Liang Jian: Commander, save some for me

"That's good. Let them keep a close eye on them and don't let the Japanese follow them." Lu Changgong nodded.

It would be bad if the Japanese followed us and chased us to their base.

In Laiyin County, Lu Changgong also left a few soldiers to keep an eye on it to ensure that no Japanese reinforcements would arrive in Laiyin County in the near future.

The purpose of preventing the transaction from going smoothly was a sleight of hand played by the Japanese. In fact, it was to paralyze them, make them careless, and then trick them.

"Captain, when we were ambushing just now, I used a telescope to see a Japanese soldier on the other side of the city wall, holding a telescope and staring at you.

I suspect that he was not a Japanese soldier at all, but most likely the Japanese regiment commander." The platoon leader told what he had discovered during the ambush.

How could a Japanese soldier be equipped with a telescope? Therefore, it was very likely that the Japanese regiment commander wore a soldier's clothes to avoid being attacked.

"Well, that should be correct. It must be the Japanese captain." After hearing this, Lu Changgong confirmed it decisively.

It is normal for the Japanese captain to come and watch this kind of transaction.

"Actually, I just wanted to send someone to ambush and shoot the Japanese commander to death, but after thinking about it, I decided not to." The platoon leader continued.

After all, he was a Japanese regiment commander. If he was killed, it would be a good thing. However, considering that it might turn out badly, I gave up the idea.

"Don't be too impulsive. Our goal is not to kill the devils. This group of devils, at present, is unlikely to pose a threat to us.

Therefore, if you can avoid taking action, try not to do so, so as not to affect other bases, and also tell the soldiers to temporarily put aside the killing intent in their hearts. "Lü Changgong also hurriedly gave instructions.

During the transaction, he discovered that the Japanese soldiers were not very vigilant. They were all staring at the dollars in the box, like greedy businessmen.

If they had wanted to take action at that time, these Japanese devils would not even have a chance to react and would have been killed by them.

"I understand." The platoon leader nodded.

After they traveled about six or seven miles, they entered the nearby woods.

"Hurry up and unload the supplies from the car." Lu Changgong immediately gave the order.

The soldiers took action and carried the large and small packages of supplies off the carriage.

After all the supplies were moved down, Lu Changgong gave instructions to the deputy company commander.

"You take the soldiers to return the cows and donkeys to the villagers. Don't give less rent than you should. After returning them to the villagers, come back and join us immediately."

"Yes." The deputy company commander immediately took more than twenty soldiers and drove away in ox carts and donkey carts.

"Xiao He, send a telegram to the battalion commander immediately and tell him that everything is going well." Lu Changgong called the telegraph operator and asked him to send the telegram.

.........

On the other side, after explaining his affairs, Taro Tanikawa returned to the office.

"Captain, I want to ask, how do we set the price of those guns?!" Taro Tanigawa still doesn't know what the captain plans to set the price.

"Each gun is priced at thirty dollars, and the bullets are one dollar for twenty rounds." Oki Ichiro slowly stated the price.

"Thirty dollars?! Is the Hanyang-made gun also priced so high?!" Taro Tanigawa was stunned when he heard this. All their guns had been used by others and were a bit old. He felt that the price of thirty dollars was a bit high.

The price for the Zhongzheng rifle was reasonable, but he felt that the price for the Hanyang rifle was not so good.

"What do you know? When the time comes, just quote forty-five dollars, and they will definitely bargain.

Moreover, nowadays, having a gun is the kingly way, that is called strength. No matter how much money others have, if they don’t have a gun, how can they defend themselves?
So, they will definitely bargain, and as long as the price is not less than thirty dollars, you should show an embarrassed look and then make the deal with the other party." Oki Ichiro passed on his experience.

In troubled times, the most important thing is to have a gun. With a gun, you have everything, and other people's things can become yours.

"Captain, you are more experienced. I need to learn more." Taro Tanikawa's eyes lit up when he heard that.

"Of course, doing business is a science. If you don't learn it, you won't make money. It's full of human relationships. You have to make money and satisfy your customers. You think you have made money.

This is called win-win. We are not doing a one-time deal. There will definitely be transactions in the future. By then, repeat customers will come. Everyone likes to get a bargain." Oki Ichiro continued.

