Chapter 5 Chapter 5: Beijing’s Superb Views Are Worth Millions

Everyone, when accepting a task, wants to know the nature and significance of that work.That's why Tsutsutaro kept asking Nasu Keigo.This is also a matter of course. Anyone would be excited to know that what others are offering is a historic stage.However, only a very small number of people can play an important role on this stage.The work of most people is not unimportant, but they have only played minor roles in the overall historical stage. The stage in the world is too huge, and people often look down on those inconspicuous characters. Just like the transmission teeth on a gear, it will not work without one.But how lonely it is to be a cog in a gigantic machine, turning day and night.

When Cetaro thinks about the fate of the individual from the whole human being, he can't help but feel the sadness of being a cog. When Nasu left home, Taro said that he would not be back until two hours later, but he came back in less than an hour. "You came back so quickly. I haven't asked the old lady to cook yet." Tsutaro looked at Nasu and said. "It's too late to eat now. The situation is urgent, and we must race against the clock. If you are negligent, you will be ruined by Russia. How can you be so leisurely! Hey! Let's go immediately." After Nasu finished speaking, he tugged on Cetaro's wrist.

"Where are you going?" "Go to Wen Baotai's house." "What are you going to do?" "What a nuisance to keep asking why! . . . Come on, let's talk as we go. It's impossible to sit and talk now." It seemed that something urgent must have happened. Nasu dragged Tatsutarou away. After exiting the alley, I saw a carriage parked nearby. Nasu pointed to the carriage and said: "That's the car sent by the embassy. Let's be careful what we say, and don't let the coachman hear it. Simply, before getting into the carriage, let me explain your mission clearly."

"Can you explain clearly after just a few steps?" They were no more than thirty or forty meters away from the carriage. Nasu walked very slowly. It was because of something extraordinary that had happened that he suddenly changed. "Your task is," Nasu said in a hurried tone.His footsteps moved very slowly, but his speech was like a cannonball, "Give the money to Wen Baotai. In order to prevent the Qing government from signing a second troop withdrawal agreement with Russia, it is necessary to use a lot of money to buy off the important people of the Qing government. "

"Where is the money now?" "I have it." After Nasu finished speaking, he slightly opened the suitcase and showed it to Tsutsutaro. This was no longer the leather bag he took out when he hurriedly left home an hour ago, but a very high-end travel suitcase. "How to give it to him." "Just leave it to him." "how much is the total?" "Pay it in two installments. Today I will give Prince Qing 700,000 and Natong 300,000, a total of 1 million." "What do you mean by 'ten thousand'?" "Japanese money."

"Ho ho..." At that time, a property of 1,000 yen could be said to be a wealthy family. There are also very few people in the city who own ten thousand yuan in property.If it is a million yen, it is really a dizzying amount of money. "For the second payment, it is enough to give them two hundred thousand yuan. In addition, Wen Baotai asked us to give him fifty thousand yen." "That kid?... That kid doesn't have any ability to turn the situation around. Giving him so much money is too shameful..." "Now is not the time to be angry. He will never be a middleman for nothing."

"If you negotiate the price with him patiently, it will definitely be cheaper... This guy! Asking for 50,000 yen is a joke!" "Then, go talk to him, he may give in and ask for less. But it's too late now, and there's no room for bargaining. Russian Minister Lesa and Prince Qing have reached an agreement on the second troop withdrawal Agreement, even signed." "Then what should I do?..." "Fortunately, the approval procedures have not been completed yet." The approval of the Qing government is to obtain the permission of the Queen Mother. Since the Boxer Incident, the Empress Dowager has suffered a lot and rarely intervenes in foreign affairs.The so-called approval is only a formality.It can be said that 90% of the matters that Prince Qing intervened will not change.

"When will it be officially approved?" "Prince Qing took the agreement today and entered the palace to visit the Queen Mother. It's really dangerous! It is said that those who know the inside story think that the matter is about to be settled, so they are relieved, but they don't know where the secret will be leaked. They think that if they are caught The Japanese side knows that Japan will also be caught off guard... So far, we have obtained a lot of information in this regard. Don't you also know some?" "Then, what will be the result of Prince Qing's visit to the Queen Mother?"

