Qin Zheng sighed and said, "This number is not an exaggeration. In the old time and space, Japan spent a total of 1.86 billion yen to win the Russo-Japanese War, which is equivalent to British pounds, which is about 191 million pounds. Therefore, it is very reasonable for us to formulate a war budget of 100 million pounds."

Wang Yunpeng spread his hands and said, "No matter whether it is reasonable or not, where does this money come from? Even if you issue more currency, it is impossible to issue 800 million silver dollars. It will only cause serious inflation."

Xu Jichao said: "How much is Japan's annual fiscal revenue now? How can they afford this huge sum of money?"

Qin Zheng said: "I don't have the data on Japan's annual fiscal revenue now, but when the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, Japan's annual fiscal revenue was about 8,000 yen. Considering that Japan's national strength is in an upward period, it is now calculated that 160 million yen should be about the same, which is equivalent to British pounds, which is 16.5 million pounds."

Xu Jichao said: "Japan's financial situation is not better than us, so where did Japan's 1.86 billion yen used for war come from?"

Qin Zheng said, "It is mainly to raise debts. In order to win the Russo-Japanese War, Japan raised a total of 680 million yen for domestic debts, and the issuance of foreign debts reached 927 million yen."

Xu Jichao calculated silently and said, "The total amount of debt borrowed exceeded 1.6 billion yen. Good guy, it turns out that the Russo-Japanese War was fought by borrowing money, so we can only raise funds for the war by borrowing money."

Qin Zheng also smiled bitterly and said, "Besides this method, I can't think of any other method."

Xia Bohai said: "It's fine if there is a way, but who will lend us money to Guan Jian? Lao Qin and Japan borrowed money from."

Qin Zheng said: "It is mainly Britain, Germany and the United States have also borrowed money to Japan. In fact, it is not accurate to say that borrowing money is raised, because most of Japan's foreign debt is raised in the form of issuing war bonds, and the money actually borrowed from banks is only a small part. If we want to raise funds for war, issuing war bonds should be a good way, but the risks are also high, and we can basically only find these countries."

Xu Jichao sneered and said: "Germany currently has a good relationship with us, and we also need us to provide military technology. Therefore, the issue of issuing bonds in Germany is basically not a big problem. On the Java issue, we have had a lot of conflicts with the United Kingdom. I think that unless Japan was not doing well in the early stages of the war, the United Kingdom would not let us issue bonds. Now Guan Jian is the United States. If it can issue bonds in the United States and Germany and raise some of them in China, it should be enough to raise 800 million silver dollars."

Wang Yunpeng said: "I have another question. Even if we can raise funds for the war by issuing bonds, the money will eventually have to be paid back, and it also includes interest, 100 million pounds. Even if it is 5% interest, it will be 5 million pounds in a year, which is about 42 million silver dollars, which is half of our current fiscal revenue. If we want to return this money, we mainly rely on the compensation from the war."

Xiao Jianjun nodded and said, "Yes, we must use war compensation to repay the debt. Of course, the war compensation we ask for must be far more than those who pay the debt."

Wang Yunpeng said: "But in the old time and space, although Japan won the Russo-Japanese War, it did not receive a penny of compensation. Of course, I do not deny that Japan's profits after the Russo-Japanese War were huge, but it was indeed a big loss in terms of war reparations. Therefore, it is not ruled out that we will face this situation in the end. If so, what should we do?"

Xiao Jianjun said: "This question should not be answered by our soldiers. The responsibility of a soldier is to win on the battlefield, but to gain greater benefits at the negotiating table is the task of politicians. What a soldier can do is to cooperate with the negotiations of politicians, right?"

At this time, Xia Bohai said: "Let's discuss this issue next, and we can't discuss it today. In short, the army just needs to fight a good war and win the war. The government will be responsible for other matters. What do you think of the war plan of the Military Commission? Is there any problem?"

Qin Zheng said: "I think it is generally feasible, but some details need to be considered and further improved. Since it is done in terms of plans, the more the better, of course, any plan cannot be successful in one go, and it needs to be revised many times. Therefore, I think this plan can be discussed at the Executive Meeting, and some requirements can be determined. After all, we don't have much time to prepare."

Wang Yunpeng said: "As long as the problem of raising funds can be solved, I think it is feasible."

Xu Jichao also said: "I think so too."

Xia Bohai said: "Then it's decided, Lao Xiao, I'll give you two days to sort out the plan and then discuss it at the administrative meeting. Lao Qin will also participate."

