Beiyang Dream

The rain was still falling in Yuanshan, pattering on the eaves of the Qing Concession telegraph office. By the time it reached inside, it had become a dense, continuous patter.

In the dimly lit hall on the second floor of the telegraph office, the table was littered with cups and plates, a time when the guests and hosts were enjoying themselves.

Chang Desheng sat in the main seat, with the model old man to his left and Okura Kijuro to his right. Daishi sat opposite him, and Cao Kun sat diagonally to Chang Desheng, holding a wine glass, his cheeks flushed, his eyes glazed over, looking like a lump of mud, ready to slide under the table at any moment. At the last seat was Li Zuyuan, who hadn't drunk much, his back ramrod straight, appearing somewhat reserved, like someone visiting their mother-in-law's house for the first time.

As for the British Consul General Hill, he should be on the HMS Azov discussing with Baron Colef when the Six-Party Talks could begin! Those foreigners can talk their business while we drink and have our own, without missing a beat.

Moben suddenly put down his wine glass, his gaze intense as he looked around before speaking.

"I spent some time in St. Petersburg back in the day, negotiating the Russo-Japanese Treaty of Amity with the Russians for a full two years and four months!" Chang Desheng thought to himself: This time, the Six-Party Talks should be conducted in the same way! Let them negotiate for two or three years, I'm not in a hurry, it's you Japanese who are in a hurry. You can take your time negotiating, I'll just be able to swindle money, cannons, and territory. By the time you've finished negotiating, I'll have swindled the money, trained the troops, and become the principal of Whampoa... no, I mean, Nanpu. Damn it, then everything will be flourishing, full of vitality!

"I know those people's temperaments all too well!" Moben said, his voice seemingly carrying a pent-up resentment that had been building up for years. "They see us East Asians not as equals, nor as friends, but as easy prey to be slaughtered!" Judging from his words, it seems he suffered no shortage of contempt during his years in Europe.

Chang Desheng thought to himself: You're just an oddball Japanese. You became president, you split Japan, and when you suffered discrimination from white people, instead of trying to whitewash yourself and join Europe, you wanted Asianism... Are you really Japanese? Did your dad pick you up at the Nagasaki docks?

The model picked up his glass, took a sip, and said:

"London, Paris, Berlin... it's the same!"

Li Zuyuan paused, his hand holding the wine glass pausing, his gaze sweeping over Chang Desheng and Oishi's faces. Oishi Masami's lips moved, as if he wanted to debate with the model, but ultimately he said nothing. He probably felt it wasn't appropriate to argue with a senior figure who had been a president.

The model's gaze fell upon Chang Desheng.

"Chairman Chang, there's something I've been thinking about for years." His voice lowered, as if he were discussing a secret, "The three East Asian countries—Qing Dynasty, Japan, and Korea—have a combined population of over 400 million. Their resources are incredibly abundant: coal, iron ore, gold, silver, copper…you name it! Their land is also incredibly vast, about two million square kilometers larger than all of Europe combined!"

He stretched out his hand and drew a large circle on the table, almost knocking over his wine glass.

"If the Qing Dynasty, Japan, and Korea could unite, advance and retreat together, and develop hand in hand..." He paused, raising his voice slightly, "Western colonial power in East Asia could be driven out in at most thirty years! If the three countries cannot unite, and even become hostile to each other, they will not be able to escape European colonization for one hundred and thirty years!"

He spoke with unusual agitation, his beard trembling as if the autumn wind were sweeping through foxtail grass.

Chang Desheng remained calm and composed, holding his wine glass as if listening intently.

But in reality... what he was thinking was:

What's the point of telling me this? Go tell it to your future prime ministers, ministers, and zaibatsu! Aren't you Japanese the ones who most want to leave Asia and join Europe, the ones who most want to be watchdogs and colonies for white people?

Even you, an Asiatic, aren't a good person. Your Asiaticism is nothing more than you becoming industrial bases, with China and North Korea providing you with raw materials and markets... just colonization under a different name.

Dream on.

The model, completely unaware of Chang Desheng's inner thoughts, continued his impassioned speech:

"Chairman Chang, you understand the world; you should know that Bismarck's resignation would profoundly change the landscape of Europe. Wilhelm II did not renew the Reinsurance Treaty. The fuse between Germany and Russia... has been blown!"

He stretched out his finger and tapped it on the table, as if emphasizing something.

