The mage in the late Qing Dynasty

Benjamin Goldberg recounts what he saw and heard in the Japanese Concession.

He said: "Master, when I heard that the people of Hankou were exterminating people, I asked - Are you going to the Oriental Concession? You can see what a bad impression this left on the people of Hankou."

Sheng Enyi was a little disapproving.

But Hu Li was filled with indignation: "The Japanese are really hateful!"

Zhao Chuanxin continued to eat and drink. After eating only meat, he would be hungry after a while, so he put the noodles in the pot, as if he turned a deaf ear to their words.

At this time, Ganfan said: "Woof woof woof..."

Zhao Yixian asked curiously: "Benjamin, what did Ganfan say?"

Translated by Benjamin Goldberg: "Gan Fan said - if no one comes forward, it doesn't matter, I will take action then!"

Zhao Yixian: "Ahem, what a loud breath..."

"This dog can really talk?" Sheng Enyi was very doubtful. He leaned over and said: "Woof woof woof..."

Ganfan: "Woof woof woof..."

Sheng Enyi was surprised and said: "It really responded to me. What did it say?"

Translated by Benjamin Goldberg: "Gangfanshuo--Idiot, you don't need to use a Wu accent to imitate a dog barking..."

Sheng Enyi: "..."

Hu Li suppressed his laughter until his face turned red and his neck became thick.

…

Hu Gentang came home very late.

When he came back, smelling of alcohol and with blurred eyes, he asked the housekeeper: "Where is A Bao?"

The housekeeper said cautiously: "Miss Abao has left, Master Cheng Kun and the others stayed."

"What?" Hu Gentang's eyes widened: "Why did A Bao leave? Why did the monk stay?"

"This...Master, I don't know either."

Hu Gentang drank too much. He shook his head and decided to worry about it tomorrow.

…

The next day.

Zhao Chuanxin had breakfast, put on a crisp blended suit, a wool coat, a pair of hand-polished brown leather shoes, a top hat, and walked out of Biyunli carrying the scepter of redemption in his hand as a staff of civilization. , took a rickshaw and headed towards the British Concession.

Arriving at the gate of the British Concession, Zhao Chuanxin got out of the car in a grand manner in front of the British guards, paid the fare and a hefty tip, buttoned up his suit, straightened his coat, raised his wrist to look at the pilot's square dial watch, and then held his head high The chest went inside.

As usual, when Chinese enter the British Concession, they need to show their identity.

Ordinary people would not let him go at all.

But Zhao Chuanxin's aura is so strong that he doesn't show off his anger. His well-fitting and expensive outfit, including the new watch on his wrist, makes people know that he has a great background at a glance. Most ordinary people don't even have the money to pretend. , let alone that spirit.

When passing by the British guard, Zhao Chuanxin nodded to him lightly, with a mixture of politeness and arrogance.

The British guard hesitated for a moment, but did not stop him.

Zhao Chuanxin tapped the Redemption Scepter gently in the palm of his hand and strolled around.

It has to be said that while the invaders occupied the land, they also brought prosperity to the port cities of Hankou, Shanghai and Tianjin.

The various Western-style buildings on the street are neatly arranged, and the streets are very orderly and yet prosperous at the same time.

Japan had more than 20 foreign companies located in the British Concession, and Mitsui \u0026 Co. was prominently among them.

At the same time, there are also foreign companies from Germany, France and other countries, including egg factories, lamp factories and cargo terminals, as well as insurance and shipping businesses...

Finally arriving at Yokohama Zhengjin Bank, Zhao Chuanxin walked in generously.

"Sir, how can I help you?" the lobby manager inside asked in broken English.

Zhao Chuanxin responded in English: "I'm afraid you can't be of much help."

"ah?"

The lobby manager was a little confused: "Sir, do you want to withdraw money or make a deposit?"

Zhao Chuanxin said: "I want to withdraw money."

The lobby manager breathed a sigh of relief: "That will help. Sir, show me your account."

"I don't have an account."

"..." The lobby manager could still keep smiling. He was considered polite. He just teased: "Sir, then we don't have any money."

