Beiyang Dream

July 20, 1891, afternoon. Second floor of the telegraph office in the Qing Dynasty concession of Yuanshan.

After Chang Desheng uttered the word "Money," the meeting room fell silent for about five or six seconds.

Hill didn't say anything.

He sat in the chair, his cane propped between his legs, his hands resting on the top of the cane, looking at Chang Desheng. His face changed color constantly, sometimes white, sometimes red, sometimes green, as if a dye shop had been opened.

He served as a diplomat for twenty years. He spent most of his time in the Qing Dynasty, and also spent several years in Seoul. He met all sorts of Qing officials: cowardly, greedy, incompetent, stubborn, and those whose legs trembled at the sight of foreigners.

He believed he understood the Qing people, their officialdom, and their way of thinking. He thought he could manipulate any type of Qing official, even someone like Li Hongzhang, and that he could exploit his weaknesses.

But now, he suddenly discovered a Qing Dynasty official whom this "China expert" knew absolutely nothing about.

It's Changdesheng!

From the moment Chang Desheng volunteered to write the protest note, this young Qing official had been plotting. From the protest note to the invitation note, and now to asking for money, every step was meticulously planned. Hill had always been the one manipulating Qing officials, but now he was being led by the nose by a twenty-something fourth-rank official.

What Hill found even more unacceptable was that Chang Desheng was using the same tricks that foreigners were best at manipulating treaties to set him up, leading him step by step into a pit, and even making him personally hand over the evidence (the note) to the other party.

It made him so bad that he didn't even bother to protest!

Hill remained silent for a long time before finally speaking. His voice was still relatively calm, but the condescending tone was mostly gone: "Officer Chang, we've already given you an invitation and acknowledged the Qing army's legal status in Yuanshan. Isn't that enough?" In other words: You filthy beggar, I've already given you legal legitimacy, and you still want money?

Chang Desheng listened but didn't rush to answer. He patted his precious leather bag and said with a smile:

"Your Excellency the Consul General is right. With this invitation note, I can now legally station troops in the Qing Concession."

He paused, looking into Hill's eyes:

"That's enough for me!"

Hill was taken aback: "What?"

"I said, this is enough for me," Chang Desheng repeated, leaning back in his chair. "Now I can legally guard the Qing concession. The Russians occupy the Japanese concession, not the Qing concession. My Qing concession has trenches, barbed wire, and 12-centimeter cannons... The Russians won't be stupid enough to attack me."

He smiled and spread his hands:

"Even if someone takes the case to the Emperor or the Empress Dowager, I'm not afraid! I only have a few hundred men under my command. Do you think the Emperor or the Empress Dowager can expect me to defeat the Russian Pacific Fleet with just a few hundred men?"

Hill's face darkened.

Daishi suddenly felt a darkness before his eyes.

They finally understood Chang Desheng's hidden meaning.

He could have stood by and watched the Japanese concession be occupied. But by holding onto the Qing concession, he could have given the best possible account to the Qing court and to Li Hongzhang of the Beiyang Army. With only a few hundred Qing soldiers, under pressure from the Russian army, he not only defended the Qing concession but also broke through the constraints of the Treaty of Tianjin, allowing him to legally station troops in Korea. This achievement was enough to secure him a promotion and a fortune.

As for the Japanese concession? That was a matter for Britain and Japan. What did it have to do with a Qing Dynasty official like him?

Hill gripped his cane tightly.

He suddenly realized how badly he had been tricked by this fourth-rank official from the Qing Dynasty!

The two protest notes he and Shi Zhengsi wrote by hand not only gave Chang Desheng the "confidence to leave," but also gave him the "certainty to still make a great contribution to the Qing court and the Beiyang government even when Russian troops occupied the Japanese concession."

If he still wanted the Qing army to help him defend the Japanese concession, he would be ripped off by the other side.

Daishi's face was as white as paper. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but no words came out. His hand unconsciously went to his stomach... ...for some reason, his stomach suddenly cramped!

Is this what seppuku feels like?

An ominous sign...

