Chapter 75: HSBC

Watching Liu Yongfu stand at the table and meticulously check the accounts himself, pointing out even the slightest error, Liu Qing truly admired his diligence. Over the past year, everyone in Xiliuying had become skilled in writing and drawing—talented officers who could even create military maps with contour lines. Though the Black Flag Army had made progress under such an atmosphere, it still fell short of Xiliuying.

Liu Yongfu was the first to recognize all the numbers—whether in Chinese characters or Arabic digits—he could now easily calculate to seven digits without error. “Liu Daban, there’s no mistake!”

Liu Qing smiled and said, “If you need funds, just let me know and go to the bank.”

Over there, Liu Yongfu cleared the abacus. “Liu Daban, that’s obvious. But tell me too—how much can I withdraw per day? So you won’t have trouble.”

Liu Qing replied with a smile, “With you handling the negotiations, you can withdraw whatever amount you want. I’ve specially prepared 100,000 ready for use at any time. But…” He leaned in and lowered his voice. “It’s best not to exceed 30,000 per day and 70,000 per week. Too much might cause problems. It’s better to inform us in advance so we can prepare.”

Liu Yongfu understood the principle of letting things develop naturally. He simply smiled and said, “That’s good. I plan to improve conditions for my men soon. I’ll inform you first and prepare to withdraw 20,000. Get ready ahead of time.”

“No problem!”

While they discussed this, someone in Haiyang was also closely observing the Black Flag Banknotes. FatherNguyen Van Minh stared intently at the bill and asked in a very calm tone, “Qiao, is this the currency issued by the Liu bandits?”

Qiao Erchi, former leader of the Yellow Flag Army, though defeated at the Red River outpost, had gained even more attention fromNguyen Van Minh, who regarded him as a right-hand man. “Qiao, this is very bad news for France.”

IfNguyen Van Minh was consistent—though he had a Vietnamese name, he was still a true Frenchman—then Qiao Erchi was like a banana man wearing a yellow skin. “Yes, it’s very bad for France. From my observations upstream of the Red River, Black Flag Banknotes are in circulation in various northern regions, with an estimated total of over 100,000 issued.”

FatherNguyen Van Minh was not just an ordinary priest. He had participated in suppressing the Paris Commune rebels and understood deeply the significance of paper currency for a military group.

He glanced up. On the bookshelf were Bibles and Gospels, along with many French books. Outside the window lay the sky and land of Haiyang.

This was Vietnam.

It was also a sacred land given to France by God. After losing Alsace and Lorraine, all French people awaited the moment for revenge. But before that, France needed more colonies to prepare for the inevitable war.

France needed Vietnam.

Such thoughts passed throughNguyen Van Minh’s mind: “How is the circulation of the Liu bandits’ paper currency? I only know that it’s also appeared in Haiyang.”

Qiao Erchi said in a highly solemn tone, “Ten Black Flag Bank notes are equivalent to six or seven silver piastres. The Liu bandits forced this kind of military currency to gain credibility. The Vietnamese people are overwhelmed and in need of the French’s salvation.”
“That day is not far off,” Nguyen Huu Minh said with a gloomy expression. “The French Parliament has already discussed increasing military funding for the Vietnamese colonies. The day when all of Vietnam is restored is near, and Qiao…”
Qiao Erchi clenched the cross on his chest, waiting for Nguyen Huu Minh’s next words. Nguyen Huu Minh continued in a missionary-like tone, “You are our France’s most loyal friend, and you must be rewarded handsomely.”
Nguyen Huu Minh’s voice was magnetic and inspiring. “But before that, I think there’s one task I need you to carry out.”
“I am willing to serve France and God. I want to become a reliable Frenchman,” Qiao Erchi said passionately. “The Liu bandits and the Black Flag bandits are our greatest enemies. Right now, they’re using this military currency to exploit the poor Vietnamese civilians, forcing them to suffer. We must save the Vietnamese people.”
“I am willing to serve God!” Qiao Erchi picked up the Bible on the table. “I want to become a French citizen.”
Nguyen Huu Minh had already received authorization from the Archdiocese of Hanoi. “We must undermine the credibility of this currency and ruin these bandits’ schemes. I’ve asked the Governor of Cochinchina whether we should forge similar Black Flag Bank notes.”
“But after inspection, the governor found that the anti-counterfeiting measures on these notes are quite good. Although not as good as our franc notes, they are still of high standard, and their circulation is very limited.”
“If we start producing such notes, it will cost millions of francs. The bandits will easily declare them invalid, so we decided to use another approach.”
“Since this year, churches under the Archdiocese of Hanoi have received Black Flag notes donated by believers, with hardly any piastres at all…”
He couldn’t help but sigh. This showed that the Black Flag notes had already gained considerable credibility. But the fact that believers donated them indicated one thing: their credibility was still insufficient. Compared to piastres, both believers and others lacked confidence in them and preferred to spend them rather than keep them.
As for good currencies like francs, pounds, and gold coins, believers wouldn’t spend them once they got them but would keep them safe. Yet, more and more Black Flag notes would appear in the market—this was the law of bad money driving out good.
Therefore, Nguyen Huu Minh saw an opportunity. “Not only the Archdiocese of Hanoi, but also churches in Saigon and Hue have received such Black Flag notes donated by believers. The churches can’t refuse such kindness, but…”
“They can’t spend them either. If the churches use these notes, it would mean recognizing their legitimacy. Well, it’s said that the Oriental Bank of Commerce has also received such notes, but exchanges are done privately, not publicly.”

