Whilst the proximity of Soochow and Hangchow to the British
stronghold of Shanghai made it difficult to carry out any
"penetration" work at the lower end of the river save in the form
of subsidized steam-shipping, the case was different in Hunan and
Hupeh provinces. There she was unendingly busy, and in 1903 by a
fresh treaty she formally opened to trade Changsha, the capital of
the turbulent Hunan province. Changsha for years remained a secret
centre possessing the greatest political importance for her, and
serving as a focus for most varied activities involving Hunan,
Hupeh, and Kiangsi, as well as a vast hinterland. The great Tayeh
iron-mines, although entirely Chinese-owned, were already being
tapped to supply iron-ore for the Japanese Government Foundry at
Wakamatsu on the island of Kiushiu. The rich coal mines of
Pinghsiang, being conveniently near, supplied the great Chinese
Government arsenal of Hanyang with fuel; and since Japan had very
little coal or iron of her own, she decided that it would be best
to embrace as soon as possible the whole area of interests in one
categorical demand--that is to claim a dominant share in the
Hanyang arsenal, the Tayeh iron-mines and the Ping-hsiang
collieries. [Footnote: The reader will observe, that the
expression "Hanyehping enterprises" is compounded by linking
together characters denoting the triple industry.] By lending
money to these enterprises, which were grouped together under the
name of Hanyehping, she had early established a claim on them
which she turned at the psychological moment into an international
question.
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