Three clipper ships that had been overhauled and cleaned were lined up in a long queue. Under the leadership of the pilot boat, they slowly sailed into the Huangpu River. The white sails were all newly replaced. Suzuki Tai spent a lot of time for this escort mission. Do your best.
More than 300 European veterans all put on brand-new military uniforms. Among them, the soldiers with outstanding merits also hung medals awarded by the heads of state on their chests. Some of the combat heroes actually had the Iron Cross awarded by Prince Karl himself.
"The Führer's expeditionary force! The expeditionary force that penetrated France...the iron army that broke through the French capital!"
"Man! This is a true man! Wan Sheng! Mighty!"
The crowd suddenly became noisy. Being able to gallop through the territory of the foreign devils and even attack the capital of a country is the most inspiring achievement in any era.
The military victory of the Chinese and the humiliation of the late Qing Dynasty in front of the foreign devils suddenly lifted the morale of the people.
However, Shanghai is a commercial center after all, and people are not as concerned about politics as they are in the 49 cities. They are more concerned about money issues.
The shrewd eyes of the crowd had already focused on the large and small boxes on the decks of the three clipper ships, and people began to murmur.
The main hall door of the Chinese Central Bank was finally opened, and respectable Jiangnan merchants gathered around the rosy-faced old shopkeeper Fan Lian. The old shopkeeper just drank a large cup of ginseng soup in one sip, and his eyes were sparkling!
The main street facing the Huangpu River suddenly moved out of the way. A temporary wooden trestle was built specifically for unloading goods and was covered with a red carpet.
Shanghai Road, central bank guards, and even patrol police from the British Concession all came. According to the previously established warning circle, people pulled out several isolation zones to protect the safety of this group of Gods of Wealth.
"Ouch... the old shopkeeper has come forward! It seems that the rumors are true. The old shopkeeper is here to welcome Yinzi!"
"That's right, that's right... Oops, I regret it so much. If I had known the news was true, I would have bought some stocks yesterday. They will definitely go up now!"
"Haha, it's too late for you to regret it. Today, the old shopkeeper issued a temporary announcement that the entire Jiangnan stock market will have a day off and stop trading!"
"Ouch... Ouch..." The small businessman who missed the opportunity stamped his feet anxiously.
At this moment, no one cares about the wailing of the skywalker. Everyone's attention is focused on the three clipper boats. At this moment, the sailman has begun to lower the last tail sail. The speed of the boat has completely slowed down. The power of the sailboat is completely dependent on the sail. Pushed by several small steam pilot boats.
Driven by the boat, the clipper slowly approached the trestle. Following Suzuki Tai's order, the sailor threw several cables to the shore.
The dock workers selected by the central bank were all in their twenties and thirties. They tightened the cables with their upper body muscles and began to tie the cables.
"Come on... let's get on... Let the reporter take the position first... Old shopkeeper, please slow down, please slow down..."
The crowd subconsciously wanted to move forward, and the group of concession policemen and Shanghai Road government officials shouted back, "Back off... everyone back off..."
The big leather boots of the Chinese Marine Corps stepped on the red carpet, and the impact of the wooden trestle made a rumble. The fully armed Marines quickly formed a circle on the street and became the last cordon.
Suzuki Tai walked up to the old shopkeeper with a smile, stood at attention and saluted, "Suzuki Tai, the battalion commander of the Expeditionary Forces Foreign Legion, escorted 320 metric tons of silver and some cultural relics to the central bank..."
"Old shopkeeper, this is the list. Please ask the staff of the central bank to come and count it! Remember to give me a receipt at the end so that I can go to the military headquarters to report!"
With a bang, the whole street exploded. "How much? Just ask me how much money..."
"320 metric tons, the foreigner's unit of measurement... That's not more than 10 million silver dollars!"
"More than that, it costs twelve million silver dollars at least..."
"Is it all the French who paid for it? Is the news in Europe true?"
The old shopkeeper's beard was blowing with excitement. He patted Suzuki Tai on the shoulder, "Open the boxes and count them at the gate... Let all the businessmen from Jiangnan see with their own eyes..."
Mi Fu and Niu Jinfu laughed and said, "The old shopkeeper is right. Let's open our eyes and see what the foreign devils' money is like!"
The workers have already lined up on the deck, carrying huge wooden boxes on wooden poles and beginning to unload goods to the Bund.
One wooden box after another was opened, and the white silver inside was dazzling!
Silver is not a unit of measurement for currency in Europe. Europe still uses the gold standard, so the silver shipped back to the country this time are all real silver ingots for industrial use.
There are ten kilograms, twenty kilograms, and even fifty kilograms of huge silver ingots, with dense numbers and French letters mechanically embossed on them.
No one can understand it, but no one will deny the authenticity of the silver. In order to speed up the counting of 320 tons of silver, Fan Qian deliberately seconded some accountants and warehouse managers from foreign banks. These foreign devils know the goods.
"Minted at the Paris Mint in 1765...this is more than a hundred years old!"
"Look at this piece...the inscription from the Spanish mint in 1734...God, this thing is almost becoming a cultural relic!"
"The mark of the Potosi silver capital... This is cast directly from the Potosi silver mine in South America..."
The staff went crazy. They sorted the pieces of silver ingots into different categories and counted them in front of everyone on the street on the Bund.
Reporters from all over Shanghai, from all over the world, came here. The shutters of their cameras were pressed again and again. Tomorrow, these photos would fly all over the south of the Yangtze River through newspapers.
In the deathly silence, tens of thousands of people on the Bund have lost the ability to speak. They are watching the mountains of silver piling up little by little, getting higher and higher.
Five meters, ten meters...one pile, two piles, ten piles...
The silver box that was unloaded at the end was not the kind of exquisite and reusable wooden box at all. What was lifted out from the cabin later were all wooden boxes temporarily bound with wooden boards to transport ordinary goods.
This kind of box cannot be reused after being disassembled. If the crowbar breaks a few pieces of wood, the silver ingots will fall to the ground with a clatter.
"Yinshan! It's really Yinshan!" Someone in the crowd shouted, and then all the people shouted in unison, "Yinshan! The head of state is mighty! The Chinese people are mighty!"
The people of the Qing Dynasty went crazy at the scene. They finally understood that everything was true, and the myth-like victory news coming back from Europe was true.
The head of state did not lie to them, the Chinese did not lie to them, the country's destiny has really improved!
All the foreigners present were silent. They looked at the excited emotions of the people in Jiangnan, and they were all worried, and a strong sour taste circulated in their hearts.
Suzuki Taichi saw that the atmosphere was almost settled, and nodded to his men. The third clipper ship began to unload cultural relics, and the atmosphere became even more lively.
The huge oil painting "Napoleon Crossing the St. Bernard Pass in the Alps" was unfolded at the scene. Europeans are all good at discerning goods. This painting is so famous in Europe!
"Look...the painting "The Coronation of Napoleon I" was also snatched away by the Chinese...Oh God!"
Famous European paintings were rolled up and stored in water-filled cowhide. In order to prevent moisture, bags of charcoal were installed in the cabins of the ships carrying the paintings to absorb moisture.
The ship passed through the Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the South China Sea... but there was no damage at all along the way!
The foreigners could no longer sit still, and even the ministers from various countries came out and watched eagerly as these European art treasures were counted and put into storage by the Chinese.
