"You say, how can this Japanese look for some Englishman in a good manner? It stands to reason that the two of them are competitors now, and they have been doing it for a long time, but now you and I are a nong, a bit of what you mean, what kind of rat...... What a mother......"

After receiving the secret letter, Chen Zhaoqiang was puzzled after reading it, and threw the problem back to Cheng Nuo.

"At first, it was just a joke, such as the world is crazy, the mouse is a bridesmaid for a cat or something, it can't be taken seriously." Although it was a joke, Cheng Nuo did not laugh at this time, but had a rare seriousness on his face:

"For us, the combination of these two is a nest of snakes and rats, which is never a good thing."

Chen Zhaoqiang looked nervous: "There is a saying in the book of war: 'If you have less, you can escape, if you don't, you can avoid it, so the small enemy is strong, and the big enemy is captured'."

Neither Japan nor Britain can deal with it, and it was not easy to concentrate on one before, but now that the two have to be combined, I am afraid that things will be even more tricky! ”

Cheng Nuo picked up the note and looked at it again, and said cautiously: "But then again, we don't know anything about the messenger, so the information on it cannot be determined for the time being, and the authenticity of it is up to debate. ”

Chen Zhaoqiang pinched his chin, thought for a moment and said: "Although we don't understand the true intention of giving away for the time being, being able to reveal information will do more good than bad for us, and as for the authenticity of it, it is actually easy to judge."

For example, inside our factory, we say that it is big and big, and it is small and small. ”

Cheng Nuo instantly understood: "You mean, we can start from the inside and investigate through Morgan?" ”

Chen Zhaoqiang patted Cheng Nuo's shoulder, and the corners of his mouth rose: "As the nominal director of Jiangnan Shipyard, at least I can't do something that damages the morale of internal employees, regardless of whether he is a Chinese or a foreigner." But ......"

Speaking of this, Chen Zhaoqiang himself couldn't help laughing: "But if someone else comes over to do these things, I can't control it." ”

Cheng Nuo smiled but didn't say anything, everything was in laughter.

……

On the other side, the two brothers Hidero Iwasaki went to visit Morgan himself.

While waiting for Morgan in the reception room, there are still some differences between the two about the future development of the shipping industry, even if Japan is getting smoother and smoother, and the future seems to be getting brighter.

Although Japan was nominally a belligerent on the side of the Allies in World War I, it did nothing other than send a small fleet throughout the war, so it can be said that Japan did not actually participate in the war.

If you have to pick out the words, then the few female nurses who were sent to the battlefield of World War I do not fail to show the degree of "intentions" of Japan.

Because of this, Japan not only did not suffer losses and was held back by the war, but on the contrary, it made a lot of war profits during the war and made a lot of money along with the United States.

During the five years of the war, Japanese shipowners collected more than 2.2 billion yuan in freight and charter fees alone.

Lured by the high profits of wartime shipping, Japan's shipping industry also developed further during the war, and the number of steamships under its control soared from more than 3,000 in 1913 and 1.5 million tons to more than 4,000 and 2.3 million tons by the end of 1918.

The overall ranking has jumped from the sixth place in the world to the third largest maritime country.

In other words, at a time when capital is abundant and the shipping industry is developing rapidly, Japan has taken advantage of the fact that Western countries have no time to look eastward and take advantage of its proximity to China to launch a new expansion in the ocean shipping industry.

"Japan's competition with other countries in the world's ocean-going shipping is actually directly related to the struggle for control of China's ocean-going shipping in most cases, and we cannot easily give up the land of China."

