1850 American Gold Tycoon

"It's a cold day, just ask the servant to pick me up. Why bother to go there yourself?"

Liang Shaoqiong seemed very happy to see that Liang Yao came to pick him up in person.

"After all, you are also a second-grade official now. I don't dare to neglect and ask the servant to pick you up." Liang Yao joked.

Liang Yao was happy from the bottom of his heart that someone from the Liang family could ascend to the position of a second-rank official.

Since I have someone at the top of the Qing court, it will be much more convenient for me to work with the Qing government in the future.

"We are all from our own family, why should we meet outsiders? Who is this?" Liang Shaoqiong was very happy. He pointed at Vanderbilt next to Liang Yao and asked.

Liang Shaoqiong has never met Vanderbilt, so the two are not acquainted.

"This is my father-in-law, Mr. Vanderbilt." Liang Yao introduced.

"It turns out to be the in-laws from the north." Liang Shaoqiong immediately greeted Vanderbilt in proficient English and ordered the servant on the side to get a calligraphy painting.

"Mr. Fan, this is a book of blessings. It was the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty who bestowed upon me the character "福". It is a personal letter written by the current emperor. It is a small greeting and cannot be considered respectful."

In the Qing Dynasty, there was a ceremony to write "Fu" at the end of each year, which first started in the sixth year of Kangxi. During the reign of Emperor Yongzheng, at the end of each year, meritorious governors, governors, and chief envoys were often given blessings such as title of blessing. It is also called the Royal Gift of Shufu.

During the reign of Emperors Kang and Yong, this was used to reward meritorious officials.

By the time of Emperor Qianlong, who was a fan of stamping, the blessings of books given by the emperor began to be distributed indiscriminately, and the scope expanded to include princes, princes, military ministers, and Nan Shufang. As for whether the recipients had meritorious service, it no longer mattered. Maybe Qianlong simply gave these to his courtiers because he liked stamping them.

Liang Yao glanced at the calligraphy gift given to Vanderbilt by Liang Shaoqiong, and saw a big word "福" written in the middle, with a red seal above the word "福", and a row of small characters on the left: To Liang Shaoqiong, the right minister of the Ministry of War, Second Grade. On the right side is written the date of blessing.

It must be said that the emperors of the Qing Dynasty had good calligraphy skills, and this calligraphy treasure is still very valuable for collection.

By passing on the calligraphy given by the emperor to others, it can also be seen that Liang Shaoqiong does not care about this imperial calligraphy. If it were an ordinary minister, the calligraphy treasure given by the emperor would be eager to frame it and hang it in the hall to show off. It is impossible to give it to others.

"How can this be so embarrassing?"

Vanderbilt said no, but his hand was honest and snatched the calligraphy treasure.

This is a rare thing. His old friends in the east often laugh at him for being rude and uncultured. With this thing, he can show off and brag in front of them when he returns to the east.

"Your Excellency, the Minister's English is really good." After receiving the gift, Vanderbilt praised Liang Shaoqiong with a smile on his face.

"Some of my subordinates also speak English, so they have learned a bit." Liang Shaoqiong said openly without any hesitation.

There are many hired foreign gunners in Guangdong Yong's artillery camp. Liang Shaoqiong has some business overseas, and it is inevitable that he has to deal with foreigners, so he also knows some English.

"I heard that my in-laws are wealthy businessmen in the United States. I am very rich. In the future, I will do some small business in the United States. I am afraid that I will have to trouble my in-laws to take care of me."

"Business matters are easy to talk about. I have some spare money in my hand recently and plan to invest it. If there is a way to invest and make a fortune in the Qing Dynasty, the Minister must remember me." Vanderbilt said.

"Definitely, definitely." Liang Shaoqiong smiled.

"Who is this?" Liang Yao asked, pointing to a man in his thirties who was beside Liang Shaoqiong. He was a bit lean but very energetic.

This man has a majestic appearance and a confident and calm gait. He does not look like Liang Shaoqiong's follower.

"Look at my bad memory. I'm patronizing my in-laws. Brother Youdan, I'm sorry." Liang Shaoqiong hurriedly introduced to Liang Yao, "This is Mr. Shen, the governor of Fuzhou Prefecture. Lots of friends.”

"Prefect of Fuzhou Prefecture?" Liang Yao felt something was wrong, "Isn't the prefect of Fuzhou Prefecture's surname Qian?"

Liang Yao has immigration stations at the five opening ports: Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Ningbo, and Shanghai, responsible for picking up immigrants heading to the West Coast region.

