A Man of Science and Engineering in Troubled Times Wandering in the Late Qing Dynasty

They were chatting happily when another person walked in:
"Academician Li is not only proficient in science, but also has great attainments in engineering. I wonder if he can also give me some suggestions for Peking University's engineering majors?"

Xia Yuanwei introduced the person to Li Yu: "This is Mr. Hu Renyuan, the dean of engineering at Peking University."

Li Yu stood up, shook hands with him and said, "Nice to meet you!"

Hu Renyuan is not young either, only 29 years old.He then took over as the president of Peking University, Cai Yuanpei's predecessor.

Hu Renyuan said: "Being able to make complex patents such as automobile differentials and four-wheel drive systems makes it more suitable for you to be the Dean of Engineering at your level than me."

Li Yu said with a smile: "Education is not just about understanding, but also teaching. Engineering is of great practical significance and can provide a steady stream of talents for the industry. The responsibility on your shoulders is very heavy."

Hu Renyuan said: "I just hope that we can build large ships like the British. I have read the newspaper and found that the British have been able to build giant ships close to 300 meters. When I worked at Jiangnan Shipyard, we could only build small ships on inland rivers. Steamship.”

Li Yu said easily: "There is indeed a slight gap, but there is no need for us to keep looking at bulky things like ships."

Hu Renyuan said: "That's right, let's take it step by step and study how to make ordinary machinery first."

Li Yu said: "By the way, Mr. Hu can offer courses related to radio, automobiles, machinery, etc. in schools, which is very promising."

Hu Renyuan said bitterly: "I think so too, but there are no teachers in this field."

Li Yu said: "I can try to get in touch."

Hu Renyuan said: "Thank you, sir. As an academician, your connections are far better than mine."

In fact, Peking University's engineering program will be canceled by Cai Yuanpei in a few years, merged into other universities, and focus on liberal arts and sciences.

When it was time to eat, Yan Fu brought several teachers from the Chinese Studies Department to them and said: "Today, President Yuan's son Yuan Keding and Mr. Zhou Ziqi from the Ministry of Finance are hosting a banquet for everyone at Houdefu Restaurant on behalf of the President."

Hu Renyuan frowned: "We are from the school. We have no merit and no pay. Is it inappropriate to participate in the government banquet?"

Yan Fu said: "I think this is the president's approach to protecting education."

Just like the second-generation students with official status that Li Yu met still retained the charm of the past, the current Peking University has not completely shed the habit of being a capital university in the former Qing Dynasty. Everyone has no choice but to go together.

Houdefu Restaurant is currently almost the most well-known in the catering industry in Beijing, surpassing traditional restaurants such as Dongxinglou. The key reason is that it is a Henan cuisine restaurant.

And Yuan Shikai was from Henan, so he took good care of him, and it soon became the favorite restaurant of the dignitaries in the capital.

When Li Yu came to the restaurant, he saw a little boy jumping around by the gate with a candied haws on a stick. Someone inside shouted to him: "Zhihua, don't block the way of the guests!"

Judging from the name, this boy is Liang Shiqiu. Liang Shiqiu's real name is Liang Zhihua, and Shiqiu is his given name.

Liang Shiqiu's grandfather is the major shareholder of the Houdefu Restaurant.

Liang Shiqiu was a well-known "super foodie" in the Republic of China. He wrote many essays about food, which must be related to the environment in which he grew up.

In three years' time, Liang Shiqiu will apply for Tsinghua University and will meet him often.

Several people sat down in a large luxurious private room. Yuan Keding arrived later and said with his hands in hand: "I have kept you waiting for a long time. I have brought you something good."

Yuan Keding asked the two servants behind him to bring in two large boxes, and then reached out to open them. Inside were rows of medals.

"This is the Jiahe Medal specially customized by my father for scholars who have made great achievements in learning." Yuan Keding said.

Yuan Shikai followed suit and learned the medal system from abroad. The Jiahe Medal just launched this year is different from the traditional military medals. It can also be obtained by literati. It is indeed specially used to commend those who have served the country with meritorious service or have made meritorious achievements in knowledge. , career people.

There are nine specific levels of medals, and Zhang Jian received the highest level of medal.

But everyone was not very excited after hearing this: Why not get some substantial rewards, get a few medals just to win people's hearts?
So everyone just took it with a smile, but no one wore it.

Yuan Keding coughed dryly and thought to himself, these scholars are indeed difficult to deal with.

Then he called to the waiter: "Serve the food! Serve the best food!"

Mr. Yuan is here, so the store owner will naturally choose the best ones.The signature sweet and sour carp baked noodles, as well as other fish dishes, walnut kidneys, Luohan tofu and so on.

After the wine was poured, Yuan Keding said: "You are all educated, including my master, who I admire very much. I would like to propose a toast to you all."