After thinking about it, Hidero Iwasaki said in a deep voice: "Not only for the empire, but also for us Mitsubishi." ”

Iwasaki Hiroshi's tone was a little frivolous: "The people of China are the people of China, don't look at the fact that China has undertaken orders from the United States for 10,000-ton giant ships, almost no worse than us, in fact, a huge piece of land, and a company from Jiangnan Shipyard can have this strength, so there is no need to be afraid." ”

Iwasaki Hidero is still a little cautious: "There is an old Chinese saying, called 'the lion fights the rabbit, and also uses all his strength', although our great Japanese empire has long been rid of the identity of an agricultural country and ranked among the world's industrial powers, but the land of China has always been able to give birth to miracles, and we have to guard against it!" ”

Hiroshi Iwasaki seemed to have heard something extremely funny, and laughed loudly: "So what? The ocean shipping market in China is basically the final say of our Great Japanese Empire, except for our two monopoly enterprises of Nippon Yusen Co., Ltd. and Osaka Merchant Marine Co., Ltd., who dares to say no? ”

"Even if China's side is not enough to confront us, there are other countries ......" Iwasaki Hidero was about to retort when he was interrupted by his younger brother Hiroshi Iwasaki.

This time, he spoke louder than just now, not only to let his "good brother" Hidero Iwasaki hear, but also to the door, wanting those British to hear: "Whether it's Pacific Cruise Company in the United States, or Big Shipping P&O Cruise Line in the United Kingdom."

Which one wasn't beaten by us and had to flee in the end? Amaterasu will focus on his people, victory is on our side after all, what is out of Asia and into Europe, our Great Japanese Empire has its own faction! Come to cooperate, is to look up to them British! ”

When things are calculated, it is no wonder that Hiroshi Iwasaki is so arrogant, and it can only be attributed to the fact that the Mitsubishi Group is too powerful.

At that time, their first rival, the American Pacific Mail Shipping Company, relied on its abundant capital and continued to reduce freight rates in an attempt to defeat each other.

Mitsubishi helmsman Yataro Iwasaki did not hesitate to sacrifice his blood and money in order to compete for the right to navigation, and he also implemented price reduction measures, even if the Mitsubishi Kisen Company lost about 20,000 yen per month, he still insisted on it.

After several fierce battles, the American Pacific Shipping Company felt very tricky, and after the Japanese government intervened, it had no choice but to sell the wharf, equipment and corresponding shipping business, and no longer engaged in the shipping business of the ports on the Shanghai route for 30 years.

Later, Britain felt that the opportunity had come, and forced P&O Cruises to open a new Yokohama-Shanghai route to confront Mitsubishi Steamship Company, which once again resolutely reduced freight rates and launched fierce competition with it.

As Iwasaki Yataro took the lead in cutting salaries by half, the company's cadres cut their salaries by one-third, and laid off 16 employees in order to save expenses, but Mitsubishi Kisen Company won the final victory in the competition and had to announce its retreat.

Later, the Japanese government felt that the Mitsubishi Group was too powerful and monopolized two-thirds of Japan's shipping market, so it simply supported the Osaka Merchant Marine Company to contain Mitsubishi, but unfortunately before this side could react, half of the shares were acquired by Mitsubishi.

As a last resort, he had to come forward again and merge the Osaka Merchant Marine Company with Mitsubishi to form the now larger Nippon Yusen Shipping Co., Ltd., which has a promising future.

From a technical point of view, Hidero Iwasaki is still not so optimistic: "Hiroshi, the elders have repeatedly emphasized to us that leaving Asia and joining Europe not only gives our juniors a sense of urgency, but also wants us to have a global vision, and it is too narrow to be confined to a corner!" ”

The smile on Hiroshi Iwasaki's face froze, and then he smiled and said, "My good brother, do you know what is the most similar point between you and those elders in the family?" ”

After examining himself, Iwasaki hesitated, "The pursuit of technology? ”

Hiroshi Iwasaki snorted coldly: "No, no, no, it's the kind of damn preaching, to be precise, I always like to impose my own views on others, but don't forget, the times are developing, you are just the old tense after all, we are the future." ”

"You!" Hearing this, Hidero Iwasaki's face immediately turned pale, and he wanted to attack on the spot, but when he looked around, he realized that he was still a guest at someone else's house, and there was discord between the brothers, so that outsiders could see that it was easy to make a fuss about it, which was not conducive to the later plans.

clenched his fists, his knuckles were pinched and creaked, and finally he had to let go helplessly: "Young man, your road is still very long, but it is not necessarily easy to walk." ”

Hiroshi Iwasaki said nonchalantly: "Then let's walk and see......"

