Wild North America 1846

"Welcome back with honor, Your Majesty the General." Ye Xuanping, manager of the Veracbrus Port Company, held up a glass of champagne and expressed his high regards to Brigadier General Fan Pengfei.

He was the highest-ranking upper-class person present at the reception. The mayor of Veraquebrus, Mexico, and the speaker of the city council could only stand on the outside of the Chinese upper-class society and echo the words, looking as humble as slaves.

After the conclusion of the "Tang-Mexican-Jinling Friendship Treaty", Mexico lost much of its national sovereignty and in fact became a vassal state of the Tang Kingdom, and the two were deeply tied together.

But if you don't

Perhaps the current Mexican puppet government has already been defeated by the rebellious Aztec Republic in the south, ending the civil war and forming a unified Mexico.

For the Tang Kingdom, this was absolutely not allowed to happen.

Unfortunately, even though the current Mexican government forces are well-equipped, they always collapse at the first touch and are defeated by the rebels armed with spears, swords and backward muskets. They have become a stable channel for delivering weapons and equipment to the southern rebels.

Mud can't hold up the wall!

As a last resort, the Tang Kingdom had no choice but to go into battle in person...

The port management company is affiliated to the Royal Pacific Union Shipping Company, which can be regarded as a royal enterprise with established roots.

In the past two years, the company became famous for being the first to discover New Guinea Island (Paradise Island). It is also the largest and most powerful ocean shipping company in the Kingdom, and has invested in ports all over the country and overseas.

The mission of welcoming and arranging the return of the expeditionary force, which is of special significance, cannot be carried out by just any private enterprise. The Royal Pacific Union Line has a semi-official status and is bound to shoulder the mission.

The captains and sailors of ocean shipping companies in this era have additional missions such as exploring the unknown, collecting intelligence information, spreading culture and religion, and radiating influence on the kingdom. It is not that simple.

When necessary, pick up guns and equip artillery, which is the navy.

As the top official at the welcome banquet, Brigadier General Fan Pengfei raised the champagne glass in his hand and said solemnly: "All glory belongs to Your Majesty and to the Kingdom. Let us raise our glasses together and wish His Majesty the Holy Annals."

"Blessings to Your Majesty!"

Everyone at the cocktail party raised their glasses in unison, blessed him and drank it all in one gulp.

At this moment

Fan Pengfei's expression calmed down, and he said with a smile: "Manager Ye, on behalf of the third batch of returning soldiers, I would like to thank your company for the appropriate arrangements. The so-called cowardice of being close to home! After three years of separation, I returned to the territory of the Kingdom.

, hearing this familiar voice, how can it not make people feel deeply moved?"

"Your Majesty, you're welcome, General. The soldiers of the expeditionary force are fighting bravely on the front lines to bring glory to the kingdom. We are just doing some small things within our ability, which are not worth mentioning."

"Hahaha... Manager Ye is too modest."

Brigadier General Fan Pengfei raised his glass with a smile, took a sip of champagne, and happily chatted with the surrounding senior military officers and leading local Chinese businessmen.

In the brightly lit manor

Well-dressed gentlemen and fashionably dressed ladies walked among them, chatting and socializing with smiles. The common language was Chinese. The well-known local Mexicans couldn't even say anything, so they could only stand around and laugh like idiots.

.

How can we chat if we don’t understand the language?

After a while

Colonel Lin Feng came over with two middle-aged businessmen and joined the small circle chatting with Brigadier General Fan Pengfei.

When Manager Ye Xuanping saw them arriving, he politely greeted them first, and then said with an apology on his face;

"Your Excellency General, your rich experience in European wars can be written into a wonderful book. I happen to know a few great scholars from China who are very knowledgeable. If you have time, I hope to pay homage to you. You have a new friend here. We

I won’t bother you anymore.”

After that, he left with a few people around him.

"Brother Pengfei, this Mr. Ye is quite good at building relationships. How can you and I, a martial artist, write a book?" Colonel Lin Feng sneered and said carelessly.

Brigadier General Fan Pengfei didn't take it seriously, and replied calmly with a champagne glass in his hand: "There are thousands of kinds of people in society, and there are always some who are compatible and those who are not. Besides, being arty is not a bad thing. After all, you and I are already

Senior military officials should not be as casual in their words and deeds as before, nor should they be proud of being rude. It is better to respect the true Chinese scholars."

"Okay, my foolish brother has learned a lesson."

After being told by Fan Pengfei, Colonel Lin Feng could only secretly say that he was unlucky. Then a flattering smile appeared on his face, and he pointed at the two businessmen who came with him and said;

"Brother Pengfei, these are two owners from Seattle Mao Changxing, Mr. Tian Mingjian and Mr. Tian Mingxue. They are businessmen in the aquatic products and canned goods business."

