Chapter 15 Exclusive Trade

Aso Naifu and Naoue Matsubara arrived together with two distinct purposes. The first was quite straightforward: to deliver funds to Yang Xiaolin on behalf of Sun Wen, accompanied by a letter from Sun himself.

Sun Wen’s planned uprising in the south had recently aborted prematurely. The reason was simple: Sun had counted on the Japanese to provide substantial material aid for his rebellion. However, with relations between Japan and Russia becoming increasingly tense, Japan was currently struggling to manage its own affairs and had no bandwidth to spare for Sun Wen.

Moreover, the Japanese government had no wish to provoke the Qing Empire. In the impending war, they wanted to ensure the Qing would not cause trouble for Japan, and thus they had resorted to stalling Sun Wen. Sun, of course, was well aware of the situation. As long as there was even a glimmer of hope—no matter how faint—he would never have given up. But the reality was that every avenue was blocked, leaving Sun Wen with no choice but to postpone his plans indefinitely.

Just as he was preparing to return the funds donated by overseas Chinese to their original contributors, he received a letter from Zhou Tong. Zhou acted much like a manager dispatched by an investor; on one hand, he assisted Yang Xiaolin in managing Gulu Mountain, while on the other, he reported the development of Gulu Mountain back to Sun Wen.

In his letter, Zhou Tong wrote that the situation under Yang the Ghost was far more impressive than he had initially imagined. Although they were nominally bandits, Yang’s kindness toward ordinary Chinese people was in stark contrast to the vicious image rumored abroad. Gulu Mountain had already established its very first base area, and in that liberated territory, the very first structure Yang built was not his military headquarters, but a primary school!

The neat rows of red-brick and black-tiled houses looked remarkably orderly, far grander than the thatched-shed headquarters Yang maintained on Gulu Mountain. Furthermore, Yang refused to levy taxes on the local peasants. As Yang Xiaolin put it, the common folk under the Qing dynasty had already suffered enough—plundered by the Japanese, looted by the Russians, and squeezed by the Qing court. Therefore, he would not exploit them any further.

Zhou Tong was deeply moved by this. Although he had only recently arrived at Gulu Mountain when he penned that letter and had not yet witnessed the full extent of their later achievements, and though he had promised Yang Xiaolin to keep the semi-automatic rifles a secret, these revelations alone gave Sun Wen an unexpected pleasant surprise. Sun realized that his investment had been entirely worthwhile. Consequently, he redirected the funds he had intended to return and had them delivered straight to Yang Xiaolin. He instructed Yang that, if possible, it would be best to produce some tangible results in the near future. This was not because Sun demanded a return on investment, but because he needed to give an account to the overseas Chinese communities, proving to them why he had entrusted their hard-earned money to a bandit leader.

Sun Wen also mentioned in his letter that he intended to send a few trusted individuals to assist Yang Xiaolin, inquiring about the specific types of talent Yang required. Yang Xiaolin understood that accepting Sun’s money meant deepening their cooperative relationship. Sun would inevitably dispatch members of the Revive China Society to his camp; accepting financial backing without allowing the contributors a hand in management did not constitute a true partnership.

Yang Xiaolin had already anticipated this. Even if Sun had not brought it up, Yang intended to request personnel from him once the timing was right. Right now, he desperately needed overseas talent to return and help him build the future! A bandit gang could survive on plunder alone, but if he wished to grow and expand, he could no longer rely on highway robbery.

At present, his subordinates were already stretched to the limit trying to manage a territory spanning just a few hundred miles around Gulu Mountain. While those brothers were formidable in battle and adept at spending money, they were utterly incapable of generating revenue, let alone possessing any experience in regional governance. The entire administrative burden rested solely on the shoulders of Yang Du, and even then, Yang Xizi maintained a half-hearted attitude, fishing for three days and drying his nets for two. That young man refused to hawk his wares before seeing the rabbit; unless he was convinced of impending success, he would not exert himself to the fullest!

Fortunately, Yang Xiaolin had managed to avoid a complete fallout with the local county magistrates, and local order was still maintained by the existing Qing administrative apparatus. Yet, if Yang Xiaolin wished to truly develop, he needed to forge his own system—spanning the economy, people's livelihoods, politics, and military affairs alike.

