I'm a Master in India

Chapter 247: Alliance and Horizontal Union

"I'll have the family send more people over." Ratan felt the defensive strength around him wasn't enough.

"Don't worry about the factory, there are plenty of hands at the manor too. The newcomers haven't even touched a gun, they won't be much help."

"Shooting only requires one finger," Ratan gestured, "You don't need to expect them to be sharpshooters, people from Uttar Pradesh only shoot within five meters."

"Why?" Ron was curious.

"Because the handguns here are crudely made, they aren't accurate from a distance." Ratan didn't know where he'd found a locally made handgun.

It was very crude, the gun body showed heavy grinding marks, there was no smooth part anywhere, it looked like a lump of iron.

"Is this thing really a gun?" Ron picked it up to examine it, the barrel was severely rusted, not much better than an ordinary iron pipe.

"Most people use this kind, you think they all have imported goods?" Ratan pulled out his standard issue handgun and weighed it in his hand.

"The barrel burst rate must be high." The locally made gun in Ron's hand had no rifling, just an iron pipe.

"Depends on luck." Ratan shrugged.

"The Tripathi Family's arms business is like this?"

"One thousand to two thousand rupees each, throw them away after use."

"So they're consumables." Ron's eyes were opened.

These locally made handguns have no serial numbers, making them impossible to trace. After a killer uses one, he throws it into a ditch, and who knows who the murderer is.

"Locally made handguns are in high demand throughout India, they're used for robbery, kidnapping and extortion, and even assassinating political enemies, they have a wide range of uses."

"They're hot items," Ron chuckled, "But the Tripathi Family's business must be quite good."

"I'm planning to take down their arms factory." Ratan made a clicking sound and pulled the bolt.

"How do you plan to do that?"

"Of course, I'll just take people and charge in."

"That would result in heavy losses, they aren't fools like those two beasts. The Tripathi Family's business is arms, do you think they'll be short on guns?"

"The Sur family must avenge this humiliation!" Ratan did not back down.

"Yes, you're right, but there's no need to be so reckless. Charging in now will definitely result in heavy casualties, we need to find an excellent opportunity, like luring the tiger out of the mountain first."

Didn't Ron want revenge? Of course he did, he wasn't a true saint who could be without sorrow or joy.

It's just that the Tripathi Family's roots in Mirzapur are too deep, Ron and the others had investigated long ago, and found that more than half of the town's residents had business ties with them.

How the hell could they fight like this? Charging in headfirst, they might be taken down by a hidden gun from a corner.

In the end, they arrived too late, although Muna had promoted them several times, their popular base was still too shallow.

"Do you have an idea?" Ratan asked.

"Same as you're thinking, give their arms factory a big fireworks show." Ron smiled.

"Hmm?"

"An eye for an eye, he won't let my cement factory have peace, so I'll send his arms factory straight to heaven."

"How?"

"Use someone else's hand, the Tripathi Family has plenty of enemies."

Ron doesn't do losing business, it's best to let others scout the way first.

How many men the Tripathi Family had, how many guns, honestly Ron didn't know.

Because their subordinates were hidden in the town, they might be street vendors normally, but at a crucial moment, they could turn and pull a gun from under their clothes.

It was difficult, so Ron decided to let others step on the mine first.

"Brother, it's too much trouble, it's not straightforward at all."

"I'm worried you'll suffer losses," Ron rolled his eyes at him, "Also, we can control violence, but don't rely on it. We can also hire thugs, but don't become thugs."

If they had a shootout every time, how would they do business in the future? They couldn't always show up with guns and force people to sign contracts.

Being overly militaristic will only isolate one from others. Uttar Pradesh may be chaotic, but the general order is still there.

Do you really think the state government and army are useless? Most gang shootouts happen with the tacit approval of politicians, provided the scale is controllable.

Ron doesn't mind not using violence, but wanting to become a thug is not a long-term plan.

Tata and Reliance, who later became giants, didn't go around shouting and killing everywhere, they all acted within the framework of civilization.

This time is special, the Sur family needs to establish their authority, otherwise Ron wouldn't even be willing to use guns.

The stronger the power in one's hands, the more one must learn to exercise restraint.

"Right, we also need to send people to figure out the whereabouts of the Tripathi Family members."

"Brother, what do you want to do?" Ratan became spirited.

"Send it to the people who need it."

"Who?"

"Sonbhadra, we should also go check out the coal mine Yadav promised us these past couple of days."

Sonbhadra is in the southeastern corner of Uttar Pradesh, bordering four states: Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Bihar.

Such a border region, one can imagine it's not simple. Chaos is inevitable, and various illegal businesses are rampant.

However, within India, the closer to the east, the richer the mineral resources.

For example, Bihar and Odisha are rich in coal, iron, and bauxite.

Sonbhadra is also geographically close to the east, and its coal resources are decent.

However, in North India, apart from a few large cities and state capitals, industrial development is almost non-existent elsewhere.

Due to policy limitations, coal resources are rarely sought after, basically in a state of open-pit wild mining.

Locals would secretly sell the ore to other places, mainly used by boilers in small workshops.

A village entrance tea stall like the one in Karna Village is using coal lumps from Sonbhadra as fuel.

That stuff hasn't been processed at all, the lumps are too big and need to be manually smashed before they can be put into the furnace.

Overall, Sonbhadra's coal mines are in a semi-open state, and local small gangs control the retail business.

