Chapter 52

Chapter 51

As night fell, the Huangpu River under the darkness seemed like a giant beast enveloped in shadows. This time, Yang Yuanzhao did not go out alone; he called on Zheng Daniu. Daniu's imposing figure was even more intimidating in the night of Shanghai. The two of them arrived at the warehouse they had rented in the morning.

"Big Niu, wait here. I'll go in and get something!" Yang Yuanzhao said at the warehouse entrance.

"Okay?" Zheng Daniu was a bit puzzled but did not follow. As a bodyguard, ensuring his master's safety was paramount, but obedience was also a crucial trait. From previous interactions, Daniu knew that Yang Yuanzhao was not like the young master Yang Yue. Despite his small stature, he was full of strength, and even three or five strong men could not easily subdue him, let alone with a gun in his hand.

Under the cover of night, the warehouse looked even more dilapidated. The only new thing was the large lock on the door; everything else was in disarray. Having already paid 800 yuan, the old caretaker hired by the original warehouse owner had long since left. The guards recruited by Habib would only arrive the next day. For now, the place was just an empty room, and no one was paying attention to it.

Yang Yuanzhao entered the warehouse like a sleek cat, passing through row after row of rooms until he reached the innermost, most secure, and best-conditioned warehouse. Without turning on the lights, it was pitch black, but Yang Yuanzhao's vision allowed him to barely see everything inside the warehouse, which was empty. This suited his plans perfectly.

This warehouse would be a significant aspect of his fund collection. Selling all the gold outright would draw attention, and gold had a greater role to play. China's gold reserves were not abundant, and in the world economy over the next few decades or even a century, gold reserves represented a country's credit. Even with the all-in-one machine that could extract every tiny bit of gold from ore, a large outflow was not what Yang Yuanzhao wanted to see.

Finding Habib to provide a reason for the large machinery and having him take on tasks that Yang Yuanzhao could not or should not do, such as arms trading, was crucial. Arms trading was one of the most profitable activities.

At this time, China was in dire need of various weapons. New armies were being formed almost everywhere, and the demand for weapons was virtually endless. In such a situation, weapons were the best to sell.

Today, at the Lihe Trading Company, he had replicated all the weapons, including several types of rifles. For rifles, he chose the Committee 1888 and the recently introduced Mauser, which he only encountered after arriving in Shanghai. These were high-quality and expensive weapons, destined not to be mass-produced. In the afternoon, Yang Yuanzhao ordered the all-in-one machine to produce cannons, making only a few hundred Mausers and some Maxim machine guns and other artillery.

The Maxim was relatively easier to produce, and with Yang Yuanzhao's production capacity, he could produce several hundred a day. However, in China, the demand for machine guns was not as high as for rifles, mainly due to the limited supply of original rifle ammunition. Once a machine gun started firing, the sheer volume of bullets it could unleash in a minute was daunting, so the all-in-one machine's inventory was mostly rifles.

The cannon was a large piece of equipment. A 75mm cannon weighed 405 kilograms, and due to its length and weight, Yang Yuanzhao could produce only three per hour. He started making the 75mm cannons in the afternoon, and by now, he had only managed to produce 36. The rest of the time, he made some new Mausers, which were much more powerful than the Committee 1888.

Rifles were easy to handle. As a Level 4 Yang Yuanzhao, he could produce 8 cubic meters of items at once, and 8,000 cubic meters of items equated to tens of thousands of rifles. These had already been produced by Yang Yuanzhao on the way and were now stacked in different boxes. In addition to these, there were some artillery and basic logistics equipment. Filling the entire warehouse was still a challenge, but it was not necessary for now. In the future, he would gradually fill it up. For now, he had 120,000 rifles, 1,000 machine guns, and 36 cannons, worth several million, which was enough for Habib to accumulate the initial funds.

After completing everything, Yang Yuanzhao carefully locked the door. No one knew that this remote warehouse by the Huangpu River now contained equipment that would make anyone drool.

