Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Changjin Lake, a Hundred Battles, a Hundred Victories

Chapter 91 Not-So-Simple Bandits, Purchasing Heavy Weapons
After Dafei left, Chen Ming began to sigh.

We should never underestimate the people of this world.

Who would have thought that a bandit would have connections to get his hands on machine tools? It's simply unbelievable.

As expected of Shanxi Province, even bandits have started doing business, and their reach has even extended to Shanghai.

Not long after, a plump man in his forties was brought to Chen Ming's office by Da Fei.

"Can you get your hands on a machine tool?"

As soon as the other party came in, Chen Ming asked directly.

"Sir, I did handle a few machine tools last year," the portly bandit replied cautiously.

Chen Ming nodded: "What's your name?"

"Sir, my name is Liu Fugui."

"You say you can get your hands on machine tools, what channels do you have?" Chen Ming asked.

"Reporting to the commander, a few years ago I bought several machine tools from Shanghai and sold them through the black market to a battalion commander of what I think was the 4th Division of the Japanese army."

“They usually buy weapons and equipment from the Central Army and the Jin-Sui Army through the underground black market and resell them to bandits in the surrounding areas.”

"Sir, if you have enough money, I can try to find some connections to buy a few more machine tools. Even if I can't buy them, I can contact the Jin-Sui Army and the Central Army and get a lot of equipment."

Liu Fugui spoke cautiously, while secretly observing Chen Ming's expression.

When Chen Ming first heard that the other party had actually resold machine tools to the Japanese, he was furious.

It was the existence of these people that made the War of Resistance against Japan even more difficult.

However, when they heard that the other party's network included the Japanese, the Central Army, the Jin-Sui Army, and the black market in Shanghai, they were shocked.

It also seemed unbelievable.

If they really had such a big relationship, why would they be bandits?

Chen Ming voiced his question.

"Since you have such powerful connections, why are you still willing to be a bandit?"

"Reporting to the lord, I was formerly a battalion commander in the Central Army. After my unit was scattered, I was forced to go up the mountain and barely make a living by relying on my old connections," Liu Fugui replied.

Chen Ming scoffed at Liu Fugui's answer.

Were they scattered and forced to go up the mountain?

What a fool!

The scattered troops, including a battalion commander, are not incapable of building anything, so why did they go up the mountain?

He probably deserted and would be executed if he went back, so he had no choice but to hide in the mountains to save his life.

However, Chen Ming is too lazy to care about these things now.

"Money isn't the problem; the problem is how you can guarantee that the purchased equipment can be safely transported back?" Chen Ming asked.

After this bandit suppression, the Fourth Division obtained a large amount of money, so much of it that they didn't know what to do with it.

If that's still not enough, you can report to your superiors and request additional allocation.

For the Eighth Route Army at this time, it wasn't really a lack of money, but a lack of channels to purchase supplies.

“In the Japanese-occupied areas, the Fourth Division’s battalion stationed in Shanxi Province could transport the goods. I used to smuggle medicines and weapons through them.”

"As long as you pay enough, you can buy even the weapons they have."

"As for Shanghai, as long as you spend money to smooth things over, you can get supplies transported over, but it costs a lot of money."

Liu Fugui replied.

After listening to Liu Fugui's words, Chen Ming understood that the key to the matter was money.

As long as you're willing to spend the money, even the Japanese can help transport and produce weapons to attack their machine tools.

"Old Zhang, what's the situation with the Japanese Fourth Division?" Chen Ming asked the political commissar.

Chen Ming wasn't actually very familiar with these Japanese divisions.

He was mostly familiar with the Japanese troops active in Shanxi Province and the surrounding areas, since they were the enemies right in front of him.

“Old Chen, the Fourth Division was a Class A division of the Japanese army, also known as the Osaka Division. Its combat strength was not particularly strong,” Zhang Zhengze replied.

“The Osaka Division? That’s not surprising, that’s not surprising at all.” Chen Ming nodded knowingly.

He wasn't familiar with the Fourth Division, but he was very familiar with the Osaka Division.

In his previous life, Chen Ming had seen many videos of the Osaka Division on short video platforms.

Although this Japanese division was a regular Class A division, most of its soldiers came from merchants in the Osaka area.

Their passive combat style earned them the nicknames "Merchant Division" or "Weakest Division".

If the other party is indeed the Osaka Division, there is a real possibility of successfully purchasing the machine tools.

After all, this division is known for selling anything except heavy artillery as long as you pay them.

If Liu Fugui really has this channel, then they will have another reliable way to purchase scarce resources such as medicines.

Although it was a bit expensive, it was worth it to fight the Japanese and save the lives of the soldiers.

“Alright, if you really have such connections and can help our army purchase weapons, equipment, or even machine tools, I, in my capacity as the commander of the independent detachment, guarantee your safety,” Chen Ming said.

"Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!" Liu Fugui said excitedly.

If he could get a guarantee from a high-ranking commander like Chen Ming, then his life should be safe.

"Let's try to buy a batch of weapons first; we can talk about the machine tools later," Chen Ming said.

The machine tool was a matter of great importance, and Chen Ming wouldn't take the risk lightly without confirming that the other party truly possessed such a channel. Losing money was one thing, since it was just inanimate objects, but it would be terrible if soldiers or intelligence personnel were sacrificed because of it.