After several people drank, Yuan Keding added: "Father said that education is the first priority in the world. Without education, the country cannot be strong. You are the pillars of the country. I will toast again."

This guy has been with Yuan Shikai for so long, and he always talks the same thing in the wine shop.

After drinking two more glasses, Li Yu said, "Master Yuan, just drinking wine without eating vegetables will easily burn your stomach."

Yuan Keding laughed: "Master is right! I have learned that acid-base balance is required, right?"

Li Yu said speechlessly: "Let's understand it this way."

The dishes at the restaurant taste good. After all, the sweet and sour carp baked noodles were praised by both Cixi and Guangxu back then.

Cixi has eaten countless delicacies from mountains and seas, and is good at enjoying them. She said they were all good, and she couldn't go wrong.

Yuan Keding said to Li Yu again: "Master, my father said that he wants his sixth brother to go to your Tianjin Middle School or Nankai Middle School to lay the foundation for studying in the UK in the future."

Li Yu asked: "Why must it be Britain?"

Yuan Keding said: "My fifth mother likes Britain. She has always guessed that Britain is the real Europe."

Yuan Shikai's fifth aunt was very favored. The "sixth brother" in Yuan Keding's mouth was born from the fifth aunt, named Yuan Kehuan, and the fifth aunt had warned her son not to enter politics since he was a child.

Yuan Kehuan is not well-known among Yuan Shikai's sons, but he has always been an industrialist with a strong sense of justice during the Republic of China. During the Japanese occupation of Nanjing, he also used his special status to save the lives of more than 3 Nanjing residents.

Li Yu said: "If you want to study abroad, you must learn English well and have preliminary new learning skills."

Yuan Keding said: "My sixth brother is very interested in new learning and wants to visit Europe. He will definitely study hard."

Li Yu said: "That's good, otherwise even if you have money, you won't be able to adapt to the UK, and you might drop out of school and come back."

Yuan Keding smiled and said: "I will warn my sixth brother."

Halfway through the meal, Zhou Ziqi mentioned one more thing: "The president is going to make our own silver coins instead of using foreign money. He also hopes that the university will come up with a design." Yan Fu said, "Shall we mint our own coins?"

Zhou Ziqi said: "Exactly."

Yan Fu said: "According to foreign tradition, wouldn't it be enough to just print the president's face on it?"

Zhou Ziqi said: "The front is like this, so what needs to be designed is the pattern on the back. In addition, I also hope that the chemistry teachers at your school can help with the testing and analysis of the materials. This is a serious matter."

What he was talking about was naturally the famous Dayang, also known as "Yuan Datou".

Li Yu suddenly remembered: "Material analysis? Beijing Mint?"

Zhou Ziqi nodded: "That's right."

Li Yu then asked: "I remember Mr. Liang Qichao said that he introduced a graduate of the Chemistry Department of Kyoto Imperial University to join the mint."

"The Imperial Master is very well-informed. This is indeed the case," Zhou Ziqi said. "This man is called Fan Xudong, and he is the younger brother of Deputy Commander Fan Yuanlian."

Fan Yuanlian is currently the Deputy Minister of Education.

As for Fan Xudong, he is even more famous than him and is known as the "Father of China's National Chemical Industry." Great people praised him as one of the four industrialists that the Chinese people cannot forget.

Li Yu said: "I want to get to know Mr. Fan."

Zhou Ziqi smiled and said: "Do you also want to do chemical analysis at the mint? I really didn't know that the Imperial Master also made achievements in chemistry."

"That's not true," Li Yu said, "I just want to join hands with Mr. Fan to do some business."

"I see," Zhou Ziqi said, "You cannot enter or leave the mint at will. I can help you send a message."

Li Yu said: "Thank you."

Letting Fan Xudong continue to do material analysis at the mint is really a bit unfair. We must quickly let him start the soda ash industry, which can make a lot of money during World War I.With money, the business can continue to grow.

Zhou Ziqi is Yuan Shikai's little financial expert. If he asked "Yuan Datou" so anxiously, it must be that Yuan Shikai was already promoting the "big loan for the aftermath."

Nanjing was short of money, and Yuan Shikai in Beijing was also short of money.

The large loan for the aftermath originated from a huge loan of 1000 million pounds that had been made before the Qing Dynasty fell. However, only 10 was received, and the Qing Dynasty was gone.

So Yuan Shikai "naturally" changed it to a large loan for the Beiyang government to deal with the aftermath, and the people he wanted to "remediate" were naturally the southern revolutionaries.

This incident was one of the direct triggers of the Second Revolution.

Yuan Shikai increased the amount to 2500 million pounds, with an annual interest of 5%, interest payments twice a year, and repayment in 47 years. The principal and interest totaled more than 6700 million pounds, with salt taxes and customs duties as collateral.

