When Li Yu woke up in the morning, Konoe Aki was still lying next to him.
Li Yu pretended to be shocked: "Why are you here?"
"Disgusting!" Konoe Akiyuki lightly punched him, "Don't you remember what you did yesterday?"
Li Yu rubbed his head: "I drank too much yesterday. I have never drunk such a strong drink. I can't remember anything."
Konoe Ayuki was also muttering in her mind: Yesterday, she had indeed given too much medicine. He kept tossing her for half the night and refused to admit it in the morning.
But Konoe Akiyuki was a smart man. He rolled his eyes and said, "Don't worry, sir, I won't tell my wife."
When she said this, Li Yu felt that this woman was not simple, and her scheming was unfathomable.
"Dong dong dong!" There was a knock on the door.
Li Yu quickly put on his clothes. Outside the door was Iwasaki Koyata: "Mr. Li Yu, let's go to the head office to sign the seal."
After Konoe Akiyuki saw that the top brass of Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsui Corporation paid so much attention to Li Yu, he felt that his mission was even more meaningful.
Li Yu followed Iwasaki Koyata and Iwasaki Hisaya to Mitsubishi Headquarters.
Mitsubishi is now very large, accounting for almost 60-70% of the Japanese shipping market. Japan is an island country that relies heavily on the maritime industry, so Mitsubishi naturally makes money.
However, as soon as Li Yu entered their headquarters, he had a bad feeling because he saw a steering wheel - the steering wheel of the Beiyang Navy Dingyuan in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894.
At that time, Hisaya Iwasaki joined forces with Eiichi Shibusawa, Yukichi Fukuzawa and others in Japan's financial and business circles to initiate the establishment of the so-called "Report Council" in response to Japan's military expansion and war preparations.
The National Assembly used Japanese media to promote "loyalty to the emperor and patriotism" to the people, and asked all citizens to donate everything to "defeat the Qing Dynasty."
The National Assembly not only frantically incited war fever, but also issued 80 million yen in military bonds for the Japanese government. Considering Japan's economic situation at the time, this was a staggering astronomical figure.
Moreover, Hisaya Iwasaki also handed over his Mitsubishi Cruise Line ship to the Japanese government, which was responsible for transporting troops and food, and even conducted reconnaissance missions for the Japanese military.
It is because of these contributions that the senior Japanese Navy officer Ito Yuhiro expressed his gratitude and removed the steering wheel of the Beiyang Navy's main battleship Dingyuan as a trophy and gave it to Mitsubishi.
Don’t think that Hisaya Iwasaki and others do these things just because they are patriotic, and they all get substantial rewards. Before and after the Sino-Japanese War, Japan had a total of 250 million yen in temporary military expenditures, which was equivalent to more than twice its usual fiscal revenue.
This piece of fat ended up in the mouths of chaebols such as Mitsubishi and Mitsui.
Previously, the business war between Mitsubishi and Mitsui was extremely intense, and Mitsubishi was almost unable to sustain it. When both sides saw how profitable the war was, they stopped engaging in business war and turned their attention to funding the war.
There are many reasons why Zhang Zuolin was killed by the Japanese, but generally speaking, he was dissatisfied with the Japanese, did not want to be their agent, and then took back some Japanese interests in Northeast China. Among these interests, soybean trade is closely related to Mitsui and other chaebols.
Iwasaki Koyata must have known that this was the steering wheel of the Dingyuan, but he did not shy away from letting Li Yu see it. Perhaps in his heart, Li Yu, like himself, was a person who would not stick to trivial matters and even give up the bottom line for money. After all, among the Manchu nobles he came into contact with, all of them betrayed their country without any psychological burden. Especially the top official among the officials, Prince Qing, was simply a model of traitor.
Li Yu followed the Iwasaki brothers to their office and carefully read the basic terms. There was no difference from what was said yesterday. As for the more specific details, they naturally had to be improved during the operation, as long as they were the key delivery of goods, capital price, and payment. It is enough to have the key contents such as conditions, liability for breach of contract, and arbitration clause in advance.
Mitsubishi CEO Hisaya Iwasaki said: "If you think there is no problem, you can stamp it."
"Seal?" Li Yu suddenly realized that he didn't have a seal, so he asked, "Is it okay to sign?"
Hisaya Iwasaki thought for a while and said, "It's okay, but I still have to make up the chapter after three days."
Li Yu said awkwardly: "I really don't have a seal."
"It's easy!" Iwasaki Koyata said, "Let's carve one for you first."
Japan has learned everything from China, including the culture of seals, but just like calligraphy and painting, Japan has only scratched the surface. But this thing is so elegant that Japan’s upper class likes it very much.
In fact, Li Yu will rely heavily on seals in the country in the future. Basically, all domestic transactions will be stamped without a signature. Signatures are mainly used by Westerners because they are even more incapable of engraving seals.
