Chapter 60: Famed

  Famous

  Li Jingfang said, "The person my brother mentioned is called Yao Feng. His family has been doing business abroad since the Shunzhi era and has trade all over Southeast Asia. They are a prominent family among the sea merchants. Now they specialize in trade between Southeast Asian countries. Seeing that the Qing dynasty is gradually becoming more open and prosperous, they have sent him back to China to do some trade and seek development."

  We brothers traveled with him all the way, and every day we talked and gained a lot. Yao Fan is a man who has done in-depth research on the politics, economy, military affairs, culture, and history of Western countries. He has also been engaged in business and study in Western countries, and is proficient in English and German. It can be seen that he is familiar with dealing with foreigners and is well-versed in foreign affairs.

  If someone else had said this, Ding Baozhen would have been half-believing and half-doubting. But if Yao Feng himself had said it, Ding Baozhen could have basically determined that he was a swindler. However, it's worth noting that the same words spoken by different people often have different effects. The Li family's status and position were enough to make Ding Baozhen believe about six or seven parts of what they said.

  Indeed, Ding Baozhen's eyes lit up: "Oh! Is there really such a person? The vast and profound China is indeed producing talents in abundance. I am currently preparing to establish the Shandong Machinery Bureau, which is in urgent need of personnel who are proficient in foreign affairs! I have previously invited Xu Jianyin, whose father Xu Shouding was a great name, had built the first steamship of the Qing Dynasty at the Anqing Inner Military Arsenal, and translated many books urgently needed for foreign affairs.

  Li Deshu said with a smile: "Yao Fang, the elder brother, is knowledgeable and will not lose to Xu Jianyin. As for translating books, his family has compiled and translated historical books of various Western countries overseas, all of which are exquisite and unparalleled. Unfortunately, they have been used to business for a long time, and these translations were made by themselves for leisure, and they have lived abroad for a long time without communicating with the country, so their collections have never flowed out."

  Ding Baozhen listened to Li's description and was also delighted, saying: "This is very good. I have a Shangzhi Academy here that has been established for six years. In addition to compiling and annotating classical works, it also includes translating Western astronomy, geography, and mathematics. If Yao Fang can read and understand foreign languages, I will recommend him to take charge of this academy!"

  Li Jingfang smiled and said, "Uncle Ding, you underestimate Yao Fan. His family is large and wealthy, how can he be satisfied with just being a manager? He's probably not even willing to be the general manager."

  Li Jingyu, who had been silent all along and was dressed as a young man, suddenly spoke up: "I remember that Big Brother Yao said he was the eldest son of the legitimate wife and would inherit the family's vast business. He is not interested in any official career or future prospects."

  Ding Baozhen said in disappointment: "It turns out that Yao Fang is a thoroughgoing merchant, at this time when the country needs talents, he is self-satisfied with petty gains. It's better not to see such people."

  Li Desheng hastily said: "Uncle Ding, it's not like that. After talking with Big Brother Yao, I feel he has great ambitions and is unwilling to be a minor official."

  Having said that, Li Desheng disregarded etiquette and slid down from the red wooden chair, running into the back hall while saying: "Uncle Ding, wait a moment, I'll get the Yao family's translation book for you to see."

  Li Jingfang awkwardly said: "My second brother has recently been getting along very well with that Yao Fang, Uncle Ding please don't blame him."

  Ding Baozhen smiled and said: "I was just going to see what kind of Western history book the Yao family could come up with, how would I blame you for describing it."

  Li Desu had someone bring over the book that Yao Fang had sent, and when Ding Baozhen saw it, he was shocked.

  People who love reading these days have a kind of inner obsession and primitive worship for books, most of them have the habit of collecting books, especially different versions and beautifully bound ones. The rich, when faced with good books, even if they already have one at home, still want to collect another version, often just because of the exquisite printing or their fondness for the font used in that edition.

  Ding Baozhen was a bookworm and also an orthodox civil official from the imperial examination system, so he couldn't help but be captivated. When he first laid eyes on that shiny, luxurious copperplate paper, the vibrant color illustrations, and the meticulous craftsmanship of the cut edges, he had already subconsciously formed the idea of collecting books.

  As he stood in front of the three members of the Li family, he didn't have time to look carefully, so he glanced at the bookshelf, picked up a "History of the British Empire", opened it directly from the middle and flipped through it. He only read one page before being drawn in, flipping three or five pages, liking it more and more, then said: "Where is Yao Fang now? I want to see him."

  Li Desheng smiled and said: "What does Uncle Ding think of this book?"

  Li Jingfang saw Li Xiu's somewhat flustered appearance and hastily interjected, "Uncle Ding, even if Yao Fan doesn't become an official, with his overseas connections, there are plenty of opportunities to be had."

  Ding Baozhen suddenly had a flash of memory, and he forcibly pulled his attention away from the captivating colorful pages of the book. He thought to himself: "Yao Fang... Yao Fang... this name seems familiar..."

  Ding Baozhen racked his brains and soon thought of something!

  Yesterday, Shandong's Surveillance Commissioner and Governor Hu Zhen came to see him, saying that he had received a letter from Jiangxi's Surveillance Commissioner Gu Wei Zhong. The letter said that the three people in charge of defending Qingdao Port in Jiaozhou, Weiguo Fu, Sunmao Wen, and Liu Zi Ming, colluded with the owner of a local pawnshop called Wannian Pawnshop, He Wannian, and overseas merchant Yao Fan to smuggle goods.