After reading Sun Wen’s letter, Yang Xiaolin immediately penned a reply confirming receipt of the funds. He offered no polite evasions, knowing that once a partnership was forged, the enterprise was no longer his alone—Sun had a stake in it, and was obligated to contribute. Yang instructed Sun to prioritize candidates with proven experience in economic and livelihood management when selecting personnel for dispatch. He informed Sun that the moment the Russo-Japanese War broke out, he intended to seize the opportunity while the Russians were distracted to break the stalemate and expand his territory!

Therefore, competent administrators and managers needed to be in place so that newly conquered territories could be immediately stabilized. When the time was ripe, a firmly entrenched anti-Qing revolutionary base could be established right in Manchuria.

Naoue Matsubara watched closely as Yang Xiaolin composed his reply. Seeing that Yang readily accepted Sun Wen's terms without hesitation, a smile broke out on the Japanese emissary's face. When he read further and saw that Yang planned to exploit the impending war between Russia and Japan to carve out his own domain, Matsubara grew even more excited.

From Matsubara's perspective, Yang Xiaolin's ambition to "break the stalemate" meant nothing less than engaging the Russians in combat—an outcome the Japanese Empire welcomed with open arms.

Once finished, Yang casually slipped the letter into an envelope, left it unsealed, and handed it to Naoue Matsubara. "Matsubara-kun, please be so good as to deliver this letter to Mr. Sun Wen on my behalf."

Matsubara received the letter with both hands, bowing slightly. "Rest assured, Kokayashi-kun, I shall see to it that this letter reaches Mr. Sun without delay, ensuring your important affairs are not hindered. There is another matter I wish to discuss with you. As you know, war between us Japanese and the Russians is imminent, and the current situation is exceptionally tense."

Although Yang Xiaolin had already perceived the shifting winds, hearing it confirmed directly from a Japanese official still sent a faint thrill through him. Matsubara continued, "I have heard that Kokayashi-kun has formed a loose strategic alliance with Feng Delin and Zhang Zuolin, intending to take certain actions once hostilities commence between us and the Russians. I am exceedingly curious to know what Kokayashi-kun has in mind."

Matsubara fixed his gaze piercingly upon Yang as he spoke. Yang knew well that this maneuver could not be hidden from the Japanese, the Russians, or the Qing government. Tens of thousands of people had witnessed their sworn alliance upon the mountaintop; it would have been a miracle had the Japanese remained ignorant.

Yang chuckled softly. "Let us put it this way: my current intention is to expand my territory the moment fighting breaks out between your nations. Come, Matsubara-kun, look at the boundary I have marked out for myself."

With a wave of his hand, a bandit subordinate hurried over and unrolled a map. Yang traced a finger across it. "Everything east of Fushun, extending to my current position—I want it all. This region will belong to me. To be blunt, if your Japanese authorities are unwilling to grant me this, we may find ourselves unable to remain friends."

A trace of relief crossed Matsubara’s face. This territory fell entirely outside the zones contested by Japan. Aside from the Fushun area, where excessive expansion by Yang might provoke friction with Japanese interests, the rest presented no conflict whatsoever.

Yang continued smoothly, "Of course, if the Japanese side permits me to do this, I am prepared to offer you certain returns."

Matsubara smiled. "And what kind of returns might those be, Kokayashi-kun?"

Yang’s finger tapped firmly on the location of Kaiyuan. "Right here—the vital nexus connecting the Russian Empire's north-south rail lines across our Manchurian territory. If Matsubara-kun requires it, I can have every single one of the Russian rail tracks torn up within three days!"

Hearing this, Matsubara was filled with elation. This was precisely why he had come to see Yang Xiaolin in the first place!

The Japanese departed Gulu Mountain in high spirits. Naoue Matsubara gave Yang Xiaolin his solemn promise: as long as Yang stood on the side of Japan during the Russo-Japanese War, he would personally endeavor to persuade the Japanese military command to tacitly recognize Yang Xiaolin’s designated sphere of influence around Gulu Mountain.

From Matsubara's perspective, this was merely an empty promise. First, the Japanese had no intention of occupying that specific region; their primary objective was to wrest the Liaodong Peninsula from Russian hands. The territories claimed by Yang would remain under Russian control for the time being anyway, making Japanese recognition largely irrelevant. Furthermore, should the Empire ultimately acquire far more than originally planned, a mere bandit like Yang the Ghost would hardly be in a position to utter a single word of dissent.

