In the study, Shi Mingzhi was dealing with some military affairs, and there was a thick stack of materials next to the bookcase, all of which were about some shipyards in the south of the Yangtze River, and his expression was sometimes solemn, sometimes soothing, and alternately evolving. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

Although Shi Mingzhi has always been a military general, the furnishings in his study are very elegant and antique, and there are not only all kinds of military books on the shelves, famous experience, but also the hand-me-down works of Confucianism, and there is no shortage of advanced books.

At this moment, when Shi Mingzhi was still immersed in the content of the document, Feng Zicai walked in with Wu Bingjian, and the two of them seemed to have discussed it a long time ago, with light steps and almost no sound.

However, as soon as the two stopped, Shi Mingzhi suddenly put away the pen, put the brush aside, and while closing the document, he said softly without raising his head: "Zicai, did President Wu bring it?" ”

"Report to the division, President Wu is next to me!" Feng Zicai no longer had the indifference just now, changed his attitude, and replied very respectfully and concisely.

Hearing this, Shi Mingzhi showed a happy look, looked up, and saw that it was Wu Bingjian himself, so he hurriedly stood up, greeted him, and said politely: "Hehe, President Wu, you are finally back, I didn't expect you to come back so quickly?" Originally, I thought that it would be at least a few days before you could return to Guangzhou City. ”

"Master Shi, if you want to talk fast, how can you compare to you? I clearly remember that it was a surprise that you left later than me and returned to Guangzhou City before me! Although Wu Bingjian was a little restrained, after all, he was a person in the business world, and he quickly adjusted his state and dealt with it easily, and responded with a smile.

Shi Mingzhi came to Wu Bingjian's side, and after a closer look, he found that the other party's face was tired, and there was still dust on his sideburns, so he immediately said: "President Wu, looking at your dusty appearance, you should have just arrived in Guangzhou City." ”

Wu Bingjian was so smart that he immediately knew how the other party saw it, so he didn't hide it, smiled slightly, and then said: "Hehe, Master Shi, your eyesight is amazing, that's right, Wu Mou really just returned to Guangzhou City." No, as soon as I entered the house, I listened to the housekeeper and said that Master Shi had something important to discuss, so I hurried here! ”

As he spoke, Shi Mingzhi put Wu Bingjian aside, and after sitting down, he walked to his bookcase and said, "President Wu, let's sit down and say, you're welcome, just like your own home, don't be so restrained~!" ”

Obviously, Shi Mingzhi had a good impression of Wu Bingjian, and he had a good impression, as soon as he returned to his seat, he had not yet sat down, and seemed to think of something, looked at Feng Zicai, and suddenly said: "Zicai, don't you hurry up, there are guests at home, why don't you serve tea to President Wu?" ”

Looking at the back of Feng Zicai's departure, Wu Bingjian knew that Shi Mingzhi was a bold person, so he didn't be polite anymore, his expression was closed, he still had a little smile, and the topic changed, and he went straight to the point: "Master Shi, you are so anxious to find Wu, there must be something very important, I don't know what it is that makes you rush back from Beiping thousands of miles away?" ”

As soon as these words came out, it was in line with Shi Mingzhi's taste, he went straight to the point, said something straightforwardly, and did not hide it, which is also the reason why his attitude towards Wu Bingjian was obviously much better than that of other businessmen. Therefore, as soon as Wu Bingjian asked, Shi Mingzhi immediately said the reason for inviting the latter to come.

"President Wu, it is less than a month before the peak season of trade and business with foreigners. Therefore, the implementation of those laws and regulations of the imperial court is very urgent. Therefore, I just want to meet with you first and discuss how to implement it? ”

Seeing that Shi Mingzhi didn't have a bit of an official arrangement, Wu Bingjian liked this person from the bottom of his heart and wanted to associate with the other party. What's more, what he talked about was exactly what he was most concerned about. Therefore, it is known that everything is known.

"Master Shi, about the laws and regulations of the imperial court, when I left Beiping, I got a copy, and along the way, I also read seven, seven, eight, eight, and probably know something."

Shi Mingzhi was slightly stunned, a little surprised, he didn't expect that the other party would have done the work in front of him, which coincided with himself, and did not interrupt the other party's speech, but showed a solemn look on his face and waited for the speech later.

Therefore, Master Shi, Wu believes that if you want to implement those laws and regulations in the fastest and shortest time, you can't do them one by one, you must operate at the same time, and divide labor. For example, it is the duty of a businessman and the duty of a foreigner, so they are printed in pamphlets and distributed so that they can study it independently. ”

Seeing Shi Mingzhi nodding frequently, Wu Bingjian continued: "Moreover, every once in a while, the businessmen and those foreign businessmen will be assessed, and if they can't pass, they will not be allowed to trade and do business this year." In this way, it can prevent them from thinking about snakes in vain, shirking responsibility in the later stage, saying that they do not know the provisions of those laws, and those who do not know are not guilty, and want to reduce the punishment. ”

Shi Mingzhi suddenly interjected: "In this way, those assessments can be converted into a kind of evidence, or evidence." Once those businessmen and foreigners shirk their responsibilities, with these certificates, they can be punished for crimes that violate the law and the punishment can be increased. ”

