"It turned out to be Mr. Junfu!" Zeng Jize's eyes lit up, "I saw him with my father the year before last, and he was a talented person. Speaking of which, remember that he came back from studying in the United States, right? It seems that he has dealt with long hair, but he didn't expect that he is now under Xuan Shuai's account. ”

"I came back from studying in the United States, and I've already been naturalized." Guan Zhuofan said with a smile, "It's true that you say that he is a big man, but it's not under my account - he is Chinese New Year's Eve four years old today, and he is a candidate for Jiangsu as a Tongzhi, and he is doing things in Baoshun Foreign Bank in Shanghai." This time, I specially found him out because I came to Shanghai for you. ”

Rong Hong is a very famous person. He went to Macau with his father when he was seven years old, and has been living "overseas" ever since, being the first Chinese student to study in the United States and the first Chinese to study at Yale. After returning to China, he served in the U.S. Legation, the Hong Kong High Court, and the Shanghai Customs, and can be regarded as one of the most proficient in foreign affairs.

Zeng Jize said that he had dealt with Changmao, and it was not false. After he returned to China, he was attracted by the propaganda of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, went to "Tianjing" to inspect in person, and also put forward a very detailed proposal to Hong Ren, who was in charge, including the organization of a good army, the establishment of a military school and a naval school, the establishment of an effective government, and the promulgation of an education system.

This "insistence on not accepting" can be regarded as saving him, and he is an American citizen, so the court did not embarrass him because of this experience, but it also doesn't know how to use him. So he was given a fictitious title of "Tongzhi". Leave him alone. Unexpectedly. Now he has been found by Guan Zhuofan.

"Since that's the case...... Xuan Shuai, I have an idea, I don't know if it will work out. ”

"Oh, it's okay for you to say it, brother."

"Xuan Shuai used him to preside over the iron factory, and he is really the most suitable candidate." Zeng Jize said, "But I wonder if you can also invite Rong Chunfu to my Cantonese dialect hall and the position of vice president." ”

"That's a good idea!" Kwan Zhuofan agreed. "In fact, the path of the Cantonese dialect hall is similar to that of foreign universities. Rong Hong studied at Yale University in the United States, and he will definitely be able to help Brother Jie. ”

"Xuan Shuai, I'm ashamed, I really don't know what a 'university' looks like." Zeng Jize said with fascination, "If you have the opportunity, you can see it with your own eyes, it would be good." ”

"University...... My brother has heard of one or two. Guan Zhuofan said with a deep groan, "A famous person is the principal, and many learned people are hired to give lectures. It's called Professor. There is also a large campus, where everyone eats and lives in the garden. In addition to teaching, they also have to do experiments and research on weekdays, and they are also allowed to refute each other between teachers and disciples. In short, if you want to do a good job in learning, you must have a few such places. ”

"A disciple doesn't have to be inferior to a teacher!" Zeng Jize's eyes shone brightly, "What foreigners can do, we can also do." Xuan Shuai, let's also turn the Cantonese Dialect Museum into a university, okay? ”

This is indeed Guan Zhuofan's original intention. He had high hopes for the Cantonese Dialect Museum, not only because it could educate Western-style talents, but also because it could become a research center for absorbing and improving advanced jishu.

But it's too early to talk about these things.

"Brother Jie is really ambitious, and my brother admires him very much." Guan Zhuofan thought to himself, Zeng Jize, like his father, has the strength to not admit defeat, and under his modesty and stability, he has more sharpness than Zeng Guofan, "It's just that after all, it's a new thing, and if you can do it first, the cultivation scale is the most important thing." A few days ago, Uncle Xu Xing said to me that even the establishment of the Tongwen Pavilion in Beijing by the King of Yizheng was not very smooth, for what, I don't need to say that Brother Jie also understands. ”

Zeng Jize understood, nodded and said, "Okay, I'll do what Xuan Shuai wants." ”

The three of them reviewed the charter again, made a few corrections, and it was passed. Zeng Jize got up to say goodbye, ready to take the manuscript back and correct it, and send it to Guan Zhuofan for the record as an official charter. Libin stayed, because there was still a happy event to say to Guan Zhuofan in private.

"Yixuan, the person sent by Citigroup to the United States, that Sandox, finally has news!"

