"Okay, it's time to talk about some serious business."
Consul Aliguo frowned, feeling like he was being tricked by the Chinese official who spoke "Oxford-accented English" in front of him. Thinking of this, he glanced at Wu Jianzhang who was in a daze, and then coughed.
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Wu Jianzhang was just trying to remember things about the "Great Book of Prophecy" - he didn't know about it!
In addition, he also couldn't understand why there was a war between Russia, England, France, and Türkiye? More than 500,000 people were killed. Those countries didn't seem to have much population, right? Can they withstand such deaths?
Also, is Japan really going to be beaten by the United States? Is it also because of the smoking ban?
Thinking about it at the end, Wu Jianzhang still doubted that this "Luo Xueyan" was trying to fool foreigners, right?
Just when Wu Jianzhang was doubting "Luo Xueyan", Luo Yaoguo had already spoken to him with a smile: "Master Wu, Master A has agreed to discuss business matters with us!"
Oh, let’s talk about business! Wu Jianzhang thought: "It was not business just now, so what is it? Is it a lie?"
"Okay, okay..." He responded in Chinese and English, and then clasped his fists towards Wang Kuiyi, Luo Yaoguo, Wu Ruxiao, Ali Guo, Weitoma, Ma Xisen and others on both sides. Then there was a sigh, first in Chinese: "The news from the front line these days is very bad. Changmao captured Caishiji on the second day of February, Dangtu County on the fourth day of February, and Dasheng Pass on the fifth day of February. ..On the sixth day of the lunar month, they had arrived southeast of Jinling City and set up camp on the west bank of the Qinhuai River. Two groups occupied Yuhuatai and Xiaolingwei respectively.
According to reports from the front line, there were 40,000 people in these three groups of soldiers. They came all the way from Wuchang. The important towns along the way, such as Jiujiang, Anqing, and Chizhou, were not attacked. That's why they came so quickly. But Jinling City was completely We are unprepared. There are only thousands of land army supervisors and thousands of Eight Banners garrison troops in the city... I am afraid it will be difficult to defend it!"
After saying this, he said it again in English, so that Aliguo, Weitoma, and Matheson could understand how urgent the situation in Jiangnan is now.
However, when he finished speaking in both Chinese and English, he discovered that Wang Kuiyi, "Luo Xueyan", Wu Ruxiao, Aliguo, Weitoma, and Matheson all acted very calmly. It seemed that no one was worried about the Taiping Army's immediate victory over Jinling. Sweeping across Jiangdong.
Wang Kui held a cup of milk tea and was sipping it. He probably had never drunk such sweet and milky tea.
"Luo Xueyan" was sitting on the sofa with his arms folded, a smile from the bottom of his face always on his face. It seemed that he was not worried at all about the Taiping Army coming to Shanghai.
Aliguo stared at "Luo Xueyan" and seemed to be very interested in this alternative Qing official.
Witoma was flipping through the "Great Book of Prophecy", frowning slightly, not sure if he could understand it?
Matheson of Jardine Matheson also looked calm and composed...as if he was not worried at all that the opium shipped to Shanghai by Jardine would be burned by the Taiping Army.
The one who is really worried about the co-authoring is Wu Jianzhang, right?
But think about it, he bought Su Songtai Dao and Jiang Customs Supervisor for 500,000 taels of silver - the 500,000 taels given to Daoguang were on the surface, but the one million behind the scenes was more than 1 million. Then he went to the Shanghai Concession Huge sums of money were invested in purchasing land for development near the concessions.
If Shanghai was taken away by the Taiping Army, he would have to lose everything!
Thinking of this, Wu Jianzhang could only say with a smile: "Master Wang, Master Luo, Master A, Master Wei, should we discuss now how to preserve Shanghai, a treaty port connecting China and the world?" "Pfft...
Wang Kuiyi, who was drinking milk tea, seemed to have heard some incredible news; he squirted out the milk tea, coughed twice, and then looked at Wu Jianzhang with a surprised look on his face: "Mr. Wu, what did you say?"
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"Preserve Shanghai!" Wu Jianzhang said, "Master Wang, Shanghai is a port of communication between China and foreign countries. If Changmao is returned, it will not be easy for Xiangyong to import foreign guns and cannons in the future!"
As soon as Wang Kui put down the milk tea in his hand, he took out a handkerchief and wiped his official uniform while saying: "Master Wu, I am the prefect of Hengzhou, not the prefect of Songjiang! I and Mr. Luo brought five hundred thousand taels of silver with them. The purpose of coming to Shanghai is to buy more foreign guns and cannons at once, so that if I buy enough, I won’t be afraid of Shanghai falling.”