Zhao Chuanxin's checkpoint is completed.

He shouted angrily: "No money? Why don't you open a bank without money? No wonder, everyone says Japan is a despicable nation. It's really disgusting, bah!"

Lobby manager:"……"

After Zhao Chuanxin finished cursing, he walked out of the bank door.

He looked back and forth, and couldn't help but squint his eyes.

The corridor inside the bank was shadowy and full of Japanese soldiers carrying guns. There must be more out there, out of sight.

The street outside the bank was lined with British soldier handles, and there were many of them.

Along the way, Zhao Chuanxin walked, no matter it was Credit Agricole, Siemens Bank, Melchers Bank, HSBC... the guards at all these places were not as tight as Yokohama Zhengjin Bank.

This is obviously not normal.

Who are they guarding against?

But obviously one thing is for sure, there must be a lot of money here, so much that the British would send Japanese soldiers to garrison in the British Concession.

Zhao Chuanxin walked out of the British Concession like a normal person, leaned against a telephone pole outside, lit a cigarette and stared at the British Concession in a daze.

At this time, a cigarette seller kid holding a cigarette box came to him: "Sir, buy a pack of cigarettes."

Zhao Chuanxin saw that this child was wearing thin clothes, had a sallow complexion and was thin. The most attractive thing about his body was the newsboy cap on his head.

He took out two big pieces and threw them into the wooden box: "I want all these cigarettes."

The cigarette seller's face was filled with joy: "Sir, you don't need so much."

Zhao Chuanxin held his cigarette in his mouth and smiled slightly: "The rest is your tip, it belongs to you."

The little boy took out the rag, squatted down and said, "Thank you, sir, let me clean your shoes."

Zhao Chuanxin's shoes are new, shiny, with only a little bit of buoyancy.

He didn't refuse either.

The kid selling cigarettes asked, "Sir, how did I become as rich as you?"

"Haha, do you know why I succeeded?" Zhao Chuanxin flicked the cigarette ashes, his face full of memories, and said lightly: "When I was a child, I wanted to get ahead in my studies and wanted to save candles, so I went to the door of a wealthy family. Steal the light before."

Unexpectedly, the kid who sold cigarettes had some insight: "I know, sir, there is a story called chiseling through a wall to steal the light. It's amazing that my husband changed his life against the odds by studying hard."

Zhao Chuanxin blew out two streams of smoke from his nostrils. Seeing that the cigarette seller knew this allusion, he had something to say: "I went to steal the money and read until midnight. When I was hungry, I went to have a late-night snack and then went to a teahouse to drink. I had some tea and spent a total of one yuan. After returning home satisfied, I found that I had forgotten to turn off the fire and all the ten candles were burned out. I was so angry that I burned the copy of "Jin Ping Mei" in my hand and vowed never to read it again. This crappy book! Reading is useless!"

The kid selling cigarettes paused in his movements, raised his head, and saw a glistening snot hanging under his nose. He inhaled again and said blankly: "Sir, you..."

Zhao Chuanxin laughed, pointed at the British Concession and said: "I made my fortune by robbing foreigners. You have a brain, a smart man, and you started doing business at a young age. You will become a great person in the future."

In this turbulent era, there are outlets everywhere. As long as you have some courage, it is not difficult to take off.

After hearing this, the cigarette seller couldn't help but feel courageous and his eyes widened: "Is it true, sir?"

"Really." Zhao Chuanxin said firmly.

Many years later, the cigarette peddler had some achievements. When being interviewed, he said: "Back then, someone said something to me outside the British Concession, which changed my life. Later I found out that this person was the God of War Zhao To pass on the salary, he was planning to rob the Japanese bank, and sure enough he didn’t lie to me..."

…

While Zhao Chuanxin was stationed there, Sheng Xuanhuai and the Japanese consortium were conducting the Nth round of negotiations.

Sheng Xuanhuai twisted his beard and smiled and said: "Thanks to the help of many entrepreneurs in Hankou, we have raised another two to three million taels of stock capital. If we can get another loan from you, Hanyeping Coal and Iron Plant can be successfully completed."

