plumnovel Chapter 16 Jardine Matheson & Co.
Chapter 16 Jardine Matheson & Co.
Seeing Lancelot Dinosaur's astonished and bewildered reaction, his trading company manager once again shook his head with a helpless wry smile:
"The emperor will not spend the effort to carefully distinguish the specific differences between this Briton and that Briton."
"In the Emperor's view, this group of people from Britain were always unruly. The Emperor forbade the British from smuggling opium, but the British insisted on continuing to smuggle opium."
"Allowing the British to trade with the Han Dynasty was, in the Emperor's eyes, a great favor. It was not right to allow barbarians who had not paid tribute to the Han Dynasty to trade with the Han Dynasty."
"It was not unexpected that the emperor decided to withdraw his favor and drive the British away because the British displeased him."
At this point, the manager of the trading company paused, looked at his foreign boss, and chuckled dryly:
I will not speculate on whether the opium smuggling was related to the owner.
"It's no use if the employer doesn't want to accept it now. Let's think about what to do next."
"The police have shut down the foreign firm, prohibiting it from operating and trading any further."
"Is the owner planning to find a solution, or will he simply transfer the property here to a local partner?"
"If the owner wants to continue doing business with the Han Dynasty, there are ways. He can trade at sea or even in Southeast Asia."
After listening to these ramblings, Dian Di had no choice but to pull his thoughts back and deal with the trouble at hand.
The manager I've employed for many years did indeed suggest a method.
He left the Han Dynasty at the emperor's request, nominally handing over his businesses in the Han Dynasty to the other party, but in reality still controlling the shares and trade routes behind the scenes.
You give up some of your own profits in exchange for the other party's cooperation in continuing to conduct trade.
He collected goods in the Han Dynasty, loaded them onto ships and sent them overseas or to Southeast Asia. He would then hand over the ships directly to himself and send people to Europe.
This may be the result the Han Dynasty court wanted; Han officials were unwilling to deal with Europeans like themselves.
However, before doing so, Dindi really needs to "think of a way" to see if there's any chance to change the situation:
"Would you please go to the government office again and consult with someone you know to see if there's any room for negotiation?"
The headquarters manager of Dindi readily agreed to this obvious request:
"I will do my best to find out the information, but the employer shouldn't have too high hopes."
"The police were extremely forceful when they came to the foreign firm, showing me no leniency whatsoever. There must have been a clear imperial decree."
"Most of the senior officials in the court are unwilling to persuade the emperor to retract his decree on behalf of their masters."
After finishing his sentence, the manager turned and left to seek information from his network of contacts.
He slumped into the chair and stared blankly for a while, slowly gathering his thoughts and considering all aspects of the situation.
Then he slowly got up, changed his clothes, took a carriage, and went out to Jardine's Company on another street.
William Jardine, the owner of Jardine & Co., was a partner in the Din Din opium smuggling operation.
Historically, Jardine Matheson & Co. was later renamed Jardine Matheson & Co., and was the most famous East-West trading company before and after the Opium War.
Jardine himself was also the most famous opium merchant of the time.
When Lin Zexu destroyed opium at Humen, he seized 21,000 chests of opium, of which more than 7,000 chests belonged to Jardine Matheson, accounting for one-third of the total.
Jardine had been using various means to lobby the British Parliament to take a tougher stance against the Qing Dynasty and force the Qing Dynasty to fully open its markets to Britain.
After suffering heavy losses in the burning of opium at Humen, Din Dy organized hundreds of British merchants to sign a petition, directly pushing Britain to formally launch the Opium War against the Qing Dynasty.
Jardine, who was most familiar with the internal situation of the Qing Dynasty, assisted the British army in formulating a complete war plan against the Qing Dynasty.
Jardine provided comprehensive information support to Britain for its actions against the Qing Dynasty by setting strategic objectives, providing strategic maps, preparing logistical support and warship supplies, and handling postwar political issues.
The Opium War was basically carried out according to Jardine's plan, and ultimately achieved most of Jardine's objectives.
Historically, the Qing Dynasty only opened Guangzhou as the main port for trade, and Jardine's Lookout and Din Dock mainly operated in the Guangzhou and Macau areas.
