Before leaving, Dong Shuheng called Bai Meigui to his side again.
"White Rose, among the senior executives of foreign companies just now, there is one who is short, has triangular eyes, and is wearing a brown suit. Do you know him?" Dong Shuheng asked.
"Reporting to the president, this person is a manager of Jardine Matheson. This foreign company has a background in Guangzhou No. 13 Bank. This person only arrived in Shanghai at the end of last year."
"Then, if you kidnap him secretly, there won't be much of a problem, right?"
"It's just a steward, so there should be no problem. However, it's best for Tank to cooperate with this matter. This person just made trouble here today. If I take action directly, it will easily arouse suspicion."
"Okay, you will take the lead in this matter. After he is tied up, bring him over to me. I have something I want to ask."
"Yes, I promise to complete the task."
…
I went to the Shanghai Dance Hall today and it was a worthwhile trip. The biggest reward was that I unexpectedly got clues about my brother.
Dong Shuheng returned to Yuyuan and had just taken a shower when Li Cunxun came over to report that White Rose and Tank had arrived. Dong Shuheng ordered Li Cunxun to ask White Rose and the others to take them to a side room.
After getting dressed, Dong Shuheng came to this wing room. A man in a suit was tied behind his back to a chair in the room. His eyes were covered with black cloth, and cold sweat flowed from his forehead because of fright.
"Let me ask you a question. If you answer it honestly, you still have hope of living. Tell me in detail about the Yangzhou businessman you met last year." Dong Shuheng asked.
Tank pulled out the cloth stuck in the man's mouth.
The man took a deep breath and said, "Who are you? I'm a manager of a foreign bank. Please let me go immediately. I promise not to hold you accountable. If you want money, just give me any price."
Dong Shuheng winked at Tank, and Tank went up and punched the man in the lower abdomen. The man sat on the chair and hunched over in pain, and gastric juice flowed out of his mouth.
"I said, I asked you questions and I didn't let you ask questions." Dong Shuheng said coldly.
"I said, I said..." The man recounted what he said last night in detail again. Now Dong Shuheng finally confirmed that his brother was framed by these people and was trafficked as a Chinese laborer.
Peru.
"Peru?" Dong Shuheng frowned, that place is far across the Pacific Ocean. Although he now has an ocean-going fleet, it will take more than a month at the fastest for the fleet to cross the Pacific Ocean. But his brother is living in a foreign country, and it may happen at any time
There will be danger. Now that I have the ability, I must not sit back and ignore it.
"Okay, remember to take care of it!" Dong Shuheng said to Tank.
"What do you mean? Didn't you say you would let me go?" the man asked in horror.
However, before he could finish speaking, Tank had already sealed his mouth again.
"Don't worry, I said I won't kill you. I will just put you in a sack and sink you into the Huangpu River. If you have the ability, you can swim up by yourself."
…
Dong Shuheng asked Li Cunxun to call Liu Qingbei.
"Qingbei, how many ships are there in our ocean-going fleet now?"
"Currently, three sailing ships carrying rice from Nanyang have just arrived at Haimen Port and are unloading."
During this period, Huaihai Company purchased some more ships, and the fleet size expanded.
The routes to Korea and Japan have now gradually stabilized, and the previous tribute trade is now basically in vain.
Dong Shuheng made a fool of himself and traded with them directly in the official name of the Governor-General of Liangjiang, which made both countries very happy. The previous Qing government had very strict trade restrictions with surrounding vassal countries, and could only carry out trade every year in the name of tribute.
Once or twice.
Now Dong Shuheng came directly to trade with them, which surprised them. This also led to a sudden surge in trade volume with the local area, and the demand for sea-going ships also expanded a lot.
After the Black Ship Incident in Japan, the daimyo on Honshu Island were in a state of turmoil. Previously, under the rule of the Tokugawa family, it had been stable for hundreds of years. Although there would be wars between daimyo, the scale was very small. Now the country is in disarray.
.
After coming into contact with the representatives of the Huai Navy, the chief veteran of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Abu Masahiro, advised Tokugawa Isada to have good relations with the Qing Dynasty. Taking advantage of the fact that there was still one year left before signing the contract with the United States, he asked the Qing Dynasty for help to expand the Edo Bay.
For the fort, you can even request to hire a mercenary army from the Qing Dynasty. As long as the shogunate can be protected, there is no need to be afraid of the Americans. After all, the Americans are too far away from Japan and will not send too many troops. If you land from other places, the shogunate will have enough
Spend time and space with each other.
This matter has been reported to Dong Shuheng through the commercial representative of Huaihai Company on the merchant ship.
Dong Shuheng welcomed this, because his original plan was to maintain the shogunate rule as much as possible, destroy Japan's budding industry and commerce through the export of goods, and attack Japan's businessmen, capitalists and new landlord class. These people are all behind the scenes.
The backbone of the movement.
Dong Shuheng plans to prevent the Black Ship Incident, because once Japan opens its borders, it also means that the shogunate will begin to decline, and the overthrowing faction can use foreign forces to develop.
Dong Shuheng's goal was to cultivate the comprador class in Japan in the shogunate, support pro-China factions, split Japanese society, and prevent Japan from transforming into a unified nation-state.
