The arrogance started from Chinatown

Chapter 631 With ulterior motives
Early in the morning in Guangzhou, Zhang Yunjin came out of his home carrying a bird cage. Every morning he would walk the bird along the riverside and then go to a nearby restaurant for morning tea.

Today was no different, but soon after he sat down in the restaurant, a man in gentleman's suit walked up to him.

"Sir Zhang, excuse me for interrupting you."

Zhang Yunjin took a look at the other person. He was wearing a gentleman's suit, had no braids, and had language habits.

Make him aware of the other person's identity.

As Zhang Shusheng's aide, although he was mainly responsible for organizing Zhang Shusheng's poems, he still heard about some things.

"Since you know you're disturbing me, there's no need to say more." Zhang Yunjin interrupted the other person directly.

"Why does Lord Zhang keep people at a distance? I came here this time because an old friend of Lord Zhang asked me to deliver a letter." The other party took out a telegram from his bag and placed it in front of Zhang Yunjin.

"Old friend?" Zhang Yunjin sneered. What if the other party found someone he was familiar with?

This time it was an order from the imperial court.

He picked up the telegram and glanced at it, then looked at the signature below, thought for a moment before asking, "What are you going to do?"

"I am Chen Fenglu, and I just want to ask Master Zhang to pass on a message."

"The Governor-General is naturally devoted to the people. The world is undergoing a change, and all countries are striving to make progress. The Qing Dynasty has fallen behind step by step. If it catches up, it may not be impossible."

"If the Governor is willing, we can provide all kinds of firearms and equipment from Europe and America to help Lord Zhang. And we can provide them at cost price, in any quantity you want!"

"Also, Master Zhang, have you heard of penicillin? All countries in Europe and America regard it as a life-saving medicine. A batch of penicillin will be delivered in as little as one and a half months or as long as two months!"

"I would like to give some to the Governor."

Zhang Yunjin sneered and said, "Penicillin? I've never heard of it."

It’s not like they don’t have life-saving medicine.

"Is there anything else?" Zhang Yunjin glanced at the other person.

"If Sir Zhang has a reply, you can send someone to find me at the California International Foreign Trade Company in Hong Kong within seven days. I won't bother Sir Zhang anymore." The other party smiled and bowed to say goodbye.

This surprised Zhang Yunjin a little.

He thought the other party came for the people in the prison, but he didn't expect them to just leave like that.

It was not until the next day that Zhang Yunjin found an opportunity to tell this matter to his uncle, Zhang Shusheng, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.

After listening to this, Zhang Shusheng sneered: "You have evil intentions and ulterior motives!"

"Uncle, what do you mean?" Zhang Yunjin asked curiously.

"They want me to buy arms privately. If I buy them today, the news will spread to the capital tomorrow. How will the court view me then?"

"Can't you see what they are thinking?"

"Everyone knows that I have a close relationship with Lord Li Hongzhang and support the Westernization Movement. But I am also the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, an important official of the Qing Dynasty. The world still belongs to the Qing Dynasty."

Zhang Shusheng taught his nephew in a deep voice.

What he didn't say was that although he was now the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, he was still walking on thin ice.

Since the assassination of Ma, the power of the South has grown stronger, and the court's control over the South has been greatly reduced, but its vigilance has also increased greatly.

Today, the political environment within the Qing Dynasty and between the imperial court and local areas is extremely complex.

Now both sides maintain a balance.

He naturally wouldn't break this balance.

Although he supports learning Western technology, that is under the premise of maintaining the current stable situation.

His mind is still on the court. As for those mobs, no matter how big they become in the United States, he does not care about them and he will never have any contact with them.

……

At the same time, a telegram was being rushed to the capital, to the hands of George Fulton Seward, the American Minister to the Qing Dynasty.

After receiving the telegram, George Seward thought for a moment and went to find Dong Xun.

"I, a citizen of the United States of America, was arrested and thrown into jail by local authorities in Guangzhou. I wonder what your country means? Have you forgotten the treaty signed between our country and yours?" George Seward said fiercely, as if he was ready to accuse someone.

"Is this true? I had no idea about it." Dong Xun asked in surprise. How did he know about what happened in Guangzhou?

And why are they arresting Americans in Guangzhou?
"I wonder what crime your country has committed in Guangzhou?" Dong Xun said slowly.

"Even if he has committed a crime, it should be tried by our embassy in the Qing Dynasty, not by your people!"

"Washington is furious about this! If you don't release the people, the United States will impose a sales ban on your country and prohibit any products from entering the Qing Dynasty."

"At the same time, your country's violation of the treaty will be condemned by all countries!"

"You can arrest American citizens today, British citizens tomorrow, and French citizens the day after tomorrow!" George Seward shouted.

Dong Xun frowned.

The Qing Dynasty is now actively seeking to improve its international status, and it would be bad if this matter were to get out.

Especially the Queen Mother will definitely not be happy.

"Mr. Minister, please leave the details here. I will report this to the court."

"There are six people arrested in total. One of them is Rong Zeye, and the names of the others are all listed here... They were arrested by the Guangdong Governor's Office!" George Seward slammed the list on the table.

