The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 277: It is better to buy than to build, and it is better to rent than to buy (Please subscribe, please vote)
Luo Xueyan is not Luo Yaoguo after all!
The latter is truly a "devil of mass destruction" who possesses thirty "Books of the Prophet" that can shake or consolidate the hegemony of the British Empire, while Luo Xueyan is now a mortal.

So it seems that the Qing Dynasty needs to be sold off a little bit.
"Mr. Minister," Luo Xueyan thought for a moment and smiled, "The concession you want is difficult for me to give at the moment! Even if I sign the treaty, it is impossible to enforce it!

Although I am the Minister of Trade of the Five Ports, I can only control Shanghai, and Shanghai is still under the threat of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Your merchants cannot enter Guangzhou now. As the Minister of Trade of the Five Ports, I give an order, and the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi will listen? Just think about it and you will know that it is impossible! Your opium wants to enter the territory of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Is that something I can do? You have to make a deal with that devil!"

"No, that's not allowed! No believer in God can make a deal with the devil. He'll go to hell!"

French Minister Bourboulen immediately raised objections and looked at Bonham with pity.

Luo Xueyan responded with a look of gratitude and devoutly made the sign of the cross on his chest - he was still a devout believer of the Roman Catholic Church!
Although the American Minister Marsalis was not a Catholic, he had heard Major Ma Hui speak well of Luo Xueyan. This was a "republican" who grew up listening to stories about Washington and whose family had opened a republic in Southeast Asia!
Moreover, Luo Xueyan's plan to export a large number of Chinese workers to the United States was indeed very attractive, so he was willing to express his support: "Mr. Luo, the United States is your friend! Soon, the fleet led by Major General Matthew Perry will arrive in the Far East, and I will arrange for him to stay in Shanghai for a long time."

"Welcome, very welcome!" Luo Xueyan said immediately, "General Perry can stay in Shanghai as long as he wants!"

When Bonham heard that Matthew Perry was going to bring his fleet to Shanghai, his face became even uglier.

The Royal Navy of the British Empire is very powerful, but the Royal Navy's fleet in the Far East is not large. If Matthew Perry leads an American fleet to stay in Shanghai, Britain's influence in the Far East will be greatly reduced.

And what about the promised unity among the great powers?

However, Luo Xueyan would not really fall out with Wen Xian. If he did, how could he be the boss of the largest "labor export company" in the mid-19th century? Without the export of millions of Chinese workers, how would the "capital" go?
"Minister Wenxian," Luo Xueyan said, "I'm not saying that we can't make concessions to Britain, France, and the United States. It's just that I don't have that much power now. When I have the power and can have the final say, I will definitely open up the market! So, you'd better support me first, or at least help me become a big man who can truly dominate a region!"

This seems interesting!
As a senior diplomat of an old-line imperialist country, Wenxian was very familiar with supporting warlords in backward countries in order to gain privileges.

"Mr. Luo," Wen Xian finally found some feeling, put on a condescending expression, and glared at Luo Xueyan, "What else do you want?"

"Fleet!" Luo Xueyan said, "As the Minister of the Five Ports Trade, I need at least a fleet that can go to Ningbo, Xiamen, Guangzhou, and Fuzhou! If I can have a fleet with a cruiser equipped with 10-inch caliber cannons and a light load displacement of more than 2000 tons as its flagship to travel between the five ports, I can at least make Ningbo, Xiamen, and Shanghai, which have no governors or provincial governors stationed there, completely open their doors to other countries!"

"A cruiser equipped with 10-inch cannons and with a light load displacement of over 2000 tons." Wen Xian frowned, "Mr. Luo, do you have someone who can operate this giant ship?"

"No." Luo Xueyan smiled and shook his head.

"Then what's the point of buying such a huge ship?" Wen Xian asked.

"Minister, I think you misunderstood," Luo Xueyan said with a smile, "I don't plan to buy it."

"You don't plan to buy it? You want to..."

"Rent!" Luo Xueyan said, "It is better to buy than to build, and it is better to rent than to buy. What I mean is to rent a cruiser from Britain in the name of the Ministry of Commerce of the Five Ports, and then rent a few light paddle-wheel gunboats from France and the United States, renting the ships and crews together! Fly the flag of the Shanghai New Army, form a fleet under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Commerce of the Five Ports, and I will be the commander. The deputy commander and captain of the flagship who is actually responsible for commanding the fleet will be a British.

