Spy Wars: Red Shopkeeper

Chapter 154 Buying a Gun
Return to the police station.

The car had barely come to a stop when Wang Rusong came out to offer his concern and ask about the passengers' well-being.

"Brother Gu, you've worked hard. How's it going? Any progress?"

"Of course there's been progress. We've convinced some businessmen to invest and open factories here, and a preliminary agreement has been reached. We're just waiting for them to arrive."

"That's great!" Wang Rusong clapped his hands, quite moved. "Brother Gu, you have such a wide network of connections. You've only been gone for half a day and you've already brought us investment. You're a hero, a great hero! Come on in, please come in and rest for a bit."

What kind of factory is it, and how much tax revenue is expected to generate?

"Cotton yarn mill, flour mill, repair shop."

"so much?!"

"I don't know about taxes, but I reckon there shouldn't be any problems."

"That's definitely enough!"

In this day and age, anyone who dares to invest in Shanghai, especially in a city that has just undergone forced land expropriation, needs an exceptionally strong network of connections. Which businessman who can come up with tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of silver dollars is a fool? Wang Rusong needs to treat this meritorious official well.

As long as these factories can produce, regardless of whether they make a profit or not, their positions are definitely secure.

"Brother Gu, would you like me to give you a shoulder massage or something? Are you tired? If you think my technique isn't good enough, I'll find you the best masseur in all of Shanghai. I guarantee you'll feel so comfortable that your bones will fall apart, and you'll feel like you're in heaven."

Gu Yansheng glanced at him sideways and laughed, "Is it really necessary? I just used my mouth."

"It's really that serious. I asked a few people around me, and they're all worried sick."

"Then let's call two people over to give him a massage." Corrupt officials always have to spend some money, but it seems he shouldn't have to pay for it; it's quite difficult for him to spend money.

“Okay, I have a good one, a driver from Yangzhou.” Wang Rusong immediately instructed his secretary, who had already come with him, to go pick up the person directly, as driving would be faster.

Gu Yansheng and he went to the office, and Gu Yansheng asked, "How's the grain situation going?"

"I made the call and they gave me 600 tons. They'll all be delivered by tomorrow."

"Only 600 tons? There are hundreds of thousands of people in western Shanghai. How many days' worth is that enough to feed them? Director Wang, I've been working myself to the bone trying to build connections. Have you put in any effort?"

"Brother, even this 600 tons was obtained after I begged and pleaded with my grandpa and grandma. It's not easy to get even a hair out of the Japanese."

Wang Rusong sat on the sofa and complained, "I called the Asia Development Institute, and they said they could help us contact Japanese companies and help us negotiate a lower price, but those Japanese companies also need to survive, and they can't just give it to us for free."

You said there's a rice shortage in Shanghai right now, and I don't even want to mention the prices the Japanese companies were offering. But the Asia Industrial Research Institute really helped us; they gave us 600 tons of rice on credit at 20 silver dollars for 60 kilograms. We can pay them back after we sell it all.”

Gu Yansheng frowned upon hearing this. "That's far too little. How long will 600 tons of rice last? What if something goes wrong when there's no rice?"

“They told us to figure it out ourselves. The 600 tons of rice is to give us some buffer time.” Wang Rusong pointed outside. “I asked a few other places about this. They all asked for it, and it was about the same. For example, Secretary Ling’s place in Nanshi is small and has less grain, only 400 tons.”

"We originally had 500 tons, but I had to plead and beg to get an extra 100 tons. That's only because I had a lot of dealings with Japanese companies before and had some connections, so they gave me that much."

How many people live in western Shanghai?

“I asked Ma Quan, and he said it was around 80.”

"80?" Gu Yansheng did the math in his head: 60 kilograms, 80 people. "Not even one kilogram per person? They'll be gone in two or three days?"

“Yes, it’s only three days. I’m worried about how to sell this rice.” Wang Rusong slapped the armrest of the sofa. “At the current market rate, as soon as the rice is put out, it will definitely be snatched up. There’s only so much rice. If someone buys a little more, people will starve to death later.”

