Chapter 9: The Arms Deal (4)

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  "Wen Yuan, you're oversimplifying things. Firstly, the US had already sold a large quantity of arms to European countries last year, so why would they still need them now? Secondly, even if European countries do need arms now, we China don't have the capability to manufacture such high-quality weapons for sale, do we? Thirdly, the European arms market is completely dominated by the US, how could they possibly allow us China to take a share of it?" Li Zhenning argued eloquently, with a self-satisfied look on his face after finishing his words.

  Xu Shaowen smiled, his expression calm and composed. He had long known the answers to these questions. If he couldn't even solve these problems, he wouldn't have come to Li Wanqi's presence with such confidence. His tone was neither rushed nor slow as he explained: "The supply and demand of military supplies are not like everyday goods, which can be bought when needed and not bought when not needed. Moreover, the Allied Powers and the Central Powers are now officially at war, and there will be losses in war, not just casualties among soldiers, but also loss and damage to weapons."

  At this point, Xu Shaowen glanced at Li Wanqi, and Li Wanqi's expression was contemplative, obviously also acknowledging his statement. However, from this, he could vaguely infer that Li Wanqi must have had quite a bit of contact with military supplies.

  "The war is unpredictable in its consumption, can't we wait until the new recruits arrive and then think of ways to purchase military supplies? In that case, the new recruits will have to go into battle empty-handed before the military supplies arrive." Xu Shao-wen continued, "I believe that both the Allied Powers and the Central Powers indeed have military supplies in reserve, but they cannot predict how long this war will last, so it is better to have more military supplies rather than less."

  "Even so, how can great powers like Europe look down on our China's Hanyang Arsenal and Mauser rifles? They will definitely continue to purchase arms from the Americans." Li Zhenning still insisted on his own point of view, saying seriously.

  Indeed, the biggest winner of World War I was the United States in North America. From the arms race between the Allies and the Central Powers from 1913 to 1917 when the US declared its entry into the war on the side of the Allies, the largest arms seller to European countries had been monopolized by the US. Moreover, even after the US joined the Allies in 1917, the weapons provided to the Allies were not free.

  World War I can be said to have brought about a leap in the development of the US economy.

  "This is a difficult problem, but it's not hard to solve." Xu Shaowen said with confidence, at this moment his demeanor was not like that of a young man, but rather like an old and experienced person.

  "How can it be solved?" Li Zhenning asked somewhat incredulously.

  "It's simple, we've been ordering in bulk from the United States, as much as they have, we'll take it all, until their inventory is completely depleted." Xu Shaowen said seriously, "Once the United States runs out of military supplies, he can't possibly sell his own standing army's weapons, right? The European war is a matter of utmost urgency, and the Allies and Central Powers absolutely cannot wait for the United States to produce new batches of military supplies. At this time, the only ones with large quantities of existing military supplies are us."

  Li Wanqi's eyes flickered, his expression turned solemn, this was an extremely bold speculative behavior, but the profit was obvious. He didn't speak, still in a state of contemplation, many thoughts flashed through his mind quickly.

  Li Zhenning was also shocked, not small, by Xu Shaowen's bold and frightening plan. He was stunned for half a day and couldn't speak. But after his emotions calmed down, he immediately raised doubts, saying: "This is too unrealistic. Even if the Beiyang government wants to buy such a large batch of military supplies from the United States, the United States will consider whether the Beiyang government can afford such a huge expense, let alone our Li family being just a small merchant in Shanghai. Moreover, the United States has cooperated with European countries for so long and must have contracts. They cannot abandon their contracts and sell military supplies to us instead."

  "The reason why the Northern Government's finances are not trusted is because most of China's economy is controlled by local financial forces. To take in all the military supplies from the United States, it is indeed not something that Li Shoucheng alone can undertake, but with Li Shoucheng's prestige, in Shanghai and even in the south, he can rally several chambers of commerce to jointly take down this batch of goods, which shouldn't be a problem." Xu Shaowen said lightly.

  Li Wanqi remained calm and collected, but of course he had already made his calculations in his heart. What Xu Shaowen said about gathering several chambers of commerce to join forces to take down this batch of goods was no problem in terms of funding, but the profit aspect was hard to say. One chamber of commerce has several big bosses, even if there are 200 million profits, after dividing it up, one person can't get much, why bother taking such a huge risk to do this kind of international speculative business?