In addition, the British deputy fleet commander will also serve as the dean of education at the Shanghai Naval Academy to train officers for the future Chinese navy.

In order to provide this leased fleet with a home port and a shipyard for repairs and maintenance, I also hope to introduce technology from Britain, France or the United States and open a shipyard with a 5,000-ton dock in Shanghai.

After Luo Xueyan proposed his "treason plan", he looked at Wen Xian with a smile, waiting for his agreement.

He knew that Wen Xian would definitely agree, because he made the plan based on the "Asben Fleet". However, the "Asben Fleet" was still purchased, while Luo Xueyan took a step back and simply rented it!
However, renting has its advantages, and the cost of renting a fleet is limited.

Historically, the purchase cost of the Asben Fleet was initially agreed to be 800,000 taels, and later increased to 920,000, which was actually not bad. If the money was spent at this standard, this Qing "foreign fleet" might be able to continue. However, Asben and Li Guotai, the two foreign devils, were too ruthless and actually asked for a one-time transfer of 10 million taels of silver from the General Taxation Commissioner to cover the fleet's four-year expenses.

Even the Qing Dynasty couldn't tolerate this!

Ten million spent in four years. Seven ships and more than 600 people, how to spend it? Giving each person a salary of 1,000 taels of silver, that's only 600,000 a year. Add some bonuses and some ship repair and maintenance expenses, one million a year is enough, right?

So Luo Xueyan simply rented it and settled the bill annually. Even if he spent one million or ten million a year, it would be enough for ten years.

He also made requests to the United States and France to rent ships.

If the British really want to make a big request, there are still the God-believing French and the "friend of the republic" America!
In addition, there are two benefits to a leased fleet.

First, it is easy for Chinese sailors to get on board for practical training - Chinese people are cheap!
The rent is fixed. Of course, the lessor has to consider the cost. The cheaper the employees, the higher the profit. If the graduates of Shanghai Naval Academy can work on the ship, they can even be paid by the Shanghai Military Governor's Office, which means free labor for the lessor.

As long as the economic laws of capitalism are correct, within five years this rented fleet will be full of "free Chinese".

A generation of naval personnel has been trained!

The second advantage of renting a ship is that you can take advantage of the power of others. But we are renting ships from Britain, the United States and France!

It was impossible to rely on them to fight against the British, American and French navies. But what about Japan? What about the Netherlands? What about Siam? Would they dare to fire at this rented fleet? Perhaps even Russia, which lost the Crimean War, would not dare to provoke these three murderous masters at once.

"Okay!" Wen Xian nodded. "We, the British Empire, are very willing to help you, Mr. Luo, build a powerful fleet that can crisscross the coast of China!"

In the eyes of the British minister, this is a rare opportunity for Britain to take control of the Chinese navy!
As for him personally, he had both political achievements and kickbacks, and he would surely make further progress after returning to his country. Perhaps he would be able to enter the House of Commons as a member of parliament with the promotion of Viscount Palmerston.

"We in France are also willing to support you!" French Minister Bourboulon also expressed support.

In fact, he had been exchanging letters with Luo Xueyan for a long time. Luo Xueyan promised him to find out the second and third volumes of the "Great Prophecy Book" for him, and also said that he would invite more French military advisers to come to China to train the new army. His Majesty the Emperor of France would definitely be very satisfied with this!

In addition, Luo Xueyan also asked Minister Bulbrunn in the letter to go to Dongjiadu Church to worship God together next Sunday.

"The same goes for the United States!" said the American Minister, Marsalis. "If Rear Admiral Perry has no objection, you can even quickly rent a light ship that originally belonged to the American East India Fleet."

Of course, he had long been Luo Xueyan's "pen pal". After today's meeting, Luo Xueyan wanted to invite him and Major Ma Hui to dinner, saying that he had a big deal to discuss with him.

Seeing that the three foreign ministers were "so easy to talk to", Luo Xueyan decided to paint a rosy picture for them. He smiled and said, "Don't worry, when I become the master of Ningbo and Xiamen, the door to the Chinese market will definitely be further opened to you. At the same time, a large number of hardworking Chinese workers and the thriving Shanghai will create huge wealth.

I swear to God I will share all the benefits with you!"

(End of this chapter)