So I came up with an idea: let's sell it by household, three kilograms per household, that's 20 households. The head of household can buy it using their registered information on their good citizen certificate. This is the fairest way we can take care of everyone.”

"The method is fine, but what about three days later?"

“That’s why I’m worried too,” Wang Rusong sighed. “Even a clever cook can’t cook without rice. Now I know how to write that saying. If we ask those people to buy the Japanese’s expensive rice, to be honest, I don’t think their money will last more than a few days.”

Gu Yansheng pondered this matter. He originally thought that the Xingya Institute would urge Japanese merchants to open their warehouses and release grain, since it was important to get through the crisis. But now it seemed that even this vice admiral couldn't handle those Japanese companies. It was too difficult to force them to give up the meat they had already eaten.

"I'm going out for a bit." Gu Yansheng stood up.

"Why go?"

"Let's find rice! What will we do when we run out of rice?"

"You're too tired, aren't you going to stop the massage? At least finish it before you leave."

That makes sense. Gu Yansheng waited a while, and the massage therapist arrived. He would leave after the massage was finished.

Afterwards, Gu Yansheng went to the foreign concession to find Chen Mo.

"There's something I might need your help with."

"what's up?"

Gu Yansheng explained the matter concerning the rice.

"Don't you usually carry out assassinations? The people applaud, but they don't get any real benefits."

I think this is a great opportunity. The Japanese aren't willing to sell rice to ordinary people at a fair price, so you should help them out. If they don't want to sell, then don't; just burn it all.

"Burn down the granary?" Chen Mo raised an eyebrow, thought for a moment and said, "It's not that difficult. The company's granary is basically guarded by some ronin. Killing them is a piece of cake. But if we burn down the granary, the people won't get any food. Why should they thank us?" Gu Yansheng smiled and said, "Why don't you learn from the previous district head of Shanghai and announce it to the world?"

Find ten or eight newspapers and scare them with the tone of the Iron-Blooded Assassination Squad: if they don't sell grain, we'll burn down a grain warehouse every day! Anyone who dares to sell grain at high prices for the Japanese, regardless of nationality, will be killed!

Wouldn't the common people cheer for you if they saw this? Anyway, they can't afford to buy it even at a high price, and killing someone can vent their anger.

But if the Japanese just back down, wouldn't ordinary people be able to buy affordable food?

Chen Mo smiled and said, "Okay, I understand. I'll take care of it right away."

Gu Yansheng gave him the names of the traitors he had circled last time, asking him to help kill them when he had time, as the debt for buying guns still needed to be settled.

The next day, Gu Yansheng met Shen Linshen at the hotel.

Shen Linshen said, "Last night I sent someone to contact Sassoon to buy guns. The person I sent deliberately said that delivery was required, and Sassoon said it was no problem. When he heard that we wanted such a large quantity, he agreed to the price increase without even mentioning it. He was very quick to agree."

Our people requested cheap and durable guns, and the first choice they offered was the Type 38 rifle. However, there weren't enough Type 38 rifles in stock; the total number of new and used ones was only about 3,700 or 3,800.

There were many other options, such as the German Mauser 98 rifle. The Nationalist government purchased 8000 of them, and they were resold by the quartermaster for 600 silver dollars each.

The Austrian carbine, imported by the Fengtian Army back then, is still usable, but it's a bit old.

The Hanyang Type 88 rifle.
The Taiwan Governor-General's Office manufactured the Type 30 rifle.
Double-barreled shotgun

"Why are all these old-fashioned guns popping up?" Gu Yansheng wondered. "Zhang Xiaolin said that Sassoon's arms business is unparalleled, so why don't they have any new guns?"

"Yes, there are American Thompson submachine guns, but they are few in number and expensive, only 50 of them. They are British Enfield rifles, brand new, which he ordered directly from the British military factory. He said that if it is not urgent, he can ship them from China."

He explained that there were few people who needed rifles, so there was little stock; he hadn't expected us to need so many.

