C121 (2/2)
Damn, it's really dark, Xiao Letian had already counted more than 40 merchant ships that had fired their cannons, so this was equivalent to an army of 800,000 gold, robbing would not be as fierce as them.
”Mr. Xiao, you have to consider our difficulties, we are just merchants who provide you with firepower support, and we have to take a very big risk. We will even be judged when we return, and 20,000 is already the lowest amount, it is very worth it for us to exchange this much money to get rid of the Japanese's slaves.”
”Mr. Xiao, you should be clear that our armed intervention can give you extra points at the negotiation table. This world belongs to the west, and with our support, what can you not do?”
Arrogant, really arrogant, but the foreigners had their reasons. The world was under the control of the West, as they said. There were no more colonies on earth, and the Western powers were unbeatable.
He had no choice but to lower his head when faced with the short wall. However, Xiao Letian really did not have that much money on hand right now. The seven hundred thousand from the Ryukyu's treasury was not even enough for him to spend. As for how much Tanggu could send them, that was not certain.
Xiao Letian couldn't leave these foreign merchants' support for the time being, but he didn't want to spend so much money, so he came up with a compromise.
”Gentlemen, I will give everyone two choices. The first is according to the twenty thousand silver military expenditure that you have mentioned, I will use my Mexican eagle to pay. The place to pay is the Tanggu of the Great Qing province …” But the second method is a little special, I will create a batch of Letian Firm's ”V” Gold Card, from today onwards, the ones who hold this card will be my Letian Firm's important customers … ”
Just as Xiao Letian finished speaking, the group of captains started whispering to each other, a few merchants looked at them with disdain and said, ”Mr. Xiao, your Letian Firm has just been established, right? How much strength could he possibly have? ”I'd rather choose cash …”
Most merchants still chose cash, but there were exceptions. Amongst the forty armed merchant ship, the six French merchant ships and the four British merchant ships had unexpectedly chosen the second option, causing Xiao Letian to be stunned.
”Mr. Xiao, we are very familiar with Captain Ke Xijia. On the day he left, we drank together …” With just a hint, Xiao Letian naturally understood that it was Ke Xijia who had leaked the news to them.
Those short-sighted merchants would regret it very soon. When they saw that the members who had the Letian Firm Golden Card could easily borrow money from the foreign banks, and did not have to queue at the Tanggu Pier, and could always get those tight items the fastest, their intestines would turn green.
Twenty thousand taels of silver might be a lot of money, but to Ocean trade, this amount of money was nothing.
After taking care of these foreigners, the sky started to darken. When Xiao Letian got off the merchant boat and returned to the dock, he found Sakamoto Ryoma and his bodyguards standing there obediently, waiting for him.
While Xiao Letian was still confused, the Dragon Lord said in a low voice, ”This Japanese has already been standing here for more than four hours, no matter how hard we tried to coax him, he still hasn't left. ”He is also an emissary, we cannot use violence …”
Xiao Letian walked in front of Sakamoto Ryoma, and what he got in return for that was the other party's respectful ninety degree bow: ”Mr. Xiao, I wonder if I have the honor of inviting you to dinner. I spent one day preparing, and hope that you can show me some respect!”
Xiao Letian looked at him for a long time. ”If I don't agree, do you want to continue standing? Do you want to put pressure on me by putting on such a bitter show in front of the foreigners? ”
Sakamoto Ryoma said softly, ”Indeed, I had such a plan before, but now that I think about it, in front of the Master of Western Studies, I am not even qualified to brush my eyes. Today, I will treat you to a meal as a scholar and a loyal reader of the《 Journey to the West》. I assure you, this is not a negotiation. ”
Xiao Letian did not even need to turn his head to know that the deck of the merchant boat behind him was definitely filled with foreigners. Seeing the Japanese envoys waiting humbly, they would definitely raise their evaluation of him, and perhaps this little story would spread along with the foreigners and spread through the whole world, even to the continental Europe.
To fawn over and kill, this was an unavoidable attempt to fawn over and kill. However, this kind of scheme was unsolvable, this Japanese was truly cunning.
”It seems that I have no choice but to give you face. If I don't go today, you might encourage tens of thousands of Japanese citizens to go to my house and kowtow and cry. Are you trying to kill me?” ”You want to roast me over the fire in the official field …”
Before Xiao Letian could finish speaking, Xiao Hexin had already thought it through, ”Damn, this Japanese is too evil. He wants to use the blade to kill people and let the imperial government harm you!” With one sentence, he roused the surrounding guards from their stupor. With the sound of weapons being drawn, the Japanese was about to be chopped into minced meat in the next second.
Sakamoto Ryoma was not afraid at all, nor did he want to resist. He only looked at Xiao Letian calmly and said, ”I've read Mister's masterpiece, I believe in a Unparalleled National Scholars's moral standards, if you want to make a move then please do it …”
Aiyo, this is just a piece of roasted meat! Xiao Letian was convinced. He was truly worthy of being known as the famous scholar in history, he was already worthy of respect for his courage and scheming.