The most taboo thing in doing business is not having repeat customers. If you don’t even have repeat customers, how can you make big money in the future?

What's more, they don't have to spend money to buy these guns. They are all distributed by their superiors, which is equivalent to a no-cost business. As long as they can sell them, they will make a profit.

"Captain, I understand!" Taro Tanigawa looked as if he had benefited a lot.

"Captain, if there is no war in the future and we return to our country, remember to take me with you when you do business. I am willing to go through fire and water for you!" Taro Tanigawa said hurriedly.

He felt that if he wanted to make a lot of money in the future, he had to follow the captain, as long as the captain could help him get rich.

"That's still a long way off, let's talk about it when the time comes." Oki Ichiro waved his hand.

He estimated that if he wanted to return to China, it would be impossible within ten or eight years.

"Captain, if you take me with you in the future, we'll split the money 30% to 70%. No, 20% to 80%. I'll split 20% and you'll split 80%!" Taro Tanigawa said immediately in a hurry.

"Tanigawa-kun, who do you think I am? Do I have such a big appetite? How could I possibly take so much?" Oki Ichiro replied seriously.

"Captain, that's not what I meant. I think that since you have done the best, you should get this much. I have also done my best, so I am very satisfied to get 20%.
Without you, I wouldn't be able to make any money, let alone share any profits. As a person, you need to know how to be grateful and know your own worth.
I clearly recognize my own shortcomings and need a guide to show the way ahead, and the captain is that person. It is my honor to do business with him." Taro Tanikawa explained quickly.

He praised Oki Ichiro to the sky and was almost ready to acknowledge Oki Ichiro as his godfather.

"Tanigawa-kun, don't praise me so much. I can't bear it." Oki Ichiro said this, but his face was full of smiles.

It was obvious that Taro Tanigawa's flattery touched him deeply.

"Captain, you deserve it. If it weren't for you, the soldiers in our regiment would not be able to earn more money than other commanders. This is all thanks to you!" Taro Tanigawa continued to flatter him.

What he said was indeed true. The soldiers in their regiment earned much more money than other regiment commanders. The soldiers were very happy and thought they had followed the right person. It can be said that a word from the regiment commander could make them go through fire and water.

"This is the result of everyone's joint efforts." Oki Ichiro smiled when he heard this.

.........

Two days later, at around 2:30 in the afternoon, Lu Changgong met Liu Changshun and others on his way back.

"Chang Gong, things seem to be going well." Liu Changshun stepped forward and saw the soldiers carrying a pile of supplies.

"Well, you're here at the right time. Take these supplies back to the base." Lu Changgong said with a smile. This way they wouldn't have to go through so much trouble.

"No problem. The battalion commander has something to tell you. When we negotiate the price of the gun, no matter how much the Japanese offer, just cut it by 30%." Liu Changshun informed Li Jin of what he had said.

"Cut it by 30%? Isn't that a bit too much?!" Lu Changgong was stunned when he heard that.

Guns and ammunition were quite expensive during that period, and he felt that the Japanese might not sell them if the price was cut by 30%.

"I don't know. Anyway, the battalion commander said to cut 30%, so you should cut 30%. I suggest you cut 40% directly.
This way, the Japanese will bargain, and by then, a 30% reduction in the price will be just about right." Liu Changshun gave his opinion.

When doing business, you have to make real or fake bids. How can you do business without bargaining?

"My goodness, can this work? What if the Japanese hear that I want to ask for a 40% price and simply refuse to sell it to you?!" Why did Lu Changgong feel that Liu Changshun's suggestion was not very reliable?

"You're right if you believe me. According to what the battalion commander said, these Japanese are all businessmen and will definitely quote a high price. You can just cut it by 40%. They want to make money.
They will definitely bargain. Don't worry that the Japanese won't sell it. It's not easy for them to sell the guns. They won't give up on such a good buyer like us." Liu Changshun shared his experience seriously.

"Is this true? Don't lie to me." Lu Changgong was suspicious and a little unconvinced.

"Tsk, oh, you're right if you trust me. I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong." Liu Changshun patted his chest and promised.

"Okay, I'll listen to you." Lu Changgong nodded.

"What are you busy with recently, training new recruits?!" Lu Changgong asked.