Then he turned back to face the two of them and said with a serious expression: "The person I recommend to you is General Fan Pengfei, the star of the expeditionary force and a illustrious martial artist. When he returns to the mainland this time, he will be summoned by His Majesty. It is certain that he will be rewarded with a noble title."

Tian Mingjian and Tian Mingxue did not dare to neglect, and they all saluted with both hands with respectful expressions: "The common people have seen your Excellency the General."

The status of merchants in the Kingdom of Tang Dynasty is much higher than that in China. When His Majesty inspects various places, he often summons merchants to have discussions, chatting and laughing.

This has invisibly greatly elevated the status of Chinese businessmen and capitalists, and their voice in town councils and society has been greatly increased.

What is good above will be replicated below!

Brigadier General Fan Pengfei nodded in return with a reserved expression, but looked at Colonel Lin Feng with a questioning look, why did you bring these two businessmen here?

Colonel Lin Feng chuckled, came over and said, "Brother Pengfei, Seattle Maochang is a large local marine fishing company. It owns more than 27 offshore fishing boats. It ranks 6th in terms of scale. Last year, it exported European salted fish and

With more than 3,400 tons of salty goods, he is a very powerful businessman.

Since the development of the canning industry, the Tian brothers have been keenly aware of the development opportunities and followed the boom to build a canning processing plant in Seattle, specializing in the production of canned seafood of various flavors, which is in short supply in the European market.

Merchant Bank already owns two canning plants, and now the Tian brothers are preparing to replicate the success they had in Seattle in Veracbrus.

The warm coast of Mexico is rich in aquatic resources, and there is great potential for offshore fishing. Seafood processing plants and canning factories have been established as a bridgehead for exports to Europe. The distance is closer and transportation is more convenient.

Even if the market becomes saturated in the future, the canning processing plants in the Gulf of Mexico can continue to do prosperous business by relying on their geographical and cost advantages.

They have no roots here, so..."

Colonel Lin Feng did not say the rest of the words, but Brigadier General Fan Pengfei could certainly hear the implication.

As a businessman, of course you just hug your thighs!

After all, this is the territory of the Mexicans. Don't look at the Mexican mayors, speakers, and leading figures in the city who are just submissive and look like frustrated little wives.

In fact, these Mexicans have n ways to manipulate the baseless Chinese businessmen, greatly affecting their operations.

After all, they are local snakes. If they only set up obstacles in recruiting local Mexicans to work, the Tian brothers will face many difficulties if they want to flex their muscles.

Fishing and food processing plants require a lot of manpower, often one to two thousand or more. It is unrealistic to recruit all Chinese workers here, and more cheap Mexican workers must be used.

It's different when you have a military background. You don't even dare to set up obstacles for the Mexicans. This is how powerful foreigners are.

Brigadier General Fan Pengfei frowned. He was a person with quite traditional ideas. He looked down on merchants from the bottom of his heart and was unwilling to associate with them.

While he was preparing excuses, Colonel Lin Feng tugged on his sleeve, came up to him and whispered;

"Brother Tian is willing to take out 15% of the equity, give you 10%, and give me 5%, guaranteeing that the annual income will not be less than 20,000 yuan, and your share will not be less than 40,000 yuan. I agreed for you."

After saying that, he gave a "you know" look.

Although he felt dumbfounded, in front of outsiders, Brigadier General Fan Pengfei couldn't bear to let his brothers lose face, so he pondered for a moment and asked: "When you are doing business, how can you ensure that you don't bully and dominate the market with the military's signature power?"

Doing business?”

The two businessmen, Nakata Akiken, was older and was obviously the manager of a commercial bank. He bowed deeply and said respectfully;

"If you reply to the general, you won't even dare to give us the courage.

The Tian family has been in business for more than 200 years, and their family motto is "Be a good person first when doing business, and do not deceive others."

Adhering to the ancestral precepts, the Tian family's children all started out as salesmen. Those with bad conduct and unfair treatment cannot be a big shopkeeper, and we cannot allow such people to ruin the reputation of the Tian family.

The common people pledge their family's wealth and life as a guarantee, and they will never dare to do anything wrong when doing business, and they will commit crimes and do some illegal things.

It is the original intention of Maochang Trading Company to operate in accordance with the law and do business in a disciplined manner. I just hope that I will not be bullied by my colleagues and local Mexicans by becoming a disciple of the general, that's all."

"So, you are a businessman with rules." Brigadier General Fan Pengfei nodded, but did not comment.

Colonel Lin Feng was about to speak, but he raised his hand to stop him.