But he was not in a hurry to express his position. He also wanted to hang up the shogunate again, but among the exported goods, he included some obsolete muskets and even standard armor. Japanese samurai still like armor, so they must be allowed to
They maintain this fine tradition well.
Ships will bring back ore, high-quality timber, a large amount of gold and silver, and even food from Japan. For some reason, the people in Japan are now hungry, and the shogunate and the daimyo will actually export food. Of course this is not
Dong Shuheng needs to worry about it.
…
"Qingbei, I found Shu Tong's whereabouts."
"Where is the eldest young master?" Liu Qingbei asked excitedly. He grew up in the Dong family and naturally knew Dong Shutong.
"Brother, I was framed and sold to Peru as a laborer last year."
"Who did this!" Liu Qingbei stood up angrily.
"Qingbei, don't get excited. At least we know that eldest brother may still be alive. As for the person who framed eldest brother, I have thrown him into the Huangpu River to feed the fishes."
"President, I do know about Peru. It is about the same distance from us as the United States in the Americas, but I haven't had much contact with it. I heard that it used to be the territory of the Spanish," Liu Qingbei said.
"That's why I came to find you. No matter what happens to Big Brother, we must send someone to go to Peru. It's best to send someone who is familiar with Big Brother to accompany you."
Liu Qingbei thought for a while and said, "How about I go for a walk?"
"You definitely can't go, we can't live without you in Shanghai."
"Then let Ma Chun go. He used to be the eldest young master's long-term attendant and someone close to the eldest young master. He is now working in the External Relations Department and has dealt with foreigners. It should be no problem for him to go abroad." Liu
Qingbei suggested.
"In this way, I will ask someone to get an official document. You can organize a fleet and bring tea, silk, pottery and other goods. We will organize an official business delegation to facilitate people's activities on the shore. In addition, I will
Deploy a special operations squadron to accompany the ship in case anyone is found there and needs to be rescued by force."
What Dong Shuheng knows most about today's South America is saltpeter mines. Later, a big war broke out in South America over the saltpeter mines. In Dong Shuheng's impression, the country of Peru has very developed fisheries, as well as silver and copper mines.
Rich, the kind that ranks among the top in the world.
At this time, the Spanish-American War has not yet broken out, and South America is not the back garden of the United States. Perhaps I can make arrangements in South America in advance. Of course, everything will have to wait for the fleet to bring back the news from Peru.
At this time, a wedding was being held in the Junin region of Peru. One party to the wedding was the daughter of a beautiful Indian chief, and the other party was a Chinese man.
If Dong Shuheng were here, he would definitely find that this person looked very similar to himself, except that his frame was wider than his own, making him look very strong and strong.
People gathered around the newlyweds, dancing and singing, celebrating in the Indian way.
Dong Shutong was also very happy. After getting along with them for more than half a year, he basically understood the language of these Indians.
The most important thing is that they also have yellow skin, black hair, and black eyes, and look very similar to the Chinese. This is why these Indians can accept him.
He was brought to Peru last year by a Spanish merchant ship selling Chinese laborers. Along with him were several subordinates of the caravan and more than 70 Chinese, most of whom were poor farmers in Guangdong.
A capital "P" was printed on their chests. At that time, Dong Shutong felt desperate.
I originally wanted to buy a batch of machinery and equipment in Guangzhou and set up a cotton mill back in Yangzhou. Now that the money is gone, I have been kidnapped. The only male in the family is a younger brother who has just grown up. The younger brother is honest and frail.
Can he support the Dong family? Thinking of his father's dying instructions, he felt regretful in his heart.
Why am I so careless, why do I trust others so easily, and how do I fall for other people’s tricks so easily?
When they arrived in Peru, he and other Chinese workers were arranged to dig guano on a small island not far from the coast. Guano fertilizer is an important industry in Peru.
Dong Shutong was the most educated and knowledgeable among all the people. Therefore, the Chinese workers regarded him as their backbone and looked to him for advice on everything.
The work of digging guano is very hard, and they have to endure the scorching sun and the stench. Although the mine owner can give them enough food, the day after day labor is also unbearable for these Chinese workers.
Finally, the Chinese workers decided to escape, and they approached Dong Shutong to make an escape plan. Dong Shutong could not bear it for a long time. So one night, they used tools to dig out bird droppings to control the five supervisors on the island.
Then we took a small boat. There was no room in the small boat, so some people hugged the wood and everyone swam to the coast.
Dong Shuheng has a certain cultural background and learned some Spanish from the crew on the ship.
While on the island, he often chatted with the overseers in Spanish.
He learned that Peru is a country with only over one million people. It can be said that it is vast and sparsely populated. The main population lives near the capital Lima. Going east and inland, it is mainly the territory of Indians or some mixed-race Indians.
So as soon as he landed ashore, he took the Chinese workers and fled eastward towards the inland area.
Of course, the mining company would not let these workers go. They sent out guards to arrest Dong Shu and them on horseback.
When we first landed, the road was easy to walk, but as we went eastward, the mountains became more and more mountainous, and they became higher and higher. The Chinese workers gradually lost their physical strength.
At this time, the guards of the mine came up on horseback. They raised their guns and shot at the unarmed Chinese workers.
However, there was no turning back when the bow was fired, so the Chinese workers could only use their last strength to continue running. Seeing their companions falling down one after another, Dong Shutong was so angry that he gritted his teeth.