Fengxian Jiangshan

"There is an old saying in China, which is called vain merit, and I agree with it. This time I am unable to help you with this matter, so I cannot collect money, but I can tell you why it failed. The reason is very simple, His Majesty the Tsar The royal conscript has been personally conscripted, the country has been handed over to the queen, and there is also a demon monk—Rasputin!"

When Miki heard the name Rasputin, his heart was shocked. After preparing to trade with Russia, Miki studied the situation of the upper class dignitaries in Russia.The mystic Rasputin rescued the czar's precious son by virtue of his magical ability, and was sought after by the Russian nobles, and the queen was obedient to him even more.

As a result, after the tsar's royal conquest, the queen took control of the domestic power, and the actual power holder was Rasputin.

Fred sighed and said: "I have nothing to say about the situation in Petrograd. Rasputin kept changing the heads of various departments. The chairman of the Council of Ministers was changed four times, and the Minister of Internal Affairs was changed. Six, and the Minister of War has been replaced by four. This is crazy, Russia is still at war, but their high-ranking government officials are frequently replaced, and their policies are swaying from side to side. It is simply nonsense!"

Fred can also be called a powerful actor, and there was resentment and frustration in his tone, as if he was arguing for Miki.

"The previous Minister of War believed that purchasing military supplies from Japan was an economical and convenient way, so he agreed to my suggestion. As a result, the new minister insisted that Japan's industrial level was backward, and Russia still had to use weapons provided by the United States and France."

"The weapons of the Great Japanese Empire are the best!" Fred inadvertently touched Miki's sore spot. After the Japanese defeated the Manchus and Russia, their national self-esteem swelled unprecedentedly, even to the point of arrogance, which could not be tolerated. not good at all.

After Miki shouted a word, he looked up and saw that Fred was drinking coffee with the old god again, and he was ignored at all. I don’t care if you are advanced or not, anyway, that’s how the Russians see it.

Miki is sitting on pins and needles at this time. If he cannot reach a trade deal with Russia, his trip to China will be considered a complete failure. He came to China with the halo of a business genius, but he suffered a disastrous failure. The only way left was suicide by caesarean section.

"Mr. Fred, I can't fail no matter what, please help me find a way."

Fred looked at the sincere Miki, sighed softly, and said: "The domestic political situation in Tsarist Russia is turbulent, and many nobles are prejudiced against Japan because of the Russo-Japanese War, so the trade agreement will have twists and turns. If you want to pass it smoothly, There is only one way to get strong support from within Russia, and the one who can provide this support at present is the Tsar’s uncle, Grand Duke Nicholas.”

When Fred said this, he stopped again and let Miki taste it for himself. Miki kept thinking about what Fred said, and he had to admit that what Fred said was very reasonable. It's hard to pin down.

Miki also knew Grand Duke Nicholas, he had a huge influence in the Russian government, and he was a big man who could make the final decision. What Fred said was not wrong, but Miki didn't know how to connect with Nikolai at the moment.

"Dear Mr. Fred, please tell me how to get Grand Duke Nicholas to agree?"

"Grand Duke Nicholas controls the Slavic Bank. Recently, there have been minor problems. The bonds have depreciated severely and urgently need financial support. If anyone can help the Grand Duke overcome this difficulty, the Grand Duke will definitely be grateful to him. Of course, the money will not be in vain. Slavic banks control a large number of mines in Russia, as well as shipyards on the Black Sea, which can be used as collateral."

"How much is it!"

"Around 1000 million, the minimum is 800 million!"

Hearing this, Miki's body was shocked. 800 million is the maximum amount he can only allocate. If he can use this money to facilitate the arms trade with Russia, it is also very worthwhile, because it only takes a year or two. You can earn more than [-] million yuan, and this batch of money is not given away in vain, with mines and shipyards as collateral, it seems like a good idea.

"Actually, Mr. Miki, I heard that the Americans have already taken action. Rockefeller, DuPont, Ford and other consortiums are all going to do it. Russia is a big piece of fat!"

