The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 218 I have a strong backing, I'll give you a chance to join me! (Vote, vote, subscribe, subscribe)
"Mr. Wu, if I remember correctly, you are a major shareholder of the American Flag Chang Foreign Company, right?"

In a western-style four-wheeled carriage, Luo Yaoguo, who had just left the British Consulate, suddenly asked Wu Jianzhang beside him about the latter's shareholding in Qichang Foreign Company.

"Yes, brother, I do hold shares in Qichang Foreign Company." Wu Jianzhang frowned slightly when he heard this, as if he had thought of something, and quickly changed the subject: "Brother Xueyan, do you want me to help you contact the American Consul Major Ma Hui? I have a very good relationship with this American major."

It’s useless even if you have a good relationship with the President of the United States!

Luo Yaoguo thought: "You have to give me more money!"

Thinking of this, Luo Yaoguo smiled and nodded, saying, "Thank you very much. I hope to have lunch with Major Ma Hui tomorrow at noon in Tongshunxing. Sir Wu, can you arrange a French meal?"

"No problem, leave it to me!" Wu Jianzhang smiled and patted his chest. "We have arranged for the British and Americans, but what about the French? When can we meet with the French Consul Aitong?"

Luo Yaoguo counted on his fingers: "If I'm not mistaken, today is Friday, right?"

"That's right." Wu Jianzhang smiled, "If you hadn't told me, I would have forgotten. I won't be able to meet Ambassador Ai tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Their French masters don't go to work on Saturdays and Sundays."

"Not going to work? But you still have to worship God, right?" Luo Yaoguo asked with a smile.

"It's not that we have to worship all the time, but the French gentlemen in Shanghai have started to worship more frequently in the past few months," said Wu Jianzhang.

"That's fine." Luo Yaoguo said, "In which church does the Consul Ai hold the Sunday Mass? I can go and join him."

"Ah," Wu Jianzhang was stunned, "Brother Xueyan, you also worship God?"

Luo Yaoguo nodded and said with a smile: "People in our family are very flexible. If we need to worship God, we worship God. If we need to worship Bodhisattva, we worship Bodhisattva. If we need to worship the Three Pure Ones, we worship Master Wu of the Three Pure Ones. What about you?"

"Me? I'm flexible too!" Wu Jianzhang chuckled, "How can I not be flexible when doing business? If I'm not flexible, I won't be able to do business!"

"That's right!" Luo Yaoguo laughed, "My family has to deal with a lot of people in Southeast Asia, and they believe in all kinds of religions, but the most powerful ones are Westerners who worship God, so my family follows the Westerners to worship God and look to the Western church for support."

"Yes, yes!" Wu Jianzhang nodded repeatedly, "Brother Xueyan, I wonder what your family's nickname is?"

"Meituan is OK, it's a small business," Luo Yaoguo said with a smile, "I just run errands for foreigners and make a little money. In the past two years, there has been discrimination against Chinese in Nanyang. Although my family worships God and has the protection of foreigners, they can't be excluded. But business is still a little difficult!"

Wu Jianzhang nodded, seeming to agree: "Business is not easy in the Qing Dynasty. The merchants who stayed in Guangdong are all losing money! Trade is easier in Shanghai, but the Taiping rebels are about to attack us. It's really difficult!"

"Difficult." Luo Yaoguo glanced at Wu Jianzhang, "But Lord Wu is still ambitious, and still wants to expand, right?"

Wu Jianzhang smiled bitterly and shook his head: "What's the point of expanding? To be honest, I'm already trapped and there's no way out!"

"Why do you want to withdraw?" Luo Yaoguo looked at Wu Jianzhang and began to deceive him, "Sir Wu, don't you think there is a lot of room for development in Shanghai right now?"

"There is great potential?" Wu Jianzhang looked at Luo Yaoguo and saw that he seemed to be confident, so he cupped his hands and said, "I'd like to hear more about it."

Luo Yaoguo smiled and asked, "Does Lord Wu know Luo Suweng?"

"Luo Su Weng?" Wu Jianzhang thought for a moment, "Is it the Luo Su Weng who was the governor of Hubei?"

"Yes! That's my godfather!" Luo Yaoguo patted his chest and recognized a "temporary godfather" for himself - he was very flexible in this regard!

"Oh, my excuse me, my excuse me!" Wu Jianzhang bowed, but he felt a little strange in his heart. What on earth did Luo Xueyan want to say?
"My adoptive father has already passed away," Luo Yaoguo said, "He was a governor before, and according to the rules, he should continue to be the governor, but the emperor only gave him the job of assisting in military affairs in Hunan, which is not a good job, so he has always wanted to be the governor of a more lucrative province."

"That's right, that's right." Wu Jianzhang still didn't understand.

Luo Yaoguo said: "The reason why I am willing to stay in Shanghai is that I think there is a chance to find a position as the governor of Jiangsu for my adoptive father!"

"Governor of Jiangsu? But," Wu Jianzhang said in surprise, "the current governor of Jiangsu is Yiliang!"

"It won't be soon!" Luo Yaoguo said, "Nanjing is about to be taken by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom! Zhenjiang and Yangzhou may also be lost! Lu Zhijun can take the blame for the fall of Nanjing, but can Yiliang avoid the blame for the fall of Zhenjiang and Yangzhou?"

"But even if Yiliang is no longer the governor of Jiangsu, it may not be Mr. Su's turn, right?" Wu Jianzhang hesitated.

"That depends on whether my godfather has the ability to be the governor of Jiangsu!" Luo Yaoguo said with a smile.

"Strength?" Wu Jianzhang was still a little confused. "Brother Xueyan, what do you mean?"

