Chapter 21: The Gate is like a Market (Part 2)

  Yamashita Keigo, of course not the Japanese chess saint of later generations, was an arms dealer who signed a letter of intent with Tan Xiao and then discovered he had been deceived: the sale was just an intention, but the gift was a treaty! Reflecting on the entire conversation with Tan Xiao, he became more and more horrified as he realized that he had been tricked into revealing a lot of information. Moreover, from other sources, it seemed that Tan Xiao was not the kind of person who would worry about cannons being too light and exploding by themselves. The worst part was that the documents he signed on the spot could not be easily repudiated - Mitsui also had many business dealings in Hunan, such as purchasing ores and even buying up some mines. Would Tan Xiao dare to touch Mitsui's interests? Nobody knew, but it was a potential danger.

  However, he soon received an order from the Shanghai Special Branch headquarters to get close to Ye Yisuo at all costs and "nail" him inside. They also gave him some materials obtained in Nanjing, which were propaganda materials for the 23rd Division. There was a large photo of a direction sign indicating the direction of advance: Tokyo! He took the twenty artillery pieces of various calibers and four mortars from the book and rushed to Ye Yisuo's division. Of course, he had made preparations beforehand and brought two high-level agents who were ready to infiltrate Ye Yisuo's division to Lingling.

  Under his arrangement, the Japanese soldiers disguised as porters, led by Inoue no Aki who had basically recovered from treatment, planned to force their way into the military camp on the pretext of delivering artillery to No. 1 Corps. They wanted to test how No. 1 Corps performed in terms of secrecy and defense, execution of orders, etc. He himself hid far behind to observe the situation before reappearing.

  Because he wasn't the chess saint of later generations, he made a move that was a bit confusing: he sent Iwasaki Mika, who had been temporarily driven mad by Tan Xiao last time, to lead the team! And coincidentally, the sergeant on duty at the guard post, Jiao Yiping, was one of the soldiers present when Tan Xiao beat him up last time.

  Inosuke Hanashiro, who had burst into the military camp, startled Jiao Yiping. The newly promoted squad leader, who was leading new recruits, saw Inosuke and got angry. As soon as Inosuke opened his mouth to say "I am Daito...", a series of loud slapping sounds immediately rang out! Jiao Yiping mimicked Tan Xiao's performance from that day and demonstrated it in front of the new recruits. Moreover, he was even more ruthless: instead of using a normal kick, he used a spinning side kick! Since they were outside the camp on a mountain slope, Inosuke was kicked flying for over three meters, rolling down the hill. Several quick-reacting Japanese soldiers rushed to chase after the rolling human ball, causing chaos.

  Several Japanese soldiers, forgetting their current identity as porters, rushed up to beat Focused Ping. This is unbearable! A group of guards immediately went forward with half of the men, swinging their rifle butts and hitting them. The training of the Japanese soldiers was still good, and several unarmed Japanese soldiers who came forward were able to use martial arts to knock down three soldiers because the soldiers of the Wild One Regiment did not intend to beat them to death. The machine gunner at the rear firepower point saw that something was wrong and immediately opened fire! The new recruits were too tense and didn't think about shooting into the air, they just shot at their targets according to training, "Teng teng, teng teng teng" a burst of two or three shots, killing two Japanese soldiers on the spot! Well, since guns have been fired, there's no holding back now. The half squad that had been knocked down by three people was also stirred up and, under Focused Ping's leadership, directly used bayonets to stab! Immediately, another two Japanese soldiers were knocked down, and the other Japanese soldiers, led by the hired Chinese laborers, were all scared and crouched down with their heads in their hands. This scene shocked Mountain Down Respectful Wu, who was following far behind and watching through binoculars, his face turned pale: He had never seen such a fierce National Army!

  The incident shocked the bigwigs in the military camp, He Shaotang hastily drove into the city to find Tan Xiao, Yang Qing and others rushed to the scene to deal with it; even Lin Wei changed into a low-ranking officer's uniform to go and watch the excitement.