This hit Miki's heart again like a heavy punch, and he blurted out: "I agree!"

Fred looked at him playfully, and Miki seemed to feel that his decision was a bit hasty. Fred said with a smile: "Mr. Miki, you can investigate as you like, just don't fall behind the Americans!"

"Give me three days, I want to think about it!" At this time, Miki couldn't sit still anymore, and he hurriedly left Fred's office.

"Old friend, your level of fooling has improved again. It seems that Miki can't escape!"

"I'm telling the truth. If Russia doesn't collapse, Miki will definitely make a lot of money. God bear witness, lying is not a good habit!"

"Japan is not within God's service area, they are destined to be unlucky!" Zhang Tinglan said with a smile: "Mr. Fred, you said you have good news to tell me, what is it?"

"Zhang, Miki was eaten by us for 800 million at once, isn't that right?"

"Money is just a number to me now, meaningless. What I want is dry goods that can really improve my strength!"

"Okay! Tomorrow there will be a train bringing a batch of wood from the Far East, with you on it and Mr. Zhang's favorite things!"

Chapter 76 Yang Yuting

The warlord's favorite thing is nothing more than weapons, of course, including the production line that can produce weapons. Hearing what Fred said, Zhang Tinglan also showed joy.

"Old friend, tell me what it is first, and then I have some good news to tell you, which will definitely surprise you!"

"Zhang, I knew your trip to Beijing would not be in vain." Fred said with a smile, "It's four artillery pieces, 120mm caliber howitzers. As far as I know, your domestic army rarely has them." Large-caliber heavy artillery, I believe you will be interested."

Hearing this, Zhang Tinglan immediately beamed with joy. Cannon is the god of war, and artillery is also the core of the Continental Army, which has the power to influence wars.As Fred said, the Beiyang armies are mainly equipped with 75mm artillery, which is already insufficient in power compared with the army artillery of other countries in the world.

The Beiyang Army also seemed to have discovered this problem during the preparation and training, and increased each battalion's artillery to eighteen, and a division had 54 artillery pieces. It seemed that they wanted to make up for the lack of power through the number of artillery pieces.

But the military establishment is never such a simple matter, and logistics and mobility must also be considered, especially the poor road conditions in China. Such an establishment is completely nonsense.

The biggest imaginary enemies of the Fengjun are Japan and Russia. The industrial level of these two countries is far ahead of China, and the army is also equipped with a large number of large-caliber heavy artillery. If the Fengjun does not have heavy artillery, it is impossible to fight against them.

If Fred can get four cannons, he can get more, and the artillery power of the Feng army will be multiplied. Zhang Tinglan is naturally ecstatic.

"Old friend, artillery is of course a good thing, but there are only four, enough equipment for a company, it is too little!"

"Don't be dissatisfied, this has almost killed me!" Fred said with an exaggerated expression: "Zhang, Russia is desperately trying to control arms, especially these sophisticated heavy artillery, which are being used by the Russians." I kept a close eye on them. I spent a lot of effort to bribe the quartermaster, and got four cannons from him, disassembled them into parts, disguised them as timber, and shipped them to Mukden. If I want to get more cannons, I really need them. It's not easy!"

Zhang Tinglan also knew that Fred was telling the truth, but with only four cannons, it was difficult to form a fighting force, and Zhang Tinglan was obviously dissatisfied.

"Old friend, do you know the source of these cannons? Let's think of a way together and see if we can find a chance!"

"This batch of artillery was produced by the Americans, and they were shipped directly to Haisenwei, and then to Europe via the Trans-Siberian Railway, without going through the Middle East Road at all. If we can help Grand Duke Nicholas get a loan from Japan this time, it will be stable. The Slavic Bank’s bonds, the Grand Duke may allow arms to pass through the Middle East Road in return.”

