novelAbuy Page 256
Page 256
Although it doesn’t look like much, the American Concession, like the British Concession and the French Concession, is the most elite area in Puxi.
Of course, objectively speaking, the American Concession is indeed worse than the British Concession and the French Concession.
This can be seen from the fact that the housing prices in Hongkou District will not be as high as Huangpu, Xuhui, Jing'an and other districts in the future.
After the first Ming-French War, the Ming Dynasty expanded the American Concession to the entire Hongkou through a secret agreement with Li Hongzhang, with a total of 20 square kilometers and a water area of 1 square kilometer.
Among them, the North Bund Wharf is currently the most prosperous commercial port in Shanghai.
Whether it is a young scholar with a dream of Ming Dynasty, or a refugee coaxed into boarding a ship by the Huai army, or a steady stream of Ming cloth and Ming oil from the mainland of Ming Dynasty, all of them are delivered and traded here.
But recently, some foreigners with tall noses and dark eyes appeared in the American Concession.
It is by no means unusual for Europeans and Americans to appear in the American Concession, and it immediately aroused the vigilance of the local Jinyiwei.
It has to be said that these spies from various countries still have two hands.
They are very capable of anti-tracking and anti-reconnaissance. Every time they enter the American Concession, they just taste it.
The French Concession is not safe.
Because in terms of law, Daming and the French Third Republic are still at war, and the two sides have not signed a contract at all.
It's just that Ming didn't have the ability to go across the Atlantic to find trouble with the French, and the French didn't dare to touch the Americas again, so the two sides temporarily treated it as nothing happened.
Therefore, the French colonies in the Far East, especially the French Concession in Shanghai, have long been in turmoil, just like Saigon before the Viet Cong entered the city.
Fortunately, Daming had little interest in recovering the mere 1.4 square kilometers of the French Concession ahead of schedule, which led them to survive until now.
At the same time that Ming Dynasty and European countries were fighting on the secret front, a group of special Beijing masters also came to Shanghai on a small steamer.
Legend has it that Emperor Yongzheng established it with one hand, and gradually lost power during the Qianlong period. By the time of Daoguang, the spy agency of the Qing court, which had been abolished long ago, was reopened.
It's just...
"Hey, Brother Jin, you see that there are so many Western-style scenes on the beach here, and the women actually wear clothes with bare arms. Hey, that's really good!"
"Haha, Brother Tong is right. I heard from Ama, ah no, my father said that in Shanghai, there are not only Mr. Shuyu from Suzhou, Shouma from Yangzhou, but also geisha from Japan. If you have time in the future, grandpa Definitely a treat, please have a taste of this oriental girl!"
"That's a good relationship, brother Jin. It's better to hit the sun than to choose a date. Why don't you show us guys a taste of something new today!"
"Uh, this... Your Majesty, ah no, the Young Master asked us to come to Shanghai, but he has a serious business... If we can't find that 'Master', we may not be able to do business later!"
"Hey, Brother Jin, what you said is that the young master's family name is Jin, and yours is also Jin. You can't write two golds in one stroke. Are you afraid that the young master's family will punish you?"
"Yeah, yeah, who doesn't know, our master in Beijing eats and sleeps, or learns sign language, how can he do this!"
"Don't mention it, my teeth are itching again when I speak this sign language. Thanks to the Queen Mother's birthday, stop this 'Manchu revival', or I will almost become dumb!"
……
A group of gentlemen dressed in silk and satin ostentatiously passed through the market, and they walked down the Bund in a big way, looking for a place to live, and began to inquire about the location of the brothel in a "low-key" manner.
And from the moment they appeared at the pier, the Jin Yiwei who had been monitoring the whole process were speechless.
In the past, I used to fight with Western agents, and now I have to deal with such a group of things...
Idiots shouldn't be contagious, right?
To be reasonable, although the late Qing Dynasty lost control of the whole of China in history, the spy system did not pull the crotch like this.
At least in the matter of dealing with the revolutionary party, it is still elusive and quite successful.
It's a pity that the Manchu Qing government is now so frightened by the Ming Dynasty that its status politics and political correctness have entered the heart and brain, and the disease has entered the bone marrow.
They look at the Han people as rebels, and as transparent thieves.
It’s nothing more than a fait accompli like Zeng Guofan’s. After all, Zeng Shengren has to rely on Zeng Shengren to smooth the twists, but a newly established institution like the sticky pole, and it’s an extremely confidential institution, naturally don’t worry about using Han people.
