Chapter 9: The Arms Deal (1)

  At 5 pm, Hao Jianguang ordered Zheng Zhiming to recall the third battalion soldiers who were still on duty outside and announced that today's work could be dismissed. Hao Jianguang was a Shanghainese, he had a house in Shanghai, so he didn't live in the barracks either. After ordering the dismissal, he left the military police station alone.

  Xu Shao Wen didn't have much to do on the first day, so he returned a little earlier. As soon as he walked out of the military police station gate, Li Zhen Ning came running over with a smile. Seeing Xu Shao Wen wearing his brand new sky blue military uniform, Li Zhen Ning immediately laughed and said: "Wen Yuan, you were sent on a mission on your first day of reporting for duty?"

  Li Zhenning also received the new military uniform, but he hasn't changed into it yet and is still wearing the Army University's cadet uniform. Xu Shaowen smiled and didn't respond to Li Zhenning's words, instead asking: "What, has the General Staff Department run out of things to do so early?"

  "That's not it, today has really exhausted me," Li Zhenning's expression became slightly serious, saying, "The situation in the south is very unstable, Wen Yuan you should also know. Shanghai is far from Beijing and there are not many garrison troops, the staff department has been on tenterhooks for several months, fearing that the Nationalist Party in the south will stir up more trouble."

  Xu Shao Wen nodded slightly, the Beiyang government's power was mainly in control of the Central Plains and Northeast China. Although Shanghai is also part of the Central Plains, it is located at the edge of the Beiyang government's territory in terms of transportation. Moreover, Shanghai is an economic hub and has always been a key area of contention between the north and south. What's more, even during the Nationalist Party's Northern Expedition a few years later, Shanghai was a must-pass place on the expedition route.

  "It seems that the Shanghai Garrison Command is indeed very busy." Xu Shao-wen smiled slightly and said with a hint of teasing, "In such a situation, you should be so busy that you can't even go home."

  "Any other day would be fine, but today is Mid-Autumn Festival, and I specifically asked the Secretary-General for leave to come here." Li Zhenning put on a pitiful expression and shook his head sorrowfully. "You're considered idle at the Military Police Bureau?"

  "It's almost time, let's go. Today I met Uncle Li and he reminded us to return home for dinner early." Xu Shaowen didn't reveal more about what happened today, then returned to the Li family mansion with Li Zhenning.

  When they returned to the Li's villa, it was almost six o'clock. The autumn sky had already drawn its curtains early. The Li family had already prepared for the Mid-Autumn Festival decorations, and all sorts of mooncakes were placed on the coffee table in the living room. Li Wanqi still showed his usual enthusiasm when he saw Xu Shaowen and Li Zhenning return, without mentioning what happened at the Weston Club this morning, the whole festive atmosphere was very lively.

  The Li family gathered together, had the Mid-Autumn Festival dinner, and there was laughter at the table, which seemed like a harmonious reunion. After dinner, Li Wanqi only asked Li Zhenning and Xu Shaowen if they were used to their first day of work.

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  In the evening, Xu Shaowen tidied up the luggage that hadn't been put away in time yesterday in his room. Suddenly, he thought of the telegram Xu Shichang sent to him in the afternoon. In this chaotic Shanghai, if he could expand his network of relationships, it would be helpful for himself in the future.

  This afternoon's incident at the Weston Club was resolved easily, thanks to Li Wanqi stepping in. Although Li Wanqi also wanted to get close to him, if he took the initiative to get closer to Li Wanqi, wouldn't that be a mutually beneficial relationship? At the Weston Club, even in front of Yu Shao Yan, Yan Wu Ye had to be extremely polite to Li Wanqi, which shows that he is quite an important figure in Shanghai.

  Xu Shaowen decided to go thank Li Wanqi now, which would allow him to have more contact with Li Wanqi and show that he was a person who knew how to repay kindness. Most importantly, it would also give him the opportunity to get closer to Li Wanqi. With this in mind, he put aside his current tasks, tidied up his appearance, and headed out of the room to Li Wanqi's study on the second floor.

  However, just as Xu Shao-wen arrived at the door of the study, he found that the door was ajar and the latch was not locked. He was about to go forward and knock on the door, but when he approached, he happened to hear Li Wan-qi and Li Zhen-ning's conversation inside the study.

  "This afternoon, I've already met with several Chinese bosses who are developing in the concession," Li Wanqi's voice was very calm, but subtly exuding a serious atmosphere. "I and they plan to do a big business together, if this business is successful, the profits will definitely not be small."

  "Dad, what kind of business is it?" Li Zhenning asked unknowingly, his voice filled with thick doubt.

  "A batch of military supplies was sent from the north, approximately 500,000 rifles and tens of millions of bullets. The origin of these guns and ammunition came from three channels: one batch was excess firearms issued to new recruits in the Northern Army, another batch was old guns that the Japanese didn't want but were still usable after renovation, and the last batch was collected from the black market." Li Wanqi slowly finished speaking, pausing for a moment as if sizing up Li Zhenning's attitude.

  "Arms? Then how did this batch of guns and ammunition get here? Were they from the Northern Army, the Japanese, or the black market? And five hundred thousand is no small number. Someone who can gather these three batches together must be a figure not to be underestimated." Li Zhenning was shocked, then asked again, "Dad, who is the seller of this batch?"

  Li Wanqi chuckled twice and said, "Zhenning, this deal is not trivial. As for the previous owner, don't ask too much about it. After all, if there's a mishap in the arms trade, it's no small matter."

  "So, Dad, are you planning to take on this batch of goods? But as you said, military equipment is not ordinary merchandise, and it's not necessarily possible to find a suitable buyer afterwards. Moreover, storing military equipment is also a problem, guns and ammunition need to be maintained regularly." Li Zhenning was a soldier, so he naturally understood the matters of guns and ammunition.

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  Here is the translation:

  They're coming, the great speculators, they've arrived! They won't give Americans any chance, this is a historically theoretical dead end! They've arrived!