"Are these our people from the Qing Dynasty?" Dong Xun was even more surprised when he saw these names. "No matter what their original identities were, they are now American citizens. Even if they have committed a crime, I should be the one to judge them!" George Seward said loudly.

"You can't say that. Since he is a Qing citizen and he committed a crime in Qing, then Qing should be the one to try him." Dong Xun felt more and more that there was something wrong with this matter, but his attitude remained unhurried.

"I reiterate again, they are Americans and must be tried by me!" George Seward almost slammed the table.

If he can't handle this, he'll be in big trouble.

Unless he wants to stay here forever.

"I will inform the envoys of all countries that you have violated the treaty!"

"If you insist on not releasing them, then just wait for the fleet of the United States of America!" George Seward argued with Dong Xun for a while and then left angrily.

Back in the carriage, George Seward's face calmed down and he muttered a curse.

These are all troubles caused by the White House.

But that's what he does.

He then went to visit the ministers of various countries, hoping that they could come forward together.

After all, if the Qing Dynasty violated the treaty, it would infringe upon the rights and interests of various countries. This is not just a matter for the United States, but envoys from various countries will oppose it.

After he left, Dong Xun frowned and thought for a moment. He roughly guessed who was arrested.

Citizens of European and American countries enjoyed consular protection in the Qing Dynasty, and officials at all levels were aware of this.

If an American is arrested, he should know what happened before the American.

Especially since the other person's name is clearly Chinese.

Eighty percent of them are laborers sold to the United States.

Previously, the other party had asked them to crack down on human trafficking in the south and exchange technology for it, but now they have suddenly changed their attitude...

Dong Xun then asked someone to investigate the matter.

……

Although there is still more than half a month before the Chinese New Year, San Francisco's Chinatown is already bustling.

Unlike previous years, as the population of Chinatown grows and incomes rise, there are many more things for sale on the streets one month before the New Year.

Although these are all Chinese New Year goods, most of them are made in the United States.

Knowing that Chen Zhengwei likes to be lively, the Chamber of Commerce organized and many Chinese businessmen invested to hang red lanterns all over the sky of Chinatown.

At night, it takes hundreds of people just to light the lanterns.

This atmosphere also attracted more foreigners to visit Chinatown.

In the past, when foreigners mentioned Chinatown, all they could think of were prostitutes, casinos, and those skinny Chinese who smoked opium. Most people even thought that the Chinese ate rats.

However, with more and more foreigners visiting Chinatown in the past two years, this stereotype has become less common.

Of course, there are still brothels and many casinos, but you will hardly see anyone eating rats, and even less opium addicts.

At this time in the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Chen Zhengwei was chatting with the members.

"Why didn't they like you before? They didn't like Jews either. You can find some common ground." Chen Zhengwei put down the teacup in his hand and counted on his fingers slowly.

"They don't speak the same language, and they are xenophobic and don't integrate into mainstream society... Think about it yourself. If there were a group of Mexicans in Chinatown now, three or five of them would gather together every day, and you wouldn't understand what they said, their customs were different from yours, and they didn't want to interact with you, so they just formed their own small circle. What would you think?"

"Mr. Chen is right, but even if we wanted to deal with them at that time, we didn't have the opportunity! Apart from anything else, as soon as I saw those policemen, I knew I was going to lose money again!" said a wealthy businessman with a smile.

"Because you have always been like that, they have already formed a stereotype by then." Chen Zhengwei raised his hand to interrupt them.

"Of course, it's different now. Now they have to take the initiative to integrate into us."

Everyone burst into laughter.

"What do I mean by this? No matter where you go to do business, whether in the United States, Panama, Peru, or even Hawaii, you must build good relations with the local mainstream society!"

"You can't ask me to beat them up every time, right? What else do you need me to do? I'll just go and do my own business!"

"Do you know why I'm telling you this? Because you're still like this in Panama! I fucking heard everything!" Chen Zhengwei cursed.

These Chinese businessmen took advantage of his momentum and went to Panama to do business. Once there, they started to form a small circle and excluded the European businessmen.

Then he took advantage of Chen Zhengwei's influence to snatch business, which made those European businessmen very dissatisfied.

This is something that Chen Zhengwei is particularly annoyed about.

Do you think you are me?
I can go out and walk around as I please, and beat up anyone I don’t like.

Doesn’t mean you can too!

Chen Zhengwei doesn't mind if someone takes advantage of his influence to make a name for themselves in the outside world. But if these people do this, they will only repeat the same mistakes and narrow the path for the Chinese.

"If you guys are like this, you should just stay in America. At least I'll give you something to eat, so you won't starve!"

"Mr. Chen, this is our fault. We will definitely correct it!" Seeing Chen Zhengwei getting angry, everyone spoke up quickly.

"Think about it carefully! You old guys can't accept new things. You should train your own nephews and nieces more! Young people are definitely better than you in this aspect! If you don't have nephews and nieces, hire a few professional managers to help you deal with people!" Chen Zhengwei cursed again.

(End of this chapter)