Chapter 83

It's the fourth update. New book uploaded, seeking recommendations, collections, and Three Rivers votes.

"Brother Han Si, Liu Peng, and Liu Jiong of the Heaven and Earth Society, we are willing to follow Mr. as our leader, to expel the Tartars and restore the Ming Dynasty!"

Han Si, the two Lius, plus himself, make a perfect group of four! Zhu Jishi looked at the three people in front of him with a faint smile, sighing inwardly. This matter, it's not their fault, it's his own mistake! He knew long ago that it was the Qing Dynasty, and he should have temporarily hidden his surname Zhu, as the surname Zhu conflicts with the Qing Dynasty! Well, the surname is passed down from ancestors and can't be changed casually, so he could at least change his name temporarily. Look, "Jishi Fuming," how catchy! Even if he doesn't change his name, he should have thrown away that troublesome jade pendant! Even if he didn't throw it away, he shouldn't show it to everyone, especially not to Maria Clementina, that femme fatale, or to that greedy old pope with unknown intentions. And after the old pope saw it, he went around Europe spreading the news...

Now, Chen Jinan and Wei Xiaobao's disciples and grand-disciples have come to him. What should he do? What should he do? Tell them that his Ming royal lineage is actually fake? That the jade pendant was a gift from someone else... Would anyone believe that? Besides, these three are his subordinates, and they might be quite capable. In this era, Chinese people who can travel all the way to the West are not ordinary. After seeing the Western world, they share a common language with him. And they have the Heaven and Earth Society behind them! This organization seems to have many disciples and followers. With their help, his university and academy in Hong Kong won't lack for students.

Moreover, the two Lius seem to be from the Thirteen Factories in Guangzhou. The Thirteen Factories should be quite wealthy, right? Maybe he can get them to donate some money to his academy and university through the two Lius? To save his own hard-earned money.

It seems he can't push these three away. As for the rebellion, well, since they are willing to follow him as their leader, they should naturally listen to him when it comes to the timing of the rebellion! If the time for rebellion is really ripe, he might as well rebel... After all, his identity as a Ming royal has been confirmed, and the Qing Dynasty will definitely be against him, so opposing the Qing Dynasty is probably inevitable. Who knows, he might really succeed in rebelling and become an emperor!

Right, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom revolution in history seems to have erupted around 1850. If the Qing Dynasty hasn't resolved the national issues by then, he might as well...

Thinking about this, Zhu Jishi nodded slightly and gestured for the three people in front of him to stand straight.

"Han Si, what is your courtesy name?"

"Your subordinate's courtesy name is Pojun, willing to lead the charge to crush the Qing army of a million!" Han Si said loudly.

What a bold statement! Zhu Jishi smiled faintly. This guy, he originally thought he was a simple man, but it turns out he's also an ambitious person! It seems his ability to judge people needs improvement.

He nodded and said, "Pojun, Muwen, Mulin, since you are willing to follow me as your leader, from now on you must follow my orders and not act on your own." His voice suddenly became serious, "Do you understand?"

"Your subordinate understands!" The three said in unison.

"Pojun," Zhu Jishi looked at Han Si, the black man still looked honest and loyal, "from now on, follow Will Heming to learn Western military strategy."

"Your subordinate obeys!" Han Si was delighted! Learning military strategy is preparation for rebellion, right? After the deed is done, he will be a high-ranking official.

Zhu Jishi nodded, thinking, "This black guy should stay out of sight as much as possible to avoid misleading others."

"Muwen," Zhu Jishi looked at Liu Jiong, "can you speak foreign languages?"

"Your subordinate can only speak English, can read and write, all learned from foreigners in the Jardine's academy."

The Thirteen Factories in Guangzhou did business with foreigners, and most of the clerks could speak foreign languages. To cultivate talent, the Thirteen Factories also ran academies to teach foreign languages.

"Good, from now on, you will work with me, but don't cut ties with Jardine's." Zhu Jishi paused and asked, "How much does Jardine's owe Jardine's? Can it be recovered?"

