Although Li Fengjie thought it was feasible, when he thought about owing such a huge sum of money, he couldn't help but shake his head: "If you borrow it, you have to pay it back, plus interest, this is a lot of money!"
"In a few days, it will be the day to start the Autumn Fu Collection. If you collect a little more per acre, it will be smoothed out." He Chengzong said, "If the bandits don't leave, I'm afraid there will be a lot of trouble in this Autumn Fu..."
This last sentence touched Li Fengjie a little. Everything the local government wanted to do must revolve around taxation, the issue that the court was most concerned about. The thieves would stay in Henan Island and send troops every day to collect grain and silver. In November
How can we levy the autumn harvest at the beginning? He Chengzong is right, as long as the autumn grain is collected, the hole of 300,000 taels of silver can still be filled.
However, these three hundred thousand taels were not a small number after all. Thinking of having to bear this debt for no reason, Li Fengjie felt very unhappy.
Why did this kind of thing that had no benefit at all fall on him? This group of Australians have such a big appetite! Thinking of this, he decided to bargain with the Australians, at least he would have to cut off a hundred and eighty thousand
Ten thousand.
At the moment, he did not comment on He Chengzong's suggestion and only asked him to step aside first.
He Chengzong felt puzzled. The next day, Gao Ju came to visit and asked the governor how he made the final decision. He finally sent Yan Xiaomao across the river to talk to the Australians in the evening.
"Your Excellency has no comment." He Chengzong said, "Your Excellency has neither said yes nor said no."
"I think your Excellency will have to think about it some more." He shouted loudly. Since he didn't say "yes", it actually meant "no". Most of the time, the governor still wanted to bargain. He sneered secretly: This is called toasting without eating.
Fine drinking.
Sure enough, in the next few days, Li Fengjie was in the city of Guangzhou, gathering troops, recruiting people, setting up artillery, and pretending to be a "fight to the death", which made everyone confused. He Chengzong thought that his boss was really coming.
As a person who "lives and dies with the city", he couldn't help but feel anxious. Several times he tried to persuade him, but Li Fengjie blocked them all with neither salt nor indifference.
Gao Ji knew that the governor was just showing off to the thieves outside the city, to make them feel timid, so that they could relent on the issue of city redemption fees.
Sure enough, one day later, Li Fengjie had to go to Lianhua Jingshe to continue the peace talks.
"Sir, if we don't have an explanation for the city redemption fee, I'm afraid I won't be able to achieve much success if I go there again."
"You are a businessman. Is it possible that you should pay whatever price others ask?" Li Fengjie was very dissatisfied with Gao Ji's attitude.
Gao Zhi said respectfully: "Sir, it depends on what kind of goods it is. If it is a rare item, of course I will buy as much as he sells."
"Okay, okay. Go and tell the thieves that three hundred thousand silver is too much and the city can't get it. Ask them to reduce it."
"How much do you think it can be reduced to..."
"This, doesn't it all depend on your ability?" Li Fengjie sneered.
"Yes, yes, I will do my best."
This attitude of course aroused dissatisfaction among the top leaders of the task force. Originally, some among the elders demanded the large-scale use of rockets to attack Guangzhou to greatly enhance the prestige of killing Guangdong bureaucrats. However, a group of elders, including Wen Desi, strongly opposed it.
This was of course not for the purpose of "protecting cultural monuments", but Guangzhou, like all Chinese cities at that time, was a city dominated by brick and wood structures. The indiscriminate bombardment of a large number of Hale rockets was bound to cause massive damage.
A fire of this magnitude might spread to the whole city.
Guangzhou is one of the richest cities in China. You can imagine how much wealth and useful human resources a city-wide fire will destroy. Many wealthy businessmen will go bankrupt as a result, and the consequences will be unimaginable. The time traveler has been in the city for several years after the war.
Can't take advantage of this city anymore.
Now, Li Fengjie's attitude has caused the idea of bombarding Guangzhou to surface again. Several veterans accompanying the team have requested this "show of force."
Wen Desi probably also felt that it was necessary to demonstrate their military power - as the saying goes, seeing is believing, lest the bureaucrats hiding in the city lack an intuitive impression of the force of the travelers. He immediately approved the plan to bombard the southern city of Guangzhou. In order to avoid
Caused large-scale losses of life and property. The shelling targets were mainly the city defense facilities in Nancheng and the post station, reception hall, dock and other facilities near the south gate.
