The arrogance started from Chinatown

Chapter 788 I would be too merciful if I didn't dry him up

Fang Xun waited in the small living room for half an hour before he saw a tall, ferocious man walk in.

He had heard of Chen Zhengwei a long time ago, but today was the first time he met him.

"Fang Xun meets Mr. Chen!" Fang Xun stood up and bowed.

"Please sit down!" Chen Zhengwei looked at the other person. He looked less than 40 years old. Although he was wearing a gentleman's suit, it looked a bit out of place on him.

He carries a certain amount of authority, indicating that he holds an official position.

Although there are calluses on his palms, he is not a military general, nor an ordinary civil servant, nor a staff member or military advisor.

Chen Zhengwei knew Fang Xun's background clearly at a glance.

Fang Xun was actually the governor of Fujian, stationed in and in charge of an area.

This time Fang Yao sent someone to find Chen Zhengwei because the matter was of great importance and he was not confident in just relying on his ordinary confidants.

Fang Xun took advantage of the opportunity of transfer and asked for leave in the name of returning home to visit relatives.

"Who is Fang Yao to you?" Chen Zhengwei asked with interest.

"It's my brother!" Fang Xun said bluntly.

Chen Zhengwei nodded, they were indeed brothers.

"Tell me, what are you here to buy this time? A gun? Are you buying it for the Qing court or for yourself?" Chen Zhengwei went straight to the point.

Fang Xun took a deep breath and asked tentatively: "How about buying it for the court? How about buying it for yourself?"

"If you buy it for the Qing court, you won't have to go back! The Qing officials come to me... and want to leave? Do you think I'm the city gate and you can come and go as you please?" Chen Zhengwei sneered.

"If he buys it for himself... I will let the American ambassador to the Qing Dynasty inform Cixi that Fang Yao sent his fellow countrymen to buy guns from me! What is he trying to do? Is he trying to rebel?"

Chen Zhengwei's two sentences blocked Fang Xun's response and he didn't know how to respond.

……

In fact, they had long known that coming to Chen Zhengwei to buy guns would put the handle in Chen Zhengwei's hands.

However, as long as he had the gun, Fang Yao was not worried about what the imperial court could do to him.

Last year, Chaozhou was in turmoil, and with firearms in hand, they conquered several counties.

The local Green Camp garrison suffered heavy losses and almost fled at the sight of the enemy, not daring to confront the Chaozhou bandits at all.

Fang Yao finally put down the unrest, but many Chaozhou bandits still fled to Fujian and caused a lot of trouble.

The situation in Fujian has not been pacified throughout this year.

Fang Yao also had a fight with them and suffered heavy casualties from the thirteen-shot Remington rifles in the hands of the Chaozhou thieves.

That's why he made up his mind.

What would the court do when it had soldiers and generals at its disposal and such firearms?

The court was determined not to hold him accountable.

If the court brings him to justice, it would be forcing him to rebel. When the southeast becomes corrupt, the court would have to dispatch troops to suppress it... Without tax revenue from the southeast, where would the court get the money to dispatch troops to suppress it?
Therefore, the court would not only not punish him, but would reward and encourage him instead.

……

Fang Xun was silent for a while before he said, "Will Mr. Chen do this? Everything in the world is about profit. What good will this do for Mr. Chen?"

"Mr. Chen and my brother are working together, which is also beneficial to Mr. Chen!"

"Hahaha, just a joke! The whole world knows that I have the best sense of humor and I love to joke! Look at your expression..." Chen Zhengwei laughed.

After laughing for a while, Chen Zhengwei stopped laughing: "Just kidding, I have a good impression of the other admiral. At least he is smarter than many people!"

"But you haven't told me yet, are you buying it for the court or for yourself?"

"Of course I'm buying it for myself!" Fang Xun said in a deep voice. He didn't dare to test it at this moment.

"How much to buy?"

"Ten thousand Remington 1880, thirteen-shot rifles! And five million rounds of ammunition!"

"Ten thousand Remingtons are not enough to start a rebellion!" Chen Zhengwei said with a click of the tongue: "Admiral Fang wants to gain power by himself!"

"But it doesn't matter! I don't care whether Admiral Fang wants to rebel or wants to rule his own country!" Chen Zhengwei waved his hand.

"But if this gun falls into the hands of the Qing court... I will be very unhappy. Do you know what will happen if I am unhappy?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Chen!" Fang Xun cupped his hands. Just as rumored, Chen Zhengwei had a very bad relationship with the Qing court.

Although the imperial court compensated Chen Zhengwei with 200 million taels of silver and a shipload of silk, Chen Zhengwei had no intention of letting go of the previous grievance.

"Do you want to take this thing away by yourselves, or should I send it to you?"

"Please ask Mr. Chen to send it to Guangzhou."

"Ten thousand guns, each gun is charged at 40 dollars! Bullets are 10 cents each, the total is 90 dollars, taels of silver!" Chen Zhengwei curled his lips after he finished the calculation.

"90 dollars, I wouldn't even pick it up if I saw it on the street."

At first glance, 500 guns and million rounds of bullets seem like a lot.

There wasn't much money actually.

"Mr. Chen has a large family and is rich enough to rival a country, so he naturally doesn't care about this money. But for others, it is not a small number!" Fang Xun bowed. This price was within his expectations, and seeing Chen Zhengwei's attitude, he did not bargain anymore.

After finishing the business, Chen Zhengwei asked with great interest: "What did you see and hear in the United States during this trip?"

"It is much more advanced and civilized! There is very little defecation and urination on the streets! It shows that the people here are indeed more educated than those in the Qing Dynasty!"

When Fang Xun said this, he saw a hint of sarcasm on Chen Zhengwei's face. Civilization?

