In a small reception room, brother and sister Wright Smith and Shelia Smith discussed buying a house in Shanghai and bringing their parents from the UK for retirement. Shelia wrote a check and handed it to Wright and said: " Brother, you take this little money first, and when your parents come, I will go to Shanghai to visit them, and then take them to the capital to live for a while."
Wright Smith lowered his head and glanced at the check amount of "10,000 taels" that he brought into the bank. He was very satisfied that he could buy a garden house in Shanghai. He smiled slightly and said: "Don't worry, sister, I'll come back." Just look for a house in Shanghai, and then ask your parents to come to Shanghai next month. Oh, I have something to discuss with Mike alone, please let him come in." Xie Liya understood, stood up as soon as she pulled up her skirt, and walked to the hall to find Li Guo Upstairs,
Li Guolou's request was not high, he only needed some inside information. Wright Smith lowered his voice and said: "Mike, our British Overseas Legion is currently fighting in Burma and has no skills to do anything. It will not wade into this muddy water. As for the The Americans have not yet emerged from the quagmire of the Civil War, their national strength has not been restored, and they are not capable of fighting this war.
Prussia had just won the Austro-Prussian War, and the threat to Russia was growing. Russia deployed heavy troops on the western European border. The Russians were afraid that the Prussians would destroy their home base, and Russia would not launch a war against China. As for France, People are sick cats. They don’t dare to start a war alone. If the Qing Dynasty wins over the Prussians, the French will shut up immediately. The French themselves will not be peaceful in southern Annam, and the rebellious peasant army will also torment them. It's quite embarrassing. As long as you keep your mouth shut during negotiations, the amount of compensation will not be ridiculously high. I will inform you as soon as there is new news in the future. Is that Sheng Huaixuan reliable? You need to use more brains in the secret code. Our British Empire's My deciphering ability is the best in the world, hehehehe,"
Li Guolou nodded and said with a smile: "Wright, don't you believe my vision? Sheng Huaixuan is absolutely reliable. As for the secret code, I will take it to heart. Secrecy is a top priority. It's a pity that you are not under the authority of the British Minister." Do things around Toma, otherwise I will be more informed, oh haha..."
After chatting for a while, Li Guolou said shamelessly: "Wright, think of a way for me to get a map of the Qing Dynasty. The more detailed the better. Can you do this?"
The maps drawn by the Qing Dynasty at this time were different from the standards used by Westerners. There were many impressionistic ideas in the maps, which did not consider the so-called longitude and latitude. They were self-centered and sophisticated maps drawn by Westerners. Very different,
The map of the Qing territory that he had seen appeared in Wright Smith's mind. He thought for a moment and said, "Mike, there is a map of the Qing territory. It's okay to get a big one, but it's not accurate. We don't have it in some places." It has been surveyed and drawn according to your Qing Dynasty map. I have seen the territory map and ocean current map of the Qing Dynasty coastal area, but it will take a long time to secretly draw these maps. Do you need these? "
Li Guolou was overjoyed and said with a beaming smile: "Yes, I want it no matter how much money I spend, Wright, don't capsize in the gutter, I want the whole set."
Wright Smith smiled slightly and said: "I am now a first-class interpreter. No one will doubt me. When I draw the map, you ask my sister to come and get it. You said it, it will cost a lot of money." The price, oh hahaha..." Wright smiled strangely, only a single line of contact would be foolproof. He seemed to see a pile of silver ingots placed in front of him,
Although Li Guolou was also laughing, his smile was far-fetched and he was secretly ashamed. He had to buy the territorial map of his country from the British. The Qing Dynasty was so weak. If he wanted to save the fate of this country, could he succeed? Cooperating with greedy foreigners is like seeking the skin of a tiger, and he will be devoured by the enemy at any time. Li Guolou's confidence has never been so low, especially when he saw dozens of foreign warships cruising outside Tianjin Harbor, flying colorful flags and showing off their power. The cannon muzzles were moved, and the warships of the Qing Navy seemed to have come out of the Lilliputian Kingdom, as well as countless wooden-hulled boats. The cannons turned out to be 19th-century Franchise cannons. This was the main force of the Qing Navy, and it was a little more decent. Several of our warships have long been hiding in the Weihai Guards Port and dare not show their faces.
