Chapter 9 of Volume 1: Ten Thousand Eight Hundred Gates

  "Cannon?"

  "Right."

  "You're saying you...you have big guns?"

  "Ah, yes!"

  "Really?"

  If it weren't for the phone still clutched in his hand, Xu Yuan would have already clasped his hands together and bowed to Wuhan from afar... Indeed, Old Dai is not to be underestimated, with a keen sense of smell. He had said earlier that Qin had someone backing him up, and now it's proven true - they've even brought out the big guns. Although he doesn't know what model they are, even if it's just a batch of mortars, it would still be extremely beneficial to the front lines.

  "Dad's going to make a name for himself!"

  Xu Yuan's heart jumped violently. He began a fierce psychological struggle: Zheng Jiemin still didn't know about this, should he keep it from him for now?

  "Hey, Station Master Xu, Station Master Xu, are you still there? Why aren't you speaking?"

  On the phone, Qin Wei sat in the principal's seat of the Teaching Affairs Office, tapping impatiently on the receiver.

  "I'm here, I'm here." Xu Yuan regained his composure on horseback and asked, "Mr. Qin, you really have big guns?"

  "Rubbish! You've already said that, why are you still asking? How many times do you want me to confirm?" Qin Wei said discontentedly.

  "Mr. Qin, don't get angry, what model is your big gun? How many do you have?" Xu Yuan's heart beat even faster... At this moment, he really wanted to get an exciting answer from the receiver, although he was already very excited. However, after excitement, the special agent still didn't forget to consider the issue of confidentiality, and the answer after consideration made him slightly relieved: the other side was a university, not an object that ordinary people pay attention to, and this side was the Military Bureau's Room A, which is a place with extremely high confidentiality, so it should be impossible for anyone to eavesdrop on their conversation.

  "What model? I'm not quite sure about the model, I just know that calibers from 300mm to 450mm are all possible, it's just that the range is a bit shorter..." Qin Wei tried his best to recall the information he knew, but before he could finish speaking, he was shocked by the sudden ear-piercing scream from the other side... He had never thought that a man, and a steady man at that, would make such a scream. But whatever he thought was irrelevant to Xu Yuanju, who didn't care about his image at this point. All Xu Yuanju heard was "300mm to 450mm"... and then he couldn't calm down anymore.

  "Stay there and don't move, I'll send someone to protect you right away... Listen, don't move! Did you hear me?"

  "Huh?"

  "Stay there and don't move, not even a little!"

  "Bang!"

  Xu Yuan put down the phone and turned around to walk out of the office.

  "Come in!"

  "Is Xú (a surname) in charge?"

  Luojiawan No. 19 was equivalent to the Military Bureau headquarters, and it was not something that could be controlled by just the Chongqing station, but at this time the Military Bureau had not yet fully moved over, Zheng Jieming was also not there, so Xu Yuanjie naturally had a certain degree of command authority here.

  "Notify the Shapingba direction, let them immediately dispatch a team to rush to Chongqing University, find a person named Qin Wei, ensure his safety and do not allow him to contact anyone else..."

  "Yes!"

  "Also, send someone to inform Director Zheng and let him rush to Chongqing University immediately. Just say that I've left first."

  "Yes."

  "Notify the Hunan Guild Hall (the de facto headquarters of the Military Bureau), send a team to follow me to Chongqing University."

  "Yes."

  "Hurry up."

  It is...

  No one knew why Xu Yuanju suddenly became excited like he had eaten a stimulant, but the agents all sensed the urgency of the station chief, so as soon as they heard the order, they immediately sprang into action without any delay. At this time, after the initial excitement and fever, Xu Yuanju's mind also cooled down slightly, and he quickly became aware of another problem:

  "300 millimeters to 500 millimeters? Damn it, even battleships don't have gun barrels that big...... That kid can't be Meng Laozi, can he?"

  ……

  "You also know this caliber is a bit big?"

  Zheng Jiemin rushed back just in time and bumped into Xu Yuanju at the door, so they got on the car together. As a result, after hearing Xu Yuanju's account of Qin Wei's phone call and his own worries, the head of the Military Affairs Bureau couldn't help but rub his forehead.

  "Five hundred millimeters? Do you know how big a five-hundred-millimeter caliber cannon is? I've never even heard of a coastal defense gun that's this large, the largest ones are just over four hundred millimeters... Who do you think could get something like this for us?"

  "That... Boss Dai isn't suspicious, could that kid be a foreigner?" Xu Yuan countered in a low voice. He had his own suspicions, but since they had already taken action and sent people out, he had to maintain the dignity of being the station chief, even if he himself thought the reason was unconvincing... Would foreigners be willing to give China coastal defense guns? Even if they were transported here, it would be too late, the Japanese had already reached Wuhan, what use would such big guns have now? Just installing them would take a lot of effort. Besides, are those foreigners so generous?"

  "Never mind, I reckon that kid shouldn't be cheating us. There should be cannons, but not too many, as for the caliber... Hmph, if he can get me a few 105mm mountain guns, we'll both have made a big contribution." Zheng Jiemin said coldly.

  "Yes, yes, I think so too." Xu Yuan responded with a bitter face. Head spinning, head spinning, could it be that he himself would also get carried away? Hopefully this Zheng guy wouldn't tell Manager Dai about his performance today, or else he'd lose points for sure.

  "Qin family's kid, you'd better give me a more satisfactory answer, or else... I'll make sure to take care of you."

  "What kind of person have you brought here?"