Two days later, the East China government recruited the Executive Council to discuss the war plan made by the Military Commission. Overall, the members did not have much objection to this plan, but only put forward some opinions on some details, and in the Executive Council, many requirements in the plan were also determined.

The first thing to be determined was the navy's shipbuilding plan, and agreed to start the project of building battleships immediately. After all, this time, there is no need to withdraw funds from the government. The navy paid for it by itself. The two Qingzhou-class protective cruisers built in China have been launched. The Ministry of Administration also agreed to build two more. Bi Jing lost two battleships, saving a lot of money for the finances. There is still money to build two more protective cruisers.

The Army's plan to call cars to traction artillery was also supported by the members of the Communist Party. After all, the East China government has been successfully operated for two years. The members have clearly seen the pros and cons of the East China government. Although it seems that the East China government is indeed booming and a prosperous scene, the three structural contradictions are basically unsolvable. First, the shortage of funds for development is because industrialization is a huge gold-eating beast, and only large investment can bring great benefits. The previous investment was mainly supported by the more than 90 million silver harvested by the East China government from Beijing, but by this time, the remaining ones

With less than 30 million, it will only support the difficulty in maintaining large-scale investment next year. Second, the region is too small and the population is insufficient. Shandong Province has only 150,000 square kilometers and more than 30 million people. Whether it is region or population, it is not enough to bear the ambitious goal of the East China government; Third, it is insufficient resources. Although Shandong is considered a resource-rich province in China, it is difficult to supply the industrial development needs of the East China government. Moreover, the East China government currently needs to export some resources and withdraw development funds from outside. Therefore, if you stick to Shandong Province, then the development space of the East China government is actually very limited.

This Russo-Japanese War is the best time to resolve these three structural contradictions. As long as you win this battle and obtain land, region and resource problems in the Northeast can be solved. Obtaining war compensation from Japan and Russia can solve development funds. Therefore, you must do your best to mobilize all available resources and fight this battle with all your strength. As long as you can use it, you can naturally use it. Not to mention that the army only requires 30-40 cars, even if you need to use it all, it is also a waste of time.

The Army also approved the construction of armored train guns and the project was immediately confirmed.

The final decision is to issue war bonds and raise war funds. After all, this is the most feasible method now, and everyone comes from the old time and space, and they are not rejected by this business model of borrowing money and making money back. After discussion at the Executive Council, it was decided that the current is mainly to issue bonds abroad, but to remain unchanged in China. After all, the domestic acceptance of bonds is low because bonds are mainly subscribed by someone. If no one subscribes, the purpose of financing will not be achieved. Either the issuance of the sale or the price issuance is reduced. This is the risk that the issuance of bonds needs to be faced. The East China government is not afraid to take this risk now, and the East China government has not been established for a long time. Now, it will inevitably attract some controversy when issuing bonds in China. Therefore, it is not too late to issue bonds in China on the eve of the East China government joining the war or after participating in the war.

Bonds issued abroad should be conducted in batches. After all, the East China government will not participate in the war immediately, which can reduce risk and interest expenditures. Without hesitation, it should immediately contact and negotiate with Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom, and strive to issue 20-30 million pounds of bonds before 1904, so that the East China government will have enough funds for preparation.

So after the executive meeting ended, the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Commercial Committee immediately met with the German Consulate to order another battleship in Germany. Of course, like the previous warships, one was also built in Shandong, and materials and equipment were purchased from Germany. Germany also had to provide technical support, but an additional requirement was put forward, that the delivery date of this warship must be before May 1905, otherwise huge compensation would be required.

It turned out that in the Sino-French War in 1883, the Qing court was defeated in the Mawei Naval Battle and the Fujian Navy was wiped out. The two warships of the Dingyuan and Zhenyuan built by the Qing court in Germany should have been delivered in 1884. If these two warships could return as scheduled, they would inevitably pose a huge threat to the French Navy. However, Germany delayed the delivery of ships on the grounds of neutrality, and it was not until the Sino-French peace talks in 1885 that the two warships were delivered to the Qing court.

In this war, once the East China government participated in the war, Germany would likely detain the warships built in Germany on the grounds of neutrality. Therefore, they must accept the warships before the war begins and at least leave Germany. The time node for the East China government to participate in the war was the Tsushima Naval Battle held on May 28, 1905, and the East China government set the delivery date of the warships before May 1905.
Chapter completed!