Luo Yaoguo smiled and explained to Wu Jianzhang: "As for the so-called strength, the first is of course the militia! The 500 people I brought to Shanghai are called the Xuezi Battalion. I go by my pen name, and the 'Xue' in the Xuezi Battalion comes from my pen name Xueyan. In addition to the Xuezi Battalion, my adoptive father has ten battalions of Hunan Braves, which can be led out of Hunan, and the Changsheng Yong Battalion that escorted Cheng Zhijun's family to Shanghai is one of them. Although Feng Nangan is from Guangdong, he was also recommended by Luo Ruweng and my adoptive father, and his soldiers are all Hunan Braves.

That is to say, my adoptive father has two battalions of Hunan Braves in Shanghai. Although the number of people is not large, Jiangsu is now short of troops and the Taiping rebels are approaching. If Nan Gan and I can expand the army in Shanghai and expand the two battalions into four battalions and eight battalions, after Nanjing, Zhenjiang and Yangzhou are conquered one by one, the court can only rely on me, Nan Gan and your dozen battalions, Lord Wu! The second kind of strength is the ability to deal with foreigners! Lord Wu was able to become the governor of Susongtai and the supervisor of Jianghai Customs not only because of the 500,000 taels, but also because Lord Wu really understands foreign affairs!

I also know a little about Western affairs, but I am not as well-known as you, Lord Wu. If you, Lord Wu, are willing to join my adoptive father, then the best Western affairs person in the world is my adoptive father!

My adoptive father has soldiers, talents who can run foreign affairs, and he is also qualified to be the governor of Jiangsu. If he works hard, he can be the governor of Jiangsu. Even if the only places under my adoptive father's jurisdiction are Suzhou, Songjiang, and Taicang, can he make millions a year?"

"Yes, I can!"

Wu Jianzhang's eyes lit up.

Luo Yaoguo looked at Wu Jianzhang and asked with a smile, "Then Lord Wu, are you willing to join my godfather?"

"To seek refuge with Mr. Su?"

Wu Jianzhang hesitated.

He has someone above him! Otherwise, how could he secure the lucrative position of Susongtai Dao and Jianghai Customs Supervisor, which can earn six figures a year? If he wants to join Luo Raodian, he will have to let down the people above him.

In addition, is Luo Xueyan’s background really as powerful as he says?
While he was hesitating, the carriage stopped abruptly and Tong Shunxing arrived.

Someone came up immediately and opened the door of the carriage. When Wu Jianzhang saw the person opening the door for him, he was stunned. It was Feng Zicai!

"Master Wu."

Feng Zicai first greeted Wu Jianzhang, then took a step back, shook his horse's hoof, and bowed to the carriage: "I, Feng Zicai, greet Mr. Luo!"

Wu Jianzhang was surprised.

This Feng Zicai was also a battalion commander, but he actually bowed to Luo Xueyan!

Although Feng Zicai only had 300 soldiers under his command, they were all elite. Wu Jianzhang spent 5,000 taels of silver to keep him as a bodyguard. Why did he treat Luo Xueyan as his big brother now?
Before he could even finish his surprise, Feng Zicai, after bowing, came up to Luo Yaoguo and said with a smile, "Mr. Xue, Master Cheng and I came here together."

"Mr. Cheng?" Luo Yaoguo, who got out of the carriage, smiled and said, "Oh, it's Brother Zengyi!"

"Yes, Master Cheng heard that you were in Shanghai, and immediately asked me to come over to visit you."

Wu Jianzhang, who followed Luo Yaoguo out of the carriage, was shocked again.

He also knew the Cheng Gongzi mentioned by Feng Zicai. He was the eldest son of Cheng Yancai, the governor of Huguang who died in Wuchang. He fled to Shanghai under the protection of Feng Zicai. When passing through Suzhou, the governor of Jiangsu, Yi Liang, invited him to the governor's office as a guest!

Moreover, the Cheng Yancai family has three governors and governors-general!

As the most prestigious family in Jiangxi, there are countless students and former officials working in government. This Master Cheng already has the title of Juren, plus he has the support of a rich family, so even if he fails to pass the imperial examination after three years of mourning, he will not have to worry about having no future.

When such a nobleman heard that Luo Xueyan had arrived in Shanghai, he immediately came to pay a visit. Is Luo Xueyan's background really that powerful?

When Wu Jianzhang was surprised, he suddenly saw a man in his thirties, with a white face and long beard, who looked like a scholar and was dressed in mourning clothes, quickly walked out of the gate of Tongshunxing. When he came to Luo Xueyan, he clasped his fists and said, "Brother Xueyan, we meet again!"

Luo Yaoguo also returned the greeting: "Brother Zengyi, please accept my condolences."

Then the two good brothers who met for the first time hugged each other and cried bitterly at the gate of Tongshunxing.

Wu Jianzhang, who was standing by, quietly pulled Feng Zicai to his side and asked in a low voice, "Nan Gan, are Lord Luo and Master Cheng familiar with each other?"

"How can this be done if they are not familiar with each other?" Feng Zicai whispered, "When Cheng Zhijun was alive, he wanted to marry Lord Luo to him. He wanted to marry Miss Cheng to Lord Luo and even asked Luo Futai to be the matchmaker. If Cheng Zhijun had not died for his country, all this would have happened."

"Is this true? I heard that Fourth Miss Cheng is extremely beautiful!"

"That's right, she's as beautiful as a fairy!" Feng Zicai nodded, "By the way, she's here today too!"

"what"

Wu Jianzhang was shocked and thought: "It seems that Luo Xueyan's backers are really powerful. If I meet him, I must surrender to him."

(End of this chapter)