It was the first time that Saoye encountered a policeman who wanted to take the sedan chair for free. He was so surprised that he even forgot to call the bearer to get up the sedan chair. Master Han quickly gave the order and the group set off again.
There are no traces of Australians in the county town, as the sedan can enter the city. However, if you look closely, you can see the handiwork of Australians: such as the newly paved street and the drainage ditches that are still being excavated on both sides.
What surprised Li Luoyou was the cleanliness of the streets here. Not only were there no puddles of cement, there was no littering, and there was no trace of the feces and urine that must be found in the corners - these are indispensable embellishments even in the city of Guangzhou.
Not to mention a small and remote county like Lingao.
There are very few shops along the street, including a few grocery stores, teahouses and the like. The shops are not big and the facades are quite neat and clean. Li Luoyou can see that these houses have been repaired recently, and the walls have not only been painted, but also the bricks and tiles have been repaired.
The county town seemed very deserted, but the atmosphere was still peaceful and peaceful. Li Luoyou thought to himself: How does the county magistrate from Lingao get along with the Australians? Is it possible that he just cowered in the county government office and pretended to be deaf and dumb? This kind of self-cultivation skill is really good.
very good!
Lingao County is a small town and can only walk two or three hundred steps. The sedan turned into a side street and arrived at the front door of Runshi Hall. The sedan did not go in through the gate, but turned around and was carried in through the corner door until it reached the entrance of the residence.
In the second hall, the steward had already come with his servants to greet him.
Pulling out the car bars and removing the armrests, Su Ye quickly stepped forward and opened the car curtain.
"Good morning, sir." The butler who greeted him and his servants immediately kowtowed.
Li Luoyou felt a little relieved when he saw that Runshitang was quite large and the servants behaved in an elegant manner. He was very tired of seeing the disrespectful look of the Australian men.
Li Luoyou's arrival has been reported to the executive committee by Liu San. The basic information of this businessman has been on the intelligence department's files since Liu San went to Foshan, and was later promoted because of his large-scale acquisition of pig iron in Guangdong.
The information level has been increased. However, Li Luoyou's information is still quite simple. The Crossing Group has no other intelligence sources on the mainland except Guangzhou and Leizhou.
After the establishment of the Foreign Intelligence Service, a supplementary investigation was conducted on the files on important indigenous figures established during the Intelligence Committee era, and Li Luoyou was also among them. The Guangzhou Station collected a lot of information about him from various public channels, and gradually the specific outline of this figure was revealed.
Become clear.
The Foreign Intelligence Service does not know how deep the relationship between Li Luoyou and Hou Jin is, but at least it knows that he has trade relations with the Hou Jin controlled area, and the relationship is not too shallow.
"Everyone, please think about it, what is this Li Luoyou selling?" Yu Eshui said, "It's from Liaodong. And it mainly sells ginseng. People who can sell ginseng are definitely worthy of mention in the Hou Jin regime.
People of words.”
The Hou Jin Dynasty paid great attention to the medicinal material of ginseng after Nurhachi raised his army, and even set up a special "Volhoda Zhangjing" to be responsible for the collection, storage and sales of ginseng - this was their main export product for purchasing various materials from the customs.
It is as important as oil to the Gulf countries.
To be able to transport and sell ginseng, Li Luoyou not only had to have certain connections in Houjin, but also had collusion with local generals in the border towns of Liaodong. Otherwise, he would not have been able to transport the goods all the way when the imperial court banned trade in Liaodong.
Transported back and forth.
In other words, if we can get Li Luoyou's cooperation, it will be equivalent to opening up the Hainan-Liaodong transportation line. The trade and intelligence network can be developed from this.
And Li Luoyou is not just an adventurous businessman traveling to Liaodong, he also owns many business networks within the customs. The Crossing Group can use his connections to lay out intelligence and business networks.
In the past, the Cross Travel Group has not expanded its network on the mainland. The shortage of manpower is certainly one aspect. There is no one in the local area to respond, and unfamiliarity with the place is also a problem. In ancient times, local society was quite closed. If outsiders wanted to open up a situation in a certain place, there would be no local people.
It is difficult to introduce and protect people through connections. Although Gao Zhan's power is great, outside of Guangdong, it can only be enjoyed in the capital, and other places are not worth mentioning.
They are not in a hurry to go to the capital, but Jiangnan is an area that the Crossing Group is eager to penetrate. In the future layout of the Crossing Group, Jiangnan will be their main product sales place and material procurement place.