On the evening of November 7, the Fubo Army fired more than 200 Hale rockets from preset positions and artillery boats, completely burning down many defense facilities near the south gate, including the inn and reception hall. The officers and soldiers guarding the south gate and
Zhuangyong fell into great chaos. The rockets fired by the artillery boat also focused on the majestic three-story tower on the south gate. Under the concentrated bombardment of nearly 40 Hale rockets, the three-story brick-wood structure
The tower soon fell into a raging fire and burned all night.
According to Chen Haiyang's order, several rockets were also launched into the deep government districts of Guangzhou City to show their power.
Li Fengjie spent a nightmarish night. When dense rockets began to bombard the southern city, the reception hall and the inn were on fire, and finally even the city towers were burned. He thought that the Kun bandits were about to attack the city. He quickly took some of them with him
The staff rushed to the South City Gate. However, before they got there, the officers, soldiers and brave men who had fled from the South City Gate blocked the road. Their faces were all blackened by the fireworks, and they were panicking and rolling around in the crowd.
Crossing the street, he didn't care at all about the officers intercepting him in front. After finally waiting for the crowd to pass, he no longer dared to look forward - those terrifying Australian bolides were constantly falling from the sky, in case they were hit.
It's done when it reaches the head.
"Let's go back to the Yamen!" Li Fengjie quickly ordered. Surrounded by his soldiers and family members, they hurried back to the Governor's Yamen, and another 200 Fubiao soldiers were mobilized as backup. Li Fengjie climbed up the turret and looked towards the south gate -
―The flames were blazing, turning half the sky red, and he looked very frightened. An idea flashed through his mind, if the thieves took the opportunity to break into the city, he would immediately commit suicide in the Yamen.
At this moment, more than a dozen rockets streaked through the night sky like meteors, flying straight into the deep areas of the city. From time to time they landed in the streets and government offices, and burst into flames with a loud bang.
The water gongs were beating one after another on the street, and the brave men and water society personnel rushed around to put out the fire. Fortunately, there were very few rockets fired here, and the fire started to attack without causing any greater damage. However, such shooting caused
There was greater panic.
Li Fengjie was neither in the house nor outside. The god of death falling from the sky made him feel a huge fear that he had never experienced before - in the past, as long as he hid behind the thick city wall, no matter what kind of fighting and bloody battles were outside,
None of them can disturb his head, but now the high and thick city walls cannot protect his life as they did in the past.
Fortunately, the Kun thieves showed no sign of attacking. After more than half an hour, the rocket attack stopped. The officials, officers and soldiers who had fled bravely returned to the south gate to put out the fire.
On the second day of the attack, Gao Ju left the city and agreed to all Wen Desi's demands.
As for the matter of raising money, Li Fengjie had no choice but to adopt He Chengzong's "borrowing" plan--we would wait until the immediate difficulties were overcome.
The next day, He Chengzong went to Gao Ju's house and explained this method to Gao Ju. Gao Ju was a leading figure among foreign merchants in this city, and his attitude could influence many people.
Gao Ji was noncommittal. He raised his eyelids slightly, not expecting that He Chengzong could think of such a method. Gao Ji's original plan for Li Fengjie also started with "borrowing". However, Gao Ji's loan is regulated by regulations. How to borrow and how to repay.
He had already calculated the interest rate in his mind. Yesterday, he didn't want to say it immediately in person because he wanted to avoid suspicion. In the eyes of businessmen, the government's reputation has not been very good. If one day this loan was used,
If he defaults on his debt, his colleagues will inevitably call him "fascinating", which will make him suffer a bad reputation.
Gao Ju had been thinking about how to propose this suggestion to Li Fengjie, and now that he had given it to him, it certainly couldn't be better.
"This is three hundred thousand taels." He raised his hand and slowly tapped the sides of the coffee table with his fan, "No one has ever let go of such a large sum of money."
"Of course, so we have to ask Gao Gong to help us, understand the situation, and ask all the merchants to work together. It will be easy if each household shares it."
