Southern guerrilla warfare: I led the Red Seventh Army Corps to amassed a million troops.

"Let's get straight to the point. Your friend broke into an arms depot. What's inside? If the price's right, I'll buy it all."

Mayer opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

He glanced at Zhou Zeyuan, then at the boxes of gold, and finally let out a long sigh.

"Zhou, you're really amazing."

Zhou Zeyuan smiled and said, "It's not that I'm good, it's that you revealed too many flaws."

Mayer touched his nose and gave an awkward smile.

"Alright, since you've already guessed it, I won't hide it from you anymore."

He took a folded piece of paper from the inside pocket of his suit jacket, unfolded it, and laid it on the table.

Zhou Zeyuan looked down.

Rifles, machine guns, pistols, ammunition, military supplies... all listed clearly in rows.

His gaze swept from the first line to the last, and the expression on his face changed from calm to greed.

"Good stuff." He pushed the paper back, looking directly into Mayer's eyes. "I want it all. Name your price."

Mayer swallowed.

A mix of trepidation and excitement suddenly overwhelmed him, and in that instant, he had already begun to think about his future.

His ex-girlfriend once told him that a man should bravely go out and make his way in the world, either becoming rich and powerful or dying without a trace.

He never had the chance before and could only be a spoiled rich kid who lived a life of idleness and idleness.

This time, he's going to become an arms dealer!

Suddenly, a gunshot shattered all his fantasies.

Immediately afterwards, gunfire erupted from the direction of the city, interspersed with a few muffled explosions.

The guard Xiao Zhong outside the tent instinctively pressed the gun at his waist, moved half a step towards the door, listened for a few seconds, and then looked back at Zhou Zeyuan.

Mayer's Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

Zhou Zeyuan picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip: "It's alright. This person is just asking for a beating. Let's continue our talk. After we're done, I'll send someone to take you home."

He said this without showing the slightest sign of nervousness.

These past few days, his troops have been doing more than just recruiting and mobilizing soldiers and looting spoils of war.

Under Su Yu's personal arrangement, firing positions have been set up at all important intersections and high points in the city, and the crossfire lines have long been marked.

He also selected key personnel from various departments to form an assault battalion, equipped entirely with submachine guns.

If it were a real street battle, even with 100,000 troops, the National Revolutionary Army wouldn't be able to take it down in a short time.

With Hu Tiantao keeping an eye on things in the city, Zhou Zeyuan was quite confident in his abilities.

Seeing his composure, Mayer felt relieved. He steadied himself, picked up his glass, and took a sip of water.

He thought to himself that he was a person holding an American passport, so if something went wrong, he wouldn't be punished.

He steadied himself and decided to ask for the absolute best: "Mr. Zhou, the equipment on this list is enough to arm two divisions. One price, 1.2 million silver dollars. Payment upon delivery, I'll bear the risk."

Zhou Zeyuan picked up the list and scanned it from top to bottom: "If this could equip two pure American-trained division commanders, I would accept it. But you have neither artillery nor enough machine guns. If it weren't for the extra ammunition, I wouldn't even give you 600,000 silver dollars. How about this, I'll cut it to one million. Don't try to bargain."

He placed the list on the table and leaned back: "I know that gangster's son; in the end, he won't even get 300,000. He has no choice but to sell it to you."

Mayer paused for a moment, then stroked his chin, a look of resignation on his face, as if he'd been seen through: "Mr. Zhou, you've reminded me—I could indeed try to negotiate a lower price with him. It's settled then."

Zhou Zeyuan waved his hand: "There's no rush. This batch of goods will have to cross the Pacific Ocean to get to me, which will take at least a month. In the meantime, get me a batch of standard 7.92mm caliber weapons. It's okay if they're a little expensive, I need them urgently."

Mayer nodded: "No problem. I happen to have a few routes in Guangzhou, so it'll only take half a month to get here by land. By the way, why are you in such a hurry to exchange your silver dollars for gold? The five percent commission isn't cheap."

Zhou Zeyuan thought for a moment and realized that creating a mysterious and powerful image would be beneficial for future cooperation.

"I have inside information that the Nationalist government has already contacted Britain and the United States to seek financial cooperation and is expected to implement currency reform next year. At that time, the price of silver in China will plummet. Exchange your silver sooner and enjoy the benefits sooner."

Sure enough, when Mayer heard this, his pupils dilated in shock.

Their family holds a certain status in the United States, and in China, they are a giant enterprise.

I haven't heard a single word about this. If this news is true, then this person's intelligence capabilities are terrifying!

Immediately, a great greed enveloped his heart!

fear?

Wouldn't that be better?

The stronger his partners are, the more he earns!

Zhou Zeyuan's statement is nine parts true and one part false; the information contained within needs to be viewed dialectically.

In the current context, the US Silver Act has led to the purchase of large quantities of silver on the international market at high prices, driving up global silver prices.

In countries and regions where silver prices were not high to begin with, arbitrage opportunities naturally emerged.

Silver-standard countries like China were hit hardest, with a massive outflow of silver leading to deflation and a sharp drop in prices.

The economic impact was devastating, comparable to a tsunami.

Although the Nationalist government also introduced policies to restrict it, those who know the situation understand that it was corrupt and failed to achieve substantial unification, leaving the whole country like a sieve.

Therefore, in 35, which is next year, the Nationalist government will implement currency reform, stripping silver of its monetary status through legislation.

Furthermore, they would use officially issued banknotes to buy silver dollars at a one-to-one exchange rate.

The fact that the Chinese Nationalist government was able to maintain the credibility of the legal tender was naturally a great thing that benefited the country and its people.

However, from the very beginning, the amount of legal tender issued by the Nationalist government was slightly more than usual.

This makes the actual value of legal tender much lower than that of silver dollars!

This is tantamount to the Kuomintang using inflation to plunder the nation's wealth.

Objectively speaking, this wealth also played a positive role in the subsequent expansion of the military and preparations for war, as well as in resisting foreign enemies.

But Zhou Zeyuan was unhappy. He thought, "I worked so hard to make tens of millions of dollars."

A single decree from Nanjing wiped out 20% of my income.

They even took my money to expand their army and prepare for war against me! This is truly intolerable!

The purpose of converting a portion of the silver dollars into gold was to avoid such a loss.

But you don't need to exchange them all.

Firstly, the value of the silver dollar remains strong in foreign trade.

For example, it would be more cost-effective to pay for goods to Mayer using silver, which is currently at a high price.

Secondly, the Soviet government had its own monetary system. If it was within the base area, this silver could be used as reserves for the Soviet bank, and its value would not be diminished in the slightest. In fact, it could even play a role far exceeding its original value.

However, if troops are far from their base and engage in mobile warfare, spending money to buy supplies from the local people, then the impact will be significant.

Some big capitalists might dare to treat the laws of the Nationalist government as worthless paper, but most ordinary people still abide by the law.

At that time, the actual purchasing power of these dollars may only be used according to the purchasing power of legal tender.