Chapter 386 The Chain of Contempt in Shanghai
The newly established sticky poles not only need to use banner people, but it is best to use the royal family, and use the own people of the three banners.
However, Lord Sotna was ordered to form a new army of 3 Manchurians before, and he had already taken away the essence of the bannermen youths who were still somewhat backbone.
Then we have to pick out the available Bannerman youths from the imperial city, isn't this a bunch of uncles finally picked out?
Of course, to be honest, the old Zhu family’s method of raising pigs for the vassal kings is not much better than that of the Manqing, and it is even suspected of laughing at fifty steps at one hundred steps. Before the brothel was cool, I still remembered the emperor's trust!
The group came to Shanghai, naturally, to find Dr. Xing, who is said to have the talent of Guigu and the wisdom of Zhuge.
Speaking of which, agents from Western countries are now using various technical means to investigate the secret of the rise of the military department of the Ming Dynasty, but the Qing side already knows about Dr. Xing.
This is mainly a matter of language barriers.
Many domestic newspapers or textbooks in Ming Dynasty have Dr. Xing's name on them.
It's not that Zhu Fugui wants to tout such a thing, it's really because there was no way in the early years, and a part of the halo was forcibly placed on his head. One wrong step, one wrong step, and now I want to tell everyone that Dr. Xing does not exist. It's fake, and it doesn't quite fit.
In recent years, Daming's own scientists and engineers have begun to grow, and there are very few shining moments for Dr. Xing.
But science is like this, the more basic it is, the more it will be mentioned repeatedly.
Therefore, Dr. Xing is still the second most mentioned name in various documents after Zhu Fugui.
In the future, it may be surpassed by real scientists like Geng Junhua and Sha Jingfang, but it is impossible to completely erase him from the history of science in Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, it is not surprising that foreigners in the early morning of Manchu confirmed Dr. Xing in one step.
In fact, Li Hongzhang was earlier than the Manchu Qing Dynasty.
When he found out that the foreign talents he had recruited were actually Daming's great masters of science, he was stunned.
For a while, he still didn't understand why this crouching dragon and phoenix chick came to his small Jiangsu governor's yamen as an undercover agent.
Could it be that Zhu Ming saw early on that I, Li Hongzhang, have the appearance of a great emperor, and the eighteen sons who destroyed Zhu?
Such speculation made Li Hongzhang break out in a cold sweat.
This surprise also made him forget to control Xing Jiurou in the first place.
When he realized it again, Xing Jiurou had already run away with a bucket and disappeared.
All in all, where Dr. Xing is currently is a mystery, no one knows.
A group of uncles at the sticky pole came to Shanghai to look for clues about him, and the first stop they looked for was the brothel by the Suzhou River.
Jin Qingzhi is an offshoot of Heshuo Prince Zheng, his father is the younger brother of the contemporary Heshuo Prince Zheng's compatriot, and his status is the most honorable in the group.
Before going south, Jin Qingzhi's old father smoked big cigarettes with him, bragging about his story of moving to the Jiangnan rouge field.
Therefore, according to his father's instructions, Jin Qingzhi found a book apartment, which is a high-end brothel, without much difficulty.
This place is surrounded by beautiful water and green mountains, surrounded by the city and beside the river. It is more like an academy than a brothel.
Accustomed to going straight to the topic in Bada Hutong, the masters feel fresh.
Jin Qingzhi laughed loudly, and went to knock on the door.
To be honest, even though he smiled boldly, Jin Qingzhi's hand knocked on the door was a little trembling.
Not afraid, but distressed.
In the past, the Ming Dynasty raised vassals until the country went bankrupt, but now the Qing Dynasty raises hard-core crops, which is actually not too different.
Cantonese bandits have been making trouble for more than ten years, and it has not completely subsided. The Yellow River broke its embankment several times last year, Shandong and Henan were flooded, and Nian bandits were rampant. .
Coupled with the need to pay foreigners money and pay Liao's salary to the Xinjun and Pidao, where does the court have money to support these idle princes?
What's more, Jinqing's House is only a side branch of Prince Heshuo, and the financial situation of the mansion is even more tight now.
Otherwise, how could he, Jin Qingzhi's dignified surname Aixinjueluo, come out to be an agent of Shi Laozi's stick.
But anyway, no matter how shy he is in his pocket, the face of this Beijing man is bigger than the sky.
Although he was instigated by others, Jin Qingzhi still made up his mind. Today, this guest is invited, so let's make a small amount of blood!
Our master in Beijing is just so arrogant!
……
There were three beatings on the door, and the wooden door of the book apartment creaked open, and a middle-aged bustard leaned out.