If the French accepted such banknotes, it would be a French-style disaster. So, Nguyen Huu Minh found a way to use these accumulated banknotes: “So far, we’ve collected about eight thousand Black Flag banknotes.” “That’s a huge number!” Nguyen Huu Minh continued, “We can collect even more. We must use these banknotes as our weapon—second only to the Bible!” In fact, the main reason for angering the Archdiocese of Hanoi was the rise of the Hoa Giáo. Now in Tonkin, Hoa Giáo already has over ten thousand followers, and its growth is accelerating rapidly. Where do their followers come from? Most of them are taken directly from Catholicism—sheep snatched away from the Catholic Church. This is especially evident in the provinces upstream of the Red River, where churches have been devastated twice over, left in ruins. The failure of the Catholic Church wasn’t just due to the strong support of the Black Flag Army and the Xiliu Camp; the Vietnamese authorities also welcomed it. Now in Hanoi, Hoa Giáo has also drawn away thousands of followers. But to defeat Hoa Giáo, one must first defeat these two main backers—the Xiliu Camp and the Black Flag Army. Relying solely on two North Vietnamese marine companies is far from enough. The Catholic Church has always liked to engage in various schemes, and now another one has emerged: “If we suddenly release a large amount of banknotes in a certain area, guess what kind of chain reaction might occur?” “Genius!” Qiao Erchi praised repeatedly. “Father, you’re truly brilliant.” “The Archdiocese of Hanoi has given me authorization to withdraw ten thousand Black Flag banknotes. Where do you think would be the best place to release them?” “Baosheng! That’s the best choice.” Qiao Erchi knew well that Shanxi was the stronghold of the Xiliu Camp, with strong influence there, and the Black Flag banknotes had the highest credibility there. Even releasing twenty thousand banknotes might not yield much effect. Baosheng, on the other hand, though the base of the Black Flag Army, had weaker credibility for these banknotes. Over the years, the Yellow Flag Army and the Archdiocese of Hanoi had planted their agents in Baosheng, ready to stir up chaos at any time. “Releasing ten thousand Black Flag banknotes in Baosheng would definitely trigger an avalanche effect. But personally, I think this amount is still too small.” Qiao Erchi had disguised himself and visited Baosheng recently. With a quick thought, he came up with an idea: “We can’t take down the Black Flag Bank, but…” He remembered there were many small institutions in Baosheng that exchanged Black Flag banknotes for silver dollars. These institutions were weak; give them five hundred Black Flag banknotes, and they wouldn’t be able to exchange them for silver dollars. The only slightly larger institution was that warehouse, but it wasn’t strong enough either—two thousand Black Flag banknotes would be enough to bring it down. “I think if we take down these peripheral institutions, we can then trigger a run on the bank and completely collapse the Black Flag Bank.” His idea was still based on a chain reaction, but it was clearly more thorough than Nguyen Huu Minh’s. Nguyen Huu Minh nodded. “It’s difficult for us French to enter Baosheng, but we’ll send people to persuade Liu Yongfu soon. You go with him… Well, I’ll try to secure an extra two thousand Black Flag banknotes for you.”

