It was the first time that Sao Ye encountered a policeman who asked for no money. He was so surprised that he even forgot to call the bearer to get up the sedan chair. Master Han quickly gave the order and the group came out again. [No pop-up novel website]
There are no traces of Australians in the county. However, if you look carefully, you can see the handiwork of Australians: such as the newly paved street and the drainage ditches that are still being excavated on both sides.
What surprised Li Luoyou was the cleanliness of the streets here. Not only were there no puddles of cement, there was no littering, and there was no trace of the feces and urine that must be found in the corners - these are indispensable embellishments even in the city of Guangzhou. Not to mention a small and remote county like Lingao.
There are very few shops along the street, just a few grocery stores and teahouses. The store is not big and the facade is quite neat and clean. Li Luoyou could tell that these houses had been repaired recently. Not only had the walls been painted, but the bricks and tiles had also been patched.
The county town seemed very deserted, but the atmosphere was still calm and peaceful. Li Luoyou thought to himself: How does this Lingao county magistrate get along with the Australians? Could it be that he was just hiding in the county government office and pretending to be deaf and dumb? This kind of self-cultivation is really good
Lingao County is a small town and can't walk more than two or three hundred steps. The sedan turned into a side street and arrived at the entrance of Runshi Hall. The sedan did not go in through the gate, but turned the corner and was carried in through the corner door until it reached the second hall of the residence. The steward had already come over with his servants to greet him.
Pulling out the car bars and removing the armrests, Su Ye quickly stepped forward and opened the car curtain.
"Good morning, sir." The butler who greeted him immediately kowtowed with his servants.
Li Luoyou felt a little relieved when he saw that Runshitang was quite large and the servants behaved in an elegant manner. He was very tired of seeing the disrespectful look of the Australian men.
Li Luoyou's arrival has been reported to the executive committee by Liu San. The basic information of this businessman has been included in the intelligence department's files since Liu San went to Foshan, and was later upgraded due to his large-scale purchase of pig iron in Guangdong. However, Li Luoyou's information is still quite simple. The Crossing Group has no other intelligence sources on the mainland except Guangzhou and Leizhou.
After the establishment of the Office of Foreign Intelligence, a supplementary investigation was conducted into the files of important Aboriginal figures established during the Intelligence Committee era, and Luoyou Li was also included in the investigation. Guangzhou Station collected a lot of information about him from various public channels, and gradually the specific outline of this character became clear.
The Foreign Intelligence Service did not know the depth of the relationship between Li Luoyou and Hou Jin, but at least it knew that he had trade relations with the Hou Jin controlled area, and the relationship was not too shallow.
"Everyone, please think about it, what is this Li Luoyou selling?" Yu Eshui said, "It's from Liaodong. And it mainly sells ginseng. People who can sell ginseng are definitely worthy of mention in the Hou Jin regime. People of words.”
The Hou Jin Dynasty paid great attention to ginseng as a medicinal material after Nurhachi raised his army, and even set up a special "Volhoda Zhangjing" to be responsible for the collection, storage and sales of ginseng - this was their main export product for purchasing various materials from the customs. It is as important as oil to the Gulf countries.
For Li Luoyou to be able to transport and sell ginseng, he not only had to have certain connections in Houjin, but also had collusion with local generals in various border towns in Liaodong. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to transport goods back and forth across thousands of miles when the imperial court banned trade in Liaodong.
In other words, if we can get Li Luoyou's cooperation, it will be equivalent to opening up the Hainan-Liaodong transportation line. Trade and intelligence networks could begin.
And Li Luoyou is not just an adventurous businessman traveling to Liaodong, he also has many business networks within the customs. The Crossing Group can use his connections to lay out intelligence and business networks.
In the past, the Cross Travel Group has not expanded its network on the mainland. The shortage of manpower is certainly one aspect, there is no one to respond locally, and the unfamiliarity of the place is also a problem. Local societies in ancient times were quite closed. It would be difficult for outsiders to open up a situation in a certain place without the introduction and protection of local connections. Although Gao Ju's power was great, outside of Guangdong, he could only enjoy it in the capital, and other places were not worth mentioning.
They are not in a hurry to go to the capital, but Jiangnan is an area that the Crossing Group is eager to penetrate. In the future layout of Chuanchuan Group, Jiangnan will be their main product sales place and material procurement place.
