There were still more than ten days before the Tokyo auction, Hu Chuyuan and Shen Furong, Wang Yirong and others quietly went to Shanghai, and secretly took a cargo ship to Nagasaki.

Said Ben.

For Hu Chuyuan, this is a difficult problem that he can't get around.

To deal with the ...... It's not hard to say, it's not easy to say.

As for the fact that Ben is going to go to war with China, that is also a sure thing, and the fundamental reason for this lies in the congenital defects of the Yue Ben financial system.

In 1875, the book began to issue yuan, stipulating that each yuan was exchanged for 1,500 milligrams of gold, and according to the current exchange rate of gold and silver, one yuan was equal to 30 grams of silver, which was equivalent to about 0.8 taels of silver.

With the rapid development of the economy, the government was soon unable to cash in on this exchange rate, and the yuan began to depreciate sharply in 1885, and the subsequent depreciation rate was getting faster and faster.

Before the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, each yuan could only be exchanged for 0.02 taels of silver in the market, and its value depreciated 40 times in ten years...... It is said that the economy is completely collapsing.

They had no choice, and they were left with the last option left in their desperate military force...... Invade China in exchange for huge war reparations, use the real money of the Chinese to maintain the exchange rate of the yuan, and try to occupy Korea and Taiwan.

……

In terms of mineral resources, it is a country of pain, and in terms of port resources, it is an extremely fortunate country.

On the eastern coast of Komoto, there are almost some of the best seaports in the world, such as Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Kobe, Osaka, Nagoya, Shizuoka, Yokohama, Chiba, and Yokosuka...... The natural conditions of these ports are enough for any maritime trading power in the world to be jealous.

In fact, this is also a key factor in the sustainable development of the economy.

Nagasaki Bay, located at the western end of the city, is a ring-shaped enclosed port that is very resistant to tsunamis and strong winds and waves, and has been a major port for trade between China and China since ancient times.

Nagasaki is home to thousands of Fujianese, mainly from Fuzhou, who gather in Nagasaki to do business in their hometowns.

Hu Chuyuan arrived secretly, on a freighter from Fuzhou to Yuben, and after the ship arrived at the port of Nagasaki, Hu Chuyuan left from the ship with a group of seven or eight people.

As soon as they landed ashore, someone shouted in the distance: "Young master, big young master!" ”

Hu Chuyuan looked over and saw that it was Hu Rong, who was in charge.

Hu Rong is a distant relative of the Hu family in Huizhou...... Anyway, it can't be farther, because the poor family can't open the pot, so they went to the Hu family to be a housekeeper, and slowly became a steward.

Because Hu Xueyan was accompanied by Hu Rong last time he came, this time, Hu Chuyuan also sent him over to deal with it first.

After receiving Hu Chuyuan and others, Hu Rong led the way in front and led the people into Tang Street in Shinchi Town, where about thousands of Chinese lived, most of whom were doing business locally.

Located at the junction of Shinchi and Dejima, Shinchi is a two-story southern complex that resembles a two-story courtyard house.

Such buildings are common in the southern part of Guangdong.

Seeing a distinguished guest coming to the door, the white fat boss, who was about thirty-six or seventeen years old, hurriedly greeted him and invited Hu Chuyuan to say: "This son-in-law, do you want to stay in the hotel or eat?" ”

Hu Rong arched his hand and said, "Boss Pan, this is my young master, haven't I already booked six upper rooms and four second-class rooms with you?" ”

Boss Pan suddenly woke up, hurriedly led the way, led Hu Chuyuan to the second floor, lived in a room near the sea, and opened the window to see the entire sea view of Nagasaki.

Hu Chuyuan casually asked Boss Pan: "How many years has the boss lived here?" ”

Boss Pan sighed: "If you don't pay attention, it's been more than 20 years, and you were only fifteen or sixteen years old when you first came!" ”

Hu Chuyuan said: "That's really a long time." ”

Soon, Boss Pan went out to greet the other guests.

After waiting for a while, everyone reunited back to Hu Chuyuan's room, and Hu Rong stepped forward and said, "Boss, I have already sent someone to take care of it and found two translators who are proficient in Chinese. Wanting to visit their factory is also very simple, I say to buy their goods in large quantities, provided that you see how much they produce. ”

Hu Chuyuan asked him: "Who are the main local Chinese businessmen?" ”

Hu Rong thought for a while and said, "That is, this Pan Rong boss of the Fuzhou Guild Hall, he used to be in the silk business, and he bought silk and raw silk from Fuzhou for Yueben. In the past few years, the business has not been good, but there are many people coming and going, so he opened a few Fuzhou halls in Yueben. ”

"Oh......!" Hu Chuyuan thinks that such a person is not bad.

After dinner, Hu Chuyuan asked Hu Rong to invite Boss Pan to his room.

