African Nationhood

Chapter 122 Windfall
  Ye Shilong also knew that people who talk empty talk would not believe it, but Mr. Shi asked him to stay here and wait for the opportunity.

“Since Chief Liu doesn’t want it, we can’t force it.

We also brought 4000 Martini-Henry rifles and 40 rounds of bullets produced by our company this time. Does Mr. Liu need them? "

"Martini-Henry rifle, really?"

Seeing the other party's surprised look, Ye Shilong smiled slightly.

"This matter is of course true. We are here to contact you sincerely, so naturally we cannot lie about such a matter.

The stuff is at Hongji Port. Chief Liu can send someone to check it. The two of us will wait here, okay? "

Liu Yongfu and several military leaders looked at each other, and everyone's eyes flashed with desire.

The Martini-Henry rifle was very famous in the Qing Dynasty, but the Qing army was more inclined to purchase German weapons because of Li Hongzhang and Li Zhongtang.

Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army is not as arrogant as the official army. What are they for? There are still many soldiers in the Black Flag Army using matchlock guns.

After taking these weapons, the strength of his men will greatly increase, and it will be easier to conquer the territory.

"Do you have any samples?"

"I brought this naturally, but my guards are still outside."

Liu Yongfu immediately ordered people to let in the two guards.

The guards opened the wooden box they brought, and inside was a brand-new Martini-Henry rifle with a bayonet and a scabbard, a brown handguard with wooden spikes, and a black barrel wrapped with a Heavy butter.

The guard opened another small box and could see that it contained brass bullets neatly wrapped in butter paper.

After Liu Yongfu and several military leaders checked it out, he stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Okay, since your company is so generous, I, Liu Yongfu, will not be stingy. How much are these weapons?"

"8 taels of kuping silver. If there is no silver, we can use other objects or items as collateral, such as gold, silver, jewelry, or people. We urgently need to fill the land."

The price (2 pounds) is not expensive, after all, it is a door-to-door service.

Previously, Shi Jintang spent 8000 pounds to purchase 150 rifles and 4 million rounds of ammunition from Governor Freire.

After hearing the quotation, Liu Yongfu hesitated a little.

He had been raising troops for so long, and he had accumulated some gold and silver, but most of them were distributed to his brothers.

Dingkou is the foundation and source of soldiers for him, and he cannot abandon it for the time being.

There is still a box of calligraphy and painting antiques left in his treasure house, which were accumulated during the Qing rebellion and when he came here to clean up the gangs.

Most of the people in the army are illiterate, and no one can tell their value at all. Since they are short of money, it is better to use these calligraphy, painting and writing to get some value.

In the end, several military leaders totaled up and collected almost 10,000 taels of gold, silver and jewelry, as well as a box of antiques, calligraphy and paintings of unknown value.

Ye Shilong was a martial artist and he was easy to value gold and silver, but it was really difficult to price this antique, calligraphy and painting.

And Wang Zhongyi, who left home to study abroad when he was young, knows nothing about this.

Ye Shilong made the decision, and the price of this box of writing, calligraphy and painting was 4000 taels.

Liu Yongfu was reluctant and finally added another 500 taels.

The rest had to be paid with Dingkou. Ye Shilong stipulated that Chinese people should pay for each of five taels, and children and indigenous women should have three taels for each.

Liu Yongfu was immediately happy when he heard it. It turned out that it would be okay to use native people.

So he ordered his eldest son, Liu Chengzhang, to mobilize troops to raid the surrounding bandit territories, and capture all the women and children they encountered regardless of their race to pay off the debt.

In the end, the "Jinshan Town" returned home carrying 290 Chinese men and women, 482 indigenous women, 123 Mingxiang and Jing children, as well as a box of gold and silver treasures, cultural toys, calligraphy and paintings.

The rest will continue to pretend on the next trip, but no one knows that they will not be able to come here in the next two years.

In order to complete their mission, Ye Shilong and Wang Zhongyi strongly suggested that Liu Yongfu send his confidants to southwest Africa for inspection, and in exchange they stayed here as hostages.

