Chapter 31: The First Meeting of Two Phases (Part 2)
"Hmph, this young man is indeed sensible."
Hua Shana took over: "Now the foreigners don't even meet with us, but instead their warships are making a show of wanting to attack the city, what's to be done?"
"The foreigners only want the benefits of money and goods, they don't want a single inch of our Qing dynasty's land or a single one of our people. Can't you gentlemen persuade the Emperor to prioritize the state and not care about small gains?" Li Mingfeng's drumming up efforts were still effective, after all, this wasn't his first time doing it.
"It's easy to talk about things, but currently the foreigners are unwilling to meet with us. Even if we're willing to give them some benefits, it still needs to be discussed face-to-face." Huashana regretted that he had been too aggressive in his previous dealings and had thoroughly offended the foreigners. Now, even if they agreed to the foreigners' terms, there was no way to meet with them.
"This is easy to handle, the two of us have gained the trust of the foreigners. The requirements of the foreigners are known to us, and we have already listed them out. As long as you two gentlemen agree to these terms, I can say a few words in front of the foreigners, and the negotiation will definitely be successful." After finishing speaking, Li Mingfeng pulled out several sheets of paper from his sleeve, on which were listed the terms proposed by the foreigners and those he himself needed.
Gui Lianghe and Hua Shana exchanged a glance, also sneering in their hearts. These two were people who had been in the officialdom for many years, how could they not know Li Mingfeng's little tricks? As soon as these two translators arrived today, the two of them immediately determined that they were here to make demands, and the words about loyalty and patriotism they had spoken to those two youngsters earlier were all just polite phrases. The key point was waiting for these two fake foreigners to name their conditions.
Gong Cheng saw that the task was already completed, and he knew that Gui Liang and Hua Shana also had to report to Xianfeng before handling it. Staying longer would be useless, so he called for Li Mingfeng to leave the Governor's Mansion.
Back at his residence, Gong Cheng still took out the memorial tablet of his father Gong Zizhen and continued to scold him. Li Mingfeng was bored and had nothing to do, so he went out for a walk.
The Chinese have always been fond of discussing state affairs and national issues. In ancient times, there were no advanced communication tools, so news spread slowly, making teahouses - a gathering place for idlers - a medium for spreading all sorts of true and false news.
Li Mingfeng went to a larger teahouse nearby and found a quiet corner seat, listening quietly to these long-gowned "dignitaries" debating various state affairs.
There are discussions about when the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will be eradicated, explorations of whether foreigners dare to confront the Qing dynasty, and even more people studying various secrets and gossip about those princes and nobles.
Among them, only one message caught Li Mingfeng's interest. He secretly listened for half a day and found out that two months ago, his "old friend" Bai Gui had been overthrown. The Xianfeng Emperor ordered Huang Zonghan, the Governor of Sichuan, to take office. At that time, the Anglo-French coalition was bombarding Dagu, and the Xianfeng Emperor ordered Huang Zonghan to go to Huizhou to organize the militia and retake Guangzhou. As a result, this newly appointed Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi was so frightened that he did not dare to take office. The journey, which would have taken only ten or more days, had still not brought Huang Zonghan into Guangdong territory by now.
Sighing at the impermanence of life, Li Mingfeng thought to himself that Bai Gui was still in a good position just a few months ago, but now he has been removed from office. The saying "being with a ruler is like being with a tiger" is indeed a universal truth.
As the sky grew darker, Li Mingfeng paid the bill and stood up to return to the embassy.
The next day, the doorman came to report that someone had come to visit. Upon seeing the visiting card, it turned out to be Zhang Shiping and Qin Cheng. These two men had been sent for by Li Mingfang as soon as he entered Tianjin and were brought in to stay at an inn. In recent days, there was no need to discuss anything with them here, so Li Mingfang hadn't gone to visit them either.
They're all their own people now, and there's no need to be polite. As soon as the two of them were led in, Li Mingfeng directly asked them to sit down and talk, without so much courtesy.
Zhang Shiping had just sat down when he hastily asked: "How are things? Is there any progress?"
Li Mingfeng found his appearance laughable. He was obviously a man with a good sense of propriety, but when it came to matters related to his wallet, he couldn't help but lose his composure.
"Zhang Ddong's home, don't worry, this matter has already had a few points of certainty." Li Mingfeng then told Zhang Shiping all about his actions with Gong Cheng.
Zhang Shiping listened and hesitated for a moment before saying, "If the ticket number can be established, I am willing to take only 20% of the profit, and the remaining 80% will be entirely up to your arrangement, sir."
Li Mingfeng was taken aback by these words and asked in return, "You're so generous with your wealth? Are you giving me eighty percent of it? After deducting the share for Brother Gong Cheng, I can still get at least fifty or sixty percent. Aren't you suffering a big loss?"
Zhang Shiping smiled wryly and said: "Lord Li, you still think that all this silver will fall into your hands?"
"Is there still a joint that needs to be opened?"
"You added this clause to the contract, but what's the point of giving foreigners the right to operate a ticketing business? Anyone who isn't an idiot can see that this is just a benefit you've arranged for yourself. Maybe Gu Zhongtang was pressured into agreeing to this during negotiations, but there will definitely be officials at the imperial court who will object to it, and if we don't grease the wheels, this clause won't pass anyway. Even if it does get through the imperial court, in the future these officials won't give my ticketing business any convenience, and I won't be able to do business either." Zhang Shifeng let out a heavy sigh, apparently also regretting the loss of money.
Knowing he was an outsider, Li Mingfeng still decided to humbly ask for advice: "Then in your opinion, how should it be arranged?"
Zhang Shiping stroked his beard, furrowed his brow and considered for half a day before saying: "Guizhong Tang and Hua Daren are both pillars of the imperial court, and cannot be treated lightly. At least one person must take away 10% of the profits, leaving only Gongqin Wang and Zaiyuan Daren in the imperial court. Guizhong Tang is the father-in-law of Gongqin Wang, and Hua Daren has a close relationship with Zaiyuan Daren. I estimate that if we offer them another 30% of the profits, it will not be difficult for Guizhong Tang and Hua Daren to come to an agreement on this matter."
"What about Gong Cheng?" Li Mingfeng asked.
"Gong Banlun is crazy and has the same temperament as his old man. I think we won't need him in the future, so it's enough to give him a few thousand taels of silver this time, no need to give more." Zhang Shiping mentioned this person with disdain on his face.
Li Mingfeng did not expect that Gong Zizhen's reputation was already so bad before he betrayed the country, and judging from what he heard, it seemed that Gong Zizhen himself didn't have a good reputation either. This is completely different from what people said later on.
"I've been reading Western books since I grew up, and I don't know much about the Gong family father and son. Brother Zhang, tell me what they have done to make you despise them so much?" Li Mingfeng was very interested in gossip and secrets, and this time he wanted to get to the bottom of it.