"And the status of the Chinese is also very high. I heard that this is all thanks to Mr. Chen! If it weren't for Mr. Chen, the Chinese in the United States would be no different from those in other places and would suffer humiliation."

"In addition, there are so many new things here that I have never seen or heard of before! This aspect is far superior to the Qing Dynasty!"

"Of course, this is my territory!" Chen Zhengwei became interested when talking about this. "The development of American technology depends on me!"

"Did you see the tram in Los Angeles? A German company actually stole my technology! But do they think my technology is so easy to steal?"

The two sides chatted for a while, and Chen Zhengwei said, "If you are not in a hurry to leave, just stay in Los Angeles for a few more days, or go to other places in the United States. I'll have someone take you around! After all, it's not easy to come here, and you don't know when the next time will be."

"Then you can see how much this place has changed over the years!"

"Thank you, Mr. Chen. I had the same idea!" Fang Xun said immediately. He also wanted to take this opportunity to travel around the United States.

"Xiwen!" Chen Zhengwei turned his head and said, "Arrange someone to take them around the United States. All the expenses for these days will be on me!"

Chen Zhengwei had a good attitude towards Fang Xun. He had been working tirelessly to sell guns to the southern part of the Qing Dynasty.

As long as you buy a gun, you are my friend!
After Li Xiwen sent Fang Xun away, he returned with a telegram in his hand: "Brother, do you know a man named Kang Youwei?"

"Kang Youwei? I don't know him!" Chen Zhengwei's mind turned. Why did he mention this person? It seemed like he was mentioned in the textbooks when he was a child... the Six Gentlemen of the Wuxu Reform?

Chen Zhengwei couldn't remember clearly, but he should be related to the Six Gentlemen of the Wuxu Reform... and he was a celebrity.

"He has a photo of himself and his senior brother in his hand!" Li Xiwen said. "He said in Nanyang... that his senior brother wants to build a new China in America... many Chinese businessmen in Nanyang have taken the money..."

Chen Zhengwei looked confused after hearing this.

"Xiwen, what the hell did you just say?"

Li Xiwen said it again.

"This matter reached Lin Fuyuan's ears. Lin Fuyuan felt that there was something wrong, so he sent a telegram to inquire."

Based on Lin Fuyuan's understanding of Chen Zhengwei, let's not talk about whether Chen Zhengwei would establish a new China. Even if he really wanted to do so, it would be impossible for him to send people to Southeast Asia to raise funds.

Going to Southeast Asia to rob, kill all the Chinese businessmen, and swallow up their industries, this is more in line with Chen Zhengwei's style.

Chen Zhengwei was stunned for a long time, took a few puffs of his cigar, and was so angry that he laughed.

He's been in the business for so long, what kind of storms hasn't he seen?

I’ve never seen this before.

"Is he the only one in his family tree? How dare he be so bold?"

"I've been in this business for so long, and this is the first time I've encountered someone trying to scam me!"

"And there are group photos? Can photos be faked these days?"

"Catch him and send him to me! I want him alive!" Chen Zhengwei said directly.

He doesn't care whether they are the Six Gentlemen of the Wuxu Reform or not... If they dare to use his name to defraud others, he would be considered merciless if he doesn't kill them!

In the evening, when Chen Zhengwei was having dinner, Li Xiwen said, "Brother, I asked someone to find out. It is true that photos can be faked. Just glue the negatives together and then develop them!"

"What's the fake?" Lin Changning asked curiously.

"If you didn't hear it today, I was so angry that I laughed. Someone made a fake photo of me and went to Southeast Asia to cheat people!" Chen Zhengwei said while eating.

"Are you so brave?" Lin Changning raised his eyebrows, then laughed.

This is quite rare.

Wan Yun, who was pregnant, was a little surprised: "Master Wei, this guy is so brave!"

"Yeah, so I plan to hang it at the port to dry! Let others see it!" Chen Zhengwei said casually.

The biggest significance of this incident to him was that a celebrity who once appeared in textbooks was using his name to cheat people. This feeling was very interesting and fun.

After all, there isn’t much fun to do in Los Angeles right now.

……

At the same time, a Chinese businessman’s house in the Philippines.

"Mr. Kang, thank you for your help!" a Chinese businessman said respectfully.

"We are all Chinese, so naturally we should work together. Just look at the situation of Chinese Americans and you will know that only when overseas Chinese stick together can they blaze a new trail!" Kang Youwei said with a smile.

"Now the Qing dynasty is about to collapse, while the other side is thriving. The phoenix chooses the best tree to roost in. This is not a good tree... You all know it clearly!"

A moment later, Kang Youwei left the house and returned to the hotel in a carriage, gently tapping an envelope in his hand with a smile on his face.

These Southeast Asian Chinese are actually quite rich.

Kang Youwei was also eloquent. Although his political ideas seemed naive and unrealistic to Yung Wing, Yung Chia-cai and others, they still fooled many people in Southeast Asia.

Plus the photo with Chen Zhengwei... Although those Nanyang Chinese businessmen had never seen Chen Zhengwei, once they looked at the photo and compared it with the rumored Chen Zhengwei's appearance, they could match him up.

In this way, those Chinese businessmen will be even less suspicious.

Kang Youwei went to Indonesia first, and many Chinese businessmen donated generously.

Then he came to the Philippines.

A total of 600,000 to 700,000 British pound were earned.

Kang Youwei calculated that it was about time, so he planned to stay in the Philippines for another week before returning to the Qing Dynasty.

With this money, he took out a few thousand to buy a student position in the court, and used the rest to buy an official position. If he schemed a little more, this money would be enough for him to at least reach the fifth rank.

(End of this chapter)