Chapter 1 Nanyang Commercial Bank

Liu Bu toad's attitude made Hu Chuyuan realize that the amount of rice in a bowl of porridge was limited.

It's a good thing to have many talents, but they all want to climb.

The South China Sea in late summer and early autumn is very unquiet. Because of the limited displacement of the surplus, 300-ton gunboats dare not cross the sea directly at all. Even if they walk along the coast, it will be very troublesome.

Therefore, Lin Taizeng and others decided to wait for another half a month and delay until October. When there is no big typhoon on the sea, they set sail from Singapore to Manila Port and Linkayan Port, then enter Keelung Port, and then cross the Taiwan Sea into Fuzhou.

After a meal together in the evening, Hu Chuyuan asked everyone to go back to rest, but left Ye Fu alone.

Everyone else left. Ye Fu drank a cup of rock tea silently and waited for a while before saying to Hu Chuyuan, "Your Excellency, you are in a hurry about this matter. You should ask me first and let me discuss it with Lin Taizeng in private in advance."

Hu Chuyuan also nodded slightly and admitted.

He has been so smooth over the years. He wants people to be rich and rich. This time, he has the secret support of two governors, which is a little negligent for a while.

Then he and Ye Fu asked, "What do you think we should do later?"

Ye Fu thought about it a little and organized it in his heart before he said to Hu Chuyuan, "I'll talk to Lin Taizeng and Ye Zukui later. Liu Bu toad, he is a smart man. To be honest, since he wants to leave, you can't keep him. He is a first-class talent. He knows which is more important. Beiyang sailors are the most important place of the court. With his talent, as long as he goes, he will definitely be valued by the court and Li Hongzhang. Staying in the Fujian sailor, with Lin Taizeng, Ye Zukui and others, his weight is inevitably lighter.

Hu Chuyuan said, "Then I'm sorry to trouble you. In the long run, it is impossible for the Yangtze River Water Division to become one of the three major water divisions in the imperial court. I discussed with Lord Zhongtang that the Fujian Water Division is the foundation, and when the time is ripe, it will be expanded into the East China Sea Water Division, which is divided into three parts. The headquarters is stationed in Fuzhou, with two fleets, one in Ningbo and the other in Qingdao. At that time, the East China Sea Division will set up an admiral and four generals, while the Yangtze River Marine Division will be simply used for the patrol of the Yangtze River, with a admiral and two generals, mainly gunboats and patrol boats below 1,000 tons, equipped with three or four main thousand-ton offshore defense ships. You can discuss this with Lin Taizeng and Ye Zugu. Just talk about space. Jiangnan Navy can accommodate a lot of talents, but don't worry too much.

Ye Fu replied cautiously, "Don't worry, subordinates must negotiate with several students carefully."

Hu Chuyuan nodded and motioned him to go immediately. Don't delay any more, so that Liu Bu toad would also lobby Lin Taizeng and others to go north.

As soon as Ye Fu left, Hu Chuyuan called Zhang Lingpu in.

Since he was sent to Vietnam to find Liu Yongfu, Zhang Lingpu has also left Hu Chuyuan for a long time. After this period of experience, he seems to be much more capable.

Let him sit down beside him, Hu Chuyuan couldn't help sighing.

After thinking for a moment, Hu Chuyuan and Zhang Lingpu said, "I have thought about it. This time when I go to Europe to buy warships, I want to send you to the British Naval School for further study, and then I will have an internship in the British Navy for another two years. I'm afraid it will take three years."

Zhang Lingpu couldn't help but be a little surprised and said, "Your Excellency...?"

Hu Chuyuan interrupted him and said, "Listen to me. Originally, I also wanted to keep you by my side and handle some special things for me. The current situation has changed slightly. The overall situation of Min Ren's specializing in the imperial court's coastal defense is difficult to change. I want you to take the opportunity to enter the sailors, promote more, and then have the opportunity to take charge of the Fujian sailors. With your ability, you should be able to study hard in the UK for another three years.

Zhang Lingpu thought silently for a moment, and then said, "Thank you for your success."

People's hearts are full of flesh.

Hu Chuyuan not only treats him very hard, but also relies on and trust. He seems to be more inclined to stay in Hu Chuyuan than serving the army. What's more, everything he can do by Hu Chuyuan's side is not simple, which also makes him feel more fulfilled.

It can not only work for Hu Chuyuan, but also serve the country and join the army. For Zhang Lingpu, it is the best of both worlds.

After a pause, Zhang Lingpu said, "Who should be handed over to the affairs of General Liu in the future?"

"One step is one step!" Hu Chuyuan is not a god. He hasn't figured it out for the time being, and he didn't have any plans at all before.

Zhang Lingpu said, "Let me recommend someone."

Hu Chuyuan asked with great interest, "Who?"

Zhang Lingpu said, "My good friend Chen Shanyuan in the Ship Administration School is also a good friend of my hometown. He is two years older than me. When he was young, he studied in a private school together. He was calm and careful and studied hard. Before being admitted to the Ship Politics School, he worked as a helper in my tea house for two years.

Hu Chuyuan smiled and said, "It's a pity that you didn't say it earlier, otherwise you could bring him here when you were in Fuzhou."

