Fujian is located in the southeast, according to later generations said that it belongs to the British power range, but this sphere of influence is a very suspenseful thing, for example, in the northeast area, due to the existence of the Manchurian Railway and the Eastern Railway, Russia and the East China Railway have garrisoned troops in the northeast, these two have invested a lot of industry and mining in the northeast, concentrated a lot of capital, to a certain extent, the commercial interests and minerals in the northeast are very important to the northeast.

Similarly, in the area around the Yangtze River, foreign businessmen led by the British have invested in a large number of enterprises here, and the existence of a large number of foreign capital has made it necessary for the governments of various countries to pay attention to the interests of their own businessmen in these areas, and over time they have paid great attention to these areas. This focus on a particular region does not mean that this place is their sphere of influence, and only the capital of their own country is allowed to enter, and the capital of other countries is not allowed to enter.

Of course, with the exception of the northeast, which is still nominally sovereign but has actually become a colony, the three northeastern provinces have been garrisoned by hundreds of thousands of troops in the three northeastern provinces due to the existence of the Manchurian Railway and the Eastern Railway, and this already shows that the central government has lost actual control over the northeast.

For example, Fujian, geographically located in the southeast, in a sense belongs to the British sphere of influence, but if Fujian said that a few decades ago because of the tea to Britain a little effect, today's Fujian is really not an important place for Fujian, Fujian has no important mineral resources, exports are tea, timber, papermaking, etc., because Fuzhou, Xiamen and other ports can not extend inland, so the market is limited to Fujian, Since the 80s of the last century, Fujian's prosperous economic system established by importing foreign cigarettes and tea exports has declined, and now from an economic point of view, Fujian is not worth mentioning. Far less important to the UK than Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong or even Hubei.

However, no matter how bad Fujian's economy is, it is always in the southeast, and it is connected to Guangdong in the south, Zhejiang in the north, and Jiangxi in the west.

Therefore, when Zhu Erdian learned that Fujian had ordered a large amount of arms from Germany, he immediately sent a telegram asking the Fuzhou consul to inquire about Chen Jingyun about this matter.

Zhu Erdian was not worried about Chen Jingyun, but about the Germans. It is nothing if the Germans simply invested in industry and commerce, but the purpose of selling a large number of arms to Fujian in the southeast region during the period of turmoil in China is worth Zhu Erdian's concern.

Was this an official German act? Was it Germany's intention to use Chen Jingyun's hand to disrupt the situation in the south, so as to cause large-scale losses to the Reich's commercial interests there?

Otto? After receiving the telegram, Jones was surprised that Chen Jingyun could come up with so much money from somewhere, and at the same time, he hurriedly formally asked to see Chen Jingyun and asked Chen Jingyun to explain the matter!

Listen to Otto? Jones's inquiry, Chen Jingyun's face remained unchanged, and he did not speak, but was silent quietly, he was thinking about what Britain was thinking, why should they care? Are they worried about anything?

After a long time, he took a sip of the already cold tea again: "There is such a thing, but this is purely a commercial act!" If the British side allows it, I am willing to buy ordnance from you! ”

Hearing Chen Jingyun say this, Otto? Jones doesn't intend to refute anything, his task is just to determine whether this matter is true from Chen Jingyun's mouth, and to see if Chen Jingyun will admit it, if Chen Jingyun generously admits it, it means that the matter is still under control, and then how to solve it, how to solve it is the above matter, if Chen Jingyun does not admit it, Otto? Jones is 100% sure that the Germans did it.

You must know that now the Germans are competing with the British on a global scale, and who cannot rule out the possibility that the Germans will appear in the southeast to cause trouble.

"The military products of the imperial enterprises are of high quality, and if the general is interested in buying them, I am willing to recommend relevant personnel to negotiate!" Otto? Jones thought as he spoke, I don't know if it's true or not, if it's true, he should be able to earn a few thousand pounds!

Seeing that those business had already been said, Chen Jingyun remembered that he was trying to make money everywhere, so he hit the idea to Otto? Jones, so he said: "I want to buy ordnance, but Mr. Consul, you also know that Fujian is poor and white, it is true!" ”

Otto? Jones almost rolled his eyes when he heard this, he just said that he wanted to buy ordnance and said that he had no money, isn't this playing with himself! Fortunately, he was a career diplomat, and his face immediately remained unchanged: "The Germans should not give you all the ordnance without money!" ”

"I've only paid the deposit now!" Chen Jingyun is already thinking about loans and bonds!

"Oh!" Since he has no money, Otto is not going to say more.

But at this time, Chen Jingyun said: "So I don't know, I don't know if the bankers in your country are interested in loans!" ”

"Oh? Loan? "Otto? Jones was not a professional businessman, but a diplomat, and he had no interest in lending or anything more than political interests in his eyes than business interests.

Otto? Although Jones was not interested in loans, he had to follow Chen Jingyun's words and ask: "How much is the general going to ask for, and what kind of collateral to take?" ”

"I don't know how much I can borrow with the surplus mortgage of Fujian Province?" Chen Jingyun did not hide it.