He glanced at Hill. This "China expert" clearly couldn't talk to Chang Desheng; if he continued, the talks might really fall apart. Daishi took a deep breath and spoke before Hill could:

"Lord Chang...how much would you like?"

Chang Desheng smiled. But he didn't answer immediately; instead, he turned to look at Hill.

Hill gritted his teeth. He knew he had no choice. He couldn't lose Yuanshan; if he did, he wouldn't be able to explain it to Whitehall. His entire diplomatic career would be tarnished, and he might even be dismissed from the Foreign Office!

"How much do you want?" Hill asked through gritted teeth.

Chang Desheng held up three fingers.

"Three conditions."

Duan Qirui stood behind Chang Desheng, his face tense and silent. But his mind was in turmoil.

He thought to himself: Chang Desheng's methods for dealing with foreigners seem even more sophisticated than those of the Grand Secretary. Every step is a trap, and every trap has a logical explanation. Not only is there a logical explanation, but there's also a written record... That's called preserving evidence!

I need to learn something from this.

Chang Desheng started counting on his fingers:

"First, a one-time subsidy of 200,000 taels of silver will be provided to our unit for military expenses."

Hill nearly jumped out of his chair.

"Secondly," Chang Desheng didn't give him a chance to interrupt, "the Yuanshan Japanese Concession will be converted into the International Settlement, jointly managed by the British, Japanese, and Qing. Our Qing army will be responsible for its defense. The Yuanshan International Settlement will bear the cost of 30,000 taels of silver annually for the stationed troops."

Now it was Daishi's turn to look grim.

"Third," Chang Desheng said, pointing to his third finger, "our army lacks artillery. With only three 12-centimeter cannons, it is simply impossible to stop the Russian Pacific Fleet. Britain and Japan should provide us with eighteen more 6-inch cannons, each equipped with three hundred rounds of ammunition."

After he finished speaking, he lowered his hand and looked at the two of them with a smile:

"Just these three, not many, right?"

Hill finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"No! That's impossible!" He stood up and slammed his cane into the ground. "Officer Chang, you're asking for the moon! You know nothing about the budget of the British Foreign Office! The Far East Division's special budget is only tens of thousands of pounds a year! Anything more than that requires parliamentary approval! And even those tens of thousands of pounds can't all be used in Yuanshan!"

He took a breath, gritted his teeth, and held up five fingers:

"At most... five thousand pounds! No more than that!"

Chang Desheng listened but didn't respond. He chuckled and asked:

"Lord Xi, have you agreed to my second and third conditions?"

Hill paused for a moment.

He then realized that he had been so focused on opposing the first condition that he had forgotten to express his opinion on the other two.

He hesitated for a moment before speaking:

"Whether the Yuanshan Japanese Concession is converted into the International Settlement is a matter for Japan. Britain will not interfere."

The translation is: I agree, but I can't say it out loud.

"As for the eighteen large-... " Hilton paused, " "we can provide nine outdated recoil-operated six-inch breech-loading guns. However, this requires approval from Whitehall and may take some time.

He was certain of his answer when he said that. It was precisely the time when Britain was replacing its decommissioned artillery with breech-loading guns; Singapore and Hong Kong had decommissioned breech-loading guns waiting to be disposed of. Giving nine of these guns to the Qing Dynasty to fight against Russia would be a piece of cake. Since they were just sitting there anyway, he might as well use them as a favor.

Chang Desheng nodded, then turned to look at the large stone.

Daishi gritted his teeth; he knew he had to make a statement too.

"We can provide six British-made Armstrong six-inch breech-loading rifled guns. These can be provided immediately," he said. "As for the remaining three, we may have to provide fifteen-centimeter Krupp guns."

His heart was bleeding as he spoke. Those six six-inch guns were originally intended for the Naniwa. Later, the navy replaced them with more advanced Krupp guns, and those six guns sat gathering dust in the warehouse... ...but they were bought at a high price. He never imagined they'd be given to the Qing Dynasty. "As for converting the Japanese concession into an international concession..." Oishi paused, "I can only say that it's a possibility, and everything requires approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs." Chang Desheng smiled. He knew Oishi was leaving himself a way out; saying "requires approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs" was actually a concession. "Alright." Chang Desheng nodded, "Then, let's discuss the 200,000 taels for military expenses."