As the two brothers continued to argue about the way forward, Morgan finally belated.

Although the suit and leather shoes are decent, it is too much to play with a shy belly, and the face is full of oil, which really makes people laugh.

Originally, he had asked Morgan for instructions, but now seeing this dress, Iwasaki Hiroshi couldn't help but hum.

Or Hidero Iwasaki's eyes were quick and he spoke out in time: "Your Excellency is Mr. Morgan, right?" It's a pleasure to meet you, Hidero Iwasaki, the main person in charge of the Mitsubishi Group's office in China, and behind him is my brother, and it's a pleasure to meet you. ”

As he spoke, he deliberately put his elbow on his younger brother Hiroshi Iwasaki, for fear that he would continue to play petty.

After all, it was for the sake of the family's interests, and Iwasaki Hiroshi still obediently lowered his head, which was regarded as a face-to-face.

However, the important point that the brothers ignored was that they despised the defeat of their subordinates in the shipping market, and in fact they were claiming to be the hegemon of the seas, and they did not look at these two men at all.

"Oh, what's the matter with me?"

Morgan's eyelids rolled down, the disdain on his face was not hidden, and after glancing at the other party's outstretched hand, he took the initiative to ignore it, and sat on the chair with his butt cocked, Erlang's legs were cocked high.

Looking at the swaying Erlang legs, Rao is relatively good-tempered Iwasaki Hidero, and his eyes were also angry at this time.

"Mr. Morgan, we ......"

Iwasaki Hiroshi couldn't care so much, so he directly pulled his brother aside, interrupted the conversation, and stood up and said: "Mr. Morgan, they all say that you British people pay the most attention to gentlemanly etiquette, but now it seems that it is not what is rumored to be, but like a hooligan in clothes." ”

"Really? A rascal in a cloth? I love the title, thank you very much. Morgan's legs seemed to be higher: "As for the gentlemanly manners you mentioned, we only pay attention to people of equal status. ”

There is a sentence in "Dream of Red Mansions" called "Knowing small courtesies without great righteousness, being restrained but not virtuous, emphasizing small modest things but not great virtues, emphasizing modesty and ignoring shame, fearing power but not virtue, the strong will rob the robbers, and the weak will be humble." Japan is the truest portrayal of it, and Hiroshi Iwasaki is naturally immune to its theorem.

"You ......"

Seeing that Hiroshi Iwasaki was going to do it directly, his brother Hidero Iwasaki couldn't stand it anymore and hurriedly stood up.

Take the initiative to sit diagonally across from Morgan, with his legs folded, showing humility.

"Mr. Morgan, I'm sorry my brother was rude, but we're here today to join forces with you."

"A strong combination? The words are interesting, and the content is also interesting. Morgan seemed to be interested, and Erlang's legs, which were shaking, also stopped: "Let's go down and take a look." ”

Iwasaki Hidero felt that there was a play, so he moved a small step in the direction of Morgan and said politely: "The cooperation is mainly not only one aspect, first of all, shipbuilding, our great Japanese empire, especially our Mitsubishi, not only has exquisite craftsmanship, but also has achieved great results in steel."

I heard that Mr. Morgan is the chief engineer of Jiangnan Shipyard, China's largest shipbuilding organization, and is worried about the supply of raw materials, I think we at Mitsubishi can solve this problem for you, so that you can avoid the worry of raw materials, and we can also get the market. ”

Morgan was noncommittal on the proposal: "Sounds good? ”

As soon as he saw the play, Hidero Iwasaki immediately borrowed the pole to climb up: "Secondly, we can jointly develop new routes, which can not only unite to strangle the American power, but also strangle China in the cradle and mutualize interests."

Then we can continue to move our eyes from Shanghai to the depths of China, with the help of the Yangtze River, all the way inward, and then half of the Chinese market is included in the arms of you and me, the prospects are very broad.

Finally we can ...... in terms of military cruises"

After saying this, Iwasaki Hidero only felt that his mouth was dry, and he pursed his lips and looked at Morgan, wanting to get a positive answer from the other party.