He thought for a moment: “We’ve placed pieces near Bao Sheng that will all work with you. We’ll spread rumors in advance about the collapse of Hei Qi Bank, and once you start a run on the bank, many others will follow.” Rumors combined with mass withdrawals were an unsolvable problem in any era, and this time, Ruan Youming had laid out a plan to deal a heavy blow to Xi Liu Ying. Especially paper money like Liu Yu’s military bills, in an era when precious metal currencies were also in circulation, was extremely fragile. Ruan Youming seemed to see the scene of Hei Qi Bank collapsing. He didn’t know that Liu Yu was already preparing to go from Shanxi to Haifang. This unforgivable sinner was now invited by the Haifang branch of Oriental Bank of Commerce for a courtesy visit, with both sides planning to discuss some interesting topics. Oriental Bank of Commerce’s biggest client was Xi Liu Ying, and mutual trust had been built through long-term cooperation. This time, Liu Yu brought a large amount of franc banknotes for repayment. Liu Yongfu’s wisdom ensured that the 220,000 franc banknotes prepared by Hei Qi Bank were completely useless; in the end, Liu Qing kept only half, while the other half was sent back to Shanxi. Together with the newly printed banknotes, that made up 300,000. Liu Qing was clear about his judgment: French banks on the mainland might be able to detect such fake banknotes, but Oriental Bank of Commerce definitely wouldn’t, and even if they did, they wouldn’t dare take responsibility. After all, Oriental Bank of Commerce’s registered capital was only 8 million francs, and accepting over 200,000 francs at once was a burden no one could bear. Liu Yu had originally planned a small honeymoon trip, but his entourage grew larger and larger, eventually numbering over thirty people, not to mention more than twenty bodyguards. Jiang Ningxue leaned happily against Liu Yu, looking at the rare small steamship: “Let’s go!” “Mm! Let’s go!” The journey was smooth; the two enjoyed the beautiful scenery along the river before finally reaching Haifang via Haiyang. Only a few senior executives at Oriental Bank of Commerce knew of Liu Yu’s arrival in Haifang, not even the Marine Corps there was aware that their target was in Haifang Port. It was a courtesy visit, and for safety reasons, Liu Yu didn’t get off the ship. The small steamship was ready to set sail, with Lin Jincheng going ashore to handle some negotiations. About half an hour later, two bank managers in neat suits rushed up to the ship. As soon as they boarded, they took off their hats, and the leader asked loudly, “Who is Mr. Liu Yu? We are the senior managers of Oriental Bank of Commerce’s Haifang branch. We heard you plan to repay 300,000 francs in advance.” “Yes!” Liu Yu replied, “Previously, we needed your assistance in issuing currency, but recently we received 110,000 taels of silver from Liu Yongfu, which is enough to cover any situation. To save funds, we’ve prepared 300,000 francs, which we’ve brought with us on this ship.” That senior manager was quite shrewd, but in Oriental Bank of Commerce’s strategy, Haifang was only of third priority—first was the headquarters on the mainland, followed by key ports like Saigon.

Even in Asia, Haiphong was considered third-rate; Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Nagasaki were the real paradises for adventurers. The boss didn’t want to lose such high-quality clients: “Don’t you need more loans?” In the accounting records of the Haiphong branch, Black Flag Bank and several large enterprises it associated with were BNP Paribas’ largest and most valuable clients. They never cared about interest rates and repaid on time, without any complaints even if asked to repay early. Privately, bank employees had received bribes from Liu Qing; at the monthly meetings, the boss personally distributed the kickbacks, ensuring everyone got a share—this had become standard practice. As for the boss himself, he had received bribes totaling up to 30,000 francs, a considerable sum even in France. People like them, exiled to a third-rate place like Haiphong, would do anything to make money. So he planned to obtain another 70,000 francs from Liu Yu over two years, then move to a better position once he had enough money. This shouldn’t be difficult—over the past year, BNP Paribas’ performance had been outstanding, with profits ranking first among all its branches in the Far East. Such results would easily lead to promotion. Even Haiphong benefited from this prosperity; port traffic surged, with customs revenues rising from around 300,000 taels per year to 400,000 taels last year. Xiliuying needed large amounts of supplies, and its ambitious industrial plans welcomed any industrial materials. Many ships heading to Hong Kong stopped in Haiphong to explore business opportunities. But now things had changed—Black Flag Bank and its affiliated companies no longer needed BNP Paribas’ loans, which was a disaster. He asked, “Your funds are supposed to be tight—why do you suddenly want to repay the loans early?” He knew Black Flag Bank owned gold mines, silver mines, coal mines, and iron mines—all highly profitable enterprises that frequently shipped tons of ore to Haiphong. He had checked customs records; just gold alone was worth 100,000 francs, not to mention the smuggled gold, which was likely several times more. For too long, BNP Paribas’ lending had been too focused, affecting loans to local French companies and merchants in Haiphong. The Haiphong branch had thus proposed a perfect solution: these merchants and companies could borrow from the Saigon branch. Recently, since over half of the loans carried high risks, he decided to tighten credit, basically stopping new loans to Black Flag Bank. Unexpectedly, Black Flag Bank brought 300,000 francs to repay the loans. How could he come up with that much cash? The Haiphong branch usually had only about 200,000 francs on hand, and such a large amount would surely be sent to the Saigon branch. But thinking of the gold and silver mines in Xiliuying, he suddenly understood. He then asked, “We can offer an even better solution to relieve your financial pressure.”

Admittedly, the loans offered by the Haifang branch could be described as harsh—with very high interest rates, the requirement to repay the loan early at any time, and numerous additional conditions. As for the kickbacks and bribes demanded by everyone in the Haifang branch, they were well-known unspoken rules. Now, this valuable client had finally been angered. Liu Yu casually said, “The repayment pressure is huge; we need to go to Hong Kong.” It was a tactic of feigning reluctance, but the manager there sensed something different. Hong Kong? It was a good place, but the first bank that came to mind was one that BNP Paribas could never compete with—HSBC. The largest bank in the entire Far East; even ten BNP Paribas banks couldn’t compare to HSBC at that time. He couldn’t afford to lose such a valuable client.