Eiji Asabuki's face looked somewhat ugly. He forced out a smile and said, "Are the entrepreneurs Sheng Zuotang mentioned just a group of salt merchants? Come to think of it, they can't make much money, right?"

Sheng Xuanhuai smiled mysteriously: "Don't underestimate the Huaiyan merchants. They are good at making money and have a rich fortune."

Asabuki Eiji moved his butt uncomfortably: "Sheng Zuodang, can I sign the contract today?"

Sheng Xuanhuai shook his head: "The terms are too harsh and need to be discussed again."

Asabuki Eide relaxed for the first time in more than two days: "What does Sheng Zuotang mean?"

Sheng Xuanhuai knew that Hu Gentang took the initiative to invest in stocks, and these cunning Japanese found out. He already had an idea: "If not, increase the amount of the loan to 3.5 million taels?"

Asabuki Eiji shook his head: "Sheng Zuodang, the new year is approaching, and you must also want to have a new look in the new year. Let's be more straightforward and borrow 3 million taels. We will draft the contract today and sign it tomorrow!"

This was almost the same as Sheng Xuanhuai expected. He finally nodded: "Okay!"

Eiji Asabuki breathed a sigh of relief: "Well, I invite Shanda people to have dinner with me today, and Shanda people will definitely appreciate it."

"Then it's better to obey orders than to be respectful." Sheng Xuanhuai accepted happily: "Why isn't Mr. Aso here?"

"This...he has other things to do."

Aso Jiuhide actually went to Hu Gentang's house.

Hu Gengtang entertained him politely and rarely used the leftovers.

It’s no wonder that officials in the Qing Dynasty had long-term meniscus missing in their knees and their bones were very soft, and the same was true for businessmen.

Regarding the level of fear of foreigners, the people who are least afraid of them are the common people and bandits at the bottom, because bare feet are not afraid of those wearing shoes, and their lives are cheap, and the worst is death.

Of course, that's also relative.

Hu Gentang asked politely: "I wonder what Mr. Aso's instructions are?"

Aso Jiuhide said with airs: "I came here this time to give Boss Hu a fortune."

No wonder he is so awesome, because Japan's ironworks are currently somewhat similar to Japan's military industry sector.

The establishment of the official system of the iron and steel works also refers to the original Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894. The Qing government was defeated and paid 19.2 million yen in compensation. It was with this money that Japan introduced a full set of equipment and technology from Germany.

The Iron Works, also called the Yawata Iron Works, provided a large amount of materials to the Japanese army during the Russo-Japanese War. It was even worse later on. The money used for the construction came from the Qing court's indemnity, while the steel and coal materials were provided by the Han Yeping Coal and Iron Works, which in turn invaded China.

"Oh?" Hu Gentang didn't show any joy. After spending so many years in shopping malls, he still understood that being courteous for nothing was either cheating or stealing: "What is wealth?"

Asabuki Eiji said: "Boss Hu's Huai salt business is still a bit small. Hankou is the eye of the Yangtze River, the center of the Qing Dynasty, and the vital link of the economic center. Any business can be more profitable than salt!"

"For example?" Hu Gentang asked doubtfully.

"What about smoke and munitions?"

"This..." Hu Gentang was stunned.

These activities were something he didn't dare to think about.

Hisashi Aso smiled: "Will Boss Hu accept this fortune or not?"

"I have already asked my servants to prepare a table of good food and wine. We will discuss this later." The confused Hu Gentang could only use this reason to give himself room to think. He turned his head and suddenly shouted: "Li'er, what are you doing?"

Hu Lisan, who was secretly eavesdropping outside, appeared with a smile and scratched his head: "Dad, I'm tired of studying. I just came out to get some air."

"Get back!"

"yes!"

It is difficult to guard against domestic thieves...

…

Zhao Chuanxin wandered outside the British Concession all day.

It wasn't until dark, when the common people and tired birds returned to their nests together, and all the shops were closed, that he put on his shadow cloak, stepped on the Misty Traveler, and entered the British Concession under the eyes of the British soldiers...