1850 American Gold Tycoon

Fillmore adjusted his glasses and looked carefully at the unfolded map. Google search reading

The coastlines of the three provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong in the Qing Dynasty are very detailed, especially the areas around the five treaty ports, which can be seen almost at a glance.

"I drew this map 6 years ago. Of course, I also updated the map later based on the information sent back by Qichang Yangxing." Mori said.

"You know the Qing Dynasty relatively well. If the United States sets up a supply station in the Far East, where would it be most suitable?" Fillmore asked, staring at the map provided by Mori.

"The island is better. After I returned to China, the headquarters of Qichang Yangxing Company has moved from Guangzhou to No. 9 on the Bund in Shanghai. The focus of American trade in the Qing Dynasty has also moved from Guangzhou to Shanghai.

If you want to secure a supply depot in the Far East, the coastal cities in the provinces north of Guangdong Province are better, as they can avoid the British attack, and islands are the best among them. "

Mori thought for a moment and said.

"How about Chongming Island?"

Fillmore pointed to Chongming Island on the map. Geographically, Chongming Island is the closest to the Shanghai headquarters of Qichang Yangxing.

Mori shook his head: "Chongming Island is not deep enough for large ships to enter and exit. The most suitable supply stations are Xiamen Island, Haitan Island (Pingtan), and Zhoushan Islands. These islands It has the potential to become a large deep-water port.

At present, the most important commodity that the United States obtains from the Qing Dynasty is tea. Almost all the tea of ​​Qichang Yangxing comes from Fujian. Therefore, my suggestion is to focus on the islands in Fujian. The farther north the islands are, the more likely they are to arouse the vigilance of the Qing government. "

"I will consider your suggestion carefully." Fillmore nodded and then asked his next question.

"You have lived in the Qing Dynasty for so long. Do you know the official system and officials of the Qing Dynasty? The highest rank of the official of the mission to the United States this time is the Minister of Rites. What level of official is this?"

“Officials in the Qing Dynasty were all selected through examinations, which is relatively advanced and has merit.

It just seems that many of the officials they selected have mediocre abilities, are very greedy and corrupt, and they are also very arrogant and treat us as barbarians. The biggest expense of Qichang Foreign Company in the Qing Dynasty is not commercial expenses, but bribery. Expenditures of local officials in the Qing Dynasty.

In the Qing Dynasty, many things cannot be done without bribing their officials. They will make things difficult for you at every turn until you bribe them.

Most officials in the Qing Dynasty did not have any noble ideals to pursue. It seemed that they were officials just to make money. "

After thinking carefully, Mori expressed his evaluation of the officials of the Qing Dynasty.

"Of course, not all officials in the Qing Dynasty were corrupt and incompetent. Lin Zexu, the imperial minister during the anti-smoking period in Guangzhou, was a relatively upright and honest official with ideal pursuits.

At first, I had the same idea as the British. We both thought that the imperial envoy's silence was just an excuse to ask for more bribes. We have seen many such Qing officials in the past, and we tried to bribe this official as usual. Mr. Lin, this upright imperial minister refused all our bribes and was very firm in his stance on banning smoking.

If I remember correctly, Shangshu was an official of the central government of the Qing Dynasty. The central officials of the Qing Dynasty had great power. No matter how big or small their official positions were, as long as the central officials were in the local area, local officials were full of fear of the central officials.

Because they were people around the emperor. In the Qing Dynasty, the emperor had supreme power, and the appointment and dismissal of officials were in the hands of the emperor. This is very different from the United States. "

"In other words, the Qing Dynasty's mission to the United States this time has a relatively high standard?"

Fillmore showed joy.

"You can understand that the officials of the Central Committee of the Qing Dynasty are very mysterious. I have never had any contact with them, and I don't know much about them." Mori said.

"I sincerely hope that the officials of the Qing Dynasty's mission to the United States are all a group of arrogant, ignorant, and greedy guys."

Fillmore chewed and digested Mori's words.

"Corrupt and arrogant officials are easier to deal with than the upright imperial minister you mentioned. Whether the United States can bypass Britain and gain more interests in the Far East depends on this time and the Qing Dynasty's mission to the United States. The meeting was fruitful.”

As he spoke, Fillmore dug out the letters from the newspaper that Qichang Yangxing had recently sent to the White House. In order to deepen his understanding of the Qing Dynasty, Fillmore read these letters back and forth several times, trying to filter out valuable information. information.

The affairs of the five American treaty ports in China were handled by Qichang Yangxing. Qichang Yangxing actually performed the duties of the consulate, and the spy work of intelligence collection was naturally not left behind.