  Xu Shaowen saw what was on Li Wanqi's mind from his expression, but he didn't rush to explain anything because he knew that Li Wanqi was worried about the risk at this time, and it was a small matter to gather how many people to eat this batch of military rations.

  "As for the long-term cooperative relationship between the United States and European countries, it's not worth worrying about. In this world, there are no eternal friends or enemies, only eternal interests." Xu Shaowen paused for a moment before continuing, "Moreover, European countries are currently at war, which is the most consuming of national strength. And the military equipment they purchased from the United States is all on installment payments. Once their national strength declines, the United States will worry about whether it can even recover the remaining payment."

  "Even so, the Flower Flag Country is a big country, and the arsenal of a big country is worth billions or even tens of billions. Moreover, according to what you said, Wen Yuan, we have to pay all the costs at once, hundreds of billions of dollars is an astronomical figure even for the government!" Li Zhenning said relentlessly.

  "That's right, this is a big problem, but if we can swallow the military supplies in the US arsenal, this deal will be absolutely profitable! Xu Shaowen was also worried about the funding issue. To attract the US to divert its military supplies from Europe to China, the best way would be to pay in one lump sum, but the amount of this payment is equivalent to thirty years of taxes in China's current situation. "But I have a more secure method, only the profit will be smaller."

  "Let's talk about it." This time Li Wanqi finally spoke up, which can be explained that he was interested in Xu Shaowen's plan from start to finish.

  "We don't take guns, only ammunition." Xu Shaowen smiled slightly, with a hint of disappointment in his smile, because he felt that the profit from selling ammunition was far less than that from selling weapons. "The arms sold by the United States to European countries are all standard US-made weapons, so they need corresponding ammunition. The price of ammunition is much cheaper than that of weapons. Once we can monopolize the US ammunition inventory, we can also make a profit."

  Li Zhenning did not refute anything else, he was not sincere in wanting to oppose Xu Shaowen. If it were indeed a win-win situation to make money, why not? Xu Shaowen's idea of collecting ammunition is indeed more realistic than collecting weapons.

  However, Li Wanqi's face gradually became unsightly, he also knew the profit comparison between ammunition and weapons, as a businessman would naturally want to make more money.

  "In addition, the ammunition is not only cheap but also produced quickly, and each country in Europe must have its own military factory to imitate the American-style equipment bullets. Therefore, if we want to speculate on ammunition, we need to stock up quickly and sell out quickly, which still carries some risk." Xu Shaowen looked at Li Zhenning and Li Wanqi, who both had hesitant expressions, and added another sentence on the side.

  "So you're saying that after all this, Wen Yuan, you still want us to go and purchase weapons?" Li Wanqi slowly opened his mouth to ask, his expression looking very serious.

  Xu Shaowen burst out laughing and stood up from his chair, saying: "Uncle Li, Shaowen is just talking big on paper. All speculative behavior carries risk, and a capital of several billion is absolutely a major hurdle. This requires not only vision but also a kind of aura. Because variables exist at all times, no one knows what will happen in the next second. If several billion are lost, I'm afraid you'll really have to jump into the Huangpu River."

  Li Zhenning also sighed, but at this moment he suddenly discovered that Xu Shaowen was indeed a genius, and such a big speculation could be thought of. He gradually admired his good friend more in his heart.

  "It's getting late, so I won't disturb you anymore," said Xu Shaowen. "Uncle Li can just consider what I said earlier as nonsense and not take it to heart." After finishing speaking, Xu Shaowen slightly bowed his head and prepared to leave the room.

  Li Zhenning originally wanted to say something, but he didn't know how to start, so he remained silent. He looked at his father, Li Wanqi, who also seemed indifferent, with a gloomy and solemn expression, as if still hesitating about something.

  Just as Xu Shao-wen was about to enter the study, Li Wan-qi finally stood up from behind the desk and slowly called out to him, "Wen-yuan!"

  Xu Shaowen turned around and calmly looked at Li Wanqi, asking: "Uncle Li, is there anything else?"

  "Alas," Li Wanqi sighed, saying with a heavy heart, "Wen Yuan, from now on I will change my previous views of you. You are indeed a genius among men, and only you could come up with such an audacious and astonishing business deal. However, this matter is not impossible to achieve, it's just that I need some time to consider it."

  "Shao Wen understood that his previous words were just a momentary impulse, and Uncle Li might as well take them as a reference, no need to really put them in his heart." Xu Shao Wen smiled slightly, he knew that the huge profit of this speculative plan had already moved Li Wan Qi's heart, but on the surface it was still just polite words.

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