Brigadier General Fan Pengfei pondered for a moment and said in a serious tone: "Whether this is feasible still needs to be verified. Brother Afeng, send a telegram to the Seattle Garrison Headquarters through the military telegraph line tomorrow to inquire about Maochang's local reputation and reputation.

The next step is to make sense based on how you deal with people."

Fan Pengfei has always been a prudent person, and it is impossible to believe one side of the story. There are many brothers in the Seattle Garrison Command who were members of the Guards. If you ask, the truth will come to light.

It takes no effort, so why take the risk?

He didn't say anything harsh, but the crime of deceiving an army brigadier general was not a small crime, and it was definitely not something that the two Chinese businessmen in front of them could bear.

After all

The Tang Kingdom is a kingdom with the feudal aristocratic system as its core. Although it implements an enlightened constitutional monarchy in name, this constitutional monarchy is not that constitutional monarchy. It is actually the dictatorial government of His Majesty the King.

If we give preferential treatment to merchants, we cannot allow merchants to do whatever they want on the heads of military nobles. What is the point?

According to the criminal laws of the Tang Dynasty;

Privileged classes such as government officials and military nobles are not allowed to use their positions for personal gain. Violators will be severely punished depending on the circumstances.

But this does not mean that government officials and military aristocrats cannot invest rationally. The money can only be left at home to grow moldy and rot, and cannot be used for anything else.

This is both unreasonable and unreasonable.

Many government officials and military aristocrats in the Tang Dynasty invested in shops, fields, factories, docks, railways or various industries, and it was a normal asset allocation to obtain reasonable returns based on investment and shareholding.

Is there any use of position influence here?

To a certain extent, there are some. For example, in companies where big aristocrats have shares, ordinary people don’t dare to go and get cards. Large companies with strong foundations are doing business well and can operate smoothly in every province. This is more or less the case.

Some background.

But there are a few things to be aware of here. The first is not to occupy a controlling position. Generally, it is an investment stake of 5% to 10%, which occupies a director seat, but it is not a controlling position.

The second is to avoid sensitive areas. For example, the companies that Viscount Huang Yuanjia, the Minister of Transportation, invests in, cannot be involved in the transportation industry, such as cement, steel, construction industry, etc. There is no problem if he invests in the petrochemical industry or food processing.

It's considered taking advantage of one's power for personal gain.

The third point is to separate the relationship. Immediate family members cannot be appointed to corporate positions. The nature has changed again. It is okay to just charge a reasonable return on investment.

The topic turns back to the military. Many senior military generals also invest in local industries. As long as they have nothing to do with the military and are not within their own jurisdiction, there is no big problem.

For example, Maochangxing, recommended by Colonel Lin Feng, intends to develop offshore fishing and canning processing plants in the city of Veraquebrus. This place belongs to Mexican territory and is out of reach of the Royal Army, so it is a reasonable investment.

Even if the lawsuit reaches the Military Justice Department of the General Staff Headquarters, Colonel Lin Feng is not afraid at all.

Colonel Lin Feng is a high-ranking official at the field division level. He is not a brainless person. It is too late to close the relationship between the two parties. How could he bring Brigadier General Fan Pengfei, who is about to become the commander, into the ditch?

The reason why he dared to agree on behalf of Brigadier General Fan Pengfei was that he had carefully verified that Maochangxing, owned by the Tian brothers, was strong and had a good reputation, and that it would provide another way to make a fortune.

The higher you go, the greater the cost.

The aristocratic class of the Tang Kingdom did not take long to form, but it was inevitably quickly affected by the luxurious life. This was due to the set of things that the aristocratic class admired in their bones, and was also deeply influenced by the European aristocratic class.

Now that we have noble status and fiefs, how can we live without a decent manor and castle?

His Majesty the King is building the Daming Palace, and nobles across the country have spent huge sums of money to build castles and manors that are springing up like mushrooms after rain. There are Chinese-style, British-style, French-style, and Gothic castles that are expensive and labor-intensive.

There was a trend.

In any case, you are spending your own money to build on your own fiefdom, and no one else has anything to do with it.

Now that there is a manor, a castle, and a family temple, the deep-rooted concept of spreading branches and leaves in the Chinese people must have emerged, and taking wives and concubines is inevitable.

The more wives and concubines there are, the more children there will be. Eating, drinking, and having sex for a large family is not a small expense.

Then attending gatherings of upper-class nobles and maintaining a necessary decent life, relying solely on the output of fiefdoms is not enough. Purchasing shops, real estate buildings, and investing in some factories and enterprises to achieve a reasonable allocation of assets has become an inevitable choice.

With the right guidance, this isn't a bad thing.

The prosperous development of various enterprises in the Tang Kingdom was indispensable for the large amount of capital injection from the nobles. When everyone had a strong follow-up, then abiding by the rules of the game became an inevitable choice.