Chapter 349: No cooperation, immediate death

Tokyo, detached villa.

Tian Gangyixiong sat on his knees at the head of the table, drinking sake and appreciating the graceful dance of the geishas.

"Leader, that Xie guy, the Chinese person, called again, saying he wants to meet with you," said his confidant, Kobayashi Mitsuyoshi, sitting on his left.

"Baka.

"This idiot is really endless; tell him I won't spend one hundred thousand U. S. dollars to buy his bullshit house in Xiangdao, and I have no interest in investing in building houses in Tokyo!

"We are currently a defeated nation; what if MacArthur is in a bad mood one day and drops an atomic bomb on Tokyo again?

"And what about the 'Red Ticket' across the sea? Will they attack?

"My younger brother is a soldier; he saw the bravery of the Red Ticket soldiers with his own eyes—they are a bunch of madmen who aren't afraid of death; they will definitely take revenge.

"Building houses now is absolutely a stupid suggestion."

Tian Gangyixiong got angry just thinking about the pie-in-the-sky promises drawn by that stuttering guy.

"He said he's not selling houses this time; he wants to talk about port cooperation," Kobayashi Mitsuyoshi said.

"The port has already been sealed by the U. S. military.

"This hateful bastard opens his mouth and talks about deals of at least one million U. S. dollars; he is a madman, and I don't want to see him again.

"Next time he comes to the door, just beat him out."

Tian Gangyixiong raised his hand in annoyance and said.

"He said Hong Zhiyou wants to see you," Kobayashi Mitsuyoshi said again.

"Hong Zhiyou?

"Is that the Chinese person who caused Sakata Toshio to lose a ship of treasures?" Tian Gangyixiong said.

"Yes.

"This person's nickname is 'God of Wealth.'

"He is currently a special envoy for Wan Island and also a friend of General Randall.

"He has shipyards and wineries.

"The luxury mansion Xie is selling in Xiangdao is this person's property.

"Xie Ruolin said that Hong will come to visit in half an hour.

"Will you see him or not?"

Kobayashi Mitsuyoshi asked.

"Hong... Zhiyou, hmm, interesting; then let's meet him," Tian Gangyixiong said.

"Where is Sakata Toshio? Call him over too."

Draining his sake in one gulp, he asked again.

"Don't know; Sakata-kun has been hanging out with Ikeda Sugiue every day recently and basically doesn't respond to contacts from the group," Kobayashi Mitsuyoshi said.

"Baka!

"This bastard!

"Prepare yourself; Hong Zhiyou is a friend of General Randall, so we still have to give him this bit of face," Tian Gangyixiong relaxed his brows and instructed.

He didn't have much interest in Hong Zhiyou; it was purely to sell a favor to Randall.

1:00 PM.

Hong Zhiyou arrived at Tian Gangyixiong's residence by car.

At the entrance, group members in black clothes checked them briefly and then gestured, "Please."

Hong Zhiyou arrived at a small wooden house inside and met Tian Gangyixiong.

Tian Gangyixiong had fought his way up through violence and prison time.

He was not burly, his figure appearing slightly thin, but his pair of long, narrow phoenix eyes were sinister and cold—at a glance, one could tell he was a ruthless character who was hard to deal with.

Hong Zhiyou and his two companions walked in.

Seeing Tian Gangyixiong didn't stand up, Hong Zhiyou just looked at him coldly; their gazes intertwined, as if engaged in an invisible battle.

Tian Gangyixiong valued "the Way" highly.

In order to train his ruthlessness, he once specifically used goshawks to train his eyes, cultivating a killing intent that didn't need anger to be intimidating, making even goshawks tremble when meeting his gaze.

Ordinary group members, and even some cabinet officials, would not dare to look directly at him when meeting him due to his power.

However, Hong Zhiyou stared at him for a full ten seconds, except for a disdainful, shallow smile that appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Tian Gangyixiong didn't read anything—not even a trace of fear—in the eyes of this young man who appeared gentlemanly and noble on the outside.

"Everyone, please sit."

Tian Gangyixiong stood up and gestured for them to sit.

Hong Zhiyou nodded slightly, and the three followed local customs, sitting cross-legged.

"Does Mr. Hong have business?" Tian Gangyixiong asked directly.

"Yes.

"Two things; Tian Gang-kun, take a look at this first," Hong Zhiyou looked at Xie Ruolin.

The latter immediately took out Matsumoto Ichiro's testimony and handed it over.

"Sakata Toshio tried to assassinate you last night?

"Then you can go find him yourself."

Tian Gangyixiong took a look and handed it back.

"I don't care about any Sakata Toshio; I only know that the Yamaguchi-gumi tried to assassinate me," Hong Zhiyou said with a smile.

Xie Ruolin translated simultaneously from the side.

