The sun never sets in America

Chapter 43 Among Businessmen

Los Angeles City Government (formerly the Los Angeles Governor's Office.)
At this time, the Governor's Palace, which had been transformed into a municipal government, had changed from the Spanish luxury of the past. Instead, the Spanish-style building revealed a Chinese elegance and solemnity.

The sign of the Governor's Mansion written in Spanish has been removed and replaced with the six characters of the Los Angeles City Government written in Chinese characters...

The words were written by Liu Yan himself, sonorous and powerful, with a hint of charm.

"Mr. Harlem, the governor is waiting for you inside, please come inside." Luo Shan, the aide in the city government, brought Harlem, the British businessman introduced by Old Loew, to the door of the city government where Liu Peng worked. The so-called governor was actually Liu Peng. Yan specially gave Liu Peng a position, or simply an honorific title. After all, if Liu Peng was given the position of mayor directly according to the municipal government, it would not be consistent with Liu Peng's status below Liujiabao and above ten thousand people. Being in power is different. It not only shows the power, but also shows Liu Peng's special status in Liujiapu. So now Liu Peng is called the young master and the governor by others. The key depends on the occasion. In Liujiapu Or the old people call them young masters, while public officials in Los Angeles call them governors. How you call them depends on the occasion where Liu Peng is...

"Please..." Luo Shan showed a token hanging on his waist to the guard outside the door, and then took Harin into the city hall.

After Harlem followed Luoshan into the city hall, he looked at the various Spanish buildings inside. Harlem had no expression on his face. If an ordinary white Mexican entered this city hall, he would even feel a little humiliated, but Harlin didn't know how. He even looked at the differences between the Spanish architecture and the British architecture inside with an appreciative eye.

"Master Luo, what was this room originally used for?" When passing by a house that looked more exquisite than the surrounding Spanish buildings, but was empty, Harin asked Luo Shan with some doubts. While asking, he revealed Passing through the window, I looked at the exquisite murals inside.

"This is a small Catholic church that used to be inside the Governor's Palace. It was used for worship and prayer." Luo Shan saw that Harin had become interested in that house, and while leading the way, he turned around and explained to Harin, "The things inside are very precious, so we put them away to avoid damage..." Luo Shan then explained to Harin the reason why there was nothing inside.

"That's it, that's it..." Harlem showed a hint of approval on the surface, but he was muttering in his heart. These pagans must have taken away everything in the church because they thought the things in the church were valuable. Metal religious objects have been melted into gold by them.

Harlem thought to himself.

After all, Christian sects like Catholicism like to have gold and silver crosses and even religious ritual objects such as statues of Jesus in churches. Liujiabao pagans do not believe in God, so Harlem can understand why they do such a thing. ...After all, if it were him, he might not be able to resist such a temptation. After all, although he is a Christian, his true belief is money, and money is his God... As for God, let him go to hell, this is When Harlem was a child, he almost got pulled into an exorcism for talking nonsense in front of his family.

It can be seen from this that Harlem has not been a person who followed secular rules since he was a child, which is why he was able to grow from a shoemaker's son to a millionaire with more than a dozen ships.

Harlem and Attendant Luo Shan passed through several Spanish buildings used as offices. In these buildings, from time to time, Los Angeles officials could be seen holding documents and busy around. These officials all wore Western-style Confucian jackets. The main purpose of the official uniform is to change some robes and large sleeves to make the Confucian uniform look lighter and more suitable for current work. Of course, such official uniforms are still temporary and still cannot satisfy the old people in Liujiabao. But now the entire Liujiabao is still under construction and in the period of reorganization, so the Confucian uniform that best represents Chinese culture has been transformed into official uniform...

The first is to differentiate from those foreigners, and the second is self-identity. After all, Liujiabao now has internal racial classifications, such as Chinese, honorary Chinese, Indians, whites, etc. It would be easy to use Western-style ones. Offend the Chinese faction that is slowly emerging, that is, a faction spontaneously formed by Chinese and honoring Chinese... Mainly advocating Chinese culture and rejecting other cultures. Among them, the newly joined Indians are the most fanatical, and there are even a small number of volunteers. Liu Peng was shocked when he found out about the white people who joined...

"Is it possible that my Liujiabao has the essence so quickly??" Liu Peng couldn't figure it out.

In fact, this is the worship of winners, and it is also human nature. Human nature is to be strong. Otherwise, the painter would have so many supporters and admirers... If he was just a painter and a speaker, who would know him? ?
Harlin looked at the Los Angeles officials inside who were wearing different clothes than the two of them, as well as the face similar to that of Luo Shan next to him. After all, he did not say what he wanted to say. He just followed Luo Shan silently and continued towards the city. I walked inside the government... until I came to a villa with a classic charm and stopped.

