241: Chapter 239 Uriyangko’s Big Deal 241: Chapter 239 Uriyangko’s Big Deal A smart and handsome military uniform is not merely about its attractiveness or the charm it exudes.
Whether in an army or not, a unified and handsome uniform can enhance the cohesiveness and morale of a group, while a rough and ugly uniform, if so unattractive that no one in the group is willing to wear it, can clearly have the opposite effect.
Military uniforms must be impressive so that young people will enlist without hesitation, a sentiment that is universal around the world.
Thus, armies pursue uniforms that are both good-looking and practical.
The Skull Gang could not possibly issue a smart uniform to everyone, but the elite and officers must have them.
Even if not handsome, they at least have to be uniform, creating a sense of identity and pride for those wearing them.
For those not in uniform, it should inspire a feeling of awe and envy, motivating them to strive to be one of those in uniform one day.
Upon hearing Bruce’s suggestion, Gao Yang and the others all nodded in agreement.
Maide had already given them full control over the military equipment decisions, including what weapons to buy and what uniforms to purchase.
The Skull Gang had armed personnel but could not be considered an army.
In fact, no armed group in Somalia could be called a true army.
The prospect of building a troop from scratch caused great excitement for Gao Yang and his team.
There were only a few types of weapons to choose from, so there wasn’t much to discuss, but selecting military uniforms was a headache.
They had to decide whether they only needed combat uniforms or formal attire as well, and the latter was not cheap.
Indeed, a set of attractive formal attire could cost more than a soldier’s weapon.
After nearly deciding on the equipment, Gao Yang made a list, but he was unable to determine the quantities because he did not know how many people they were supposed to arm.
After making the list, Gao Yang looked at Maide and spoke in a deep voice, “How many people do you have now?
How many can you arm?
Also, are you planning to expand in the future, or do you intend to maintain the current size?
I need to know this before I can decide on the quantity of weapons to purchase.”
“We currently have about six hundred people,” Maide replied, “but if needed, we can assemble a force of two thousand within a day, and everyone will be armed.”
Gao Yang was surprised and exclaimed, “That many?
You’ve said that the territory controlled by the Skull Gang has only four to five thousand people in total.”
Maide smiled and said, “In Huaxia, when people go out, they must carry their cell phone, wallet, and keys.
In Somalia, the first thing you need to carry when you go out is a gun.
A gun is our essential item.
Almost every man here has a gun.
If there’s a fight, the number of men we have is the number of soldiers we can muster.”
Gao Yang shook his head and said, “Still, not everyone who can fire a gun is a soldier.
Look, if people were to become professional soldiers, how many could you muster?”
“A thousand people, at least a thousand,” Maide answered.
“There isn’t much to do here.
The fish have been scooped up by European trawlers, so we don’t need so many fishermen.
Plus, it’s all desert here; we can’t farm the land.
So, besides piracy and fishing, they don’t have much else to do.
Therefore, picking one professional soldier out of every two men wouldn’t be a problem.”
After discussing with Glolov and the others, Gao Yang said solemnly, “We already have a list, but we don’t know the prices yet.
I need to make a phone call to find out.
Once we know the prices, we can decide exactly how much to buy.
Don’t worry, I will get you a fair price.”
Maide nodded and said, “We trust you.
You can make all the decisions.
As long as we can get the goods, that’s all that matters.”
Gao Yang nodded and didn’t leave but made a call to Uriyangko in front of Maide, and Uriyangko almost immediately answered the call.
“Ram, your calls are giving me sleepless nights.
Don’t hang up again after only telling me half as you did last time.
Tell me, have you decided what to buy?
I’ll let you know, I’ve got a bunch of second-hand goods from Libya on hand waiting to be sold, at prices you can’t imagine.
Let’s make a big profit on this deal,” Uriyangko said eagerly.
Gao Yang laughed and replied, “We don’t want junk.
I’m just the middleman, and the buyer expects quality goods.
Uriyangko, don’t even think about fobbing someone off with rubbish or else if the buyer rejects your goods, you can’t blame me.”
“What?
Are you joking?
Aren’t you delivering to Somalia?
Come on, man, Somalis love bargain buys.
Those second-hand goods from Libya are very popular in Somalia.
And now you’re telling me they don’t want second-hand?”
Uriyangko’s words had confirmed that the second-hand goods in his possession were nothing but junk, and Gao Yang hurriedly said, “Look, we really don’t want trash.
If so, we can’t do business.
I’m looking for a good deal, not cheap scraps.”
Uriyangko was visibly nervous, “Do you really not want second-hand goods?
I still have quite a few good ones, I can offer you those at a very low price, are you interested?”
“Hold on, let me first tell you what I want, and then we’ll think about the second-hand goods.
What’s the price for an AK74, brand new, made in Russia?
I also need the bullets from Russia, and RPG-7s too, both the launcher and rockets need to be Russian-made.
Plus, I need the M72 or RPG-26, and Type 63 107mm rocket launchers, those have to be from Huaxia.
