Volume 1 Wuchang Vortex Chapter 32 The Brick That Knocked Down Germany's Door
The gunboat passed by the ferry, and the side waves it created made Xiao Anguo spit inwardly.
On the docks and streets, teams of patrolling soldiers suddenly made the atmosphere in the three towns of Wuchang tense. This was because the Sichuan Railway Protection Movement had evolved into a riot, and the three towns of Wuchang, which controlled the waterways into Sichuan, had become the key point.
After the ferry arrived at Hanyang Wharf, before he could see his surroundings clearly, he found someone grabbing the corner of his clothes. He was so scared that he quickly grabbed the handle of the gun and looked back, and found that it was a man carrying a bag, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a pair of brown glasses.
"you are?"
"Haha, why doesn't the elder brother recognize the younger brother?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Xiao Anguo didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Brother Yang, what are you talking about? This outfit is pretty good. I'll buy you two sets someday. I don't dare to go out without dressing up lately."
Yang Qiu chuckled, and without saying anything, he dragged him onto the ferry. When they reached a secluded place, he took off his glasses and said with a smile, "So it's me who is holding you back, big brother."
"Of course." Xiao Anguo gradually understood Yang Qiu's temper and joked, "Brother is still hoping to ask you for compensation." After the two of them joked a few times to clear away the boredom of the past few days, Yang Qiu asked, "How is it going, big brother, to take over Pingku?"
"The brothers in there are all good. Although they don't have the help of noble people like you, they are still okay. Besides..." Xiao Anguo knew what Yang Qiu was thinking. After checking that no one was paying attention, he leaned over and whispered in his ear, "I went into the armory and looked. It shouldn't be a big problem to guard it, but there are too many things in it. There are 50,000 or 60,000 rifles alone! More than 10,000 boxes of ammunition and more than a hundred cannons. It will take at least ten days or half a month to take them away."
"so much!"
Yang Qiu also stared with his eyes wide open. He knew that Chuwangtai was the largest arsenal in the country, but he didn't expect there were so many arsenals. Not to mention the small number of people he had, even if he brought the entire Mixed Brigade up there, they wouldn't be able to take away so many munitions in just a few days.
How about blowing it up? Yang Qiu shook his head and discarded the idea. If he really blew up the armory, he would have to watch the three towns fall when the Beiyang army arrived.
Seeing that Yang Qiu didn't say anything, Xiao Anguo leaned in and whispered, "Oh, by the way, there is one more thing I want to tell you. Yesterday, I went out to drink with a few colleagues in the army, and someone told me that Jin Lai Li didn't come back the whole night we were assassinated."
"Golden Lai Li? Who is Golden Lai Li?"
"Jin Lai Li, also known as Jin Mingsheng, used to be a gangster in the Yangtze River Gang in Hankou. Later, for some unknown reason, he joined the New Army and is now the top bully in the Eight Towns. By the way, I also heard that he has a close relationship with a man named Zhang Zhenwu."
Zhang Zhenwu!
Yang Qiu almost screamed out loud. Sun Wu, Zhang Zhenwu and Jiang Yiwu, the three first Wus were all famous figures. He never expected that the assassination attempt on him was done by them!
"Damn, these guys are really going to kill us!" Xiao Anguo slapped the railing angrily.
"Brother... I'm the one who harmed you." Yang Qiu learned that it was Sanwu who wanted to kill him, and he knew that the matter was serious. You have to know that Sanwu holds a special status in the eyes of the Hubei Democratic Party. If they want to kill him, then the subordinates will definitely go all out.
"Stop talking nonsense. If it weren't for your brother, I would have lost my life in Guang'an." Xiao Anguo didn't seem to want to talk about it anymore. Seeing that the boat had returned to Wuchang Wharf , he asked, "By the way, where are you going?"
"Meet an old friend."
While Xiao Anguo was wondering, Yang Qiu had already pulled him off the boat and after a few turns they arrived in front of an exquisite two-story courtyard.
"Hey, is that you?"
After entering the house, Xiao Anguo realized why Yang Qiu said he was an old friend. It turned out that he was looking for Shen Shukai, whom he met that night. He also had a lot of questions to ask this man who suddenly appeared, but when he entered the house, he found that the servants were actually packing their bags.
"Mr. Shen, where are you going?"
"Luckily, we finally met." Shen Shukai had also been anxious to meet the two , and when he saw them, he quickly held their hands and said, "To be honest, our Sichuan branch was robbed by a group of thugs yesterday, so I had to rush over to check the situation immediately."
"Brother Shen, if I were you, I would not go to Chengdu." Yang Qiu stretched out his hand and winked at the old shopkeeper Dong, knowing that the three of them must have something to discuss. The clever shopkeeper Dong immediately dispersed the servants and walked to Shen Shukai's side to wait.
Shen Shukai, who was anxious in Sichuan, didn't notice that Yang Qiu had even changed his address, and asked anxiously: "Master Yang, what do you mean?"
Yang Qiu smiled slightly, put the briefcase on the table, glanced at the packed bag and said, "I think Brother Shen went to Chengdu just to check the damage and find a way to reopen the branch, right?"
“Is this wrong?”
"That's right, but Brother Shen, have you ever thought about it? It's just Chengdu now. If Wuchang, Shanghai, and Guangzhou are in trouble, how can you split up?" Yang Qiu's words made the face of Dong, the shopkeeper of the Chengdu branch, change suddenly. Even Shen Shukai stood up suddenly and asked, "Brother Yang, what do you mean..."
"The tree wants to be still but the wind does not stop!" Yang Qiu stood up and walked to the window, looking at the busy river outside and took a deep breath: "Brother Shen, you and I met by chance, and I'm afraid we can't say we trust each other, but don't you think we are destined to be together?"
