The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 216: Just now it was a preliminary trick, now it is a formal trick (officially asking for monthly tickets and subscriptions)
"Okay, it's time to talk about some serious business."

Consul Aliguo frowned, feeling that he had been fooled by this Chinese official who spoke "Oxford accent English". Thinking of this, he glanced at Wu Jianzhang who was in a daze, and then coughed.

Wu Jianzhang was just trying to recall something about the "Great Book of Prophecy" - he didn't know about it!
In addition, he also couldn't understand why Russia, England, France, and Türkiye had to fight each other? More than 500,000 people were killed. Those countries didn't seem to have a large population, right? Could they withstand such a death toll?

And is Japan really going to be beaten by the United States? Is it also because of the smoking ban?

Thinking to the end, Wu Jianzhang still had some doubts as to whether this "Luo Xueyan" was trying to fool the foreigners.
When Wu Jianzhang was beginning to doubt "Luo Xueyan", Luo Yaoguo had already spoken to him with a smile: "Master Wu, Master A has agreed to discuss business with us!"

Oh, let’s talk business! Wu Jianzhang thought: “If what we just did was not business, then what was it? Was it a lie?”

"Okay, okay," he responded in Chinese and English, then clasped his fists towards Wang Kuiyi, Luo Yaoguo, Wu Ruxiao, Aliguo, Wade, Matheson and others, then sighed and said in Chinese: "The news from the front line these days is very bad. The Taiping army seized Caishiji on the second day of February, captured Dangtu County on the fourth day of February, and occupied Dashengguan on the fifth day of February. On the sixth day, they reached the southeast of Jinling City and set up camp on the west bank of the Qinhuai River. Two other groups also occupied Yuhuatai and Xiaolingwei respectively.

According to the news from the front, these three groups of Tai Mao had a total of 40,000 people, and they came all the way from Wuchang. They did not attack the important towns along the way, such as Jiujiang, Anqing, and Chizhou, so they came so quickly. The city of Jinling was completely unprepared. There were only a few thousand Lu Zhijun's governors and a few thousand Eight Banners garrison soldiers in the city. I'm afraid it will be difficult to defend it!"

After saying this, he repeated it in English so that Aliguo, Wade, and Matheson would also know how urgent the situation in Jiangnan is now.

However, after he finished speaking in both Chinese and English, he found that Wang Kuiyi, "Luo Xueyan", Wu Ruxiao, Aliguo, Wade-Giles, and Matheson all behaved very calmly, as if no one was worried that the Taiping Army would immediately sweep across Jiangdong after taking Nanjing.

Wang Kuiyi was holding a cup of milk tea and sipping it. He probably had never tasted such sweet and milky tea before.

"Luo Xueyan" sat on the sofa with his arms folded, with a genuine smile on his face. It seemed that he was not worried at all that the Taiping Army would come to Shanghai.

Aliguo was staring at "Luo Xueyan" and seemed to be very interested in this alternative Qing official.

Wade was flipping through the "Great Book of Prophecy" with his brows slightly frowned, wondering if he could understand it.

Matheson of Jardine Matheson also looked calm and composed, as if he was not worried at all that the opium shipped to Shanghai by Jardine Matheson would be burned by the Taiping Army.

So the one who is really anxious is Wu Jianzhang, right?
But think about it, his Susongtai Dao and Jianghai Customs Supervisor were bought with 500,000 taels of silver - the 500,000 given to Daoguang was the public one, and the 1 million behind the scenes was more than that. Then he invested a huge amount of money in the Shanghai Concession and the surrounding areas to buy land for development.

If Shanghai were to be taken by the Taiping Army, he would suffer a huge loss!
Thinking of this, Wu Jianzhang had no choice but to smile and say, "Lord Wang, Lord Luo, Lord Ah, Lord Wei, shouldn't we discuss how to preserve Shanghai, the trading port connecting China and the rest of the world?"

"puff"

Wang Kuiyi, who was drinking milk tea, seemed to have heard some incredible news. He spat out a mouthful of milk tea and coughed twice. Then he looked at Wu Jianzhang in surprise: "Master Wu, what did you say?"

"Save Shanghai!" Wu Jianzhang said, "Lord Wang, Shanghai is a port for communication between China and foreign countries. If it falls to the Taiping rebels, it will be difficult for the Hunan Army to import foreign guns and cannons in the future!"

Wang Kuiyi put down the milk tea in his hand, took out a handkerchief, wiped his official uniform and said: "Lord Wu, I am the prefect of Hengzhou, not the prefect of Songjiang! The purpose of Lord Luo and I coming to Shanghai with 500,000 taels of silver is to buy more foreign guns and cannons at one time. If we buy enough, we will not be afraid of Shanghai falling."