*

*

Compared with the European Division, the news of the American Division was more than half a year late.

Lucas and Song Zhikuan of the European Division not only successfully signed the contract with Nobel and obtained 50 percent of the shares of the Bufors Company and explosives-related research, but also, in accordance with Libin's instructions, traveled through several countries in Europe, inspected munitions enterprises, visited political and business figures, and opened a branch of Citigroup in Berlin, the capital of Prussia, as an office, which can be regarded as taking root in Europe and doing an excellent job.

And Sandos, a member of the American Division, and a Chinese member surnamed Wang have not been heard from at all. Guan Zhuofan was desperate for a while, thinking that the sea ship that these two people were taking from Shanghai to Japan, and then from Japan to the West Coast of the United States, unfortunately sank somewhere in the Pacific Ocean? Or are the two of them in the United States, with a mandate, and they don't know where to hide and spend all their time, and they completely forget about the tasks on their bodies?

Now as soon as the news spread, I realized that all my guesses were not accurate. The work of the American Department was also very beautiful, but the two letters sent to Shanghai were unlucky and never came, once because of the storm and the other because of the civil war. It was not until the transatlantic cable was opened that the huge telegraph network in the United States was finally connected to the telegraph network in Europe and Shijie, and the news was smoothly sent to Hong Kong, and from Hong Kong to Shanghai. And almost at the same time, the letter sent for the third time finally crossed the ocean and reached Libin smoothly.

"If you don't come, you won't come, one will come and two copies, the real number of gas!" Libin shook his head and smiled bitterly, "The money spent on transoceanic telegraphs alone is not a decimal. ”

"Little money, nothing!" Guan Zhuofan was very excited, because this news was too important to him, so he was eager to know the details, "Shandushi, what do you say?" ”

"It's going well. This Sandoz is indeed a capable man—"

Like many Americans of that era, Sandos was full of energy, but when it came to doing great things, he was very thoughtful. According to the address and goal given by Libin, he successfully found the company called "Clark and Rockefeller" in Cleveland, but he was not in a hurry to come to the door, but lived first, and spent about two weeks observing and understanding the situation of this company from the side, and understanding the person named John? Rockefeller's young manager.

This is because Libin's instructions are so bizarre - "We will vote for whatever he does". Sandos thought to himself that if he could get such a high evaluation, he would have to see what kind of person this Rockefeller was.

After two weeks of inquiry, I felt very satisfied, and got to know a few things—this man, who was originally just a young man from a grain trading house, but from the time he received his first salary, he gave a tenth of his monthly to the charitable use of the Baptist Church. He is extremely shrewd and trustworthy in business, and if you owe him a penny, he will come to your door to pick it up, and if he owes you a penny, he will come to your door to return it. At the age of nineteen, he owned his own company, which was both down-to-earth and bold, and now he is already well-known in the local area.

"The style of this Sandoz is really very detailed." Guan Zhuofan was deeply satisfied with the candidate recommended by Jin Nengheng, "That Rockefeller is in the oil business, right?" ”

In the tone, there was a slight sense of pride, and the memory brought by my brother in his previous life was really invincible.

"Yes, but instead of digging for oil, he's refining it—"

Coincidentally, when Sandoz finally made the official visit, Rockefeller and his partner Clark had a serious dispute over the direction of the business - Clark wanted to invest in oil wells, and Rockefeller wanted to invest in oil refining. Unable to reach an agreement, Clark had decided to sell half of his shares at auction in three days later for no less than $60,000.

This is the end of the matter. After negotiation with the two men, Sandoz, who held a cashier's note of Jardine Matheson, easily bought Clark's shares for $75,000, and generously offered the company an interest-free loan of $50,000. What surprised Rockefeller even more was that Sandoz solemnly stated that Citigroup, as a shareholder, would not interfere in the business direction of the new company, and would unconditionally support whatever he wanted to do.

"Yay!" Hearing this, Guan Zhuofan was already overjoyed, "This Shandushi, I should really give him another bonus-by the way, what is the name of the new company?" Is it a change to a 'Rockefeller and Sandoz' company? ”

"No, Rockefeller has chosen a new name for the company," Libin shook his head, "Standard Oil." ”

*(To be continued......)