Fred thought for a while, and then said: "Even if you go through the Middle East Road, I advise you to use less artillery. Russia retreated miserably on the Western Front, and more than 100 million livestock died. Looking at the current situation, the Tsar We are ready to gamble everything and launch an attack in the spring and summer of next year, and the outcome depends on it, so the decisive heavy artillery is highly valued by everyone in Russia and will not allow the slightest mistake."

Zhang Tinglan frowned, Fred's words did not dissuade him at all, on the contrary Zhang Tinglan hoped to get these Russian artillery even more.

"Old friend, you just have to find a way to get the Russians transported through the Middle East Road, and I will figure out the rest. Even if it is robbery, I will get the heavy artillery!"

Fred immediately rolled his eyes up, this kid is really bold, don't look at Russia as a giant with mud legs, but it is also a giant, and China is now a big fish belly.This kid didn't pay attention to the Russians at all, taking advantage has become a habit, it's a bit crazy, but Fred appreciates this kind of madness, otherwise how could his pockets be bulging so fast.

"Zhang, since you have made up your mind, I can only risk my life to accompany the gentleman, but we must think of a safe plan and not take any risks. Let me tell you some good news about you in Beijing, I really want to know!"

Zhang Tinglan said with a smile: "I have reached a cooperation agreement with the British. Fengtian's factory will be responsible for producing canned food, cloth and other military supplies for the British. The machines you helped me get are all in use!"

"This is indeed a good thing, but are these military supplies going to be sold to Europe?"

"It should be. In fact, the British don't care about this. What they want is to use Fengtian's potential production capacity to coerce the United States and let them lower the price. The trade volume between the United States and the Allies is so large, and each can is minus one cent. The Brits can save tens of millions, and we are just chips."

Fred listened to Zhang Tinglan's words, and nodded: "That's right, this is indeed a good way to put pressure on the United States." His eyes suddenly lit up, and he asked with a smile: "Zhang, this is your job again. You, a business genius, must have come up with such an ingenious idea, the British's stupid brains can't think of such an ingenious idea, and I will praise your wisdom!"

"It's just competing to be a pawn, it's nothing!"

"If you are a chess player, you have to start as a chess piece. Most of them don't even have the ability to play on the chessboard. You have done a great job, especially when you are so weak, you can actually hit the trade between the United States and Britain. , you are definitely an unprecedented genius!"

Having said this, Fred stood up again, walked around a few times, and suddenly said: "Zhang, according to what you said, the British don't care about these materials anymore, what they need is a concept, as long as the Americans agree to cut prices, you Existence is dispensable!"

Zhang Tinglan nodded, suddenly his face changed drastically, his fists were clenched unconsciously, and a thought came to his mind crazily.Fred also had a smile on his face: "Zhang, you have also thought about it, the British have never been a good thing. Once they reach an agreement with the United States, they may abandon you ruthlessly. The promised orders, loans , and the assistance will turn into a gust of wind and disappear at any time!"

Zhang Tinglan's face also became livid. He always thought that he had played with Zhu Erdian, but now he realized that chess pieces are just chess pieces. If the British feel that they are worthless, they will be discarded at any time.His plan to use Britain to expand Fengtian Industry will go bankrupt.

Whether it is the £50 or the power plant, it is just a snack thrown by the UK.Of course, this is just the speculation of Zhang Tinglan and Fred. Zhang Tinglan is still not sure whether Britain will do this.

But there is one thing that makes Zhang Tinglan very uncomfortable, that is, his life is completely held in the hands of the other party.In fact, every traveler has a sense of superiority, thinking that with his own knowledge and talents, he can play with those historical celebrities and even change the times, but the truth is often not as simple as imagined.

Take this cooperation with the United Kingdom as an example. Although Zhang Tinglan made the other party accept her proposal, once the British achieve their goal of putting pressure on the United States, will they tear up their promise and give up their support for Fengtian?Even if the trade relationship is maintained and the British take the complete initiative, they will probably lower the conditions. After all, Fengtian's production capacity is really a drop in the bucket for the UK. It is insignificant and has no effect at all.

"I must find countermeasures so that the British cannot easily tear up the contract!"