Chapter 80

On the second day of the Three Rivers, with neither collections, recommendations, nor Three Rivers votes being satisfactory, Da Luo Luo could only rely on updates. Here is the first update.

After arriving in London, Zhu Jishi, Maria Clementina, Napoleon III, Isabelle, and Han Si split into two groups. Napoleon III and Isabelle went together to the Denave villa in Oxfordshire—on the English Channel, Zhu Jishi had formally and completely ended things with Isabelle. He didn't want to quarrel with the future Emperor of France over a one-night stand, especially since he now had a new love. Zhu Jishi, on the other hand, returned to the Roman villa in Manchester with Maria Clementina.

"Jason, is that you? You're really back, that's great!"

As soon as Zhu Jishi got off the carriage, a beautiful woman ran out from the villa and threw herself into his arms, giving him a passionate French kiss.

"This is..." After the kiss, Madame Durand noticed a young woman standing next to Zhu Jishi, who was far more beautiful than herself, and her face immediately showed a look of disappointment.

"She is Maria Clementina, the Duchess of Segur." Zhu Jishi introduced her with a smile. Madame Durand was his mistress, not his wife—given his current status, marrying Madame Durand would not be appropriate. However, those young and beautiful noble or bourgeois ladies were also people Zhu Jishi did not want to involve himself with. Once married, he would have to give up the entire forest for a single tree, and more importantly, these women might not be willing to go to Hong Kong with him. If he had to divorce them, it would inevitably result in a significant financial loss.

"Oh, you're Maria!" Madame Durand knew Maria, but they were not very familiar. "Heavens, you and Jason are together now!"

"Romano, I don't mind sharing Jason with you." Maria hugged Madame Durand and said generously—her relationship with Zhu Jishi was for the needs of the Bonapartist counter-revolutionary cause, both to cover Napoleon III's escape and to serve as a bridge for his secret communications with the outside world. She needed a long-term excuse to stay in England, but she did not intend to stay with Zhu Jishi permanently. It would be unfair to drive away his old lover.

"Oh, I see..." Madame Durand smiled awkwardly and then said, "By the way, Jason, two Chinese guests came to visit while you were away."

Then she turned and called into the villa, "Mr. Liu Da, Mr. Liu Xiao, Sir Zhu is back! Sir Zhu Jishi is back from France!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the villa door was pushed open, and two men walked out. Their faces clearly showed they were from the East, just like Zhu Jishi.

Looking at their attire, they were wearing traditional Chinese long gowns and mandarin jackets, with fox fur collars and winter hats. The two men looked very similar, both with faces as fair as jade and eyes like single phoenixes, and despite their short stature, they appeared very strong. If it weren't for the age difference, Zhu Jishi might have thought they were twins.

Seeing Zhu Jishi in Western attire, the two men quickly approached and bowed respectfully.

"I am Liu Peng (Liu Jiong) of the Jardine Matheson & Co. in Guangzhou, and I have come to meet Sir Zhu."

Jardine Matheson & Co.? Are they William Jardine's people? Bai Siwen had just left, and now this opium dealer was sending two Chinese to me. What are his intentions?

Zhu Jishi wrinkled his nose and hesitated, "Mr. William Jardine sent you?"

The older man was taken aback for a moment, then quickly smiled and shook his head, "I am Liu Peng, the manager of the Jardine Matheson & Co. in Guangzhou." He pointed to the young man beside him, "This is my brother, Liu Jiong. Our employer is Wu Hao, the head of the Thirteen Factories in Guangzhou, not William Jardine of Jardine Matheson & Co."

The younger Liu Jiong bowed deeply, "I am Liu Jiong from Guangzhou, and I have heard of your great name, Sir. I wish to become your disciple."

Disciple? Zhu Jishi looked at the young man and smiled. Who says the Chinese don't want to learn Western knowledge? They have come all the way here to become his disciples.

Liu Peng smiled and said, "Sir Zhu, my brother has been studying Western languages in the school co-founded by the Thirteen Factories since he was young. He can speak English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch, and he has also studied Western medicine with an American priest. He is very interested in Western affairs."

Speaking five Western languages! He is indeed a talent. Zhu Jishi thought this person was exactly what he needed. He still had a lot of manuscripts to translate, and it would take him a long time to do it alone.