"What do you mean? You want to pin the blame on me?" Tian Gangyixiong narrowed his eyes and asked with a cold laugh.

"That's right.

"I'll give you two choices: one, clean up your own house.

"Two, let the U. S. military wipe out the Yamaguchi-gumi.

"Take your pick."

Hong Zhiyou said aggressively.

"Mr. Hong, this is Tokyo, not your Jinhai or Wan Island; be careful what you say.

"Our Yamaguchi-gumi people are not for you Chinese to point fingers at here."

Tian Gangyixiong slapped the table in anger.

"The Yamaguchi-gumi, to put it bluntly, is just a glove for the Japanese cabinet officials to make money.

"But you didn't catch a good time.

"The U. S. military high command has taken all the profitable projects, and your Yoshida Shigeru cabinet can only stare blankly.

"Otherwise, why would even the port business be taken away?

"To put it bluntly, you have no value to Yoshida Shigeru anymore.

"On the contrary, in the eyes of the U. S. military, you are a tumor on Ghost Island, and wiping you out is just a matter of one sentence."

Hong Zhiyou sneered.

Tian Gangyixiong's eyes flashed with cold light, his lips trembled, and he swallowed his words back.

"Tian Gang-kun.

"I heard Sakata Toshio has been getting very close to the Kobe branch recently.

"And he frequently appears with Ikeda Sugiue at various banquets held by U. S. military high-ranking officials; it is said he has been secretly winning over the Americans, attempting to regain the port business to obtain support from more group members.

"He has also gathered a large number of elite Kwantung Army soldiers who escaped back to act as thugs.

"How many more days can you sit as leader?

"One is the Sakata family, the other is a reckless brute who only knows how to fight and kill.

"Who do you think Yoshida Shigeru and Ikeda Sugiue will choose?"

Hong Zhiyou continued.

These words were like a sharp sword instantly piercing Tian Gangyixiong's heart.

His face turned gloomy: "Mr. Hong, this is my family business; you don't need to provoke me."

"Provoke?

"We have an old saying in China: 'Good words cannot persuade a ghost who is destined to die; compassion cannot save a person who is determined to end themselves.'

"Since Tian Gang-kun is unwilling to be my friend.

"Then you can gamble on whether you will die at the hands of the U. S. military or at the hands of Sakata Toshio.

"Goodbye!"

Hong Zhiyou stood up, and the three walked out.

"Mr. Hong, stay!

"Please stay!"

Tian Gangyixiong stood up and shouted.

Hong Zhiyou turned his head and sneered: "Tian Gang-kun has figured it out?"

"Let's not talk about this matter; I am willing to be friends with Mr. Hong.

"Someone!

"Bring out my best sake and call all the most beautiful girls up here."

Tian Gangyixiong shouted.

"No!"

Hong Zhiyou raised his hand to stop him, "Too many eyes."

"Yes, yes!" Tian Gangyixiong hurriedly sent away the servants who had entered the room.

"Sakata Toshio assassinated a friend of General Randall.

"Based on this reason, I can clean up the house.

"But Economic Minister Ikeda Sugiue has a deep relationship with him, and Ikeda is MacArthur's man; once he makes things difficult for me, my Yamaguchi-gumi won't have a good end either.

"This is also the reason why I have been slow to make a move on Sakata Toshio."

Tian Gangyixiong stopped pretending, his tone quite helpless.

"I can solve Ikeda Sugiue!

"Not only can I help you sit firmly in the position of Yamaguchi-gumi leader.

"At the same time, I can help you restore the port business.

"Used for transporting the grain and supplies I purchased, etc."

Hong Zhiyou said.

"Is Mr. Hong serious?" Tian Gangyixiong frowned and asked.

"Hong never speaks in jest."

Hong Zhiyou raised an eyebrow, and Wan An pushed the leather suitcase in his hand in front of Tian Gangyixiong.

Tian Gangyixiong opened it; inside were bundles of U. S. banknotes.

"Here is fifty thousand U. S. dollars in cash.

"It is also my investment in you and the Yamaguchi-gumi's port business.

"Money is always the most trustworthy partner.

"You can't trust me, but can't you trust Franklin?"

Hong Zhiyou pulled out a bundle and threw it in front of Tian Gangyixiong.

Fifty thousand U. S. dollars!

At Tokyo's current price levels, this was a super huge sum.

"Mr. Hong, you are a true gentleman!

"I have decided to be friends with you!"

Tian Gangyixiong looked at the contract simply and impatiently signed and pressed his thumbprint, handing it to Hong Zhiyou.

For him, the port business had already gone down the drain.

Now that he could get it back to let his subordinates have a meal, and he could get fifty thousand U. S. dollars for nothing,

Tian Gangyixiong had no reason to refuse.

As for the port manpower, priority dispatch rights for ships, plus the ten percent share mentioned by Hong Zhiyou in the contract—that was nothing.

