Chapter 385: No Cooperation, Only Death

Tokyo, private residence.

Kazuo Taoka sat kneeling at the head of the table, sipping sake while admiring the graceful dance of the house geishas.

"Boss, that Chinese man with the surname Xie called again, saying he wants to meet with you," said his trusted aide, Mitsuyoshi Kobayashi, who was sitting to his left.

"Baka."

"This idiot is truly endless. Tell him I won't spend 100, 00 US dollars to buy his bullshit house in Xiangdao, and I have no interest in investing in building houses in Tokyo!

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

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

"My younger brother is a soldier; he has seen the ferocity of the Red Faction soldiers with his own eyes. They are a bunch of lunatics who don't fear death; they will definitely seek revenge.

"Building houses now is absolutely a stupid suggestion."

Kazuo Taoka felt furious whenever he thought about the pie-in-the-sky promises made by that stutterer.

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

"The port has already been sealed off by the US military.

"This detestable bastard talks about deals worth at least millions of US dollars every time he opens his mouth. He is a lunatic, and I don't want to see him again.

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

Kazuo Taoka raised his hand in annoyance and said.

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

"Hong Zhiyou?

"Is that the Chinese man who caused Sakata Toshio to lose a ship of treasures?" Kazuo Taoka asked.

"Yes.

"His nickname is 'God of Wealth.'

"He is currently a special envoy from Wandao and also a friend of General Anderson.

"He owns shipyards and distilleries.

"The luxury mansion Xie is selling in Xiangdao belongs to him.

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

"Will you see him or not?"

Mitsuyoshi Kobayashi asked.

"Hong... Zhiyou, hmm, interesting. Then let's meet him," Kazuo Taoka said.

"Where is Sakata Toshio? Tell him to come over as well."

After draining his cup of sake, he asked again.

"I don't know. Sakata-kun has been hanging out with Ikeda Sugiue every day lately and basically doesn't respond to the organization's communications," said Mitsuyoshi Kobayashi.

"Baka!

"This bastard!

"Prepare yourself. Hong Zhiyou is a friend of General Anderson; I have to give him that much face," Kazuo Taoka said, his brow relaxing as he gave the order.

He had little interest in Hong Zhiyou; it was purely to sell a favor to Anderson.

One o'clock in the afternoon.

Hong Zhiyou arrived at Kazuo Taoka's residence by car.

At the entrance, gang members in black clothing performed a brief inspection before raising their hands and saying, "Please."

Hong Zhiyou arrived at a small wooden house inside and met Kazuo Taoka.

Kazuo Taoka had fought his way up through violence and prison time.

He was not burly, and his frame was slightly thin, but his long, narrow phoenix eyes were sinister and cold; one look told you he was a ruthless character who was hard to deal with.

Hong Zhiyou and his two companions walked in.

Seeing that Kazuo Taoka did not stand up, Hong Zhiyou just looked at him coldly. Their gazes intertwined, as if they were engaged in an invisible battle.

Kazuo Taoka placed great importance on the "Dao."

In order to train his ruthlessness, he had once used goshawks to train his eyes, cultivating a killing intent that commanded awe without anger, one that would make even a goshawk feel cold with fear when staring back at him.

Ordinary gang members, and even some cabinet officials, would be forced by his presence to avoid looking him in the eye.

However, Hong Zhiyou stared back at him for a full dozen seconds, showing nothing but a faint, disdainful smile at the corner of his mouth.

Kazuo Taoka could not read anything—not even a trace of fear—in the eyes of this young man who appeared gentlemanly and noble.

"Gentlemen, please sit."

Kazuo Taoka stood up and gestured for them to sit.

Hong Zhiyou nodded slightly, and the three of them followed local custom, sitting cross-legged.

"Does Mr. Hong have business here?" Kazuo Taoka asked, getting straight to the point.

"I do.

"Two things. Taoka-kun, take a look at this first," Hong Zhiyou said, glancing at Xie Ruo.

The latter immediately took out the testimony of Ichiro Matsumoto and handed it over.

"Sakata Toshio tried to assassinate you last night?

"Then you are free to go find him."

Kazuo Taoka glanced at it and handed it back.

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

Xie Ruo acted as the simultaneous interpreter on the side.

"What do you mean? You want to pin the blame on me?" Kazuo Taoka 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 US military wipe out the Yamaguchi-gumi.

"Choose one."

Hong Zhiyou said aggressively.

"Mr. Hong, this is Tokyo, not your Jinhai or Wandao. Watch your tongue.

"It is not for you Chinese to come here and point fingers at our Yamaguchi-gumi people."

