Chapter Seventy-Six: Handling Gold
Koval heard Larry's attention and fell into deep thought: after Father John presided over this matter, he was able to not only establish a position in the Catholic Church in Poland and Lithuania, but also enhance the influence of Vilnius Cathedral in Lithuania, which can be said to have obtained most of the hidden benefits of this event. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info as for himself, he can only get a little bit of fame.
However, cooperation is beneficial to both sides, and division is harmful to both. Koval quickly made up his mind and said happily, "It's a good idea, but we'll have to exchange these things for money quickly, and we'll discuss the details later." ”
"Okay, you get your stuff on that American liner, and it's all my people." Father John said.
In the darkness of the night, Koval and his soldiers drove three wagons to transport the gold and jewels to the docks, and the guards along the way had been temporarily removed, and no one was noticed along the way.
Coming to the dock, Koval led people to carry up boxes of things, and after weighing, a total of 2.1 tons of gold.
Father John took a box from the ship's room, put it on the table, and pushed it over.
Koval opened it and saw bundles of hundred-dollar dollars. Koval counted twenty bundles. Pick up a bundle of "whoops" and count them, there are a hundred.
"This is the money I got from the bank, a total of 200,000 dollars, I guess you must be in a hurry to use the money, so I will bring it to you first." Father John said.
"Thank you, Larry, thank you so much!" Koval covered the box and said sincerely.
"2.1 tonnes of gold can be exchanged for a total of $1.4 million, but of course they are worth much more than that. As for the other jewelry, paintings, I can only help you auction them off, and you can get about a million dollars, but it will take a long time to find a suitable buyer. Father John said.
"Larry, half of the proceeds from the sale of jewelry and paintings I am willing to donate to the church to carry out war relief activities, and I hope you can help me exchange it for dollars and deposit it in foreign banks, so that I can immediately exchange it for weapons when I need it." Koval thought for a moment and said.
"Okay, what weapons do you need now? German, British, American, French, which one do you prefer? Father John asked, casually looking like a warmonger.
"In order to reduce the logistical pressure, or consider the German M1898 Mauser rifle and MG-08 Maxim heavy machine gun, I know that the Kampon Armistice Agreement of November 11, 1918, Germany handed over 25,000 machine guns to the Entente, anyway, the German machine guns and their weapons are not universal, you see if you can buy me 200 pieces, with enough ammunition. THERE ARE ALSO FRENCH SCRUNGES SCHNEIDER MOUNTAIN GUNS, 50 OF 65MM CALIBER AND 105 CALIBER. Koval thought for a moment and said.
"Two hundred machine guns, you only need so many weapons for such a small number of troops?" Father John exclaimed in surprise.
"Naturally, I don't need it now, but I won't be a battalion commander for the rest of my life." Koval smiled and said, "You help me keep them for a while, and when I want, you can transport them over." ”
"Okay. As long as you have the money, I can get these weapons. FATHER JOHN SAID INDIFFERENTLY: "BUT YOU ARE SURE THAT YOU WANT SCHNEIDER'S 65MM GUN, I HAVE NOT HEARD OF ITS NAME." I know that the French Schneider's 75MM field gun has a fast rate of fire, a long range, and more firepower than your 65 gun, are you not mistaken? ”
"Field artillery is so heavy that it will affect the mobility of the army. The 75 field gun weighs 1140kg, while the 105 mountain gun weighs only 730kg, and the 65 mountain gun is only 400kg. Koval patiently explained.
"Alright! You are the expert, listen to you. Father John said.
After some detailed conversations, Koval finally asked Father John for everything he needed.
"Stay safe!" Koval said to Father John.
"This is an American passenger liner, and no one dares to mess around." Father John said confidently.
Koval left the liner with the suitcase, returned to the office inside the barracks, took a lock, and locked the box in the office.
With so much money at once, Koval suddenly didn't know what to spend, even though he asked Father John to buy some of the money, but he could only store the weapons in the warehouse.
Koval was slowly thinking about his plan on the map alone, and now he was still a pawn, so he didn't dare to add the weight in his hand, and could only wait patiently for the opportunity to come.
On the morning of the next day, Koval summoned all the soldiers of the squad of shooters of the remnants of the operation, a total of sixteen and Mayevsky.
"Soldiers, you have done a very good job of secrecy, and have not leaked the news of our operation, and now I declare the operation completely over." Koval said.
Looking at the expectant gazes around him, Koval continued: "Now, I will fulfill my promise to reward all those involved in the operation. ”
Koval pulled out a bundle of banknotes and gave them to everyone. The soldiers opened it and saw that there were 100 dollar bills. It was a temporary coin that Koval had exchanged, and a hundred dollars was the same amount of money as a hundred dollars, but it gave the soldiers a different feeling. And if they take out a hundred-dollar bill, they will definitely be suspected by others.
"One hundred dollars each, and you have one hundred dollars after the war is over. I hope you will continue to keep it a secret, and don't show off in the barracks if you have money, if someone leaks the news, you won't be able to get the money later. Do you understand? ”
"Understood!" The soldiers replied excitedly.
Then Koval gathered all the officers and solemnly declared: "Because all the officers and men of our 2nd Battalion fought valiantly, destroyed thousands of Soviet troops, and recaptured the great city of Vilnius. Fellow Poles from afar abroad sent me a sum of money to support our efforts to regain our homeland.
I decided to take a part of this money to reward all the officers and soldiers, what do you think? ”
All the officers applauded and cheered at once.
"For the standard of awards, 20 dollars for an ordinary soldier, 30 dollars for a squad leader, 40 dollars for a platoon commander, 50 dollars for a company commander and 60 dollars for a battalion commander. For those soldiers who bravely kill the enemy in battle and rescue their comrades, you can add $10. Do you have anything to add? Koval asked.
The officers below looked at each other, and finally unanimously agreed to the plan.
Although $20 may seem like a lot, in 1919 the average worker in France was paid about 1 franc, or about $0.2. In Eastern Europe, wages are much lower than in France, just think of South Korea and North Korea. So the twenty dollars are almost equivalent to the income of the people at the bottom in Eastern Europe for a year.