"Mr. Harlin, please wait here. I'll be back as soon as I can." Luo Shan turned around and said to Harin behind him.

"Master Luo, please..." Harlin replied to Luo Shan politely, and then watched Luo Shan walk into the villa in front of him.

While Luoshan was entering, Harlin kept looking at the villa and the situation around it. Not far from the villa was a pond with some goldfish, and even a fish he had never seen appeared on it. A plant that I have never seen before (actually it is a lotus leaf).

tread... tread...

"Mr. Harlin, the Lord Consul please come in." After Luo Shan came out, he said directly to Harin who was standing outside waiting.

Harlin nodded to Luoshan, and then followed him into the villa.

Harlin carefully stepped on the Persian carpet in the villa. There were many Western artworks and some oil paintings in the villa. Harlin could probably guess where these things came from. Most of them were stolen by these Liujiabao pagans. Mexican white people... Of course, this is not an accusation against Liu Jiabao. On the contrary, it is Harlem's envy of Liu Jiabao. After all, he is a businessman and cannot rob him even if he wants to, so he can only do some trade accumulation. Wealth can be robbed, but who can be a maritime merchant? !
squeak……

Arriving at the door of a room in the villa, Luo Shan opened the door directly and walked in with Harlin behind him.

In this room, there are not only antique-like leather sofas, but also a variety of Western-style furniture, and even a wine cabinet. It looks like a typical Western-style aristocratic room... But there are several Something different attracted Harlin's attention.

Without time to look further, Harlin followed Luo Shan to the innermost desk. There were tall documents on the desk, with square characters written on them that he didn't recognize at all... and behind the documents was a hand holding a A young man with a quill pen is correcting documents with red ink.

I saw this young man dressed in black and smart Confucian clothes. He had a handsome appearance, but between his eyebrows, there was a heroic spirit that Harlem had never felt before. This heroic spirit was also mixed with a faint murderous aura. This murderous aura, ha The most fundamental reason why Lin could sense this was that Harlin had been doing business at sea all year round, and it was inevitable that he would encounter some desperadoes. One of them was a pirate who had killed hundreds of people, and he was very familiar with it. Although Liu Peng didn't have the murderous aura in him, It was big, but the sense of oppression that gave Harlin was greater than that of the pirate who killed hundreds of people. Harlin stood opposite, a little at a loss, and didn't even know what to say.

"This is Mr. Harlin..." After Liu Peng finished correcting the document in his hand, he raised his head and looked at the cautious Harin standing opposite him, smiled and said hello, "Hello, Mr. Harlin." Liu Peng said. Peng stood up and extended his right hand to Harlin, who was standing opposite him, with a more enthusiastic smile on his face than before.

"Hello, Lord Consul." When Harlem saw Liu Peng's extended hand, he immediately held Liu Peng's right hand with both hands and replied very politely. Then he let go of Liu Peng's hand without leaving any trace. Be polite and courteous.

"Mr. Harlin, please sit down." Liu Peng pointed to a chair opposite him and said to Harlin, "Mr. Harlem is from the British Empire?" Liu Peng waited for Harin to sit down and then asked Harin knowingly. .

"Yes, I am a citizen of the British Empire, from Cambridge." After hearing Liu Peng ask him where he was from, Harlem replied very proudly. After all, the British Empire in this period was indeed famous, even if Harlem was a maritime merchant. , are all proud to be British.

"Cambridge is Newton's Cambridge." Liu Peng continued to ask Harlem in fluent English.

"That's right, it's Newton's Cambridge." Hearing these words, Haring became even more proud, and even involuntarily puffed up his chest.

"No wonder Mr. Harlem has so much wealth at such a young age." Liu Peng then praised Harlem without any trace, and also connected Harlem with Newton.

"Your Excellency, you have given me a reward..." Even an old fox like Harlem was overwhelmed by Liu Peng's praise, and a cheerful and satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"I heard that Mr. Harlin hopes to do some business with our Liujiapu. I wonder what kind of business it is?" Liu Peng looked at the happy Harlin in front of him and smiled inwardly, but on the surface he still spoke to Harin in a friendly tone. Lin asked.

"Lord Ruling, I have a fleet of fifteen cargo ships. It can be said that as long as you want, I have it." Hearing Liu Peng ask this, Harin became even more proud, and directly clapped and boasted about his own How big the deal is, he even assured Liu Peng directly by patting his chest. "What if I want a population?" Liu Peng asked Harin with a smile.

