Wild North America 1846

Chapter 594 The Price of Unification

Author: Portuguese toothless

a few days later

After handling the demarcation treaty matters, His Highness Tang Li Xin set out to return. After a short stop in Fubo City (Massawa), he will return to Suez City on the "Bad Wind" armored cruiser and head to Cairo to start a new round of foreign affairs.

Activity.

In the room of the Yunzhong City City Hall, Wu Youcai, representative of the North American Colonization Bank, met Duke Surel and his entourage. The two sides immediately conducted multiple rounds of negotiations on the Ethiopian debt issue, but the results were not satisfactory.

The reason for this lies more with Wu Youcai.

Relying on the fact that Duke Surel and his party did not understand the financial situation of the empire and did not have a deep understanding of international credit, Wu Youcai made a bold request for an annual interest rate of 13.5% for this loan worth 1.2 million Tang Yuan, and added many additional

condition.

One is to require the tax revenue from the two ancient cities of Gulsum and Magdala and part of the territory to be double mortgaged to ensure the safety of the funds.

Secondly, the loan period is set at 6 years, and there will be a 5% penalty interest for overdue interest. This may cause the annual interest rate of the entire loan to exceed 18%, which is a quite astonishing figure.

Thirdly, this loan was paid in three batches, namely, the first week of 1873 after the loan agreement was signed, and the first week of June 1873. The loan interest rate was calculated from the time the agreement was signed, which was invisible.

Interest rates were raised again.

Fourth, no less than one-third of this loan will be used to pay for the hiring of the Chinese-American Cowboy Musketeers, which is 400,000 Tang Yuan.

This is equivalent to Ethiopia borrowing a loan of 1.2 million Tang Yuan, but only 800,000 Tang Yuan was actually received, and the remaining 400,000 Tang Yuan was left in the accounts of the North American Colonization Bank as mercenary expenses.

On the one hand, this ensures the interests of the mercenaries. On the other hand, it increases the deposits of the North American Colonial Bank. If you want to remit it back to North America, you only need a diplomatic email.

The name, address and deposit amount of the depositor are detailed in the diplomatic email. The head office of the Bank of America is responsible for allocating the funds, and there is no need to actually escort the cash back to North America.

For this remittance of 400,000 Tangyuan, the North American Bank earned 20% of the international transoceanic exchange fee, which is 80,000 Tangyuan.

This amount of money can only hire 1,200 Chinese Fusiliers for one year, and that's if the combat mission is not intense.

average

It costs about 160 Tangyuan to hire each Chinese Musketeer soldier, plus combat allowance, attendance allowance, equipment subsidy and other expenses, the total is about 330 Tangyuan per person.

This price is not high, and is only about four times the income of ordinary workers in North America. You must know that this is life-saving money, and all of them are cavalry.

In just a few days

The North American cowboys who poured into Cloud City formed the Ethiopian Legion, and selected five mercenary leaders to meet with Duke Surel, and finally decided on a plan to hire 1,200 cavalry.

After several days of anxious negotiations, Duke Surel, forced by the current internal and external difficulties of the John-Nice IV dynasty, could only grit his teeth and agreed to most of Su Youcai's demands, except for the issue of double pledge.

It's okay to pledge part of the territory for a loan, and you can bear the high-interest loan if you bite the bullet. Anyway, if you can't get this life-saving loan, the dynasty of John Nice IV will be in a precarious situation, and it may not be able to survive for a few more years.

The biggest problem is that the North American Colonization Bank also requires the tax revenue of the two ancient cities of Gulsum and Magdala as collateral. These two ancient cities are the hometown of the Tigray tribe and the headquarters of the northern Tigray Kingdom. How can they be mortgaged?

?

Even if Johannes IV sadly retires from the throne, he is still the chief of the Tigray tribe and a powerful figure in a separate kingdom.

Duke Surel, a confidant of the emperor and a member of the Tigray Tribe Council of Elders, shook his head like a wavy drum and said: "Impossible... This is absolutely impossible, and it is also impossible for His Majesty, the King of Kings.

Agree. You'd better change the conditions, this request is too much."

"Oh... I don't think it's too much. Imperial North American Bank always pays attention to credibility and protects the safety of funds. If you don't default on the double pledge, nothing will happen. It's just that the funds of our bank's depositors are much safer.

It's just a guarantee. If we can't get satisfaction, we can only say sorry, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to continue our cooperation." Wu Youcai's face was filled with a spring breeze, but his attitude was extremely tough, and he took advantage of the other party's weaknesses and refused to give in.

Duke Surel could only smile bitterly after hearing this. It was almost impossible not to break the contract.

Wang Chengxian, the newly formed mercenary leader of the Ethiopian Legion, was a middle-aged man with a beard. He glared at the wealthy Wu Youcai below with his bell-like eyes, muttered a few words, and refrained from reprimanding.

These black-hearted bankers are too greedy and are more ruthless than mercenaries.

However, we all belong to the Tang people camp and have been taught by His Majesty the Emperor for many years that we must work together and work together. Every Tang person overseas is a blood compatriot and must help and love each other. Internal strife is strictly prohibited.

