Seeing that Guan Zhuofan had become a second-class feudal division, Jin Nengheng was naturally more confident, and he and Libin completed all the formalities of the "holding company" and started it.

The company is considered an American company, filed by Kim Neng-hyung at the U.S. Consulate, and is protected by U.S. law. The company's Chinese name, Libin felt that Guan Zhuofan's "Citigroup" two words were very good, so that people could see it at a glance, they felt that it was a foreign company of Citigroup, and it could hide people's eyes and ears, so it was simply called "Citigroup".

Libin made a loan of 150,000 yuan from Standard Chartered Bank, with an eight-year term and an annual interest of 6.5%, and made up 350,000 yuan of equity silver, and Jin Nengheng also paid 150,000 yuan, and made up his mind to bet his future on Guan Zhuofan.

The share capital of 500,000 taels of silver is not small, and what is particularly peculiar is that other foreign companies often have a parent company overseas before setting up a branch in Shanghai, while Citigroup is directly registered in Shanghai, and Taipan is the honorary vice consul of the United States, so it was quite eye-catching at the beginning of its establishment.

For this reason, Guan Zhuofan decided not to seek a higher reputation for Libin for the time being, so as not to expose the traces of the relationship between the two too much and be too ostentatious. Libin's current status as the alternate prefect is enough, and it is enough to maneuver around the foreign field in the concession.

"I'm your royal Kang Baidu." Libin often jokes with Guan Zhuofan like this.

"It's not enough, you have to be the largest Kang Bai in Shanghai and the largest Kang Bai in China."

Kang Baidu, which means comprador, is now almost the most enviable identity among the Chinese in Shanghai. However, how to achieve the largest degree of whiteness in China, Libin is not very clear. He just followed Guan Zhuofan's explanation. called his cousin Song Zhikuan to Citigroup as well. The position is Associate in the European Division.

Citigroup has only two divisions, one in Europe and one in the United States. Each department has a director, an associate and two members. The head of the European Division was a Prussian named Lucas, and the head of the American Division. It is an American named Sandus, all of whom were found by Jin Nengheng, who can speak several Chinese languages, and are all capable, so the salary offered to them by the company is also very generous.

The salary is good, but the two managers still don't know what to do. It's a completely new idea to look for potential companies and make investments. Sounds exciting, but where to start. But it's not an easy task. It wasn't until Libin brought the latest directives that there was a clear path.

This instruction was written in English, but it was written on a few pieces of letterhead in small letters, and when several foreigners saw it, they all felt that people who used brushes could write English to this extent, which was a very admirable thing.

"Mr. Leigh, where did this come from?" Sandos asked curiously in English.

"I wrote it." Libin said unashamedly.

The instructions given to the European division Lucas were to take Song Zhikuan to Stockholm, Sweden, to find a small steel company called Bufors, and talk to Mr. Alfred, even if he could not control his company, at least to maximize his participation. If this matter is successfully completed, then on the way back, it is better to go to Lucas's hometown of Prussia for a visit, and Citigroup's shareholders are also very interested in the military industrial enterprises there.

The instructions to the American Scuandos were: go find oil.

"Looking for oil?" Sandos was amazed. He thinks that this is a completely new thing, how can Libin, a Chinese, know?

"Actually, it can't be said that you are looking for oil." Libin laughed, "Sandoz, if I'm not mistaken, you're from Cleveland, so you should be familiar with it?" ”

"Every corner, of course."

"Good." Libin looked at the paper in his hand and said, "Could you please go to White Rock in Cleveland and find a small oil company called 'Clark and Rockefeller', and the manager of the company is John?" Rockefeller's young man, twenty-four years old. Tell him that Citigroup is willing to invest in him. ”

“…… haode。 The instructions were so detailed that the expression on Sandos's face could no longer be described as astonishment, "I can do it, but ...... How do you know all these things, Mr. Leigh? ”

"Well, the secret of heaven must not be revealed." Libin said a word in Chinese before smiling and saying in English: "God has his own arrangement." ”

In his heart, he was thinking that Guan Zhuofan was either a monster, or maybe he was really a person sent by God.