In particular, the rice, cloth, and silk from Jiangnan are all coveted trading commodities of the Chuan Chuan Group, and the prosperous commerce here provides the best market for the Chuan Chuan Group's financial industry.
So while Li Luoyou was still waiting to go on the road in Foshan, various departments in Lingao were already working on this.
Although everyone still doesn't know much about Li Luoyou's purpose of coming to Gao, it is obvious that his purpose in coming to Gao is to do business. And the most likely business is weapons and ammunition.
The Foreign Intelligence Bureau has learned that Li Luoyu is operating as a governor and governor in Guangdong, hoping to cast cannons for the government. He may have come to Gao for a similar purpose. After all, the Chuanchuang people are known for their "sharp firearms"
of.
However, the Cross-Travel Group is not keen on exporting weapons. Although the arms trade is the most profitable business, it consumes the Cross-Trade Group's "strategic materials": metals and coal. In the situation where the stocks of both are insufficient,
It is difficult to accept that we need to export a large amount of goods.
As for the generation difference of weapons and the possibility of being imitated by Ming Dynasty or Houjin, the industrial department believes that there is no need to worry too much. Considering the level of weapons manufactured in Lingao, it is almost impossible to imitate them by pure hand-made production.
The structure of the imitation prototype is the same, but the difference in material performance and processing level is enough to degrade the performance of the imitation to a very low level.
In the end, it was decided not to mention the weapons, but to try to sell other industrial products to him. Distribute them to all parts of the country and Liaodong through his channels. If there is money to be made, Li Luoyou may not refuse. Especially time travel
The group also hopes to promote its financial product: Delong Bank Draft to major cities through its business network, and wait for the time to mature before exporting the currency through the group.
It all depends on Li Luoyou's impression of the Time Travel Group. For this purpose, a working group was set up to deal with him. It was temporarily composed of personnel transferred from the intelligence, political security, trade and administrative departments. Li Luoyou's work was
Named "Liu Work"
The person in charge of "Liu Work" selected Liu San. Li Luoyou came to Lingao through Yang Run's Kaitang-Runshitang line. Liu San is not only a veteran, but also a shareholder of Runshitang and Yang Shixiang's sworn brother.
Moreover, he had a chance encounter with Li Luoyou. Whether it was from a rational or emotional point of view, it was the most appropriate and comprehensive way for him to come in contact with her.
Liu San got all the intelligence information about Li Luoyou. In order not to make his sworn brother too nervous, the matter of "Liu's job" was not disclosed to him. Liu San thought it would be better to have contact as naturally as possible, and it would be better if the other party first
Open your mouth so that you can gain some initiative in the negotiation.
Yang Shixiang was already waiting in front of the dripping eaves of the flower hall. After the two met, they naturally showed some politeness and said a few polite words of "long admiration" and "admiration". Li Luoyou couldn't help but compliment him with a few words of "reviving the family business."
Such words. This is what Yang Shixiang is most proud of. Being complimented by others will naturally scratch his itch. He was originally a little curious about this businessman introduced by his cousin: the cousin only said in the letter that this person was interested in
The "Australians" are very curious and hope to visit Lingao and see if there is any possibility of doing business with Australians.
Although the language of his cousin's letter was unclear, Yang Shixiang knew that his cousin would not write a letter to him specifically for an ordinary businessman. This person must be very important, and he would still be a member of the government.
Yang Shixiang saw that this woman was about forty years old, with a medium build, a long face and a short beard, and had the charm of a doughy rich man. If you look closely, your eyes were quite sharp, and you could tell that he was someone who had been through strong winds and waves.
However, at first sight, he felt familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before. He couldn't help but secretly wonder in his heart. Seeing that the servant had already served tea, he asked again: "Is the guest room arranged for Mr. You ready?"
"It's ready. Mr. You will live in the east guest courtyard." The housekeeper quickly replied, "How will the red-haired man arrange it? Please tell me."
"First invite him to rest in the East Guest House." Yang Shixiang had already known from the letter that such a red-haired businessman was coming.
The East Guest House is the latest expansion of Runshitang. Since Runshitang developed, the number of merchants and peers has increased day by day. The original guest house was not enough, so this new one was built specifically for receiving distinguished guests. It has five bays.
The front and rear wing rooms are enough to accommodate Li Luoyou and his party. There are a lot of furnishings and utensils.
The suitcases and luggage brought by Li Luoyou were checked one by one by Sweeper and sent to the guest house, where someone would arrange for them to be opened. Li Luoyou also brought four-color Foshan local specialties as a meeting gift.