Who cares who transports it?

Ten percent share.

Whether this stall of work could even be set up was another matter; let alone ten percent, what about twenty or thirty percent?

Xie Ruolin to the side took the contract and put it into his briefcase without letting Wan An see it.

"Mr. Hong, aren't you afraid I'll break my word later?

"Don't forget, this is Tokyo.

"Not Jinhai or Wanbei."

Tian Gangyixiong closed the box and asked, quite puzzled.

"Tian Gang-kun should know that a gentleman's promise should be like Mount Taishan.

"Of course, you are not a gentleman.

"Then we can only walk the ghost path.

"As the saying goes, money can make ghosts grind flour.

"What I am best at is the way of controlling money.

"I don't have to come to Tokyo, but money can; you wouldn't want to live the rest of your life in fear, would you?"

Hong Zhiyou smiled.

Seeing Tian Gangyixiong about to speak, Hong Zhiyou raised his hand to stop him and continued:

"You also know how to kill.

"But I will establish a special foundation targeting you.

"Regardless of whether I am alive or not, as long as you violate this agreement, the foundation will initiate the procedure to hunt you down.

"So, don't harbor any fluke mind!"

Tian Gangyixiong's thoughts were exposed by Hong Zhiyou; an embarrassed look appeared on his face, and then he laughed loudly: "Mr. Hong, we are friends.

"Best friends, friends forever.

"I swear to you in the name of Bushido that as long as I am alive, I will definitely keep the contract and fulfill Hong's righteousness today."

"Happy cooperation!" Hong Zhiyou stood up and shook hands to say goodbye.

Back in the car.

Wan An glanced behind him and said: "There are secret agents watching us; it might be Sakata Toshio's people."

"No matter.

"Even if Sakata Toshio knows we met Tian Gangyixiong, he won't take it seriously.

"After all, in his world, Ikeda Sugiue is a god-like existence.

"Tian Gangyixiong can't turn things around."

Hong Zhiyou unbuttoned his shirt and said very casually.

Xie Ruolin carefully flipped through the contract.

Hong Zhiyou's contract was a bit ruthless; various priority rights—if Tian Gangyixiong couldn't rise, it would be fine, but if he did, he would be a worker for the Hong family for the rest of his life.

"I heard that there are many gangs here on Ghost Island, and internal fighting is very serious, often resulting in... clashes and assassinations.

"The Yamaguchi-gumi's strength is okay, but it's not an overwhelming existence.

"I hope this guy won't be a short... short-lived ghost," Xie Ruolin said with a smile.

"He won't," Hong Zhiyou smiled and didn't explain too much.

In fact, Tian Gangyixiong was the third-generation leader who held the position the longest in the Yamaguchi-gumi, ruling for thirty-five years; under him, the Yamaguchi-gumi developed and grew rapidly, becoming a behemoth that even the Ghost Island Police Agency feared.

Investing fifty thousand U. S. dollars in a Tian Gangyixiong who hadn't truly risen yet was definitely worth it.

Even if Tian Gangyixiong only fulfilled half, or even one percent of the contract's execution, it would bring huge convenience and financial returns.

"Don't be too optimistic.

"Although Sakata Toshio is the 'wakagashira' (head young leader), his family foundation is deeper than Tian Gangyixiong's.

"Who lives and who dies between them is hard to say."

Wan An's mouth twitched slightly, clearly not believing it.

"Chief Steward Wan, why don't we make a bet... a bet?" Xie Ruolin raised his eyebrows and smiled.

"Bet on what?" Wan An said.

"Bet one thousand U. S. dollars.

"I bet Tian Gangyixiong will win," Xie Ruolin said.

"Fine!

"I bet Sakata Toshio will win," Wan An agreed readily.

"I'll be the witness," Hong Zhiyou said.

Over the next few days, Hong Zhiyou led Wan An and Xie Ruolin to eat, drink, and have fun in Tokyo every day.

This made Wan An very unhappy.

Besides blindly sprinkling money, Hong Zhiyou was just enjoying himself.

He hadn't even mentioned meeting MacArthur to discuss aid or buying grain for nearly half a month.

This made Wan An increasingly convinced that Hong Zhiyou was a degenerate who was scamming the party-state's funds to have fun on Ghost Island.

It was true that Hong Zhiyou was having fun.

But there was another purpose: waiting for someone.

At night.

Hong Zhiyou was drinking in a nightclub with a girl in his arms as usual.

"Mr. Hong, there is a gentleman next door who wants to see you," the bartender walked in and said in broken Chinese.

"Alright."

Hong Zhiyou gave him a five-dollar tip and stood up.

Fearing he might be in danger, Wan An followed closely to the room next door.

Arriving at the door, they were blocked by two burly men.