Gao Ji smiled slightly, He Chengzong's idea was still the same as the government's "apportionment" and "encourage fundraising". In fact, as long as the benefit is big enough, you can borrow any amount of money. This Mr. He hasn't understood this yet. He deliberately adjusted his attitude and said
: "I'm afraid this matter will be difficult."
"I know it's difficult. But is there any other way to raise the three hundred thousand taels now?" He Chengzong smiled bitterly, "The Kun thieves' warships are sailing in the provincial river every day. It's clear that if they don't pay, they will attack Guangzhou. This
It’s also for the common people of this city.”
Gao Zhang nodded: "I can save it." He added: "If there is a solution, there must be repayment. There must be a regulation: how to borrow, how to repay; how much interest to pay, how much time limit to set? Let's talk it out first and see if it works.
?”
"Borrow 400,000 yuan - in addition to the city redemption fee, you also have to compensate for the loss of the Australian Herringbone House, starting with 20,000 to 30,000 silver. The thieves killed a lot of people along the way and looted a lot, and they also had to spend some money to support the place - and finally the Jingli Palace
Here, it is inevitable to have some expenses to avoid difficulties." He Chengzong sighed, "If you win a battle, it is nothing more than a reward to the three armies, and there are some expenses for the aftermath on the ground. If you lose a battle, the expenses will be endless."
Since the fall of Humen, sixty thousand taels of silver have been spent from the feudal treasury and the county treasury of each county alone. However, the money spent is not only the allocation from the feudal treasury, but also the "stipends" in the hands of merchants.
The villagers will be rewarded with money for the people, materials and expenses collected by the prefecture and county...
How much money was spent in this "Guangzhou Defense War" is already a confusing account. And in the end there was such a "city redemption fee" of 300,000!
Although He Chengzong did not know the famous saying "victory is always cheaper", he had a full understanding of failure as more money was spent. This became more and more determined that he might be reprimanded by some Ming Dynasty FQs as a "peace advocate" in the future.
The "capitulation faction" claims.
Gao Ju thought, of course, the extra 100,000 from the 400,000 miles could be used for various purposes, but a large part of it must be a "empty head" and a benefit for officials at all levels to share profits. The money has not been borrowed yet, and the benefit accounts have been done.
Okay. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel contempt.
However, as long as it is profitable and the principal and interest can be repaid when the time comes, he doesn't bother to care about how these officials make money - if they are all as clear as water and as bright as a mirror, he can still do shit business if he holds it high
.
"Four hundred thousand, five hundred thousand, let's not talk about it for now. What is the interest rate on this money, how long is the period, how to pay the interest, and how to repay the principal must have a clear explanation. Only then can I explain this to everyone."
He Chengzong has already thought about this problem: "The annual interest is one-third. It lasts for one year. The principal and interest will be repaid in one go at maturity."
Gao Zhi said slowly: "Mr. He! This charter is something that Gao cannot get through."
He Chengzong secretly scolded him as a "villain who forgets his own righteousness", but he had something to ask for at this time, so he had to ask patiently: "What do you think of the high-ranking minister?"
"I don't have any 'knowledge'," Gao Li said, "borrowing money does not mean that the government has collected taxes and paid taxes. It has to be done as it says. Borrowing money must be done with the intention of both you and me." He coughed.
, cleared her throat, and a beautiful maid who was waiting at the side quickly stepped forward and knelt down, and both parties handed over an enamel spit box.
He held it high and spit, then took the small Australian colored striped towel from another maid, wiped his mouth, and took a sip of hot tea.
"...The annual interest rate is 1/3. If 300,000 taels could be borrowed at such an interest rate, Gao himself would want to borrow it."
He Chengzong knew that this high interest rate was too low, so he was secretly alert and asked cautiously: "How much annual interest rate does Mr. Gao think is appropriate?"
"I'll tell you the truth, brother," Gao Ju said, "In our industry, during the off-season, the annual interest rate is two to two and four points. Now, since it is Mr. Fujun's face, one and eight points is indispensable."
Gao Ju went on to explain his requirements: the term is one year, and only interest will be paid in the first half of the year; in the second half of the year, the loan will be repaid monthly in six installments. It will be paid off in the 12th month.
It is said that it is a one-year loan, but in fact, the principal and interest must be repaid in installments starting from the seventh month. The actual interest is much higher than the one-time repayment of principal and interest when it is due.