The gift is not too heavy to show that we are friends, but it is not too light. After all, if we are not familiar with each other, everything will disturb the other person.
"It's a big gift from Shopkeeper Juda." Yang Shixiang was a little worried. Considering the friendship between the two parties, this gift was indeed quite generous.
"It doesn't matter, I have to ask Shopkeeper Yang to take care of me." Li Luoyou saw that the irrelevant people in the flower hall left one after another, leaving only himself and the other person's personal servant, and then he said:
"My surname is not You." In fact, the shopkeeper told Liu San that he had met him before. Although it was just a one-time encounter at the time, there was no need to keep his true identity secret from them.
A depressing industry.”
"It turns out to be Shopkeeper Li! Disrespect! Disrespect!" Yang Shixiang was greatly surprised. He thought about it all at once. Wasn't this Shopkeeper Li the same one he had met at his cousin's banquet when he went to Foshan with his adopted brother?
A big businessman?!
In the past, he didn't care much about the background of this big businessman. As Runshitang's status in Guangdong's pharmaceutical business community increased day by day, he also knew something about Shopkeeper Li, who was very important in the pharmaceutical business community. He was quite a legend in Guangdong's business community.
A colorful character. When he was a boy, he worked as an errand boy for the Folangji people in Macao and learned to speak Folangji fluently. Later he went to Liaodong to run the family business; Guangning was evacuated and when he escaped from Guangning,
They were displaced all the way and almost lost their lives. The Li family's centuries-old property in Liaodong was wiped out in one fell swoop. After returning to Guan Nei and relying on the little property left in the capital, they went to Guangdong to run a foreign business. In less than ten years, the family was able to recover.
He became a famous businessman in Guangdong.
Li Luoyou's business in Liaodong goods is an open secret in the Guangdong business community, and it is natural that the official circles will not know about it. If he only has money and no background means, it is impossible for him to be a wealthy man safely.
"I came here this time because I have a few things to ask of you." Li Luoyou got straight to the point and made no secret of his purpose.
"It's easy to talk about." Yang Shixiang nodded deeply. This manager Li from the Guangdong business community came here under a pseudonym, so it must be an important matter. And this matter will probably involve Australians. So we must be cautious.
Although I was cautious, I couldn't help but feel a little proud in my heart. I originally guarded this half-dead little pharmacy, how could I have the honor of being visited by a big shot like Li Luoyou!
But this man suddenly went to Lingao alone to visit him, and the matter he had to discuss with him was no small matter.
"I want to meet the Australians, and I also want to ask Shopkeeper Yang to help connect them."
Yang Shixiang felt hesitant. This incident was not unexpected, but there were not only one thousand but also five hundred Australians in Lingao. Which one did he want to meet? If he wanted to meet the big boss, such as "Mr. Wen" or "Mr. Ma"
, I don’t know whether what my adopted brother said will work.
"Do your best." Yang Shixiang nodded. He decided not to tell Liu San's true identity for the time being. He would discuss it with Liu San before making a decision.
That night, he called for Liu San and conveyed Li Luoyou's request to him.
"Brother Yu didn't dare to agree to him first, and he didn't say that you were an Australian. This matter is of great importance and should not be taken carelessly." He specifically reminded Liu San that Li Luoyou was probably sent by the government to find out the truth about Lingao.
He may also come to discuss something on behalf of the government.
"At the banquet where I first met Li Luoyou in Foshan, there were people from the officialdom present."
Of course Liu San knew about this. Not only did he know it, but he also knew that this official was a member of Jinyiwei's trial. But there was no need to tell his sworn brother this, as it would frighten him in vain.
"Brother, you are right," Liu San said. "Since he wants to see us, you allow him to do so."
"Brother Yu doesn't know the class status among you Australians. I don't know what kind of person this Mr. Li wants to meet? What if he wants to meet your big boss?"
"Let me handle this matter," Liu San said. "If he wants to see Mr. Wen, I will convey it to him. Whether he sees him or not is another matter."
"Okay." Yang Shixiang nodded and said, "Brother, I'd better inform everyone to come up with a countermeasure." Yang Shixiang warned him, "If you build a city and train troops here like this, the imperial court will have to take control sooner or later. In case of a sudden attack by the soldiers,
If you arrive, life will inevitably be ruined, so you should make plans in advance."
Liu San didn't care, he just asked him to entertain this distinguished guest. As for Liu San, he will be in Runshitang a lot recently. For the convenience of doing things, I hope he will set aside a courtyard that is easy to access and not attract attention.