The 31st President of the United States, Herbert C. Hoover Hoover in China In March 1899, a young American couple came to China. This is Herbert Hoover, who was only 24 years old and his newlywed wife. Hoover, who graduated with a bachelor's degree in geology from Stanford University, was hired as an engineer by the London-based Berwick Morin Mining Company in 1897 and sent to work in Australia. A year later, the company sent him to work in China. Considering that this job would bring considerable income, he sent a telegram from Australia to his girlfriend, Lou Henry, his classmate in the Department of Geology at Stanford University, proposing to her, hoping that she would agree to accompany him as his wife. . Lou Henry responded by telegram and expressed her acceptance of his proposal. Hoover immediately rushed back to the United States and held a hurried wedding ceremony at Lou's home in Monterey, California, on February 10, 1899. The newlyweds had little time to prepare for their honeymoon and set off for China the day after their wedding, with their suitcases filled with books about Chinese history and culture. During a month at sea, they read dozens of books about China. After coming to China, they chose to settle in Tianjin. Mrs. Hoover was mainly busy with housework and learning Chinese. Hoover wrote in his memoirs: "She specially hired a Chinese teacher. As long as she was at home, her daily classes would never stop. She had a talent for language, and she made rapid progress in learning this most difficult language in the world. . I have never learned more than 100 Chinese characters. But for the rest of our lives, she used these 100 Chinese characters repeatedly when speaking Chinese to me. "The Chinese names of the Hus are Hu Hua and Hu Lu (transliteration). With the help of Zhang Yi's German consultant, Kaiping Coal Mine Supervisor Zhang Yi, and Tianjin Customs and Taxation Department De Cuilin, Hoover served as Zhang Yi's technical consultant. Hoover was originally hired to develop coal mines, but Zhang Yi was more interested in finding gold mines. In his memoirs, Hoover wrote: "Mr. Zhang decided that it would be of great benefit if we could discover a big gold mine and make a fortune first. I think what China needs most is iron, steel, coal, lead, and zinc. , copper and some other industrial raw materials. But Mr. Zhang said he has heard that there are rich gold deposits in the Jehol area. , Let me go north to investigate and see if I can install American machinery and equipment and dig out a lot of gold." Escorted by 100 Chinese cavalry and 20 officers, Hoover led his expedition team to search for gold mines. journey. This kind of adventure life is not difficult, and they even bring a special chef along with them. "The cook," Hoover wrote in his memoirs, "had served at the French legation. He insisted on serving five courses at every meal, even when most of the 'foreign' supplies had been exhausted and the only staples remaining were chicken and eggs. , he still didn't change his original intention--chicken soup, Welsh cheese, hot roast chicken, cold chicken salad, sweet egg pie, but it was a shame and dishonor, all of which he did in the yard. Made with various charcoal fire pots." It can be seen that the adventure life is quite comfortable and pleasant. About a week later, Hoover's expedition arrived at the mines and encountered a group of men, seemingly thousands in number. Hoover was worried about the possibility of violent conflict, so he hurriedly asked his translator. The translator told him that he would not, but said that word had been sent beforehand that a foreign official was coming, and that his eyes could penetrate the earth and find gold. The Chinese translator wanted everyone to be convinced of this, saying it was because these foreigners all had green eyes. Hoover recalled: "The Chinese were eager to see us, and the intimacy with which they observed them was quite embarrassing. We stood on a hill and looked down at the mining area with our precious and special eyes. In charge of The mine manager was a richly dressed old man who had been a foreman at the Hite's Cove mine, which had been famous during the early days of the California gold rush. He racked his brain to recall a few. He greeted us with English words, and finally he said solemnly: 'Hello, Boss!' In fact, he is very good at mining. The next day, we came to the mine with some airs. "Hu. Fo found that the mines had been over-exploited and that it was impossible for Chinese mine managers to find new veins of minerals. As Zhang Yi continued to collect information about gold mines, Hoover embarked on the journey again and again, almost visiting Shandong, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi and the three northeastern provinces; but each time he returned in vain. While Hoover was assiduously engaged in this kind of exploration or travel, the Boxer Rebellion broke out and all travel came to an abrupt end. The Hoovers, like other foreigners, were besieged by the Boxers in Tianjin for nearly a month. Late one night, a cannonball flew into Hoover's house and exploded, shattering the front door and surrounding areas, but the Hoovers escaped unharmed. After the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded Tianjin, the Kaiping Coal Mine was occupied by the Tsarist Russian army. Zhang Yi ran to Tianjin and hid in the Lishunde Hotel. He entrusted De Cuilin to use British power to drive away the Russian army from the Kaiping coal mine. Zhang Yi implored De Cuilin to serve as his legal agent and general agent of the Kaiping Mining Bureau, granting him full authority to manage the bureau's property.

After receiving Zhang Yi's authorization, De Cuilin conducted secret negotiations with Hoover, who was the general representative of Berwick Morin's rights and interests in China, and entered into a contract stipulating that Kaiping's properties and interests would be completely sold to Berwick Morin. Morin Company, Berwick Morin then handed over to the "Oriental Syndicate" investment company composed of British businessmen. At the end of 1900, Berwick Morin, Eastern Syndicate and Belgian businessman Chase established the "Kaiping Mining Co., Ltd." and prepared to take over the Kaiping Coal Mine, with Hoover as the general manager of the company. Hoover drafted a "transfer agreement" and asked Zhang Yi, who was completely kept in the dark, to sign, but Zhang Yi did not dare to sign. So Hoover made another side agreement, which stipulated that the new company's equity capital would be 1 million pounds, Chinese shareholders would be 375,000 pounds, and the remaining 625,000 pounds would be recruited by Hoover and De Cuilin as shareholders; the original debt owed by Kaiping to foreign countries would be It will be compensated by Hoover and Berwick & Morin Company; Zhang Yi will be entitled to 3,000 pounds of old shares and 75,000 pounds of new shares; Zhang Yi can serve as the supervisor of the mine for life. Under coercion and inducement, Zhang Yi finally signed. In fact, none of the foreign debt owed by Kaiping Mine was repaid, and no new shares were collected. Only Hoover paid 50,000 pounds. Hoover took this contract and drove away the Russian troops from the mine, and easily obtained the Kaiping Mine. But the good times did not last long. In the autumn of 1901, the situation took a turn for the worse. The Belgian shareholders bought most of the company's shares from other European shareholders and Chinese shareholders, sent people to serve as company managers, and also brought Belgian technical personnel. Hoover resigned due to disagreements with the new manager, and Berwick Morin immediately invited him to join as a junior partner. Hoover left China in 1902 and was elected President of the United States 26 years later.