Kazuo Taoka slapped the table in anger.

"To put it bluntly, the Yamaguchi-gumi is just a glove used by the cabinet ministers of these devils to rake in money.

"But you didn't catch a good time.

"The US military high command has snatched up all the profitable projects, and your Shigeru Yoshida cabinet can only stare in frustration.

"Why else would they even take away your port operations?

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

"On the contrary, in the eyes of the US military, you are a tumor on this devil island, and wiping you out is just a matter of a single word."

Hong Zhiyou sneered.

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

"Taoka-kun.

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

"And he frequently appears with Ikeda Sugiue at various banquets hosted by high-ranking US military officials. It is said that he has been secretly winning over the Americans, attempting to regain the port business to gain the support of more members.

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

"How many more days can you sit in that seat as boss?

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

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

Hong Zhiyou continued.

These words were like a sharp sword that instantly pierced Kazuo Taoka's heart.

His face turned gloomy: "Mr. Hong, this is my family business; there is no need for you to sow discord."

"Sow discord?

"We have an old saying in China: Good words cannot persuade a ghost destined to die; compassion cannot save those who insist on their own destruction.

"Since Taoka-kun is unwilling to be my friend.

"Then you can take a gamble: will you die at the hands of the US military, or will you die at the hands of Sakata Toshio?

"Farewell!"

Hong Zhiyou stood up, and the three of them walked toward the exit.

"Mr. Hong, stay!

"Please, stay!"

Kazuo Taoka stood up and shouted.

Hong Zhiyou turned his head and sneered: "Has Taoka-kun figured it out?"

"Let's put that matter aside for now; I am willing to be friends with Mr. Hong.

"Someone!

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

Tian Gangyixiong shouted.

"No!"

Hong Zhiyou raised his hand to stop him, "There are too many eyes and ears."

"Yes, yes!" Tian Gangyixiong hurriedly shooed away the servant who had entered the room.

"Sakata Toshio assassinated a friend of General Randall.

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

"But the Minister of Economy, Ikeda Sugiue, has a very close relationship with him, and Ikeda is MacArthur's man; once he makes things difficult for me, my Yamaguchi-gumi will not have a good outcome either.

"This is also the reason why I have been slow to take action against Sakata Toshio."

Tian Gangyixiong stopped pretending, his tone quite helpless.

"I can deal with 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's business.

"Used to transport the food, supplies, and so on that I have purchased."

Hong Zhiyou said.

"Is Mr. Hong's word true?" Tian Gangyixiong asked with a frown.

"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, and inside were bundles of US dollar bills.

"Here is fifty thousand 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 don't trust me, but surely you trust Benjamin Franklin?"

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

Fifty thousand US dollars!

Given the current prices in Tokyo, this was a super huge sum of money.

"Mr. Hong, you are a true gentleman!

"I have decided to make you my friend!"

Tian Gangyixiong briefly looked at the contract, signed it and pressed his thumbprint impatiently, then handed it to Hong Zhiyou.

To him, the port business had already been a lost cause.

Now that he could get it back to let his subordinates earn a living, and he could pocket fifty thousand dollars for free.

Tian Gangyixiong had no reason to refuse at all.

As for the port labor, priority dispatch rights for ships, and the ten percent share mentioned by Hong Zhiyou in the contract, those were nothing.

Who cares who it's being shipped for?

Ten percent share.

Whether this operation can even be set up is another matter; let alone ten percent, what if it were twenty or thirty percent?

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

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

"Don't forget, this is Tokyo.

"Not Jinhai or Wanbei."

Tian Gangyixiong closed the suitcase and asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Tian Gang-kun should know that a gentleman's promise is as heavy as Mount Taishan.

"Of course, you are not a gentleman.

"Then we can only use the way of ghosts.

"As the saying goes, money makes the ghost turn the millstone.

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

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

Hong Zhiyou laughed.

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

"You can also kill people.

"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, do not harbor any wishful thinking!"

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

"The best of 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 the righteousness of Mr. Hong 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 men."

"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 cannot turn things around."

Hong Zhiyou unbuttoned his shirt and said very casually.

Xie Ruolin carefully flipped through the contract.

Hong Zhiyou's contract is a bit ruthless; with all kinds of priority rights, it's fine if Tian Gangyixiong doesn't rise, but if he does, he will be a worker for the Hong family for the rest of his life.

"I heard that there are many gangs here on Ghost Island, internal strife is very serious, and there are often... fire-fights 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 laughed.

"He won't." Hong Zhiyou smiled without explaining too much.

