On the fourth day of the eighth lunar month, a yellow-skinned South Asian lean and swarthy man and a yellow-haired Portuguese raised their glasses and drank in the Portuguese settlement area of Macao, full of relaxation and pleasure. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

"Lord Philips, thanks to you this time, if it weren't for your great help in putting those nitrate sands in the warships of your fleet, I would definitely be in a catastrophe this time, not only will I be captured by the Chinese Yamen, but I will also lose a fortune." The yellow-skinned thin man nodded and said with a flattering look on his face.

The Portuguese named Philips seemed to be in a good mood, raised his glass, took a sip of red wine, and said a little drunkly: "This is nothing, a win-win thing." Having said that, my Philips didn't help in vain, don't forget your promise, after this batch of nitrate is sold, forty percent of the profits will go to me. ”

The yellow-skinned thin man's face suddenly stiffened, and then returned to normal, and a trace of gloom flew in his eyes, and he responded loudly: "Of course, of course, it's all good, otherwise, how can we cooperate in the future?" ”

"Haha, that's good, come, let's raise a glass and wish you a smooth deal."

When the two raised their glasses, when they were drinking red wine together, the yellow-skinned thin man secretly scolded: "Made, just to provide Lao Tzu with a place to release the goods, there is no strength, but the lion opens his mouth, and he wants to make a profit of forty percent, and his ****** hands are really black!" ”

Although I was indignant and unhappy, I could only swallow my anger and accept that Luzon was an island country with no office in Macao, and it was a place to live temporarily, and it was impossible to place nitrate without being discovered by the Chinese government, and the bitter fruit could only be swallowed.

Just as the two of them were changing glasses and tasting Western food, a Portuguese soldier walked in and reported: "Lord Philips, there is a Chinese businessman outside who asks to see him, do you want to see him?" ”

Philips shook his head, as soon as he heard that he was a Chinese businessman, who had been in Macau for so long, he knew the wealth of the businessmen in Guangzhou, and he was also familiar with the representative name of Wu Bingjian, which resounded in the European business circle, and even had his own investment in the United States.

At the same time, Philips has always been deeply puzzled and puzzled, as the leading boss of the thirteen lines in Guangzhou, each head of the Wu family of Jardine Bank has his own name, why all successive appointments share the same name, Wu Bingjian. For example, the current Wu Bingde calls himself Wu Bingjian to the outside world, whether it is a private seal or a signature, it is this name.

The soldier had been waiting for a while, a little impatient, and the Luzon merchant on the side said, "Lord Philips, see if you should avoid it, lest the Chinese merchant see us together and cause unnecessary trouble." ”

Philips just nodded, drunk and smoky, but full of reason, and said: "That's okay, you go to the next room and wait for a while, I'll send the Chinese businessman away, and then you come out." ”

After the Luzon merchant left, Philips said to the soldier this time: "Go, let the Chinese merchant in, I just want to see what the legendary merchants of the Thirteen Lines of Canton look like?" ”

Soon, the soldier led a person in, it was Feng Zhuogan, who walked in calmly.

Philips had already stood up, holding a wine glass in his hand, his body was a little shaky, and he looked around Feng Zhuogan curiously, his eyes looked up and down, and he muttered to himself.

"Isn't it any different? Except that the clothes on their bodies are better, they are no different from ordinary Chinese officials, they all have long braids, yellow skin, square faces, and they look similar. ”

These words made Feng Zhuogan dizzy and confused, and before he could react, Philips's words came again.

"Hey, who are you? Since you are a Chinese businessman, do you know Wu Bingjian? ”

The question was a little abrupt, Feng Zhuogan didn't expect it, but he still replied with a smile: "Hehe, Lord Philips, I'm Feng Zhuogan, as a businessman in Guangdong Province, who wouldn't know Wu Zongshang and Wu Huishou." However, there is no acquaintance, and the small one is too far from his status. ”

Philips' eyes narrowed, staring directly at Feng Zhuogan's eyes, and asked softly, "You are not a merchant of the Thirteen Lines in Guangzhou?" ”

"Well, no, I'm just an ordinary merchant, not as good as the merchants in the Thirteen Lines, and they don't have the wealth of the country." Feng Zhuogan was a little stunned, thinking that this Portuguese was very strange, just asking about some things about the Thirteen Lines of Guangzhou, and not doing anything to do with himself.

Philips no longer had the initial interest, turned his head to the wine table, and casually dropped a sentence, without saying anything about Feng Zhuogan's eyes.

"Oh, it turns out that you are not a merchant in the Thirteen Lines, so what is the matter with me? As far as I know, except for the errand workers in the government and yamen, other people in your country are not allowed to contact us Westerners~"

Since he came to the Portuguese consulate, Feng Zhuogan would definitely investigate in advance, knowing that the consul general Philips was a China expert, and some of the laws and regulations of the imperial court were very clear, and he would not be worse than himself, a Qing businessman.

Lowering his posture slightly, Feng Zhuogan became more respectful, and said softly: "Lord Philips, frankly speaking, the contemptible people came here not to ask to see you, but to visit the merchants of Luzon. ”

Philips's face changed slightly, and he immediately returned to normal, and his slightly drunk cheeks also faded a lot, and he said calmly: "Luzon merchant, what Luzon merchant?" Merchant? I'm the only merchant here! ”

"Alright, Feng... What's the matter, I don't have any Luzon merchants here, since you're not here to find me, hurry up! Otherwise, I will go to your country's yamen to sue you, harass the Greater Portugal office, and break into people's houses! ”

The threat was so strong and so aggressive, and after saying this, Philips came to the door, one hand facing the door.

Feng Zhuogan's face was ugly, he didn't expect this Philips Westerner to be so direct and arrogant, he didn't put himself in his eyes at all, and his face was arrogant.

Taking two deep breaths to calm down some of his anger, Feng Zhuogan did not leave immediately, but walked straight towards Philips, stared at his blue eyes, and said faintly: "Lord Philips, you can say that you don't know any Luzon merchants, or you can say that there is no such person here." ”

Suddenly, Feng Zhuogan's whole body exuded a strong aura, and he changed his words, and said step by step: "Lord Philips, if I report to the Yamen, your Portuguese royal fleet has nitrate, so many military supplies, more than 2,000 loads of nitrate, what do you Portuguese fleet want to do?" Want to invade our coastal areas of the Great Qing Dynasty? ”

Philips's posture of inviting people to leave was slightly restricted, and his eyes looked at Feng Zhuogan uncertainly, without the aggressive momentum just now, he had to ask Feng Zhuogan to leave, and his attitude softened greatly. And all these changes, Feng Zhuogan took a full view, and began to pacing, telling quietly.

"As far as I know, Lord Philips, your Portuguese fleet, since the late Ming Dynasty, has invaded and poisoned the people in the coastal areas, and now your behavior has been restrained, so the imperial court will let you temporarily live in Macau."

"Lord Philips, you have hoarded so much nitrate, if our Qing Emperor knows about it, Mr. Philips, you say, will your Portugal be like the Netherlands?" (To be continued.) )