It's a pity that the harvest is very limited, just to let Morgan Erlang's leg down, and when he felt that there was a breakthrough, he suddenly found that the other party was just tired of his legs, so he changed his leg and continued to cross.

In a trance, Hidero Iwasaki was dazzled by the other party's shiny leather shoes, and he only felt that the world was spinning.

Iwasaki Hiroshi glanced at his brother with a gloating smile on his face, but after meeting Morgan's playful eyes, he was immediately furious and directly made his words clear:

"Yes, the sea power of your British seems to have a little meaning, but that's just history, and now we are the first in the Great Japanese Empire in terms of import and export tonnage to China!"

Morgan shrugged his shoulders and said indifferently: "This is only temporary, we expected that the war would end soon, and victory would belong to the British Empire, and the same is true of the land here." ”

As the main belligerent in World War I, in order to meet the needs of the war, Britain adopted control measures in the direction of shipping, and many ships in China were transferred to Hong Kong, India, the Philippines, Australia and other places.

During the wartime, eight British ocean-going steamship companies were suspended or closed down, and several world-famous large companies were forced to reduce their routes or be unable to maintain normal sailing.

But the reality is quite the opposite, and Britain is taking advantage of the fact that it is further accumulating strength, which Morgan knows very well:

"Young man, arrogance must also have arrogant capital, in my opinion, your so-called capital is worthless in front of us!"

Hidero Iwasaki, who recovered, calmed down a lot and couldn't help but say: "The facts have been laid out, if you forcibly abandon Lizi for the sake of face, it will only seem that the old man is too ignorant and conservative, and he will not be too far from real death." ”

Morgan shook his head, and finally reluctantly took Erlang's leg off, straightened his suit and said: "To reveal a point, it seems that you have taken over all the rights and interests of Germany in China, but in fact, we have also gained a lot, and we have taken away several routes in China's ocean shipping. ”

The two Iwasaki brothers were waiting for Morgan to speak, but it was a pity that the old guy actually picked up the coffee on the table again and tasted it by himself, obviously proficient in the skill of saying half hiding and half hiding.

But in a sense, Morgan's ability to say such things also proves that he has the intention to cooperate.

After all, the pressure brought to them by Cheng Nuo was too great, although they tried their best not to be disturbed by Cheng Nuo's information, but the shipyard was so big, and there were some things that they couldn't know if they didn't want to know.

In particular, Cheng Nuo has the support of mathematics lofting, going to Ouhua Gong, and professional night schools, and the shipbuilding progress is rapid, and even the steel plate that is lagging behind is said to have been in contact with Qiuxin Iron and Steel Plant.

And everything is still slow on his side, and the British employees under him all kinds of grinders don't take it seriously at all.

Don't look at Erlang's legs just now, it's just to add weight to the negotiation, in fact, he is also very nervous in his heart, for fear that he will be too arrogant and cause this "fish" to be released.

Considering that both parties are actually competitors of each other, Morgan's mouth is very dead, and he only agreed to use Mitsubishi's steel plate, but he must try part of it first, and when the effect meets the requirements, he will officially sign the order.

After sending the two Iwasaki brothers away, Morgan's figure immediately wilted, and when he took off his coat, he found that his entire back was covered in sweat.

"This Japanese is a wolf in clothes."

And this subordinate took off his clothes and inquired: "I see that they have also agreed to our later conditions, and cooperation should not be a problem." ”

Morgan slumped on the couch: "It's just an expedient measure, and when we have our hands freed up, that's our real confidence, oh, by the way, you're not British?" ”

The subordinate lowered his head and responded: "Although I am not British, I am actually an authentic Nanyang, which is also under the jurisdiction of the British Empire, and what I have received since I was a child is British culture." ”

Morgan closed his eyes and said inadvertently: "Although you speak English, it seems that the accent is a bit like Beijing, is it like this here in Nanyang......"

The subordinates' foreheads were immediately covered with dense sweat, and their heads were lowered.

(End of chapter)