In the dark night, a convoy of more than 30 trucks stopped in the devastated city of Osaka, inside an old factory that seemed somewhat out of place with the surrounding buildings.
Compared to the large factories commonly seen in Japan, this factory building is so small that it can barely be called a workshop.
So why was this dilapidated factory, which was obviously no longer engaged in any production operations, able to be preserved intact during Japan's rapid expansion?
If you ask any Japanese passerby on the street, you will get an answer.
This is the Sumitomo Copper Smelting Plant, the ancestral property of Japan's Sumitomo Group. The Sumitomo Group's first copper smelting plant is located here.
Starting from this copper smelting plant, Sumitomo Corporation began to enter the metal smelting industry and soon became a leading metal smelting company in Japan.
It then developed into the later Sumitomo Zaibatsu.
Needless to say, this convoy is the Brazilian expeditionary force led by Fang Lang. As for why Fang Lang came to such a small ancient factory ruins?
This has to do with the cleverness of these Japanese chaebols.
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Everyone in later generations has been studying the Japanese zaibatsu. Why was it that even though they were broken up and reorganized by the Americans and their factories were destroyed so badly, they were able to become such a behemoth again in the end?
Everyone has a consensus that the Japanese chaebols had hidden all their wealth before they knew Japan was going to lose the war.
The Americans dug deep into the ground but couldn't find it.
Fang Lang also got this confirmed from Colonel Malik.
The U.S. military did seize the consortium’s assets immediately, but found nothing.
However, Fang Lang passed by Osaka once in the future and experienced the custom services of Osaka Custom Street. No, he made a mistake and came back to experience the scenery of Osaka Scenic Street.
I heard this from a few drunk Japanese drinkers sitting next to me.
The first thing Fang Lang did after arriving in Osaka was to quietly go to the site of the "Sumitomo Bronze Blowing Works", the ancestral property of the Japanese Sumitomo Group, to confirm the authenticity of the news.
Next, Fang Lang issued an order that puzzled all the Brazilian expeditionary soldiers.
They were asked to clear all people within 200 meters of the two streets.
So, today is obviously the time for Fang Lang to seize the fruits of victory.
Fang Lang was seen holding a flashlight and walking into the ruins of this dilapidated factory with the door not even locked.
He came directly to a huge metal smelting furnace leaning against the wall, opened a rusty iron door about two meters high and one meter wide, and walked directly into the smelting furnace.
There looked to be some waste slag inside. Fang Lang dug up the slag on the ground, found a cover and lifted it up directly.
A dark hole was revealed on the ground. When the flashlight was shone down, it was discovered that it was a basement that was larger than the building above.
Walking down to the basement, Fang Lang saw a row of neatly stacked copper bars on the left. Yes, copper bars. They were the copper bars made of pure copper that we commonly see in industry.
On the right side, there are densely packed bronze artifacts, and the number is definitely more than two thousand.
Qi Qingshan and others who followed Fang Lang in were all stunned. They didn't know the value of these bronze artifacts, but they were shocked by the huge number.
Objects of various shapes and covered with copper rust are obviously more eye-catching than industrial copper.
Fang Lang didn't waste any words and just waved his hand and said:
"Move it away for me. Take away everything here. Don't leave anything behind."
"Yes, sir!"
Then the soldiers of the Second Company of the Expeditionary Force began the work of porters.
Fang Lang stood by and carefully directed everyone in packing the boxes.
All the bronze artifacts were put into wooden boxes that had been prepared long ago, stuffed with straw, cotton wool and other things to prevent collisions.
If there were any Chinese historians present, they would be stunned, because there are at least 500 Chinese bronze artifacts and ancient bronze mirrors here.
There are Kui God Drum from the Shang Dynasty, Tiger Eating Man Jar from the Shang Dynasty, Sacrifice Head Square Zun from the late Shang Dynasty, Biao Shi Chime Bells from the Warring States Period, Jing Ji Shi Jar from the middle Western Zhou Dynasty, Chiwen Square Ding from the Spring and Autumn Period, etc. Each one is a national treasure of China.
In modern society, all these cultural relics are collected in the Sumitomo family's Izumiya Hakukokan, and Chinese people can only admire them from afar through glass cabinets.
Although most of the soldiers did not understand what these things were, since the commander attached so much importance to them, they must have taken them seriously.
After counting and statistics during packing, it was finally confirmed that the number of bronze artifacts reached more than 3,200 pieces. Everyone had a clear division of labor, some were responsible for packing, some were responsible for carrying, and some were responsible for transportation.
The transportation was finally completed at dawn.
However, Fang Lang did not stop, and said casually:
"Don't leave the copper materials to the Japanese. Take it all away."
The price of copper during this period was as high as US$3,514 per ton, and the copper bars here were at least hundreds of tons, easily worth three or four hundred thousand dollars.