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

Investing fifty thousand US dollars in a Tian Gangyixiong who has not yet truly risen is absolutely cost-effective.

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

"Don't be too optimistic.

"Although Sakata Toshio is the Wakagashira, 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.

"Steward Wan, how about we make a bet... a bet?" Xie Ruolin raised his eyebrows and smiled.

"Bet on what?" Wan An said.

"Bet one thousand US dollars.

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

"Fine!

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

"I will 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.

Aside from blindly throwing money around, Hong Zhiyou just indulged in pleasure.

He hadn't even mentioned meeting MacArthur to discuss aid or buying food, even after being here for nearly half a month.

This made Wan An increasingly convinced that Hong Zhiyou was a degenerate who was just swindling the Nationalist government'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, as usual, holding a girl and drinking in a nightclub.

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

"Good."

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

Wan An was afraid he would be in danger, so he followed closely to the room next door.

When they reached the door, they were blocked by two burly men.

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

Hong Zhiyou smiled, held his head high, and walked inside.

Once inside.

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

"Secretary Hong." Rong Bin bowed politely, as refined as ever.

"Brother."

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

It had been a long time, and she had matured significantly.

Not just in her figure, but in her temperament as well.

"Silly girl, why did you come?" Hong Zhiyou patted her back gently, signaling for her to let go.

"Brother, I missed you."

Hong Xiaohui held him tightly, refusing to let go at all.

In the past, she had not understood her older brother.

At least, not deeply.

She only knew that her older brother was a favorite at the Jinhai Station, that he made money from all sides, and that he had dealings with the Red Tickets.

He had even secretly helped the Red Tickets.

But in Hong Xiaohui's eyes, that was merely a relationship based on interests.

It wasn't until she became an important operative in the Huabei Bureau's intelligence network and learned more through the accounts of San Min and Rong Bin that she realized how much her older brother had done for the Red Tickets.

Even without party membership, his contributions were immeasurable.

In the past, during Yancheng's most difficult times, the arms, grain, and medicine he secretly shipped there were countless; he was the ace among the friendly forces.

The comrades he had covered and saved included Huang Zhong, Jiang Aimei, Yong Manzhu, and others.

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

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

How helpless his anger must have been when she had defied him time and again.

"Alright, the Chief of Staff for Jiang Jianfeng is next door, and I still have important matters to discuss."

Hong Zhiyou reminded her with a smile.

"Mm." Hong Xiaohui released her grip, lowered her head, and wiped away her tears.

Hong Zhiyou couldn't be bothered to coddle her and spoke directly to Rong Bin:

"Young Master Rong, have the ships arrived?"

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

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

"It might be too late to dispatch ships from Xiangdao."

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

"Mm."

"My visit this time is primarily to represent the Party-State and negotiate the grain issue with MacArthur."

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

"Aside from the portion meant as aid to the Japs."

"There is another portion that the Defense Force allocated to the Allied Command before the withdrawal; there were five hundred thousand U. . troops on the Ghost Island at the time, but Du Lumen later slashed that by four hundred thousand."

"So, a lot of grain was left over."

"MacArthur has been supplying this old grain to the Japs as new aid."

"According to intelligence, MacArthur still has at least five million metric tons of grain on hand."

"Wandao's annual grain imports are only two to three million metric tons."

"If I can negotiate it, I can squeeze out at least a million metric tons of grain for the mainland by leveraging the price difference."

"As for the steel that Randell needs to handle, that's just a side task."

Hong Zhiyou said.

"That's great."

"When the Jiang government retreated, they swept away almost all heavy assets like gold, and now Western countries are imposing a massive blockade on us; the grain gap for our 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 Japs, it couldn't be better."

Rong Bin said with great joy.

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

"Then, through the ports here, we can steadily and consistently move grain to the mainland."

"Of course, you have to pay."

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

Doing it for free does not align with the business principle of using money to make money.

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

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

And then he would lose his value.

Once a person loses their value and the capital in their hands, their connections and resources will inevitably vanish with the wind, leaving them unable to move a single step.

By then, let alone securing grain, even if he begged everyone he knew, no one would pay him any mind.

In this world, where are there any true friends?

They are all just things he bought with money and high-quality connections.

"Understood, business is business."

"It is already rare that you can secure grain; although money is a bit tight, we won't let you lose money," Rong Bin said, immediately stating his position as he knew Hong Zhiyou's difficulties.

"I will go negotiate with MacArthur in the next two days; you get the ships ready as soon as possible."

Hong Zhiyou instructed.

"Alright, then you two talk, I'll head back to the hotel first."

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

(End of chapter)