There are many seal-cutting masters in China now, but water from afar cannot quench the thirst of those close by. Li Yu said: "I will come here first to get one."
Hisaya Iwasaki said: "It just so happens that I have an expert here who has learned seal cutting from Xiling Seal Society in Hangzhou, Kawai Tsuenlu."
Kawai Tsuenlu is known as the Japanese Seal Carver, but in fact it is far behind the masters in the country, but it is indeed the best seal carver in Japan.
Li Yu said: "Thank you, Mr. Iwasaki."
Hisaya Iwasaki continued: "This person is now in the Jingga Hall of our Iwasaki family. By the way, you can take a look at our family's collection over the past decades. I believe you will never see so many collections in Japan."
Several people immediately went to Jingjiatang, where historically the books in the Song Dynasty Tower were hidden.
Along the way, Iwasaki Koyata continued to brag about Kawai Tsuenlu's abilities: "When Mr. Kawai was in Hangzhou, he studied under Master Wu Changshuo. According to him, he has learned the essence of it and will definitely be the number one seal carving craftsman in the country in the future."
Li Yu felt dizzy when he heard the word "craftsman", but he couldn't expose it to his face, so he could only respond: "It's really amazing!"
However, Hisaya Iwasaki’s statement that this place has the richest collection in Japan is somewhat true.
The Iwasaki family has always liked collecting, otherwise they would not have gone to China to buy so many ancient books.
Jinggado is used by the Iwasaki family to collect antiques.
At this time, the most conspicuous exhibition room in Jingjia Hall is not small, but has very few things. There are two small porcelains placed in the center - it is really small.
But when he saw the nameplate, Li Yu knew why they were placed here. The two items were called "Fuzao Eggplant" and "Matsumoto Eggplant" respectively.
They are the most sacred products of Japanese tea ceremony and were introduced to Japan during the Southern Song Dynasty. During the Warring States Period in Japan, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu all flocked to it, and it almost became a symbol of power.
The scientific name of these two things is "tea". They are utensils used in tea ceremonies. They look like fat round eggplants, so they are called "eggplants".
At that time, Mitsubishi's second-generation president Yanosuke Iwasaki spent an entire year's salary to buy them.
In addition to these two tea ceremony sacred items, there are many other tea sets placed around them. They are basically from the Warring States Period in Japan and are of great value.
Another prominent exhibition room has a large collection of Japanese samurai swords, many of which are also antiques and are national treasures for the Japanese. But when Li Yu saw the samurai swords, he was reminded of the war of aggression against China, and he was so annoyed.
As for why the Iwasaki family was able to acquire so many collections, it has a lot to do with the Meiji Restoration.
As for why the Iwasaki family was able to acquire so many collections, it has a lot to do with the Meiji Restoration.
In the thirty years starting from 1870, the Meiji government, which was determined to "leave Asia and join Europe", implemented a series of decrees to "abolish the Buddha and destroy it". Many large Buddhist temples were occupied as shrines, and the cultural relics in the temples were looted. Even a prominent Buddhist temple like Horyuji Temple in Nara had to take the initiative to hand over the treasures in the temple to the emperor (which were later housed in the Horyuji Treasures Hall of the Tokyo National Museum) in order to avoid disaster.
On the other hand, daimyo and samurai families who had lost their social status were constantly selling off their old collections at low prices in order to relieve their difficulties in life.
It can be said that the unfortunate fate of Japanese traditional antiquities during those thirty years was similar to the turbulent periods in China's past dynasties.
(No intention of insinuating anything, but this kind of thing really happens in many countries.)
In the Meiji society dominated by Western culture at that time, foreign-style objects were more popular among Japanese collectors. On the contrary, European and American people and even Chinese scholars flocked to Japan to collect cultural relics. For example, Huang Zunxian, Miao Quansun, Yang Shoujing, etc. who went to Japan collected many rare books and secrets and returned to China.
If Li Yu wants to collect cultural relics in Japan now, he can still collect many things from the Tokugawa Shogunate, Japan's Warring States Period, and even the Kamakura period at very low prices.
Iwasaki Hisaya pointed to the two most precious swords in the sword hall and said: "This one is the hand-tachi tachi Baonaga, and this one is the Kubitizen Takatsuna tachi."
Li Yu knew very little about samurai swords. At most, he only knew a few swords from Zoro in One Piece, such as Qiushui, Wado Ichimonji, and the Third Generation Kitetsu.
If I insist on making an analogy, the two swords Iwasaki collected are equivalent to the top twelve swords in One Piece.
The Iwasaki family collected so many famous swords because of the policies of the Meiji government. In 1877 (the 10th year of the Meiji period), Japan issued the "Abolition of Swords" order, which explicitly prohibited people from wearing knives except those wearing formal attire (mainly members of the royal family), soldiers and police.
