Volume 3: The Richest Man in the World Chapter 40: Guangdong Sea Crisis
Under the Ming Dynasty, Macau was never considered a Portuguese colony. It was only a supply point lent by the local government to Portuguese merchants for supplies. The Portuguese had no control or judicial power here, and even their right to live was not as convenient as that of the people of the Celestial Empire. Even if they wanted to repair their houses, they needed the consent of the county magistrate of Xiangshan County of the Ming Dynasty.
However, due to the inaction of local government, the Portuguese used money to pave the way and deceive their superiors and subordinates, and were able to build such a business in Macau. However, all of this was caused by the local officials turning a blind eye, and there is no legal basis to speak of.
What the British are trying to do now is to treat Macau as a colony of Portugal, and to demand that the Qing court "transfer" this colony to Britain - such an attempt, let alone the owner of the Forbidden City would agree to it, according to the temper of Emperor Qianlong, even the person who delivered the documents might lose his head!
Looking at the document in Pan Youjie's hand, Lu and Ye could almost imagine how furious the old emperor would be if it was really submitted according to the British requirements.
Neither Lu Guanhuan nor Ye Dalin were thinking about how to solve the Macau issue at this time, but rather another more difficult issue for them.
Ye Dalin asked: "How to deal with this document?"
Lu Guanhuan said, "Let's hand it over to the Guangdong Customs or the Governor's Office. We can't touch this. If we really hand it over, even if we don't die, we will be skinned alive."
Wu Chengjian said calmly: "If we hand it over to the Guangdong Customs and the Governor's Office, isn't that what we hand it over?"
The corners of Ye Dalin's eyes twitched suddenly.
Pan Youjie snorted, lit a candle, and burned the documents in front of the three people.
In Milton's view, this is a very important diplomatic document, but in the Qing Dynasty, this world only has "tribute" and no "diplomacy". The East India Company and Major General Dululi have no smooth channels to communicate with the Qing court officials. According to the decree of the emperor, they can only make their requests (yes, beg) through the guarantors and obey the management of the guarantors - no matter how wishful, this is the current system of the court.
Pan Youjie burned the documents, and Milton could do nothing to the merchants unless he could break into Guangzhou City.
Ye Dalin said, "The documents were burned, but what about the situation in Macau? I heard that the foreign warships have already..." He lowered his voice and said, "You know."
"This is not something we can handle." Pan Youjie turned to look at Lu Guanhuan: "It depends on what the Governor's Office means."
Lu Guanhuan's face darkened for a long time before he said, "It's meaningless."
Ye Dalin asked, "What do you mean by meaningless? What does it mean?"
"It doesn't mean anything!" Lu Guanhuan almost roared: "The Governor's Office just pretends nothing happened!"
The muscles at the corners of Ye Dalin's eyes twitched again: "Covering your ears like this...what is that?"
"He who covers his ears to steal the bell." Wu Chengjian helped to add.
"Yes, it's like trying to cover up one's mistake..." Ye Dalin said, "There will always be a time when you can't cover it up anymore - the enemy's warships are coming."
Pan Youjie turned to Wu Chengjian and said, "Officer Hao, what do you think?"
"What can I do?" Wu Chengjian said, "We are known as the Baoshang, the richest in the world, but in fact, our money belongs to the emperor, and our lives also belong to the emperor. Our heads are in the hands of the governor, the Guangzhou general, and the supervisor. In this case, if they want to cover their ears and steal the bell, what else can we do except cover our ears? Should we bypass them and directly submit a petition to the court?"
Ye Dalin sneered: "If we really do this, no matter what happens next, we will be the first to die!"
"In that case..." Pan Youjie swept the ashes under the candle and said, "Then let's just pretend that this never happened."
Ye Dalin said, "I haven't been here today." Then he turned and left.
Lu Guanhuan sighed and left.
There were only two people left in the room, and Pan Youjie asked, "Officer Hao, what do you think about this?"
Wu Chengjian said: "This matter is actually quite strange."
"You mean..."
"Master He should know about this." Wu Chengjian said, "Ji Qing may be incompetent, but with the wisdom of He Zhongtang, it is impossible for him not to know the importance of this matter, but he did not expose it."
Pan Youjie did not ask Wu Chengjian how he knew that Wu Chengjian did not expose the secret, because he knew the character of Emperor Qianlong very well. If the truth had been exposed, the Forbidden City would have been struck by thunder long ago, and would not have been as silent as it is now!
"Then why do you think... he didn't break it."
"I don't know! I don't want to guess, and I can't guess!" Wu Chengjian said, "I only know that if this matter is delayed like this, it will only get worse."
"Perhaps... the British are just hoping for the best, and will retreat if they don't get a response..."
"What if they don't retreat?" Wu Chengjian asked, "What if... their warships head straight for Guangzhou?"
Pan Youjie was slightly surprised: "They dare!"
"What if they dare?" Wu Chengjian said, "When the gunboats are still in Macau, we can still cover it up. Once the gunboats force their way to Huangpu, then no one can cover it up. Qi Guan, we have to prepare for the worst."
