Resistance against Japan: Starting with the local militia

Chapter 89 Arms Deal

PS: Chapter 88 has been revised. Readers who want to read it can take a look again.

"Uncle Tang, is there anything you need me to do?" Tang Weiguo knew that Tang Ming had something to talk to him about when Tang Ming called him over in private.

"Your Uncle Tang doesn't need any help, but I have some good news. That's why I immediately thought of you, my nephew." Tang Ming, who had drunk a bit too much with the old butler, said to Tang Weiguo with a flushed face and a drunken look on his face.

"Uncle Tang, you thought of me when something good happened, so I thank you in advance." Tang Weiguo bowed to Uncle Tang. Although Tang Weiguo didn't know what good thing Tang Ming was talking about, he still thanked Uncle Tang.

"I wonder what good thing Uncle Tang is talking about?" Tang Weiguo asked.

"I happen to have a batch of German-made weapons here. I wonder if my nephew has any ideas?" Tang Ming said casually to Tang Weiguo.

"What! German-made weapons? Really?" Tang Weiguo stood up in surprise when he heard Tang Ming say this.

"These are German-made weapons. The Nationalist government didn't import many. Some of the weapons used by the militia are still German-made copies." Tang Weiguo was secretly amazed.

Tang Ming, seeing Tang Weiguo's reaction, was secretly delighted; it seemed that the arms deal entrusted by Chief of Staff Wang was on track.

Just as Tang Ming had expected, Tang Weiguo called out again from behind.

"Uncle Tang, I, Tang Weiguo, want as many of these German-made weapons as there are."

Since the last operation, Tang Weiguo had extracted a batch of gold from the Japanese military train. He didn't need to worry about money for the time being. His only concern was how to spend the money and transform it into the fighting power of the militia.

Hearing Tang Ming mention a batch of German-made weapons at this moment was exactly what Tang Weiguo wanted to hear.

"Okay, that's great. I knew finding Nephew Tang would be no problem."

"Uncle Tang, what kind of German-made weapons are these?" Tang Weiguo asked in detail.

“500 German-made rifles, 50 German-made submachine guns, 100 German-made Mauser pistols, as well as a large quantity of ammunition and 500 sets of military uniforms,” Tang Ming replied.

"Wow, Uncle Tang, this batch of weapons and equipment is really quite substantial. It's more than enough to equip a battalion. Uncle Tang really knows his stuff. Following Uncle Tang, you'll definitely reap the rewards," Tang Weiguo exclaimed in surprise. The quantity of these weapons far exceeded Tang Weiguo's expectations. He had thought that equipping a company would be enough, but he hadn't expected it to be more than enough for a battalion.

Tang Weiguo thought to himself that if he equipped Niu Dali's reconnaissance battalion with this batch of weapons, the reconnaissance battalion should have no problem taking on half a Japanese battalion by themselves.

"I wonder where Uncle Tang got these weapons? As far as I know, only the Central Army has German-made weapons. That guy in Chongqing from the Jin-Sui Army wouldn't give them to us." Tang Weiguo voiced his doubts.

“Nephew Tang is clever. Of course I got it from the Central Army. Do you remember that 68th Brigade from last time?” Tang Ming asked in return.

"Oh, so it's the 68th Brigade. I have a deep impression of that regimental commander of the 68th Brigade who fought so bravely in the newspaper," Tang Weiguo said sarcastically.

"I won't lie to you, Uncle Tang, this batch of weapons is from their 68th Brigade. It's just that the German-made weapons are a bit conspicuous and hard to sell, so they came to me."

"Well, I remembered that Nephew Tang was very interested in German weapons last time, so I immediately thought of Nephew Tang. Another reason is that Nephew Tang is in enemy-occupied territory, far from the emperor's reach. The war zone headquarters wouldn't know about your weapons and equipment, so selling them to your militia is the safest option."

"Thank you, Uncle Tang."

"I wonder how many more weapons we need?" Tang Weiguo asked.

"I told Chief of Staff Wang of their 68th Brigade that although these are good weapons, they are not easy to sell. They asked for 600 gold bars, but I bargained them down to 500 gold bars," Tang Ming said slowly.

"Thank you for your consideration, Uncle Tang. I'm wondering how the transaction should proceed," Tang Weiguo asked.

"The 68th Brigade is currently stationed in the Zhongtiao Mountains, so we need you to send someone to the Zhongtiao Mountains to contact them. I will give you a contact information when you arrive, and you can contact the people from the 68th Brigade directly."

"Okay, thank you, Uncle Tang."

"Uncle Tang, since these Central Army 68th Brigade members can get their hands on German-made weapons, I wonder if they have any connections to get anti-aircraft machine guns?" Tang Weiguo asked.

"Oh, what does Uncle Tang need this weapon for?"

"Those Japanese planes are really a nuisance. To be honest, Uncle Tang, I suffered a small loss, and I'm thinking about how to settle the score with them." Tang Weiguo thought of the losses the Japanese planes caused to the militia when they ambushed the pursuing Japanese troops last time.

"Hmm, let me contact them and think of a solution."

"Thank you, Uncle Tang. As long as you can get the anti-aircraft machine gun, price is not a problem," Tang Weiguo said magnanimously.

"Haha, Nephew Tang, you truly live up to your landlord background, your main strength is your wealth and extravagance," Tang Ming said half-jokingly.

"I recently made a small fortune," Tang Weiguo said with a smile.

"Brother, I wonder if Brother Tang has any ideas about business?" Tang Weiguo asked.

"Oh, what kind of business?" Tang Ming immediately became interested.

"Military merit business."

"Military merits? You don't mean war merits, do you? Are you planning to sell those?" Tang Ming suddenly realized.

"Yes, Uncle Tang, for me, having such military merits is all about reputation. As the saying goes, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down. Having too many military merits behind enemy lines isn't a good thing. It's more practical to use these merits to exchange for some benefits," Tang Weiguo explained.

“Military merits are more valuable than gold these days. Since Nephew Tang has this idea, let me go back and think about it carefully to maximize its benefits,” Tang Ming said after a moment’s thought.

"Thank you for your trouble, Uncle Tang. I can't let you work for nothing. How about I give you 10% of my military merits?" Tang Weiguo said.

"Nephew, you're too kind. But don't worry, with Uncle Tang here, I'll make sure you don't suffer any losses," Tang Ming said with a smile. Tang Ming naturally accepted the 10% military merit that Tang Weiguo offered.

"By the way, Uncle Tang, I ambushed two companies of Japanese soldiers. Is there any way we can make use of that?" Tang Weiguo said.

"Oh." Tang Ming's eyes lit up.

"This matter can be worked out."

“However, we need to provide some evidence to prove that we defeated so many Japanese soldiers,” Tang Ming replied.

"Evidence is easy to obtain. The old guns, uniforms, and samurai swords I seized from the Japanese soldiers can be put to use."

"Yes, with these things, the military industry is a real entity, and it will be much easier for me to operate it. Nephew Tang, just wait for my good news this time."