"Population?" Harlin was stunned when he heard that Liu Peng wanted to have a population. In his opinion, there should be no shortage of talents in America now, and he heard from Old Loew that these Liujiapu pagans had integrated There should be no shortage of talented people among the Indians in California, so why would they come to him for help?

"Yes, it's the population!!" Liu Peng replied decisively to Harin.

"If you want people, I can go to Africa and buy slaves for you. Farmers in the United States like to use them." Harlin thought Liu Peng wanted slaves to work, so he quickly introduced the sale of African slaves. "Don't worry, he must be a strong Hei Ren, not an old, weak, sick or disabled person. I, Harin, can't possibly damage my business reputation." Harin looked at Liu Peng, who had no expression, thinking that he was not satisfied with the physical fitness of Hei Ren's slave. , explained quickly.

"I don't need slaves, I have plenty of manpower." Liu Peng refused directly to Harin. This was really not Liu Peng's boast, but judging from the Indian population currently controlled by Liujiabao, he has already mastered It is close to one million, and there are hundreds of thousands of those that are not yet mastered. Once they are all mastered, there will be no need to worry about manpower in a short period of time.

"If you don't want a slave, what do you want?" Harlem was dumbfounded when he heard that Liu Peng didn't want a slave. "Do you want a female slave? I happen to have a group of female slaves from Eastern Europe, and they were originally going to be sold to the United States. For those American nouveau riche, as you know, these guys have little culture and there are few white women in the New World. Those who have some money secretly engage in human smuggling in Europe, many of which are in Southern Europe and Eastern Europe. It's a poor place." Harlem looked at Liu Peng's appearance and Liu Peng's height that was not suitable for his age, and said with understanding, in fact, the Americans have already done the slave girl thing, and even Washington himself has done it before you know it. People have children out of wedlock, and although they are not treated as human beings, it can be seen that the moral decline of Americans began with the founding president.

"Female slaves, I want this too, but I want the population even more." Liu Peng shook his head and replied to Harin, leaving Harin at a loss as to what Liu Peng wanted. "I want Chinese, that is, A native of the Qing Dynasty." Liu Peng looked at Harin and slowly stated his purpose.

That is to introduce the Chinese population from China, which is also Liujiabao's current established strategy.

Considering that Liujiabao currently has a large Indian population, and is using culture, force, and even various delicacies to naturalize them, and has made some achievements, but after all, compared with the huge Indian population, it is a drop in the bucket. It’s not that the assimilation ability of Chinese civilization is poor, but that there are too few Chinese people…

No matter how Liujiabao marries and influences, after all, it can only be a minority, not a majority. Even if it can be controlled now, there will definitely be problems in the future... Therefore, for the long-term stability of Liujiabao, Liujiabao's senior management It was unanimously agreed to introduce a large number of Chinese people from China to counteract the influence of Indians and even white people, and use population plus culture, even writing, and even history invented by historical inventors to assimilate the Indians in the Americas... Note, the entire America, this shows how ambitious Liujiabao’s top management is.

The realization of these goals cannot be achieved without one thing, and that is population, especially the Chinese population.

This is also the reason why Liujiabao is willing to summon Haring, not only because of his identity as a British businessman, but most importantly, he has a fleet, a fleet of more than a dozen merchant ships. This is Liujiabao, and also Liu Peng's favorite place.

"Chinese, Qing people?" When Harlem heard that Liu Peng wanted those Chinese from the Far East, he was a little confused at first. Then he raised his head and glanced at Liu Peng, and he immediately understood what he meant, "The ruler wants Qing people. This It’s not easy, after all, they are not bad guys, it’s not that easy to get..." Harlem then pretended to be embarrassed and replied to Liu Peng, as if it was very troublesome and tricky to attract the Qing people and the Chinese people.

"There are a large number of Chinese who go to Southeast Asia every year in the Far East, and Chinese who are sold overseas as piglets. It is impossible for Mr. Harlin not to know..." Liu Peng heard the meaning of Harlin's words, and he just wanted to ask for a high price, so Liu Peng directly exposed his lie, "Mr. Harlin, let me make it clear. We in Liujiapu need a large number of Chinese, many, many more than you imagined. I just don't know, Mr. Harlin, Whether you want to eat or not, do you have the guts?" Liu Peng asked Harin seductively.

"This..." Harin hesitated, not knowing how to speak, "If you really want a lot, I can try, but I can't guarantee whether it will succeed." Harin thought about it. After thinking about it, he decided to do this big business, and then replied to Liu Peng.

"Yes, we can even send a few people to go with Mr. Harlin." Liu Peng assured Harlin with a solemn expression.