To be honest, he has no confidence in defeating so many Western powers. There is a difference of two hundred years of accumulation. There is a long way to go to catch up with the comprehensive national strength of the Western powers. Self-reliance is not enough. The only way is to rely on the introduction of mechanisms. It will take ten or twenty years. , even after thirty years of hard work, yes, he is still young and has a bright future. Li Guolou rekindled his ambition, restored his usual demeanor, and walked towards the guests in the hall with a sincere smile. ,
The banquet on the second floor of the Taylor's Hotel at noon was luxurious and exquisite. The people who could enter and leave the British Concession at this time were all big businessmen and big bureaucrats with good hands and eyes. Everyone raised glasses frequently to celebrate the grand opening of "Invite the Bank". These The National People's Congress is a member of the "Banks Association". HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Fukang Bank and other banks, banks, bank accounts, either sent managers-level people to support them, or specially sent a flower basket to express their congratulations. Banks and banks There are also many business contacts between them. They cooperate with each other to remit a sum of money to collect fees (handling fees), and sometimes they also lend interest rates and principal to help each other's business.
Hu Xueyan did not come, so he gave Huang Yousheng some face and stopped rubbing salt in his wounds. He sent Chen Yuanqing, the big shopkeeper of Tianjin Fukang Bank, to congratulate him. Before everyone could get angry at the scene, Wanjia Bank account Wanshou Lu and Xie Yunfang arrived as promised, giving Li Guolou a lot of face. Gao Yu, the big shopkeeper of Qiao Zhiyong's ticket number "Dade Tong" in Tianjin, also came to support him.
Gao Yu and Chen Yuanqing had a good chat. They were big businessmen who followed Zuo Zongtang. Zuo Zongtang relied on "Fukang" to arrange military pay and the military industrial enterprises he ran in Lanzhou. It was financed by "banks" and "Dadetong".
Fighting is a way of making money for the country. Today, "Fukang Bank" and "Dadetong" are the two private bank accounts with the highest income in the Qing Dynasty. At the banquet, Gao Yu and Chen Yuanqing frequently raised their glasses to celebrate a bright future.
Li Guoyun was jealous when he saw this scene, and said in his ear: "Xiaolou, unless Zuo Zongtang falls, it will be difficult to shake Hu Xueyan." Like Li Guolou, he worked step by step to become a famous national industrialist with great ambitions. It is getting bigger and bigger, and they just want to see their enemy Hu Xueyan fall, and they also want to transfer their hatred to Zuo Zongtang. Anyway, everyone in Li Hongzhang's group dislikes Zuo Zongtang.
Li Guolou still maintained a calm attitude and said cheerfully: "Brother, this is not necessarily the case. The pace of the industrial revolution cannot be matched by millions of family-style looms. Wait until your textile factory's technology reaches a new level." The building has reached a new level, and Hu Xueyan will lose all his capital. Now as long as you improve your production technology innovation and break through the bottleneck, we will grab Hu Xueyan's neck and deal a fatal blow."
A few words filled Li Guoyun with power. He looked at his fiancée Wen Yunjuan next to him. The two looked at each other and smiled. The two hands under the table were tightly clasped together.
At this time, Wan Shou Lu, the owner of the Wanjia bank account, felt a little disappointed. The space for his bank account to survive was getting smaller and smaller. His business relied on Baotong Money Bureau as the backend. Baotong Money Bureau was made in the Qing Dynasty and managed silver and copper coins. The production department is also controlled by the Ministry of Revenue. However, since the "supervisory bank robbery" occurred in the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Revenue has undergone a major personnel transfer. His backstage staff have left their posts in the Ministry of Revenue. Now Yu Shuzhen, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, cannot enter. , After making inquiries from all sides, it turned out that it was the emperor who had said that the capital turnover of the household department could be handed over to private banks for processing, which made Wanshou Lu feel a sense of crisis. He heard that Li Guoshan had written to the court, requesting that the circulation of silver be cancelled. The system was changed to the silver dollar system, which was another heavier blow to him.
In addition, when Wanshou Lu saw the opening of the bank, at a time when the country was in dire straits, there were so many high-ranking officials from the court coming to support him, which made him feel that a storm was about to come, and the ticket number must be attached to high-ranking officials. Only by being under the disciples can you make a fortune, but Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang have been preempted by others. Where will the Wanjia bank account go in the future? People are a little confused.
Xie Yunfang whispered: "Husband, I saw Minister of the Interior Ronglu. He just walked into a private room next to him and he came to support him. Li Guolou has great energy."
Wanshou Lu couldn't see clearly who was coming in a hurry. Hearing this, his face became even worse and ugly. Although he was unwilling to give in, in the face of power, he could only surrender first and said in a hissing voice: "Madam, look. We have to rely on Li Guolou's guidance and talk more about cooperation. Relationships are also cultivated through cooperation."