Give me a quote.”
“There’s plenty of AK74s here, one gun comes with six magazines and a thousand rounds, brand new, Russian stock, priced at eight hundred US dollars each.
For a brand new RPG, two hundred US dollars without sights.
If equipped with a white light sight, three hundred and fifty US dollars; with night-vision sights, eight hundred US dollars.
Rocket prices range from forty to one hundred and fifty US dollars, depending on the type of warhead you need.
But if you want second-hand, one hundred dollars each for the launchers, guaranteed to have no problems—I’ll select ones that are at least seventy percent new for you.
I don’t have M72s.
RPG-26s are three hundred US dollars each, from the nineties, I assure you it’s the lowest price.
As for the Type 63 rocket launchers, brother, you have to settle for second-hand.
Do me a favor, they work just as well whether a few decades old or fresh from the factory.
Second-hand, you can get one incredibly cheap, I’ll give you a set for fifty thousand US dollars, and that includes a foundation of ammunition.
This model has stopped production in Huaxia for many years, I definitely can’t get you new Huaxia-made ones.
However, I have more than twenty Type 63 launchers on hand, absolutely no issues using them.”
As Uriyangko named each price, Gao Yang wrote them down.
After Uriyangko finished, Gao Yang said gravely, “I’m asking prices for someone else.
You can have a reasonable profit, but you can’t shoot for the moon.
As a friend, I must remind you once more, this could be a long-term deal.
Don’t let immediate gain cost you much more in the long run.”
“Brother, I love money, and I won’t part with a penny I deserve, but I won’t reach for what’s not mine.
Brother, you have to trust my professional ethics.”
“Understood.
So, what about sniper rifles?
I’m interested in semi-automatic and bolt-action models.
What do you have?”
“Lots of Dragunovs, but no bolt-actions in hand, you know those don’t sell well, so I only have about ten Dragunovs.
The problem is I don’t have the special sniper cartridges for the Dragunovs, which is bothersome.
But if you need them, I can quickly prepare them—just give me the model.”
The Dragunov being the SVD, Gao Yang found himself in a dilemma upon learning that although Uriyangko had the SVD, he did not have the special sniper ammunition for it.
Without the special ammunition, the SVD’s accuracy could be severely compromised.
After considering for a moment, Gao Yang said sternly, “Then, I’ll take twenty M21s to start with, and twenty M40A1s.
If there’s no M40A1, then the civilian version, the Remington M700, will do.
All equipped with scopes.
How much?”
Gao Yang felt that out of a thousand people, selecting twenty marksmen and twenty snipers shouldn’t be a problem.
Even if it proved difficult, having the rifles ready while slowly selecting personnel was better than having shooters with no rifles.
He chose the M21 and M40A1 because they shared ammunition, simplifying logistics as only one type of bullet would need to be purchased.
After a brief silence, Uriyangko responded seriously, “I don’t have these, but I can order them.
I can give you an accurate price very soon.
How about the bullets?
Two thousand rounds per rifle?”
“No, ten thousand rounds.
We need a lot of live fire training, so ten thousand rounds per rifle.
However, let’s skip the expensive specialty ammunition.
Just pick up brands with a reputation for high precision.
That’s it for now, I’ll call you back in a little bit.”
After hanging up, Gao Yang passed the list to Maide and said in a deep voice, “Take a look and see if the prices are acceptable.”
Although Gao Yang wrote the list in Chinese characters, Maide didn’t take it; instead, he pushed Gao Yang’s hand back and smiled, “I don’t know the prices for military supplies.
It’s no use showing me.
Besides, don’t suspect the people you use; don’t use the people you suspect.
This job is entrusted to you already; you’re free to make your own decisions.”
Gao Yang nodded, “We need a lot of bullets.
At least two million rounds of 5.45 mm ammunition for the AK74s.
As for the AK47, which will remain the primary weapon for a considerable time, let’s get ten million rounds of 7.62 mm ammo, either Russian or Huaxian-made doesn’t matter, and add ten thousand hand grenades.
As for landmines, I think we should skip those for now.
Whether for laying or clearing mines, training is required.
We don’t have enough manpower and time to train them for mine laying.”
Glolov nodded and replied with gravity, “We can leave landmines for now.
With RPGs, the difference with and without sights is significant.
On African battlefields, most RPGs come without sights, and they don’t know how to use them anyway.
But I think we should still equip some with night-vision sights—not many, fifty will suffice.
They’re very effective in night battles.”
Concerned they might miss something, Gao Yang and the rest deliberated and decided on the items to purchase one by one.
Gradually, the list of items on their list grew longer, and Gao Yang occasionally had to make another call to Uriyangko.
After the calls with additions and subtractions decided upon, Gao Yang finally settled on everything needed, and then received the total quote from Uriyangko.
(To be continued.
If you enjoy this work, your votes at Qidian and monthly tickets are greatly appreciated.
Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)