Volume 1: Mission in Danger Chapter 73: Arrived with domineering power, left without a trace
Galiu took a breath, and his arrogance disappeared in an instant.
Although Milton had just entered the palace, as soon as his men left Shamian, someone immediately reported to the military and immediately reported it to the Governor's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi. This kind of thing was difficult to conceal. If it was delayed, if there was any trouble, the responsibility would be theirs. Zhu Gui was furious when he heard the news and immediately ordered troops to be dispatched.
Although Heshen had some control over Zhu Gui through his personal relationship, it was only natural for Zhu Gui to order the troops to move out of the situation, so who would dare to prevaricate and stop him? Even Heshen himself did not dare to speak up in Guangzhou.
After Vice General Wang had arranged everything outside, he led a team of people into the house and asked what happened here and why the Westerners landed. The leader of the banner soldiers who followed him briefly explained the situation. Vice General Wang heard about it and hurriedly sent someone to report the latest situation to Governor Zhu while entering the house. When Wu Guoying saw Vice General Wang entering the house, he quickly stood up and saluted.
Deputy General Wang's attention was all on Milton. As soon as he came in, he asked him why he did not obey the order of Emperor Qianlong and led his troops ashore without permission.
Milton looked nonchalant and mumbled a few words, then translated, "Mr. Milton said he didn't bring any troops with him. These were just sailors equipped with muskets on the ship, not soldiers. He came here mainly to celebrate the birthday of his business partner, and secondly to ask about a batch of goods that have disappeared so far."
Deputy General Wang was originally worried that something serious had happened, but after hearing this, he felt relieved. If it was just a business dispute, it would be easy to handle. They could just force the businessman to settle the matter as soon as possible. They were not sure about dealing with foreigners, but they could do whatever they wanted to their own businessmen.
He was relieved for a moment, but since he had received a military order from the Governor-General's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi, he naturally could not appear lenient. He sternly asked Wu Guoying, "Are you the merchant who protected you? As a merchant, you should have separated the Chinese and foreigners, but you provoked the foreigners to land instead. Are you planning to disobey the imperial order?"
If it were a month ago, Vice General Wang's reprimand would have frightened Wu Guoying to the point of his knees going weak, but now the situation he was facing was much more dangerous than Vice General Wang's threats. As the saying goes, "Too many lice don't itch, too many debts don't worry", so he just said, "I didn't invite Milton to my birthday party, and he came uninvited, so I can't do anything about it. Although we, the guarantors, have the responsibility to restrain the foreigners, they are armed with muskets, so we are powerless even if we are willing."
This was actually a rather annoying regulation of the Qing government on the Thirteen Hongs: the merchants had to restrain the foreigners according to the imperial decree, but they were not allowed to possess weapons. It was absurd to let a group of unarmed and weak merchants restrain the ferocious foreigners with their powerful ships and guns.
Vice Admiral Wang didn't care about Wu Guoying's practical difficulties. He scolded him again and then said to Milton in a stern voice: "The Emperor of the Great Qing Dynasty has issued a strict order not to allow you barbarians to go deep into the interior without permission and seduce the Chinese people. What is your intention in going ashore under the pretext of something?"
Milton smiled very gentlemanly and said, "We have no other intentions. We just came to celebrate your birthday and ask about the status of the goods."
After listening to the translation, Vice General Wang asked, "Have you finished paying your respects?"
Before Milton could answer, Wu Guoying said hurriedly, "It's over, it's over."
Lieutenant General Wang shouted sternly: "Now that you're done paying your respects, hurry back to the foreign pavilion!" He was eager for the British barbarian to leave as soon as possible. As long as the matter was over, he could report to the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi. With a little cover-up by all parties, he could say that the British barbarian brought his gun ashore and mistakenly entered the West Gate while paying his respects to the birthday. As long as it wasn't reported to the emperor, this matter could be resolved from a big matter to a small one.
Unexpectedly, Milton not only had no intention of leaving, but instead found an empty chair, pulled it out and sat down, and said a few more words.
The interpreter said, "Mr. Milton said that he would not leave until he saw the tea today. If the Wu family cannot produce the tea, then they should pay the compensation as agreed. The East India Company is an honest company, but if you take the money from the East India Company, you have to fulfill the agreement. Otherwise, they will use all possible means to protect the rights and interests that the company deserves."
Deputy General Wang felt annoyed and angry after hearing this. He looked at Wu Guoying, wishing he could resolve the matter quickly.
But what can Wu Guoying do at this time?
The East India Company had made a high advance payment for the Wu family's batch of tea. If the Wu family could not ship the tea in time, they would have to pay several times the amount in compensation. Even if Wu Guoying emptied the entire Wu family vault, he would still not be able to raise the money.
Manager Liu then remembered what he once said: "The East India Company is a monster that eats people without spitting out bones. We took its money but cannot deliver the goods. When the delivery time comes, it can force us to break our own bones." - Unexpectedly, his words turned out to be a prophecy!
The guests in the yard who had failed to collect their debts listened to everything that happened in the hall and watched Wu Guoying being in a dilemma, and they all gloated over her misfortune.
Deputy General Wang shouted at Wu Guoying to hurry up and either bring out tea or money, while Ga Liu sternly forbade the Wu family to touch the money. Milton sat there, looking as if he would not leave unless he got tea or money.