"The alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary tightly bound Berlin and Vienna together. Without German mediation, the contradictions between Russia and Austria-Hungary in the Balkans would inevitably deepen. At the same time, Paris and St. Petersburg were drawing closer... In just a few years, two camps would emerge on the European continent: one of Germany and Austria-Hungary, and the other of France and Russia."

He raised his eyes and his gaze fell on Chang Desheng.

"Britain will not stand idly by. Although London may aspire to glorious isolation, it will certainly step in when a dominant power emerges on the European continent! As for which side it will stand on, that will depend on the balance of power between the two sides."

He picked up his glass and took another sip.

"Therefore, a major European war comparable to the Napoleonic Wars will inevitably break out in ten, fifteen, or twenty years..." The model looked at the expressionless Chang Desheng, his eyes filled with anticipation, and his voice suddenly rose:

"When the white people of Europe were fighting amongst themselves and had no time to look eastward, the opportunity arose for the Qing Dynasty, Japan, and Korea. But opportunity only favors the prepared."

The table fell silent for a moment.

Oishi Masami lowered his head, seemingly examining his wine glass, his fingers tracing the rim. Cao Kun appeared slightly drunk, his eyes half-closed, his large head bobbing up and down, clearly about to fall asleep. Li Zuyuan sat motionless, his neck hunched, seemingly lost in thought. Chang Desheng leaned back in his chair, his face still expressionless.

But he was already making plans in his mind...

That old Japanese devil, while talking about ideologies, was really just scheming for business. He said, "Resources are incredibly abundant," "Coal, iron... we have everything," which translates to, "Your Qing Dynasty and Korea have mines, we have factories, bring them over."

However... his words did give me a wake-up call.

You Japanese want North Korea's coal and iron resources, right? Fine, I'll give them to you. But how, where, and whether you'll share them with others... and what kind of mess you'll create after you take them—that's for me to dig.

Thinking this through, Chang Desheng put down his wine glass, cleared his throat, and finally spoke:

"Your Excellency's vision is truly admirable."

He paused, then turned his gaze to Kijuro Okura:

"Speaking of which, before I came to North Korea, I had just discussed a project with Mr. Zhang, the head of the Luanzhou Coal and Iron Joint-Stock Plant—the Duanchuan Coal and Iron Joint-Stock Plant. Duanchuan is not far from Wonsan, and it has both coal and iron resources. It is also near the sea and has a small fishing port that can be expanded to accommodate large ships. There is coal and iron there... and North Koreans have always had their own iron smelting workshops. If we can set up blast furnaces and open-hearth furnaces, the pig iron and crude steel produced can not only supply the North Korean market but also be sold to Japan."

Kijuro Okura, who was slowly sipping his drink, paused upon hearing this, his eyes lighting up.

Chang Desheng saw this and understood what was going on. He continued:

"It's a pity that Zhang Huiban doesn't value the resources of Duanchuan. Luanzhou has far too much coal and iron resources. He has high aspirations. Mr. Okura is an expert in industry. He should be interested in the coal and iron of Duanchuan, right? It's not far from Japan. If we can connect the entire line of mining, smelting, and transportation, the cost can be at least 30% lower than importing from the West."

Kijuro Okura put down his wine glass and leaned forward slightly: "I've also heard of the person you often mention, Tanakawa. But I wonder... how you plan to proceed with this project?"

I fell for their trap!

Chang Desheng thought to himself: Duanchuan is still northeast of Wonsan, only 200 kilometers away from Vladivostok... If this is developed, it would be like putting Japan's iron ore resources under the guns of the Russian Pacific Fleet.

When the First Sino-Japanese War breaks out... I'll let the Russians in!

By then, your Japanese steel mills will be built, but the ore will be in the hands of the Russians. Won't that lead to a war?

Having made up his mind, he picked up his wine glass again, took a sip, and said slowly:

"My idea is... a joint venture between Korea and Japan. Korea provides the minerals and land, while Japan provides the capital and technology. Profits are split equally between the two." Okura listened, but didn't immediately respond. He picked up his wine cup, took a sip, then put it down, tapping his fingers on the table as if calculating on an abacus. The Okura group had been eyeing the Duanchuan project for a long time. There were indeed coal and iron mines there, but the quality was far inferior to that of Luanzhou. Duanchuan's coal was anthracite, unsuitable for coking, only for fuel. While the iron ore in Duanchuan could be used for iron smelting (the Koreans were already doing it), and the reserves were decent, the grade was low, and there was no coking coal nearby. It was understandable that the Zhang family head at the Luanzhou plant looked down on it. But what the Qing Dynasty considered worthless iron and coal mines were like delicious rice balls to the Japanese Okura group!