Wu Bingjian smiled and nodded, which is what he meant. Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, Wu Bingjian's face was embarrassed, he hesitated slightly, and then said worriedly: "Master Shi, the businessmen on our side are still easy to handle, but those foreign businessmen belong to different countries, speak different languages, and have so many personnel. ”

However, to Wu Bingjian's surprise, Shi Mingzhi did not show embarrassment, but looked very relaxed, and said loudly: "President Wu, you can rest assured about this, the imperial court has already prepared translators, which are enough to deal with those foreigners." ”

Wu Bingjian didn't believe it, when he was in the Qing Dynasty, the Tartars were very strict. Except for their own merchants, ordinary people are forbidden to learn foreign languages. Therefore, in the world of Nuoda, in the entire Qing Dynasty, there are very few people who understand foreign languages. What's more, it's not just a foreign language?

However, seeing Shi Mingzhi's confident look, Wu Bingjian swallowed back the words that came to his mouth, and didn't say anything more?

At this time, Shi Mingzhi thought of another thing, and said instead: "President Wu, I think you also know that the emperor demanded that in that incident during the Qianlong period, the silver obtained by foreign merchants abnormally, in addition to the principal and interest due, must be returned to the merchants. ”

Wu Bingjian was a little puzzled, and he didn't understand why Shi Mingzhi said this, but he still nodded and responded: "Yes, Master Shi, Wu knows about this, and I am about to inform those colleagues." ”

After confirming, Shi Mingzhi continued: "That's the case, as a party concerned, you must also know that many of those merchants back then were forced to have their families ruined, their wives separated, and their children and daughters sold, and there were not many who could survive. ”

A bright color flashed in his mind, Wu Bingjian probably guessed what Shi Mingzhi meant, and the next words just confirmed his guess.

"Therefore, the emperor specially instructed that if those merchants are no longer alive, then they should find their sons, daughters, or both parents. I think that in terms of the degree of knowledge of these people, and the knowledge of their whereabouts, you are the only traders. So, I want to entrust this matter to you to help find out the whereabouts of those people, I don't know what President Wu wants? Are you willing to take on this burden? ”

Wu Bingjian was surprised, stunned, although he had already thought hard, to the best and the biggest, he only guessed the corner, he didn't expect the court to act so openly, and he didn't covet that wealth!

It was only a preliminary estimate in my heart, that is, a part of the silver taels that those dead merchants deserved, which was also a million taels. The court was able not to be tempted, and there was no intention of confiscating this ownerless silver tael, and he Wu Bingjian admired and admired it from the bottom of his heart.

Since ancient times, all Ming businessmen and Confucian businessmen have the heart to help the world, and have the ambition to serve the community, Wu Bingjian is one of such businessmen, Shi Mingzhi just finished speaking, and immediately said sonorously: "Master Shi, of course Wu is willing, he will live up to expectations, and he will definitely find out the wives, sons, daughters and parents of those dead businessmen!" ”

There are Tao Zhu Fan Li's generation in the past, and I Wu Bingjian and others in the back, perhaps it is Wu Bingjian's voice at the moment, his starting point.

Shi Mingzhi's eyes flickered, overflowing, and his good impression of Wu Bingjian suddenly rose to a new level, and he secretly said in his heart: "Listen to his words and watch his deeds, if Wu Bingjian really does what he said, isn't he a person who can make friends?" ”

As soon as he thought of this, looking at Wu Bingjian's excited appearance, Shi Mingzhi's expression became solemn, and he said in a deep voice: "President Wu, just ask, after finding out the children of those merchants, you don't need to come forward, you just need to tell us your whereabouts." ”

As if being poured a basin of cold water, Wu Bingjian had a bad guess, that was the last hope of his peers, and that money was definitely the source of guarantee for the last life of his peers. Although there were some speculations, Wu Bingjian was also difficult to say, and he felt a sense of heaviness, which was very heavy.

However, although Shi Mingzhi is not a person with a delicate mind, he has the same experience, and when he saw the change in Wu Bingjian's expression, he immediately understood, and then added: "The reason why President Wu was not allowed to redeem the wives and children of the merchants is because those who bought the wives and children of the merchants will definitely hear this news, and they will inevitably ask for a sky-high price." If the court came forward, they would not dare to ask for a price indiscriminately. In this way, a lot of silver taels can be saved for the surviving relatives of those merchants. ”

Hearing this, Wu Bingjian suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking about it. Once the wives and children of the merchants who bought the merchants heard the news, if they came forward to redeem them, with their understanding of the greedy nature of the merchants, those who would not miss this opportunity to make money would definitely ask for a lot of money and knock on a hard price!

Thinking of this, Wu Bingjian looked ashamed, a little self-deprecating, and said secretly: "I have the heart of a villain, I think about it more." ”

In fact, Shi Mingzhi can understand Wu Bingjian's misunderstanding, but he has a deep meaning. In the past, when he was the chief soldier of the Guangzhou Navy Division of the former Qing Dynasty, wasn't the pension of the fallen soldiers greedy for ink?