Now that the Great Han has opened up Shanghai at the mouth of the Yangtze River, it is closer to the Great Han's economic center, and the surrounding markets and sources of goods are much broader. Jardine and Dinosaurs have also placed their foreign firms' headquarters in Shanghai.
The Shanghai anti-drug patrol team seized 300 kilograms of opium, most of which came from Jardine Matheson.
After receiving the notification from the manager, Dian Di instinctively wanted to discuss with Jardine how to deal with this trouble.
When the junkyard carriage arrived at the block where the Jardine Matheson & Co. was located, it was stopped by patrolling militia at the intersection on the outskirts of the block:
"Drug enforcement officers are on duty! No one is allowed to approach!"
Hearing a noise outside, he quickly rolled down the car window and looked out, only to find militiamen carrying rifles everywhere on the street.
The Jardine Matheson headquarters estate in the distance has been surrounded by militia and police.
Startled, I instinctively wondered if Jardine Matheson's opium smuggling operation had been discovered.
Otherwise, why would there be hundreds or thousands of militiamen and police officers to surround and block them?
What should I do then? Will Jardine Matheson expose that I'm a partner?
In reality, no evidence of Jardine's smuggling has yet been found; it's just that Jardine himself is too famous in history.
Anyone who has learned the details of the Opium War will remember Jardine Matheson as a key figure.
Liu Yulong knew this person, of course, so he disregarded martial ethics.
Without even asking whether any evidence had been found, he directly ordered the Shanghai police and militia to arrest everyone at Jardine Matheson & Co.
While arresting people, search all of Jardine Matheson's and Jardine Matheson's properties. If you can find direct evidence of opium smuggling, that would be even better. Sentence them directly according to Liu Desheng's rules.
If Jardine Matheson has truly hidden it perfectly and there is absolutely no evidence to be found, then it should be sent to the capital for processing first.
There should be someone who can get him to confess.
He stood there stunned for a moment in the carriage, and in the distance he saw a group of police officers coming out of the Jardine Matheson & Co. building, escorting a group of people whose hands were tied behind their backs.
Jardine himself and his main associates were among them.
Not daring to linger, he told the driver to leave quickly and head to another foreign firm, Russell & Co.
Samuel Russell, the founder and controller of Russell & Co., was an American, and the firm also had investments and shares from Chinese merchants.
Dian Di thought that Jardine Matheson & Co. shouldn't be shut down, or at least that they could find a way to do so.
When they arrived at the Russell & Co. office, they found that the main entrance was also closed, with a seal and notice posted on the door, requiring them to leave the country before the end of the year.
However, unlike Jardine Matheson & Co., they were not surrounded and arrested; their situation was similar to that of their own Dent & Co.
He then instructed the driver to take a detour to the back of the trading company's headquarters. He checked the back gate of the manor behind the headquarters building and confirmed that it, like the back gate of his own trading company, was not blocked.
After all, the police ordered them to cease operations and leave the country within a specified period, so naturally they had to leave a door for the foreign firm's staff to enter and exit normally.
Dian Di quickly got out of the car and knocked on the door. The clerk inside peeked out, recognized the man as the boss's friend, and quickly invited Dian Di in.
Din met Russell in the backyard living room of Russell & Co., along with Russell's two young partners and managers, John Murray Forbes and Warren Delano.
Russell's cousin was the founder of the Skull and Bones Society, a famous American secret society.
John Maurice Forbes was one of the three railroad magnates in the United States. He served as chairman of the Republican National Committee, funded Abraham Lincoln's presidential campaign, and his eldest son was the first president of AT&T.
Warren Delano was Franklin Roosevelt's maternal grandfather.
Historically, these people mainly accumulated capital through trade with the East and the sale of opium. They are now slightly cleaner than in the past, and the proportion of profits from the opium trade is slightly lower, but this is only a difference in degree.
They are still involved in opium smuggling.
He stumbled in and saw three people with worried faces. He went up to them and asked loudly:
"The Emperor drove out the British, but you are all Armaicans, so why were you driven out as well?"
Twenty-one-year-old Forbes, looking conflicted and puzzled, said loudly:
"I told them that I am from America, Scotland, and that even my godfather was Chinese."
"But the police wouldn't listen to my explanation at all; they said we were all British."
"The emperor has grown tired of the British, so he wants us to leave this place."
