Talks 302

  I heard that your submarine has been making waves in the Yangtze River recently, colliding with and damaging many passing ships. Is this true?" Liu Ziguang first dodged the question by removing his hat.

  "This... " Wen Huan was clearly unclear about the matter, his angry gaze swept towards Zhao Jing, who wiped away a sweat in embarrassment. "The new boat is still not convenient to operate, these fishing boats change their course at will, last time there were even twenty or thirty small boats from Nanjing Ma Liu Yu trying to surround my boat, and I had no choice but to capsize a few of them and make a run for it..." His voice grew lower under Wen Huan's angry stare.

  "So, you must compensate for the losses of our country's fishermen!" Liu Ziguang said with a stern expression.

  "Compensation is a must, but General Liu seems to not be able to represent your country's imperial court, right?" Wen Xuan was very dissatisfied with Liu Ziguang's attempt to change the subject and retorted.

  "All my subjects of the great Ming can represent the court and negotiate with the barbarians in the absence of the court." Liu Ziguang brought up this matter just to overwhelm his opponent in terms of momentum and morality. He had heard that Nanjing's Malu Fishing Village was actually a semi-black society fishing organization, so he didn't bother to manage those trivial matters.

  "This I will settle myself, let's talk business. General Liu, how much is the price? Add to that the cost of salvaging our boat earlier and give me a total, as long as it's not outrageous, I can accept it."

  "This, recently I've been learning to paint, especially interested in Gongbi Huaniao, I suddenly thought of keeping the Emperor's handwritten 'Precious Birds and Flowers' for study and reference. Every day at home, imitating it will definitely make rapid progress." Liu Ziguang shamelessly said, purely to raise the price. He invited someone out and then suddenly changed his mind saying he wouldn't sell it, fortunately, he was able to say it out loud.

  "Our family's young lady also loves to paint, and when she heard that I was going to sell the painting to you, she came to bother me several times. Alas..." Liu Ziguang said, looking at Peng Jingrong with a serious expression. The latter nodded helplessly and chimed in: "It's really a pity to let it go so easily."

  Such a low-level trick would naturally be child's play in the eyes of a seasoned diplomat like Wen Yu, and exposing it would spoil the fun. He pretended to be surprised: "General Liu is indeed a versatile talent, proficient in both martial arts and literature, painting and calligraphy. Especially this meticulous painting can cultivate one's temperament. I fully support you, but borrowing the treasured item of your country's empress dowager to take home might not be a good idea? This is a matter of life and death, others would avoid it, but General Liu still has the leisure to copy it at home, I really have some concerns amidst my admiration."

  "The imperial court of your country is investigating very closely, and the surveillance of our Song Dynasty's mission is watertight. If it weren't for Wen certain arriving by submarine, I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to sit together like this."

  "I also think the risk is quite big, but to sell it like this, I'm afraid it would be suspected of smuggling national treasures, and that would be unforgivable to our ancestors." Liu Ziguo clutched his chest and stamped his feet.

  "We are the authentic descendants of Yan and Huang, the remnants of Huaxia, and it's not like we're letting national treasures flow out. Moreover, this is a painting by our great ancestor, the Emperor of Song, which will definitely be carefully preserved in the Song Dynasty. Please put your mind at ease, General Liu. I'm deeply moved by your love for cultural relics. As a token of appreciation for your enthusiasm in protecting cultural relics, I'll make an exception on behalf of the imperial court and award you an additional 1,000 gold coins." Wen Huan was indeed generous and open-handed, truly befitting his reputation as the wealthy and influential Duke of Song.

  "How can that be, actually I'm not a person who loves money, just like to play with advanced things. By the way, Lord Wen has obtained the imperial court's authorization for rapid transmission, right? Even if it's 800 miles away, it can't run that fast, and homing pigeons can't fly that fast either. How did you contact the Song Dynasty court thousands of miles away?"

  Wen Xuan's pupils contracted slightly, almost imperceptibly: "There is no special way, just a fast mail ship. Wen Mou had already obtained the authorization last year and can fully represent the imperial court to purchase the paintings of the former emperor."

  "It's like that, then I'll just keep the 'Painting of Rare Birds and Flowers' to copy, painting small birds, flowers and grass is also good. Mr. Wen speaks with reserve, not interesting at all." Liu Ziguang stood up, hands behind his back, looking out the window with a distracted expression.

