea can borrow money, but if they can't repay it, they can use their population and resources to pay off the debt.
It is impossible to default on the debt. There are three countries behind the Bank of Hechingen. Most countries do not have the courage. Moreover, East Africa is also capable of armed debt collection. If it cannot deal with Europe, it cannot deal with you?