Seeing that Wang Kuiyi was unmoved, Wu Jianzhang had no choice but to turn around and look at Wu Ruxiao. Wu Ruxiao and Wu Jianzhang were old acquaintances, and he seemed embarrassed to refuse directly. He just smiled bitterly and said, "Officer Shuang, we only brought 500 Hunan warriors this time. Although they are elite soldiers trained by Lord Luo using Western methods, their number is too small after all, and they have never really been on the battlefield, and they don't have any good weapons. Even if they stay in Shanghai, they will not be of much use."

Luo Yaoguo also shook his head: "Master Wu, forget it. If we can't defend it, what good are five hundred men?"

"More than 500, there are other soldiers!" Wu Jianzhang felt that Luo Yaoguo's tone was a little loose, and quickly shook his hand and said, "A while ago, there was a Victory Battalion from Huguang who escorted the family of Huguang Governor Cheng Yancai who died for his country to escape to the Shanghai Concession. There were a total of 300 soldiers, all of whom were elite, and I used money to keep them all."

Upon hearing the news, Luo Yaoguo breathed a sigh of relief.

The 300 men of the Ever-Victorious Brave Camp were also the elite of the Dark Hall, and were led by Feng Zicai, Jiao Hong, and Boyong to "escort" Cheng Yancai to Shanghai.

The reason why Luo Yaoguo sent them to Shanghai was actually because he was sure that "Boss Wu" might keep Feng Zicai.

Although Feng Zicai became famous in Guangxi, he is actually from Cantonese, and is from the same hometown as Wu Jianzhang. Wu Jianzhang trusts Cantonese the most, and if he sees a Cantonese, wouldn't he stay no matter how much money he spends?

But there are too many unexpected things these days. Who knows if Feng Zicai and the others will encounter any unexpected troubles?

Now that he heard the exact news, he felt relieved.

However, Luo Yaoguo kept shaking his head: "Not enough, not enough, only eight hundred."

"There's more!" Wu Jianzhang said, "To be honest, I've also been organizing group training in the past few months!"

When Luo Yaoguo heard that Wu Jianzhang was also organizing group training, his eyes lit up: "Oh, so Lord Wu also knows how to organize group training?"

Wu Jianzhang waved his hands: "How would I know? I just have a few dollars left. There are many fellow Cantonese people who have come to Shanghai to make a living. Many of them have nowhere to eat. I just want to ask a few brothers to organize militia. This will not only provide us with soldiers to defend the city, but also provide food for our fellow countrymen who have come out to make a living."

"You are such a kind-hearted man!" Luo Yaoguo said with admiration and compliments, but in his heart he was thinking of the great kind-hearted man Huang from Etang Town, Daozhou.

It’s not easy to be a good person these days!

"I wonder how many militiamen Lord Wu has?" Luo Yaoguo seemed to be interested and asked again.

"There are already more than 1,000 Guangdong militiamen, more than 600 Fujian militiamen, plus 300 Ever-Victorious Brave Battalionmen, the total number is no less than 2,000."

Wu Jianzhang smiled and said, "If you add my brother's 500 men, that's 2,500. In addition, there are 100,000 Cantonese and Fujianese in Shanghai, most of them are young and strong men. As long as we have money, it will be no problem to recruit thousands more people.

The reason why I only recruited 2,000 soldiers is because I have soldiers but no officers, and I can't lead more soldiers. But Brother Luo's 500 elite soldiers can be used as team officers, enough to manage thousands of people. As long as Brother Luo is willing to stay, I will pay for the recruitment and maintenance of the soldiers!"

Luo Yaoguo nodded, and seemed to be tempted. But he thought to himself: "The Guangdong Gang is Liu Lichuan's people, the Fujian Gang is Li Xianyun's people, and these two are from the Xiaodao Society. The others are all my people. If Wang Kuiyi says that you are the leader of the Tiandihui in the future, Xianfeng will definitely believe it, right?"

But now is not the time to give in, because Alcock and Wade have not yet offered any benefits.

So Luo Yaoguo passed the ball to Wang Kuiyi again: "Sir Wang, what do you think?"

"No," Wang Kui waved his hand, "Xueyan, we are here to buy guns and cannons! Lord Luo and Lord Zuo are waiting for our guns and cannons to retake Changsha! Shanghai is the territory of the Jiangsu governor, and we Hunan officials cannot control it! Moreover, only 2,500 people are too few. I think we should just focus on buying guns and cannons!
Buy it and leave, otherwise you might not be able to leave."

Luo Yaoguo hesitated for a while, as if he was considering it carefully. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said to Aliguo in "Oxford accent" English: "Mr. Consul, I want to know what position your country takes in this civil war that determines the future of China's political power?

Are you willing to support the Qing Dynasty? Or do you want to remain strictly neutral?
If we want to purchase weapons and equipment from your country, could you please facilitate it?

