I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 192 Big Head
  George had long ago confirmed that the lewd and voluptuous princes of St. Petersburg were the main target customer group.

The poor have little money in their pockets and cannot squeeze out much profit.

The princes are wealthy, have spending power, and have consumption needs. It is simply unreasonable not to make money from them.

Medicinal wine is only one aspect. Cars, planes and other weird toys, aren't the princes interested in them?
  Impossible. Men’s love for machinery is natural. Even if George got an excavator and went to St. Petersburg, an archduke would definitely buy it and dig it back home.

With the treasure of the Qing Empire at his back, George had many ways to make money from the pockets of the princes.

There are not many ways for Schiff to make money.

For bankers, lending is the main way to make money. Through the Pacific Railway, Schiff accumulated some experience, but these experiences were not applicable in Vladivostok.

The situation in the Russian Empire is different from that in the United States.

The construction of the Pacific Railway in the United States was mainly based on private capital, and there is a lot to be done here.

Vladivostok is George's fiefdom, where government and business are integrated, leaving little room for Schiff to maneuver.

"How many bonds can you underwrite? If it's only three hundred or five million, then let's not waste each other's time." Mikhail is very wealthy, and he really doesn't like people with three hundred or five hundred.

Based on George's credibility in St. Petersburg, as long as the news spreads, there is no need to find anyone else for three to five million bonds in St. Petersburg alone. George's brothers and nephews will take care of it.

The Russian Empire also has no shortage of financing channels, including banks and investment companies. As long as George opens his mouth, there are many people willing to invest.

"Kuhn-Loeb Company has abundant financing channels in the United States. If Super Duke Yuriyevsky is willing to entrust me with the task of financing, I will definitely do my best to raise funds for Vladivostok. Sufficient funding.”

Schiff's promise made Mikhail wonder whether he was actually a banker.

If you are so generous, I am afraid you are not a philanthropist who comes to do charity.

Here comes the problem.

Why are you, a German-Hebrew from the United States, so nice to Vladivostok?

There is no reason.

Although the relationship between the United States and Russia has been good during this period.

The relationship between Germany and the Russian Empire has never been good.

The Hebrews were even more marginalized in the Russian Empire, and their social status was even worse than that of the Poles.

So you have such good intentions?

"What's the interest rate?"

Mikhail is still concerned about interest rates.

"Definitely the lowest."

"Then there's no problem."

Mikhail agreed to let Kuhn & Loeb underwrite the bonds.

The first tranche of bonds was not much, just $1000 million.

Mikhail doesn't need money either. The funds raised in the United States are used to purchase various machines needed for steel plants and machinery factories in the United States. Schiff is a local snake, so this should have something to do with it.

Don't talk about Mikhail.

Even George didn't understand what the Americans wanted to do.

But since there was money delivered to his door, in the spirit of not wanting it for nothing, George really couldn’t find any reason to refuse.

The most important thing in Vladivostok in November is definitely Princess Yurievskaya’s birthday.

Gaozong and Concubine Min, who came from afar, were warmly received by Catherine.

As the new God of Wealth in Vladivostok, Schiff was also invited to visit Yuriev Palace.

George acted very reserved, and actually endured not seeing Shiv until now.

But this is also in line with George’s character. How could the Grand Duke of St. Petersburg know how to be polite——

It's just a joke.

After the scale of the hydropower station was expanded, Guangmingding became even brighter, as crystal clear and colorful as the Crystal Palace.

Although there are no neon lights yet, there are always colorful fabrics.

George remained calm and brought in a wave of private goods to decorate the Yuriev Palace beautifully with all kinds of colorful palace lanterns.

Shiv didn't care yet.

Emperor Gaozong and Concubine Min saw this and regarded these traditional oriental palace lanterns as a welcome ceremony specially prepared for them.

Korea also lit lanterns.

Korean lanterns are all made of paper, while the palace lanterns of Yuriev Palace use a lot of glass and colored glaze.

The light source of Korean lanterns is candles, and the light source of Yuriev Palace lanterns is light bulbs.

People in Vladivostok have gradually become accustomed to electric lights, and the Vladivostok port will start installing street lights next year.

Naturally, New York also has street lights.

However, the street lights in New York are oil lamps, while the street lights to be installed in Vladivostok are electric lights.

"This is an electric light invented by our Super Duke Yurievsky. It is different from your American electric lights. Our Super Duke Yurievsky is the truly great inventor."

Mikhail was full of pride, and George did have this qualification.

Although George didn't want to be an inventor, how could the Russian royal family miss this stunt? Now George has already become famous.

After the French Revolution, royal families in various countries actually faced a crisis of trust. For a long time, the divine right of kings has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. People have become accustomed to the rule of the ruling class and have never thought of breaking the shackles of their thoughts.

