Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

Zhang Chunping laughed and said, "Sir, you underestimate me. As long as I can fully display my abilities, I don't care about this official position. Even if it means being your housekeeper, what's the problem?"

Li Junfeng was horrified. This cousin was acting up again. Everything else was inferior except for studying. He was actually willing to be the butler for the governor...

Liu Ye smiled and said, "Okay, I'm still in the process of planning this matter. The most important thing for you now is to help me formulate a realistic plan. I can only come up with a general plan, but implementing it is not my forte. I'll leave all of this to you talented people."

While they were talking, a personal guard walked in and said urgently, "Your Excellency, there are some foreigners outside the door, claiming to be the American Minister, John Warren, and they want to see you!"

Liu Ye was in high spirits and laughed loudly, "Alright, Boshan, Dingguo, come with me to welcome Hua Ruohan who has come from afar. He is our great god of wealth. Many things cannot be done without him!"

After Liu Ye said this, he took Li Junfeng and Zhang Chunping out of the room and came to the outside of the governor's office.

Seeing Liu Ye, Hua Ruohan imitated Chinese etiquette, clasped his fists and laughed, "Haha, Liu Ye, no, Your Excellency, congratulations, congratulations! In just two years, you've gone from a soldier to a high-ranking official. This speed of advancement is truly incredible. It's cause for celebration!"

Liu Ye smiled and said, "Thank you, thank you, Mr. Hua Ruohan, let's go into the government office and talk."

Hua Ruohan followed Liu Ye into the governor's office. After they sat down, servants served them tea.

Hua Ruohan took a deep breath of the aroma of Biluochun and sighed, "Good tea, good tea, Biluochun, a top-notch product!"

Liu Ye smiled and said, "Since Mr. Hua Ruohan likes it, I will give him some. However, your knowledge of Chinese studies is becoming more and more advanced."

Hua Ruohan smiled and said, "I have invited two gentlemen to teach me Chinese knowledge. I know that the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, wine, and painting are the essence of Chinese culture, and I have been studying hard. Liu Ye, we are old friends, so there is no need for so much nonsense. This time, you summoned me from the capital to Jinan with a letter. I believe it must be something important, right?"

Liu Ye smiled and said, "Yes, Mr. Hua Ruohan is still so direct. I do have something to discuss with you."

Hua Ruohan raised his eyebrows and asked, "Oh? What's the matter?"

Liu Ye replied, "The first thing is, how are the coal mining and steelmaking equipment that I asked you to purchase for me in the United States being prepared?"

Hua Ruohan breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "This matter is very simple. The American cargo ship is currently docked at Tianjin Port. The coal mining and steelmaking equipment are all the most advanced equipment in America. I know you are an expert and have dabbled in various fields. If the equipment shipped to you is not to your liking, you will destroy my business!"

Liu Ye nodded and said with a smile, "That's good. In that case, I'll trouble you to take charge of the handover and have all the equipment shipped to Yantai. From Yantai, we'll ship it to the mainland. In three to two months, I'll have this coal mine and steel plant built."

Hua Ruohan's eyes lit up and he said with a smile, "My Lord Liu, may I ask if these two factories and mines are government-run or..."

Liu Ye shook his head and replied, "I plan to invest in these two factories and mines myself. They have nothing to do with the imperial court. This is an industry I want to pass on to my descendants..."

Hua Ruohan said happily, "Since that's the case, sir, why don't you allow me to participate? We can all share in the profits."

Liu Ye replied, "Mr. Hua Ruohan, it's not that I don't want to, but you foreigners are used to wanting complete control after acquiring a stake. This really puts me in a difficult position..."

Hua Ruohan said unhappily, "Sir Liu, when doing business with others, we naturally like to take advantage and control the factories and mines ourselves. But, how could I do that to you? I will only invest a portion of the capital in these two factories and mines, and I will not interfere in management matters. All I ask is that you give me dividends every year. How is that?"

Liu Ye naturally agreed, as he was short of money right now!

Liu Ye pretended to be silent and replied, "Since Mr. Hua Ruohan is interested, and we are old friends, I naturally cannot refuse you outright. I have completely entrusted the construction of these two factories and mines to Mr. Zhang Chunping. You can discuss it with him."

Hua Ruohan looked at the burly fellow in front of him in surprise. In his impression, Liu Ye's men were all fierce generals on the battlefield. They were certainly good at fighting, but they were far from good at doing business.

Zhang Chunping smiled and bowed, then said in English, "Mr. Hua Ruohan, I'm Zhang Chunping. We'll be interacting frequently in the future, so please give me your guidance!"

Hua Ruohan was shocked. He didn't expect that this person could speak fluent English. Liu Ye was so amazing that he had such a talent under his command!

Hua Ruohan forced a smile and replied, "Mr. Zhang, you're welcome. I wish our cooperation will go smoothly!"

Liu Ye continued, "Mr. Hua Ruohan, the equipment I purchased last time can only support the first phase of my coal mine and ironworks. Once the first phase is put into operation, I will immediately purchase a second batch of equipment from your country. The scale will be tripled compared to the current scale. In other words, I will need to invest another two million taels of silver. Are you sure you have that much money?"

Hua Ruohan was startled, nearly dropping the cup in his hand. He shouted, "Master Liu, you are kidding, right? You've invested three million taels of silver in this ironworks and coal mine. Even in the United States, this is considered a first-rate factory. Do you have such abundant funds? You have so many management talents and technical personnel? This is no joke!"

Liu Ye smiled and said, "What isn't done by humans? The two questions you asked are the second question I want to ask you. I need your strong support. Before we discuss the second question, you need to answer me first. Do you have so much money to invest in these two factories?"

What Liu Ye said was true. Hua Ruohan was the American minister to China, but that didn't mean he had enormous wealth. If it was tens of thousands of dollars or hundreds of thousands of dollars, he did have it. But if he invested three million taels of silver at once, Hua Ruohan couldn't get such a huge amount of money all at once. After all, his wealth also included other real estate. If it was just cash, it was only more than one hundred thousand dollars. The gap was huge!

Now it’s time to talk about the second thing, which is probably child’s play compared to the first one.”