When the interests of the Empire demanded it, promises existed only to be broken.

Yang Xiaolin was abundantly clear on this principle. Thus, three days after the deadline when he had sworn to Matsubara that he would take action, the Russian railway tracks still lay securely fastened to their wooden ties, and train after train continued to rumble past, transporting essential supplies from Heilongjiang down to Liaoyang.

At that very moment, Yang Xiaolin was seated across the table from a Russian general, engaged in serious negotiations. Initially, General Kuropatkin had dismissed rumors of semi-automatic rifles on Gulu Mountain as a fabrication invented by a captured Russian officer desperate to shirk responsibility. However, when subsequent reports from multiple officers corroborated the sighting, Kuropatkin realized the intelligence might well be true.

Consequently, he had dispatched a Russian ordnance expert and a senior colonel responsible for negotiations straight to Gulu Mountain to verify the existence of such a weapon.

The weapon had already been tested. The Russian colonel had fired five consecutive rounds; the cartridges cycled smoothly, and the rifle was clearly far more advanced than he had anticipated prior to his arrival. The ordnance expert attempted to dismantle the mechanism, but Yang Xiaolin stopped him with a sharp gesture. The technical principles within were remarkably simple; the moment this fellow took a peek inside, he would lose all incentive to purchase it!

"Gentlemen, you have thoroughly tested the rifle. Now, it is time we discuss the price. Once we agree on terms, you may take this weapon away and do with it as you please. But until then, it remains mine."

Yang Xiaolin smiled faintly, resting his hand casually upon the stock of the rifle as he awaited their response.

The two Russians leaned in close, conferring in hurried whispers. It was clear they had reached a consensus, prompting the ordnance expert to look up. "Very well. Name your price. How much for this rifle?"

Yang’s fingers stroked the wooden grip. "There are two distinct pricing options. The first is that I sell you this rifle now, and subsequently manufacture another to sell to someone else. That option is relatively inexpensive—one hundred thousand rubles will suffice. The second option is an exclusive buyout: I sell it to you alone and guarantee that no second party will ever acquire it. This includes my own troops, who will cease production and utilization of this rifle entirely within a year. That option, naturally, is considerably more expensive: five million rubles."

The Russian ordnance expert did not hesitate for a second. "We will take it at the one-hundred-thousand-ruble price."

Yang Xiaolin smiled gently. "Then I must trouble the two gentlemen to wait a couple of days. I need to consult with the Japanese before giving you my final answer. Who knows? Perhaps the Japanese would prefer to secure an exclusive deal with me."

The expressions of both the ordnance expert and the colonel shifted instantly!

The Russian Empire’s own semi-automatic rifle project was nearing completion; reports since the previous year claimed it was almost finished, lacking only minor refinements. Yet nobody could predict precisely when those final, elusive bugs would be ironed out!

Five million rubles was an astronomical sum—a fortune that made the amount the United States paid Russia to purchase an entire territory look modest by comparison. In ordinary times, the Russians would not have felt rushed; if the Japanese wished to secure exclusive rights, so be it. Given Russia’s formidable military-industrial base, the moment such a weapon appeared on the battlefield, they could immediately mass-produce it.

The current crisis, however, was that the Little Japanese were preparing to go to war with them. If this rifle fell into Japanese hands, it would undoubtedly inflict catastrophic casualties on the Russian army and potentially alter the outcome of the entire campaign! As Russians who well understood the destructive power of modern firearms, they shuddered at such a prospect. The Russian colonel immediately blurted out, "Wait!"

Yang Xiaolin chuckled softly. "That's better. Take your time to reconsider. If the two of you lack the authority to make this decision, return and send someone who does. I can afford to wait a few more days."

The Russian colonel finally stood up, his face grim. "Very well, Yang the Ghost. Grant us a few more days. We shall return immediately to report to the Commander-in-Chief."

Yang nodded. "Agreed. But I must trouble you to be quick about it. You may not realize how busy I am these days; the Japanese have been asking me to tear up your railway tracks, and I simply haven't had the time to get around to it."

The Russian colonel’s expression turned utterly ashen. He stood rigidly, nodded curtly, and said, "Understood. Thank you for the reminder. We are departing now, and you will have our reply by tomorrow evening. In the meantime, I must ask you to guarantee the absolute safety of this rifle—and of our railway tracks."