"What do you want to do?"
"Keep a backup plan." Wu Chengjian said, "If the situation can no longer be covered up, Beijing will issue a strict order, and the strict order will definitely reject the barbarians. We must make some advance preparations for rejecting the barbarians."
Pan Youjie was a little surprised. He originally thought that Wu Chengjian was going to talk about how to distance himself from this matter, but he didn't expect that what he was considering was this.
Wu Chengjian said: "If we are well prepared, we will help to attack the British when the imperial court issues an order, and perhaps the storm can be eliminated without any trace. On the contrary, if we are not well prepared in advance, once the strict order comes, we will not be able to respond properly, and then the war will continue. At the least, Guangdong will be in turmoil, and at the worst, the entire Guangdong coast will be turned into a scorched earth!"
Pan Youjie pondered for a moment and finally nodded: "Okay, it's rare that you are so concerned about the country, then let's do it this way. We will make preparations secretly first, and when we need it, I will find Lu Guanhuan and you will find your father-in-law."
The two looked at each other and nodded at the same time.
Now that the general strategy has been decided, the specific tactical issues become secondary. Given the wisdom and power of the two men, they actually already have a plan in mind.
Just as Wu Chengjian was about to leave, Pan Youjie suddenly said, "Hao Guan, I did hide something from your Wu family about what happened two years ago. Now the affairs of state are the most important, and family affairs are secondary. I am not afraid to tell you straight, I did have the intention to suppress the Wu family, but I never had the intention to kill them all."
Wu Chengjian did not turn around. He stopped there and stood still for a long time before he said, "State affairs come first, family affairs come second. I am willing to believe you."
Pan Youjie asked, "I heard that you handed in Guang'er's resignation letter?"
Wu Chengjian turned around suddenly: "Yes."
Pan Youjie said: "Do you know what it means to do this?"
Wu Chengjian said nothing.
Pan Youjie added: "I just got the news: Liu Quan is coming to Guangzhou again."
After hearing this, Wu Chengjian couldn't help but be moved.
Pan Youjie said: "Now that you've handed over your watch, I estimate that it won't be long before he comes to visit. By then..."
Wu Chengjian raised his head and looked at the beam, saying, "It is hard to predict the will of heaven and the intention of the emperor. There are still some things I can't figure out. But I don't want to think about it anymore. If he wants to come, let him come. The moment I handed in my resignation, I was already prepared in my heart."
"Since you have made up your mind," Pan Youjie said, "Hao Guan, I will be honest with you. Under the current situation, even if I want to, I can't protect you from He Zhongtang. I can only give you a promise: if your Wu family is in turmoil again, my Pan family will only lend a hand, not stand in the way."
Wu Chengjian lowered his eyebrows and said, "Thank you very much."
After saying this, he did not stay and turned and left.
Looking at his back, Pan Youjie's expression suddenly became a little complicated.
Pan Haigen walked out from the shadows and whispered, "Qi Guan, I really don't understand. If He Zhongtang really wanted to deal with the Wu family , why didn't we take the opportunity to annex Yihehang, but instead said we wanted to help him?"
Pan Youjie's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and Pan Haigen was shocked. He lowered his head and dared not say anything.
Wu Chengjian came out of the Foreign Affairs Office and had only taken a few steps when someone suddenly brought him a letter and handed it directly to him. Wu Qi stepped aside the man and took the letter.
Wu Chengjian glanced at the mark on the letter, frowned slightly, took it, opened it, but found nothing.
The messenger said, "The master is waiting for you, Mr. Hao, at Zhenhai Tower."
The man said this and left.
Wu Qi said: "Who is this person?"
Wu Chengjian looked at the mark on the envelope again, then crumpled it into a ball and held it in his palm. Thinking of what Pan Youjie had just said, he murmured, "This came... so fast!"
Wu Qi asked, "Hao Guan, what did you say?"
"Nothing." Wu Chengjian said, "Tell a servant to go back to Henan and tell the Third Young Lady that I will not be back for dinner tonight."
"Are we really going to Zhenhai Tower?" Wu Qi said, "That person's origins are unknown..."
Wu Chengjian smiled lightly and said, "We'll know when we go there tonight whether that person has an unknown origin or not."
It was dusk, not yet night, but there was no one in Zhenhai Tower. The place was cleaned out - no soldiers or servants stationed there, and no tourists.
Wu Qi immediately understood what Wu Chengjian meant: the person who could clear out the entire Zhenhai Tower to this extent could only be of "important background" and not of "unknown background".
The Zhenhai Tower is a famous scenic spot in Guangzhou. It was first built during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty. However, it was destroyed and rebuilt several times. The one that the master and servant of the Wu family saw now was the one rebuilt in the 24th year of the Kangxi period. The tower is seven meters high and dominates the sea, which is extremely magnificent.
However, Wu Chengjian was not in the mood to appreciate the beautiful scenery at this time. It was not because he had been to Zhenhai Tower before, but because before he stepped onto the stairs, he saw a bald head on the top of the tower from afar.
