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Volume 4 Leviathan 182 Collusion Part 1

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    But what shocked everyone was that instead of "falling from a high position that was incompatible with his status and ability and breaking his neck" as a certain acerbic nobleman said, this fearful counselor actually broke his neck.  Stayed day by day.  Not only that, Mr. Chen did not frequently interfere in government affairs. He usually only lived in his manor outside Mandalay City. Unless specially summoned by the king, he rarely even entered Mandalay City, handing over his power.  Give it to Wincher.  With the passage of time, the ridicule and disrespect for Winche gradually disappeared in the upper class society, and people began to use the terms "outstanding leader of the Privy Council", "wise brain of the kingdom", "His Majesty the King" in his absence.  'Faithful Assistant', 'Unparalleled Wise Man', 'Chief Noble' and other honorific titles used to refer to the Privy Council Counselors in the past.  But what surprised the nobles and monks was that Wu Wenche, who had won the king's trust, faced everyone's compliments and invitations with an attitude that was almost timid. Except for rare cases, he talked to almost all the nobles and monks.  Keeping a distance, he went home directly after leaving his own office in the Privy Council. The servant's answer to any visitor was the same; "My master has gone to bed to rest. If you have anything to do, you can go to the Privy Council office to see him tomorrow."  A person with the highest power does not want banquets, party members, or bribes, and lives a life more like an ascetic.  Just like other places in the world, when people cannot find or believe the truth, they often use those weird rumors to replace the truth, and the more ridiculous and unfounded these rumors are, the more likely they are to be true.  It is widely spread and can attract people to believe.  Soon there were rumors in Mandalay's social circles that Winche was a pedophile. The reason for his in-depth detection was because he had built a small paradise in his mansion, where he kept dozens of beautiful pedophiles.  The boys and girls enjoy it as soon as they get home and naturally don¡¯t want to go out.  Of course, this kind of precedent is not unknown among Burmese nobles, so it is not difficult to imagine the faces of the listeners when the nobles talked about the innocuous little hobbies of the respected counselor to their companions with mysterious smiles.  What kind of expression will there be?  When Wenche learned from a reckless guy that he had such a hobby, he did not get angry, but smiled bitterly. He even rejected the loyal servant's suggestion to counter the rumors.  The reason is simple. Wen Che knows very well that the reason why he can always be safe is not because of his strong ability and popularity.  On the contrary, it was because he had no prestige among the nobility and posed no threat to Chen Zaixing. The purpose of his seclusion was to keep it that way.  Having such a notoriety is actually a good thing for him. It can make Chen Zaixing feel more at ease with himself, so that he can be safe.  "Sir, Mr. Gillings is here!" Oba walked into the office and whispered to Chen Zaixing, who was working at the desk.  "Really? Take him to the villa by the lake, and I'll go see him in a minute!" "Yes, sir!" Gillings stood on the porch of the villa, squinting at the lake not far away,  After a rainy season, the lake surface expanded a lot, and the closest point to his feet was less than thirty meters away.  He could even clearly see a kingfisher on the water plants by the lake. The beautiful water bird was staring at the water with his pale yellow eyes, motionless, like a lifelike wax figure.  "Gillings, please forgive me for keeping you waiting. I have some things on hand." There was heavy footsteps behind him. Gillings turned his head, put his finger to his lips, and shushed: "Keep your voice down.  "What's going on?" Chen Zaixing was stunned and asked in a low voice.  "Look at that kingfisher!" Gillins pointed in the direction of the kingfisher. Chen Zaixing looked in the direction of Gillis' finger with some confusion, but he couldn't see anything. The kingfisher's light green feathers and  The colors of the water plants are so close that Chen Zaixing cannot distinguish them from the background.  "I didn't see any kingfisher -" As soon as Chen Zaixing finished speaking, the kingfisher suddenly swooped down to the lake like a sharp arrow, splashed on the water, and then disappeared, leaving only ripples on the water.  and the violently shaking reed.  "Didn't you see it? That beautiful water bird?" Gillings slammed his palms: "This is the first time I have discovered this subspecies of kingfisher. I think it is also the first time in this world that they have been discovered by humans.  I found that at the end of the year I can write a letter about this kingfisher to my teacher at Oxford!" Chen Zaixing looked at the excited Gillings with some confusion. Only then did he remember that the British Consul General in Yangon and  As an ornithologist, he smiled and said: "Mr. Gillings, I am very happy about your new discovery in ornithology, but I think you have other things besides that?" "Of course, of course!" Jilin  Si then recovered from his newfound excitement, and he smiled.Chen Zaixing said: "I am here to tell you good news. The import license you requested last time to import turbine factory, cylinder casting workshop, and forging workshop equipment has been approved. It is also the latest and most advanced equipment in Europe."  "Really?" Chen Zaixing suppressed the ecstasy in his heart and said calmly: "The price must not be cheap. What about the delivery time?" "If you pay a 15% deposit first, the factory can start processing.  The delivery time will be one and a half years,¡± Gillings said, and suddenly asked: ¡°Where do you plan to install these equipment?¡± ¡°Kunming, it is very close to the steel plant, and there is enough coal nearby!  "Chen Zaixing asked: "What's the price?" "The total cost of equipment, transportation, installation, and technical training is six hundred thousand pounds!" "Six hundred thousand pounds!" A sarcastic smile appeared on Chen Zaixing's lips:  "I believe it would be enough if it only costs half or even one-third of the price in the UK." "Mr. Chen, you have to consider the freight and the extreme sensitivity of these equipment. With these equipment, you can produce steam engines,  Considering the upsurge of railway construction that is about to begin in your country, this will be an extremely profitable business for a long time to come! These equipments are the latest equipment, and you can even use them to produce small and medium-sized marine steam engines.  "If you don't have a powerful figure like Balfour speaking for you in parliament, it will be difficult for you to get these equipment!" "Maybe you are right, but don't forget that Mr. Balfour also owns Shunhua Steel Plant through his family business!"  With 10% of the shares of this Machinery Bureau, he also has a share of these profits. According to his suggestion, I stopped the railway project from Kunming to Guizhou indefinitely. This will also be good for him in the House of Commons, right?  " "Mr. Chen, please allow me to point out that you did not have enough financial resources to carry out the construction of this railway at that time. Even the Yunnan-Burma Railway could not issue bonds in the London market without the help of Mr. Balfour.  To get the funds to complete the project. More importantly, if you build this railway, where are the excess rails to sell to your government? As far as I know, just last year, you participated in the southern Yunnan?  The railway expansion project has made considerable profits. It was only last year that your steel plant really became profitable, wasn't it?" The porch calmed down, and the two people looked at each other quietly, with no one in sight.  Willing to show weakness, after about four or five minutes, Chen Zaixing finally sighed and said with a smile: "Okay, let's suspend this debate first. These are things in the past. We should look forward and talk more about the future.  "Seeing Chen Zaixing's conciliatory gesture, Gillins also smiled and bowed slightly: "Dear Chen, I very much agree with your point of view. In many aspects, we have broad prospects for cooperation. We should  Look further, I have a very interesting project here that I want to talk to you about." "Really? Then let's go to the house to talk. I believe my servants have prepared dinner.  Now, we can talk while eating at the dining table!  "Chen Zaixing smiled and raised the door curtain, making a gesture to invite him in. It turns out that in 1892, Chen Zaixing brokered Belfort to sign a secret loan agreement with the Dashun government on behalf of Standard Chartered Bank. Chen Zaixing also sold hundreds of dollars to Belfort's family business.  In exchange for ten percent of the shares, the other party supported him in issuing bonds in the London financial market and obtained enough low-interest funds to complete the Yunnan-Burma Railway. In exchange, Chen Zaixing also agreed to postpone the construction of the railway from Kunming to Guilin indefinitely.  Railway, thus preventing the water-land transportation bridge from Mandalay to Hanking. Since Dashun began to carry out railway construction at a crazy speed from 1892, a large number of rails were urgently needed, so the price of steel in Kunming, owned by Chen Zaixing, soared.  The steel plant almost occupied the entire steel market in the southwest region and even the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, and gained extremely huge profits, which enabled him to expand the scale of the steel plant and even began to consider building a machinery bureau. Gillings gave up with satisfaction.  Holding the knife and fork, he smiled and said: "Chen, I have to admit that you are a very good cook. Compared to you, my friends in London are still living in the Middle Ages!  "    "Yeah?  Maybe, but after all, London controls the world, and it is the center of the world!  "Chen Zaixing smiled and made a gesture, and the maid on the side stepped forward lightly to take away the tableware on the table and replaced it with freshly brewed coffee and black tea. "It is indeed now!  Gillings took a comfortable sip of hot coffee: "But it was less than a hundred years since London became the center of the world in 1815 (the Battle of Waterloo happened in 1815). From a historical perspective,  , one hundred years is really a very short time.  Damascus, Memphis, Athens, Rome, Constantinople, and Madrid all once became the center of the world, butWhat now?  God¡¯s will is unpredictable!  " "I'm really surprised that you think so!  Chen Zaixing's eyes widened in surprise: "I thought you thought like most white people that the world would always be like this?"  "
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