Republic of China: My great warlord, many children, many blessings.

They were almost at the top of the mountain, but Shen Hao didn't seem anxious at all.

Just then, a burst of gunfire suddenly rang out from the mountains.

Da da da!

The bullets travel at extremely high speeds and produce a very dense sound.

Gunshots echoed continuously throughout the mountains.

Zhang Mazi's expression changed, and he exclaimed in shock, "That's the sound of a Maxim heavy machine gun! Where did these bandits come from that they have such heavy weapons?"

Although he was a notorious robber, he only used pistols and Hanyang rifles; he couldn't get his hands on heavy weapons like those.

Money can't buy it.

Such weapons are usually possessed by powerful warlords.

Although Zhang Mazi was quite bold, he didn't dare to rob the army.

He knows very well who he can and cannot mess with.

The one-eyed second brother asked, "What should we do, eldest brother?"

...... ... 0

"Yeah, brother, should we go over there?"

"Brother, shall we go and see what's going on?"

The six brothers chatted amongst themselves, all filled with curiosity.

"Calm down. They're facing a heavy machine gun, and the gunfire is very intense, which means there are quite a few of them. Someone of that size is definitely not someone to mess with," Zhang Mazi said.

The gunfire lasted only a few tens of minutes before it ended.

Zhang Mazi shook his head and said, "It's over. It seems we've been ambushed. Although the Huang family has 200 men, they are no match for bandits with Maxim machine guns."

Moreover, the other party might be waiting for them to join the network beforehand; if that's the case, these 200 people are probably doomed.

"Brother, you mean all 200 people have confessed?"

"Wow! That's fucking amazing!"

"Exactly, it's a good thing we didn't go over there, otherwise, although there were quite a few of them, they wouldn't have been enough to handle."

"That Maxim machine gun is fucking awesome! With this thing, I could take out an entire regiment by myself."

Zhang Mazi said with a grave expression, "If something happens over there, we need to be careful here too, and stay on guard."

Before the words were even finished, bang! bang! bang!

A barrage of gunfire erupted from ahead.

Zhang Mazi's expression changed, and he hurriedly said, "Quickly, find cover and hide!"

The other six people all hid.

At this moment, a scene that shocked Zhang Mazi appeared.

Shen Hao dismounted, drew his sword, and shouted, "Charge! Kill all the bandits and rid the people of this scourge! Charge!"

"Kill!"

The twenty-odd people behind him, all of whom were Shen Hao's henchmen, also rushed forward.

The others thought to themselves, "This county magistrate is really brave; he dares to charge through a hail of bullets."

This county magistrate is truly here to suppress the bandits.

They rushed up after them.

At this moment, they even felt guilty for having wrongly accused and insulted Shen Hao as a corrupt official.

62. High-quality opium worth 100,000 silver dollars

The gunfire lasted for about ten minutes before stopping.

Zhang Mazi and his seven companions also rushed up to check.

There were more than fifty people, all wearing mahjong tile masks.

He lay there stiffly, his body riddled with bullet holes.

It was very tragic.

Meanwhile, fewer than a dozen people died in Goose City. Zhang Mazi looked at their clothes and realized they were all security guards from the Zhang and Tan families.

In other words, this Magistrate Shen killed more than fifty bandits while sacrificing fewer than a dozen of his own.

The fact that it's so fast is truly unbelievable.

Looking at the corpses, Shen Hao said to the laborers behind him, "Carry these bandits back for me. I want all the people of Goose City to see whether this is a bandit suppression operation or not."

Meanwhile, all the deceased security guards were given a proper burial.

"Yes, Magistrate."

Now, everyone had some respect for the county magistrate.

To dare to lead the charge, braving a hail of bullets to kill bandits—that kind of courage is not something ordinary people possess. "410"

The county magistrate of the past would never have dared to do that.

After giving instructions to everyone, Shen Hao continued, "Search everywhere, find out where their hideout is."

"Yes"

Upon hearing about collecting spoils, they all shouted with excitement.

Soon, a security guard shouted, "We've found a lot of opium here!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Hao ordered his men to bring out all the opium.

There are ten boxes in total, each weighing 100 jin (50 kg).

Shen Hao didn't know the exact price, but many of the security guards were smokers.

They are clear.

He also had more than a dozen boxes of opium in his storage space.

So Shen Hao asked, "How much are these opiums worth?"

Awei said excitedly, "Sir, the opium in this box is all top-quality Bengal opium paste."

"This is good stuff!"

After saying that, Awei looked at the opium with excitement, sniffed it hard, and looked very pleased.

Clearly, this guy is a heavy smoker too.

Shen Hao kicked Awei directly.

"I'm asking you about value, what are you doing spouting nonsense?"

Awei then came to his senses and hurriedly explained, "Reporting to you, sir, the wholesale price of this top-quality Bengal opium paste is about 1500 silver dollars for 100 catties, or 15 silver dollars for 1 catty."

These costs are all associated with the expenses incurred by drug traffickers in transporting opium.

There are customs fees and shipping costs.

Of course, sir, this price of 1500 silver dollars for 100 jin is the purchase price.

As businessmen, they are naturally in it to make money.

By the time it reaches the opium addict, there are other fees involved, such as bribes to officials, thugs, and profits for various channels, so the price is slightly higher.

As Awei spoke, he lewdly clenched his hands, looking so smug that Shen Hao couldn't help but kick him again.

"Stop your fucking nonsense and keep talking."

"Yes, sir.

There are large tobacco pipes in Renjia Town.

Although Renjia Town is a small town with a population of just over 3,000, it has eight opium dens and two shops that sell processed tobacco.

These high-quality goods were sold in small quantities; one tael of opium was worth ten silver dollars, and one jin (500 grams) was worth one hundred silver dollars.

The profit margin in this process is 6 to 7 times.

Of course, there are cheaper ones too; the opium we grow ourselves isn't that expensive.

Most of these heavy smokers, even those who are poor and try to cut back, still consume about a pound a year. Heavy smokers or wealthy heavy smokers consume at least seven pounds a year. After all, who doesn't love this stuff? It's truly a wonderful thing.

After saying that, Awei looked at the opium in the box, swallowed hard, and almost drooled.

Shen Hao silently calculated the value of opium in his mind.

If calculated based on the purchase price, these ten boxes of opium would be worth 1.5 silver dollars.

However, based on the selling price, these ten boxes of opium would be valuable, worth 100,000 silver dollars.

Damn, that's outrageous.

No wonder Huang Silang dared to risk offending Governor Liu by robbing him of his opium.