Seeing that Wang Kuiyi was unmoved, Wu Jianzhang had no choice but to turn around and look at Wu Ruxiao. Wu Ruxiao and Wu Jianzhang were old acquaintances. He seemed embarrassed to refuse directly. He just smiled bitterly and said: "Shuang Guan, we only bring you this time. Here are five hundred Xiang warriors... Although they are elite soldiers trained by Master Luo using Western methods, their number is too small after all, and they have never really been on the battlefield, and they don’t have any good weapons. Even if they stay in Shanghai, they will not be of much use."
Luo Yaoguo also shook his head: "Master Wu, forget it, we can't defend it... what use can five hundred people do?"
"There are more than five hundred, there are other soldiers!" Wu Jianzhang felt that Luo Yaoguo's tone was a little loose, and he quickly shook his hand and said, "A while ago, there was a Changsheng Yongying from Huguang who escorted the family members of the martyred Huguang Governor Cheng Zicai to escape. When we came to the Shanghai Concession, there were three hundred soldiers, all of whom were elites, and I paid to keep them all."
Hearing the news, Luo Yaoguo breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. The three hundred people in Changsheng Yongying Camp were also elite secret halls. They were led by Feng Zicai, Jiao Hong, and Bo Yong to "escort" Cheng Zicai and "run" Shanghai.
The reason why Luo Yaoguo sent them to Shanghai was because he was sure that "Boss Wu" might keep Feng Zicai.
Although Feng Zicai became famous in Guangxi, he is actually from Guangfu and is from the same hometown as Wu Jianzhang. This Wu Jianzhang trusts the Cantonese the most. If you see a Cantonese, don't you have to spend a lot of money to stay?
But there are too many surprises these days. Who knows if Feng Zicai and the others will encounter any unexpected troubles?
Now that he heard the exact news, he felt relieved.
However, Luo Yaoguo still shook his head: "Not enough, not enough, only eight hundred."
"There's more!" Wu Jianzhang said, "To be honest, brother, I've also been doing group training in the past few months!"
When Luo Yaoguo heard that Wu Jianzhang was also organizing group training, his eyes lit up: "Oh, so Mr. Wu also knows how to organize group training?"
Wu Jianzhang waved his hand: "How do I understand? I just have a little money... Also, there are many people from Guangdong who come to Shanghai to make a living, and many of them have no money to eat. I happened to ask a few brothers to organize a group training. Now that we have the courage to defend the city, we can also provide food for the fellow villagers who come out to seek a living."
"You are such a good person!" Luo Yaoguo looked admiringly and said compliments, but in his heart he thought of the good man Huang Dashan from Etang Town, Daozhou.
It’s not easy to be a good person these days!
"I wonder how many people Mr. Wu has in his team training?" Luo Yaoguo seemed to be interested and asked again.
"There are more than 1,000 Guangdong regiments, more than 600 Fujian regiments, plus 300 Changsheng Yongying, the total is no less than 2,000." Wu Jianzhang said with a smile: "If you include my brother's 500 people, it will be 2,500. , and there are still 100,000 Cantonese and Fujianese in Shanghai, most of whom are young and strong men. As long as there is money, it is no problem to recruit thousands more.
The reason why I only recruited two thousand soldiers is because I have soldiers but no officers. I can't bring more soldiers. But Brother Luo's five hundred elite soldiers can all be used as team officers, which is enough to control thousands of people. As long as Brother Luo If you are willing to stay, I will provide the money to recruit and raise troops!"
Luo Yaoguo nodded, seemingly moved.
But he thought in his heart: "The Guangdong Gang is Liu Lichuan's people, the Fujian Gang is Li Xianyun's people, both of them are Xiaodao Society. And the others are my people... If Wang Kuiyi says in the future that you are the incense master of Tiandihui, Xianfeng must believe it, right?"
But now is not the time to relent, because A Liguo and Weituma have not yet reaped the benefits.
So Luo Yaoguo kicked the ball to Wang Kuiyi again: "Master Wang, what do you think?"
"No," Wang Kui waved his hand, "Xueyan, we are here to buy guns and cannons! Mr. Luo and Mr. Zuo are still waiting for our guns and cannons to take back Changsha! Shanghai is the territory of the governor of Jiangsu, and we in Hunan The officials can't control it! And there are only 2,500 people, which is really too few. I think we should just focus on buying guns!
Leave as soon as you finish shopping, otherwise you may not be able to leave."
Luo Yaoguo pondered for a while, seemed to be thinking carefully, and finally gritted his teeth and said to Aliguo in "Oxford accent" English: "Mr. Consul, I would like to know what your country will do in this civil war that will determine the ownership of China's future political power. What position?
Are you willing to support the Qing court? Or strictly maintain neutrality?
If we want to purchase weapons and equipment from your country, can it be convenient?