The French Revolution made people begin to wonder, is it really necessary for the royal family to exist?

In Russia, this problem is also very serious. One of the important reasons for the establishment of the Asian Constitution is to ease class contradictions.

George's appearance came at the right time. The Russian Empire also needed a royal inventor like George to maintain the legitimacy of the royal family's status.

"Is this any different from the electric light invented by Mr. Edison?" Schiff didn't know the difference between the two.

"Of course, our light bulb is more important than who invented it - no, Edison did not invent the light bulb at all. He just improved it on the basis of previous inventions - it is not even an improvement. He took away the original belongings. Others’ patents.”

Mikhail was indignant. Just like that, someone actually had the nerve to go to St. Petersburg with a light bulb to defraud money. He was really shameless.

"Haha, but now the patent for the electric light does belong to Mr. Edison."

The Edison incident was a big deal in the United States, with lawsuits going on for several years, and Schiff had heard about it.

It no longer matters what the specific truth is. The result now is that the patent for the electric light belongs to Edison.

"It doesn't matter, the filament material used in our lamps is different from yours."

Mikhail couldn't crack down on the counterfeiting, so he didn't worry about it. Anyway, tungsten wire is definitely more advanced than bamboo wire.

Is it different?

Shiv mused.

When Mikhail showed off George, George was chatting with Datou.

What George didn't expect was that Datou actually accompanied Gaozong to Vladivostok, and when he saw George, Datou was quite defensive.

Datou, who was born in 1859, just turned 27 this year.

For many people, at the age of 27, their career has just begun.

However, Datou has been ordered to "station in Korea as the general manager to negotiate trade matters", and he is the same as a third-grade Taoist priest.

In his youth, Datou was handsome and upright. He performed well during the Renwu Military Rebellion and the Jiashen Coup, and he was said to have turned the tide.

George is very interested in big heads.

Big Head is more interested in George.

After the Renwu Army Rebellion, Datou was stationed in Goryeo as a military assistant and assisted Goryeo in training the new army.

George happened to have experience in training new troops, so the two had a common language.

"In organizing and training the new army, discipline is the most important thing and courage is the first priority. When it comes to the execution of orders and prohibitions, the army's morale can be used."

George had some difficulty listening to the semi-literary speaker.

"The Cossacks have never lacked courage, and indeed have obvious flaws in discipline. However, this is not a problem with the Cossacks, but the result of indulging in military discipline. Cossacks make a living by fighting, and all trophies captured in battles belong to the Cossacks themselves, so It is the Cossacks who love money as much as their lives.”

George's solution was to turn the Cossacks into professional soldiers so that they could earn an income and no longer have to make a living by looting, and discipline would naturally be restrained.

When European and American countries mention Russia in the 21st century, they always say that the Russian military is corrupt in discipline and predatory in nature.

However, the European and American armies during this period were not much better. After the British and French allied forces looted the Old Summer Palace, they burned it down again in order to destroy the corpses and traces. Why didn't the European and American countries mention it?
  The discipline of the Russian army is corrupt, but the Russian military has never been lenient when it comes to rectifying military discipline. It shoots those who should be shot and retires those who should be retired, which is much better than that of European and American countries.

European and American countries have never improved military discipline at all.

Let alone the 19th century.

Even in the 21st century, American soldiers have no discipline at all. Their brutality on the battlefield puts even the Cossacks to shame.

Datou was dumbfounded, as shocked as Zeng Jize.

"Many people say that Chinese is difficult to learn, but I don't think so."

George's Mandarin is more standard than Datou's.

Oh, at this time there was no Mandarin in the Qing Empire, and even the vernacular movement had not yet begun.

"You - this -"

Datou was deeply surprised, are all your Russian Grand Dukes so idle?
  "Duke, Mr. Schiff has arrived."

Peter reported to George in Russian.

"Ask him to come over -" George replied in Russian.

After meeting Shiv, George greeted Shiv again in English.

Datou feels that George should not be a super duke, but a super interpreter.

It's hard to say whether it's super or not.

But if Schiff is willing to use German, George can do it too.

"Honorable Super Duke Yurievsky, your Vladivostok is so spectacular. Over time, Vladivostok will definitely develop into the most powerful city in the Far East." Schiff came up. Just flattering, very skillful.

"You don't have to be so polite. I haven't thanked you for your help in Vladivostok. You have helped me a lot. How can I thank you?"

George showed that he was very short of money, and by the way, he tested Schiff's purpose.

"As long as you are willing to give me this opportunity, it will be the greatest help to me." Schiff can talk. No wonder he married the CEO's daughter and inherited the company.

It must be said that the Germans are indeed very good at marriage.

The Hebrews in Germany are naturally better than their masters.

(End of this chapter)