  At that time, Ding Baozhen's response to Hu Zhen was basically cautious, the general idea being: "As the governor and provincial governor, it is your duty to investigate the administration of justice, but if you only listen to one sentence from Gu Wei Zhong and do not conduct a thorough investigation, I'm afraid it would be inappropriate. Moreover, even if the case is true, there are three officials involved in that case, once it is investigated, it may become a chain reaction, and when the news gets out, both you and I will lose face as the ones in charge of Shandong's officialdom. You can't knock over a whole boat with one pole, you should carefully pick one out and give him a warning."

  Moreover, this involves Wei Guofu, a guard officer under the Yamen of General Zhou Ziren of Dengzhou. General Zhou is the younger brother of Zhou Zuoren, the Commander-in-Chief of Shandong Province. Even if you want to make trouble, you shouldn't drag him in, otherwise, if you bring in the Zhou brothers, it's equivalent to slapping Li Hongzhang in the face. Do you have a grudge against Li Hongzhang?

  "In short, you can weigh your own abilities and decide what to do. In any case, I, Ding Baozhen, will not get involved."

  Hu Zhen was a jinshi and also rose from being a county magistrate in Shandong. He had been the Director of Grain Transportation in Shandong for many years, so he naturally understood this principle. He just wanted to see Ding Baozhen's attitude and whether Ding would deliberately protect these officials.

  Li Hongzhang is the Governor of Zhili and the Minister of Beiyang Trade, with his claws all over the official circles of Zhili and Shandong. His power is overwhelming. Hu Zhen's brain hasn't gone bad yet, but he doesn't want to get involved in this muddy water.

  That Guo was a supervising censor, but he was far away in Jiangxi. What right did he have to stir up trouble? As the saying goes, giving you personal favors is just saving face. If you don't save his face, then there's no way for him to do it either.

  The only thing that annoyed Hu Zhen in this matter was that he didn't get a single penny of benefit from it! After leaving Ding Baozhen's place, he thought to himself: "It's normal for small officials to be corrupt and collude with merchants. If they don't take bribes, what kind of official would they be? So naturally, this case can't be handled as stupidly as Guo Weizhong suggested, just submitting a report without investigating further."

  Moreover, those people dared to smuggle under the nose of Li Hongzhang, the governor who controlled the five ports for foreign trade. You say there is no backing from the Li clique? That's absolutely impossible. If it were to implicate Li Hongzhang... Over the years, censors Wu E, Yan Jingming, and Liang Dingfen, one after another, threw themselves at him like moths to a flame, but did Li Hongzhang lose a single hair? On the contrary, all those censoring officials were dismissed and sent home by the Empress Dowager.

  This year, as long as it involves Li Hongzhang, the old Buddha will definitely turn a blind eye, and may even issue an edict to scold himself. However, it is still necessary for him to give these small officials a moderate beating, so that they know what it means to show respect to their superiors. As for Guo Weizhong in Jiangxi, whether he is happy or not has nothing to do with me, Hu Zhenzhi.

  Ding Baozhen thought of this and immediately asked: "Is this Yao Fang doing business in Qingdao?"

  Li Jingfang asked: "How did Uncle Ding know he was operating in Qingdao?"

  Ding Baozhen's face was smiling, thinking: "It turns out that this Yao Fang is indeed the same Yao Fang. This kid's little tail is right in my hands, if I don't take advantage of it and pull it off, he might not even understand."

  Just then, Fu Bo came in and greeted Ding Baozhen. He reported to Li Jingfang: "Yao Dongjia sent someone to inform us of his whereabouts. It's at the East of Nainai Temple in the west of the city, which is also called Zao Fan Shang Hao."

  Ding Baozhen furrowed his brow and said: "Early Sail Trading Company?"

  Li Deshu was taken aback and said: "Oh, Brother Yao's name is Zao Fan, derived from Mantra, meaning to take calm in the early morning, and set sail early."

  Ding Baozhen shook his head and stopped talking, but in his heart he was very dissatisfied. He thought to himself: "This guy's characters must have been obtained from the West, not knowing any taboos at all. The name 'Want Rice' is already a mistake, and here it also has the same pronunciation as 'making rebellion', truly having stayed in the Westerners' land for too long and forgetting one's roots."

  But as soon as he thought that Yao Fang was well-versed in foreign affairs, Ding Baozhen felt relieved. He knew how difficult it was to find someone who was well-versed in foreign affairs these days, and he also knew that a foolish name couldn't cover up a person's talent.

  At the beginning, Ding Baozhen had just passed the imperial examination and became a jinshi, but soon returned to his hometown in Pingyuan, Guizhou due to his mother's illness. Not long after, he encountered the Taiping Rebellion, which attacked the city. As a landlord by birth, Ding Baozhen hated the Taiping Army's land redistribution policy, so he took out his family savings and recruited 800 people, thus embarking on a path of both literature and martial arts. This was a grand way in the late Qing dynasty.

  For over fifty years, Ding Baozhen has seen countless people and things. He has gained numerous lessons and experiences from his struggles. One thing he is very clear about is that a person's surname, name, or appearance are not important; what matters most is having real talent and learning. As for a person's political inclination, it can be known by looking at their family background. The son of a merchant thinks about money, the son of an official thinks about land, and both want to make a fortune through official positions. Therefore, they all want to become officials; what matters is only the size of the official position. As for those poor devils... each one is unreliable! Ding Baozhen thought.