He stretched out his right hand and began to count on his fingers:

"Lord Xi, Your Excellency, let's do some accounting. I currently have one battalion of infantry, let's say six hundred men. And twenty-one cannons... eighteen new cannons plus three old ones, let's call that an artillery battalion plus an artillery training corps. Let's also call that six hundred men. That's a total of twelve hundred men." He raised his head, looking at the two men:

"1,200 men, a year's salary, food, clothing, ammunition, fortification maintenance, barracks construction... all added up, 200,000 taels, is that a lot?"

Hill didn't say anything.

"Tell me, if you don't pay for this silver, who will?" Chang Desheng sighed. "How about this... The Qing Dynasty's annual customs revenue must be over twenty million taels, right? Raise the tax a little, or add some surcharges, collect an extra two hundred thousand taels, and that'll solve the problem, right?" Hill nearly jumped up upon hearing this: "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Customs duties are fixed by the treaty! How can they be increased arbitrarily?!" Chang Desheng was essentially tackling the tiger's tail—the "agreement tariff"—which effectively locked the door to China's industrialization! Theoretically, the agreement tariff rate was extremely low, only 5%, and in practice, it was even lower (because according to the treaty, the agreement tariff was levied based on the "fixed value" of the goods, and the devaluation of silver causing price increases did not lead to an increase in tax revenue), actually not exceeding 3.7%!

Meanwhile, late-developing industrialized countries all implemented high tariff policies: the United States was 49.5%, Tsarist Russia was 30%, France was 25%, and Germany was lower, at about 15%.

Because of the existence of "unilateral most-favored-nation treatment," any trade privilege granted by the Qing Dynasty to any foreign power could be automatically enjoyed by other foreign powers, but the Qing Dynasty could not demand any return from the foreign powers.

In other words, the industrial goods exported to China by foreign powers only required a maximum tariff of 3.7%, while the goods exported by the Qing Dynasty to foreign powers were often subject to tariffs of 30% to 50%.

How can we industrialize like this?

Seeing Hill howl like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Chang Desheng knew that he couldn't touch the tiger's backside for the time being.

So he shrugged and said, "Then there's nothing I can do."

He turned his head and called out, "Zhiquan!"

Duan Qirui stepped forward: "Here!"

"Pass on my order," Chang Desheng's voice wasn't loud, but it could be heard throughout the room, "Withdraw all the newly formed Korean Imperial Guards from the Japanese concession back to the Qing concession!"

"yes!"

Duan Qirui turned to leave.

Hill panicked: "It's a regular meeting! You can't..."

But before he could finish speaking, Daishi interrupted him.

"Our Japan can afford 100,000 taels!"

Da Shi practically screamed. His stomach was hurting more and more, and sweat was pouring down his forehead from the pain.

We absolutely cannot let Chang Desheng actually withdraw the Korean troops... Once they do, the Japanese concession will be finished, and he won't be far from committing seppuku! Chang Desheng turned his head, looked at Oishi, and smiled: "Your Excellency is straightforward."

Then he looked at Hill: "Lord Xi, there is only a mere 100,000 taels left."

Hill gritted his teeth and remained silent.

Chang Desheng lowered his voice, speaking in a volume only the three of them could hear:

"Lord Xi, if you don't intend to pay this amount yourselves, and don't want the Qing Dynasty to impose such a small tariff... how about this?" He leaned forward:

"As far as I know, Sir Robert Hart, the Inspector General of Customs, still has quite a bit of illicit money at his disposal. For the sake of the British Empire, spending 100,000 taels to guard against Russia shouldn't be difficult, right?"

Hill's fingers tightened around his cane.

Looking at Chang Desheng's smiling face, he suddenly felt offended.

This fourth-rank official of the Qing Dynasty even knew about Hart's "secret treasury"... No, not just knew, Sir Robert Hart's accounting skills were unparalleled. Not to mention Qing Dynasty officials, even British auditors would have a hard time finding the money he "hidden".

It's this Chang Desheng... He's questioning the character and conduct of a British civil servant?

How dare he!