Early the next morning, Ivanic set out, and although there was already a railroad across the North American continent, and although the time to cross the ocean was greatly shortened with the steamships, it still took them about a month to reach their destination, Lushun.

"Be careful, there will be a lot of Japanese spies in Arthur City, you must be careful." Before getting off the ship, Andy, who was always in charge of this matter, emphasized it again.

Here, the Japanese do have a very big advantage in espionage, that is, the Japanese are of the yellow race, and there are Chinese people everywhere in Lushun and the entire Manchurian region, and they are also yellow people, so it is easy for the Japanese to hide in this. In contrast, most of the people on his side are Caucasian, so they will naturally stand out.

At this time, the Japanese apparently did not want to see anyone selling arms to the Russians. When it really gets nervous, it's not impossible for the Japanese to do something about assassination. Even, if the Japanese really do it, under the current conditions, neither the company nor the US government will stand up for them. will pretend not to see it. Because both the company and the U.S. government fundamentally prefer to see the Japanese win. It is in the company's best interest for the Japanese to win. The company is now sending them out only to artificially create some controllable fluctuations, increase costs for both parties, and make more money. The company will not turn its face with more money for the small things that a few employees have been killed, and the Japanese, no, no, no.

Therefore, they must be very careful in their actions. Of course, in order to conceal their identities, they also found a cover identity for themselves - employees of Monsanto Agricultural Technology Company. Monsanto Agri-Tech is one of the vests of McDonald's agricultural division, and its main business scope covers oil crops such as soybeans. So using this identity as a cover is a good excuse to enter Manchuria. Monsanto Agri-Tech also operates agricultural machinery and some chemicals that are generally used in agriculture. It's just the right thing to cover up in the way of normal trade.

……

Several people got out of the boat and got into a carriage. Unlike developed North America or Europe, horse-drawn carriages are still a very common means of transportation here, but automobiles are very rare. First, the economic development of the Far East is still very average, and the consumption capacity is limited. Of course, this is not the main reason, because even in the poorest places, there are rich people because of the concentration of wealth. The more important reason is the inadequacy of infrastructure. The road conditions are still secondary, although the road conditions in Manchuria are indeed very bad, but at least in the city of Arthur, the roads are relatively smooth. It's just that every drop of fuel used in the vehicle must be imported from abroad, and the same goes for every small part like a screw. Under such conditions, maintenance is much worse, so although there are some fashionable guys in the city who buy cars, they rarely use them in fact, because many of their cars are in contact maintenance. As a result, the most common mode of transportation in Arthur City is still horse-drawn carriages.

The carriage that came to pick them up belonged to a Russian merchant named Timoshenko, the largest exporter of leather goods and grain in Arthur and one of the largest importers, who sold leather goods and grain, and then bought goods such as fuel oil and textiles from China or Europe and the United States, and sold them to the Chinese or Russians in Manchuria.

As in any place, the big businessmen are always close to the local politicians. Because if it weren't for that, he certainly wouldn't be a big businessman. For example, he had a very close relationship with Aleksayev, the Russian governor in Arthur, and it is said that all the high-end and luxurious equipment from Europe and the United States in Aleksayev's newly built palatial governor's palace were purchased from abroad by Timoshenko, and because Timoshenko was very capable, he got a very low purchase price, which was seven or eight stories lower than the usual price in the market. Of course, this is completely normal and does not include such things as bribery, corruption, and depravity.

When doing these transactions, Timoshenko naturally had dealings with the MacDonald consortium, so now the matter depends on this Russian businessman to pull the strings.

……

While Andy was thinking about his business with the Russian merchant named Timoshenko, the carriage was slowly moving into a villa with high walls and a wide courtyard and carved iron gates. This is Timoshenko's residence.

The carriage stopped in front of the main building, and Timoshenko was already standing at the foot of the steps waiting for them.

"Welcome, my friends!" As soon as he saw Andy and the others get out of the car, Timoshenko immediately caught up with him and gave Andy a typical Russian bear hug.

"Let's go in and talk, I've got the best wine and the best food for you." Timoshenko shouted, looking very enthusiastic.

"Isn't there the hottest girl?" Andy grinned, apparently, he was familiar with the big bear.