Can citizens of your country be personally employed by the Qing court to train troops for the Qing Dynasty and participate in the battle against the rebels?
In addition, in view of the current severe situation, I hope to obtain a batch of muskets, rifles, Mini bullets, and artillery of 12 pounds or more as soon as possible... The price is negotiable, but the key is that the delivery must be fast!"
After hearing what Luo Yaoguo said, Aliguo and Weitoma looked at each other. Weitoma finally frowned and asked, "Master Luo, the consul and I cannot answer some of your questions.
However, do you and Mr. Wang really not consider helping Mr. Wu to defend Shanghai?/
After all, once Shanghai changes hands, it may be difficult for the army of Governor Luo of Hunan to obtain advanced weapons from the West."
His words actually stated his support for the Qing Dynasty. "This..." Luo Yaoguo seemed to be a little hesitant.
Wang Kui shook his head slightly.
Wu Jianzhang felt that there was something interesting, so he patted his chest and said: "Master Wang, Master Luo, Master Zuo, the foreign guns and cannons that Master Zuo needs are packed with my colleague Shunxing. Our colleague Shunxing has just received a batch from Yihe and Baoshun." , the guns and artillery from the three major foreign companies in Qichang are worth one hundred thousand taels of silver!
Although these are required by the imperial court, they can be given priority now. No, they are given to Mr. Luo and Mr. Zuo, as long as the five hundred elite soldiers brought by you and Mr. Luo can stay in Shanghai to participate in the war.
If you and Mr. Luo feel that five hundred soldiers are not enough, you can recruit a group of new soldiers in Shanghai! I will cover all the recruitment costs!
As for Mr. Ah, Mr. Wei..."
As he said this, he looked towards Aliguo and Weituma for help.
Aliguo, Weituma finally nodded.
Seeing the two consuls nodding, Ma Sisen, the chief executive of Jardine Matheson Company, immediately said to Luo Yaoguo: "Mr. Luo, we have two thousand brown basses in the warehouse of Jardine Matheson Company in Shanghai, including bayonets and twenty-four rounds of equipment. The fixed ammunition with flash cap can be delivered immediately for only 50,000 taels of silver!
In addition, we can also unload eight 12-pound cannons from the armed merchant ships. We only need to modify the gun mounts and deliver them immediately. Each 12-pound cannon requires one thousand and fifty taels of silver, as well as shells and gunpowder."
"It's too expensive, it's too expensive." Luo Yaoguo shook his head repeatedly, "Unless...we can hire foreign volunteers, including some formal officers or soldiers, in the concession!"
Aliguo frowned: "Mr. Luo, how many people do you want to hire?"
"Three hundred!" Luo Yaoguo continued to deceive, "This is what Master Luo and Master Zuo want to hire!
If the consul can make it easier for you, it will help the smooth progress of the treaty renewal work."
Luo Bingzhang and Zuo Zongtang did not have this idea, but Luo Yaoguo knew that there were not many strong foreigners in the concession. If 300 people were deceived by Luo Yaoguo and left... then there would be 300 fewer people guarding the concession.
"Three hundred..." Aliguo was not that easy to fool, so he shook his head, "Too many, this is almost the strength of a battalion."
"Okay, the number can be smaller, maybe dozens." Luo Yaoguo took a step back and said, "But I hope that each of them is a real officer or veteran."
Aliguo nodded lightly: "A few dozen people... can be considered." "Okay, then it's settled!" Luo Yaoguo quickly finalized the matter of hiring foreign generals and soldiers.
After that, he said to Matheson: "Mr. Matheson, how about two thousand muskets, one hundred thousand fixed-load ammunition, and twelve cannons, a total of fifty thousand taels?"
The price is a bit harsh. Matheson's expression changed: "This is too cheap. This is impossible. It's wartime now!"
"Mr. Matheson," Wu Jianzhang hurriedly helped "Luo Xueyan" to speak, "Mr. Wang, Mr. Luo has already received the guns and cannons from me, which are enough to arm thousands of people. They only bought the weapons in your hands. Can be temporarily placed in the warehouse.
If you don’t sell the guns and cannons stored in Shanghai to Mr. Wang and Mr. Luo, if Changmao breaks through Shanghai, you will lose everything!”
Matheson's face looked uncertain, as if he was still hesitating.
Wu Jianzhang, an old broker, saw that Matheson still refused to give in, so he turned around and discussed with "Luo Xueyan" again, but Luo Yaoguo spoke first: "How about this, Mr. Matheson, I can buy two thousand for fifty thousand taels." Smoothbore muskets, one hundred thousand rounds of fixed ammunition. I want eighteen 12-pound cannons, one thousand two hundred taels each.
But you must sell me three more old armed lock boats and a steamboat. The price is negotiable.
Chapter completed!