  "Haha, General Liu is being evasive and ambiguous, surely he has his eyes on some treasure of our Great Song Dynasty? Speak up, as long as it's not related to military secrets, I, Wen, can make the decision." The diplomatic rhetoric went back and forth between the two sides, with Liu Zhi Guang hinting at wanting the wireless telegraph station in Song, while Wen Xuan subtly expressed refusal.

  "The great man just said that he can handle it with full authority, but now he says except for this and that. Honestly, the development of science and technology cannot be stopped. If you don't say it, others will also invent it, only a few years later. I want this thing, it's for the sake of all living things in the vast land of China, to drive out the Tartars as soon as possible and restore our rivers and mountains! A technique must truly benefit the masses to be considered a great invention, otherwise it is just a clever trick." After a speech full of righteous indignation, Liu Ziguang felt that a halo was about to appear on his head. Peng Jingrong's gaze at him also became somewhat dazed.

  Wen Xuan didn't say a word, wireless telegraphy was one of the most secretive inventions of the Travelling Song, only important diplomatic missions and fleet communication liaison ships were equipped with it, this is a guarantee to win thousands of miles. If you spend so much money on such advanced technology just for a painting, it's not worth it. But Liu Ziguang's words also make sense, even if they don't sell it, others won't study it themselves.

  "Long wave radio is a good thing, next time when sending reports take it to the top of Zijin Mountain to send, high altitude can spread further, maybe no need for Shanghai relay station." Liu Ziguo said casually. "Several geniuses in my workshop have been studying this stuff for some time, if you don't want to then forget it, at most spend more time, I don't believe the people of Daming can't make wireless telegraphy work, come on, send him off."

  This is indeed a big truth. As for wireless telegraphy, he didn't have such an urgent need either. Anyway, Edison would eventually be able to study it out, so he spoke with confidence.

  However, Wen Xuan's confidence was not as strong. He had originally come with the determination to succeed, with boxes of silver tickets, drafts, and gold coins on the submarine, and had already guaranteed to the imperial court that "Painting of Rare Birds" would be able to catch up with the mail ship departing from Shanghai tomorrow and return home. Now Liu Ziguang suddenly put forward such an unacceptable condition, which made this experienced diplomat quite headache.

  "I'm willing to spend 500,000 taels of silver to buy the painting!" Wen Xuan said with a determined heart, then waited for Liu Ziguang's reaction. The host hadn't spoken yet when Peng Jingrong chimed in: "My younger sister spent 100,000 taels on two dogs." The implication was that she didn't think much of the silver at all.

  Negotiation is like buying things at a night market, the buyer always shows dissatisfaction with the quality of the goods and the price, even pretending to walk away, while the seller tries every means to prove that his goods are genuine and reasonably priced, and finally grabs the customer when they are about to leave and sells it to them at a loss.

  However, Wen Xuan did not have the capital to do so. He couldn't show disdain for the goods because they were the genuine works of the former emperor of the Great Song Dynasty. He also couldn't turn around and leave to compare prices at other shops because "Painting of Rare Birds" was a one-of-a-kind item with no duplicates, and even if he really left, that demanding seller probably wouldn't care at all. They didn't care about money, nor did they care about getting the wireless technology a day earlier or later.

  "Wen Gong, what do you think the world will be like in 500 years?" Liu Ziguang suddenly asked.

  Wen Xuan was so clever that he knew at once what he wanted to get at, and said in a low voice: "Please speak plainly, General."

  "At that time, no matter how rich or poor people were, everyone had a small wireless device in their hands, and they could communicate with relatives and friends from all over the world at any time. Gold and silver became worthless industrial materials, while ancient paintings remained valuable, and as time went by, they would only become more valuable. Do you think it will be like this 500 years later?" Liu Ziguang persuaded Wen Yun from a historical perspective.

  "A great person should have some international spirit, don't always think about monopoly, exclusive rights, and technical advantages, that's narrow-minded! I think the original intention of the scientists who invented this thing was also to benefit the masses, not for you to hide and hoard it. Doesn't Mr. Wen want to leave a good name in history?"

  Liu Ziguang's nonsense somehow moved Wen Huan, "Alright, I agree!" There's a thousand-mile transmitter on the Mixiang Dragon, I'll have them dismantle it for you right away.

