The arrogance started from Chinatown

Chapter 348: Business competition is so simple and unpretentious

"My luck is so bad, I'm not going to play anymore, I'm going to go out for a walk!" A young Chinese man threw down the cards in his hand, stood up, stretched, and said to his companions.

"Looking for women again? Sooner or later you will die in a woman's crotch." The companion next to him scolded with laughter.

"It's a big city. Women in big cities are different!" said the young man with a smile.

"I'm not on duty, and there's nothing to do here right now! I'll be back in two hours!" The young man picked up a cigarette from the table, put it in his mouth, lit it, put on his hat, and walked out of the hotel with one hand in his pocket.

He had already figured out the situation here and knew where to find women of good quality.

The only problem is that the smell is a bit strong, but it's acceptable.

Coming to a familiar alley, the young man was suddenly stopped by two people.

"Do you want to borrow money or my life?" The young man asked with a nonchalant and contemptuous tone. He thought he was being robbed, so he didn't take it seriously at all.

But his hand had already reached towards his waist.

"Please come with us!" A middle-aged man's voice sounded behind him.

"It seems that you are not here to borrow money... Do you know who I am? You even dare to set your sights on me. Aren't you afraid of death?" The young man grinned, a smile that was a bit creepy, and cursed in his heart. It was so damn unlucky that he was targeted by someone.

At the moment of speaking, the young man suddenly pulled out his gun, but a sound of breaking air was heard behind his head.

A stick hit the young man on the head, and he suddenly saw stars in front of his eyes. He felt dizzy and even felt a hot current flowing down from the top of his head.

"Fuck your mother!" The young man shook his body, cursed, and tried to raise his gun, but he was hit on the head with a stick again, and the whole person fell down.

"Take him away!" Lieutenant Bruce said to others as he looked at the Chinese man in front of him fall down.

Then he came to the vicinity of the hotel. He estimated that the other party would not be able to find him for the time being, so he could find another opportunity to capture two people.

……

The young man was awakened by a basin of water and found himself tied to a chair.

"Are you the subordinate of that Chinese man?" Bruce asked in a deep voice, looking at the young man in front of him.

"Fuck your mother, what the hell are you talking about!" The young man spat and cursed directly in Chinese.

Then the next second he was punched in the face, half of his face was swollen, and then someone punched him in the stomach.

The young man kept retching.

"Just answer whatever we ask! There are many people who are not afraid of death. I have seen many on the battlefield, but not many can withstand torture!" Lieutenant Bruce said in a deep voice.

"Besides, you're not the only one we're asking!"

……

The next morning, Aaron received the news: "Three people are missing?"

"Yes, a few people went out to have fun, and then didn't come back all night! Our people went out to look for them, but couldn't find them!" Dapolon said with a gloomy face.

"Has he been caught? Or is he dead?" Aaron only had to stand there and talk, but others could feel the fierceness and coldness in his eyes.

"I don't know yet! I think I need to inform the boss. I suspect someone has arrested him! Joseph Medel contacted the military. Calculating the time, it is very likely them!"

"You take people to look for him! If he's alive, we must find him. If he's dead, we must find his body! When Brother Wei wakes up, I'll tell him!" said Aaron.

After Da Poland left, Aaron returned to his room and was completely awake, so he kicked the cabinet.

It was not until after eleven o'clock, when I thought Chen Zhengwei should have woken up, that I went to look for him.

After knocking on the door and seeing Chen Zhengwei slumped on the sofa, Aaron said directly:

"Brother Wei, three of our men are missing!"

"What's the specific situation?" Chen Zhengwei's posture did not change, he was still a little sleepy.

"Three of the thugs went out to have some fun last night, and they never came back. They went out to look for him, but they couldn't find him."

"One is Chinese, and the other two are Germans," said Aaron.

"Disappeared together?"

"The Chinese disappeared alone, and the two Germans disappeared together."

Chen Zhengwei pressed the cigarette butt into the ashtray and crushed it hard, then went to the bathroom to wash his face before walking to the window and looking down.

"Three people are missing, someone is targeting me!" Chen Zhengwei's eyes were sharp, taking in everything on the street below.

After all, it is impossible for him to remember everyone on the street every time he goes out. He usually just takes a quick glance and pays extra attention to those who may bring danger.

"He just disappeared, with no body left behind and no gunshots? That means he was caught and interrogated!" Chen Zhengwei did not find any suspicious persons on the street.