Delano shrugged and remained silent, his face expressionless.
Bertrand Russell sighed and said:
"Actually, it was probably that the Han Chinese emperors and officials couldn't... or were unwilling to distinguish between Scots, English, Britons, and Armaicans, so they treated all English speakers the same..."
After confirming the current situation, he suddenly realized that he wasn't there to complain, and immediately reminded and asked:
"Jardine & Chauffeur has been shut down and Jardine himself has been arrested. Are we also in danger?"
"Forbes, you should go see your godfather as soon as possible and ask for his support."
Russell jumped up when he heard about the situation in Jardine Matheson:
"Why was Jardine Matheson arrested?"
Russell exclaimed in surprise, then realized what was happening and paced back and forth in the room, saying:
"The reason is no longer important. Anyway, we can't stay here any longer. Let's leave the Han Kingdom first."
"Let's head to the Straits Settlements... and check things out in Manila first!"
Denny had already been considering whether to leave, but seeing Russell's determination, he immediately made up his mind:
"I'll go back and pack. Let's send people to find a boat at the same time, and whoever finds one first can take it."
Russell nodded in agreement, while simultaneously reminding and instructing the two managers:
"Alright, let's split up and search for the ship. At the same time, we'll send someone to contact other trading companies and remind them that Jardine has been arrested."
"If other merchants are leaving, we can go together."
"If we all act independently, it will be difficult to find a boat, and it will be even harder to negotiate a price."
The arrest of Jardine Matheson had a ripple effect, as most of the European and American business owners entrenched in Shanghai had secretly been involved in the opium smuggling trade.
After receiving news of Zha Dian's arrest, these people did not hesitate much and immediately decided to leave the Han mainland to avoid trouble.
Of course, some Han merchants were not clean either, and after receiving the news, they also decided to go to sea to avoid the storm.
After Liu Desheng rebuilt the Han Dynasty, he mainly opened Bao'an as a port for foreign trade and then drove the Portuguese living in Macau to Bao'an.
The main purpose was to confiscate the de facto autonomy that the Portuguese possessed.
From the Ming Dynasty until the Opium War, the Portuguese in Macau were actually regarded by the imperial court as local chieftains, and rather submissive ones at that.
They always took it very seriously to procure all sorts of Western gadgets for the imperial court.
But Liu Desheng knew that the Portuguese considered this place a colony, so naturally they wouldn't keep such a place with ambiguous ownership and jurisdiction.
Without Macau as a special place, European and American merchants operating in the Han Dynasty in this era would have to leave the Han Dynasty to avoid trouble.
The nearest option is the Philippines, and if we go any further, we'll have to go to Malacca.
At this time, ships still mainly relied on sails for navigation. The Greater China region has the world's most typical monsoon climate, and the wind direction changes with the seasons.
Merchant ships departing from the Han mainland to Southeast Asia usually set sail in autumn or winter, or at the latest in early spring.
It is now May in the Gregorian calendar, and there are almost no merchant ships going to Southeast Asia anymore.
Several trading companies' own ocean-going merchant ships had all left last winter to trade goods in India and even Europe, so they now had to charter other ships.
However, the coastal shipping routes in the southeastern part of the Great Han Dynasty always existed. The owners of these trading companies were willing to spend a lot of money to hire ships and sailors, and they quickly found merchant ships willing to risk going a little further south, which could take them to Manila in the Philippines after passing through Taiwan.
European and American merchants in Shanghai, along with some Han Chinese merchants, soon boarded ships and sailed out to sea, arriving in Manila after more than twenty days of sailing.
Shortly after these merchants arrived in Manila, European and American merchants operating in Bao'an, as well as some Han Chinese merchants, also arrived one after another.
The Han emperor's ban on opium was too severe. The trade volume of opium in other parts of the world during that era was not small. Any merchant who had ever touched opium would certainly have exceeded the standard for being hanged.
No one was willing to gamble on whether Zha Dian would leak other people's information, nor was anyone willing to gamble on whether the Han emperor would care about their lives.
However, none of these merchants knew that the Emperor of the Han Dynasty had already ordered the Governor-General's Office and the Military Advisor's Office to launch a major offensive against Luzon, also known as the Philippines, this autumn.
Manila, the capital of the Philippines, is naturally a key target.