  "Wait a minute, there's only one set of Mixed River Dragon, how can I use it? At least two sets are needed!" Liu Ziguang took advantage of the victory to pursue.

  "There are only a few sets in the entire country of Ming, and currently we can't even gather two sets. How about this: you take one set first, we'll bring the painting away and have another set produced domestically to be delivered to your home?" said Wen Xuan.

  "That won't do! What about the debt you owe? Alright, let's not bother with dismantling and reassembling. I'll take the Mix Jiang Long away for now, and then you can bring another wireless radio to exchange. That way it's more reliable."

  "Absolutely not!" Before Wen Huan could respond, Zhao Jing, who had been silent all along, spoke up. Wanting the Mixiang Dragon was equivalent to wanting his life. As a captain, selling the ship would be humiliating enough.

  "That's it, I didn't say anything, see you off!" Liu Ziguang once again requested to terminate the negotiations, this is the killer move of the negotiations.

  Wen Yun, who had initially wanted to leave with a flourish, maintained his good breeding and said: "General Liu, Wen is not familiar with naval matters. Let alone such top-secret submarines, even an ordinary boat cannot be given away so easily. Moreover, if the submarine is given to you, how can we escape from the pursuit of the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard by bringing the painting overseas? General, perhaps you want something else instead, like silver or something?"

  It was originally meant to be a show of force, but since they're in a difficult situation, let's just give them a way out. Peng Jingrong also chimed in, "You've taken their boat, how are they supposed to get home? Just take some silver and call it a day."

  "It's also good that it's like this, you just said you wanted to pay 500,000 taels, now half of that is 250,000 taels, plus the cost of salvaging your submarine, a total of 300,000 taels, isn't that fair?" Liu Ziguang said.

  It's fair! The 6,000 dan of grain that sank into the river while salvaging the submarine was worth less than 10,000 taels of silver. Now it has increased fivefold. However, Wen Huan didn't want to entangle with this scoundrel anymore. "Fair? Alright then, one thousand-mile transmitter plus 3 million taels of silver, deal!" His face had already turned somewhat iron-gray, and he might have never experienced such a suffocating negotiation before.

  "Deal!" Liu Ziguang stood up and shook hands with Wen Yun. "Cultivated." "Shameless." The two people secretly praised each other in their hearts.

  Because Liu Ziguang was afraid that the sailors would damage the wireless telegraph, he and Addison personally supervised the dismantling of the wireless telegraph. Although Liu Ziguang did not understand technology, he had an amazing memory, and after glancing at it, he could draw out the approximate dimensions of the submarine. Addison was even more impressive, able to discern the principles and operating methods of the submarine, and it would not be difficult for him to replicate a similar submarine afterwards.

  This submarine uses a combination of small steam engine and battery for propulsion, using the steam engine when running on the surface, burning high-calorie South Pacific kerosene, clean and residue-free, and batteries when submerged.

  The wireless telegraph was dismantled, the motor of the Mixiang Dragon was repaired, and the large hole in the water tank was patched up. After carefully examining "Painting of Rare Birds", the silver notes and gold coins worth 300,000 taels were handed over, and both parties parted ways with a friendly and sincere handshake.

  Wen Yu stood on the conning tower of the Hunjiang Dragon and exchanged a polite phrase "we'll meet again" with Liu Ziguang before diving into the submarine. With a loud clang, the hatch was closed, and the Hunjiang Dragon opened the ballast valve, slowly sinking into the river until it reached a certain depth, where it hovered in the water. The periscope was raised, the electric motor started, and the submarine headed towards Shanghai.

  "Big Brother Wen, if we do this, won't we be punished by the imperial court?" asked the naval lieutenant colonel to the Imperial Guard lieutenant colonel.

  "It won't work, last month in the armed conflict with Taiwan's Zheng family, an enemy had already seized a thousand-mile transmitter. This thing can't be banned, it's better to sell it early and get a good price for it. The imperial court originally budgeted two million taels of silver as the bottom line, but we spent 300,000 taels and one small ship with a cost of 3,000 taels to use the thousand-mile transmitter to exchange back the national treasure. Do you think it's worth it? Will the imperial court reward or punish us?" Wen Huan had a hint of a smile on his face, "In terms of negotiation, he's still a bit inexperienced."