After discussing with the generals and his wife, Liu Yongfu decided to send his nephews from various families to explore the road in Southwest Africa.

……

In July, the "Jinshan Town" returned to Walvis Bay Port.

Representatives of the Black Flag Army, led by Liu Yongfu's second son Liu Chengye, were immediately stunned by the bustling commercial port in the desert.

The busy and bustling scene of the pier complements the mighty coastal defense cannons surrounding the pier.

The people here are wealthy and happy, much happier than their compatriots in Baosheng City.

The dazzling array of products on the shelves of the Port Service Agency was an eye-opener for them.

They also saw a man riding a strange iron frame on the road at high speed, and a woman riding an iron frame as light as a fairy.

There were also railway locomotives whining and spitting out white smoke. All these experiences made them deeply moved.

Xue Youfu took these people on the Whale-An Line and went to Sihai Restaurant for a good meal. They felt even more that the lives of people here were not like the human world.

Shortly after the meal, a four-wheel carriage took them to the reservoir farm, vegetable garden and orchard in Anhai Town, and finally to the Arsenal in Anhai Town.

After such a trip, several people felt relieved.

I also heard that if you serve as a soldier here, you can earn a lot of land by virtue of your military merit.

Low-level soldiers can easily earn hundreds of acres of land, and high-level soldiers can earn even more.

Moreover, the company gives priority to military personnel in arranging marriages. If they sacrifice their lives, the company will help with funeral arrangements. If there are no heirs, the company will also arrange for male heirs.

The targets of the army's conquest were stupid black natives, and there was no difficulty in conquering them.

As long as you can withstand the effects of bad weather, wild beast attacks, and mosquito bites, there is basically no danger in joining the army.

They were even more shaken. The climate in Vietnam was much worse than here, and the mosquitoes were even worse.

As for wild beasts, what are you afraid of if you have a gun in your hand?

They were just worried about how to convince the military officials to agree to move back.

…    When Shi Jintang learned that Xue Youfu had brought back a box of playthings, calligraphy and paintings, he immediately became interested and directly ordered Xue Youfu to bring the things to Anhai Town.

Xue Youfu delivered the things to Shi Jintang's office and left quickly without staying long.

It’s inevitable to get excited when looking at a box of antique items.

However, with Shi Jintang's knowledge, it was impossible to distinguish the authenticity of these calligraphy and paintings, so he naturally thought of Guo Songtao.

When Guo Songtao heard that General Manager Shi summoned him, he was secretly happy, thinking that Shi Jintang wanted to ask him for advice.

He met Shi Jintang some time ago, and the meeting ended after a short conversation.

Shi Jintang said directly: He hoped that Guo Songtao would stay in Anhai Town Middle School to teach. The climate here is suitable, which is conducive to self-cultivation and longevity.

Guo Songtao had served as a local official and had the experience of serving as an envoy to various European countries. He himself had rich experience in politics and governance.

It is very suitable for such a talent to stay in Southwest Africa to give lectures. Setting up an administrative cadre class for him to develop will definitely make the best use of it!
  ……

Guo Songtao was convinced of Shi Jintang's proposal. The environment in Anhai Town was indeed good.

And with the protection of the Chinese power of the Nanhua Company, it was safe and peaceful, which was most suitable for him.

It would be very comfortable to stay here and spend the rest of your life!
  Confucianism pays attention to establishing virtue, establishing words and establishing merit, which are the "three immortals".

He had become a public enemy in officialdom in the Qing Dynasty, and his moral character had long been trampled into the dirt. There was no extravagant hope of writing a book or a biography, and it was even less possible for him to serve as an official.

If he stayed and gave lectures in Southwest Africa, he could easily achieve the achievement of "making a speech". As for "making meritorious service", he didn't want to think about it. He was always a Qing minister.

"Establishing virtue" can also be carried out at the same time as "establishing words". I just hope to leave a legacy here.

