Beiyang Dream

Chapter 58 Duan Qirui, did he not discover anything?

Chapter 58 Duan Qirui, did he discover anything? (Sixth update)

Late October 1890.

It was still quite hot in Berlin at midday.

Chang Desheng jumped down from the carriage, sweating profusely, carrying a thick stack of documents in his arms—paper, parchment, and wood pulp paper.

The carbon paper stacked up was about half a foot high. Luckily, he was strong, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to lift it.

During this time, the Prussian War Academy was on summer vacation, but Chang Desheng was not destined to be idle. Hong Jun assigned him the job of "military attaché" (equivalent to a military officer) and he worked with Guo Shigui on the "Changyuan" warship.

Although the sale of the "Changyuan" warship was finalized early on, there were still a few details to negotiate, and it wasn't until early August that the "major contract" was signed. However, there were still a bunch of "supplementary agreements" underneath, so Chang Desheng and Guo Shigui were still extremely busy these days, and even Duan Qirui, Shang Dequan, Kong Qingtang, and Wu Dingyuan were also "working summer jobs." However, Hong Zhuangyuan didn't use them for free; he gave each of them an attendant position, paid at the embassy, ​​which would be considered a promotion qualification when they returned to China.

He hurried to the second-floor signing room.

Hong Jun was sitting behind a large desk, wearing reading glasses, reading the *Zizhi Tongjian*. Seeing Chang Desheng enter, he took off his glasses and smiled, "Zhenbang's here? Even on summer vacation, you're not free, coming to help out at the library. You've worked hard."

"Reporting to you, sir, it is my duty." Chang Desheng slammed the stack of documents on the table, pulled out the top one, and said, "This is the 'Changyuan's Sailors' Self-Defense Weapon Procurement Contract,' a supplementary agreement, in both Chinese and German, one in Chinese and two in German. Counselor Guo went to the shipyard to check on the keel laying today and is not in the office. This order needs to be stamped urgently, so I have no choice but to ask you to approve it."

Hong Jun took it and read the Chinese version first.

The document was beautifully written—the Song typeface penmanship was neat and tidy, and each item was listed clearly: "1. One hundred German-made Model 1888 Commission Rifles. Unit price: XX marks, total: XX marks."

"Second, it is equipped with 50,000 rounds of pointed rifle ammunition."

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"Third, standard-issue officers carry twenty sidearms."

"IV. It shall be equipped with pistol ammunition, 2,000 rounds."

"5. One hundred steel helmets."

"Six, one hundred leather weapon belts."

7. Shipment: wooden crates, made of pine wood; dimensions (length, width, and height) are detailed in the attached table.

The last line reads: Total price: 5,000 taels (equivalent to X marks).

Below is a smaller note: "This expense has been covered by the miscellaneous budget for the purchase of the ship and no further request is required."

Hong Jun looked it over twice and nodded: "Hmm, appropriate. A hundred or so guns and a small amount of ammunition are what sailors carry on board for self-defense. The number is also just right."

Actually, he only understood "five thousand taels" and "no need to request payment separately." As long as no payment is requested, then it's nothing.

He put down the Chinese version and pretended to pick up two German documents next to him.

Chang Desheng's heart was in his throat.

He prepared three versions of the contract today.

First version: This Chinese version in front of me is an "archived image" shown to Hong Jun. It is neat, extremely small, and flawless.

Second edition: The original German copy, meant for Schneider Electric, was essentially a "construction plan." It didn't list one hundred rifles, but thirteen hundred. Sixty machine guns. A whole bunch of bullets and shells—and the title didn't even use "Contract for the Procurement of Self-Defense Weapons for the Changyuan Ship's Sailors," but rather "Weapons and Training Ammunition for the Changyuan Ship's Sailors and Marine Corps!"

Third edition: The German copy submitted to the German Customs Service is identical to the original German copy submitted to Schneider Electric. This is the "reporting document," shown to that old subordinate of Prince Bismarck. Even with his strict oversight, he couldn't possibly reject the "Qing Dynasty Beiyang Armaments Purchase Contract" bearing the seal of the Qing Dynasty's minister, especially with the new German Chancellor personally intervening...

However, the inconsistency of these three diagrams would have been enough to expel him eight times over in later generations.

If the "archived contract" left at the Qing Dynasty's embassy in Germany and the "reporting contract" left at the German Customs Administration match up, then Chang Desheng will be in big trouble... unless he has already become a genuine Beiyang warlord by then!

Once he became a warlord, the imperial court had no way to punish him, so there was nothing more to it.

So, he's planted a time bomb for himself!

However, there's nothing urgent at the moment, and Hong Jun doesn't understand German.

He picked up the two German documents, looked them over from both sides, and frowned slightly: "This German—Zhenbang, can you read it to me?"

Just as Chang Desheng was about to say, "Sir, this is a direct translation, exactly the same as the Chinese version," the side door of the signing room creaked open.

Sai Jinhua walked in carrying a tea tray.

She wore a light purple cheongsam, her hair loosely tied up, and her gait graceful. She gently placed the teacup beside Hong Jun, her eyes darting around, glancing at the stack of documents on the table, then at Chang Desheng.

The two smiled at each other, understanding each other without saying a word.

"Master, what are you looking at so intently?" The voice was soft and sweet, with a strong Suzhou accent.

