What did the United States do when it was in boxer indemnity, and what impact did it have on China?

I. boxer indemnity and the Xin Chou Treaty

Let's look at boxer indemnity first. In fact, it is the indemnity agreement in the "Xin Chou Treaty" of 190 1.

Friends who have studied the history of China a little know that the "Xin Chou Treaty" is an eternal scar engraved on the backs of all China people-regardless of shameful clauses such as punishing China's anti-Japanese soldiers and erecting monuments for the enemy, the war reparations of 450 million taels of silver alone are unforgettable.

On the surface, the figure of 450 million seems small, and some people even say: Isn't this just one person and one beam? Everyone in the country tightened their belts and made a contribution. Didn't you pay this money?

Hey, what can I say? Anyone with this idea should face west-drink the north wind and have a good taste of hunger and cold, because you don't settle accounts at all, you don't settle accounts at all!

Second, unpaid compensation.

According to estimates, the fiscal revenue in the last year of the Qing Dynasty was really not small-it could probably reach 50 million taels of silver. Just look at the book income is not bad, don't forget the expenses! It is also astronomical for the people in the Qing empire to eat horses and feed them. After deducting military expenses and financial expenditures at all levels, they can finally save up to the Qing state treasury-only about 7 million.

What's more, just after the Qing Dynasty returned 200 million taels of silver to treaty of shimonoseki, the national treasury was already empty.

But now it directly shoulders 450 million taels of foreign debt! How can Qing, who is already short of money, have such a large sum of money? However, the "G8" also assumed that you couldn't pay back the Qing Dynasty at once, so there was "installment payment": the annual interest was 4%, which was paid off in 39 years, and the sum of principal and interest was 970 million taels of silver.

Brothers, if you are a house slave, pick up your own mortgage calculator and simply calculate, 39 years, from 450 million to 970 million, which is even more cruel than the repayment model of equal principal and interest!

Well, the Qing Dynasty paid an average of 25.46 million taels of silver every year, three times more than the miserable 7 million taels! Playing like this is actually similar to robbery, and it's still that kind of pot!

In this case, not paying money is a breach of contract, and default may be beaten! What can Qing state do? The Qing state, which has long been terrified, can only pass the pressure down-desperately exploiting the people: what taxes, salaries, food donations, sugar, tobacco and alcohol ... only the "dung tax" is needed!

Even so, due to the large number, it was difficult for Manchu to complete this huge "fine". No money to develop? Still want to improve yourself? That's even more idiotic!

According to this way of playing, it is impossible for Qing to "turn over serfs and sing" in the next life! There is no way out except to become a free ATM in the G-8 countries forever! Sometimes I think it's worse than Yang Bailao!

In other words, except that there was no direct armed occupation, the situation of the Qing state was no different from that of the colonies. According to this model, the people of the Qing Dynasty are always exhausted and have no way out!

On the other hand, didn't Manchu resist such a big burden? Have you never fought for yourself?

Third, how did 450 million come from?

Before answering this question, let's talk about how the figure of 450 million came from. How can this war reparations be neither too much nor too little, only 450 million taels? Isn't there something fishy about such a coincidence number? That's really tricky!

Readers, if you study accounting, or you know accounting, you will keep the following words with a smile.

First of all, war reparations actually appeared from18th century, but did not exist before. In 19 and the 20th century, war reparations have become a regular way of playing, and the concept of making a fortune by fighting has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the great powers. Since the Opium War, the Qing Dynasty has always been the party that paid for the war.

In this context, let's think about how the G-8 missed a good opportunity to get rich! In order to make up the sum of 450 million taels, the "G-8" left no stone unturned. There are probably only a few big moves:

The first trick: making false accounts.

Specifically, it is a blind calculation. For example, the religious case in Jiangxi took place in 190 1, because of a very ordinary Christian church, Manchu lost 802,000 at once!

During the Boxer Rebellion, more than 200 Christian churches in China were burned down. Well, it's not the church, it's all money! Foreign adults strike the table: all pay high prices! As for how to set the price and how to calculate the money, foreign adults have the final say! The Qing dynasty only paid according to the order, and there was no room for bargaining.

The second measure: force the exchange rate.

Let's take it off. At that time, the Qing Dynasty implemented the silver standard, and other countries had long been marks, dollars and rubles. At that time, there was no international currency, and how could we play without a unified currency? The initial agreement on exchange rate in the Xin Chou Treaty is as follows:

Customs silver is one hundred and twenty, that is, Germany's three marks 055, that is, Austria's three crowns 595, that is, the American round 0742, that is, France's three francs and five, that is, Britain's three shillings, that is, Japan's one round 407, that is, the Netherlands' one fleur 0796, that is, Russia's one ruble 4 12.

Is this exchange rate reasonable? Let's give a simple example: at that time, 1 silver in the Qing Dynasty could buy about 70 kilograms of rice, while 1 dollar in the United States could buy 5 kilograms of rice, and 1 yen in Japan could only buy 10 kilograms of rice. But regardless of the actual purchasing power, the exchange rate was fixed at that time!

The third measure: gold and silver switch

This means the gold standard and the silver standard. At that time, there were both gold and silver standards in the financial system, and the exchange ratio of gold and silver was not fixed! Sometimes the exchange rate is higher and sometimes the exchange rate is lower.

However, the Xin Chou Treaty clearly stipulates that compensation shall be paid in the form of silver. Original text: "The imperial edict to the Qing emperor allows the customs to pay the state compensation of 450 trillion taels of silver ..."

However, an agreement can never restrain the greedy heart. For power, gold or silver-that depends on which one is cost-effective! Silver is needed when the price of silver goes up, and gold is needed when it goes down! Where to argue? Look, this boxer indemnity is actually a "clear" muddled account!

As long as the powers use their crooked brains, the glistening money will flow to the hands of the "eight countries." Such a good thing is really the dream of the great powers. They are all sweet. Russian Foreign Minister Brahms once said: "The 1900 war against China is the most cost-effective war." In fact, this money is not enough, this is obviously the most profitable war!

Four. Compensation of big countries

It's finally time to talk about compensation.

The cause of this incident is precisely because the power is too high-especially when switching between gold and silver. The Qing state is alive and kicking, and it is still tossing. Didn't that kill him?

Finally, someone can't stand it. He is Liang Cheng, then ambassador to the United States. In fact, he is the fourth batch of Qing people who studied in the United States as children. He is very familiar with America.

Seeing that the Qing Dynasty was tortured to death by the great powers, Liang Cheng finally made a move in February 1904. He argued with US Secretary of State John Hayward: Do you have to draw a line between gold and silver? The Qing state is overwhelmed. If you continue to play like this, you will be a dead fish, and you will not spit out a penny.

During the conversation, John Hay inadvertently said, "There are too many cases of boxer indemnity." What? Too much! Liang Cheng was sure that he heard right. It suddenly occurred to him: Why didn't the Qing Dynasty count such a large sum of money in boxer indemnity? What makes them pay as much as they say?

1900, the United States only sent more than 2,000 troops, with only 40 casualties. And the compensation they ask for is as high as 32.84 million taels of silver, equivalent to 24.44 million dollars-this is absolutely unreasonable!

At the thought of this, Liang Cheng no longer cares about gold and silver, and settles accounts directly! After actual calculation, Liang Cheng got the answer: the US military expenditure and actual losses are very small, only $6,543.8+0,000! It can't reach $24.44 million at all.

After settling the accounts, the following actions are taken: Since 1905, Liang Cheng has met with then-US President Bill theodore roosevelt for one purpose-settling the accounts again!