  Tan Xiao rushed to the reception area outside the camp and saw Yang Qing and other officers of the First Regiment explaining to Yamashita in a low voice. He glanced at the cannons that had not yet been pulled into the camp, thinking: Am I really going to buy cannons from you little Japanese? It doesn't matter if my face is torn apart, these cannons are mine once they arrive! The two good things were messed up and his anger surged: You damn little Japanese dare to come to my door looking for trouble! He first gave Yamashita a cold greeting, then asked about the situation.

  "What happened to those soldiers?" he asked with a menacing tone. Seeing this, Yamashita began to feel triumphant.

  "They're all closed off, it's a big deal, waiting for Master Tan to come back and handle it." Yang Qing replied. Although he was considered a hardliner in the old Tan faction, after being under Tan Dechang for too long, he had become soft.

  "Continue to lock up those who didn't make a move! Those who did, each will be rewarded with 5 big silver dollars. Those who killed someone, each will get 10! And that machine gunner, tell him next time he encounters this situation, don't fire in bursts, just give it a damn good sweep!" Tan Xiao's order was given right in front of Yamashita Yoshio, leaving all the Chinese and Japanese personnel present staring in shock.

  "Mr. Yamashita, I'll let you off for bringing me the cannon, but trespassing on a military base is a capital offense! Didn't you learn your lesson last time!? If you want to blame someone, blame me, my soldiers are innocent! Someone, why haven't you arranged for people to bring the cannon in yet?..."

  Yamashita Keigo, who was ridiculed and then severely educated, was so angry that he was about to cry. Half an hour later, after completing the handover procedures, he led a team of "movers" to carry Inoue Nozomi, who had relapsed into his old illness and was unlikely to recover, onto the car and left dejectedly.

  “...Damn it, are we going to buy Japanese cannons in the future? We've taken advantage of them, so let's just end it here... What's the point of being polite to the Japanese? Why not take the opportunity to kill a few more?!...” Looking at Tan Xiao, who was still muttering and lecturing others, Lin Wei finally understood what an anti-Japanese faction was. He Shaotang, on the other hand, felt his admiration for him like a boundless river...

  "Officer on duty, there's a British man named Xie Te who claims to be a good friend of the superior officer, asking to see him at the entrance." A soldier who had just come on duty rushed up to everyone and reported to Tan Xiao.

  Damn it, can't even let people enjoy themselves, and now you won't even let them sleep?! Tan Xiao looked up at the darkening sky, thought for a moment, said a few words to everyone, then turned around and walked towards the camp entrance.

  Xie Te found out that someone was transporting military supplies to the barracks when Shan Xia Jingwu's transportation team passed by the outskirts of Lingling, so he also rushed over to see which immortal was doing it. As a result, he watched the whole scene from afar. This afternoon, he learned that a group of American soldiers drove dozens of vehicles into the barracks. After inquiring, he figured out roughly what was going on - it was related to the Indian colonial army lieutenant Rashid Owen who had come with the cannons earlier. They were discussing the theft of military supplies by the American soldiers, so this time there were two people, including Owen.

  It was Owen who actually suggested meeting with Tan Xiao. As for the embezzlement of military funds, the British Indian Army was the most notorious in this era: they even dared to steal a large amount of combat materials aided by the US military and sell them to their enemy, Japan!

  Obviously, Tan Xiao is a big buyer! Owen has plenty of resources in his hands.

  Tonight, no matter what, there's no good fortune to enjoy Ronghui's Suzhou dishes. Under helpless laughter, he did something that most men can't do: He specially sent Tang Fan to tell Ronghui that he won't be able to go back for dinner!

  Unlike Owen and Shet, or those two crazy cowboys, he has a standard military rigor in every move, including doing business.

  Tan Xiao was still curious about such a soldier in his heart. That Jack Lawrence, the captain of the supply ship, or not one himself, but he was embezzling military funds, so he thought he was one, and every move he made put himself into the mold of one.