  I don't know how I offended the head of the Military Bureau's Chongqing station again, Qin Wei was still sitting in the director's seat of the teaching affairs office at Chongqing University with his head down in thought. On the sofa opposite him, Shen Chongyang, the director of the teaching affairs office, was looking at Qi Qi, Lu Xiaojia, Fang Hong and others who were standing in a row with a serious expression. Director Shen didn't think he was particularly unlucky to encounter this matter, calling the Military Bureau to ask if they wanted cannons, which sounded like a good thing no matter how you listened to it. The front line was fighting fiercely, soldiers were bleeding and fighting, more cannons would bring a glimmer of hope for victory... He was just very dissatisfied with Qi Qi's ability to cause trouble: at least they should have figured out the other party's background?

  "Director, how were we supposed to know what kind of person he is? He was originally going to take over as the director of Guanyin An's Zheng Zhenhua's reception center, who knew he suddenly became an arms dealer?" Qiqi muttered in a low voice with her head down.

  "How outrageous!" Shen Zhongyu's face sank again, "Mr. Qin is a patriot who cares about the war effort at all times, and for the sake of victory, he has worked hard to bring in big guns. As a university student, what kind of attitude is this?"

  "How can I see that he is working hard? If it's really that good, why do the military control people still want him to be the director of the reception center?" Qiqi said discontentedly.

  "Qiqi, just say a few less words." Lu Xiaojia pulled on her classmate's sleeve.

  "It's all your uncle's fault, just you wait and see how I scold him tomorrow." Aligning with Qi Qi's stubbornness, which was pulling but not moving forward, Shen Chongyu also had no way out and could only find the opponent's family members. Unfortunately, his threat was clearly useless to Qi Qi.

  "My uncle can't control me."

  "Who is your uncle?"

  "Wang Taofu!"

  "Who is Wang Taofu again?"

  "What does it have to do with you, Ba County?"

  Qiqi snapped back to reality, furious, and glared at Qin Wei with a fierce stare.

  "Just ask yourself, can't your uncle be seen by others?"

  "You're really unbearable!" Qi Qi was furious... She didn't understand, who taught this guy? How can he always manage to infuriate people with just a few casual words?

  "Mr. Qin, don't be too familiar with the kids," Shen Zhongyu interrupted, first smiling at Qin Wei and then looking sternly at several students, finally focusing his gaze on Qi Qi: "You'd better behave yourself. Otherwise, I'll go find your department head!"

  "Hmm!"

  Qiqi was furious, but in the end she still didn't say another word.

  "You all go back first, I'll stay here with Mr. Qin." Shen Zhongyu said again.

  "No," several boys, as well as Lu Xiaojia, responded in unison. Just as they were about to leave, Qi Qi suddenly shook her head, "Director, I'm worried that this guy isn't a good person, we should stay here to protect you."

  "Nonsense!" Shen Zhongyu's face turned stern, "Is this something you can participate in? Go back immediately."

  "I'm not going." Qiqi stuck out her neck and glanced at several boys again, "You're not allowed to leave either. Did you hear?"

  "That... Director, I think Qi Qi is right, let's stay." A boy thought for a moment and also said to Shen Chongyu.

  "Hu Xiangzhong, you're a good student, why are you also messing around with her?" Shen Zhongyu scolded.

  "Director Shen, that... I have a question." Qin Wei suddenly interjected.

  "Oh? Mr. Qin, please ask." Shen Zhongyu couldn't be bothered to scold the students, and he didn't really have any intention of doing so either. These days, universities advocate for students' freedom to think and act, and the school rarely forces students to do anything, which makes university students have stronger autonomy, dare to question authority, and the school is pleased with this phenomenon. On the contrary, those who like to suppress students will often get a bad reputation. Moreover, Qi Qi and others have some background, just like Qi Qi mentioned his uncle Wang Tao, who is the county magistrate of Ba County, the highest administrative official on the land they are currently on, and has connections with professors from famous universities such as Chongqing University and National Central University, which relocated due to loss of territory. Although this won't be a reason for special treatment, Zhongyu won't give Qi Qi and others any special care because of this, but it can't be denied that these people will help them out more or less. Besides, Qi Qi and others didn't commit any mistakes this time, they just had a bad attitude. What's wrong with that?

  "Is there an electronics expert in this school? Oh, mechanical or electromechanical, or electrical should also be fine. No need for an expert, just someone who can help..."

  "What can we help Mr. Qin with?"

  "Just get a variable voltage charger. A small one that can charge this battery is fine." Qin Wei took out his own mobile phone battery... He had already removed it from the phone before he came. Fortunately, it was a counterfeit Apple product, and the back cover could be opened to take it out. If it were genuine, it would not have been easy to handle without tools.

  "Is this a battery?"

  Shen Zhongyu looked at the flat, flat thing that Qin Wei handed over to him and felt a little surprised. The batteries he had seen were all cylindrical, and it was the first time he saw this kind of stuff.

  "I need a charger that can convert from ordinary household voltage to the voltage indicated on it, and also have two copper needles that can reach these two positive and negative poles..." Qin Wei continued to explain.

  "This battery can still be charged, is it a rechargeable battery?" Shen Zhongyu only thought of the key point now. He only knew that rechargeable batteries were used in cars, but those were all big ones, and he had never seen such a small one before.

  "I suppose it's a rechargeable battery... Ah, Director Shen, will it work?"

  "This shouldn't be difficult. I'll go ask at the Polytechnic University..."

  "Thank you, Director Shen. You've really helped me out a lot. That... later when I sell the gun, I'll definitely make a big donation to your organization."

  "No need for politeness, this is what we should... Mr. Qin, what did you say? You want to 'sell' the cannon?"

  "Ah, can't it be?"

  "No, no... I thought you were going to donate."

  "It can also be said to be a donation, you know, according to my method, the National Army can at least get 18,000 large cannons, although the range is a bit shorter, but the power... Tsk tsk, it's ruthless!"

  "Good grief!"