Hear the word Otto in Guanyu? Jones immediately became vigilant, and the so-called Guan Yu is the silver left over from the Chinese customs tax after deducting the monthly indemnities and arrears to various countries, which is called Guan Yu. Although the majority of the customs revenue has been taken away by foreigners, there is a small part left, and the customs surplus in Fujian Province alone has millions of yuan every year. Originally, these customs taxes were handed over to the Chinese side for safekeeping, but after the Wuchang Uprising, due to the turbulent situation in China, in order to ensure that various indemnities and loans could be repaid in a timely manner, various countries deposited customs revenues into foreign banks such as HSBC, which made China's customs power completely lost.

"General, it is necessary for me to remind you that according to the relevant treaties, the remaining part of the customs tariff will be directly handed over to the central political axe of your country by the banking committee, and the Fujian military and political axe is only a local political axe, and it has no right to accept the customs surplus, so the customs surplus cannot be used as collateral!" Otto? Jones didn't speak fast, even a little slowly.

Chen Jingyun disagreed: "Then you also know that I, Fujian, no longer recognize the ruling power of the northern political axe, which means that these terms do not apply to Fujian!" And based on the fact that Fujian and the Manchu court in the north are at war, I will not be able to bear to send Guan Yu from Fujian Province to Yanjing! ”

Otto? Jones took a deep breath: "Is the general trying to say that he will not recognize the treaty signed between my country and your country before?" ”

Chen Jingyun shook his head: "Mr. Consul!" I didn't say that I didn't recognize the treaty signed between my country and your country before, and I didn't say that I would withdraw all customs tariffs, I just wanted to close the surplus! ”

"What if the Empire says no!" Otto? Jones felt it was necessary to ask Chen in advance what his reaction would be.

Chen Jingyun said: "The customs of Fuzhou, Xiamen, and Sanduao can naturally proceed as usual, but I will turn other ports in Fujian into free ports, abolish all the people who confiscate and smuggle, and set up customs offices 50 miles away, and all transit taxes will be levied!" ”

What is a free port, that is, a port that does not levy taxes, and then the officials who fight smuggling are dismissed, Chen Jingyun wants to turn Fujian into a tariff-free area! According to various treaties, even if Chen Jingyun newly establishes a customs gate, he cannot manage it himself, and must hand it over to foreigners, since he can't get the customs balance and can't set up a new customs office to collect taxes for various reasons, then I support smuggling, in short, let the three major customs in Fujian become decorations, don't give me the customs surplus, so that you can't even collect taxes!

If Chen Jingyun really wants to do this, the British really can't get any way to suppress it, although the customs are now managed by foreigners, but Chen Jingyun really wants to remove the customs and turn Fujian into a province that does not collect customs duties, and the British have no problem! As for the use of the central political axe to suppress, Fujian has now broken away from the rule of the Manchu court.

In the face of Chen Jingyun's helplessness, do you really want to drive a warship over? If there was a military conflict with Chen Jingyun, an important military leader of the League, at this critical juncture, it was very likely that the revolutionaries in the south would think that Britain was biased towards the side of the Manchu Dynasty, which was not a good thing for the Empire, because the main commercial interests of the Empire were in the southern provinces, and if the revolutionaries determined that the Empire supported the Manchu court, the Empire's interests in the south would most likely be greatly affected.

Otto? Jones quickly sorted out the gains and losses of the matter, and it was not impossible for him Chen Jingyun to want Guan Yu, anyway, Guan Yu's part was not his own Britain, and it was given to the central government of China, and the political axe of the local government of China was also given. Besides, he didn't say that he wanted a loan, and it was a loan secured by Guan Yu!

Otto? Although Jones's financial ability is not very outstanding, he also knows that if this batch of loans can really be secured by the balance and the risk is very small, then it is definitely a good asset, and domestic bankers should like it. In addition, if the loan is also used to buy British products, the domestic business community will also benefit.

What is the national interest, to put it bluntly, is money!

When Otto? After Jones figured out this series, he felt more and more that this should be feasible, and when he looked up at Chen Jingyun again, he felt that he was not so annoying!

Otto who continues to have a professional smile on his face? Jones opened his mouth and said, "Guan Yu and the loan are beyond the scope of my authority, and I will report this matter to His Excellency Zhu Erdian!" However, I would like to remind the general once again that the customs is related to the various indemnity issues of your country, and I hope that the general will handle it properly! ”

Sent away Otto? After Jones, Chen Jingyun returned to the backyard, and saw Luo Li sitting on the railing, with his head down and not knowing what he was fiddling with in his hands.

"What's embroidered on it?" Chen Jingyun lowered his head and took it over to look at.

Luo Li saw that Chen Jingyun didn't know when he came over, and he was stunned at first, but after an instant, a smile appeared on his face: "It's a peony!" Seeing Chen Jingyun carefully looking at her embroidery, she was also a little embarrassed: "I don't embroider well!" ”

Luo Li is telling the truth, although the general appearance of the peony embroidery can still be seen to be a flower, but it is definitely not recognized as a peony, but Chen Jingyun will not say it, but said: "I look good!" ”

said and held one of her hands: "How do you embroider this, what should I do if I break my hand!" ”