This is not a small amount of money.
Of course, if it was just for the copper materials, it would definitely not be worth it for Fang Lang to go to so much trouble to clear out two streets.
According to what Fang Lang heard, these are not copper materials, but copper coated with gold.
This was also the capital for the Sumitomo family to rise rapidly after the war and quickly recover to its pre-war strength.
The Sumitomo family was very smart. They stored all the family wealth in the basement of this dilapidated ancestral property which had a history of hundreds of years.
Everyone believes that this place was deliberately preserved by the Sumitomo family to commemorate the family’s first copper smelting plant.
There were even only two old men guarding here, which was basically equivalent to being undefended.
All Japanese know that this is the ancestral property of the Sumitomo family and it has more commemorative significance than practical significance.
Almost all members of the Sumitomo family selectively forget about this place and will not mention it easily.
This place is also not on Sumitomo's list of production factories. The U.S. military searched according to Sumitomo's corporate structure and did not find this factory.
Because it is true that it has long ceased to be a factory.
It was this inconspicuous and dilapidated factory building that preserved the wealth of the Sumitomo family and provided sufficient financial support for the Sumitomo family's rapid rise again after the war.
Unfortunately, now because of the direct intervention of Butterfly Fang Lang from the future, all the wealth hidden by the Sumitomo family was transferred quietly and directly.
In fact, the Sumitomo family had doubts about Fang Lang's unusual behavior and found Colonel Malik to complain about the Brazilian Expeditionary Force's misdeeds.
However, they obviously forgot their status as a defeated country, and a defeated country has no room for bargaining.
As a major Japanese chaebol, the US government is trying every means to investigate your war crimes and has included the current head of the Sumitomo chaebol on the list of war criminals.
How could they make things difficult for their allies for you?
Therefore, their complaint did not achieve the desired effect, but instead made the soldiers of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force even more aggressive.
This caused those people who could have kept an eye on their ancestral business from afar to be driven out of their observable range.
Maybe this is what they call shooting oneself in the foot!
Seeing that it was already bright, I was not afraid of being discovered by the Sumitomo family.
But there is definitely no way to hide it from the US military patrol.
If the US military discovered his behavior of eating alone, it would obviously cause Colonel Malik to have a grudge against him.
This is not what Fang Lang wants to see.
Therefore, after careful consideration, Fang Lang decided to take the initiative to explain to Colonel Malik that at worst they could split the profits from the copper price.
Fang Lang, who had not slept all night, drove directly to the US military base and met Colonel Malik, who looked energetic.
Obviously, Colonel Malik was in a good mood as he had secured his gains.
There was no need to worry about these devices falling into his hands, or the Allied Forces discovering that he was hiding Japanese military assets.
Sleeping with a pillow of one hundred thousand dollars is indeed a sweet sleep.
Looking at Fang Lang, whose face was full of oil and whose spirit was obviously abnormally excited, he couldn't help but wonder:
"Fang, what's wrong with you? Didn't you sleep all night? Why, are you worried about this batch of equipment?"
As he spoke, he stepped forward and patted Fang Lang’s arm:
"Don't worry! All the equipment will be loaded onto your ship before the alliance's personnel arrive. You don't have to worry about the news of this factory not getting out."
Fang Lang noticed that when Colonel Malik said this, a cold light flashed in his eyes.
He felt a chill in his heart, thinking that the old man was going to kill him to silence him.
But thinking about it, it didn't make sense. After all, Fang Lang and he were accomplices. If they really had to be investigated, they both had the same crime.
And Fang Lang did not sense any hostility from him.
That means his target for silencing is not me, so who could it be?
Without much thought, Fang Lang immediately understood his plan. It was obvious that the workers in this factory might be in danger.
Even though this might be a bit cruel, Fang Lang would not show any mercy at all.
This is a fucking artillery factory. The artillery produced there has caused so much damage to the hometown and the people of the world, so Fang Lang couldn't wait to help applaud and cheer from the sidelines.
However, Fang Lang did not come here today because of this matter, so he spoke directly:
“Why should I worry about your work, Malik? I have checked the situation and it should be completed by early this morning.
After the cargo is loaded, our ship will depart directly. When the alliance leader arrives tomorrow morning, no trace will be left behind. "
Malik also showed a satisfied smile and said with a double meaning:
"Yes! Nothing will be left."
"I came here today because I have some good news to share with you. My people just found a batch of Japanese copper rods.
As soon as you provide a batch of equipment for making cannons, equipment for making artillery shells will appear.
This is really the icing on the cake! Although these copper materials have not yet found a buyer, I have inquired about the current copper price and estimated that this batch of goods is worth at least 200,000.
Man, we're going to be rich again."
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