However, this condition is very suitable for the government's financial situation. He Chengzong knows very well that it is impossible for the Guangdong government to come up with 470,000 taels of silver at one time. It would be easier to do it piecemeal.
"This is the envoy." He Chengzong nodded, "But this matter requires Fujun's approval."
"Of course." Gao Zhang nodded and asked, "What will I get in return?"
"Of course I made up my mind in the Qiu Fu. If I levy a few cents per acre, it will be even. As long as Gao Gong goes to tell the merchants like this, can they still not trust the province's land tax as a guarantee?"
Gao Ju sighed: "Brother He! You are really a scholar. To borrow money, firstly, there must be proof of writing in black and white, and secondly, there must be a mortgage as security. As you say, how can people be willing to take out money?"
He Chengzong was confused for a moment. In his opinion, the governor's words were not enough. In Guangdong Province, there were not many people whose words were worth ten thousand words.
"Isn't the credibility of the governor's Yamen still damaged?"
"Of course, but where's the proof?" Gao Ju saw that he didn't understand at all, so he had to get straight to the point, "Master Li has benefited the common people of the province and is busy with everything. If there are many things going on, he forgets about this matter - you say
Shouldn’t all of us who borrow money hang ourselves?”
He Chengzong was speechless. It is not uncommon for officials to default on their debts and keep their promises.
"...Even if you have an IOU, you still have to pay some debt." Gao Ju said with a smile, "One day Mr. Li was promoted, but before the money was paid back, another adult was promoted. The old man said: This
I can't borrow the money, so I don't care. Everyone has to hang himself again."
He Chengzong knew that what Gao Ju said was true, but the IOU was mortgaged. He was in a dilemma. It was unheard of for the governor's office to issue IOUs. If one or two of them were lost and were obtained by some imperial censor, Governor Li would definitely be in trouble.
Walk around.
Gao Ju knew that he might not be able to get the IOU, but fortunately he had other plans.
"There is an IOU from the Governor's Yamen, which is of course the best guarantee. But as long as there are items of guarantee, it is enough."
The mortgage proposed by Gao Ji was Yan Yin. According to the total amount of principal and interest, and if appropriate, some salt jins were added as shipping expenses, and a one-time payment was made to the borrowing merchant as a mortgage. Yan Yin was the most reputable security in the hands of the government, and the merchant used this as a guarantee.
Will never accept it.
"You can use the salt as soon as you get it, or you can resell it privately. What if unscrupulous profiteers take the opportunity to resell it?"
"This is not difficult. Just put a stamp on the salt lead and say: it can only be used after a certain day of a certain month of a certain year - this day is the day when the final repayment is due." Gao Ju said, "When repaying the loan, let everyone
Just bring some salt to exchange."
"This method is very good." He Chengzong was sincerely convinced. As expected, there is some way to do this. He Chengzong is not a rotten scholar who studies hard - otherwise he would not be able to work as a confidant for the governor. He just knows very little about business. He Chengzong
With just a few clicks, you can draw inferences. The two sides talked in secret for several hours and finally reached an agreement.
This agreement has not been made into a draft, nor has it been written down, but both parties have promised that there will be no regrets in the oral agreement. The agreed methods and conditions are:
First, the total number of loans was 400,000 taels of Kuping silver; Gao Zhi took the lead and recruited businessmen to undertake the loans.
Second, the annual interest rate is one cent and eight percent. In the first six months, only interest is paid, and in the next six months, the principal is repaid month by month. The principal and interest are paid off after one year.
Third, the loan is secured by an equal amount of salt issued by the governor's Yamen. An additional 3% discount is added. The salt is stamped with a term. The monthly principal and interest repayment amount is paid to the governor's Yamen month by month.
These three methods were reported to Li Fengjie by He Chengzong after he returned. Li Fengjie heard that Yan Yin was used as a mortgage, and he thought that this high-level proposal was really some evil idea, so he agreed immediately.
It would take some time to raise money. Li Fengjie was afraid of being bombarded by Australian rockets again, so he ordered a temporary payment of 100,000 taels from Fan Kuli, which would be escorted by special personnel and sent to the Australian camp at night. Yan Xiaomao also went with him, Xiang Wen,
The two Chens asked for an extension of three days to prepare for raising all the remaining money.