1850 American Gold Tycoon.

"It's a cold day, just ask the servant to pick me up. Why bother to go there yourself?"

Liang Shaoqiong was very happy to see that Liang Yao came to pick him up in person.

"How can you say that you are also a member of the second rank now, I dare not neglect to let the servant come to pick you up." Liang Yao joked.

Liang Yao was very happy from the bottom of his heart that someone in the Liang family could climb the mountain and take the position of the second-rank official.

My family has someone at the top of the Qing court, so it will be much more convenient to work with the Qing Dynasty in the future.

"They're all from my own family, why bother seeing outsiders, who is this?" Liang Shaoqiong was very happy, and he pointed to Vanderbilt beside Liang Yao and asked.

Liang Shaoqiong had never met Vanderbilt, so the two did not know each other.

"This is my father-in-law, Mr. Vanderbilt." Liang Yao introduced.

"It turned out to be the in-law from the north." Liang Shaoqiong immediately greeted Vanderbilt in proficient English, and ordered the servants at the side to fetch a calligraphy.

"Mr. Fan, this is a book of blessings. The emperor of the Qing Dynasty bestowed on me the word "Fu".

In the Qing Dynasty, at the end of each year, there was a code of "Fu" written in writing, which first began in the sixth year of Kangxi.By the time of Yongzheng, at the end of each year, meritorious governors, even towns, and chief envoys were often rewarded with blessings.Also known as the imperial blessing.

During the period of Emperor Kangyong and Emperor Kangxi, it was used to reward meritorious officials.

By the time of Qianlong, who was a fan of seal stamping, the blessings of books from the imperial court began to be distributed indiscriminately, and the scope was expanded to include princes, county kings, military ministers, and Nanshufang.It may be that Qianlong gave these to his courtiers simply because he liked stamping.

Liang Yao glanced at the calligraphy that Liang Shaoqiong gave to Vanderbilt, and saw a big blessing in the middle, with a red seal on top of the blessing, and a row of small characters on the left: Bestowed on Liang Shaoqiong, the right servant of the second-rank military department.On the right is the date of blessing.

It has to be said that the calligraphy skills of the emperors in the Qing Dynasty were all good, and this calligraphy is still very valuable for collection.

Giving the calligraphy gifted by the emperor to others, it can also be seen that Liang Shaoqiong doesn't care about this pair of imperial calligraphy.If it were an ordinary courtier, the calligraphy bestowed by the emperor would like to frame it and hang it in the hall to show off, and it is impossible to give it to others.

"What's so funny about that?"

Vanderbilt said no, but his hand was honest and snatched the calligraphy treasure.

This is a rare thing. His old friends in the East often laugh at him for being rude and uncultured. With this thing, he can show off and brag in front of them when he returns to the East.

"Your Excellency's English is really good." After receiving the gift, Vanderbilt praised Liang Shaoqiong with a smile on his face.

"Some of my subordinates also speak English, so I have learned a little bit." Liang Shaoqiong said openly without being shy.

There are many hired foreign gunners in Guangdong Yong's artillery camp. Liang Shaoqiong has some business overseas, and it is inevitable that he has to deal with foreigners, so he also knows some English.

"I heard that my in-laws are wealthy businessmen in the United States. I'm a wealthy person. In the future, I will do some small business in the United States. I'm afraid I will have to trouble my in-laws to take care of me."

"Business matters are easy to talk about. Recently, I have some spare money to invest. If the Qing Dynasty has a way to invest and make a fortune, Your Excellency Minister will remember me." Vanderbilt said.

"Definitely, definitely." Liang Shaoqiong said with a smile.

"Who is this?" Liang Yao pointed to a man in his thirties beside Liang Shaoqiong, a somewhat thin but energetic man and asked.

This person is imposing, with a confident and calm gait, not like Liang Shaoqiong's entourage.

"Look at my memory, I'm taking care of my in-laws, brother Youdan, I'm sorry." Liang Shaoqiong hurriedly introduced to Liang Yao, "This is Mr. Shen, the prefect of Fuzhou Prefecture, and I am also in the court. many friends."

"The prefect of Fuzhou Prefecture?" Liang Yao felt something was wrong, "Isn't the prefect of Fuzhou Prefecture surnamed Qian?"

Liang Yao has set up immigration stations in the five open ports: Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Ningbo, and Shanghai, responsible for picking up immigrants going to the west coast.