"So Mr. Li, what exactly do we want to invest in his business?"

"Whatever he does, we will vote." Libin swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said dryly

*

*

The feudal secretary of the second rank is currently the highest-ranking official in Shanghai, so he should have a formal meeting with the consular corps in the concession. Both Guan Zhuofan and the consuls of various countries in Shanghai had expectations for this, but for the sake of a ceremonial obscenity, this meeting was almost in vain.

The question is who should visit whom -- in fact, it cannot be said to be a "side matter", because diplomacy is no trivial matter. According to the usual practice, when it came to the affairs of the concession and it was necessary to negotiate, it was always the case that Chinese officials went to the concession to discuss with the consular corps, but Guan Zhuofan insisted that according to the provisions of the treaty, the consuls of various countries were officials of the same rank as Shanghai Daocai, and now he should sit in the yagong and accept visits from the consuls of various countries with the "respect of the feudal department."

Of course, this is just a kind of spirit, but it is actually a difficult thing to do, and in the final analysis, behind diplomacy is strength. However, it is also a gesture to remind the consuls of various countries to give him enough respect. For this matter, Wu Xu and Yang Fang quarreled with the consular corps for two days, and Zuihou reached a compromise under the mediation of several directors of the Ministry of Industry -- the British, American and French leaders came to visit Guan Zhuofan in the old city in advance, but "coincidentally" Guan Zhuofan was not there, so "unfortunately they could not meet", and then Guan Zhuofan went to the concession to formally meet with the consular corps in the name of a return visit.

can only fight to this extent, Guan Zhuofan thought to himself: In the future, one day.

The meeting point is set at the Licha Hotel on the north bank of Suzhou Creek. In the east hall of the hotel, although there are a total of 11 consuls, everything is based on the heads of Britain, the United States and France, as long as the three consuls of Anglo-American France agree, it is considered a foregone conclusion.

"Guan Fantai, it's an honor to meet you here." British Consul Ali Guo, because he is the oldest, is regarded as the convener of the consular corps, first made a welcome speech on behalf of the consular corps, and then introduced each consul to Guan Zhuofan. These consuls have more or less heard some legends and stories about Guan Zhuofan in the palace coup, but they are all the first time to see this young general who led the army to win the battle for the defense of Shanghai, so they greeted him very politely, and at the same time assessed his potential value in their hearts.

Guan Zhuofan reversed the arrogant attitude when negotiating "meeting etiquette" and became extremely humble. In addition to expressing his gratitude to the consular corps for the equipment given to the officers and soldiers during the Battle of Shanghai, when they met and shook hands with each of the consuls, they also made a warm greeting in English. Before he could finish these words, the consuls had already begun to exchange surprised glances with each other, and the hall fell silent.

This passage is not general, for example, he said to the consul of Prussia: "Mr. Lehmann, I am convinced that the Germans are a great nation, that Prussia is a great nation, that Wilhelm I is a great king, and that the German Confederation will grow stronger and stronger." ”

Eleven consuls, eleven paragraphs, all the same. For these consuls, it is simply unbelievable that an official of the imperial court has such a performance -- this Guan Fantai not only rarely shakes hands, but also has an accurate and accurate understanding of every country, even the chief minister of the Yamen who specializes in diplomacy cannot have such a comprehensive insight, and if we take into account his age and experience, I am afraid that only the word "magical" can explain it.

In this way, the valuation of Guan Zhuofan is easy to make. This person, not only has the favor of the inner court, but also has the support of the military aircraft department, can not only lead the troops to fight, but also have experience in civil affairs, is not only a flag man, but also can speak fluent English, has a deep understanding of Shijie countries, and is naturally also capable of foreign affairs......

The future of this man is limitless.

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