Hong Jun handed her the German document: "Mengwan, you're good at German, can you take a look? This is a contract for some shipboard equipment for the Changyuan warship. Zhenbang just drafted it. Counselor Guo isn't here, so I'll approve it for him."

Sai Jinhua took the document, her beautiful eyes quickly scanning the paper.

She calmly looked at the first German original, which was densely packed with more than a thousand guns, dozens of machine guns, and a huge amount of ammunition, enough to arm an army. Then she looked at the second archival copy, which contained only a hundred rifles and twenty pistols, which was rather meager.

The two documents are completely different; the word counts don't even match!

She looked up at Chang Desheng.

Chang Desheng, on the other hand, remained calm.

Sai Jinhua...that's one of our own people, she's already been knocked unconscious by Luo Jingrou with "silver paper"!

She smiled slightly, turned to Hong Jun, and said in a gentle voice, "Sir, the German is written neatly, the terms are clear, and it is exactly the same as what Zhenbang just reported."

She paused, then added, "They're just ordinary shipboard equipment, the quantity is correct, and they already have the Schneider Electric Company's stamp on them. Since you've already seen the Chinese version, please use the stamp. Don't delay the shipyard's schedule."

Upon hearing this, Hong Jun no longer hesitated. He took out the official seal, pressed it onto the inkpad, and then...

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

"Thump!"

Three documents, each with a heavy stamp at the end.

"It's done," Hong Jun said with a smile. "Zhenbang, take it and get it done. Hurry up, don't delay."

"Thank you, sir!" Chang Desheng bowed and accepted the document.

He left the Chinese copy on the table, which would be taken by Hong Jun's advisor for filing. Then, carrying the original German copy (to be given to Schneider Electric) and the German copy (to be given to German customs), he turned and left the signing room.

The door closed behind me.

He leaned against the corridor wall and let out a long sigh.

At present, Germany's arms export controls are not strict. As long as there is a contract stamped by the Qing Dynasty embassy, ​​Zhang Zhensheng and Schneider can manipulate the German customs process to smuggle the real large quantities of goods out. Once the goods are out of customs, where they are shipped is neither of the Germans' concern nor the British or French's.

He straightened his collar, preparing to go find Luo Jingrou. He had already taken care of what he needed to do, and the rich girl should give him a definite answer... such as how much the dowry should be.

But after taking only two steps, he froze.

A person was standing outside the signing room.

It was Duan Qirui.

I don't know when they arrived, they were covered in sweat and looked travel-worn, with a pair of triangular eyes staring at Chang Desheng.

Chang Desheng's heart sank.

"Zhi--Zhiquan, are you?" He forced a smile. "Weren't you in Hamburg picking up the construction supervision team? You shouldn't be back until tomorrow—"

"It's ahead of schedule." Duan Qirui's voice was calm, revealing nothing. "The ship carrying the construction team arrived a day early, and I helped them settle in. Now I'm back to report to Lord Hong."

As he spoke, his gaze swept over the two thick file folders in Chang Desheng's arms.

"Brother Zhenbang, were you just discussing matters with Lord Hong?"

"Ah, yes." Chang Desheng quickly stepped aside to make way for the doorway. "It was some paperwork. Counselor Guo wasn't here, so I asked Lord Hong to approve it. It's done. Brother Zhiquan, please go in. Lord Hong is inside."

Duan Qirui nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

He pushed open the door to the signing room and went inside.

The door wasn't closed properly.

Chang Desheng stood outside the door and, through the crack, saw Duan Qirui walk to the desk and bow. He saw Hong Jun smiling and speaking to him, asking about the situation regarding the Hamburg ship's arrival. He saw Sai Jinhua standing to the side, bending down to pour tea.

He also saw... on the desk, the Chinese copy of the military procurement contract was still lying there.

Duan Qirui could see it as soon as he looked down.

Chang Desheng's palms were sweating a little.

Don't look, don't look, whatever you do, don't look closely!

But Duan Qirui seemed to have heard his thoughts. In the intervals between his conversation with Hong Jun, his gaze naturally swept across the desk, lingering for a moment on the two documents.

Then, he turned his gaze away and continued to report to Hung Chun-ping on the arrangements for the construction team.

Chang Desheng dared not stay any longer.

He turned around and left the corridor almost as if fleeing, his footsteps echoing in the empty corridor like blows to the heart.

In the signing room, Hong Jun exchanged a few more words with Duan Qirui, then waved his hand, "You must be tired from your journey, go and rest. By the way..."

""

He pointed to the document on the table: "Take this contract to the archives in the back and have them file it. Just say it's a small order handled by Counselor Guo, and I approved it on his behalf."

Duan Qirui bowed: "Yes."

.

He stepped forward and collected the Chinese contract that needed to be archived; it was a thin document, nothing compared to the two file folders Chang Desheng had just been carrying. Duan Qirui took it, turned around, and left the signing room.

The corridor was empty; Chang Desheng had long since disappeared.

Duan Qirui wasn't in a hurry to go to the archives. He took the documents and slowly walked towards the stairwell, glancing down at them as he went.

He glanced at the Chinese document: one hundred rifles, twenty pistols, one hundred helmets — five thousand taels.

But the two file folders that Chang Desheng was carrying just now seemed to be much thicker than this—could there be other documents inside?

He kept walking, but his eyes narrowed.

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