"Old Wan, it's fine; I'll go in and meet him."

Hong Zhiyou smiled and walked in with his head held high.

Inside.

Under the dim light, Rong Bin and Xiaohui, dressed in a cheongsam, stood still.

"Secretary Hong." Rong Bin bowed politely as always.

"Brother."

Hong Xiaohui threw herself into her older brother's arms.

It had been a long time, and she had become much more mature.

Not just in figure, but also in temperament.

"Silly girl, why did you come?" Hong Zhiyou patted her back lightly, signaling she could let go.

"Brother, I missed you."

Hong Xiaohui hugged him tightly, completely unwilling to let go.

In the past, she didn't understand her older brother.

At least not deeply.

She only knew that her brother was a popular figure at the Jinhai station, traveling everywhere to make money, and also had dealings with the Red Ticket.

He had also secretly helped the Red Ticket.

But in Hong Xiaohui's view, it was just a relationship based on interests.

It wasn't until she became an important member of the North China Bureau's intelligence line and, through the accounts of Sanmin and Rong Bin, came into contact with more information that she realized her brother had done many things for the Red Ticket.

Except for not having party member status, his contributions were immeasurable.

In the past, when Yancheng was at its most difficult, he secretly transported countless weapons, grain, and medicine to Yancheng; he was an ace among the friendly forces.

He had covered and saved comrades like Huang Zhong, Jiang Aimei, Yong Manzhu, etc.

This older brother, who seemed to only care about money and had once strongly opposed her joining the revolution, was the truly remarkable big shot!

Looking back now, at her own naivety and stupidity in the struggle, Hong Xiaohui finally understood the painstaking efforts behind her brother's repeated earnest advice.

Every time she contradicted him, how helpless his anger must have been.

"Alright, Jianfeng's Chief Steward is next door, and I have important matters to discuss."

Hong Zhiyou reminded her with a smile.

"Yes." Hong Xiaohui let go and lowered her head, wiping away tears.

Hong Zhiyou couldn't be bothered with her and said directly to Rong Bin:

"Young Master Rong, have the ships arrived?"

"They have; three cargo ships are docked at Yokohama Port," Rong Bin said.

"Three is a bit few; we need at least two more," Hong Zhiyou shook his head.

"Sending ships from Xiangdao might be too late.

"I can rent two British ships," Rong Bin pondered and said.

"Hmm.

"I came this time mainly to represent the party-state to discuss the grain issue with MacArthur.

"I scouted it out last time; the U. S. military here has a large stockpile of grain.

"Besides a portion for aid to the Japanese.

"Another portion was allocated by the Department of Defense to the Allied Command before the withdrawal; at that time, there were five hundred thousand U. S. troops on Ghost Island, which was later cut by Truman by four hundred thousand.

"So a lot of grain was left over.

"MacArthur supplied this old grain to the Japanese as new grain to offset aid.

"According to intelligence, MacArthur has at least five million metric tons of grain in his hands.

"Wan Island's annual grain imports are only two or three million metric tons.

"If I can negotiate it down, I can squeeze out at least one million metric tons of grain for the mainland using the price difference.

"As for the steel Randall wants to process, that's just a side job."

Hong Zhiyou said.

"That's great.

"When the Jiang government retreated, they almost swept away all heavy assets like gold, and now Western countries are imposing a massive blockade on us; the grain gap for four hundred million people is huge.

"Xiangdao is also imposing an embargo on the mainland, so the grain we can get is limited.

"If we can squeeze grain out of Old Jiang, the Americans, and the Japanese, it couldn't be better."

Rong Bin said joyfully.

"I will persuade MacArthur to sign a long-term grain trading and aid agreement with the Jiang government.

"Then, through the port here, we will steadily and long-term transport grain to the mainland.

"Of course, you have to pay.

"I can earn less, but I cannot earn nothing," Hong Zhiyou said.

Free didn't fit the business way of making money with money.

Low prices and guaranteed continuous transport, without dragging his company down, was already the bottom line he could manage.

Otherwise, with his current scale, he would collapse within a year.

At that time, he would lose his value.

Once a person loses value and the capital in their hands, connections and resources will inevitably drift away with the wind, making every step difficult.

At that time, let alone getting grain, even if he begged his grandfather and grandmother, no one would pay attention to him.

Where in this world are there true friends?

They are all just smashed out by him using money and high-quality connections.

"Understood, business is business.

"It's already rare that you can get grain; money is a bit difficult, but we won't let you lose money," Rong Bin knew Hong Zhiyou's difficulties and immediately stated his position.

"I will go talk to MacArthur in the next two days; you get the ships ready as soon as possible," Hong Zhiyou instructed.

"Alright, you guys talk; I'll go back to the hotel first."

Rong Bin knew the siblings must have private words, so he took his leave first.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 350 =====

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(End of chapter)