Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 52: The Picky Buyer

He Shili is indeed a person that Zheng Yi admires very much.

Ho Shai-lai is the son of Ho Tung, the richest man in Hong Kong. Ho Tung has great influence in Hong Kong. Some even say that he is on par with the Governor. In Hong Kong movies, including Stephen Chow's movies, there is often a line: "Do you think you are Ho Tung?"

This is a local proverb in Hong Kong Island.

However, He Shili himself had little interest in business. He had always wanted to be a soldier since he was a child. At the age of fifteen, he was admitted to the Nanjing Army Officers School, and later went to the Royal Military Academy in Juliusi, England and the Bloor Artillery School in France.

After returning from his studies, he did not join the more promising Central Army, nor did he join the Guangdong Army which was obviously more suitable for him and could leverage the power of his family. Instead, he took the initiative to choose the most dangerous and frontline Northeast Army.

He is a Hong Kong native and learned Northeastern dialect later.

Instead of enjoying the blessing of being the richest man's father, he went to the front line to fight the Japanese invaders with bayonets.

This kind of person does have his or her own special personal charm.

He is very eloquent. Just now when Li Xiaowei was speaking, he didn't say a word.

Now that Li Xiaowei's story has been told and the matter of 3,000 powered delta-wing aircraft has been finalized, it is naturally his turn to perform.

At this time, he was vividly describing to Zheng Yi the process and specific details of the "Liutiaohu Incident".

In fact, this was the only battle worth talking about among the battles fought between the Northeast Army and the Japanese invaders.

He happened to be involved in that battle, and the process was extremely brutal. Until the end, all of their officers fought with their bayonets, risking their lives and fighting their way out of the bloody battle.

Everyone at the table listened attentively and nervously, feeling like they were listening to a storytelling, but with a different touch.

Gan said, "It was truly thrilling, nephew. Can you rest for a few more days while you're in Southeast Asia?"

He Shili smiled and said, "War is always dangerous. The Japanese invaders are rampant now, and their intention to destroy us will not stop at the Northeast. I have been ordered by the Young Marshal to guard Gubeikou and work with the 29th Army to fight the enemy. How dare I leave the army for long? At most, I will be back in half a month."

As he spoke, He Shili looked at Zheng Yi again, took a deep breath, and said:

"Mr. Zheng, the country is in crisis. Our Northeast Army has been the vanguard of the country. Unfortunately, the government has provided little assistance. Now that the Northeast has been lost, our two hundred thousand brothers have become homeless and lonely souls.

I also know that since Zhou Zhirou has come in person, he will definitely make things difficult for you. I only ask Mr. Zheng to consider the weak bones and blood of our Northeast Army. Please!

Please sell us some as well. The Central Army will never give us these new equipment, but we are the ones who need them the most!"

His words were so heartfelt, and coupled with the little story he just told, Zheng Yi couldn't help but feel his blood boiling and his heart pounding.

But he asked, "Captain He, you are indeed admirable, but as far as I know, the Northeast Army originally had more than 200 planes. Now that the Northeast has been completely lost, those 200 planes haven't even taken off.
This plane is much more powerful than a powered delta wing. If it can't even fly, what's the point of selling it to you or giving it to you as a gift?"

Everyone: "…………"

This is just bringing up something that has nothing to do with the topic.

For a moment, He Shili was quite embarrassed.

However, Zheng Yi did not intend to indulge him. In essence, no matter how pitiful He Shili was or how worthy of admiration he was, he was the buyer who wanted to cut in line and buy the powered delta wing, while Zheng Yi was the seller of the powered delta wing.

In order to work for the country, Zheng Yi can make less money, no money, or even sell at a loss, but the essence of business negotiations remains unchanged.

In business negotiations, you must suppress your opponent when it is necessary.

And to be honest, Zheng Yi really didn't have a good impression of the Northeast Army, especially the young marshal. If it was Ma Zhanshan who sent people, he might be so excited that he would decide to send him thousands of planes without hesitation.

