The large team of the Dashun Imperial Westernization Investigation Team finally settled in a Chinese-style garden house near the Bastille in the noisy and messy eastern part of Paris.
This Chinese-style garden is called Huang Family Garden, and it is the residence of Huang Zhisheng, the eldest son of Huang Jiang, a great banker who settled in London. After Huang Jiang left France, the business of Sinou United Bank in France was controlled by Mr. Huang. This Mr. Huang is also a capable person. He is in his thirties and is the first generation graduate of Nanjing Jingxuetang. He studied accounting in Jingxuetang.
After graduation, he joined Maritime Bank. Before following his father to the ocean, he had already reached the position of assistant manager at the Yingtian branch. Considering his age at the time, his future at Maritime Bank was definitely bright. However, he still gave up his position in Maritime Bank and followed his father Huang Jiang to start a business in Europe.
After working in Europe for several years, Huang Zhisheng, who liked the excitement, moved from the deserted town of Versailles to Paris, and also took a fancy to a piece of land near the Bastille (this is also a scenery!). After buying it, a Chinese-style garden was built - not completely Chinese, but a Chinese-style garden residence that incorporated a large number of Western styles. After it was completed, it became a "famous garden" in Paris.
In France today, "Chinese style" is still very fashionable, and even the Sun King Louis loves Chinese style very much - in the Palace of Versailles, which has not yet been fully completed, there are a large number of Chinese-style buildings and furniture, accessories, and porcelain from China. There is even a garden designed entirely by Chinese craftsmen, with sparse flowers and trees, winding paths, rockeries and elegant arched bridges.
What's more, the Sun King of France would sometimes put on Ming Dynasty-style dragon robes and ride around the Palace of Versailles on a chariot carried by eight people...
However, Mr. Huang, who settled in France, actually doesn't really like "Chinese style", otherwise he would have returned to China long ago. In fact, he prefers European style. In the words of later generations, this guy is a bit admiring foreigners...mainly advocating French girls with fair skin, beauty and a big heart.
The Huang Family Garden in Paris was built for a French actress named Marquis. Huang Zhisheng fell in love with this woman while watching a play at the Palais Theater where the Molière Theater Company was resident, and then spent a lot of money on this woman. Only then did he pursue her. In order for her to continue to perform on the stage at the Palais Royal in Paris, a garden was built next to the Bastille.
So Mr. Huang can walk hand in hand with his beloved French girl in a Chinese garden in Paris, and when he looks up, he can see the Bastille, which symbolizes the French autocratic monarchy... This is really amazing. It’s romantic!
I don’t know if I’ve been hanging out with this French actress named Marchis all day long, and I’m a little dizzy. When the French Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hugo Lyonna approached him and wanted to borrow his Huangjia Garden to entertain a Chinese delegation, he agreed without even thinking.
As a result, when he and Maggie returned to the Huang Family Garden after spending Christmas at the Palace of Versailles, they found that their French lover's comfort zone had been occupied by bandits!
This is incredible, the bandits have all flown to France!
...
"Exceptor Huang, don't be afraid...and don't be afraid of you, a very good-looking woman. We are not here to get paid. Who said this is France and not Beijing? We are serving the emperor." It is my will to come here to learn Westernization from the Westerners."
The speaker was an elderly man with a dark face, gray hair, wrinkles all over his face, and a Shaanxi accent.
This old man also has an origin. He is the brother of Taiping Bo Wu Ruyi, who died in Niulanguan Pass, and his name is Wu Ruen. Because Wu Ruyi had no son, he inherited the title of Count Taiping, and he also served as Song Xiance's deputy envoy, and went abroad to inspect together.
"You came to France to inspect...what did you inspect?" Huang Zhisheng didn't understand. There was no word "Westernization" in the Ming Dynasty.
"Western affairs!" Song Xiance said with a smile, "It's the affairs of the Western side. Huang Yuanwai, you have been in France for many years, right?"
"Yes, it's been a while." Huang Zhisheng looked at Song Xiance, his forehead covered with beads of sweat.
Of course he knows who Song Xiance is! This is a great strategist of the rogue bandits, a man who knows astronomy and geography, and can do calculations!
Now you are sitting in front of me, talking and laughing with yourself... this is collaboration with the enemy! Now I can’t even explain why I jumped into the Atlantic Ocean!
Song Xiance smiled and asked again: "Look at your house and your wife and concubine. She must have become famous here in Xiyang, right?"