  Owen, Rashid. Owen is not, when he talks about the theft of military supplies, you feel that he is talking about a very serious and legitimate matter. He will repeatedly ask questions to clarify or confirm things that are not clear or fully understood, until everything is understood. And, for some details, use special characters similar to codes to record them down.

  "This guy, is he really the legendary perfect soldier? Even embezzling military funds looks so cool on him!"

  In Rashid Owen's mind, it was a noble thing to find a good long-term buyer for his comrades, so that they could send more money back to Luton or Manchester and live like a rich man in New Delhi. At least, he would get the respect of his comrades and even get promoted faster - he had seen several comrades who did business well get promoted faster than others. So, when he escorted the big guns to Lingling this time, after learning about some jokes, he felt that the opportunity had come.

  In the list of supplies provided by Owen, there were all sorts of British military standard weapons, and even cars, tanks, and planes! As for things like fuel, military canvas, military watches, emergency medicines, etc., they had everything, and the prices were only half of the market price!

  Tan Xiao didn't believe it: many things in the list were hot items on the black market, no reason to sell them cheap! Besides, tanks and planes? Are you kidding me? Can just any captain sell those?

  After a lengthy explanation by the two gentlemen, Tan Xiao finally understood: what they called a tank was actually an old model that had been retired since World War I - the kind that was disguised as a water delivery vehicle for the front lines. In his previous world, this would have been a valuable collector's item. But now it was basically just a movable piece of scrap metal. The airplane, on the other hand, was a wooden plane called DH-10, which had last been used in 1923 to suppress an uprising in India. Owen, who had been serious until then, did not expect Tan Xiao to have expert-level knowledge of tanks - China would become a tank powerhouse in the future! As for airplanes, although Tan Xiao had only seen J-9s at the base and was unfamiliar with fighter jets and bombers, he could tell from common sense and his experience seeing World War II planes like the DH-98 at a military museum that the DH-10 was several generations behind. This was enough to make Owen's face turn bright red with embarrassment.

  "Maybe those DH-10s can still be bought for a spin, but what about those tanks? My steel mill hasn't even been built yet!" Tan Xiao didn't give any face. He found that dealing with these military old mice required ruthlessness, just like Rong Hui's pricing - making the target worthless. In fact, he wanted those planes - although they were outdated, they could still be used as trainer planes and for artillery spotting. Of course, he was also hesitant in his heart: 180 kilometers per hour? Not even as fast as cars from later generations!

  So he set his sights on those half-price items: the British were very dishonest, they had laid traps on many items, such as: most of the medicines were expired, the guns were refurbished, and the storage period of the ammunition was facing a replacement period of ten years... However, some things are indeed worth buying: for example, gasoline, diesel and other oil products. The British sailors conveniently over-reported when refueling, which is how they stole the oil. Tan Xiao calculated that if he could get a long-term supply, he could guarantee 40 tons per month! Tan Xiao remembered a scene from a movie where Rommel said, "Give me just twenty tons of oil...!" The British could steal forty tons every month, and it was only an upper lieutenant! Moreover, those ammunition that were due for destruction and update, the final price offered by the British was only one-tenth of the market price - much cheaper than producing training ammunition themselves! And in fact, those ammunition could still be used after two or even three years.

  "Right, I need 40 tons of oil every month. What can you deliver? Two sightseeing planes?" Tan Xiao's topic returned to the plane.

  "Those planes, originally over two hundred, now how many can still fly? Only God and that old Toby who's still flying them know! Owen was impressed by Tan Xiao's knowledge of military hardware: "We once thought of selling them cheaply to American farmers, but they couldn't even afford the shipping cost!"

  How much is an airplane worth if it can't even cover the cost of shipping? In the end, Owen got the planes for free in exchange for a deal where he would buy all the oil products at half price every month, plus a one-time discount purchase of 16,000 new Tony-style steel helmets and some soon-to-expire ammunition. Of course, the cost of hiring mechanics and flight instructors like Old Toby was his own expense. He also said that if the price could be lowered to a similar level, he would consider buying those refurbished old guns. On this point, Owen couldn't make the decision himself, so it had to wait until he got back.

