1850 American Gold Tycoon

Chapter 74
Liang Yao inspected his new ship and the new employees of the global shipping company with satisfaction.

Although Vanderbilt failed in the education and management of his son, he was still very successful in managing his employees.

Many crew members and captains still miss the days of working for Vanderbilt.

Just as Liang Yao was about to leave the port and return to Tingtao Garden, two Chinese-style sailboats sailed through the wind and waves and sailed into the port of San Francisco.

"Young Master Liang."

Zhang Bingliang, the water guide who used to call Liang Yao back and forth on the Cape Town (to put it mildly, he was an illegal immigration agent, but at worst, he was a transnational human trafficker), Zhang Bingliang respectfully kowtowed to Liang Yao.

"I'm not an official, nor your parents, so you don't have to worship me." Liang Yao said lightly.

"Mr. Liang is a man of fame, and he will be an official in the future." Zhang Bingliang spoke nicely.

"Could it be that I can still use the fame of the Qing Dynasty to become an official of Citigroup?" Liang Yao just thought it was funny, and he didn't even know how to flatter.

"You don't need to act like this. If I were a small-bellied person, I wouldn't have achieved what I am today. I hope you can learn a lesson and stop being a dog of foreigners, relying on foreigners to back you up and bully your compatriots."

"What are foreigners? Foreigners are not submissive in front of Mr. Liang. With Mr. Liang, the villain is willing to be Mr. Liang's dog!" Zhang Bingliang said without hesitation.

"Whose ships belong to these two ships?"

Liang Yao pointed to the two Chinese style sailboats and said.

The displacement of these two Chinese-style sailboats is at least [-] tons. The sailors on board are also very capable, and there are also foreign employees. They are not like merchant ships that ordinary merchants can have.

To be able to go to sea under the Qing government's ban on boards not allowed to go to sea requires not only courage, but also strong local power and financial resources to silence the local magistrates.

"This is the ship of the Wu family, the general merchant of Thirteen Banks." Zhang Bingliang said.

"The Wu family?"

"Yes, Jardine is on the boat of Fourth Master Wu." Zhang Bingliang said, "Senior Master Wu came here specially to find Mr. Liang, so I will introduce you to Mr. Liang."

"The news about the Wu family is quite well-informed."

"Although Mr. Liang has made a fortune not long ago, Mr. Liang does not know about it. The news of your fortune is well known in Guangzhou, otherwise so many people would not risk their lives to come to San Francisco to pan for gold." Zhang Bingliang just got up from the ground Said.

In the Opium War ten years ago, Great Britain not only defeated the Qing Dynasty, but also broke the monopoly of the thirteen merchants in foreign trade by the five-port trade agreement in the Treaty of Nanjing.

The so-called southeast, northwest, and getting rich to Guangdong has also become a thing of the past.

If it is said that the British East India Company won the war, then the merchants of the Guangzhou Thirteen Banks lost the war.

During the war, the money for recruiting troops and building artillery was paid by the Thirteen Banks, and the 600 million taels of redemption fee for Guangzhou City was paid by the Thirteen Banks. Even a large part of the war indemnity was apportioned to these merchants.

In the final analysis, these fat and oily merchants are the fat pigs raised by Aixinjueluo's family, and they can be slaughtered whenever they want.

At this time, the business scene in Guangzhou is long gone, but it is not completely thin, and the property it owns is quite scary.

"When I was in Guangzhou, I heard a lot of rumors about Mr. Liang. Mr. Liang is handsome and talented. When I saw him today, he was indeed a rare young talent."

The person who came was Wu Yuanhua, the fourth son of the Wu family. Although Wu Yuanhua traveled thousands of miles across the ocean by boat, he was not tired.

Wu Yuanhua was very surprised when he saw that Liang Yao had shaved his hair, but he didn't show his surprise on his face.After all, when he came to San Francisco this time, he had something to ask of Liang Yao.

"Mr. Wu, please go to the garden and have a talk."

Liang Yao always felt a little weird calling a middle-aged man a son, but he couldn't think of any other suitable title.

"Mr. Liang, if you don't mind that Mr. Wu is a low-level businessman, you can call me Brother Wu. Grandfather and Liang Ge are close friends." Wu Yuanhua and Liang Yao got close.