He nodded and extended his hand to help Liu Jiong up, "Alright, from today on, you are my student." He then said to Liu Peng, "Mr. Liu, let me settle in first. Tonight, we will have some wine and food, and you can tell me all about China."

...

"Oh, the two of you came all the way to Britain to collect a debt from Jardine Matheson & Co."

Zhu Jishi picked up the bottle of Dout wine (without cocaine) and filled the glasses of the two Lius, then poured one for himself.

Perhaps because she was not used to sharing a man, Madame Durand, after preparing a few French dishes for Zhu Jishi, excused herself and went to bed early, citing fatigue. Now, Maria Clementina was the one accompanying Zhu Jishi to entertain the two Chinese guests. In the dining room, there were only the four of them.

Liu Peng glanced at the beautiful Frenchwoman Maria Clementina with a slightly strange look, probably envying Dr. Zhu's good fortune.

He then looked at the half-cooked steak on his plate, frowned slightly, and smiled, "Our Jardine Matheson & Co. has been a business partner with Mr. Jardine's company before the First Opium War, and we have had financial dealings. When Lin Shaomu, the Viceroy of Liangguang, was ordered to ban opium, Mr. Jardine left in a hurry, and some accounts were not settled."

"Lin Shaomu?" Zhu Jishi thought for a moment and asked, "Is that Lin Zexu?"

"Exactly, Shaomu is Lin Zexu's courtesy name. I didn't expect Sir Zhu to know about Lin Zexu even in Britain."

"Of course, who hasn't heard of Lin Zexu? He is a national hero!" Zhu Jishi continued, "How is Lin Zexu now? Is he still the Viceroy of Liangguang?"

"Lin Zexu has been dismissed!" Liu Jiong interjected with some anger, "When the First Opium War broke out, the Emperor listened to the slander of villains and dismissed Lin Zexu from his position as Viceroy. He was demoted to a fourth-rank official and sent to Zhenhai to await further orders. The next year, he was further demoted and sent to Xinjiang to serve as a penitent. He is probably already in Xinjiang!"

Zhu Jishi sighed, "The cause of the First Opium War may be related to Lin Zexu, but the defeat is not his responsibility. Moreover, this defeat might not be a bad thing for the country." He glanced at the two Lius, "What do you think?"

Liu Peng sighed, "I don't know if it's bad for the country and the people, but it is a great disaster for Jardine Matheson & Co., the Thirteen Factories, and the merchants of Guangdong. The 21 million taels of silver in reparations have mostly fallen on our shoulders."

Liu Jiong clenched his teeth and said angrily, "How could our great Qing army, with a million soldiers, be defeated by a mere ten thousand British troops? We couldn't even win on land, what are these soldiers even good for?"

Zhu Jishi smiled and shook his head, "I haven't seen the Qing army, but I have seen the British, French, Austrian, and Two Sicilies armies. By the way, I have two attendants, one of whom served in the French Foreign Legion, and the other is a general of the Egyptian Pasha. Liu Jiong, why don't you learn from them tomorrow?"

Hearing Zhu Jishi's address, Liu Jiong was both amused and frustrated. Sir Zhu was indeed an expert in Western knowledge, but he knew nothing about Chinese customs. He bowed to Zhu Jishi, "Sir, my courtesy name is Mulin, and my brother's courtesy name is Muwen. May I ask what your courtesy name is?"

Courtesy name? Zhu Jishi thought for a moment. It seemed there was such a thing, but he was too lazy to come up with one. He bowed like the Liu brothers, "I am known by my given name, Jishi, which is my courtesy name."

He didn't know that using his given name as his courtesy name would later become one of the pieces of evidence against him in his plot to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming.

"Mr. Jishi," Liu Peng thought, "Mr. Jishi sounds nice, but if it were 'Jigong,' it would be a bit strange..."

Liu Jiong nodded slightly and said, "Sir, you mentioned that you have two attendants who are knowledgeable in Western military tactics?"

Zhu Jishi nodded, and Liu Jiong sighed, "What a pity, what a pity. If I had met you earlier, I could have presented Western military tactics to Lin Zexu."

"You know Lin Zexu?" Zhu Jishi looked at Liu Jiong curiously. Lin Zexu was the Viceroy of Liangguang and an imperial commissioner; how could a small merchant like you reach him?

"I once served as a translator in Lin Zexu's office, responsible for gathering information on Western countries. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any military-related information, which led to a major mistake!"