Chapter 14: The Emperor of Deception in Shanghai Part 2

  The long sofa was covered with Persian wool, and the sturdy ebony desk was adorned with intricately carved hardwood bookshelves, which held beautifully bound books. The entire decor was solemn and harmonious in tone. Two faded silver-gray tapestries by the famous French artist Gobelins hung on the walls, depicting shepherds and trees that seemed to come alive.

  In broad daylight, one can see that inside the Western-style building, there are exotic landscapes everywhere.

  Ye Zhaosat at his desk, fiddling with the kaleidoscope in his hand. On the writing table in front of him, there was a jade hairpin with a bright pearl on its head, shining brightly; There was also a gold pocket watch, with diamonds hanging from it, shining brightly; There were also several small boxes, filled with pearls and treasures; Next to the small boxes, there was a thick stack of silver bills from Hengtong Bank, Ye Zhao had just counted them, exactly 10,000 taels.

  All these things were sent by Wu Jianyang, and Ye Zhaoyue smiled lightly as he played with the kaleidoscope. It seemed that Wu Jianyang had spent a lot of money and thought on this. Just look at the small ornaments on the table, they are all local treasures and imported goods, no matter what kind of personality one has, there must be something to like.

  It is said that during the Qianlong era, in order to get a piece of paper in front of Fu Kangan, this nobleman spent as much as 10,000 taels of silver. He had grasped Wu Jianzhang's handle and even if he went bankrupt, he would have to make himself happy. Moreover, he probably had the intention of flattering him. For him, having a relationship with the future Iron Hat King was an opportunity that came once in a lifetime.

  Even if Ye Zhaolong was a member of the Zheng Wangfu family, this 10,000 taels of silver was still not a small amount. The Zheng Wangfu family business was indeed an intimidatingly large entity, with the annual salary of Zheng Qianwang alone being tens of thousands of taels. As for the various income streams of the royal mansion, they were even more astronomical figures. With tens of millions of acres of land, pastures, and forests inside and outside the pass, just renting out the land would bring in tens of thousands of taels each year. Moreover, there were also several gold mines and coal mines outside the pass, which made their industries truly intimidatingly large when calculated carefully.

  However, the expenses of Zheng Wang Fu were also astonishing. The owners of the past generations had little savings, let alone the first imperial garden in Beijing, Huiyuan Garden, which was built by the previous generation of princes who saw that there were tens of thousands of taels of silver in the treasury and thought that money would bring disaster, so they took it all out to build a beautiful and magnificent royal garden.

  Although Ye Zhaoye spent money like flowing water, he unexpectedly obtained a huge sum of 10,000 taels and was absolutely not indifferent to the desire for wealth, but rather rejoiced for a while.

  "Father, a foreigner is handing out cards." After knocking on the door, Rui Si's slender figure flashed in, holding a gold-edged business card.

  Ye Zha took a glance and said, "Sheng He Xing Mai Ke Wei Er Si".

  "Please invite him to the flower hall for a chat." Ye Zhaowas searching his mind for memories of this McWilliams, but he really couldn't recall anyone by that name. However, it's worth noting that at present, many foreign merchants have made a fortune in China through the opium trade, and none are more famous than the American Consul in Shanghai, Augustus G. Healy, who has amassed an astonishing amount of wealth in China. But he is only well-known because he has lived in China for so long; there are actually many other merchants who have made even more money from the opium trade.

  And yet Mr. Wales was able to rush ahead of consuls from various countries to pay his respects, which is no small feat.

  ……

  The hall is elegant and clean, with a French carpet underfoot that is over two inches thick. The walls are adorned with oil paintings, exuding a Western flavor.

  Mr. Wells had an air of nobility, with a short mustache and two exaggerated strokes, who liked to tap his hand on the table when speaking, with a luxurious and elegant pipe floating in his hand.

  Because Ye Zhaoying was fluent in English, the interpreter he brought with him was left outside, and there were only two people in the flower hall.

  Wales was very direct and after some small talk he asked with a smile: "I wonder if the ambassador has any interest in firearms?"

  Ye Zhaodan took a sip of tea, thinking to himself that he was originally an arms dealer. However, without understanding the other party's true intentions, Ye Zhaodan burst out laughing: "Mr. Wells, who else besides me is interested in firearms?"

  The current Shanghai, concessions and county towns are two completely different worlds, and the layout of the later Republic of China's Greater Shanghai is completely different.

  The Qing army besieged the Shanghai county city occupied by the Small Swords Society, and although Britain, the United States, France, etc. notified their merchants to strictly maintain neutrality, in reality, there were always trade channels between the concessions and the rebels of the Small Swords Society, and the supplies for the masses of the Small Swords Society were maintained through the channels of foreign businessmen, who had to buy grain, gunpowder and other materials at a price several times higher than the market price.

  Merchants seek profit, just like small knives doing business, also doing business with the Qing army, but making a fortune in war.

  If you want to find yourself in this official business, it's obviously a big deal.

  As expected, Wells knocked on his pipe and a sly smile appeared in his small eyes. He said: "Your Excellency, one thousand rifles, do you want me to sell them to the rebels who oppose your central government?"

  "A thousand branches? Ye Zhaos eyebrows jumped, but his face remained calm, and he smiled and asked: "Is Mr. Wells a munitions merchant or an opium merchant? This munitions and opium business, firstly harms people with little reward, secondly is often tossed about at sea with great difficulty and danger, has Mr. Wells never thought of investing in anything else?"

  Wells was taken aback and burst out laughing: "Your Excellency understands business investment?" He apparently found it somewhat comical that a Qing government official would suddenly talk to him about commerce.

