Chapter Eighty-Four: Deceiving Young and Old Alike

The British officer sat down slowly, but his expression remained stern. “Very well.”

He then glanced toward Zaifeng beside him. London’s instructions had been perfectly clear: let the Chinese and the Chinese settle the negotiations among themselves. Britain’s one and only condition in this affair was that no more harm must come to anyone.

Zaifeng straightened his back. “Speak. What will it take for you to release them?”

Yang Xiaolin said, “Simple. Pay the money, and they go free.”

Zaifeng asked, “How much do you want?”

“Except for those ministers, it’s two thousand taels of silver per foreigner. Your Highness, I’ve already done the math for you. One hundred and sixty-five people comes to three hundred and thirty thousand taels of silver.”

That truly startled Zaifeng. The Qing government’s treasury was practically empty; where was it supposed to find such a sum for Yang Xiaolin? And even if it were only three hundred and thirty thousand taels, one could grit one’s teeth and pay it. But that was merely the price for the ordinary foreigners. Yang Xiaolin had not yet named a price for the ministers, clearly holding them back for the main prize.

Sweat had already broken out on his forehead. Zaifeng wiped it away. “No. Your price is far too high. The court does not have that much money.”

The British officer immediately bristled again. The British did not care whether the court had money or not; they only cared that the people inside stayed alive. He had expected Yang Xiaolin to fly into a rage at such a response, perhaps storm away, perhaps even kill hostages again in fury. He was just about to rebuke Zaifeng once more when Yang Xiaolin leaned toward him and asked, “Your Highness, what price are you offering?”

Zaifeng thought for a moment. “Thirty thousand taels in all. Not a penny more.”

Yang Xiaolin said firmly, “That won’t do, Your Highness. You can see this deal isn’t mine alone. Besides, that price is fair enough. Isn’t that what you paid for the Russians at Gulu Mountain? How is it that such a sum is acceptable for them but not for me? Your Highness, you’re not trying to bully an outsider, are you?”

Zaifeng said angrily, “For the Russians, we could offer railway rights! If you want, build a railway on Drum Wheel Mountain. Build it wherever you like, and it will belong to you forever. How about that?”

Yang Xiaolin was speechless. After a while, he slowly drew his head back. “Fine. Then I’ll lower it. A round figure: three hundred thousand taels. I’ll forgo the remaining thirty thousand and count it as a tribute to Your Highness.”

But Zaifeng would not add a single coin. “Thirty thousand taels. Not one copper cash more.”

Yang Xiaolin said, “Your Highness, you really are a master trader. Thirty thousand taels—are you saying a foreigner is worth less than three hundred taels? Then I might as well kidnap a prefect or magistrate in western Liaoning instead. I’m telling you, the people inside are genuine, authentic foreigners!”

The foreigners nearby were growing more and more uneasy as they listened. They had begun to feel as though Yang Xiaolin were a vendor in a market, hanging prices on these foreigners for sale, while Zaifeng was the customer, and the two were haggling over every last coin.

An American’s eyes opened wide, his chest rising and falling sharply. It was plain he was using every ounce of willpower to keep from exploding.

Yet Zaifeng still did not understand. “Very well, I’ll add more. Forty thousand taels!”

Yang Xiaolin shook his head. “I say, Your Highness, can’t you just be a little more straightforward? When you negotiate with foreigners, you speak of hundreds of millions of taels without batting an eye. Why do you put on a different face with me? Are you still a prince or not?”

Zaifeng said, “Those hundreds of millions are debts. Would you prefer I write you an IOU?”

Bang!

It was not Yang Xiaolin who fired. It was the American, slamming his fist onto the table. He could not bear to listen any longer. He had opened his mouth to say something, but in the end said nothing at all. He straightened his military cap and stormed away in a fury.

Zaifeng ignored him and turned back to Yang Xiaolin. “Forty thousand taels. I’ll give you hard silver, not bank drafts or notes.”

Yang Xiaolin shook his head. “No. At least two hundred and eighty thousand.”

The German left as well, clearly understanding why the American had gone. After more than two long hours of negotiation, the two sides finally reached an agreement: the Qing would trade one hundred and sixty-five foreign lives for one hundred and sixty-five thousand taels of silver, exactly one thousand taels per person.

Yang Xiaolin truly felt that if Zaifeng were not a prince, he would be an excellent commercial negotiator. He was simply too good at grinding a bargain down. The price Yang Xiaolin had set was cut in half by him.

Zaifeng had obviously exhausted himself in bringing the price down. After the matter was settled, he took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “And what about the price for those ministers?”

The British officer had stubbornly endured the discussion for more than two hours, but that question was too much for him. He also rose and left, leaving only Yang Xiaolin and Zaifeng seated at the table.

Yang Xiaolin took a sip of tea. “I haven’t decided yet. We’ll discuss it after this first payment is made.”