"It happened by coincidence. Unexpectedly, at this moment, the Empress Dowager caught a cold, so it didn't happen. Prince Qing said that we would wait until the Empress Dowager recovered from her illness tomorrow, so we withdrew... After we got this information, we hurriedly studied countermeasures." .” At this time, the two of them were only five meters away from the carriage. Nasu simply stopped. "It seems that we have done a good job?" Looking at the suitcase in Nasu's hand, Cetaro asked. "Hey! No matter what, we have to do something... The problem is the amount of money and the way of delivery. As for the developments in Russia, I have not yet learned about them. We must keep them from them. In addition, we must be more careful when dealing with banks. Don't make it public. At the same time, it is impossible to pay all in cash. Finally, a relatively satisfactory result has been obtained."

"Who is going to negotiate the money?" "It's my superior. Of course, I can't tell you his name. Besides, he is not an official employee of the legation." "Then, who did you deal with?" "An old man named Tao Dajun. He is the secretary of Prince Qing. In addition, we decided that Wen Baotai will pay the money. When paying the money, both parties will send two people, and each party will designate the other person to attend. We can only designate Wen Baotai... ...and the other party appointed you. That's great, you l I called you from Tokyo, it came in handy!"

"yes?……" Coming to Beijing from far away Tokyo, just to be a witness to pay the money, this is something that Cetaro never thought of. Cetaro thought that he failed to understand the dynamics of important figures in the Qing government through Wen Baotai, but he learned about Russia's planning activities through other channels. The intelligence experts sent by the General Staff have so far not been able to figure out what is going on in Russia, let alone a layman, Tetsaro. Even so, the job of negotiating the bribe money was entrusted to him.It is said that this task should have been undertaken by someone higher than the boss Keigo Nasu... After thinking about it over and over again, he thought, I'm just a cog in a gear anyway. Nasu found Zetaro from Tokyo, and Nasu was very happy that Zetaro played a role again.However, at this moment, Cetaro's mood seemed to be pierced by a gust of cold wind through his chest. "Now you should understand! You are the witness appointed by the other party, and I am just a follower! In addition to Wen Baotai, the other party also sent a person to testify." "Yes! Understood." "Let's go, then." Nasu excitedly kicked the gravel road and ran towards the carriage.However, after all, he still couldn't run very fast, the suitcase in his hand was too heavy. Cetaro chased after him. The carriage ran from Jinyu Alley to Iron Lion Alley.The two places are not far apart. A long time ago, Jiadingbo's residence in the Ming Dynasty was in this area.There are two stone lions in front of his mansion, which is the origin of the name Iron Lion Alley.It is said that lions can ward off evil spirits, and many wealthy people like to place lions in front of their doors.Although this alley is called an iron lion, it is actually a stone lion. "The other party asked us not to attract attention when we came. In fact, this is what we want...According to the other party, you know what method is used to conduct secret visits." Nasu whispered in the carriage. "Hmm! Yes. I see." Taro replied. The other party must have let them enter Yoyo Pavilion through the back door. Cetaro leads the way for the coachman. Sure enough, there was a gatekeeper at the back door of Wen's house, waiting for Zetaro and others to arrive as if he was basking in the sun. When the car arrived at the gate, the gatekeeper kept saying: "Come in! Come in!" With that said, he brought them in.When Cetaro saw it, it really was Yoyokan. Wen Baotai was already waiting there. Wen Baotai was sitting on the Japanese mat, and in front of him was a brand new, nearly semicircular stone tablet.The longest point of the stele is about one meter. At that time, the wealthy families usually invited the most famous contemporary people to write inscriptions for their ancestors in order to glorify their families. It stands to reason that one should have a guilty conscience to sing praises to the deceased who did not know each other.However, huge rewards are indeed extremely attractive to those literati. This practice is generally called "tomb flattery", which means flattering the dead.In the middle of the Qing Dynasty, the literary giant Yuan Mei specially wrote inscriptions for people to get rich by flattering their tombs.He bought a famous large garden called "Suiyuan" at that time, often had feasts and feasts in Suiyuan, and recorded the dishes in the banquet, and wrote the book "Suiyuan Recipe". There are also some people who deliberately use a lot of money to hire famous literati and calligraphers to write inscriptions for their ancestors.Then, take the rubbings from the inscription and distribute them to relatives and friends, so as to spread their achievements widely.Although this type of inscription is different from the inscription used in the "Tomb of Flattery", it also costs a lot. This newly shipped stone tablet probably belongs to the latter. At this time, Wen Baotai had no buckets, ink, or