Chapter 20: Witnessing Friendship's Pocket Watch

  Zhao Qingquan said: "General Li, I have a suggestion, would you be willing to listen?"

  Li Zhen said: "As long as you give me 200,000 taels of silver, everything can be discussed."

  Zhao Qingquan hesitated for a moment, then said: "The East King's family is wealthy and powerful, with countless wealth in the mansion. Taking out 200,000 taels of silver is not difficult, but it would be bad to spread the word. So, the East King secretly took out 200,000 taels of silver, but can only say that he used 50,000 taels of silver to redeem 10,000 soldiers. Can you agree to this?"

  Li Zhen'an said Yang Xiuqing loved face but was secretly delighted.

  He struggled hard to earn more money, just to keep a portion for himself.

  Zhao Qingquan spoke out and gave him an opportunity.

  Li Zhen smiled secretly in his heart, but a hesitant expression appeared on his face. After considering for a while, he said slowly: "As long as the twenty million taels of silver are sufficient, how to operate will be decided by Mr. Zhao and Dong Wang. I just need to collect the money. However, Li Zhen can't return empty-handed this time!"

  Bang! Bang!!

  Yang Xiuling chuckled and applauded twice in a row.

  At this moment, a guard walked into the grand hall with a tray in his hands, on which was placed a stack of silver notes. Yang Xiuqing pointed to the silver notes on the tray and said with a smile: "General Yang, these are 150,000 taels of silver notes, I'll give them to you privately first. Next time we exchange soldiers, we will give another 50,000 taels of white silver."

  Li Zhen put away the silver ticket and smiled: "Dong Wang is straightforward, I hope we can cooperate again next time."

  Yang Xiuqing's mouth twitched slightly, secretly saying that there would be no end to this later.

  Zhao Qingquan waved his hand and said: "Li Canjiang, the matter is settled. I'll see you off."

  "Wait!"

  Li Zhen stretched out his hand to stop him and said, "Dong Wang, my soldiers and I risked being killed to come to Nanjing, and after all the hardships we've been through, the silver we got is not even enough for us. Your mansion has a lot of money, can't you give us a few more million taels of silver so that my soldiers and I can gain something? We can't just return empty-handed!"

  Yang Xiuling's eyebrows rose in anger, and she was about to get furious.

  He suppressed his anger and said in a low voice: "Zhao Qingquan, give him six thousand taels of silver."

  "Yes!"

  Zhao Qingquan glanced at Li Zhen and secretly thought that Li Zhen was a fleeting visitor. He took Li Zhen out of the grand hall, and Huang Shi Hai knew that things had been settled, so he followed Li Zhen and left together.

  Zhao Qingquan saw Li Zhen off at the south gate of Nanjing and turned back.

  Li Zhen led the way out and after they were far away from Nanjing, Huang Shi-hai asked: "Sir, you and Yang Xiu-qing discussed it and finally decided to exchange one million prisoners for how much money."

  Li Zhen smiled and said: "Yang Xiuqing used 200,000 taels of silver to exchange for 10,000 prisoners, and also gave an additional 6,000 taels, a total of 206,000 taels. The number I told Qi Shan was 100,000 taels, which can be reduced by 106,000 taels. With this money, we can change the equipment of the special forces soldiers in the future. We will take it step by step, and the soldiers of the Special Forces Brigade not only have the best equipment but also a most elite force that makes the enemy tremble with fear."

  Huang Shi Hai heard this and his heart was stirred up.

  Huang Shi Hai immediately showed a worried expression and said in a low voice, "Sir, if Qi Shan finds out that you have privately withheld 160,000 taels of silver, won't it be disastrous?"

  Li Zhen again spoke out about Zhao Qingquan's matter, laughing and saying: "Yang Xiuqing said it was 50,000 taels of silver, Qi Shan also got 100,000 taels of silver, no one knows I embezzled the money. Plus Yang Xiuqing was extorted a large sum of money, feeling uncomfortable in his heart, won't mention this matter again. Let's go, hurry up and head to Yanzi Rock.

  Huang Shi Hai stopped talking and followed closely behind Li Zhen with his guards.

  In the afternoon, Li Zhen and his party arrived at Yanzi Rock and found Ma Shi's inn. Li Zhen entered Ma Shi's room, and Ma Shi immediately came forward to give Li Zhen a bear hug, laughing and saying: "God bless you, you're finally back! Li, didn't that group of madmen in Nanjing give you any trouble?"