In particular, the rice, cloth, and silk from Jiangnan are all coveted trading commodities of the Chuan Chuan Group, and the prosperous commerce here provides the best market for the Chuan Chuan Group's financial industry.
So while Li Luoyou was still waiting to hit the road in Foshan, various departments in Lingao were already working on this.
Although everyone doesn't know much about Li Luoyou's purpose of coming, the purpose of his visit to Gaolai is obviously to do business. The most likely business is weapons and ammunition.
The Foreign Intelligence Bureau has learned that Li Luoyu is operating as a governor and governor in Guangdong, hoping to cast cannons for the government. It is possible that he came to Gaolai for a similar purpose. After all, the Chuanchuang people are known for their "sharp firearms" of.
However, the Crossing Group is not enthusiastic about exporting weapons. Although the arms trade is the most profitable business, it consumes the "strategic materials" of the Crossing Group: metals and coal. It is difficult to accept large-scale exports when the stocks of both are insufficient.
As for the generation difference of weapons and the possibility of being imitated by Ming Dynasty or Houjin, the industrial department believes that there is no need to worry too much. Judging from the level of weapons manufactured by Lingao, it is almost impossible to imitate them purely by hand. At most, the imitation prototypes have the same structure, but the gap in material performance and processing level is enough to degrade the performance of the imitation products to Very low level.
In the end, it was decided not to mention the weapons, but to try to sell other industrial products to him. Distributed to all parts of the country and Liaodong through his channels. Li Luoyou may not refuse something that makes money. In particular, Chuan Chuan Group also hopes to promote its financial product: Delong Bank Draft to major cities through its business network, and wait for the time to mature before exporting Chuan Chuan Group's currency.
It all depends on Li Luoyou's impression of the Time Travel Group. A working group was set up to deal with him. It is temporarily composed of personnel drawn from the intelligence, political security, trade and administrative departments. The work on Li Luoyou was named "Liu Work"
The person in charge of "Liu Work" selected Liu San. Li Luoyou came to Lingao through Yang Run's Kaitang-Runshitang line. Liu San is not only a veteran, but also a shareholder of Runshitang and Yang Shixiang's adopted brother. He also had a relationship with Li Luoyou. Whether it is from a rational or emotional point of view, it is the most appropriate and comprehensive way for him to make contact.
Liu San got all the intelligence information about Li Luoyou. In order not to make the sworn brother too nervous, the matter of "Liu Job" was not disclosed to him. Liu San believes that it is better to make contact as natural as possible. It is best for the other party to speak first, so as to gain a certain initiative in the negotiation.
Yang Shixiang was already waiting in front of the dripping eaves of the flower hall. After the two met, they naturally showed some politeness and said a few polite words of "long admirer" and "admiration". Li Luoyou couldn't help but compliment him a few more times, saying "reviving the family business". This is what Yang Shixiang is most proud of. Being complimented by others will naturally scratch his itch. He was a little curious about this businessman introduced by his cousin: his cousin only said in the letter that the visitor was very curious about "Australians" and hoped to visit Lingao and see if he did business with Australians. possibility.
Although the language of his cousin's letter was unclear, Yang Shixiang knew that his cousin would not write a letter specifically to him for an ordinary businessman. This person must be very important. If there is trouble, he will still be from the government.
Yang Shixiang saw that this man was about forty years old, with a medium build, a long face and a short beard, and had the air of a doughy rich man. If you look closely, you can see that his eyes are quite sharp. He is someone who has been through strong winds and waves.
However, at first sight, he felt familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere. I couldn't help but wonder secretly in my heart. Seeing that the servant had already served tea, I asked again: "Is the guest room arranged for Mr. You ready?"
"We are ready. Mr. You will live in the east guest courtyard." The housekeeper quickly replied, "How will the red-haired man arrange it? Please give me your instructions."
"First invite him to rest in the East Guest House." Yang Shixiang had already known from the letter that such a red-haired businessman was coming.
The East Guest House is a newly expanded building of Runshitang. Since the establishment of Runshitang, the number of merchants and peers has increased day by day. The original guest courtyard was not enough, so this new one was built specifically for receiving distinguished guests. There are five bays with front and rear rooms, which is enough to accommodate Li Luoyou and his party. There are a lot of furnishings and furnishings.
The suitcases and luggage brought by Li Luoyou were checked one by one by Sweeper and sent to the guest courtyard, where someone would arrange for them to be opened. Li Luoyou also brought four-color Foshan local specialties as a meeting gift.