Therefore, he has some impressions of the five local chief officials. According to Liang Yao's knowledge, the prefect of Fuzhou Prefecture is Qian Daxin.

"It's a long story. Qian Daxin is the former magistrate, and this virtuous brother of mine is the new magistrate." Liang Shaoqiong explained.

"I'm Shen Baozhen, I've met General Liang." Shen Baozhen reported himself.

"One mouthful and one general are strange, if brother Shen doesn't give up, you can call me a good brother." Liang Yao said.

It turned out to be Shen Baozhen. Shen Baozhen's sudden visit to California made Liang Yao feel a little surprised. Could it be that the Qing government wanted to promote foreign affairs and run shipping administration?Liang Yao thought to himself.

Liang Shaoqiong on the side heard Liang Yao's words, and always felt that something was wrong, and he quickly realized it.

He and Shen Baozhen were considered brothers. If Liang Yao and Shen Baozhen were also considered brothers, wouldn't he and Liang Yao be equals?

Looking at the hesitant and somewhat embarrassed Shen Baozhen, Liang Shaoqiong still said: "Youdan, it's okay, my nephew has always been informal."

"Mr. Liang can do this at such a young age, it is unmatched by others." Shen Baozhen said.

"The chariot and horses are ready, please go to the humble house for a talk." Liang Yao invited Liang Shaoqiong and Shen Baozhen to get on the chariot.

Vanderbilt was also very curious about Shen Baozhen's identity, but his Chinese was not difficult, and he couldn't help asking after he got in the car because he didn't hear the conversation between Liang Yao and Shen Baozhen clearly.

"What is this friend's official position in the Qing Dynasty?"

"It's similar to the mayor of Sacramento, but the mayor of the Qing Dynasty has much more power than the mayor of the United States." Liang Yao explained Vanderbilt's doubts.

For the sake of simplicity, Liang Yao's new residence in Sacramento is not very close to the train station.

After spending some time, the group finally arrived at the stone screen wall of the new residence.

Different from the screen wall made of bricks in the Qing Dynasty, the screen wall in Liang Yao's new residence is carved from a complete piece of marble.

The screen wall is in the shape of a straight line, and the top of the screen wall is carved with birds, animals and other patterns as decoration.

On the left and right sides of the screen wall, there are no fame pillars at the entrance of the traditional Chinese-style house. Instead, there are two flagpoles. The flagpole on the left hangs the state flag of California, the bear flag, and the flagpole on the right hangs the Stars and Stripes.

After entering the door, I saw a group of workers building a fountain.

Liang Yao said apologetically, "The humble house has not been completed yet, so I made you laugh."

Liang Yao's new manor in Sacramento is quite large, and Liang Yao doesn't want to be sloppy in the construction of the new manor, so the construction progress is not fast. Up to now, only the main building of the new manor has been completed and decorated.

"This place is very good. It's not far from the busy city, but it's also clean. Liang Xiandi will enjoy it." Shen Baozhen said enviously, looking at the invisible manor.

Such a large-scale manor was rare in the Qing Dynasty.

His uncle and father-in-law Lin Zexu once served as the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi and led the imperial envoys, but he could not own such a rich manor.

"Liang is a rough person. I have heard that Brother Shen came from a scholarly family and was a Jinshi in the 27th year of Daoguang (1847). Today, Brother Shen is honored to come to the humble house. I hope that Brother Shen will not hesitate to give me a calligraphy. Name." Liang Yao said.

Although Shen Baozhen's family was poor when he was young, his father was also a private school teacher, and his uncle's Lin family had always been a wealthy family, so it is not wrong to say that he came from a scholarly family.

"My virtuous brother is humble. With my virtuous brother's aptitude, if it weren't for the sudden changes in his family, he would have done something if he devoted himself to the imperial examination." Facing the banknotes handed over by Liang Yao, Shen Baozhen did not refuse. Swipe away.

"Good calligraphy! Great calligraphy!" Liang Yao exclaimed after taking over Shen Baozhen's wet calligraphy.

"Weixiuju, it's an elegant name."

Liang Yao's original owner knew a little calligraphy, but after arriving in America, due to the habit of his previous life, Liang Yao basically used a hard pen to write. The original owner's calligraphy level has long since been completely lost by him.

"The vegetation here is lush and the scenery is beautiful. Brother Yu also wrote these three words because of his feelings. I hope Brother Liang will not laugh at you." Shen Baozhen handed the pen back to the servant.