  Li Zhen shrugged and said, "Do I look like someone who has been bullied?"

  Ma smiled and immediately waved his hand for Li Zhen to take a seat.

  Li Zhenjun walked into the house and sat down, smiling and saying: "Brother Ma Si, let's talk about the matter of weapons now."

  Ma's face changed color in surprise, and his heart skipped a beat.

  Do we have to change the price?

  Ma thought of a misunderstanding with Li Zhen, shook his head repeatedly in his heart, thinking that Li Zhen was honest and reliable, and it was impossible to change the price. Ma took a deep breath and said: "Dear Li, just say what's on your mind."

  Li Zhen took out the 35,000 taels of silver tickets that he had already prepared from his bosom and handed them to Ma Si, saying: "Ma Si, this is 35,000 taels of silver tickets, which is the money for buying guns and ammunition. Count it."

  Ma took the silver ticket and was deeply moved.

  He clutched the silver ticket tightly, afraid that it would fly away. After a pause, Ma Si looked up at Li Zhen and asked, "Li, you gave me all the money for buying guns and ammunition, aren't you afraid that I'll take the money and run off without giving you the guns and ammunition?"

  Li Zhen said: "Mas brothers, are you from the Beretta family?"

  At the mention of 'Borelta', Maas puffed out his chest, a proud and arrogant look on his face, and said loudly: "God let me be born in the Borelta family, this is my pride for life, I will take pride in it, I will fight for the Borelta family without stopping. My friends, my name is Maas Borelta."

  Li Zhen's mouth corner floated a smile, saying: "I believe the Mas brothers will not tarnish the reputation of the Beretta family and will also follow the quality of an honest businessman, so I trust you."

  In fact, Li Zhen knew the Beretta family.

  Someone who is familiar with firearms, if even the Beretta family doesn't know, then they absolutely don't understand the history of gun manufacturing. The Italian Beretta family is one of the oldest weapons manufacturers in history, starting production of small arms in the 16th century, and making guns, showing just how long their history is.

  Ma Shuai said solemnly: "My friend, rest assured. As long as I still have a breath, I will definitely transport 1,000 guns and 100,000 bullets to the Jiangbei Dazhen."

  Li Zhen nodded and asked: "Mas brothers, after selling your weapons, are you planning to buy silk and tea?"

  "My god, Li, you're too clever, you already know what I'm going to do."

  Maas exclaimed in surprise, looking very surprised.

  Li Zhen said that most of the businessmen who came to China were buying silk and tea, then returning to their country to sell them for profit. Mas was a legitimate businessman from the Beretta family, no exception.

  Li Zhen said: "Mr. Ma, you go to buy tea leaves, and it's likely that the price will be raised by people. If you don't mind, you temporarily don't buy tea leaves and silk, let me ask Qi Shan, the imperial commissioner of Jiangbei Dazheng, to help you purchase them. When you transport the weapons here, then buy cheaper silk and tea leaves. In this way, you can buy more tea leaves and silk, and when you return home, you will make a big profit. What do you think?"

  Ma's eyes sparkled with excitement as he said, "Li, you are truly an angel sent by God. It is a blessing from God that I have met you."

  As he spoke, Mas quickly drew a cross on his chest.

  Li Zhenxiang said: "Ma Si, we are good friends, helping friends is what should be done."

  "Right, right, we're good friends."

  Ma was so excited that he jumped up and down, saying: "Li, wait a minute."

  After finishing speaking, Ma Si suddenly stood up and walked towards the bedside. He quickly took out a piece of clothing and felt in its pocket. Immediately, Ma Si fished out a golden pocket watch from his pocket, with an antique style, a hollowed-out gold floral pattern on the cover, extremely delicate, and exuding an old color.

  "Li, as a token of our friendship, I give you this pocket watch," said Mas.

  Li Zhen shook his head and said, "Mas brothers, such a precious gift, I cannot accept."

  Ma looked serious and said, "Li, do you look down on me? Although I'm temporarily down on my luck, I will definitely become a pillar of the Aubrey family in the future. This pocket watch was bought by my great-grandfather from Switzerland and has been passed down to me. Now I'll give it to you as a witness to our friendship."

  Li Zhen no longer hesitated and took over the pocket watch, putting it in his bosom.

  Ma smiled, feeling he had made the wisest decision.

  PS: The second of four updates