  After seeing off the British, it was already late. Tan Xiao savored the passion with Rong Hui on one hand, and muttered to himself: "What are the important things that need to be done immediately..." He decided to start by doing a Sino-Japanese War analysis report.

  The next morning, He Shao-tang came in with a report to request instructions: to rebuild the reception room outside the military camp, make it luxurious, and specifically for receiving arms dealers and material suppliers. It is also suggested that special personnel can be issued with a uniform of the First Field Army badge, and can move around in designated areas within the military camp. Tan Xiao-gang signed his name after reading it, but added a note: The approval of special personnel must be signed by the division commander. At this time, what appeared in Tan Xiao's mind was the devilish figure of Rong Hui wrapped in a military uniform!

  After Tan Xiao signed with a smile, He Shao Tang immediately handed over a list of personnel for Tan Xiao to approve. The first one was: Xie Te, the supplier of military supplies and materials, and technical assistance engineer. Next: Rong Hui... good brother!! Tan Xiao signed again with a smile.

  The Americans, having shed their usual languor, arrived early at the camp to seek an audience, as they were pressed for time. After seeing Tan Xiang pay $40,000 in cash for Rogers' vehicles and goods with great ease, Lawrence's eyes lit up!

  But at this time, Tan Xiao's eyes also lit up, as if in a dream, knocking on the door and walking into the reception room was a female military officer, with the rank of lieutenant colonel - Rong Hui! It was Rong Hui! She actually walked in wearing the uniform of the First Field Army! At the door, He Shao Tang shrugged his shoulders, gave an OK gesture with his hand, turned around and left, without even giving Tan Xiao's thumbs up a proper look.

  The temptation of a beauty knows no borders, and everyone in the living room suddenly feels their breath tighten and their heart beat faster!

  Rong Hui ignored the wolf eyes spinning around her and walked straight to Tan Xiao's side, whispering in his ear: "The US Navy Department has started investigating. This Lawrence loaded all the goods onto two supply ships, which have already arrived in Shanghai. If they don't sell before returning, they'll have to dump them into the sea!" She spoke very softly, and he leaned in closer as he listened, their bodies almost touching, making the two cowboys drool with envy!

  However, in the subsequent business negotiations, the cowboys learned about the destructive power of the beauty. When Rong Hui asked them in English if they knew that the investigators from the US Navy Department had arrived in Manila, they could only admit defeat. Rogers was nonchalant, but Lawrence was key, wiping his sweat and opening his hands: "Alright, $100,000, it's settled!"

  "Don't be discouraged, friends, because this batch of goods is hot and may cause diplomatic problems." Tan Xiao said with a reason he didn't even believe himself: "But I still don't want to see my friends lose out. You can go back and ask around, whether the production lines that helped the British process P-14 back then are still there, if they can be used or repaired. This is also a good business opportunity, as there's already a buyer lined up. Here's $20,000 as a deposit; if you don't want to do it, you can just swallow the loss."

  "Right, let me introduce you. Miss Rong Hui, a renowned beauty in the Far Eastern arms industry, a special VIP who can come and go freely from the Wild One Regiment, and also my... private arms trade consultant!" Tan Xiao introduced with great pleasure: "As for production line matters, you can discuss them directly with Miss Rong..." Tan Xiao believed that when it came to dealing with these military mice, Rong Hui was more skilled at pricing than he was.

  After seeing off the American, another special guest, Xie Te, arrived immediately, wearing a uniform of the Wild One Division, with the rank of: Captain! Looking at his rank, Tan Xiao couldn't help but laugh and scold He Shaotang in her heart.

  Similarly, Xie Te, who was originally excited, showed a few points of embarrassment when he recognized Rong Hui and saw her military rank. Damn it! The French representative's military rank is higher than his own!