Overnight, countless samurai families were forced to sell their famous swords. The Iwasaki family took this opportunity and made a lot of money.
Other exhibition rooms contain a large number of porcelain, lacquerware, ancient books, etc.
In short, the collection of books in the Song Tower did not make Li Yu feel more distressed, and the subsequent exhibition rooms did not seem to cause any major psychological disturbance.
When the visit was over, Kawai Tsuen Lu was already waiting in the living room.
Li Yu wrote the three characters "Li Yuyin" on the paper. Kawai Tsuenlu said: "Academician Li Yu is proficient in Western learning. I don't know what font he wants to use?"
Li Yu couldn't say much, so he could only say casually: "As simple as possible."
Kawai Tsuenlu said with some appreciation: "He is keen on learning new things and returning to simplicity. It really means returning to nature."
Hejing Tsuenlu asked again: "Do I need to make a seal pattern first and then engrave it?"
"It's too late," Li Yu said. "Sir, you can do whatever you want. Time is tight."
Generally speaking, it takes more than three or four days to carve a high-quality seal.
Hisaya Iwasaki added: "Mr. Kawai chooses the best jade, and we pay for it."
Li Yu understood the reasoning behind it. This was their goodwill and a psychological test, so he agreed: "Thank you, Mr. Iwasaki."
To be honest, these large Japanese conglomerates respect Li Yu very much.
After all, he is a businessman. This is almost always the case at home and abroad. No matter how poor the country is, as long as everyone can do business, they will be treated as distinguished guests.
At that time, Li Yu had a classmate whose family was engaged in foreign trade. Li Yu found that they did not worship foreigners at all. Their attitude was very simple: If I make money, you are the customer and God; if you can't let me make money, you still look down on me. , regardless of whether he is an orthodox British or French aristocrat, he is nothing in my eyes.
Three days later, He Jing Tsuen Lu finished carving the seal. Li Yu took it over and looked at it. He felt that it was good. However, He Jing Tsuen Lu felt a little guilty: "I felt like I was rushing the work. Once there was a time limit, I finally understood that I was in a relationship with Wu Changshuo." How big is the gap between masters. If I go to Hangzhou in the future, I must continue to study."
Kawai Tsuen Lu did go to Hangzhou to study almost every year since then.
Li Yu wondered: "Why don't we just engrave a word? There is such a big difference?"
"It should be said that the gap is very huge!" Kawai Tsuenlu sighed, "It will be a big deal if Mr. Wu can obtain a seal from Master Wu Changshuo in the future."
Li Yu shrugged his eyebrows. It was indeed necessary to engrave another seal after returning home.
After all, I already have a lot of collections, and according to the rules of the collection industry, I need to stamp the collections.
——Of course it’s not a plaster-level seal like Emperor Qianlong’s, or even putting the seal on the painting.
As collectors, they usually just put a small seal on the long inscriptions and postscripts on the front and back of calligraphy and paintings that are specially used for seals and poems.
It is necessary to stamp it, because according to the rules of the antique industry in later generations, only cultural relics that have been passed down in an orderly manner can be auctioned.
The so-called orderly inheritance means knowing each generation of collectors.
If someone suddenly robs something from a tomb, it will definitely not be circulated, and if caught, he will have to go to jail.
Li Yuxian used this seal to seal the terms of cooperation with Mitsui and Mitsubishi.
Mitsubishi's Koya Iwasaki was very happy. Although he only received cooperation in radio, this thing was valuable!
However, Mitsui's top boss Masuda Takashi is also very shrewd and is very optimistic about the progress of automobiles.
It's really interesting that the Mitsui family is more interested in cars at this time.
As for Li Yu, he has also made some progress in automobiles during this period.
The Model T car will be released in a year, and Li Yu must make a lot of money from it.
At present, only the chassis business is involved in the three major parts. Li Yu plans to gradually enter the gearbox and engine fields, so that he can gradually control the supply of all core parts upstream of the car.
In the future, for every car sold by General Motors, Ford, and Japan's Mitsubishi Motors, at least one-third of the profit will belong to Li Yu.
Li Yu first worked on gearboxes, and he studied improvements to manual transmissions. The design of the two-speed + reverse transmission of the Model T is really a bit maddening, it is simply anti-human.
Li Yu planned to improve its operating logic first, and at the same time design it so that it could withstand greater torque to facilitate his future engine improvements.
This small change is enough to make Li Yu's products ahead of the times.
After that, we will slowly proceed with patent applications for chassis modifications, throttle logic, engine parts, and complete engine.
In fact, Li Yu just brought things forward a few years later.
By slowly "squeezing out the toothpaste" in this way, Li Yu can maintain his patent advantage in the automotive field for a long time. The same goes for radio.
