Volume 3: The Richest Man in the World Chapter 26: British Invasion of the East
Because Cai's mother had just "predicted" something correctly, Cai Qiaozhu believed her mother's words a little more, and said, "How about... Dad and Mom help Guang'er think of a solution. This matter has advantages and no disadvantages. Even if Grandpa and Chengjun knew about it in the underworld, they would not object."
Wu Guoying was very concerned about the court's appointment of officials and titles. After Wu Chengjian got the official title, he was so happy that he opened the ancestral hall and set up a banquet to entertain relatives and friends. Cai Qiaozhu saw his joy. She thought that if Guang'er could also get an official title, her father-in-law and husband would be happy if their spirits were still alive and would not object.
After thinking about it, this is a good thing with no disadvantages. The worst outcome is that Cai Shiqun was cheated by the middleman, but he would only lose some money, which is not a big deal.
Cai's mother immediately went back to look for Cai Shiqun, who then went to look for Wei Laoshi and asked him if he had any solution.
Wei Laoshi said, "Apart from anything else, I do have a way to do this. One of my relatives works in the Ministry of Personnel in the capital. However, it will cost two to three thousand taels of silver to find a way to do this, and the subsequent expenses will cost at least two to three thousand taels of silver. This amount of money is not small."
Cai Shiqun gritted his teeth and said, "I will advance the three thousand taels of silver. As for the subsequent money, as long as it can be successful, it will not be a big deal for the Wu family."
Wei Laoshi said: "But what if the Wu family..."
Cai Shiqun knew what he was worried about: "If something goes wrong with the Wu family, I won't buy the house for now. I'll get my grandson's official position first."
It’s not that Cai Shiqun is generous and willing to spend tens of thousands of taels of silver, but just think about it, even if it’s just an opportunity, it’s worth it.
He immediately paid the money and gave it to Wei Laoshi to run. Wei Laoshi was a person who had settled down in Guangzhou, and they were related to each other, so the monk could run away but the temple could not.
Wei Laoshi got the money and went there happily, and passed the news to Pan Haigen.
After Pan Youjie found out, he smiled and said, "Things are going better than expected. Okay, this time I can give an explanation to He Zhongtang for what he asked me to do last time."
He immediately wrote a letter and secretly handed it to the Guangdong Customs. After reading the letter, the Guangdong Customs sent it to Beijing at an express speed of 600 miles.
Liu Quan received the letter, smiled after reading it and said, "Master Zhongtang is really a genius!" After Heshen left the court, he reported the matter.
He Shen smiled and said, "Okay, let someone arrange it."
He was the head military minister (equivalent to the prime minister), concurrently the Minister of Personnel (in charge of official hats), the president of the Hanlin Academy (in charge of imperial edicts), the old-fashioned head of the Imperial Household Department (in charge of the Thirteen Hongs), and the current "Second Emperor". Many big things in the eyes of others were not a big deal to him! What's more, conferring a small official position to a merchant family was within his scope of responsibility. With just one word, everything could be done within a day.
So when the three members of the Cai family in Guangzhou were still wondering whether that thing could really be done, Guang'er's edict had been completed and he arrived in Guangzhou as quickly as possible.
At that moment, Wei Laoshi came to Cai Shiqun and said, "You are so lucky. There just happened to be a ready-made opportunity for you to fill the hole. Now the big man in the Ministry of Personnel has promised you a good official position."
When Cai Shiqun heard this, he was 90% unconvinced. He thought it was too fast and too smooth, so he asked hurriedly: "Why is it so fast?"
Wei Laoshi had heard of this and smiled, "Your Excellency Guang is very lucky! Recently, there happened to be an urgent letter with a distance of 600 miles. The messenger happened to be someone I know as a relative, so I asked the official to send this letter with a favorable wind. It arrived in the capital in a few days, and everything went smoothly after arriving in the capital, so I was surprised by how fast it went. It's just that this official is a bit expensive."
Cai Shiqun did not ask about the price, but first asked: "I don't know what kind of official he is."
Wei Laoshi said: "It was presented to him as a member of the Ministry of Revenue."
Recently, because he was thinking about Guang'er's official appointment, Cai Shiqun did some work and learned about some official ranks to avoid being cheated. He was shocked when he heard about this official title. He originally thought that Guang'er was still a child and a merchant family. He could spend some money to get an eighth-rank official or a junior-rank official. Ninth-rank official would not look good. How could he dare to think that he was a member of the Yuanwailang family!
Wei Laoshi saw that Cai Shiqun had a strange expression on his face and asked, "What's wrong? What's wrong with this official?" He didn't even know what kind of official this was.
Cai Shiqun's face twitched as he said, "Do you know what rank it is?"
Wei Laoshi said: "What rank? It can't be higher than the county magistrate."
Cai Shiqun said: "The county magistrate is of the seventh rank. This official is of the fifth rank, three ranks higher than the county magistrate!"
Wei Laoshi was stunned: "This, this, this..."
Cai Shiqun sighed, "Old Wei, I'm afraid you've been deceived."
"This shouldn't be..." Wei Laoshi muttered, "But the capital said that the imperial edict is already being prepared and will be issued soon. When Young Master Guang receives the imperial edict, you will have to pay him a small amount of money. The price is too high, fifty thousand taels."
Cai Shiqun said: "If the imperial edict can really be issued... then 50,000 taels is really not a lot."
