Chapter 234 233 [General, Give Me the Money]

"Whoa! Whoa!"

"Assemble, assemble!"

After more than 4,000 American soldiers came to Tianjin, the houses they lived in and the warehouses for storing ammunition were all rented from the people.

At this time, the American soldiers packed their luggage and rushed out, divided into dozens of teams and walked towards the port.

They lived in China for the first half year, and many of them gained more than ten catties. There is no way, I eat, drink and have fun every day, and I will be damned if I don’t gain weight.

"Row neatly, neatly row!"

General Butler's face was extremely gloomy. These are his soldiers. They can't even move in line, just like street hooligans.

The marines traveled to the pier, and before they had time to board the warship, suddenly thousands of people poured out from the pier, completely blocking their way.

"play music!"

"Shang Wanmin Umbrella!"

The two presidents of the Tianjin General Chamber of Commerce stepped forward, accompanied by band accompaniment, beating gongs and drums.

Zhang Zhongyuan asked someone to take out the Wanmin umbrella, cupped his fists and said with a smile: "General Butler, thank you for your help and support to our Tianjin businessmen in the past six months."

Seeing that he was so respected, Butler said happily: "The Chinese people are very hospitable, and I like this beautiful country."

"Then you are welcome to come back later, General." Zhang Zhongyuan said.

"After I retire, I will definitely come to China," Butler said.

Vice-chairman Wang Yibao personally gave the Wanmin Umbrella to Ballett, and asked someone to open the box next to him, saying, "My lord general, it's business, let's settle the score first."

"What account?" Butler was confused.

Zhang Zhongyuan pointed to the note in the box and said: "These are all IOUs issued by soldiers of your army in Tianjin."

Butler walked over to open an IOU, only to see that it said "one yuan for dance ticket" and other Chinese characters, and the signature and signature underneath was Lincoln. He immediately understood what was going on, and asked bravely, "How much is owed?"

Wang Yibao smiled and said, "After deducting the odds, the total is 2,037,461.5 yuan."

Butler seemed to have been hit on the head with a hammer, more than 2 million silver dollars, and he couldn't afford to sell him.

There are 4,000 American soldiers, and each of them owes more than 500 yuan in debt on average. These grandchildren are also ruthless in spending money.

what to do?

Butler was dumbfounded in an instant.

More than 1,000 Chinese businessmen (shop owners and buddies are here), the Marine Brigade can easily "break through" forcibly, but it can easily cause bloodshed.

Butler is not Japanese, and he is also reasonable, and he will never do anything that is bad.

It's not bad, but I can only rely on it. Butler said dryly: "The signatures on these IOUs are fake. I'm very sorry. I'm afraid I can't find the real creditor."

Zhang Zhongyuan immediately said: "My lord general, your soldiers said during the credit payment that they can just go to the troops directly in the future. In addition, I also invited a lawyer today so that I can compare the soldiers' handwriting one by one."

A white lawyer came out from the side, and saluted with a half-smile: "General Butler, I am Powell, the attorney representing the Tianjin General Chamber of Commerce."

Nima, even a lawyer was invited.

Butler's vest felt cold, and he asked awkwardly, "Which country are you from?"

"I'm from England." The lawyer laughed.

Damn Brits!

Butler scolded the British 10,000 times deep in his heart, and ordered angrily: "Turn around and go back to camp!"

That afternoon.

"Outside the number, outside the number, outside the "Ta Kung Pao" number, American soldiers have 2 million credits, and they are blocked by debt collectors in the barracks and dare not come out!"

"Extra, extra..."

"Kid, give me a newspaper."

"Oh, this American soldier is amazing, how did you spend 2 million?"

"Americans don't go back on their bills, do they?"

"Pfft, this group of businessmen is also terrible, and they are still sitting at the door of their house and guarding."

"Nonsense, if you don't guard, those Americans will definitely run away."

"..."

The U.S. Marine Corps Brigade instantly became a joke in Tianjin, even in Beiping.

The dignified American soldiers were actually blocked by a group of Chinese businessmen in the barracks and dared not go out, and the cause of the incident was that they did not pay back their debts.

General Butler had no choice but to send a telegram to the U.S. Consul General in China, but did not receive any reply. He sent an overseas telegram back to the United States, which alarmed the President of the United States, who didn't know what to do.

Pay bills for soldiers?

The U.S. military has no such tradition, and it does not know in what name it should be allocated.

No money?

You can't force people to walk away, those Chinese businessmen must try their best to stop them.

Because of the 2 million silver dollars going abroad to exchange blood, not only is it not cost-effective in terms of benefits, but it will also cause the United States to lose face.

"Mother Hippie!"

Principal Chang, who was holding a spoils sharing meeting with Feng Yuxiang, Yan Xishan, and Li Zongren, learned about this from the American population. He was angry and funny. On the one hand, he was worried about affecting Sino-US relations, and on the other hand... Well, this fact is so funny that Principal Chang couldn't help it.

Two million silver dollars is a huge sum, enough to buy several local warlords.

In just a few days, the news spread throughout the country, and everyone in the country who heard the news burst into laughter. It was passed around, and it became an American general with his subordinates, who was caught eating Bawang meal in Tianjin and refused to pay, and finally was blocked in the barracks and did not dare to show his face.

General Butler was about to die of anger, and wished he could shoot all his soldiers—he had become a joke of the army, the joke of the United States, and the joke of the whole world!

...

"Hahahahaha!"

There were bursts of laughter in the hall.

This is the mansion of Zhang Zhongyuan, the president of the Tianjin General Chamber of Commerce. The presidents of the major guilds in Tianjin gathered here and were having a "celebration banquet."

Zhang Zhongyuan stood up and toasted: "Mr. Zhou, on behalf of all the merchants in Tianjin, thank you for helping to inform the news this time, otherwise these Yankees will definitely run away!"

"Where is it, I'm just talking about it." Zhou Hexuan said modestly.

"Mr. Zhou saved the hard-earned money of our merchants in Tianjin by talking about it!" Vice President Wang Yibao said.

"Yes, yes, Mr. Zhou made us Tianjin businessmen proud."

"Mr. Zhou, I respect you too!"

"..."

All the businessmen agreed one after another. In the face of interests and common enemies, Chinese businessmen are still very united.

Because there is an organization called the Chamber of Commerce, they don’t dare to do things like helping foreigners bully their peers, otherwise they will be unanimously suppressed by everyone, and it will be difficult to do business in the future.

The Tianjin General Chamber of Commerce was tough with the Japanese a few years ago, and the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce is already tough with the Nanjing government at this time. They supported Chang Kaishen's Northern Expedition at first, but after the victory of the Northern Expedition, Chang Kaishen wanted to control the Chamber of Commerce, and was immediately strongly opposed by the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce.

Today's Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce is still being suppressed, but within a few years, they will be able to force Chang Kaishen to bow his head and admit his mistakes.

A businessman may not be able to do much, but when a group of businessmen unite, the energy is truly terrifying.