Dear readers, do you think that after the collapse of the Qing Dynasty and Yuan Shikai stole the fruits of the Xinhai Revolution to become the new leader of the Beiyang government, how much money was left in the treasury of the Qing Dynasty?
According to common sense, since modern times, the Qing government has signed so many unequal treaties, lost so much silver, and coupled with the extravagant and drunken personal life of Cixi in the later period, the national treasury should be quite empty.
Yes, it is quite empty, after Yuan Shikai opened it, there were only 10 silver dollars inside, which frightened Yuan Shikai to take a breath of cool air, and his eyeballs almost did not fall out. Previously, the Beiyang government also promised that after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, it would allocate 3 million taels of silver to the imperial family every year to ensure Puyi's normal aristocratic life. In the face of these 10 silver dollars in front of him, Yuan Shikai was really angry.
Not to mention the resettlement fee for Puyi, even the money for the normal operation of the government. It was also angry that the Qing court spent a lot of money, and in the later period, Yuan Shikai's attitude towards the imperial family took a sharp turn, and the promised 3 million taels of silver was delayed again and again, and the last cent was not given.
So, what did the Beiyang government rely on to maintain its operation in the end? There is no money, even the salary can not be opened, want to let the horse run, do not want the horse to eat grass, where is such a good thing under the sky?
For a new government that is short of money, the fastest way to capture social wealth is usually to issue bonds. Moreover, the domestic economic ecology at that time was already on the verge of collapse, and the people had no money in their hands, and they could only issue overseas bonds, not domestic bonds.
But the newly elected Beiyang government has no concept of political economy at all, only one thing - "no money?" Then borrow it. So, the Beiyang government began a vigorous borrowing campaign, borrowing from Citibank in the United States, and then borrowing from the British HSBC, one after another, and the loan can be described as a full pot.
Of course, banks can't borrow money for free, you have to take something as collateral. The Beiyang government is poor and white, and if there is anything to mortgage, the only thing that can be mortgaged is the tariff. When Duan Qirui came to power, in order to borrow money, he mortgaged the mining rights and railway construction rights in the northeast region to Japan. Although it was not honored in the end, it created a hotbed for the subsequent Japanese invasion of China. The loan, called Nishihara Loan, totaled 145 million yen.
It is also good luck to catch up, the Beiyang government to find these Western powers to borrow money soon, the European side broke out the First World War, the great powers in the West to fight, there is no time to find the Beiyang government to repay the money, it is this time, the Beiyang government can breathe, rapid rise.
Interestingly, during the outbreak of World War I, the Beiyang government not only did not have to pay back the money, but also made a small fortune. The reason is that during World War I, the United States made a lot of war money in Europe. You know, during the war, international trade did not recognize their own paper money, and could only be traded with gold and silver, and at that time, most of the world's gold reserves were in the United States, and few countries in Europe could take out a lot. So, the value of the silver that replaced it tripled.
And which country has the largest silver reserves in the world? Even china, and only China, was the only country in the world at that time with a silver standard currency. Taking advantage of this wave of appreciation, the Beiyang government has made a lot of money by relying on silver exports, which is also another key reason for the rapid rise of the Beiyang government to recover its vitality and economy.
Of course, all this has nothing to do with the Qing government's treasury. It may be biased to say so, but to be precise, there should be a relationship of 10 silver dollars.