Therefore, he had some impression of the local chief officials of Wukou. As far as Liang Yao knew, the prefect of Fuzhou Prefecture was Qian Daxin.

"It's a long story. Qian Daxin is the former prefect, and my good brother is the new prefect." Liang Shaoqiong explained.

"Shen Baozhen, I have met General Liang." Shen Baozhen announced his family name.

"Every general is a monster. If Brother Shen doesn't give up, you can call me a wise brother." Liang Yao said.

It turned out to be Shen Baozhen. Liang Yao was a little surprised by Shen Baozhen's sudden visit to California. Could it be that the Qing government was planning to establish a Westernization and Shipping Administration? Liang Yao thought secretly.

Liang Shaoqiong on the side felt that something was wrong after listening to Liang Yao's words, and he quickly realized it.

He and Shen Baozhen were considered brothers. If Liang Yao and Shen Baozhen were also considered brothers, wouldn't he and Liang Yao be equals?

Looking at Shen Baozhen who was hesitant and a little embarrassed, Liang Shaoqiong still said: "Youdan, it's okay, my nephew has always been informal."

"Young Master Liang can accomplish such a feat at such a young age, which is unparalleled by others." Shen Baozhen said.

"The carriage and horses are ready, please come to the humble house to have a chat." Liang Yao asked Liang Shaoqiong and Shen Baozhen to get on the carriage.

Vanderbilt was also curious about Shen Baozhen's identity, but his Chinese was not very difficult. He didn't hear the conversation between Liang Yao and Shen Baozhen clearly, so he couldn't help but ask after getting in the car.

"What is this friend's official position in the Qing Dynasty?"

"It's similar to the mayor of Sacramento, but the mayor of the Qing Dynasty has much more power than the mayor of the United States." Liang Yao explained Vanderbilt's doubts.

For the sake of purity, Liang Yao's new home in Sacramento is not very close to the train station.

After spending some time, the group finally arrived at the stone screen wall of their new residence.

Different from the long-standing brick screen walls in the Qing Dynasty, the screen wall in Liang Yao's new residence is carved from a complete piece of marble.

The screen wall is in the shape of a straight line, and the top of the screen wall is carved with birds, animals and other patterns as decoration.

There are no merit columns at the entrance to a traditional Chinese-style house on the left and right sides of the screen wall. Instead, there are two flagpoles. The flagpole on the left hangs the bear flag, the state flag of California, and the flagpole on the right hangs the stars and stripes.

After entering the door, I saw a group of workers building a fountain.

Liang Yao said a little apologetically: "The house is not yet completed, which makes you both laugh."

Liang Yao's new manor in Sacramento is quite large, and Liang Yao doesn't want to be careless in the construction of the new manor, so the construction progress is not very fast. As of now, only the main building of the new manor has been completed and decorated.

"This place is very nice. It's not far from the busy city, but it's still clean. Brother Liang Xian will be very happy." Shen Baozhen looked at the manor that was out of sight and said with great envy.

Such a large-scale manor was rare in the Qing Dynasty.

His uncle and father-in-law, Lin Zexu, once served as governor of Guangdong and Guangxi and served as an imperial envoy, but he could not own such a lavish manor.

"Liang is a rough man. He has always heard that Brother Shen came from a scholarly family and was a Jinshi in the 27th year of Daoguang's reign (1847). Today, Brother Shen has the honor to visit me. I also hope that Brother Shen will not hesitate to give me a calligraphy treasure for me." Come up with a name." Liang Yao said.

Although Shen Baozhen's family was poor when he was young, his father was also a private school teacher, and the Lin clan where his uncle belonged has always been a wealthy family. It is not wrong to say that he came from a scholarly family.

"My dear brother, you are humble. With your qualifications, if there had not been a sudden change in your family and you concentrated on the imperial examination, you would definitely have accomplished something." Faced with the banknotes handed over by Liang Yao, Shen Baozhen did not refuse. After thinking for a moment, he Just make it happen.

"What a calligraphy! What a calligraphy!" Liang Yao exclaimed after taking over Shen Baozhen's wet calligraphy.

"Weixiuju is an elegant name."

Liang Yao's original owner did know a little bit of calligraphy, but after arriving in the United States, due to the habit of his previous life, Liang Yao basically used a hard pen to write. The original owner's calligraphy skills had long been completely lost by him.

"The vegetation here is lush and the scenery is beautiful. Brother Yu also felt this, so he wrote these three words. I hope Brother Liang Xian will not laugh." Shen Baozhen handed the pen back to the servant.