The man I sent came back and told me that when we told Sassoon we needed a large quantity, he was quite surprised. He said he could produce plenty of pistols, but not enough rifles. Unless we weren't picky or could wait, we'd have to empty his entire rifle inventory.

Gu Yansheng chuckled upon hearing this, "So many rifles, it is indeed a bit sudden. I'm not an expert on guns. What kind do you want to buy? Is there anything else to say?"

Shen Linshen said, "The rest is about the payment method. He said that since it's our first time doing business, he'll give us face and only accept a 30% deposit. Otherwise, according to industry practice, it would be 50%."

The deposit has been paid. If the goods are discovered by the Japanese on the way, the deposit will not be refunded, and the remaining balance will not be pursued.

The rest will be given in batches. We can send one person to accompany them along the way. They will bring a radio. Once we reach Anhui, our person will need to send a telegram back to Shanghai. The person in Shanghai will then give Sassoon 30% of the money. After that, we will deliver the goods in Jing County, southern Anhui, and give him the remaining 40%. The money and goods will be settled in full.

In addition, for every 100,000 silver dollars in transactions, he would give away a Czech light machine gun.

Each gun will receive 50 rounds of ammunition; for 1000 guns, that's 50,000 rounds. Other ammunition will be provided separately.

“Alright, Sassoon is still cautious.” Gu Yansheng nodded. “For us, it’s just a matter of losing money once, there are no other risks. I think it’s feasible, so let’s do as he says.”

For them, getting the goods is the most important thing.

If Sassoon dares to embezzle $200,000, then they shouldn't blame them for being ruthless.

Shen Linshen nodded, "The fact that Sassoon allowed us to send people to follow them shows that they have great confidence in their own transportation channels."

I thought about it and decided that since we don't need that many rifles, we should buy a smaller quantity first. Otherwise, other rifles would be too expensive, and there's no need for them.

It would be more practical to first provide everyone with a handgun, with ample ammunition.

If this could really be achieved, it would be a dream come true for the soldiers of the New Fourth Army. Everyone would have a gun; they would dream of it.

“Sure, you decide. I’ll just spend the money. See if two hundred thousand dollars is enough.” Gu Yansheng brought the money.

Black market transactions still require cash.

"It might not be enough. The price Sassoon mentioned is $300 a rifle at retail, and that's for second-hand ones. Buying a large quantity of new and used ones would cost $150 a rifle. We haven't decided what kind of guns to buy yet, but I estimate that we won't buy more than 5000 rifles. That price alone could be $20."

The rest are equipped with a few submachine guns, and the rest are all pistols. The pistols don't need to be brand new; second-hand ones are much cheaper. Just enough is fine.

Add some bullets, and I estimate it might cost around $30.

Sassoon also said that he could find a way to get rifles; if we wanted them, he would get them, and we could specify the type—any type would do, even Japanese ones. He implied that he could get the Japanese quartermaster under his control.

"Jews are indeed good at doing business. Let's finish this order first. If the goods are delivered, ordering dozens or hundreds of submachine guns will definitely not be a problem."

It's not that they can't afford it, it's that they can't put all their eggs in one basket. Although Sassoon is confident in his ability to deliver the goods, Gu Yansheng will have to wait until he has delivered a batch and see the results before making a decision.

If it solves the immediate problem, everything else will be easier to handle.

“Money is not a problem, I’ll take care of it. 300,000 it is, you take 200,000 first, we’ll do it in stages anyway, I’ll bring the rest when I have time. Just buy whatever you want, don’t settle for less.”

With his deep pockets and generous resources, Shen Linshen had no idea where the organization had found such a perfect partner for him. It was so enjoyable; he hadn't had such a pleasant experience since he went undercover in Shanghai.

He used to be the team leader, responsible for the entire team and solving all the problems. Now that someone is helping him take on a lot of the burden, he feels much less stifled and much more comfortable.

The only way to repay kindness is through action.

“Then I’ll contact him right away to buy the gun and have him deliver it as soon as possible.”

(End of this chapter)