But the young commander...

So Zheng Yi naturally asked a core question: "Powered delta wings are in demand right now. As you know, Zhou Zhirou, representing the Central Army, will be arriving in a few days. If we're talking about suitability, this thing is actually more suitable for guerrilla warfare."

"If we really want to fight a positional war, this thing will die if it encounters the Japanese fighter planes. Or let's take a step back and say, even if I want to send this thing to the front line, why not send it to the 29th Army?"

"As far as I know, among the Northeast Army, there were three infantry brigades, three cavalry brigades, one settlement brigade, one guard regiment and one cavalry regiment that first fought against the Japanese and then defected.

Three infantry brigades, one cavalry brigade, two infantry regiments and one guard battalion directly surrendered to the enemy.

The Northeast Army that betrayed the country and surrendered to the enemy accounts for more than half of the total force, so... do you really still have 200,000 Northeast Army soldiers now?"

"Brother He, it's not that I'm reluctant to sell it, or even give you some powered delta wings. Although I admire you very much, I am skeptical about the Northeast Army's combat effectiveness. No, let's not even talk about combat effectiveness, but about their fighting will."

He Shili: “…………”

These words made him blush and feel so embarrassed that he didn't know where to put his hands.

Although Ho Shai-lai was not actually an old member of the Northeast Army, he joined the Northeast Army shortly after the war broke out, and he was from Hong Kong Island, not the Northeast. To put it bluntly, he joined the Northeast Army in order to "fight in the most dangerous and difficult places." The Ho family had almost no connection with the Northeast Army before.

But he is now a member of the Northeast Army after all, and it is still a bit embarrassing to hear Zheng Yi disparaging his own unit in this way.

What made him even more embarrassed was that almost everything Zheng Yi said was true.

How come you, a Nanyang native, know so much about Northeast China?
If this was just a normal chat, he could just walk away right now if it went this way.

However, He Shilei left his troops at the front line and traveled thousands of miles to Southeast Asia to negotiate and purchase powered delta-wings.

How could he turn against someone just because of a few harsh words?

Besides, he is the young master of a merchant family, so how could he not know the truth that "only picky buyers are there".

If Zheng Yi really didn't intend to cooperate with their Northeast Army, he wouldn't have said these things that would obviously embarrass others.

He and the Li family are old friends, and he is also a brother of Li Xiaowei. As a worker working for the two of them, Zheng Yi has no need to offend him.

Besides, his father Ho Tung still has a certain influence in Southeast Asia. For example, if Tai You Machinery wants to go public, it can only go to Hong Kong Island, and going to Hong Kong Island will definitely require the help of his father Ho Tung.

If you really want to refuse, just laugh it off and say that the production capacity is insufficient and the supply is insufficient.
After all, he had already promised Li Xiaowei 3,000 planes, and with Zhou Zhirou arriving in a few days, he couldn't let Zhou Zhirou go back empty-handed.
He was also buying a steel furnace from the Ministry of Industry. It was obvious that the delta wing Zhou Zhirou took away could only be more than what Li Xiaowei took away, but it could not be less than what he took away.

In this case, as long as Zheng Yi makes excuses that he really has no production capacity, can He Shili still blame him?

Zheng Yi went all out and denigrated the Northeast Army in such a way. There was only one possibility: he wanted to lower the price.

After thinking for a moment, He Shili simply spoke directly, "Mr. Zheng, do you think there is anything in the Northeast Army today that you would appreciate? Whatever it is, please get straight to the point."

Zheng Yi also laughed when he heard this and said, "I heard that the Northeast Army is the only warlord in the country that has built a relatively complete military industry.

Now that we have lost our home, we wonder how many pounds of nails are left in this rotten ship? Since our foundation is completely destroyed, have you ever considered rebuilding it in Southeast Asia?

(End of this chapter)