Japan is poor in iron and coal. There is only one iron ore mine in the whole country with exploitable value, which is the Kamaishi Iron Mine. The grade is quite high, but the reserves are too small. It is also an old mine that has been mined for many years. Now, it can only mine a maximum of 20,000 tons of iron ore a year.

Japan has neither iron ore nor coal for coking. Currently, Japan doesn't even have a single "Western-style" ironworks using coke ovens! The only relatively large-scale ironworks, the Kamaishi Tanaka Steel Works, still uses charcoal to smelt iron, producing only a few thousand tons annually, and even then, only iron, not steel. Having to import steel, how can Japan possibly "leave Asia and join Europe"? How can it remain the hegemon of East Asia?

At present, the Qing Dynasty has launched two steel mills with a capacity of 50,000 tons each, one in the south and one in the north! In particular, the Luanzhou plant is a "double pithead plant", with coal on one side and iron on the other. The reserves are both amazing, so they can just keep going and work hard.

If Japan continues to struggle with the steel bottleneck, it will eventually be mired in the Asian quagmire by the Qing Dynasty and will never be able to join Europe... Therefore, whether or not Japan has its own steel mills is not an industrial issue at all, but a political one!

If the Okura Group could secure a reliable supply of raw materials by developing the iron ore mine at Danchon in Korea, and then establish a Western-style steel plant in Japan... even if they still had to import coke, even if the annual output was only 10,000 tons, even if the project was unprofitable after completion, as long as they could solve the "have" and "not have" problem for the Army, the Okura Group could still double its money back from other sources under the Army's protection! Thinking of this, a smile appeared on Okura's face:

"I find the proposal from the Executive Yuan very feasible. The Ōkura Group is willing to invest in the Tanchon Coal-Iron Joint Venture... but I wonder if North Korea is willing to cooperate with us?"

Chang Desheng also smiled:

"With Mr. Okura's words, I can rest assured..."

He turned to look at Li Zuyuan:

"General Li, Duanchuan is your territory. Experts from the Ōkura Group may be coming to Duanchuan County for exploration and investigation soon. You'll have to cooperate." Li Zuyuan quickly replied, "Rest assured, sir, I'll take care of everything. However, if Japan is truly to participate in the development of Duanchuan's coal and iron resources, I'm afraid His Majesty's decree will be required."

Chang Desheng smiled and nodded: "Don't worry, I'll personally speak to your king!"

He paused for a moment, then said, "To unite with Japan and develop the coal and iron ore of Duanchuan is what the Qing and Japan need to jointly resist Russia. Lord Yuan also supports it." Hearing that Yuan Shikai also supported it, Li Zuyuan was relieved.

With Yuan Shikai involved, what obstacles couldn't be overcome?

Seeing that Li Zuyuan had agreed to cooperate, Chang Desheng raised his glass towards Da Cang.

The two clinked glasses.

Chang Desheng downed the wine in one gulp, put down his glass, and turned another page in his mental tragedies.

The pit that was dug in Duanchuan is now half-dug.

Yes, it's half, and Natalie has to help with the other half... I wonder if the Russians hired Germans as their mediators? Let's wait for Hill's good news!

Once the Okura Group's money and equipment arrive, once they've set up the coal and iron mines in Tanakawa, and once they've transported the ore from Tanakawa back to Japan for steelmaking... then, when the First Sino-Japanese War breaks out and the Russians enter the market, they'll be able to cut off this supply chain.

Aren't you going to fight?

We have to fight, whether we like it or not!

Okura also put down his glass, exchanged a glance with Moben, and then turned back to Chang Desheng:

"Chairman, it's getting late today, and the Russians' attitude is unclear, so some details are inconvenient to discuss. If you have some free time tomorrow, would you be so kind as to visit the Okura Group's newly established branch in Motoyama? I have some key details of the cooperation that I would like to discuss with you in person."

Chang Desheng's heart skipped a beat: A branch store? A private talk? Yuanshan is now firmly under my control, and you need my help... so you're going to give me some more benefits, right?

His face remained expressionless as he smiled and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

"Since Mr. Okura has invited me, how could I refuse? I will pay him a visit tomorrow afternoon."