The large loan for the aftermath was approved by a consortium of banks from five countries (Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and Japan; there was originally Citibank of the United States, but it withdrew midway).

What needs to be said is that the banking group did not directly lend funds to the Beiyang government this time, but issued bonds separately.

In order to raise funds quickly, the banking syndicate agreed that the actual sales price of the bonds would be 90% of the face value, plus a 6% commission, so the actual funds available to the Beiyang government would be 2100 million pounds.

——As for why the Beiyang government does not issue bonds on its own, firstly, it lacks the ability and experience to operate in the international financial market; secondly, the Beiyang government’s credit is too low and it is difficult to raise large amounts of funds in a short period of time.

Although Yuan Shikai's subordinate Zhou Ziqi is very good at financial management and is known as the "financial master" of the Beiyang government, his clever trick is nothing more than taking out a loan from the UK, converting it into US dollars in the United States, and then converting it into pounds in the UK to buy cheap Japanese goods and resell them at high prices. Go out and make big profits.

This is normal international trade. If it can be carried out properly, it is actually the way to go. Unfortunately, Yuan Shikai is too anxious.

The banking group were all professional financiers, and they easily grasped Yuan Shikai's psychology.

In addition, the banking syndicate also deducted the due payable Gengzi indemnity, provincial and local borrowings, compensation for losses caused by the 998 Revolution, etc. In the end, the Beiyang government actually received approximately 1000 million pounds in funds, which was less than 1 million and almost equivalent to [-] million. .

It's so black-hearted, isn't it? !
How could a normal government accept such a loan contract with extremely harsh conditions?

Therefore, the Kuomintang faction in the Congress did not recognize it at all, not to mention that Yuan Shikai directly agreed without formal Congressional approval.

There is no "Temporary Agreement" in my eyes, so this will be the end of it!
In addition, Song Jiaoren was assassinated, and the second revolution finally broke out.

And speaking of this aftermath loan, it has not completely ended until more than 100 years later.

Originally, when World War I broke out, the Beiyang government declared war on Germany, and the Russian Revolution occurred, the money from the German Bank and the Russian Bank should not have to be repaid, but in fact it was not the case. The money from these two companies did not stop paying, nor did it decrease.

As mentioned just now, this loan is very special. It is raised in the form of bonds. The role played by the bank is actually the bond issuer and underwriter, not the creditor.

The actual holders of almost all bonds are investors from various countries (including a large number of mainland Chinese businessmen) and investment institutions.

Bonds have a unique attribute in finance: the creditor can be changed through transactions without knowing the debtor.Therefore, the interest payment agreed on for the large loan after the aftermath will not be credited to the bank, but only to the bond and the corresponding coupon (each bond comes with 94 coupons).As long as the creditor can present a valid instrument, the interest will be paid and the principal repaid (the principal will be repaid when the last interest payment is made).

In short, even if the Beiyang government does not recognize those two banks, it will not reduce the related debts. In 1921, the Beiyang government's finances went bankrupt, and the interest on the large loans for the aftermath was paid as normal.

Therefore, the conditions of the loan contract signed by Yuan Shikai were really too harsh, almost like an unequal treaty.

People on the Internet ridiculed "Tang poems, Song lyrics, Yuan operas, Ming novels, and Qing treaties," but it turned out that even in the Republic of China, they still didn't escape from the "treaties."

Perhaps Yuan Shikai also knew that he had fallen into the trap set by the five-nation bank group, but he was willing to do so.

Li Yu did not have these worries when he borrowed money from Rathenau, Germany, because firstly, Li Yu borrowed marks, not pounds; secondly, he borrowed not bonds, but cash.

Germany does value industry and real money.This is the reason why Li Yu caught him harvesting wool. He really didn't feel too happy to show Mark off during the first battle.

The Beiyang government's large-scale debt repayment did not stop paying until the Anti-Japanese War.As of 1939, the Republic of China government had paid a total of 3600 million pounds for the aftermath of the large-scale borrowing, accounting for approximately 53% of the original principal and interest.

It is generally believed that the aftermath of the Great Loan ended in 1939.But in fact, it did not really end. For example, in 1987, China and the United Kingdom formally signed the "Agreement on Mutual Asset Requirements Leftover from the History of the Two Countries" for the purpose of normal financial exchanges in the future.

According to the agreement, China will pay 2346.8008 pounds to the UK, and the UK will pay US$380 million to China.To end the claims of citizens of both countries on each other's assets and old foreign debts including bonds (relevant claims will then be transferred to the respective governments).

It is because of this incident that the borrowing notes for the aftermath of the big loan were not considered as meaningless dead debts by investors in the bond market and are still listed for trading.

It seems that there is one on the Paris Stock Exchange, but the value is already very low.