When he arrived, Liang Shaoqiong told Shen Baozhen that Mr. Liang was still in California and had not returned to Xiangshan yet.

Therefore, Shen Baozhen, who came to Liang Yao's residence, immediately visited Mr. Liang.

Liang Shaoqiong became an official by training in running a troupe. During the three years since he became an official, he was not favored by the mainstream officialdom. Liang Shaoqiong was able to make friends like Shen Baozhen. Mr. Liang was also very happy and chatted with Shen Baozhen until the meal.

After the meal, Liang Yao knew that the two of them came to California this time for important matters, so he invited them to his study.

"This is foreigners' tea, called coffee. I wonder if you two are interested in trying it?" Liang Yao asked.

"I drank this stuff with foreigners in Shanghai. It was extremely bitter and worse than medicine. I can't get used to it. You might as well make me a pot of tea." Liang Shaoqiong refused.

"Shen hasn't tasted it yet, but I'm willing to give it a try." Shen Baozhen wanted to give it a try.

"Brother Shen traveled thousands of miles across the ocean to come to California. He must not be here to drink coffee." Liang Yao said after sitting down.

"There are only three of us in the study now. If Brother Shen and Third Uncle have anything to do, it doesn't matter."

"Brother Liang Xian has a sharp eye." Seeing Liang Yao's direct attitude, Shen Baozhen didn't mince words.

"At present, the imperial court is suffering from internal and external troubles. There are troubles inside and foreign barbarians from the West. Since July, the ships of the British and French barbarians have repeatedly invaded our Qing Dynasty waters. The British and barbarians in particular are very arrogant and warlike. The ship was strong and the artillery was powerful, but I was fooled that there were no big ships in the Qing Dynasty, so I sailed directly to Dagukou to spy on my Dagukou fort."

"Oh!" Liang Yao said in shock, "Dagukou is the gateway to the capital. The British troops are very sharp. They defeated Russia in the Near East at the beginning of the year and returned with a great victory. Now the morale of the British army is at its peak. The British army Once we land at Dagukou, the road from Dagukou to the capital will be flat and there will be no danger to defend, and the consequences will be disastrous."

It turned out that all the British ships had sailed to the Bohai Sea. No wonder the Qing court was anxious.

"This is what the Holy Spirit is most worried about, so Prince Gong sent me to the United States to inspect. Firstly, he wanted to purchase items to enhance the firepower of the Dagukou Fort. Secondly, he wanted me to take a look at the shipyards in the United States for future construction. The shipping manager is making preparations," Shen Baozhen said.

After Russia, Britain, France, Austria, Prussia and other countries signed the Treaty of Paris on March 30, 1856 in Paris, France, the Crimean War ended with the victory of Britain and France.

With their hands free, Britain and France shifted their attention from the Near East to the Far East.

In the second half of 1856, Britain and France repeatedly provoked quarrels and troubles along the coast of the Qing Dynasty. They also claimed that their consuls and merchants were discriminated against in China, and the "legal" missionary activities of Christian missionaries in China were restricted.

He coerced the Qing government to apologize and amend the treaty, and opened the two inland trade channels of the Yangtze River and the Pearl River, as well as the inland river ports along the coast, as treaty ports, and allowed the two countries to delineate concessions at the treaty ports so that the two countries could carry out trade in the inland areas of the Qing Dynasty.

The relationship between the Qing Dynasty and Britain and France became tense.

It is sheer nonsense that the citizens of Britain and France enjoyed extraterritorial rights beyond national treatment in the Qing Dynasty, and that consuls, merchants, and missionaries from the two countries received discrimination in the Qing Dynasty.

Their real demand was to amend the treaty and open inland waterways so that they could extend their tentacles into the inland of the Qing Dynasty.

Of course, Britain and France, the two victors in the Crimean War, are not the only ones who are not stopping.

The defeated Tsarist Russia was also eager to try in the Far East at this time, hoping to carve out some big pieces of flesh from the Qing Dynasty to make up for the losses that Tsarist Russia suffered in the Crimean War.

Both sides regarded the Qing Dynasty as a delicious piece of fat meat, ready to take a bite.

It's just that Britain and France are concerned about their international image and domestic public opinion, and they will try their best to find some high-sounding excuses to show the necessity and "justice" of sending troops.

As for the behavior of Tsarist Russia, it was even worse. They didn’t even bother to find excuses and just openly robbed them.