  "Shouldn't you give way to a lady?" Tan Xiao could only help him save face, saying as he removed his own Major General shoulder badges and exchanged them with Rong Hui.

  "If someone saw this scene... aren't you afraid that Director Zhang will really take away your lieutenant general position?" Rong Hui whispered again.

  Xie Te understood and spread his hands: "Tan, I have a suggestion that should be a good one."

  He glanced at Rong Hui, after all, she was the representative of the French arms dealer, but saw Tan Xiao made a gesture to continue.

  "After I went back yesterday, Owen and I discussed it and felt that there was still one business that could be done." He still looked at Rong Hui with some concern: "Materials, military materials. There are six ordnance factories in India, with materials piled up like mountains, very easy to go bad..."

  "Wait, you said six ordnance factories? ...I think there's one called Dum Dum, right?" Tan Xiao only knew that the Dum Dum factory in India was famous for producing dum-dum bullets, but he didn't know anything else. However, during negotiations, it's best not to let your opponent know about your ignorance. This time, he was obviously too ignorant.

  "Oh, that's a small factory in Calcutta, I'm talking about others that are even bigger, they have a lot of inventory materials, can make guns, cannons, ammunition... even tanks! Owen and I both think you'll need it... We can at least scrap over 50 tons of materials every month due to rust, damage, etc., this is just one factory, the one Owen is in charge of guarding, if we go back and contact them, there can be more."

  Tan Xiao thought for a moment: "You mean I can bring those materials over and you and I will buy them, getting rid of Yihe?"

  Xie Te began to sweat, he was the vice president of Jardine Far East. He looked at Rong Hui and nodded firmly: "Yes." According to his calculation, selling those "waste materials" to Tan Xiao at a 20% discount price would allow him to earn in less than two years what it would take twenty years to earn at Jardine.

  In the original history, China was unable to make good strategic reserves due to its backward military industry. At the most difficult time after the war began, even frontline soldiers could only receive four bullets per person per month! If there were six large British munitions factories supplying themselves before the war, with a two-year reserve period, oh my god! This Shete is an eternal friend of the Chinese people!

  Tan Xiao stabilized the excitement in his heart: "I have a new idea, why not process those materials directly according to my requirements in India and then transport them to me, isn't it more convenient?" Tan Xiao thought of the title of China's world factory in later generations.

  "Hmm...this looks like a good idea..." Shete hadn't figured it out yet.

  "Absolutely a good idea!" Rong Hui looked at Tan Xiao with surprise: "I can open an arms trading company and factory in India..." She looked at Xie Te again: "Then, the processed military goods you guys produce, no, those materials with my label on them, transport to China!" The production site is in a British colony, the sales location is in China, she can say goodbye to Eric Bederman!

  "What a good idea! Who would have thought that the Frenchman... uh, Miss Rong would join us in cooperation? ...This has nothing to do with that Bai Deng, does it?" Xie Te asked.

  "Is it related to Wei?" Rong Hui retorted with a sly smile.

  "Right, why not? I'm still the vice president of Yihe... Haha, what a great idea!" Xie suddenly understood everything. He had even thought about not being that vice president if Yihe found out he was selling materials to Tan Xiao himself.

  At the price of buying scrap, plus processing fees, and adding in Rong Hui and Xie Te's profits, it would be at most slightly higher than the market price for materials. Every month, there would be at least three hundred tons - it should be even more! As long as the profit can satisfy the British military mice. After a few months, China's military reserves will exceed the total national reserves during the July 7th Incident! Tan Xiao is very excited!

  Maybe I should also become a shareholder of this company, it's a very promising company. Xie Te is so excited!

  Being able to shake off the man who treated her as a plaything and be with the man she deeply loved was enough for her to pay any price. Rong Hui was very excited.

  A munitions company that had a profound impact on World War II, the Oriental Cobra Company was founded today. The company later designed and developed thousands of large and small projects, including submachine guns, individual anti-tank weapons, new tank armor, plastic explosives, etc., which became standard weapons for both warring parties!