After Ron and Ratan arrived here, they didn't go to the mine first, instead they met with the local boss of Sonbhadra, Tilaka.

He is essentially similar to the Tripathi Family in Mirzapur, the person in charge of the entire Sonbhadra area.

The difference is that Tilaka has only ruled Sonbhadra for a short twenty years, far less deeply rooted than the Tripathi Family, which has operated for several generations.

The reason Ron visited Tilaka first was because he had a deep-seated hatred for the Tripathi Family.

It is said that twenty years ago, Tilaka was originally a capable subordinate of Kalin's father.

In front of outsiders, Kalin's father almost treated Tilaka like his own son.

When the family ate in the dining room, Tilaka also sat at the table like the other members of the Tripathi family.

These various means of winning him over made Tilaka mistakenly believe that he was also half an heir to Mirzapur.

It wasn't until Kalin's father announced the family's successor in the square that Tilaka was struck awake by a harsh blow.

The Lord mentioned Kalin's name, and even his grandson Ram's name, but did not mention Tilaka at all.

Oh no, his name was mentioned, but his title was "Unwaveringly Loyal Warrior".

How could the ambitious Tilaka accept this? He plotted rebellion, but failed.

The Lord, remembering their past adoptive relationship, did not wipe them all out.

Finally, Tilaka was driven to a remote corner of Uttar Pradesh, Sonbhadra.

This place is surrounded by the other four states, with no room for expansion, and the entrance is blocked by Mirzapur.

Tilaka regarded this matter as a great humiliation, he secretly accumulated strength, and launched a counterattack a few years ago.

As a result, his son, just over twenty years old, died in the shootout, and he also became lame in one leg.

The enmity grew deeper and deeper, and the two families had reached a point of no return.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, Ron did not forget the traditional skill of his ancestors, alliance and horizontal union.

"Why have you Varanasi people come to Sonbhadra?" Tilaka said calmly, the scar on his face was hideous and ugly.

"To do business." Ron replied with a smile.

"Do you need to bring so many guns to do business?" Tilaka saw them, they were all imported goods.

"We are all people from Uttar Pradesh, bringing guns when going out is a tradition. Moreover, we have to pass through Mirzapur, which is the Tripathi Family's territory."

Tilaka's eyes shifted, and he gradually understood.

"The Mirzapur cement factory mentioned in the newspapers a while ago, is that your business?"

"Yes, as you can see. We do mining business, and it's the same in Sonbhadra." Ron shrugged.

"The Tripathi Family didn't take their cut from you?"

"Our permit was personally signed by the Chief Minister, all the money that should be given has been given." Ratan spoke up from the side.

Tilaka let out a sneer, his face showing disdain, "The Tripathi Family will come knocking, you don't understand their greed at all."

"In fact, they've already been here." Ron's tone was calm.

"What happened?" Tilaka became interested.

"In the mine shaft, they'll probably have to sleep there from now on." Ratan replied.

Tilaka laughed loudly, the scar on his cheek looked like a centipede crawling back and forth.

"Now let's talk about business in Sonbhadra, coal mines, right?" He stopped laughing.

"Brother, let me remind you first, the coal mine permit also came from the Chief Minister's hand." Ratan stared at him.

"I know, I don't do coal mine business. But so many people make a living from the surrounding small workshops, if you take it all, they will definitely resist."

This was exactly what Ron was concerned about, the state government was only responsible for approval, they didn't care at all about how it was mined.

A large number of local residents gathered around the wild coal mines, making a living by illegal mining. Ron couldn't just drive everyone away without a word.

The methods would be too violent, and the mine would not have peace in the future, you couldn't guarantee that the locals wouldn't secretly cause damage.

This was also one of the reasons they came to find Tilaka, some things he was more suitable to handle.

Obviously, Tilaka was a smart man, he guessed it.

"Let's speak frankly," Ron stopped beating around the bush, "At the coal mine, people need to be cleared out, will you take this job?"

"Five hundred thousand rupees, and also..." Tilaka suddenly looked up, towards Ratan, "From now on, all your hemp will be sold through me."

Ron and Ratan were stunned, this sudden turn caught them off guard.

"I said, I don't do coal mine business." Tilaka spread his hands.

It's difficult for ordinary people to get involved in bulk business like coal mining. Gangs don't have the energy or the patience to engage in mining.

Smuggling, hemp, gold, these are Tilaka's main businesses, making money much faster than mining coal.

"Deal!" Ratan agreed after a moment's thought.

He used to do most of his business in the north, and there was no loss in switching to the south now. Besides, his family had enough land, he could take care of both sides in the south.

"The Tripathi Family is our common enemy, right?" Tilaka stood up.

"Of course, they were when they touched my cement factory." Ron also stood up.

"We can form an alliance, as long as the Tripathi Family is eliminated, whether it's Mirzapur or Sonbhadra, all mining business will belong to you."

"I can't find a reason to refuse," Ron shook his hand, "Oh right, here are the whereabouts of Ram, he often goes to Chandauli recently."

"Chandauli?" A cold glint flashed in Tilaka's eyes.

"Isn't that a good place? It belongs neither to Mirzapur nor to Sonbhadra."

"Is the information reliable?"

"I heard he's infatuated with a certain girl, the kind he forces himself on."

"People from the Tripathi Family are always like this." Tilaka's face showed disdain.

"Good luck." Ron shook his hand, then stood up and left.