Xie Yunfang understood the true meaning. It is never too late for a gentleman to take revenge after ten years. He must first put aside his personal grudges and work together to make money to survive ten years later. Jiao Didi said: "Husband, don't worry, I will bear with you for now. The brat can come and go as he pleases." For the Forbidden City, let’s focus on business for the time being,”
"Well... let's go, let's toast Mr. Li with a glass of wine first. Since we're here, let's give Mr. Li and Yelia face, hehehehe," Wanshou Lu held Xie Yunfang's arm and held the wine glass in his hand, walking towards Li Guolou and Yelia are sitting next to each other at the table. They are enemies and are not suitable for the banking industry. As long as there is money to be made, they can help each other and work together. As for the time to "retire", there will be countless peers who will step on them. one kick,
"Master Li, I hope your career will be prosperous and you will take good care of our business. In the future, we can also join the board of directors of the bank you invited, hahahaha,"
What Wanshou Lu said shocked the other bankers nearby. Why did Wanshou Lu, the owner of the famous Wanjia bank in the capital, suddenly break the harmonious atmosphere of the banquet? It felt like a big fish eating a small fish. , whether it is to invite the bank to come in and eat up Wanjia Bank, or to annex Wanjia Bank and invite them to the bank, from the tone of Wanshou Lu’s words, I can’t tell why,
Li Guolou understood Wanshou Lu's meaningful toast. In the end, people have to bow to reality, just like the Qing Empire kneeling down in front of foreigners to admit their mistakes time and time again. Everything he does now is refuted by the original The "Qianzhuang Guild" system was not that he violated the existing system of "Qianzhuang Guild", but that he changed the attitude of the Qing government towards "Qianzhuang Guild". The government no longer laissez-faire and allowed banks to generate their own bank accounts. Instead of self-destruction, he was targeted and promoted the situation of one dominant family. As long as the bank he hired was strong, the country's economy would naturally rise to a higher level. Even the emperor and the two empresses would settle the accounts, and they would be able to unite invisibly. The hearts of the world,
Li Guolou said implicitly: "Everything that Yelia and I have done today is for the prosperity of the nation and the prosperity of the country. All countries in the world should coexist peacefully. The banking industry is the bank's foreign name. We also We must also maintain a close cooperative relationship and give full play to the effect of large numbers of people. Let’s start with running a school. Come, let’s drink to the infant Qing Dynasty’s first university, Qingzhong University. Let’s celebrate that day as soon as possible. Let’s work together to create a better tomorrow,”
People at the ten tables stood up together and sang congratulations: "Let's toast to the opening of the bank, and to the infant Qingzhong University."
Li Guolou smiled casually and said: "Wandong's family, after I return to the capital, I will definitely pay a visit and ask more advice from the seniors. I also hope that I can give more advice to the juniors." After saying this, Li Guolou still respectfully asked Wanshoulu to sit on the original seat. position, did not put on the airs of a fifth-grade official, kept smiling and asked for warmth.
Wanshou Lu felt Li Guolou's respect for him, and secretly felt ashamed: The young man is more generous than him, he should have a tolerant heart, it seems that he can bring up the Wanjia bank account when discussing cooperation matters with the bank. work schedule,
"Master Li, if you don't come, I will be shameless and come by myself," Wanshou Lu smiled sincerely at Li Guolou for the first time, assuming a veteran posture,
Li Guolou squinted his eyes and said with a smile: "Wandong family, Mrs. Xie, you are my lifelong friends. You have taken care of Zhenbaoxuan's business for so many years. How could I forget your kindness to my family? My second grandmother often comes here I nagged the Wandong family a few words in front of me. You two took care of me all the way and helped me with what I did later. In the future, Li Guolou will still regard you as his friends and will need your strong help."
Wanshou Lu was moved by Li Guolou. Xie Yunfang never expected that Li Guolou would be so generous and give such great honor to the couple in front of so many people. She felt really happy and blurted out: "Okay, with you as my partner In a word, if anything happens to Mr. Li, we, as husband and wife, will follow suit step by step. Whether it is a merger or cooperation, our Wanjia bank will definitely give you the greatest help."
More than a hundred people present watched this scene helplessly and couldn't help but clapped their hands enthusiastically. They admired Li Guolou's superb showmanship. In one round, he pulled the top ticket number "Wanjia Ticket Number" into the same camp.
Li Guolou nodded to Xie Yunfang and expressed his gratitude. For the sake of national justice, he would not care about the past grudges. Only through cooperation can we strengthen ourselves. Whether we are friends or enemies, we must recognize those who can cooperate. Wanshoulu and Xie Yunfang, the couple, They are all his partners. They will try to undermine each other and annex "thousands of bank accounts" when things are ready. It is also the trend of the times and has nothing to do with personal grudges. Only by working together can a nation create a glorious future. tomorrow,