As soon as Milton came in, Cai Qiaozhu was protected behind by someone to prevent her from meeting the foreign devils. Wu Chenggou's legs went weak when he saw the foreigners coming in, let alone the foreigners carrying guns.
Wu Guoying had no one to rely on, so he had to bear the pressure alone. However, he was forced to do nothing by Vice Admiral Wang, who represented the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Galiu, who represented the Supervisor of the Guangdong Customs, and Milton, who represented the East India Company. He could not turn left or right. At this moment, what else could he do? He could not help but howl to the sky: "Forget it, forget it! You are not giving me a way out!" He propped himself up and rushed towards the pillar.
Although the incident happened suddenly, fortunately he was old and weak, and was stopped by several people before he hit the pillar - Ou Jiafu hugged his waist, Wu Erliang held his shoulders, and Wu Chenggou was a step slower, and was so scared that he hurried over to kneel down and hold onto his thighs.
Manager Liu said, "Everyone, do you really want to force the old man to death?"
Deputy General Wang said: "Even if he dies, he cannot escape this responsibility. His descendants still have to shoulder the responsibility."
Ga Liu also looked indifferent: "It doesn't matter if he dies or not, but we can't touch a single ingot of silver in the Wu's storehouse!"
Milton said through the interpreter: "I don't want to kill anyone, I just want to protect the legitimate rights and interests of our East India Company. Today, either you get tea or money."
Wu Chenggou suddenly shouted, "Don't force my father! The one in charge now is not my father, go find the one in charge of Yihe Bank!"
Deputy General Wang was a soldier, and he was the only one in the whole courtyard who didn't know much about the situation in Xiguan. He asked casually, "Isn't your father the head of the family? Then who is the head of the family?"
Wu Chenggou shouted, "My third son is the head of the family now. Go find him instead of my father."
At this time, another horse galloped over, and a strong man ran straight in. Deputy General Wang recognized that it was Zhu Qing, the long-serving attendant of the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, and hurriedly saluted. The long-serving attendant Zhu Qing said: "The Governor-General has already known about this matter. Pass the word down that this matter must be resolved quickly! No delay! Otherwise, all the people involved will be punished on the spot according to military law!"
When everyone heard this, they were in an uproar. It seemed that Zhu Gui was going to cut the Gordian knot and treat the yard as a battlefield. The guests in the yard were so scared that their legs were shaking. They just regretted why they had come to join in the fun today!
Deputy General Wang received the order and asked everyone in the Wu family, "Where is the third brother? Where is the head of the family? Where are they?"
Seeing the situation like this, Wu Guoying knew he could no longer refuse, so he said to Wu Erliang, "Go, let Haoguan come out."
Wu Erliang had no choice but to go to the study.
All the guests in the courtyard thought: "The Supervisory Office does not allow the Wu family to touch the money, and the batch of their family tea is lost again. What can that prodigal son do? Unless he can turn stones into gold and make a lot of money, or he can use the five ghosts to move and make the batch of tea return on the spot."
Wu Erliang left in a hurry, and soon he brought out a young man, but it was not Wu Chengjian, but Wu Qi. When Wu Qi came out, he didn't look at anyone, but went straight to Milton and said, "Hello, Mr. Milton."
Milton recognized Wu Qi and nodded, saying, "Hello, Qi."
Wu Qi said: "Our Haoguan asked you to come to the study. He wants to talk to you privately."
Milton did not refuse, he stood up and said, "All right."
Wu Qi then ran to Vice General Wang and said, "Our officer Hao said that he will definitely persuade Mr. Milton to go back. Don't worry, it will be done soon."
After these words were spoken, Deputy General Wang, who was unfamiliar with business affairs, was skeptical, but none of the guests outside believed it. They thought that if business matters involved money, then there would be no brotherhood between father and son. If Wu Chengjian could not produce tea or money, even if Su Qin were alive or Zhang Yi were resurrected, they would not be able to trick these foreigners into going back with empty words. These foreigners from the East India Company were not stupid, not to mention that they brought musketeers with them.
At this time, the hall was full of people, especially the twelve large boxes, which were particularly in the way. Milton had a hard time moving his feet when he wanted to go in. Wu Qi said, "Mr. Milton, these boxes are too much of a hindrance. Why don't you move them to the next room first? There are too many people here, and if some are lost, our Wu family won't be able to explain it."
Mr. Milton frowned, as if he was wary. Wu Qi said, "Let your people do it. We won't touch it."
Mr. Milton then said, "Okay, move it, but this is the property of the East India Company. Anyone who dares to approach will be treated as a thief." He turned to the musketeers and said, "If there is any accident, you just open fire."
After the interpreter translated his words, Deputy General Wang hurriedly restrained everyone. He had more men under his command than the foreign devils, so he was not afraid of a real fight. But if a fight started, there would be no end to it.
After Mr. Milton and the other boxes were moved to the annex, the musketeers stood guard outside the annex, and then went to the study with Wu Qi. After two cups of tea, he did not come out, and Deputy General Wang became a little annoyed and asked, "Why is it taking so long?"
Just as he was about to send someone to urge them, he saw Wu Qi escorting Mr. Milton out. The Englishman had a very happy face, as if he had gained some benefit. When he arrived at the hall, he waved his hand and said, "Okay, okay, we're leaving. Boys, go home."
They came in a majestic and domineering manner and left without a trace, leaving all the guests in the yard stunned.
Even Wu Guoying and Cai Qiaozhu could not figure out what Wu Chengjian had said to actually coax this Western devil back.