Zhang Lingpu smiled and said, "It's not too late to bring it now. Then I'll go back to Fuzhou to talk to talk to him first, then talk to him about General Liu and tell him the way to contact General Liu. It's about a month later. I'll go to England with him to meet the adults.

Hu Chuyuan asked cautiously, "Are you sure he is a reliable person, General Liu...!"

Zhang Lingpu said, "Your Excellency, don't worry, supporting General Liu is also a righteous act, but it is not appropriate for the court to know, just make it clear to him. Shanyuan is very stable and flexible. He won't be so rigid.

Hu Chuyuan nodded slightly and said, "That's good."

Most of the time, Hu Chuyuan is not a specific person to handle practical things, but he is also a decision maker.

This also determines the characteristics of his employment. If you follow him, you will naturally have space and future. Therefore, Zhang Lingpu especially wants to recommend a person to work for Hu Chuyuan to replace his current responsibilities.

Zhang Lingpu is a smart person. He knows very well that what he is doing for Hu Chuyuan now will be extremely important in the future.

Of course, he returned to the establishment of Fujian Mariners. As a close relative of Hu Chuyuan, he also has different space and responsibilities from others.

In a word, going to Hu Chuyuan is the most important opportunity in his life.

There are many benefits to working with Hu Chuyuan, which is not only Zhang Lingpu knows.

Ye Wenlan knows better.

Seeing that Hu Chuyuan was temporarily free, Ye Wenlan couldn't wait to come to him to discuss the matter of Nanyang Commercial Bank.

The imperial court has made an approval and agreed that Fuzhou Ship Administration and Yamen will invest in the establishment of Nanyang Commercial Bank to seek business for the country between Nanyang, Fujian and Guangdong and Guangdong.

Unlike Jiangnan Commercial Bank, since this capital is issued by the ship administration, it is directly under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Shipping in Fuzhou, which has nothing to do with the functions and powers of the governors of Liangjiang and the governors of Fujian and Zhejiang.

Therefore, it is purely up to Hu Chuyuan to decide this matter at present.

After talking, the two decided to make Singapore the headquarters of Nanyang Commercial Bank. Based on the total assets of 4 million taels of silver, Jiangnan Commercial Bank invested 800,000 taels of silver, and then lent 1.2 million taels of silver to the shipping government office, each accounting for 20% and 30% of the shares. Hu Chuyuan held 10% of the shares through Cathay Fund. The remaining 40% is under the control of Ye Wenlan.

Ye Wenlan also does not intend to swallow it alone. He invested 1 million taels of silver to account for 25% of the shares, and the remaining 15% is co-stocked by local Chinese merchants in Nanyang. In order to attract more Nanyang businessmen to join, he also intends to give up 1 million taels of silver discount shares.

It is equivalent to Jiangnan Commercial Bank. The imperial court gave Nanyang Commercial Bank a good deal and was exempted from paying some miscellaneous taxes. There are many transactions from Nanyang to Jiangnan. Ye Wenlan also plans to set up a Nanyang Shipping Company, with only a few freighters to operate back and forth.

Ye Wenlan asked Hu Chuyuan about the strategy of Nanyang Commercial Bank, but Hu Chuyuan only said eight words "root in Nanyang and peep at Liangguang".

With the success of Jiangnan Commercial Bank, governors and governors in various places have to handle relevant monopoly enterprises. Zeng Guozheng and Liu Kunyi set up Taiyuan Commercial Bank in Shanxi, and Shaanxi-Ganning Salt Administration in Shanxi Province. Li Hongzhang set up Beiyang Commercial Bank in Tianjin, and handled Hebei and Shandong Salt Administration, Sichuan Commercial Bank, Liangguang Commercial Bank and Huguang Investment Bureau. It rises.

Most of these commercial banks are managed by official stock merchants. The only exception is the Huguang Merchants Bureau, which is an official office set up by Li Hongzao, the governor of Huguang, and the sales of the salt industry are completely controlled by officials.

In addition to Yanzheng, these commercial banks and China Merchants bureaus also handle various industries of mining, rice, tea, oil and sugar within their jurisdiction at the same time, completely plagiarizing the Jiangnan commercial bank model, and some have also set up agricultural cooperatives.

Hu Chuyuan welcomed their plagiarism, but also sighed.

After Li Hongzao's Huguang Merchants Bureau got the unified marketing right of the salt industry, the wholesale price of salt rose to 75 cents per catty, 15 cents higher than Jiangnan Commercial Bank.

However, Li Hongzao's Hunan Agricultural Cooperative and Hubei Agricultural Cooperative are doing a good job.

Unlike him, Sheng Xuanhuai's Beiyang Commercial Bank did not raise the salt price, but his Beiyang Agricultural Cooperative is just a group of pawnshops.

Hu Chuyuan can only say that commercial banks and cooperatives cannot work together to work together for agriculture in the region, and the only significance is to make money.

It's also good to make money.

According to the information obtained by Hu Chuyuan, the Qing court has in fact been considering canceling some miscellaneous taxes to avoid that official businesses have too many advantages, and ordinary businessmen can only sit back and wait for it.

At least in this period, Prince Yi Gong