The old bustard looked up and down with his almond eyes, and saw that they were rich and noble young men from the north, so he hurriedly welcomed them: "Sirs are tired from traveling, please go inside and rest!"
Jin Qingzhi and the other four bannerman young masters swaggered into the room, staring at the wriggling buttocks of the old bustard who still had charm, while looking at the surrounding furnishings from the corner of his eye.
After looking at it, Jin Qingzhi felt relieved.
Although the furniture layout here is very good, it is not much more advanced than the "Qingyin Small Class" in Hanjiatan and Baishun Hutong, and the price will not be too outrageous.
At this moment, bursts of beautiful music came from the corridor:
"The south wind brings coolness, and the nightingale sings softly~
The flowers under the moon are all dreaming, only the evening scent, exuding fragrance~
I love the vastness of the night, and I also love the singing of the nightingale~
I love the flower-like dream more, embracing the evening primrose, smelling the evening primrose..."
Just as Jin Qingzhi wanted to ask which girl sang this song, Brother Tong, a hungry hungry ghost, said impatiently: "Old mother, which girl is singing this song? Come and quench my thirst!"
The old bustard frowned secretly, thinking that these guys are really vulgar.
However, out of professional habits, she still greeted her with a smile and said: "The guest officer misunderstood, this is not someone singing, but the vinyl record of "Evening Fragrance"!"
As he said that, the old bustard raised his orchid finger and pointed to a gramophone at the end of the corridor, with a high-end look on his face, "This is a brand-new product. If it wasn't for the fact that I had an old relationship with the housekeeper of Li's house, it would be rich You can't buy such a baby!"
Minghuo is now synonymous with high-end in Shanghai.
The locals can clearly distinguish first-class bright goods, second-class foreign goods, third-class local goods, fourth-class Ningbo goods, fifth-class Suzhou goods, and unpopular Gangbo goods.
Regional discrimination in this time and space still exists, but it is also different.
For example, Shanghai people still discriminate against Gangboning, but if this Gangboning took out a Great Ming Zhuka, the situation would be very different.
Anyway, going to Daming, becoming a naturalized soldier and joining the army has indeed become the most effective way to achieve class transition in this era.
Chapter 387 The Culprit of Price Gouging
Seeing these guest officials from Beijing still circling the phonograph curiously, the old bustard smiled and said, "Sirs, although the rich emperor's phonograph is good, how can it compare to the girls' small mouth singing a cappella?" Woolen cloth?"
"Yes, yes, the little mouths of the girls are good, the little mouths are good!"
Tong Zi was the first to react, and said repeatedly, "But I don't know what kind of girls there are here at the old mother. We men are not peddlers, and those vulgar fans look down on me!"
The old bustard laughed and said, "Of course they are not vulgar fans. They are all first-class and learned 'school books' and 'sirs'. Whether it is singing songs or reciting poems, they are all first-class!"
Tong Zi leaned over and said, "I wonder if there are any Oriental women? My master heard from people who went to Phi Island in Beijing that being with female servants is a must. He was even born in Beijing before, and he was born in Dongyang. Haven't had a chance to try it."
"Japanese woman?"
The old bustard curled her lips and said, "There are a few Japanese girls, and the tea money is cheaper. Do you really want to pick those girls?"
The so-called tea money is an elegant name for whoring money.
The price of recruiting Han women in the Ming Dynasty was twice that of recruiting Japanese women in the Japanese land.
Although Daming's original intention was to attract more Han girls to America and further improve the population structure of Daming, objectively...
Daming became the number one black hand in driving up the price of Shanghai Bund, and he roughly set the price range between Han sisters and Japanese kilns.
Of course, this is only a rough range. If two prostitutes are similar in talent, appearance, temperament, and work, the former will be much more expensive than the latter.
Therefore, when the old bustard heard that she was going to invite a lady to pick up the guests, her enthusiasm naturally faded.
Jin Qingzhi heard that he was cheap with the girl, and immediately brightened his eyes, and said: "Hurry up, we are from Beijing, I have never seen any girl from the north and south classes, today I am here to taste the oriental flavor!"
"Okay, then the guest officials will invite the girls to meet the guests later. If you are satisfied, you can pay for the tea and talk with them in detail."
The old bustard shook his head, turned and left.
After a while, a few women in kimonos with pink faces came out.
"あわれ春风に改くぐぐすよ~
月に切なくも匂う Evening primrose~
この香りよ~
长き夜の泪呵ううぐいすよ
恋の梦消えて竟るEvening primrose..."