When the Wu family was at its peak, Wu Bingjian and the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi were both brothers.

Although Liang Yao's grandfather was a senior official, his official rank was only fifth rank, but since the Ming Dynasty, he had always held a lowly and powerful position, and he was a close minister of the emperor. Naturally, the Wu family did not dare to neglect him.

Although the Wu family is not an ordinary businessman, but a veritable official businessman, the direct descendants of the Wu family are all officials. According to the rules of the Qing Dynasty, businessmen can be awarded the highest rank of the third rank, but Wu Bingjian made an exception and donated a second rank top Dai .

Wu Yuanhua said that their grandparents were close friends. Liang Yao thought about it, but he couldn't find any memory of the Wu family and the Liang family being close friends from the host.

This may be the reason why his grandfather was too honest and refused to accept Wu's property.

"Brother Wu, please."

Without hitting the smiling face, Liang Yao invited Wu Yuanhua to sit in Tingtao Garden very politely.

Along the way, as he walked, he wondered what the Wu family was doing sending Wu Yuanhua to California. Could it be that the Wu family could no longer survive in the country and wanted to find new sources of income in the United States?

"My father's biggest regret was not being able to visit Citigroup." Wu Yuanhua said with disappointment as he walked and observed the city of San Francisco, "It is rumored that Citigroup is also a big country, and San Francisco is in the west of Citigroup. Why is the big city in Guangdong so small? It seems that it is not as big as an ordinary county in Guangdong."

Although the Wu family has dealt with foreigners for generations, they have never set foot in the land of foreigners before, and their understanding of Western countries is still very limited after all.

"Brother Wu's visit to San Francisco this time is considered to have fulfilled Mr. Wu's last wish." Liang Yao said, "At present, the essence of Citigroup is still thousands of miles away in the east, and San Francisco is a despicable place. .”

"My father also bought some properties in Citigroup before his death, and my brother also brought these bills with me this time. Although my brother is proficient in the language of Citigroup, he doesn't know much about Citigroup, and he doesn't know about these industries. How much silver is it worth, I will ask my virtuous brother for advice in a while."

Wu Yuanhua was not polite at all, he was a brother every mouthful.

The Wu family has investments in the United States, but Liang Yao knows that the property of the Wu family at its peak was worth half a year's fiscal revenue of the Qing court.

Wu Yuanhua's father, Wu Bingjian, also has many acquaintances in the United States. It is not uncommon to be fooled by American businessmen to invest in the United States.

It's just why the Wu family came up with the idea of ​​assets in the United States?Could it be that the Wu family is now too difficult to sustain?
"I've heard that the Wu family's wealth can rival a country's, and the Wu family's property in the United States is nothing more than a drop in the bucket." Liang Yao said tentatively.

"It's not what it used to be." Wu Yuanhua sighed, but he was very enlightened, "When the Wu family was as rich as an enemy country, the money was also the money of the court. When my father was alive, he once told us brothers that the Wu family It’s the court’s purse, the emperor’s Nanku, it’s up to the court to put its hand into the purse.”

The imperial purse?

This metaphor is better than the fat pig raised by Aixinjueluo's family, but the nature is still the same.

"My father bought some properties in the United States before his death. Right now, the Wu family is in difficulty. They need to sell the properties in the United States to recover the debts owed by the American businessmen.

My brother Wu Shangrong wrote many times to urge the merchants in the United States to sell the assets of the Wu family in the United States on their behalf, and urged them to repay the debt owed by Jardine. Come to America.

Of course, the most important thing is to hear that Mr. Liang has found several gold mountains in San Francisco, and my brother also wants to come and see for himself, to open his eyes. "Wu Yuanhua said indignantly.

"American businessmen are so dishonest?"

"It's not just bad faith! It's also my father's mistake. These American businessmen helped out when they encountered difficulties in Guangzhou. American businessmen and English businessmen are like raccoon dogs, the least trustworthy. The barbarian businessmen, the most The credit is still the Dutch merchant."

When it comes to businessmen in the United States, Wu Yuanhua is furious.

(End of this chapter)