When he arrived, Liang Shaoqiong told Shen Baozhen that Mr. Liang was still in California and had not returned to Xiangshan yet.

Therefore, Shen Baozhen, who came to Liang Yao's residence, immediately visited Mr. Liang.

Liang Shaoqiong became an official by training in running a troupe. During the three years since he became an official, he was not favored by the mainstream officialdom. Liang Shaoqiong was able to make friends like Shen Baozhen. Mr. Liang was also very happy and chatted with Shen Baozhen until the meal.

After the meal, Liang Yao knew that the two of them must have something important to do when they came to California this time, so he invited them to his study.

"This is foreigners' tea, called coffee. I wonder if you two are interested in trying it?" Liang Yao asked.

"I drank this stuff with foreigners in Shanghai. It's not bitter. It's worse than medicine. I'm not used to it. Make me a pot of tea." Liang Shaoqiong refused.

"Shen hasn't tasted it yet, but I'm willing to give it a try." Shen Baozhen wanted to give it a try.

"Brother Shen traveled thousands of miles across the ocean and came to California, he must not have come to drink coffee." Liang Yao said after taking his seat.

"Now there are only the three of us in the study, if Brother Shen and Third Uncle have something to do, it's okay to say."

"Brother Liang Xian has sharp eyes." Seeing Liang Yao's straightforward attitude, Shen Baozhen didn't beat around the bush.

"At present, the imperial court is facing internal and external troubles. There are long-haired riots inside, and Western barbarians invaded the border outside. Since July, the ships of Yingyi and Fayi have repeatedly invaded our Daqing waters. Especially the Yingyi, the arrogance is very arrogant, fighting With strong boats and strong guns, they deceived me that the Qing Dynasty did not have large ships, and even sailed directly to Dagukou to spy on my Dagukou fort.”

"Oh!" Liang Yao exclaimed in surprise, "Dagukou is the gate of the capital. The British and barbarian soldiers are very sharp. They defeated Russia in the Near East at the beginning of the year and returned with a big victory. Now the morale of the British army is high. Once it lands at Dagukou, the road from Dagukou to the capital will be flat, there is no danger to defend, and the consequences will be disastrous."

It turned out that all the British ships sailed to the Bohai Sea. No wonder the Qing court was anxious.

"This is what the Holy Majesty is most worried about, so Prince Gong sent me to America to investigate. Firstly, he wanted to buy it to increase the firepower of the Dagukou Fort. Second, he asked me to visit the American shipyard for future construction. The shipping administration is making preparations," Shen Baozhen said.

After Russia, Britain, France, Austria, Prussia and other countries signed the Treaty of Paris on March 1856, 3, in Paris, France, the Crimean War ended with the victory of Britain and France.

Britain and France, who had freed up their hands, shifted their attention from the Near East to the Far East.

In the second half of 1856, Britain and France repeatedly picked quarrels and provoked troubles along the coast of the Qing Dynasty. They also used the grounds that the consuls and businessmen of the two countries were discriminated against in China, and the "legal" missionary activities of Christian missionaries of the two countries were restricted in China.

He coerced the Qing government to apologize and amend the treaty, and opened the two inland trade channels of the Yangtze River and the Pearl River, as well as the inland river ports along the coast, as treaty ports, and allowed the two countries to delineate concessions at the treaty ports so that the two countries could carry out trade in the inland areas of the Qing Dynasty.

As a result, the relationship between the Qing Dynasty and Britain and France became tense.

Citizens of Britain and France enjoy extraterritorial rights beyond national treatment in the Qing Dynasty, and the reasons why the consuls, businessmen, and missionaries of the two countries were discriminated against in the Qing Dynasty are pure nonsense.

It is their real appeal to request the revision of the treaty to open the inland waterway so that they can extend their tentacles to the interior of the Qing Dynasty.

Of course, Britain and France, the two victorious countries of the Crimean War, are not the only ones who don't stop.

Tsarist Russia, the defeated country, is also eager to try in the Far East at this time, and wants to gouge out a few big pieces of meat from the Qing Dynasty to make up for the losses that Tsarist Russia suffered in the Crimean War.

Both sides regard the Qing Dynasty as a piece of delicious fat, ready to take a bite.

It's just that Britain and France are concerned about their international image and domestic public opinion, and they will try their best to find some high-sounding excuses to show the necessity and "justice" of sending troops to the outside world.

As for the eating habits of Tsarist Russia, it was even uglier. They didn't even bother to find excuses, so they just robbed them openly.