"No, I was sent by the battalion commander to collect the balance. I just returned to the base a few days ago, and before I could even sit down, the battalion commander sent me here to find you." Liu Changshun shook his head. He had just returned with the balance that day when he received another task.

"Collect the final payment? What final payment?!" Lu Changgong was confused. Did the battalion commander do other business? How could he not know?

"The balance from Commander Liang." Liu Changshun replied.

"But, I remember that the battalion commander told General Liang not to pay the balance." Lu Changgong frowned. If he remembered correctly, General Liang proposed to remind them of the danger, so the battalion commander did not let General Liang pay the balance.

"General Liang eventually sent it over. In order to prevent us from refusing, he specially sent it here and then sent a telegram to notify us. I have to say that General Liang is a good person and he is worth getting along with." Liu Changshun explained, and did not forget to praise Liang Gu at the end.

"So that's how it is." Lu Changgong nodded when he heard this. From this point of view, Liang Gu is indeed okay. If it were someone else, they would be so happy that they couldn't contain themselves.

"General Liang treats the battalion commander as a friend. I think we will have a lot of cooperation with General Liang in the future.

By the way, the battalion commander also asked me to pass on a message, saying that if General Liang was in danger one day, he could be rescued." Liu Changshun continued.

"It seems that we can have more contact with them in the future. Hey, something is not right. Why do I feel that the battalion commander wants to bring Commander Liang to our side?!" Lu Changgong suddenly reacted.

If the battalion commander did not have this idea, he probably would not care so much about General Liang. Therefore, it is very likely that the battalion commander wanted to pull General Liang to their side. Otherwise, he would not have said that General Liang could ask them for rescue if he was in danger.

"It is very likely. Commander Liang is a good man. It is not impossible to bring him to our side." Liu Changshun agreed with what Lu Changgong said.

"By the way, my battalion commander also asked me to bring 10,000 dollars with me. You can use it to buy a gun and give me the gold bars. You can't give this stuff to the Japanese." Liu Changshun remembered the important business.

The battalion commander thought about it and felt that although gold bars were convenient to carry, they still could not be used to trade with the Japanese, so he decided to trade with dollars.

"Here you go." Lu Changgong didn't say much, called a soldier, brought a handbag and handed it to Liu Changshun.

"I almost forgot. The battalion commander has a lot of laxatives. Remember to take them to trade with the Japanese. It's better to pay less." Liu Changshun changed the subject.

This laxative is not particularly useful to them, but it is a good thing for the Osaka Division.

"Okay." Lu Changgong nodded.

"Speaking of which, do you think this group of Japs is the same as what the battalion commander said?!" Liu Changshun was a little curious. To be honest, he really wanted to see what was going on with an army that only knew how to do business.

“It’s roughly correct…” Lu Changgong told Liu Changshun what the investigators had found out.

"This group of Japs are really interesting. They actually do business with the locals. If it were other Japs, they would probably just rob them." Liu Changshun also found it interesting.

"They may be doing business, but their fighting capacity is definitely not low." Lu Changgong said seriously.

"Yes, the battalion commander is right." Liu Changshun nodded. This was exactly the same as what the battalion commander said.

"Then we will retreat first. If you have any problem, remember to report to the battalion commander by telegram." After Liu Changshun finished speaking, he led the soldiers to carry the supplies back to the base.

Lu Changgong also took people to take away the laxatives and dollars sent by Liu Changshun.

"If these laxatives were replaced with arsenic and the Japanese ate it, it would probably poison many people to death." Ge Xiaoer said half-jokingly.

"What are you thinking? Do you think the Japanese will trust us so much? The Japanese may have sent someone to try the laxative you gave them to make sure it's OK.
With so many laxatives, the Japanese would definitely check all of them, so it would be impossible to poison them to death." Lu Changgong shook his head after hearing this.

Not to mention the Japanese, even if it were them, they would be so cautious. After all, who would dare to gamble their life on medicine given by an unfamiliar person?

"Then the Japanese will choose soldiers to test the medicine." Ge Xiaoer said.

"They will definitely select, but not their own soldiers. I guess they will most likely let the puppet soldiers try out the medicine and then see if they will die." Lu Changgong said. The unlucky ones are still the puppet soldiers.

…………

(End of this chapter)