"That day I met Shopkeeper Dong in Chengdu, but I was in danger there, and because of this danger I caused you to apologize, but you saved me and Miss Miao. Every bit of it must be God's will!" Yang Qiu glanced at Shopkeeper Dong and said with a smile: "Today, since you call me brother, whether you believe it or not, I still want to advise you. Immediately! Right now! Sort out all the semicolons, return the circulating money to the warehouse immediately, and if conditions permit, convert all of it into US dollars!"
Even the dumbest person can understand these words.
Who can become a top businessman in this era without knowing how to read people's expressions, let alone a person like Shen Shukai. Before, he had heard the voices of uprisings to overthrow the Qing Dynasty in Shanghai, and even the most stable north had heard discordant voices. After arriving in Wuchang, he heard the shouts of "Kill the Tartars on August 15th". In addition, the Sichuan Railway Protection Movement had evolved into an armed conflict. It was said that the fighting in Sichuan was already fierce, and the Qing Dynasty was actually in turmoil.
However, it is not easy to ask him to close down his business at this moment. Not to mention that he is only a manager, he also has a boss and major shareholders above him. Just reorganizing the branch immediately will result in a considerable loss.
Yang Qiu saw what Shen Shukai was thinking and smiled: "Brother Shen, I know you have concerns too. After all, this matter sounds horrifying. But if you trust me, why not take it for two months first? If I am wrong after two months, I believe the loss will not be too great."
“Only for two months?”
It took only one month from the Chengdu Massacre to the Wuchang Uprising, so Yang Qiu said confidently: "Yes, just two months! You can continue your business as usual within two months, just make sure that the money is safe."
Hearing Yang Qiu insisting on two months, Shen Shukai was also tempted. Xiao Anguo next to him frowned even more, because Yang Qiu had said before that these two months were crucial.
Shopkeeper Dong nodded and said, "Manager Shen, no matter what Mr. Yang said is right or not, we should tighten our control over money. Just like the Chengdu branch, which was looted by mobs for more than 200,000 yuan, it doesn't hurt to take some precautions in advance."
With Dong's words, Shen Shukai had something to think about. He stood up and bowed, "Brother Yang, thank you for your reminder. Tomorrow I will ask all branches to be careful. If something big happens within two months as you said, then I will definitely reward you handsomely!"
Hearing that Shen Shukai was finally convinced by him, Yang Qiu breathed a sigh of relief, picked up his briefcase, patted it and said with a smile: "Brother Shen, you are too polite. Have you forgotten that I still want to do business with you?" After that, he took out a thick stack of white paper with lines and boxes drawn on it from his bag, handed it to the other party and said: "This is the big deal I told you about."
Although Shen Shukai didn't understand what was drawn on it, he could vaguely tell that they were some machines, and some even looked like cannons. He was a little confused and asked, "Brother Yang, what are these?"
Yang Qiu didn't answer first, but asked: "I want to ask, is Brother Shen familiar with the Germans?"
"I do know a few friends in German banks, and I also have some connections with German officers in Shandong."
"That's enough." Yang Qiu slapped his thigh and said.
Hearing Yang Qiu's constant guessing, Xiao Anguo couldn't help but pull him aside and asked, "Brother, just tell me straight, don't play guessing games with me and Brother Shen anymore."
Yang Qiu immediately turned to the cannon picture and said, "This is a stepping stone for Brother Shen. This is the cannon on the French's latest battleship. Although it may not be comparable to Germany's, France and Germany are mortal enemies. I think the Germans will believe you about 70% when they see this."
After that, he flipped out a few more blueprints and continued, "This is a real deal. Although I don't know how much the Germans will pay, if these things are less than $500,000, just burn them."
"50 US dollars? One million taels of silver!" Xiao Anguo's eyes turned green when he heard that the pieces of paper he was looking at were worth so much money. He quickly asked, "Brother, can you tell me what this is?"
"If I tell you now, it will only hurt you." Yang Qiu's face became serious. He looked at Shen Shukai and said, "Brother Shen, this blueprint is a big business, but it is also a life-threatening ghost. So if you want to make this deal, you must find a caring person to do it. I have a German instruction here. Let the Germans read the instruction first, and then look at the blueprint. And you must remember that the blueprint must be stored separately, and you can only look at half before the transaction is completed!"
It's no wonder that Yang Qiu is cautious. Although he is sure that Germany will be attracted to this thing and will definitely be willing to pay a high price, China now is more of a foreigner's world than a Chinese world. If you want to take advantage of robbers who are used to stealing things, you have to be extra careful.
As soon as these words came out, even if Shen Shukai didn't understand, he knew that these drawings were of great importance, so he hurriedly asked: "Since Brother Yang trusts me, then I will do this deal, but... will the Germans really want this thing?"
"Yes! And they are the only ones who need it most. If you can meet the German naval commander stationed in Qingdao, he will be more interested. But Brother Shen, you might as well be careful during the negotiations. If something goes wrong, you can tell them directly. If you have any problems, then the drawings will immediately appear in the hands of Britain and France! Of course... this is the last resort to save your life, so don't say that at the beginning."
After Yang Qiu finished his instructions, facing the surprised and astonished looks of the three people, he finally smiled and said: "Tell the Germans that in addition to the money, I also want 30 Maxim machine guns, 100 Madsen M50 machine guns and 1 million rounds of pointed bullets used in Europe. I must get them within 20 days. As for the rest, Brother Shen, you can handle it yourself. Anyway, I only want arms, nothing else!"
Hearing the last sentence, Shen Shukai and Shopkeeper Dong stood up suddenly, their scalps tingling, and said: "Brother Yang...you...you are a revolutionary?!"