At this time, it was still the transition period between the Qianlong and Jiaqing periods. There were loopholes for buying and selling official positions, but the control was relatively strict. Since the loopholes were small, the price of official positions was high, and the difficulty of buying official positions was different for different people. For example, if one had the qualifications, such as Juren and Jinshi, and wanted to seek a higher position, there would be less resistance. If one did not have the qualifications, there would be greater resistance. Guang'er was not yet an adult, and he was the son of a merchant. If he was to be suddenly promoted to a high position, there would be many ways to manage, and the risks to be taken by all parties were also great. Counting the money spent on managing all parties, 50,000 was a fair price - and there was no product! It was not enough to come up with 50,000 taels. If you didn't have the connections, you couldn't get an official position even if you spent money.
Cai Shiqun said: "We dare not think about the real imperial edict. Old Wei, you may have been deceived. Forget it, let's just regard the three thousand taels of silver as thrown into the sea." He said this, but in fact he felt extremely pained.
Wei Laoshi said, "Wait a minute, don't jump to conclusions. The relative I went to ask for help may be distant, but he can't be a liar. I can't prove it with words now, let's wait and see. If you are really cheated in the end, don't worry, I, Wei Laoshi, will sell everything I have to collect the three thousand taels of silver and return it to you!"
Pan Youjie didn't reveal much to Wei Laoshi, but Wei Laoshi had Pan Youjie as his backer, so he was not afraid to brag a little.
Cai Shiqun said: "If it is true, don't worry, not only will we give you 50,000 ice and charcoal, but you, Old Wei, will also get a big red envelope."
Putting aside these sinister tricks within the Qing Dynasty, let’s say that in the waters of the South China Sea, a naval force suddenly and quietly entered - to say it quietly entered is actually not correct, because this fleet had as many as nine large ships, all of which were warships, and they came from thousands of miles away, so how could there be no news at all from the ports along the way?
However, the Qing Empire was so good at monitoring its own people within its borders that it even wanted to know how many times its subjects went to the toilet every day, but it was like an ostrich, turning a blind eye to overseas affairs. Therefore, the Qing government was officially unaware of this.
However, non-British business circles in Guangzhou, such as the French, Portuguese, Arabs, and even some Southeast Asian merchants, had already received some news.
Wu Chengjian first heard a little from the Arabs, and then got confirmation from the Portuguese. He then urgently called Charles and asked him what was going on.
Charlie hesitated at first, and Wu Chengjian said angrily: "Charlie! I regard you as my best friend, but who do you regard me as! If this is true and you are still hiding it from me, then I will have to reconsider our friendship!"
Because this matter involved the fundamental interests of the British nation, Charles had originally thought of fooling around. Many merchants in the Qing Dynasty actually didn't care much about things outside the country, even the Thirteen Hongs doing overseas business - because the key to their profitability was not overseas, but in Beijing. However, seeing Wu Chengjian scolding him so harshly, he remembered, "Oh! How could I forget that Haoguan is different from other merchants!" He said, "I'll go and find out, I'll go and find out."
He went to Shamian for a tour and came back to say, "It is true. The fleet has passed the Strait of Malacca."
Wu Chengjian asked: "How many troops are there, what kind of people are leading them, and what is the purpose?"
He asked three questions, each of which hit the nail on the head, staring straight at Charlie, leaving him no room for maneuver.
Charles was forced to say: "There are nine warships in total, with a force of more than 500 people, and the target... may be Macau."
In fact, the military strength of the Qing Dynasty was obviously lagging behind that of the European powers. Take the Battle of Yalu River as an example. Russia once believed that it could conquer the entire Heilongjiang River with only 300 people. Although this goal was not achieved later, in the early Qing Dynasty, the Russian invaders captured cities and territories in Heilongjiang, and the troops they mobilized were often dozens or hundreds of people. By the time of the final decisive battle, the total strength of the Russian army was only about 800 people. Even with this small number of troops, they overwhelmed the entire Northeast.
In contrast, the Qing army dispatched 3,000 soldiers, all of whom were a combination of troops mobilized to target the strengths and weaknesses of the Tsarist Russia. They included elite troops from the Northeast who were familiar with the climate and terrain of the Northeast, rattan shield soldiers who were specialized in targeting foreign rifles, and a large number of artillery. If the logistics personnel were added,In this battle, the Qing Dynasty could claim to have "mobilized an army of 100,000", and the overall dispatch of the war was made by Emperor Kangxi. It can be said that it was a local war that involved the highest levels of the two countries and affected the country's destiny for two hundred years. It cannot be regarded as a small-scale conflict.
Considering that Britain is far more powerful than Russia, if it dispatches a navy of more than 500 men and the enemy is hostile, there is a possibility that the Battle of Yalu River will be repeated. In the worst case, the Guangdong Sea may be devastated.
"More than 500 regular navy soldiers... who is leading them?"
"this……"
"Charlie!"
Charlie was torn between his own conscience and his own desires. Wu Chengjian was his financial backer and Britain was his foundation. Although he always told Xia Qing how delicious the food in Guangzhou was, he actually never thought of settling down in Guangzhou. But if he really offended Wu Chengjian, this Chinese man in front of him would not be so easy to deal with!
After thinking for a while, he finally said, "It's Rear Admiral Du Luli."