Liu Peng smiled bitterly, "Jardine's owes Jardine's 920,000 taels of silver in goods, and it will be difficult to recover."

"Is there any evidence?"

"Mr. Jardine's personal IOU." Liu Peng took out a contract from his pocket and handed it to Zhu Jishi with both hands.

Zhu Jishi looked at it and saw that before leaving Guangzhou, Jardine had borrowed several ships of tea and silk from Jardine's and transported them back to Europe. At the same time, he had delivered a batch of opium worth over 900,000 taels of silver to Jardine's for sale. The contract stated that if the opium was confiscated by the Qing government, the loss would be borne by Jardine's.

"Was the opium confiscated?" Zhu Jishi asked.

"Yes, the opium stored in the foreign factories in Guangzhou was confiscated by Governor Lin, but later the Thirteen Factories paid over 6 million taels to compensate the foreign merchants, and Jardine's also received the money."

"Then why is it difficult to collect the debt? Britain has laws, you have the loan contract as evidence, I can help you contact a lawyer, and the lawsuit will definitely be won."

Liu Peng frowned, "But Mr. Jardine said that the Qing government did not confiscate the opium stored in Jardine's, but bought it... at a rate of five pounds of tea for one box of opium! So we sold the opium at a low price, and it has nothing to do with Jardine's. Later, the compensation from the government also has nothing to do with our transaction with Jardine's..."

"I see," Zhu Jishi thought for a moment and said, "Does it matter if the debt can't be collected?"

Liu Peng smiled, "Actually, the owner didn't expect to recover the entire amount, after all, the value of the money in Britain and Guangzhou is quite different."

"Oh, how so?" Zhu Jishi asked with interest.

"The situation is like this: the current maritime trade is a cycle. The British first transport their own textiles to India, then transport Indian opium to China, and then transport tea and raw silk from China back to Britain. The profit from this large triangular trade is extremely high. If the ships don't encounter any accidents along the way, the profit is at least several times the investment. So if Mr. Jardine is willing to give us 70,000 to 80,000 pounds in Britain, we can hire ships and buy goods to transport back, which will be enough to earn back 900,000 taels of silver."

"Is there that much!" Zhu Jishi took a breath, thinking, "900,000 taels of silver is 300,000 pounds! After deducting the 80,000 pounds of capital, there's still a profit of 220,000 pounds! My Hero Pharmaceutical might not even make that much in a year!"

"Theoretically, yes, but the risk of maritime trade is very high. If the ships encounter storms, they can be destroyed, and if they encounter pirates, it depends on luck. Moreover, the route from Britain to China has always been monopolized by British trading companies with ties to the East India Company, as the most profitable part is transporting the East India Company's opium to Guangzhou. We can occasionally find sources, but if we want to operate long-term, it might be difficult..."

Zhu Jishi looked at Liu Peng and suddenly asked, "Muwen, does your Jardine's want to enter the maritime trade?"

Liu Peng shook his head, "Only this once. The maritime trade business is illegal according to the imperial edict..."

"Violating the edict? Isn't the country's door already wide open?"

Liu Peng smiled bitterly, "Foreigners can come in, but we going out is still illegal. The government can't control the movement of people, but buying sea ships is a different matter. After all, sea ships are often armed, and they are as strong as or even stronger than naval warships."

"Is the money from maritime trade easy to earn? If we don't go through the India and Britain route, what other routes are there?"

"The route to the South Seas, all the way to the British colony of Australia."

"What do you export?"

"Coolies."

"Selling pigs?" Zhu Jishi was taken aback. Han Si, standing beside him, interjected, "Lord, not pigs, but people!"

"Selling coolies!" Zhu Jishi nodded, remembering that this was indeed the case. He himself was from Guangdong, and in his hometown, there were many overseas Chinese. He even had distant relatives in the South Seas, all of whom had been sold as coolies!