"How many more people will you take with you?" Hearing how many more people he wanted to take with him, Harlin hesitated a little. It wasn't that he was unwilling. After all, even if Liu Jiabao wanted to immigrate to the Far East in a short period of time, he wouldn't be able to gather so many people in a short time. The fleet will still have to rely on them in a short period of time. What he is worried about is mainly that there are a group of strangers on the ship. For Harlin, who has always been cautious by nature, this is a very risky thing.

"Why, Mr. Harlin disagrees?" Liu Peng looked at the hesitant Harin and then continued to ask.

"Okay, I agree." Harin looked at Liu Peng's sincere look, thought for a few times, and then agreed, letting Liu Jiabao send people on board.

"Okay, Mr. Harlin is really refreshing. He deserves to be able to make such a fortune." Seeing that Harlin agreed to their conditions, Liu Peng immediately showed a bright smile and kept complimenting Harlin.

"Haha, the ruling lord has given you the reward." When Liu Peng said that he had made a fortune, Harin laughed directly with a proud smile on his face. After all, for a man like Harin who had grown from a shoemaker's son to owning more than a dozen ships. For a maritime businessman, starting from scratch and becoming a millionaire has always been his inner pride. Every time others mentioned this, Harlin was very happy. He even believed that being able to achieve such success had nothing to do with the so-called God. Relationships are all based on your own abilities and capabilities.

It can be seen how disdainful Harlem is towards the values ​​​​believed in by Westerners. He is completely a pragmatist.

"By the way, Mr. Harlin, we also want your batch of female slaves." Just as the two were chatting happily, Liu Peng suddenly said something to Harlin, who was in the process of negotiating a big business deal. I felt a little at a loss.

"Ha ha……"

Liu Peng and Harin looked at each other, and they both laughed out loud. Their eyes met, and both men could see the meaning.

"By the way, Mr. Harlin, in addition to immigration, I would also like to ask you to help our Liujiapu do another business. I wonder if you are willing?" After Liu Peng finished laughing, he continued to ask Harin.

"Is there still business?" When Harlem heard that there was still business, his eyes immediately lit up, and then he asked Liu Peng in reply, with a hint of surprise and a hint of desire in his tone. After all, he had just immigrated to the Far East. According to Harlem, Lin estimated that he could make a lot of money, not counting the batch of ready-made female slaves. Now there is another big business. For Harlin, a person who has been afraid of poverty since he was a child, how can it not be a surprise? You must know that Harlem grew up Living in a shoemaker's family, he even wore his brother's leftover clothes and ate black bread. So when he grew up, he worked hard and made money, and finally got the wealth he has now. Therefore, Harlem's desire and sensitivity for wealth are far beyond More than some children from wealthy families, as well as those children from aristocrats who squander their ancestral property...

"Do you think I'm joking, Mr. Harlin?" Liu Peng asked Harin with a smile, "Or are you worried about our financial resources?" Liu Peng continued to ask Harin, with a tone that was both ridiculing and questioning. Jiabao is currently proud of its financial resources.

"I don't dare, I don't dare..." After hearing this, Harlin said he didn't dare. "After all, in North America now, except for the United States, I'm afraid even the Republic of Mexico may not be as rich as you." Harlin replied to Liu Peng with some envy. road.

"Oh, how come you can see it?" Liu Peng asked Harin the reason with some interest.

"Because the current financial difficulties of the Republic of Mexico are very difficult..." Harlem couldn't help but smile sarcastically when he mentioned the Republic of Mexico. In his opinion, the internal affairs of the Republic of Mexico are simply a mess, not only politically. , even economically, it is in chaos. Not to mention compared with the prosperous upstart United States, it cannot even be compared with the current new upstart Liu Jiabao. This is the main reason why Harlem looks down on the Republic of Mexico.

After all, for a businessman, whether a country is good or not can be judged by almost two criteria: wealth and poverty...

"Is the Republic of Mexico in financial difficulty?" After hearing the news, Liu Peng suddenly became interested and asked Harlin with great interest.

"This..." Seeing Liu Peng who cared so much about the finances of the Republic of Mexico, and thinking of the relationship between the Republic of Mexico and Liu Jiabao, the Harlem businessman's habit of being greedy for money relapsed, and he became confused and hesitant. appearance.

"Mr. Harlin, let's talk about business first. After business, let's talk about that." Just when Harlin was waiting for a price, Liu Peng suddenly changed the topic to Harlin and changed the topic from the finance of the Republic of Mexico to Turning to the business just now, Harlin was caught off guard.

(End of this chapter)