Imperial newspapers and public opinion have also carried out propaganda for many years, using both positive and negative examples to repeatedly emphasize the importance of national unity.

A chopstick is easy to break, but what about a pair of chopsticks?

Wang Chengxian is a captain and retired officer of the imperial army. He lives a prosperous life, is bold and chivalrous, and especially loves the adventurous career of licking blood on the edge of a knife. That's why he hangs out with a large group of North American cowboys in their twenties and thirties, and is publicly recommended as a great leader.

leader.

The British businessman Ryan Jacks at the negotiation site did not speak either. He is now a special construction consultant of the Yunzhong Provincial Preparatory Office. With a generous salary, he cherishes the big stage provided by His Highness for him, and wants to

To do something good.

Everyone has different pursuits. Ryan Jacks only hopes to live up to what he has learned, build bridges, pave roads, mine, repair dams, and leave a mark in the construction of Yunzhong Province. That is what he dreams of.

Son.

It was impossible, both emotionally and rationally, to speak out from Duke Surel's point of view. Remaining silent was the best way.

Silence fell in the conference room

Considered for a long time

Duke Surel sighed and asked with a frown, "Can the loan agreement be signed on the spot?"

"Yes, but returning to Gulsum must be approved by His Majesty the Emperor and signed with a seal before you can receive subsequent payments."

“How much money can I get for the first payment?”

"It's worth 400,000 Tang Yuan, but it includes four months' salary paid to the mercenaries, totaling about 140,000 Yuan, so you actually got about 260,000 Tang Yuan."

"It's useless for us to get Tang Yuan. Can we exchange it all for supplies here and send it back?"

"No problem. North American Bank will provide thoughtful services for large customers. You can write down the list of supplies you need and we will collect them as quickly as possible."

"Last question, can your bank agree to use black slaves or other materials to offset the account?"

"Oh... yes, but the price of black slaves is not high, and our requirements are very strict." Seeing that he could make a lot of money again, the smile on Wu Youcai's rich face became more sincere, and he immediately said seriously;

“Your Excellency the Duke;

You know that banks are not good at dealing with human trafficking, so the black slaves we can accept, regardless of gender, must be between 15 and 20 years old. They must be physically strong and without disabilities. Men must be taller than 5 feet and women must be taller than 4 feet 2 inches.

, Teeth are neat.

Black slaves who meet the above standards are priced at 20 Tangyuan for men and 12 Tangyuan for women, with a total number of 12,000 per year.

If the quantity is larger, we will lower the price."

You black-hearted banker!

Duke Surel gritted his molar teeth, stood up and stretched out his hand and said, "May the fire from hell ravage your greedy soul, deal!"

"Excellent, your distinguished Duke, you will not regret today's decision. This is a good deal for you and me." Wu Youcai smiled and high-fived the other party, and did not forget to send words of comfort.

His pricing for black slaves was simply an insulting cabbage price. The entire Africa had experienced hundreds of years of black slave trade. How could Duke Surel not know the price of black slaves?

According to Wu Yongcai's requirements, such an outstanding young black slave would cost at least 80 yuan, and a beautiful female slave would cost even more than this, one price per slave.

Shipping to Brazil costs at least 300 Tang Yuan per piece, and shipping to the Confederate States of America starts at least 450 US dollars (note; the value of US dollars is equal to Tang Yuan). A strong male black slave is even worth thousands of dollars, and it is not surprising that a beautiful female black slave costs 1,500 US dollars.

.

But the question is not whether they are beautiful or not, but based on the per capita calculation, male black slaves cost 20 yuan and female black slaves 12 yuan.

Even if this price is sold to Najd, Jordan or Lebanon on the other side of the Red Sea, it will cost at least 100 yuan. If it goes through the Suez Canal and reaches Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, the price will double again, at least 230~

Starting from 250 Tang Yuan (note; the value is approximately equal to the local currency).

But there was no way. Ethiopia did not have the ability to export black slaves, and it had to repay the Tang Yuan loan. It was Tang Yuan who borrowed it and repaid it to Tang Yuan. So these high-quality black slaves could only be sold to the North American Colonization Bank to offset the loan.

Duke Surel did not have any burden in selling black slaves, and the black slaves on the Ethiopian plateau have always been tall and healthy, especially the female slaves, who were well-proportioned and beautiful, and were the best source of goods.

In order to implement Emperor Johannes IV's dream of unifying the Ethiopian plateau, what is most urgently needed now is military support. The loan must be converted into a large amount of weapons and equipment to buy guns, gunpowder, tents, mules, horses and carts, and all military supplies.

And use the newly hired musketeers to escort them back.

This is the top priority and the most urgent thing to do.

If the dream of reunification cannot be realized, then everything is just a glass phantom that disappears in the wind. No matter how harsh the conditions are, what's the use?

Duke Surel had his own logic, so he gritted his teeth and endured the oppression.

His Majesty the Emperor will then launch a series of wars, which will inevitably produce a large number of prisoners of war. Selling the prisoners of war at a low price to offset part of the loan has become a feasible option.

This is the price paid in the unification process. His Majesty Johannes IV must understand it, right?