"I don't dare to say it when I get ahead. I just have a few small coins." Huang Zhisheng gritted his teeth and pretended to be in pain, "Leader Song, if you are not very convenient, just ask, brother, as long as you can get it, I will definitely give it to you. You are ready."
When Song Xiance heard what he said, he really couldn't laugh or cry, "How did I become the leader of Song Dynasty? I came from Liangshan Mountain? I was the founding military officer of Dashun Dynasty, and I was granted the title of Yonghou. Do you understand? I am a nobleman, not a robber. !”
"Yes! He's not a robber, he's also a noble!" Wu Ru'en echoed, "He's Wu Ru'en, Taiping Bo of the Dashun Dynasty... Well, the nobles he created are much more expensive than the nobles his mother raised! "
Huang Zhisheng said heartily: In fact, I am also a noble, and my father Huang Jiang is the new uncle of Ke Nan!
Of course, this identity cannot be revealed.
"Two lords, the younger one has eyesight but cannot see Mount Tai. I have admired you for a long time!" Huang Zhisheng stood up quickly and bowed to Song Xiance and Wu Ru'en.
"Sit down, sit down and talk." Song Xiance was also very polite. He had inquired with the French envoy who sent him here and found out that Huang Yuanwai was also the number one figure in France!
This guy was friends with King Luda (Nian Dai) of France, and he and Prince Confucius of France and the Duke of Austria (Philippe I, Duke of Orleans) were all good friends who ate, drank and had fun together. How could "rogue nobles" like Song Xiance and Wu Ru'en provoke such people on French soil?
"Exceptor Huang," Song Xiance said with a smile, "you have been doing business in France for so many years, so you must be familiar with foreign affairs, right? Tell me, what should we put first when we want to handle foreign affairs?"
There is nothing Huang Zhisheng can do, just say what you are told!
"There are two things to do in foreign affairs. One is to learn skills from foreigners; the other is to do business with foreigners." Huang Zhisheng said, "There are two ways to learn skills. One is to send people to Europe to learn, and the other is to invite Europeans to learn skills." I want to teach my teacher... This guy once said, if we are a threesome, we must be my teacher. The Europeans still have a lot to learn here.
As for doing business with foreigners...it's not easy! "
"Why is it not easy?" Song Xiance asked.
Huang Zhisheng said: "Western merchants who go to the east are both traders and thieves... Only when they can no longer be robbers can they be willing to do business properly."
Wu Ruen burst out laughing after hearing this: "Isn't this just like us?"
"Uncle Taiping!" Song Xiance turned around and glared at Wu Ru'en who had lost his temper.
Wu Ruen quickly changed his words: "It's different, it's different, we are not thieves, we are heroic nobles who kill the rich and give to the poor!"
Huang Zhisheng trembled when he heard the words "Kill the rich and give to the poor" - he was the rich man who was going to be killed!
Isn’t it just to be richer? Why do you want to kill him? And when have you gangs of bandits ever helped the poor? The people of Sichuan have oppressed you to this point...
Song Xiance glared at Wu Ruen again, why did he speak? The more you draw, the darker it gets! You can just say this to a businessman, but you cannot say this to the king, prince, or duke of France.
"Except for Huang Yuan," Song Xiance said again, "Actually, our country doesn't like doing business...but our guns are not easy to use! You see, our country wants to learn how to make guns and cannons from the foreigners. , are foreigners willing to teach?”
"You won't!" Huang Zhisheng shook his head repeatedly, "Teaching the disciples to starve the master to death...how can he be willing to teach?"
"Then how did the Ming Dynasty learn to make foreign guns and cannons?"
Huang Zhisheng said: "The Ming Dynasty was good at making guns and cannons, but it was originally done by a group of incompetent officials, so it was not done well. Later, Emperor Hongxing demobilized all the yamen that made guns and cannons and transformed them. In order to buy... they used the purchased guns and cannons to train the new army, and relied on the strength of the new army to take back Macau occupied by the Portuguese. There were many Chinese and Western craftsmen in Macau, and they took them back Since then, the Royal Chamber of Commerce, the Yi Guan Dang, and the Haisha Gang have become more capable of making guns and cannons!"
Huang Zhisheng's words were half true and half false, so Song Xiance always felt something was wrong after hearing it. Wu Ruen, who was standing by, slapped his thigh and laughed loudly: "I understand! It turns out that the spirit of Westernization is that it is better to build than to buy, and to buy is better to rob! "