Can citizens of your country accept employment by the Qing court in their personal capacity, train troops for the Qing, and participate in fighting against the rebels?

In addition, in view of the current serious situation, I hope to obtain a batch of smoothbore guns, rifles, Minié bullets, and 12-pound or above artillery as soon as possible. The price is negotiable, the key is that the delivery must be fast! "

After hearing what Luo Yaoguo said, Aliguo and Wade looked at each other. Wade finally frowned and asked, "Lord Luo, the consul and I cannot answer some of your questions.

However, you and Lord Wang really don’t consider helping Lord Wu defend Shanghai?

After all, once Shanghai changes hands, it will be difficult for the army of Hunan Governor Luo to obtain advanced weapons from the West. "

His words actually showed his support for the Qing Dynasty.

"This..." Luo Yaoguo seemed a little hesitant.

Wang Kuiyi shook his head slightly.

Wu Jianzhang thought there was a chance, so he patted his chest and said, "Sir Wang, the foreign guns and cannons that Sir Luo and Sir Zuo need are from Tongshunhang. We have just received a batch of guns and cannons from the three major foreign companies, Jardine Matheson, Po Shun, and Qichang, which are worth 100,000 taels of silver!

Although these are what the court wants, they can be supplied first. No, they can be given to Lord Luo and Lord Zuo, as long as the 500 elite soldiers you and Lord Luo brought can stay in Shanghai to participate in the war.

If you and Lord Luo feel that 500 soldiers are too few, you can recruit a group of new soldiers in Shanghai! I will cover all the expenses for recruiting soldiers!
As for Lord A and Lord Wei,

As he said this, he looked at Aliguo and Wade for help.

Aliguo and Wade finally nodded.

Seeing the two consuls nod, Matheson, the head of Jardine Matheson, immediately said to Luo Yaoguo: "Mr. Luo, we have 2,000 brown basses in our warehouse in Shanghai, including bayonets and 24 rounds of fixed ammunition equipped with percussion caps. They can be delivered immediately for only 50,000 taels of silver!
In addition, we can also unload eight 12-pound cannons from armed merchant ships, and they can be delivered immediately after the gun carriages are modified. Each 12-pound cannon costs taels of silver, and the shells and gunpowder are calculated separately. "

"Too expensive, too expensive." Luo Yaoguo shook his head repeatedly, "Unless we can hire foreign volunteers in the concession, including some formal officers or soldiers!"

Aliguo frowned: "Mr. Luo, how many people do you want to hire?"

"Three hundred!" Luo Yaoguo continued to deceive, "This is what Lord Luo and Lord Zuo want to hire!
If the Consul can make this easier, it will help the revision of the treaty go smoothly."

Luo Bingzhang and Zuo Zongtang did not have such an idea, but Luo Yaoguo knew that there were not many foreign men in the concession. If three hundred of them were fooled away by Luo Yaoguo... then there would be three hundred fewer people guarding the concession.

"Three hundred." Aliguo was not so easily fooled and shook his head. "Too many. This is almost a battalion of soldiers."

"Okay, the number can be a little less, a few dozen will do." Luo Yaoguo took another step back and said, "But I hope that every one of them is a real officer or veteran."

Aliguo nodded gently: "We can consider a few dozen people."

"Okay, it's a deal!" Luo Yaoguo quickly finalized the matter of hiring foreign generals and soldiers.

After that, he said to Matheson, "Mr. Matheson, how about two thousand muskets, one hundred thousand rounds of fixed ammunition, and twelve cannons for a total of fifty thousand taels?"

This price is a bit too high.

Matheson's face changed: "This is too cheap, this is impossible, it's wartime now!"

"Mr. Matheson," Wu Jianzhang hurriedly helped "Luo Xueyan" to speak, "Lord Wang, Lord Luo has already received the guns and cannons I gave him, which are enough to arm thousands of people. The weapons in your foreign company's hands can only be temporarily placed in the warehouse after they buy them.

If you don't sell the guns and cannons stored in Shanghai to Lord Wang and Lord Luo, if the Taiping rebels capture Shanghai, you will lose all your money!"

Matheson's face was uncertain, as if he was still hesitating.

Seeing that Matheson still refused to give in, the old broker Wu Jianzhang had to turn around and discuss with "Luo Xueyan" again, but Luo Yaoguo spoke first: "How about this, Mr. Matheson, I can spend 12 taels to buy smoothbore rifles and rounds of fixed ammunition. I want -pound cannons, taels each.

But you must sell me three more old armed lock boats and a steamboat...the price is negotiable.

This way I can fight the Taiping rebels in Shanghai with peace of mind. If I really can’t hold Shanghai, I can still escape from the river.”

(End of this chapter)