"No, not at all. Hell alive it! There are only Chinese women with small eyes and single eyelids, Japanese women who are similar to them, and Russian women who are more like men than women. It's so cold in Russia that even women freeze, and you can only find the hottest girls in Spain, Italy, and Mexico. However, the caviar I have here is good, my friend brought it to me from the Caspian Sea, real sturgeon caviar, real quality, if it weren't for a distinguished guest like you, I would not have been willing to open it. It's not about money, you know, Andy, for the sake of good wine and good food, I never cared about spending money. It's just that this thing can't be bought at all in this hellish place, and money can't buy it! Timoshenko took Andy's hand enthusiastically and walked inside, while continuing to shout, "Andy, don't be afraid of your jokes, I now put the glass jar containing it on the table every day when I eat bread, and then lie to myself and say that I have smeared the best caviar in the world on the bread, and then the bread tastes much better." There is a saying in Russian that says what it is......"

"With wine and caviar, few people still recognize their wives." Ivanich added in Russian from the sidelines.

"Ah, that's right, that's what I said." Timoshenko said, and then he reacted and asked in Russian: "Do you speak Russian?" Is it Russian? ”

"Yes, Mr. Timoshenko, I followed my father to North America when I was six years old." Ivanich replied.

"Ah, where is your father from?" At this time, Timoshenko had already come to the restaurant with a few people and sat down. He probably felt that it was not polite to keep speaking in Russian, which other people couldn't understand, so he used English again.

"It's a Petersburg man." Ivanich replied similarly in English.

……

"You're saying you want to pay for this sale with some arms?" Temoshengo touched his swollen belly and asked in surprise. Then he shook his head again and said, "That's not easy." You know, the sales of arms here in Manchuria are good, the Chinese army, the Chinese bandits, and the gold diggers of the loggers, they all need arms. As you said, arms are hard currency here, not to mention that you are willing to give me a good discount, and personally, I am very willing to do such a business. But because of this, the government is very strict. It would be easy if it was made in Russia, but although it is not a problem to sell arms from other countries, the government must first ensure the sale of Russian arms. Therefore, if a large amount of American arms are sold in Manchuria, Governor Aleksayev will be very angry, and the consequences will be very severe. ”

"What if these arms are something that Russia can't produce?" Andy asked.

"What Russia can't produce? What Russia can't produce? It can't be a new type of battleship, right? If I had this, I wouldn't have been able to eat it. Timoshenko replied indifferently.

"Ah, how could that be that kind of thing? The munitions we're talking about are just a few small things in the Army. For example, the Combat Shotgun, and the ability to shoot light. Mortars with air shells, these things do not seem to be produced in Russia. ”

"We also have a shotgun, and although it may not be as good as yours, it is still just as good for fighting wild ducks." Timoshengo said indifferently, and suddenly he realized the next half of the sentence, and immediately widened his eyes, "What do you say, emit light. Mortars with air shells? It's like...... Like the kind that the British used in South Africa? ”

"It's not the same as the British, but it's not too different. In general, our products have better performance and better cost performance. Ivanich, who was the technical adviser on the military side of the team sent this time, replied.

"It's a good thing, but it's hard to find a buyer." Temoshenko quickly calmed down, "The use of this thing must be relatively complicated, right?" ”

Timoshenko looked into Ivanich's eyes, looked at him and nodded slightly, then continued: "Whether it is the Chinese army or the Chinese bandits, they are stupid people who have never read books and don't understand anything. They won't use these things if they give them them, and if they do, they will be thankful that they haven't poisoned themselves. Moreover, the Governor would definitely not want to see such a terrible weapon in the hands of the Chinese, which would seriously sabotage our exploitation of Manchuria. ”

"Can't you sell it to your army?" Andy asked.

"What do the troops in the Far East want to do with this?" Timoshenko said indifferently, "To deal with those Chinese, there is no need for such valuable things." A bayonet-loaded rifle with no bullets would have been enough to defeat them easily. ”

"Your country is not without opponents in the Far East, and Japan has recently issued a large number of government bonds in Europe and the United States, and it is clear that this is to prepare for war with your country. War is already inevitable. As far as I know, your country's power in the Far East is no stronger than Japan's, and I think that when the time comes to a real fight, these things will be able to have a huge effect back. And at that point, you can easily give away these weapons for a much better price, and in this way, you will not make money, right? ”