Zheng Daniu was smoking idly at the entrance. Seeing Yang Yuanzhao come out, he threw away his cigarette and asked softly, "Young Master Yang, are you done? Can we go back?"

This place was a bit remote, and Daniu thought it was not very safe. It was best to leave early. Yang Yuanzhao nodded and followed Daniu back.

The next day, when Yang Yuanzhao brought Habib to the warehouse again, Habib was stunned by what he saw. The vast warehouse had only a small corner filled, but the mountain of boxes looked like they contained firearms, the most sought-after items in China.

Habib was an unlucky fellow who had come to China on a whim, only to find that pianos and such were not popular. However, after arriving in China, he discovered that firearms were in high demand. New armies were being formed everywhere, and the demand was enormous. Even old and outdated foreign guns had a market, let alone brand new rifles.

Suddenly, he felt that this suddenly appearing benefactor had a mysterious aura. Firearms were hard currency in this era, and in any country, they could be exchanged for the local currency. In Qing China, the demand was even greater. There were countless bandits, unscrupulous landlords, and a constant flow of merchant caravans, all of which created a huge gap in the market for firearms. Even old flintlock guns from over a hundred years ago were in demand, let alone these.

He walked forward and opened a box. The box was heavy, and the black box seemed to be made of steel.

In the all-in-one machine, the most stored item was steel. It was made casually and did not fit the rifles perfectly but was enough to hold them. Each box contained a dozen rifles.

Habib was even more surprised. The new rifles emitted a strong smell of gun oil. He picked one up and, somewhat awkwardly, operated it. With his military background, he felt that these guns were excellent, not as crude as the Chinese-made Hanyang rifles. He looked into the barrel, which was bright and shiny, indicating top-notch military craftsmanship.

The rifles were of the Committee 1888 model. Could these guns be original German imports? Looking at the numerous boxes, each containing 12 rifles, the number of boxes was almost uncountable.

"No need to count. There are 10,000 boxes, 120,000 rifles, 1,000 Maxim machine guns, and a large number of cannons. You can start selling them. I think this should help you raise some funds," Yang Yuanzhao said calmly.

"It should be worth tens of millions. There might be some issues with sales, but leave it to me, no problem!" Habib patted his chest. For a foreign trading company, tens of millions were not a big deal. Although Habib had few connections in China, he had some friends and classmates in his home country and even in America. Together, they could form a powerful network to help him enter the arms trade.

"How long will it take?"

Habib hesitated. After following Yang Yuanzhao, he increasingly realized that this overly young man possessed far more strength than a large trading company. Even in Germany, it was not easy to obtain so many rifles. As a Jew, Habib knew that even in all of Germany, the number of people who could obtain 120,000 rifles at once was very few. The Committee 1888 was a recently replaced German military equipment, and this was the first large-scale appearance in East Asia.

Yang Yuanzhao waved his hand and said, "First, set up the trading company. After that, you need to go abroad. Before you do, try to raise as much capital as possible."

"Go abroad? But I don't have the channels. Should I go alone?"

"Of course not. I'll handle the cargo. You need to get a cargo ship ready to set sail next month. I need you to establish a network in Europe and America. There's a lot to do."

"Alright, no problem." At this point, Habib was already too excited. He realized that the treatment he had received was even better than he had imagined. The power in the hands of this young man was far more terrifying than he had ever thought. Just this warehouse of arms, if sold at market price, would yield a 30% profit, which was 3 million marks. He could get 1% of the profit, which was 30,000 marks, five times his previous monthly salary. Even 500 marks was a high salary, and with this increase, it meant a lot.

From then on, Habib was like a wound-up spring, quickly seeking out the right people. There were many such people in Shanghai, and he had met quite a few when he was down and out. Now, he just needed to gather them. With 120,000 rifles as a backup, there was nothing to worry about. Selling a batch of arms would bring in more money.

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End of Chapter 51