Chapter 36: The Japanese Soldiers Come Knocking

October 15, 1938—Jiangcheng Umbrella Company

What Wang Yue had not expected was that the Japanese would once again approach the Umbrella Company. They had barely opened their mouths before demanding to purchase the production technology for penicillin.

That was right. After such a long period of investigation, the Japanese had confirmed that Compound Sulfonamide contained a considerable amount of penicillin. The quantity was not especially large, but it had nevertheless reached the clinical threshold.

Penicillin had actually been discovered in the late 1920s. The reason it had never been used clinically was that it was exceedingly difficult to extract. If it were produced solely through laboratory cultivation, the cost would be utterly unaffordable, and removing the toxicity of the strain was no easy task either.

In truth, the Japanese had conducted research in this field themselves. Otherwise, they could never have uncovered the secret hidden within Compound Sulfonamide so quickly. Judging from the price of the medicine, they concluded that the Umbrella Company must possess the most advanced purification technology available.

Berberine, by contrast, was nothing new. Research into its medicinal applications was simply incomplete, and many people had nearly forgotten the substance altogether. Its anti-inflammatory properties were still being studied, while its extraction method was publicly available. Thus, what the Japanese were watching so intently was the method used to purify penicillin.

“Mr. Alexei, please believe in the sincerity of the South Manchuria Railway. One million dollars—we are willing to pay one million dollars for the purification technology,” Aoki Yosuke said with great confidence.

The South Manchuria Railway rarely showed such enthusiasm. If their intelligence agents sent to Germany and the rest of Europe had not failed to uncover even the slightest trace of the Umbrella Company, they would have resorted to seizing the technology by force.

“Mr. Aoki, I’m afraid I don’t understand what you’re talking about. The Umbrella Company’s Compound Sulfonamide contains no penicillin. Even if it does, it is merely the result of slight contamination, which is acceptable under our company’s technical standards. If your side wishes to return the goods, we can accept them.”

Alexei had received Wang Yue’s instructions long ago. The technology behind Compound Sulfonamide was absolutely not to be transferred. Even if the Umbrella Company had to shut down entirely, it still could not be handed over.

“Mr. Alexei, you should understand that even with our participation, the market’s demand for penicillin could not be met. Once another country acquires this technology, the Umbrella Company will not even be able to earn this one million dollars. And that is to say nothing of the complicated patent issues involved.”

Aoki Yosuke was somewhat surprised. In their eyes, the Umbrella Company was merely a small business. If it wished to continue operating in Asia, it absolutely could not afford to offend the South Manchuria Railway.

“Mr. Aoki, I have complete faith in the South Manchuria Railway’s capabilities. For that very reason, you should understand that I am only a manager. I have no access to production, let alone the technology. I am merely conveying the company’s policy to your side.”

Alexei shook his head with a bitter smile. Not to mention that he himself was only the front man for a shell company—even if the Umbrella Company were an ordinary, legitimate enterprise, it would never place the production of its core business in Asia. Nor would it allow him access to its most important technology. If it did, why bother buying the technology? They might as well simply hire someone to kidnap him.

“Mr. Alexei, you probably do not know this, but on the black market, a single tablet of Compound Sulfonamide now sells for five silver dollars, and even then it cannot be obtained. In the capital, one tablet costs as much as ten silver dollars. This market is enormous. The Umbrella Company’s production capacity alone is simply unable to meet the demand.”

Aoki Yosuke still refused to give up.

“Mr. Aoki, I’ll say it again: I am only a manager. If you wish to purchase goods, I can help you. As for anything else, there is truly nothing I can do. The Umbrella Company operates under strict regulations.”

Alexei was beginning to show signs of impatience.

“We need one thousand bottles of Compound Sulfonamide.”

After thinking for a while, Aoki Yosuke realized that he would probably be unable to achieve his original objective that day. Gritting his teeth, he made the request instead. Compound Sulfonamide had already reached the markets of Tokyo, where it was highly popular among the upper classes. As long as they obtained the medicine, they could make money. The only question was how much.

“Certainly. One hundred kilograms of gold.”

Alexei agreed without hesitation. By restricting the amount released to the market, they had accumulated quite a stockpile of medicine during this period. There was no harm in selling it to the Japanese. In all likelihood, the drugs would not be used on ordinary soldiers, so their effect on the course of the war would be negligible.

Since that was the case, they might as well extract as much precious metal and strategic material from the Japanese as possible. The young master had given instructions on this matter long ago.

“That is far too expensive. The Compound Sulfonamide your company releases in limited quantities costs only one silver dollar per tablet.”

Aoki Yosuke was displeased. One tablet for a gram of gold came to more than two silver dollars—nearly three.

“Mr. Aoki, it is obvious that you are not a competent businessman. This is nothing more than commercial operations. Surely you do not truly believe our costs can be reduced to one silver dollar per tablet? Besides, even when the black-market price reached five silver dollars, your side still purchased the medicine in large quantities, did it not?”

Alexei exposed him without the slightest mercy. According to their estimates, at least half of the Compound Sulfonamide released onto the Jiangcheng market had found its way into Japanese hands. Unfortunately, there were still far too many Chinese who could not tell right from wrong.

“Can we pay with weapons?”

Aoki Yosuke’s eyelid twitched. With his bottom line exposed, what else could he say? It was not that they had never considered using other methods to obtain the medicine, but so far they had been unable to locate the Umbrella Company’s warehouses. Every day, the medicine simply appeared as if by magic.

“That depends on what kind of weapons you have, and the price will not be especially high. You know that weapons are not in short supply in Jiangcheng. Apart from aircraft, artillery, tanks, and warships, nearly everything else can be purchased.”

Alexei knew that the other side had probably learned some details about the Umbrella Company’s transactions. It did not matter. The young master had already given clear instructions: accept whatever they offered.

“Twenty-four Fengtian Arsenal Type 14 77-millimeter field guns, together with five thousand shells,” Aoki Yosuke said, suppressing his heartache.

This batch of artillery had been intended to support the front lines. Unfortunately, certain people had rejected it on the pretext that it was nonstandard equipment. No wonder the navy looked down on the army. Weapons and ammunition were desperately scarce at the front, yet they still insisted on being so selective.

“That won’t be enough. These old field guns are worth only about three thousand silver dollars apiece on the Jiangcheng market. As for the shells, even at the absolute maximum, they would be worth only thirty silver dollars each. Altogether, that comes to merely two hundred and twenty thousand silver dollars—and they are difficult to sell. If they cannot be sold, they may even cause trouble.”

Alexei looked at Aoki Yosuke with a faint smile.

He could more or less guess what the South Manchuria Railway was thinking. With so many artillery pieces, they would inevitably remain in Jiangcheng for some time if they could not be sold quickly. And when that happened, would they not ultimately fall into Japanese hands anyway?

It was a truly clever scheme.

“That is impossible. The Fengtian Arsenal Type 14 77-millimeter field gun is still a very capable weapon. It cannot be that cheap. Even the Shanghai-built Krupp 75-millimeter mountain gun, which currently sells for three thousand silver dollars apiece, is bound to rise in price. Ten thousand silver dollars would be perfectly reasonable.”

Aoki Yosuke wore an earnest expression, but his thoughts were entirely different.

According to intelligence gathered by the South Manchuria Railway’s Investigation Department, the Umbrella Company had certainly stockpiled a vast quantity of weapons and equipment in Jiangcheng. Given the Yangtze River’s current transport capacity, there was no way to move it all out. Once they acted quickly enough, the South Manchuria Railway would be able to seize everything.

What else was the struggle on the battlefield for, if not to claim the profits of war?