Fillmore deftly took out three letters and handed them to Maury.

"I heard that the Qing Dynasty was not at peace this year. There were riots in the southern region of the Qing Dynasty. Do you think it was because of this that they sent a mission to the United States, hoping to seek help and support from the United States to suppress their internal riots? ?" Fillmore expressed his guess.

"Well, I've been away from the Qing Dynasty for too long, so I don't know."

Morrie said that the Qing Dynasty suddenly sent a mission to the United States, which surprised Morrie, and he could not figure out the purpose of the mission.

An estate on the banks of the Hudson River in New York City.

There was an endless stream of local celebrities asking to meet at the gate of the manor, carrying generous gifts.

Liang Yao refused to meet these New York celebrities who asked to see them, and told Pan Zhengwei and others that meeting the New York celebrities in advance would be beneath the dignity of an envoy of the Great Power.

We still have to meet these New York celebrities for the last time. After all, they also want to open up the New York market, and they can't get around these New York celebrities.

Liang Yao decided to whet the appetites of these New York celebrities first and wait until the meeting with President Fillmore was over before meeting them again.

As for gifts from celebrities in New York, they were accepted as ordered, because not accepting them would not be in line with the image of a Qing official.

Pan Zhengwei and Wu Yuanhua secretly forged the credentials of the Qing Dynasty in the manor.

No one has ever seen what the credentials of the Qing Dynasty looked like, but it doesn’t matter, neither have Americans.

"The United States has great ambitions, and there is a high probability that it also wants to ask for a port like Hong Kong Island as a stronghold like the United Kingdom. If Fillmore makes this request, your attitude must be very tough and sternly refuse. "Liang Yao said.

"This must be rejected. Besides, we are not a real mission. If we really agree to this condition, even if we have the ability to do anything in the court, we will make Long Yan angry." Pan Zhengwei said.

Although the identity of the mission is false, as long as the terms of the treaty are equal, the Qing Dynasty will look good and the Holy Emperor will be happy. With their connections in the court, they can spend money to do one or two things, and it is not without passing the treaty and getting money from the court. to a formal treaty instrument.

"Free immigration between the two countries and reduce tariffs for California. As long as these two items are negotiated, our goal will be achieved."

Liang Yao crossed his hands and watched with interest as Pan Zhengwei, Wu Yuanhua and others forged credentials.

Free immigration between the Qing and the United States was the main purpose of Liang Yao letting Pan Zhengwei, Wu Yuanhua and others pretend to be the Qing Dynasty's mission to the United States.

As for the tariff reduction and exemption for California, it is to facilitate the export of California industrial products in the future.

The power to set tariffs for each state in the United States lies with Congress, which is also one of the most important powers of Congress. Congress has always been very tight on tariffs.

Liang Yao doesn't have high expectations for the tariff reduction and exemption in California. If the deal can be negotiated, it would be an unexpected surprise. Liang Yao can accept it if the deal cannot be negotiated.

"What should we do about the establishment of consulates between the two countries?" Pan Zhengwei asked worriedly.

"Webster's guy came to me again and again, hoping that the two countries could send consuls to each other. This is definitely something that cannot be avoided, and President Fillmore will definitely make this request."

"What Ting Yu said is absolutely true. Each of these American officials is more sophisticated than the last. This rule cannot be avoided at any cost. The imperial court is most bothered by dealing with Westerners. This rule will definitely not be passed by the Qing Dynasty. "

The problem that Pan Zhengwei is worried about is also the problem that Wu Yuanhua is most worried about.

"Neither refuse nor agree." Liang Yao said, "You just say that this is beyond your authority. You have to go back and report to the Holy Emperor. The ministers will discuss it before making a decision. If you ask again in the future, you will keep dragging the top officials of the United States. That’s all.”

"drag?"

Pan Zhengwei and Wu Yuanhua's eyes lit up.

"That's a good idea."

"The president of the United States has a term of office. If it is delayed until the next president takes office, this matter may be forgotten." Liang Yao said.

"Master Liang still understands America." Pan Zhengwei praised.

“The Americans opened Qichang Bank to Shanghai, can we also open our business to New York?

If possible, in the future, our firm's goods will be sold directly in New York, and the profits will definitely be very generous, especially for tea. Americans have a special liking for our tea. "Wu Yuanhua said.

"You can talk to the New York State authorities on your own about such small matters after meeting President Fillmore," Liang Yao said.

"Isn't selling Fushou ointment in New York more profitable than selling tea?" Zeng Jinsong said.