"Understood." Liu Fugui nodded quickly.

He could guess what Chen Ming was thinking.

When doing business, you have to test the waters first; you can't just put all your capital into it right away.

It would be a good opportunity for him to use the time he spent buying weapons to try and reconnect with his old relationships.

Otherwise, if he were to buy machine tools right away, he wouldn't know anything about them.

"If possible, try to buy some large-caliber artillery," Chen Ming continued.

"Yes, yes." Liu Fugui nodded.

Afterwards, Chen Ming allocated a sum of money to Liu Fugui and transferred ten special operations soldiers to follow him.

It is both protection and surveillance.

During this time, Chen Ming also arranged for soldiers from the special operations brigade to show off their skills in front of Liu Fugui.

Right in front of him, ten soldiers accurately hit the target from 300 meters away.

Let Liu Fugui see if he has any improper thoughts; he should first see if he can escape from these ten elite warriors.

The demonstration by the ten soldiers terrified Liu Fugui.

He had previously thought that the Eighth Route Army could easily break through his well-equipped mountain stronghold because it had several cannons and a large number of men.

Only now did he realize that these ten special forces soldiers, relying on sniping, could easily destroy his mountain stronghold of over three hundred men in no time.

Liu Fugui's last glimmer of hope was extinguished, and he could only obediently cooperate.

Headquarters of the 165th Division of the 80th Army.

Commander Wang was flirting with one of his concubines.

Suddenly, the director of the 165th Division's quartermaster department ran up to Commander Wang and whispered a few words. Commander Wang's expression hardened, and he told his concubine to leave first.

What do you want to buy? How much?

"Medicines, light and heavy machine guns, mortars, we need everything. If possible, they'd also like to buy heavy artillery."

"Really? Could bandits really have that much money?" Commander Wang asked doubtfully.

"I reckon they were bought for the Eighth Route Army or the Japanese," the quartermaster said.

"Who cares? As long as I get the money, it doesn't matter who buys it."

Commander Wang didn't care who the buyer was, as long as the product could be sold.

"What kind of transaction will we use? Let's make it clear first, I don't want fiat currency."

"It's all gold and silver dollars." The quartermaster leaned closer, revealing the small yellow croaker that Liu Fugui had arranged in his arms.

Upon inspection, Commander Wang noticed that the buyers were using gold for bribes, indicating they were quite wealthy.

How many heavy weapons do we have left?

"Reporting to the division commander, we still have four 75mm mountain guns, three 82mm mortars, and 15 Maxim heavy machine guns left," the quartermaster chief said, listing them off with great familiarity.

"In that case, we can sell two mountain guns, two mortars, and eight heavy machine guns," Commander Wang said after some deliberation.

"Commander, isn't selling so many at once too conspicuous? What if the higher-ups investigate?" The quartermaster hesitated.

"Are you stupid? Why don't you just find a carpenter to make a few models, paint them, cover them with cloth, and you'll be fooled? If a battle breaks out, just say they were bombed by the Japanese." Commander Wang said.

"Commander's insight is excellent," Director Li of the Quartermaster Department immediately flattered.

"Selling is fine, but the price can't be low. A mountain gun should sell for at least 10000 silver dollars, shells for 100 silver dollars each, mortars for 4000 silver dollars, and heavy machine guns for 1500 silver dollars," Commander Wang instructed.

"Don't worry, Commander, I guarantee I'll get a high price," the quartermaster assured him, patting his chest.

"Alright, I'll leave this to you. Make sure it's done in secret."

"Yes."

After obtaining Commander Wang's permission, the Quartermaster Director immediately contacted Liu Fugui.

After learning about the available weapons and their prices, Liu Fugui immediately sent someone to relay the news back to Chen Ming.

Upon receiving the news, Chen Ming learned that the Central Army in Zhongtiao Mountain actually dared to sell even heavy weapons, and immediately denounced the corruption of the Nationalist government.

However, it was ultimately approved.

After all, if we don't buy these weapons, those parasites will sell them to others, or even resell them to the Japanese.

Rather than letting these weapons fall into the hands of the Japanese and be used against us, we might as well buy them ourselves and use them to fight the Japanese.

Anyway, after the bandit suppression campaign, the Eighth Route Army seized a lot of money and now they had money but nowhere to spend it.

Liu Fugui received instructions from Chen Ming and immediately finalized the deal with the quartermaster of the 165th Division.

The weapons and equipment were disassembled into parts and circulated through the black market to a pre-arranged location, where they were received by personnel arranged by Chen Ming.

The payment was settled in gold plus silver dollars.

After the transaction was completed, Commander Wang's eyes nearly popped out when he saw so much money.

"Damn it, the Nationalist government owes me military pay, I have no choice but to find a way myself."

During this period, the value of weapons far exceeded the salaries of officers and soldiers. The money earned from reselling weapons once was often more than an officer's salary for several years.

This is one of the reasons why arms trafficking was so prevalent during the War of Resistance against Japan.
P.S.: Daily request for votes! Looking for alternate accounts; those who want to fight the Japanese can leave their names.

(End of this chapter)