Warlords: Rising from the Northwest Border and Sweeping Across the Powers

Chapter 386 Su Zhengyang's invitation puts forward conditions

"Oh! My dear friend, President Su, I am sorry to bother you by calling you so late. I want to talk to you about the issue of the French Commercial Bank's warehouse being sealed and the goods being confiscated."

On the other end of the phone, Su Zhengyang smiled.

"Consul Frank, I have heard about this matter. I didn't expect you to call me late at night to ask about it. My people told me that a large amount of opium, munitions and other contraband were found in the No. 1 warehouse of the French Trading Company. It is reasonable and legal for our people to take them away."

Frank was silent for a moment, then spoke again: "President Su, there is a saying in China that a frank person does not speak in a roundabout way. Let me be frank. The total value of this batch of goods exceeds 100 million oceans. Even for a financially strong French trading company, it is still a huge loss. I hope President Su can return the goods to them for the sake of the friendly relationship with the French Empire."

Su Zhengyang said firmly: "Consul Frank, the diplomatic friendship between our Northern Frontier and the Frankish Empire cannot override the laws of the Northern Frontier. I'm sorry, I can't help you with this matter, but if you really want to discuss this matter, you can bring the person in charge of the French Chamber of Commerce to Beilong City in two days. I will meet with you in person and discuss the relevant matters with you."

Frank's heart sank, and he changed the subject again, "President Su, Frege, the director of the French Commercial Bank's warehouse, is my distant cousin. Can you give me a little face and release him first?"

Su Zhengyang hesitated for a moment and then said, "Frege openly led the company guards to shoot at our Northern Frontier government soldiers. This has seriously threatened the personal safety of our soldiers. However, for the sake of Consul Frank, I can release him. But he made a mistake after all, and he has to pay a price. How about asking him to pay 500,000 francs as spiritual compensation for our soldiers?"

According to the current international exchange rate, 500,000 francs is roughly equivalent to about 300,000 oceans. He was beaten just for cursing at the Northern Frontier Army. 300,000 oceans in compensation is really a bit too much.

However, when you are under someone's roof, you have to bow your head, so Frank could only grit his teeth and agree on behalf of Frege.

After hanging up the phone with Frank, the US Consul, the British Consul, and the Austro-Hungarian Consul also called one after another. Unlike the arrogant and domineering attitude of these consuls of the previous powers, when facing Su Zhengyang, they all tried their best to maintain a friendly attitude.

Now everyone knows that Su Zhengyang is an erratic madman. If he is angered, God knows whether Su Zhengyang will once again send troops to surround the concession and directly raze it to the ground.

Su Zhengyang also gave them almost the same reply, inviting them to come to Beilong City in two days for a meeting on the matter.

Two days later, the Northern Xinjiang Government Central Government Building was solemn and dignified, and the consuls of various countries and the heads of major foreign companies arrived one after another. They were dressed in suits, looked solemn, and walked into the conference center on the ninth floor with heavy hearts.

The conference center on the ninth floor was decorated in a simple and elegant manner. The spacious conference room was filled with neatly arranged tables and chairs. Sunlight shone through the huge windows onto the floor, illuminating the entire space. The consuls and the heads of the foreign companies exchanged pleasantries, and the atmosphere was slightly tense. They knew that this meeting was crucial to the future of the major foreign companies.

In a corner of the conference center, Su Zhengyang had been waiting for a long time. He had an upright posture, a calm temperament, and his eyes revealed determination and confidence.

His appearance caused a slight commotion, and everyone cast their eyes on him. With Su Zhengyang's arrival, the meeting officially began, and people focused their attention on him, waiting for his speech.

"Consul Frank, hello. Consul Reed, we meet again. Consul Douglas, you still look as elegant as ever."

Su Zhengyang greeted the consuls present warmly. Among them, Edward, the newly appointed British consul who was sent to China from England, was particularly polite and humble towards Su Zhengyang. After all, the death of the former consul Sir Will was a lesson for them.

In the conference room, after everyone sat down, the head of the French Trading Company, Baron Dupont, was the first to speak: "President Su, we have always maintained good diplomatic relations between the French Empire and Northern Frontier. Why did the Northern Frontier government suddenly order the closure of our warehouse and forcibly take away our goods? I hope President Su can give a reasonable explanation."

Before Su Zhengyang spoke, Foreign Minister Fang Dihu, who was sitting next to him, spoke first: "Sir Dupont, what I want to say is that you should not question our Northern Frontier government, but review the internal problems of your company. Knowing that opium and arms are contraband and cannot be transported into Northern Frontier territory without the Northern Frontier government's customs approval, why did our people search your warehouse No. 1 and find a large amount of arms and opium?"

Dupont was slightly stunned, and then immediately retorted: "Minister Fang, I disagree with you. Our French Trading Company has always done things this way, and there have never been any problems. No one has ever come to ask about it. You, Northern Xinjiang, are destroying the friendly relationship between us."

At this moment, Su Zhengyang looked directly at DuPont and said, "The past is the past, and the present is the present. After I, Su Zhengyang, became the president of Northern Frontier, I have zero tolerance for anything that violates Northern Frontier's laws. In this matter, we are not targeting people, but the matter itself. If Sir DuPont continues to question the fairness of our actions, I think it will be difficult for our talks to make substantive progress."

Su Zhengyang's firm and resolute words made everyone present suddenly realize that Northern Xinjiang today is no longer the same as before. Su Zhengyang is a tough guy who has never compromised with any powerful forces. It is impossible to make Su Zhengyang make concessions by putting pressure on the Northern Xinjiang government with such a tough questioning tone.

Frank stopped Dupont from speaking again, and said to Su Zhengyang with a smile: "President Su, I admit that this is the fault of the French Trading Company, but if we want to take back this batch of goods, I wonder what price we have to pay?"

Frank knew clearly that continuing to pester him would only make things worse and even completely anger Su Zhengyang. Instead of doing that, it would be better to directly ask Su Zhengyang about his bottom price and redeem the goods directly.

Roman Zalt, the head of the Austro-Hungarian Roman Trading Company, interrupted with a dissatisfied look on his face: "President Su, Citibank, Jules Trading Company, and even the French Trading Company all have a large amount of contraband in their warehouses, but our Roman Trading Company has never sold opium and arms, but its warehouse was also sealed and its goods were forcibly taken away. Shouldn't Northern Xinjiang give a reasonable explanation!"

Su Zhengyang put away the smile on his face, stood up, looked down at Zart, and said word by word: "I did not find any contraband in your warehouse, but the things inside make me hate them even more. Tang tri-colored glazed pottery, Warring States bronze wares, and a large number of Chinese cultural relics are all treasures of our Chinese culture and represent our profound historical heritage. I, Su Zhengyang, will never tolerate someone taking them out of the country like a thief!"