If he is lucky enough to be taken seriously by the Qing Dynasty one day, he will die without regrets.

So he decided to stay in Anhai Town as a guest, and his wife Liang was also happy to stay here.

Because I was far away from the Qing Dynasty, I didn't have to be controlled by the family's elders. Moreover, the atmosphere here was open and the food and clothing were plentiful. It was much more comfortable than staying in my hometown in Hunan Province.

……

When Guo Songtao arrived, he found Shi Jintang lying on the table looking at cursive calligraphy and painting, which was about the size of rice paper.

Guo Songtao took a look and his eyelids jumped wildly!

"Dong Shu!"

A scream startled Shi Jintang.

"What 'Dong Shu'?"

"Oh, this is Dong Qichang's hanging scroll.

Did you know that calligraphy by Dong Qichang can be said to be the culmination of ancient techniques.

The "Six Body" and "Eight Methods" are all mastered under his hands.

At that time, it was already "famous in foreign countries. His short letters with rulers were spread among the people, and they were competing for treasures."

Both my imperial ancestors (Kangxi) and Emperor Gaozong (Qianlong) admired his calligraphy very highly and watched and copied it day and night. It is a rare masterpiece.

Although this vertical scroll is not large, its writing style is elegant and ethereal, and its elegance is self-sufficient.

The strokes are round, strong, elegant, plain and simple.

The pen is used carefully and always maintains a straight edge, with few clumsy or clumsy strokes;
  In terms of composition, between words and between lines, the layout is divided into lines, sparse and well-proportioned, and strives to follow the ancient method. "

After tasting it, Shi Jintang could only stare in stunned admiration.

When it comes to appreciating calligraphy and painting, I am really far behind.

"Mr. Guo, are you sure this cursive script is authentic?"

Guo Songtao nodded, "Have you seen the seals above? 'Dong Family Xuanzai', 'Zong Bo Bachelor' and 'Xuan Shang Zhai' are all Dong Qichang's private seals.

The "Cheng Mansion Rare Paintings and Calligraphy Seal" printed on the upper left corner of this painting is the seal of Prince Cheng, the third son of the Holy Ancestor Emperor. "

Through Guo Songtao's explanation, Shi Jintang probably understood that the calligraphy in front of him was a work in the royal collection of the Qing Dynasty.

But how did it end up in the hands of Liu Yongfu?

But this was not the focus of his thinking, so Guo Songtao continued to look at the items in the box.

Guo Songtao was shocked after seeing it, "Where did General Manager Shi get all these treasures?"

Shi Jintang chuckled: "They are all collected from the Qing Dynasty. How about Mr. Guo helping to appreciate them?"

Guo Songtao nodded immediately, "That's exactly what I meant!"

After some sorting by Guo Songtao, a total of 43 gold and stone treasures were sorted out, most of which were bronzes.

There are many antiques in the study room, including many gem-set ornaments. The most valuable one is a gold treasure from the Nanming clan.

There are 17 calligraphy and paintings by famous artists, including 1 vertical scroll cursive script by Dong Qichang, 1 vertical scroll script by Dou Fang, 4 ink bamboo paintings by Zheng Banqiao, 5 landscape paintings by Shi Tao, and 1 vertical scroll scroll by Tang Yin.

Feng Minchang wrote 1 couplet in official script and 4 calligraphy and paintings.

After finishing, Guo Songtao felt sweat on his tired forehead, and Shi Jintang hurriedly gave him a cup of black tea to calm him down.

Seeing that Guo Songtao's energy had recovered, he asked cheerfully: "I wonder how much these things are worth?"

Guo Songtao looked at Shi Jintang's playful smile and felt unhappy. He said in a low voice: "It's a priceless treasure, how can you talk about its value?"

After hearing the names Dong Qichang, Tang Yin, and Zheng Banqiao, Shi Jintang knew that these things were valuable.

Ye Shilong did a good job on his errand this time, what a windfall!
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  (End of this chapter)