"Mobilize those thugs in Chicago and tell them to go find someone! New faces, more than three adult males, especially those with obvious military style!"

"Brother Wei, do you think it's the army?" Aaron frowned.

"It could also be DuPont! Of course, the more likely possibility is the army." Chen Zhengwei said without turning his head.

DuPont is the largest gunpowder producer in the United States. If they knew about the existence of smokeless gunpowder, they would definitely be very upset.

However, the news about smokeless gunpowder should not have been leaked, the previous small-scale battle did not mean anything, and DuPont's reaction should not have been so quick.

"That guy died too easily! Just sinking him into the lake was too easy for him!" Aaron cursed angrily.

"Isn't there someone else in his family? If you don't get rid of the roots, they will grow again in the spring breeze! Send a bomb to his house in a while!" Chen Zhengwei made up an excuse.

"Let everyone be careful at last!"

In the afternoon, Chen Zhengwei met with several people in the hotel. They were gang bosses and they were about to leave Chicago.

After all, they have been delayed here for a long time.

Their business cannot be separated from people.

"I'll have someone contact you in a few days to open up commodity distribution channels in various places!"

"Besides, I have a business to cooperate with you!"

"For slot machines, you take 30% of the income and I take 70%! Just this 30% can make you earn hundreds of thousands more a year!" said Chen Zhengwei.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars, the entire year's income of their gang is not even that much. Paul Kelly's Five Points Gang only earns tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

Everyone was excited after hearing this and started asking about slot machines.

"A new type of gambling toy. You just need to put in your change and then pull the lever, and you can get ten times or even a hundred times the return!" Chen Zhengwei introduced with a smile.

"It can be placed in bars, cafes, and restaurants. It's very flexible and has a huge market. Most importantly, it's not banned anywhere!"

"There are more than 300 bars in San Francisco, all of which have my slot machines. I can make hundreds of thousands of dollars a month just from these!"

Gambling is prohibited in most parts of the United States, but as we all know, such laws are the same as having no law at all.

But if someone wants to cause trouble, they will definitely find it.

Slot machines are not included in the scope of gambling prohibitions.

“Then we’ll just wait for Mr. Chen to send someone…” Everyone smiled after hearing this.

Anyone who can make them rich is a good person.

What's more, he has the strength to control them, has vision, and has personally demonstrated what a real boss should be like, and can also lead them to make a fortune.

At least now they all respect Chen Zhengwei in their hearts.

Authority, status, money, Chen Zhengwei has everything they yearn for.

"Then I won't see you off! I'll send someone to contact you later!" Chen Zhengwei raised his wine glass and said to everyone.

After a while, everyone said goodbye and left. Chen Zhengwei sat on the sofa and thought for a while. With the help of these gangs, his slot machines and smuggled cigars could be spread all over major cities in the United States in a short time.

He began to think again that Juan was making too much money.

The amount of cigars I can sell every year will not be a small number. I should talk to Juan again when I return.

But before that, we have to deal with the army first.

Chen Zhengwei took out a cigar, lit it, and then sat there thinking.

It is easy to fight a battle with the army, but the problem is how to end it and prevent the situation from escalating.

In fact, the best way is to contact DuPont, or the Morgan, Rockefeller and other families.

After all, the U.S. Army is eyeing the technology in your hands, and then suppressing and plundering it internally.

This is also a huge threat to them, and this is a precedent they absolutely do not want to see.

But Chen Zhengwei didn't plan to look for them.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Zhengwei called Aaron and said, "Send a telegram and ask Rong Jiacai to find Isaac Smith, the Attorney General of California, and contact the congressmen in Washington! Then send someone with money to persuade them, and if necessary, propose a hearing to investigate and restrict the military's actions!"

California has two senators and four House members in Congress. Both the Senate and the House have the right to object to military actions and conduct investigations and restrictions.

Therefore, Chen Zhengwei is prepared to use Congress to restrict the military's actions when necessary.

Well... beat them up first, make them hurt, and let everyone know that I am not easy to mess with.

Then ask someone to stop.

After all, this is the military's plunder and oppression of ethnic minorities.

But just choose one of them.

Chen Zhengwei is more inclined to the Senate. Of the 76 senators in the Senate, only half, or 38, are needed to attend a meeting and propose bills.

And we only need to deal with half of these 38 people.

That is 19 to 20 people.

"Damn, another large sum of money to spend!" Chen Zhengwei cursed with some dissatisfaction.

He has just had more money recently.

