Chapter 223 My Gift
As in the past, it is Zhang Hao's habit to take two hours off after noon every day for many years, especially in this hot summer. This is even more so. This is not because he is lazy, but because of the need to adjust his busy work and relatively tense emotions. Only in this way can he do more good work.
As the diplomatic representative of Nanjing's political axe in Europe, he even created the "miracle" of yesterday in Britain, Paris the next day, and Berlin on the third day. It is an indispensable condition to be sober in diplomatic negotiations. Diplomacy is no small matter, and any negligence may lead to the loss of national interests. In the past As the business representative of the company, he can tolerate minor negligence, but now he dares not be careless.
After lunch, he talked with the officials of British diplomats for a few more hours, so that Zhang Hao did not return to his house until 5 p.m. He slept according to his habits. At night, he had to go to a banquet. Although it was not a diplomatic banquet, he also needed to devote himself to it. He had just slept for less than half an hour. He felt that someone was pushing his shoulder. When he woke up, he saw that it was Fubo, an old seaman he had invited to Chinatown in Hamburg.
"Mr., hurry up! Madam, please go to her place. It may be urgent. She asked you to go there immediately!"
A few minutes later, Zhang Hao drove his "Yangma" car, which was to promote that it was assigned to him by the Mustang Automobile Company, but now it has been "misappropriated" by him. The car rumbled on the busy streets in the evening and went straight to Sterling Manor in the suburbs. On the way to the suburbs, you can sometimes see some men and women on an outing in the suburbs. When they see this red car passing by, they always show some envy on their faces.
Perhaps the Mustang car is not expensive. The vast majority of the middle class can buy a Mustang, but the limited output makes the order early as 1909. Rare things are expensive, but Mustangs are not rare and expensive. While adhering to the original price, more and more British, French and Americans have to be anxious. Stay with your own wild horse.
When the car was driving towards Sterling Manor, the lady with "an angelic eyes" came to his mind. She was the young lady of the Sterling family. The title of Sterling's family is only a viscount in the fifth-level aristocratic title, but this family can also be regarded as a member of the royal family. In the wife's body, there is also the blood of the royal family, but probably the wife, even Miss Catherine, who inherited the title, is not clear whether it was the able ancestor who gave them royal blood, but the newspaper only mentioned that one of the distant relatives of the Sterling family was the one who was in the 17th century. The dead Charles I, as for how far away this family is, I'm afraid even she herself can't tell.
If it hadn't been for the failure of their father, Viscount Sterling's investment and the bankruptcy ban, the Sterling family would still have had a seat in the House of Lords, although the viscount was the least qualified among the nobles in the House of Lords. The Sterling family does not have the glory they imagined, but after all, they have British royal blood. Although it is a little far away, even so, the country still does not agree with this lady very much.
But as a prospective diplomat, Zhang Hao knew very well that Edward VII had admitted his wife as his cousin, and those palace ministers even found evidence from history books that the Sterling family had the inheritance of the Duke of Buckingham, the second since 1687. George, Duke of Buckingham? After the death of Villiers, the noble title was abolished because there was no post-death title.
Edward VII is ready to recognize the Sterling family's inheritance of the Earl of Buckingham. Anyone knows that the title of Duke of Buckingham is actually a gift from the British royal family to his wife, a title that matches his future identity. For Britain, this may be the prevailing "marriage**" in Europe. A way to expand politics to Asia.
"I don't know what I would think if I knew this news in China!"
Thinking of the news from the royal minister, Zhang Hao sighed helplessly. The original identity of his wife was not happy in China. If he added a "duchess of Buckingham", he was afraid... To a certain extent, Zhang Hao appreciated this lady very much, but his personal appreciation could not be changed. He was very stubborn in China. The wife of politics is the words and accusations of foreigners.
"It's okay, there are still many people who support Madam!"
When I was thinking about it, the car had already driven into Sterling Manor, which was redeemed by Miss Ji Li when she returned to England last time. As soon as I entered the magnificent garden, I saw two rows of old elm trees, which happened to form a grove, leading to a tall and spacious house with Palladian-style pillars on the front. The central part of the house is covered with ivy, which looks very old. At this time, Duan Sha is standing in the doorway facing Zhang Hao.
"Mr. Zhang, madam has been waiting for you!"
"Miss Duansha, do you know what's going on?"
Duan Sha shook her head, and then led Zhang Hao to the living room. The wife sat in the living room. Whether in the eyes of Ruissa or Zhang Hao, the wife was a very unusual person. A woman like her, who was gentle, elegant and beautiful, was rarely seen even among the nobles in London. She has fair skin, golden hair, clear and bright sapphire-like eyes, and her beautiful face, which is really beautiful.
"Madam!"
After a respectful salute, Zhang Hao sat down after his wife asked him to sit down.
When she raised her head, Ji Li still had a habitual smile on her face.
"Mr. Zhang, I'm going to send a gift to China!"
"Gift? China?"
Mrs.'s words stunned Zhang Hao. He looked at his wife and didn't understand what she meant.
Ji turned her eyes to the house where she was. After sending the Fishers away, she had been thinking about one thing, that is, the resistance of the Chinese to her. Although she was in England, Catherine and others kept sending her telegrams to tell her that something had happened in China. Naturally, her resistance to her at home. What I know.
When he insisted on marrying Chen Moran, the British objected and even said that he humiliated the whole British aristocratic class. Countless Chinese people praised their courage, but now there are more Chinese people who care about their identity. Don't they understand that when they marry Chen? When he was silent, he was already a Chinese.
"When I became his wife, I was already a Chinese. As a Chinese, I have the obligation to do something for China!"