"Foreigners can sell Fushou ointment in our Qing Dynasty, so why can't we open opium dens in New York to sell Fushou ointment? Fushou ointment can make people addicted, and the profit is far beyond that of tea."

"What Brother Zeng said is true, how could I have forgotten this!" Wu Yuanhua said, stroking his forehead.

These businessmen are not law-abiding people, and they often open opium dens selling longevity ointments in the country.

"Just where can I get the longevity ointment?" Wu Yuanhua temporarily put down his work and scratched his head and said, "Usually when I was in Guangzhou, the longevity ointment from various shops was bought from the British. The longevity ointment from the British is not cheap. .”

"Mr. Liang, why don't we just plant Fushou flowers in California and sell them ourselves?" Zeng Jinsong said with squinted eyes.

"Who dares to grow longevity flowers and sell longevity ointment in California? Don't blame the ruthless knife in my hand!" Liang Yao sternly rebuked.

This excessive request has touched his bottom line, and he has a deep hatred for drugs.

After the establishment of the California state government, he immediately wrote anti-drug regulations into state law and withstood the pressure to close all the opium dens in California.

He will take the head of anyone who dares to allow opiates and other related drugs to resurgence in California, and he will never tolerate it.

"You idiot, it is forbidden to grow Fushou flowers and ban the smoking of Fushou ointment, but it is written into the state law. How dare you grow these things in California?" Pan Zhengwei rebuked Zeng Jinsong righteously and then said.

"If you really want to sell this product in New York, wouldn't it be the same if you sent people to places like Mexico and Nicaragua to grow it?"

"What Ting Yu said is absolutely true. How could I not have thought of it? It is not illegal to plant seeds in these countries."

After Pan Zhengwei's prompting, Zeng Jinsong suddenly became enlightened as if he could see the sun through clouds.

"Mr. Liang, it's going up, it's going up, the price of gold is going up!"

While they were talking, Kony ran in excitedly and informed Liang Yao about the rise in gold prices.

"How much has it increased?"

Liang Yao asked calmly.

Liang Yao was not surprised at all by the news of rising gold prices.

Before arriving in New York, he had people spread the news in New York that he had brought a large amount of gold to New York, asking for directions and testing the reaction of the New York gold market.

The result was not what Liang Yao expected. There was a slight fluctuation in the gold market in New York. This also showed that the gold market in New York was not stable and gave Liang Yao the confidence to leverage the price of the gold market.

"The exchange ratio between the US dollar and gold has increased from 6:100 to 1:100." Kony asked excitedly.

"Sir, should we sell the US$10 million in gold futures now? Gold futures are relatively popular in the market now, and it is easy for us to sell these gold futures."

"You worthless guy, do you think I'm a beggar? I've been working hard for a long time to earn this hard-earned money?" Liang Yao rolled his eyes at Kony angrily.

Due to the ridiculous leverage ratio of the New York gold futures market, the actual value of the US$10 million in gold futures in his hand is only US$100,000. With this amount, the husband cannot make much money.

Furthermore, his goal was the gold in federal vaults, not the small profits in the gold futures market.

This little money is not enough to put food between his teeth.

"Yes, sir, what should we do next?" Kony asked.

"Is there any reaction from Minister Kewen?" Liang Yao asked.

"Your Excellency Corwin's mood is very stable. Your Excellency Corwin's attention is now entirely on the Qing Dynasty's delegation to the United States, and he is anxiously waiting for the arrival of the President.

And although the price of gold has risen, this small increase is very normal. Not to mention Mr. Corwin, most speculators on Wall Street have not noticed this. " Coney said.

"very good."

Liang Yao nodded with satisfaction. This at least shows that the broker that Kony found for him is reliable. If the Ministry of Finance enters the market too early, the operating space for him will be limited. The profit that can be obtained by selling gold futures and gold will be limited. not enough.

Liang Yao thought for a moment and continued: "The price of gold is not high enough. If we continue to hold gold futures worth 30 million US dollars, we should leave it to the original two brokers.

Tell them not to buy so many gold futures at once, but to buy them quietly and slowly in batches, so as not to let people in the Ministry of Finance notice anything unusual. "

"Understood, sir." Kony carefully memorized every word Liang Yao said, "Buy quietly, buy slowly, and buy in batches. Don't alert people from the Ministry of Finance. Sir, you want the price of gold to slowly increase." Go up?”

"You'll understand later."

With that said, Liang Yao took out the check of 300,000 US dollars that he had already prepared and handed it to Kony.

"Here's a check from Barings for three hundred thousand dollars, go do something."