Zaifeng said, “It may take some days. During that time, you must ensure the safety of every foreigner.”

Yang Xiaolin nodded. “Their safety will be guaranteed. But there are two things I need to make clear. The first payment must not be delayed too long—no more than half a month. And second, I don’t want hard silver, and I don’t want copper cash either. Exchange the silver into banknotes and give them to me: yen, dollars, rubles, pounds, francs—so long as they are not consecutive serial numbers, I’ll take them at the current market rate. But I do not want Qing bank drafts.”

Why did Yang Xiaolin not want silver? Silver was legal tender in hard currency and, in theory, ought to have been his first choice. But he knew that if he demanded silver, then the Qing court would almost certainly pay it, and the common people of Beijing would suffer again. If he took foreign currency instead, it would still ultimately be counted as a Qing debt to the foreigners, but the Qing could carry that debt without causing too much harm to the people of the capital. In any case, the Qing was already drowning in debts; taking on several hundred thousand more taels would not add much to its burden.

Zaifeng clearly could not decide this on his own. He hurried back at once, called back the foreigners who had left, and after a lively exchange in low voices, the foreigners agreed.

The various legations all had some money on hand. After all, with their embassies being expanded, how could they not have cash? That afternoon, Zaifeng sent Yang Xiaolin eight thousand dollars, ten thousand pounds, and two hundred thousand yen. With rubles, pesos, francs, and the like included, the total came to more than twenty thousand taels of silver once exchanged.

Yang Xiaolin was very true to his word. As soon as he received the money, he immediately released twenty foreigners. This only strengthened the foreigners’ resolve to ransom their people with money, and gave those inside a glimmer of hope. Their emotions slowly steadied, and the unruly behavior dropped off at once.

The first day’s money was a jumble, all kinds of currencies mixed together. The next day, nothing came. Apparently the legations had already used up their funds, and Zaifeng wanted to settle the remainder in silver, which Yang Xiaolin firmly refused. Naturally, with no money received, no one was released.

On the third day, things changed. The British East India Company urgently transferred three hundred thousand pounds from its branch in Shanghai. At that time, the pound was a hard currency much like the dollar is today, worth no less than silver.

Yang Xiaolin was even more straightforward that day. He made a tally of the foreigners inside and drew up a list, then, after stating how many would be released that day, allowed the outsiders to choose for themselves who should be freed. This left the foreigners quite satisfied, and cooperation seemed to be growing more pleasant by the hour.

Then came yen, then rubles. As each nation joined in the effort to save the hostages, the money arrived faster and faster. In less than half a month, by the tenth day, more than a hundred of the ordinary foreigners in the great house had already gone free, and only several dozen remained under guard.

Yang Xiaolin felt that it was time to part with the most valuable item in his possession. It was also time to think about how to clean up the aftermath.

Several exceedingly distinguished ministers sat before him. Yang Xiaolin cast his eyes over them, and in the end they rested on the Japanese minister, Uchida Yasuya. After looking at him for a while, he waved to Biaozi. “Take Mr. Uchida downstairs. We are friends with the Japanese. Rest assured, Mr. Uchida, I will not harm you.”

At another time, such words might have pleased Uchida Yasuya. But now several hostile gazes immediately turned on him. Yuleisier was especially furious. “Gentlemen, do you see it now? This is the Japanese. We said long ago that they were in league with the Chinese bandits, and now you believe us, do you not?”

The Russians had suffered a heavy loss in western Liaoning, and the Japanese had left their shadow over that affair. The ministers of the various powers knew this well. They had not said so before because they considered it none of their business, and besides, they were rather displeased that the Russians had entrenched themselves in western Liaoning and refused to leave.

But now it was different. Yang the Ghost had threatened their own lives, and at this moment they all stood on the Russian side. Sadoy stared at Uchida Yasuya and said quietly, “I think that once we return, Mr. Uchida should ask your government to offer us a reasonable explanation.”

Yang Xiaolin looked at Sadoy. “Minister Sadoy, what explanation do you want? I can tell you now that I have never met Mr. Uchida. Would you believe me if I said that?”

Sadoy said nothing more, though his expression clearly showed doubt.

Yang Xiaolin smiled. “In truth, gentlemen, Mr. Uchida will enjoy the same treatment as all of you. So long as I receive the ransom, I will treat you as honored guests. I have no wish to harm anyone among you, provided that no misunderstandings arise between us again.”

Sadoy forced himself to calm down. He knew he had to remain composed now. Angering this bandit would be no wise move. People outside were already trying to find a way to rescue him. Only if he stayed alive would he be able to leave this place.

“Yang the Ghost, I do not believe what has happened between us is a misunderstanding.”

Yang Xiaolin fixed his eyes on him. “Then what do you think it is?”

Sadoy said, “It is actually very simple. You killed our guards and pointed a gun at our heads. All you want is money. Very well, you have won. Let us all be straightforward. Name your price. I believe we will certainly meet it.”