Waiting for Pan Rong to enter the door, Hu Chuyuan arched his hand and said: "Under the surname Jin, I heard that Boss Pan has some abilities and relationships in Yueben, so I want to ask you to help me, and I will definitely not be disadvantaged in terms of remuneration." ”

Pan Rong smiled and said: "Jin Gongzi, you are now outside, everyone is a wandering Chinese clan, if you have anything, then please do not hesitate to instruct, as long as it can be done, I will definitely handle it for you!" ”

Hu Chuyuan nodded silently, invited Pan Rong to sit down first, and asked Hu Rong to pour the top dragon well brought from Hangzhou for them, named "Shifeng Lotus Heart", because the production was scarce, most of them were directly purchased by the Hangzhou prefect and paid tribute to the imperial court.

As soon as he smelled the fragrance and looked at the pale cyan tea soup, Pan Rong couldn't help but praise: "Excellent tea, good tea!" ”

Hu Chuyuan said with a smile: "I won't tell you, I am from Zhejiang, and I have relatives at home who run the royal tea garden, and these best dragon wells are called Shifeng Lotus Heart, which has always been to pay tribute to the emperor, and we only leave a few taels in private to entertain distinguished guests!" ”

"Ahh Pan Rong was overjoyed, and continued to taste the incense: "Sure enough, it is worthy of being a treasure of the Imperial Tribute, then I won't hide it from you, Pan is really the first time in his life to drink such a good Longjing tea." ”

Hu Chuyuan laughed and said, "Please!" ”

The two of them each took a sip of the teacup, and it was indeed an endless aftertaste, and the fragrance poured into their hearts.

Pan Rong couldn't help but praise again: "It's really a top-notch Longjing, Jin Gongzi, I am touching your light, and I have also become the emperor of our Great Qing Kingdom!" ”

Hu Chuyuan smiled politely: "Since Pan Ye is so loving, I still have a lot of here, so I will give Pan Ye six taels first, I hope Pan Ye will not be too little." ”

"Ah, such a top-level Longjing, a penny is worth a tael of gold, it's too precious, I can't take anything I can't take, I can have a drink here with Jin Gongzi, even if I haven't lived in vain!" Pan Rong hurriedly refused, and said: "Jin Gongzi, don't kill me, you really can't stand it!" ”

Hu Chuyuan remained silent and said, "Master Pan, you should be regarded as a reward from the imperial court!" ”

"Oh......?" Pan Rong suddenly woke up, guessing that Hu Chuyuan should be an official of the Qing court, even if he was not an official, it was the son of a high-ranking official, and he said that there must be something important to do this time.

Feeling that the other party was an official, Pan Rong immediately changed his title and said to Hu Chuyuan: "Jin Gongzi, then Xiaomin thanked you, but I don't know what Jin Gongzi wants Xiaomin to do?" ”

Hu Chuyuan said: "I was entrusted by someone to secretly check the industrial and silk industry in Yuben, and I want you to arrange a trip for me, but don't expose it." ”

Pan Rong immediately agreed, and said, "Okay, Xiaomin will definitely handle it very properly."

Hu Chuyuan nodded, took out a 1,000 yuan bill of exchange from the Bank of France, pushed it from the table to Pan Rong, and said, "This is the miscellaneous expenses required for this trip, and I will thank you again after the matter is done." ”

"This ...... That's really thanks to Jin Gongzi! Pan Rong accepted the bill of exchange, secretly surprised in his heart, and felt more and more that Hu Chuyuan's origin was by no means simple.

1,000 yen, that's not a small amount.

He opened three Fuzhou guild halls in Yueben, and the income from each quarter was no more than that.

Hu Chuyuan said: "If you know a little about the industry and silk industry in Yueben, you might as well tell me about the general situation first!" ”

"Okay!" Pan Rong's expression became more and more serious, and said: "After all, Xiaomin has lived in Yueben for more than ten years, and Xiaomin knows some of these things. Since the Meiji Restoration, the mulberry silk has developed rapidly in recent years, and in previous years, the silk from Fujian was still a bestseller, but now it is not sellable. In another ten years, I am afraid that Huzhou Nanxun silk in the south of the Yangtze River will not be sold. He said that he is now engaged in foreign factories, and machine mines, shipyards, and textile factories have emerged in an endless stream, but the real money is still mining. ”

After a pause, he said to Hu Chuyuan again: "Jin Gongzi, if you really want to see the raw silk industry of Yuben, you have to go to Kyoto, and if you want to see the shipyard and textile factory of Yuben, then you have to go to Tokyo and Yokosuka." You are too conspicuous in this dress, we will change into a suit tomorrow, you don't have to talk, I will take care of you all the way, I will take you to Kyoto for a private visit. ”

"Good!"

Hu Chuyuan agreed.