  Ye Zhaosheng leaned forward and said, "I have an immature idea that can be called financial speculation. For example, let's say the current war between your country, France, and Russia has already set up a telegraph to transmit intelligence. What if the telegraph operator makes a mistake? If for a month, all the news transmitted is of defeat, won't the stock prices of companies related to the Ottoman Empire plummet? Even your national debt will not be immune from large fluctuations. And what about when the real situation arrives in London a month later?"

  "Of course, I'm just making an analogy. Even if your country's financial regulation is lax, how could a telegraph operator make such a low-level mistake?" Ye Zhaoming said with a mysterious smile.

  Wells' eyes grew brighter and he stopped smoking his pipe, lost in thought.

  At this time, Rui Si came in from outside the hall and went to Ye Zhao's ear to say a few words in a low voice, then retreated.

  Ye Zhaodong had been waiting for Rui Si to return. Rui Si and Wells, accompanied by an interpreter, were waiting in the side hall. Ye Zhao had instructed Rui Si to use the interpreter to probe Wells' bottom line.

  Rui Si did not disappoint, and in his reply letter, he told the story of Wells' situation. Mr. Wells was originally a declining nobleman who came to China more than a decade ago to start an opium business. He has now accumulated a fortune of nearly one million pounds, although he is not well-known in Britain, he is already one of the richest businessmen in England.

  Ye Zhaos expression changed slightly, to think that apart from the thirteen hongs of Hua merchants who had once monopolized domestic and foreign trade with their unique Qing characteristics, most of the worlds wealthy people came from England. Merchants with assets over one million pounds were few in number in England, and now, one pound could exchange for more than three taels of silver. The large bribe he had just received was only a mere 3,000 pounds.

  The Chinese rich merchants, the Thirteen Hongs, are on a downward slope. Who knows when some Manchu noble will just yawn and confiscate their property, punishing them for their crimes. Their wealth didn't come from any technical expertise, but rather because the imperial court had banned trade at the time, only allowing the thirteen hongs in Guangzhou to trade with foreigners.

  But now with a net worth of millions of pounds, this British businessman has a keen eye for opportunity.

  "Mr. Wells! Mr. Wells!" Ye Zhaohad to shout twice before Wells seemed to come back to his senses.

  "Mr. Wells, may I take a look at the rifle you're selling first?" Ye Zha asked with a smile.

  "Alright, alright," Wells replied, but his soul was gone, clearly still pondering the words Ye Zhaohui had just spoken.

  ……

  Ye Zha brought only Rui Si'er with him. He got on the carriage of Wales, while Rui Si'er followed closely behind, running all the way east to the dock.

  Wells' ship was a three-masted clipper with a massive hull and huge sails hanging down, majestic in appearance.

  The blond-haired and blue-eyed armed sailors on the deck were all curiously looking at Ye Zhaoyu and Rui Sier who had just boarded, beside the ship's side, the green sea and blue sky, seagulls soaring, with a distant view that made one feel carefree and joyful.

  Wells gave the order, and soon several sturdy sailors brought up a wooden chest from the lower hold. A handsome young white man quickly opened the chest, which was lined with straw, and inside were rows of brand-new rifles.

  The white youth took out a rifle from the wooden box and handed it to Ye Zhao, but couldn't hide the disdain at the corner of his mouth. Apparently in his eyes, what did this strange country with braids know about firearms?

  Although Ye Zhao was not familiar with firearms, he could also see at a glance that these rifles were not polished to shine, but were actually models discarded during the Napoleonic era. Picking up several to take a look, some of the rifles did not even have rifling and were simply smoothbore guns. Although they were much stronger than the bird guns commonly used by the Qing army, they were indeed outdated military equipment in the Western world.

  It's normal to think that way. In a few years, the Xiang Army and Huai Army were still equipped with large quantities of outdated rifles from other countries. Although there were truly advanced rifles, they were indeed in the minority.

  Ye Zhaoyu smiled and looked at Wells, saying: "Mr. Wells, I don't know how you plan to set the price?"

  Wells had a keen eye, originally an opium trader, but seeing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom uprising in Qing China, he took advantage of his opium ship to bring a batch of firearms. As soon as the ship arrived in Shanghai, the Small Swords Society's purchasing power was limited, and Wells was preparing to go to Tianjing to sell this batch of firearms at a high price to the Taiping Army. However, suddenly hearing that a Qing government official who could speak foreign languages had come to Shanghai, Wells naturally came to try his luck, seeing if he could swindle more money from the government army.

  Who would have thought that after meeting Ye Zhaocai, he felt that it wasn't that simple, and Ye Zhaocai's previous words about London stocks made him think deeply for a long time. He may not necessarily make money according to the method Ye Zhaocai hinted at, but undoubtedly gave him a lot of inspiration.

  Originally, he was going to ask for thirty taels of silver for a rifle, but Ye Zhao smiled and asked, and Wells hesitated, saying: "One branch, one branch twenty taels..."

  The white youth who had just taken the rifle from Ye Zhaos hand and put it back in its original position looked up at him in surprise, for he knew how shrewd Mr. Wells was and how stingy he was.

  Ye Zhaoheng thought to himself, it's quite dark. According to the current Western military market prices, even the most advanced rifles are only worth a few pounds, or more than ten taels of silver.

  At the sight of Ye Zhao's seemingly smiling yet not quite smiling expression, Wells was convinced that this young official knew the market very well. However, no matter what, it would be impossible to sell at a low price to him. Another major buyer, the Taiping Army, might even be willing to pay thirty taels of silver...

  "It seems our deal won't come to a consensus." Wells said with a smile.

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