It can be imagined that the cost of bribing not just one or two members of Congress would be huge, at least in the millions, or two or three million US dollars.

That was two or three million dollars in 1879.

An American railroad tycoon like Leland Stanford had assets worth just over tens of millions of dollars.

……

While Chen Zhengwei was giving the order, Alexander Bryce, the Army Department's logistics director, also received a telegram from Chicago.

"Is this true?" Alexander Bryce looked at the telegram in his hand with a surprised expression.

"Firing 20 bullets in three seconds? And there is less smoke and the bullets are more powerful... Is this a weapon used by gangsters?" Alexander Bryce looked at the telegram in his hand and quickly realized the power and value of this new type of firearm.

"Our army needs this!" Alexander Bryce determined this without much hesitation.

Then he placed the telegram on the table and sat in a chair, thinking.

In addition to explaining the authenticity of the firearms, the telegram also stated that Chen Zhengwei had many subordinates, and that he was accompanied by a large number of men when he went out every day.

A moment later, Alexander Bryce called his adjutant and said, "Send a platoon on a special mission to Chicago to capture the Chinese gang leader and other important figures. Remember, I want them alive!"

"General Bryce, we need authorization from Congress!" Bryce's adjutant reminded.

Just the previous year, in 1878, the Boscomb Act had been passed, restricting the movement of the military within the country.

Prevent the use of military force for domestic political purposes.

"No, it's just a gang leader, and he's not an American! He's just a Chinese!" Alexander Bryce scoffed at the Boscomb Act.

The passage of this bill greatly limited the influence of the military.

Not only him, many people in the military were dissatisfied.

"Besides, they are not soldiers. They are just citizens who are fighting against evil. As long as we can resolve this matter quickly, no one will care about this little thing." Alexander Bryce waved his hand.

He didn't take a gangster seriously at all.

All we have to do is catch their boss.

Only one platoon is needed to join the previous team, a total of fifty people, which is enough to crush a gang in a surprise attack.

The only thing you need to worry about is not beating someone to death.

Moreover, he had no intention of letting those people go to Chicago in military uniforms. As long as they changed into ordinary clothes, who would say they were military personnel?
"If you insist!" Alexander Bryce's deputy fulfilled his responsibility of reminding and said no more.

Soon, the next day, a platoon of soldiers received the mission, changed into gentlemen's suits, carried their suitcases and boarded the train to Chicago.

……

"Boss, we have a lot fewer guests recently!" The new hotel manager was poached from the hotel where Chen Zhengwei had stayed before.

After discovering that the passenger flow had decreased a lot, he immediately reported to Chen Zhengwei.

"What's going on?" Chen Zhengwei asked after hearing this.

"Maybe...it's because of some rumors..." The manager hesitated and spoke.

Rumor has it that Chen Zhengwei killed Isaac Jones, and then used threats to buy the hotel from Jones's widow at a very low price.

Although those celebrities and politicians will not cause trouble for Chen Zhengwei, they can choose to hold salons and balls in other hotels for socializing.

"In other words, someone is slandering me?" After the manager carefully told the rumor, Chen Zhengwei crossed his legs.

"Do you know where the news came from?"

Chen Zhengwei probably spread the news from the Jones family.

Damn it, I’ve already left, and you still want to cause some fucking trouble?
"Sorry, boss, I don't know!" said the manager with his head down.

"It's none of your business, just do your own thing!" Chen Zhengwei waved his hand.

After the manager left, his face darkened.

The greatest value of the Tremont Hotel is that it is the preferred gathering place for celebrities and politicians. Therefore, some wealthy businessmen and politicians from other places will choose to stay in this hotel when they come to Chicago.

If local celebrities and politicians change their gathering places, then wealthy businessmen and politicians from other places will not choose this place as their first choice when staying in a hotel when they come to Chicago.

The income and value of this hotel will be greatly reduced.

"Where is Greater Poland? Call him over!" Chen Zhengwei ordered his men.

"Brother Wei, those three people haven't been found yet." Dapolan said after receiving the news.

"I'm not asking about that!" Chen Zhengwei said. Those three people might be imprisoned somewhere, or simply killed after being interrogated.

This is what it’s like to work outside, one foot in wealth and glory, the other foot in the coffin.

What happens in the end depends on their own fate.

"Find out which hotel the local celebrities and politicians are going to!" Chen Zhengwei ordered.

"And set it on fire!"

It's business competition!
It’s so simple and unpretentious!
(End of this chapter)