The gift is not too heavy to show friendship, but it is not too light. After all, if you are not familiar with the place, everything will disturb the other person.
"It's a big gift from Shopkeeper Juda." Yang Shixiang was a little uneasy. Considering the friendship between the two parties, this gift was really generous.
"It doesn't matter, but I have to ask Shopkeeper Yang to take care of me." Li Luo saw the irrelevant people in the flower hall retreating one after another, leaving only himself and the other person's personal servant, and then he said:
"My surname is not You." In fact, the shopkeeper told Liu San that he had met him before. Although it was a one-time relationship at the time, there was no need to keep his true identity secret from them. A depressing industry.”
"It turns out that shopkeeper Li was disrespectful and disrespectful." Yang Shixiang was greatly surprised, and he thought about it all at once. Isn't this shopkeeper Li the big businessman he met at his cousin's banquet when he went to Foshan with his adopted brother?
In the past, he didn't care much about the background of this big businessman, but as Runshitang's status in Guangdong's pharmaceutical business community increased day by day. Shopkeeper Li, who plays an important role in the pharmaceutical business world, also knows something about it. This person is quite a legendary figure in the Guangdong business community. When he was young, he worked as an errand boy for Fo Lang Ji people in Macau and learned to speak Fo Lang Ji fluently. Later, he went to Liaodong to run the family business; Guangning was evacuated. When he fled back from Guangning, he was displaced all the way and almost died. The Li family's centuries-old property in Liaodong was wiped out in one fell swoop. They returned to Guan Nei and relied on the little property left in the capital to go to Guangdong to run foreign business. In less than ten years, the family was able to recover. He became a famous businessman in Guangdong.
Li Luoyou's management of Liaodong goods is an open secret in the Guangdong business community, and naturally it is not unknown in the officialdom. If you just have money, you can't be a rich man safely without some background skills.
"I came here this time because I have a few things to ask of you." Li Luoyou got straight to the point and made no secret of his purpose.
"It's easy to talk about." Yang Shixiang nodded deeply. This shopkeeper Li from the Guangdong business community came here under a pseudonym, so it must be an important matter. And most of this matter involves Australians. This cannot be done without caution.
Although I was cautious, I couldn't help but feel a little proud in my heart. I originally guarded this half-dead little pharmacy, how could I have the honor of being visited by a big shot like Li Luoyou?
But this person suddenly went to Lingao alone to visit him, and the matter he had to discuss with him was by no means a trivial matter.
"I want to meet the Australians, and I also want to ask Shopkeeper Yang to help connect them."
Yang Shixiang was hesitant. This incident was not unexpected, but there were not only one thousand but also five hundred Australians in Lingao. Which one did he want to see? If you want to meet a big boss, such as "Mr. Wen" or "Mr. Ma", you don't know whether your adopted brother's words will be effective.
"Do your best." Yang Shixiang nodded, and he decided not to tell him Liu San's true identity for the time being. Please discuss with Liu San first before making a decision.
That night, he called for Liu San and conveyed Li Luoyou's request to him.
"Brother Yu didn't dare to agree to him first, and he didn't say that you were an Australian. This matter is of great importance and should not be taken carelessly." He specifically reminded Liu San that Li Luoyou was probably sent by the government to find out the truth about Lingao. It is also possible that he came to discuss something on behalf of the government.
"At the banquet where I first met Li Luoyou in Foshan, there were people from the officialdom present."
Of course Liu San knew about this. Not only did he know, but he also knew that this official person was a trial member of Jin Yiwei. But there is no need to say this to the sworn brother, as it will frighten him in vain.
"Brother, you are right," Liu San said, "Since he wants to see us, you allow him to do so."
"Brother Yu doesn't know the class status among you Australians. I don't know what kind of person this Mr. Li wants to meet? What if he wants to meet your big boss?"
"Let me handle this matter," Liu San said. "If he wants to see Mr. Wen, I will convey it to him. Seeing him or not is another matter."
Shixiang nodded and said, "Brother, I'd better inform everyone to come up with a countermeasure." Yang Shixiang warned him, "Sooner or later, if you build a city and train troops here, the court will take control of it. If the soldiers arrive, people will inevitably be devastated. It’s better to plan ahead.”
Liu San didn't care, he just asked him to entertain this distinguished guest. As for Liu San, he will be in Runshitang a lot recently. In order to facilitate his work, I hope he will set aside a courtyard for his use that is convenient and unobtrusive. v! ~!