cotton balls beside him.It seems that he has no plans to start work yet, perhaps he is waiting for the visit of Cetaro and others.Anyway, he also knew that with the arrival of Cetaro and others, it was bound to bring huge amounts of money. "Ah! Welcome!" Wen Baotai stood up slowly. "Please sit down!" Then, Cetaro and Nasu sat down on the rosewood chair. Wen Baotai sat opposite them across the table. After a while, Fang Lan appeared.She brought up steaming tea.Judging from the heat of the tea, it was pre-boiled, because it was served within a minute after sitting down. "Well, I think it's better to finish this matter early, what's your opinion?" Nasu spoke first. He didn't exchange pleasantries, nor did he introduce himself, he just spoke straight to the point.On private occasions, it is advisable not to introduce yourself if you attend as an entourage. "Please drink tea... I also hope to deal with it as soon as possible." "But, is there another person?..." Nasu asked. According to the prior regulations, the persons and attendants designated by both parties actually acted as witnesses for payment. "An entourage?" Wen Baotai said with a sneer after hearing this. "Well. That was stipulated in advance..." Feeling uneasy, Nasu gave Setsaro a wink and said. "Of course we did. We kept our word. Didn't I say so? We've already started." "Where are the witnesses?" Tsunade asked eagerly. "Here it is. Here, look!" Wen Baotai turned his face diagonally upwards.Following Wen Baotai's gaze, they saw Fanglan standing there.Her face was redder and tenderer than ever, and her lovely red lips were even tighter. "Is it Fang Lan?" Tsutaro asked. "Hey! Yes. What? Can't you?" "That, that, that's okay." Tetsaro replied hastily. "Hi! You..." Nasu whispered in Japanese beside him. "Is that little girl reliable? If we hand over the money to them, we won't get an official receipt. Witnesses are important! What the hell does that girl do?" "She was recommended by Natong. She must have a connection with Natong." Tsunade replied in a low voice. "yes?!……" At this moment, Nasu felt relieved and put the suitcase on his knees. Fang Lan was still standing, and there were only three rosewood chairs.However, it was strange to say that at this time, her impression had completely changed. In the eyes of Nasu and Tatsutarou, she was no longer a maid but an excellent witness. Nasu inserted the key into the keyhole of the suitcase, turned it lightly, and made a crisp click.As if deliberately making the people next to him wait anxiously, he slowly opened the suitcase. Strataro clearly felt that Wen Baotai, who was sitting across from him, was staring at the suitcase with bated breath. The suitcase was filled with all kinds of banknotes and even gold bars.Nasu took out the document bag containing the bank check from the interlayer of the lid. According to the prior agreement between the two parties, all banknotes issued by HSBC (Hong Kong HSBC, Shanghai HSBC Bank) in pounds, dollars, Russian rubles, etc. shall be paid at the rate of conversion into Japanese yen.As for the gold bars, they are all marked and paid according to the standard market price. Fang Lan stood, constantly calculating with a notebook in her hand, with almost no expression on her face. Takumi is counting banknotes.The tense feeling before opening the box lid disappeared inexplicably at this time. He probably focused on counting banknotes and calculating the conversion rate, and his energy was distracted. Instead, Cetaro felt a little more relaxed.He smiled wryly to himself, thinking: "Did I come to Beijing just to count money?" Fang Lan's calculations are quite fast. In the beginning, everyone was faced with such a large pile of banknotes, and they didn't know how long it would take to calculate them, so they were inevitably a little bored.However, the conversion was done unexpectedly quickly. Halfway through, Fang Lan also assisted in counting the banknotes. Her movements were so fast that it made people think whether she had ever worked in a bank. The work is all over.With a sigh of relief, Tsutaro said: "Ah, it's over, it's over!" Handing over huge amounts of money without a receipt can be described as a fly in the ointment.However, in the sense of buying, no receipt can be given. Wen Baotai ordered Fanglan to prepare paper and pen, and grind the ink.He thought for a moment, picked up the brush and dipped it in enough ink, and wrote with vigorous strokes: "A stunning view of Beijing is worth millions." Then he scribbled his name on the corner of the paper, and handed it to Cetaro. "The superb view of Beijing is worth a million" probably refers to the receipt of one million yen. It is worthless to receive such an obscure note, but it is better than nothing. "It's not enough just to ship that much money out." Said Taro jokingly. "Hey, the prince has sent someone to collect the banknotes." The prince naturally refers to Prince Qing. When Nasu and Zetaro got into the carriage to go home, Nasu said to the coachman with great interest: "Hey! Isn't it easier when you go back than when you came?" The coachman was a Japanese of about fifty, and of course he couldn't understand Nasu's wit. "You were two when you came, and you are two when you go back. What's the difference?" The coachman spoke solemnly. "Ha ha……" Nasu laughed out loud. Tsunade suddenly felt relieved.