"Madam, you have been working hard to open the Foreign Affairs Bureau for Nanjing, which is also reported in China..."
"Isn't it humiliating to say that "women are outside"?"
Ji Li said with a helpless smile.
"Germany said that it will recognize Nanjing in the near future. Isn't it the result of your efforts?"
"It's more about your efforts!"
Ji Li did not take credit for Zhang Hao and his party. According to Nanjing's instructions, they signed orders of up to 100 million marks in Germany. In addition to 10 million marks of munitions of munitions, they were at most industrial machinery and equipment, which also involved up to 600 patent transfers. A huge amount of orders changed Germany's treatment of China. Du, this is not her effort.
"Madam, there is no need to take care of the views of the people!"
"Mr. Zhang, do you know how European observers view China's future?"
Ji Li asked rhetorically!
"They don't think that after the restoration, China can choose a republican regime. The Chinese are used to the emperor. The vast majority of peasants and gentry can't choose a president. They will choose an emperor, but this emperor is different from the past "emperor of the Qing Dynasty" or "a certain king" in Europe. He He is the "emperor of the Chinese". The difference in one word is a big mystery. The former represents the divine power of the monarch, the king is responsible to God, or the emperor is responsible to God, while the latter is generated by the referendum of the people, which is equivalent to the royal power of the people after the monarch signed the sacred social contract with the people. They believe that the future Chinese system may be similar to Greece and become a republic with a crown!"
With that, Ji Li took a deep breath and stared at Zhang Hao in front of her.
"The foolish view of the people, whether in the future my husband will become the emperor under the condition of the people's power or the president, one thing is undeniable, that is, his power comes from the people, that is, the foolish people's opinion in your mouth gives my husband power and status! Without the support of those people, my husband would never have got everything. Whether it was the emperor or the president, it was not his wealth that ultimately made him, but the people! The people can push him to the throne, and they can also remove him from the throne.
Her words, which were not loud, sounded like thunder in Zhang Hao's ears, so that he couldn't speak for a while. Finally, when he felt that he had woken up from the shock, Zhang Hao looked directly at the sitting lady in front of him. He wanted to find a trace of pretentiousness in this beautiful face, but what he saw It's just the calmness in a pair of beautiful eyes. The previous words were by no means pretentious, and the wife's heartfelt words.
"Madam!"
As he spoke, Zhang Hao stood up and made a deep bow.
"I think your words alone are enough to win everyone's respect!"
The same heartfelt words came out of Zhang Hao's mouth. Ji Li didn't expect Zhang Hao to say this. In her opinion, the previous words were just a matter of course. In her opinion, whether she got or lost, it would be the people who would make the final decision. That's why she was very concerned about the people's recognition of her and also hoped to get the people's recognition of herself. Just like getting her father-in-law's family's recognition of herself, she cares very much.
"I hope I can use my own actions to tell all Chinese that I am a competent Chinese wife. Although my skin color and appearance are different from theirs, I am also a Chinese!"
Ji Li's tone seems to be a little urgent. She knows that she should defend her family and love no matter what, and all this is equivalent to whether the Chinese agree with her.
She never wants to see her husband lose what he deserves because of herself. That's why she hopes to exchange her gifts for the public's good impression of her. The good impression is always cultivated slowly.
While speaking, Ji Li put a document with the British Admiralty on the coffee table.
"Buy them and buy them, and they will be a gift for the Chinese people when I return to China!"
He just glanced at the open file. Zhang Hao was almost as shocked as before. He looked at the two numbers above in a stickingly and looked up at his wife.
"Madam, this...this money..."
"I'll figure it out by myself!"
When thinking about it, Ji Li looked around the living room in front of her, hoping that her sister could agree to herself!
"Madam, if you want, you can use the funds of the ruling plan. After all, this is also for the country!"
Zhang Hao gently reminded, "No! That's the money of the political axes, not what I can use. I didn't get permission to buy them, not to get the permission of the political axes, not to mention that I hope to take this opportunity to get the recognition of the public! Even if it's my father-in-law's money, I won't use it! I want to buy this warship myself!"
Ji Li shook her head and said that she knew that the so-called funds transferred from the government were actually flowing out of their own homes. The refusal of countries to hand over customs to Nanjing made the expenses of the ruling axe very tight, although nearly 20 million pounds of loans were obtained from foreign banks and industrial banks in the form of guarantee of industrial companies. Even so, it still can't meet the huge expenses of the ruling axe.
In order to alleviate the economic crisis of the ruling axe, the ruling axe issued 20 million pounds of bonds, while the prince himself took out more than 16 million pounds to subscribe to the 20-year and thirty-year bonds of the ruling axe with a face value of 18 million pounds, even the two million pounds of bonds. There are still many difficulties.
After all, a bond issued by a new regime that has not even been recognized by the outside world has a certain risk in itself, not to mention that the interest rate is low. In the end, the bonds of two million pounds are still absorbed by domestic banks and banks in Shanghai, Jiangsu, Hubei and other places.
Money!
The money of the ruling axe is not sufficient. It costs money to fight, buy machines, and also costs money to run a school. It also costs money to build Nanjing into a capital. If people who oppose themselves in China know that they "spend money indiscriminately" in Europe will only make them more disgusted with themselves.
"Madam, this is not a small amount!"
Although he didn't know how much it would cost to buy the two warships, Zhang Hao still reminded him. Although she is rich in power, her wife obviously doesn't want to use the money in power. She needs to use these two warships to express her attitude to the people.
"Madam, Miss Catherine's telegram from Shanghai!"
Hearing Miss Catherine's telegram, Zhang Hao immediately realized that his wife's family is also a rich businessman in Shanghai. Her sister owns a bank. Is she going to borrow money?
(to be continued)