The research on the flintlock rifle was proposed by Deng Ming to various arms dealers after the imperial government was opened, but it took so many years to create samples that could be accepted for the fire rate. At the beginning, the arms dealers in Chengdu were actually blacksmith shops, and they had no ability to make guns at all. All they could do was repair damaged swords and armor. Later, with Deng Ming's various policy support, it developed. However, the expansion speed of the Ming army far exceeded the development speed of these businesses. The business of repairing equipment was too busy, and no one was going to make new equipment, let alone research a new weapon that didn't know when it would take a profit.

Deng Ming rarely stayed in Chengdu for a long time, and most of his income was spent on the development of the Fifty-One Pavilion and the private guards. He did not continue to invest in the arms dealers, so the research progress of the flintlock rifle was as slow as a turtle climbing. It was not until two years ago that the expansion speed of the Ming army slowed down slightly, and the war dividends were abundant, which also made the army and soldiers begin to consider more advanced equipment. The main business of the Chengdu arms dealers also began to change from repairing old equipment to producing more new equipment.

But until a year ago, the profits of the repair of arms dealers were still the same as those of the production of new weapons, because the Kuidong Army obtained more equipment and the industrial capacity of the Kuidong Army was even worse. Many arms dealers went to Yuan Zongdi and Li Laiheng and others to make money by helping them repair equipment. These people also had the ability to use food, salt, subsidies given by Deng Ming or other production and payment capabilities.

On the way back to Sichuan, Deng Ming handed over the flintlock sample sent from western Sichuan to the musket army for testing, and even called all the officers to watch.

"After equipped with the flintlock rifle, our army can adopt a shoulder-to-shoulder rifle formation, and there will be no problem of open flames igniting gunpowder; the reloading speed of the rifle is three times faster than that of the musket." Deng Ming proudly introduced this new weapon to his subordinates. The success of the flintlock rifle proved his far-sighted vision. His subordinates did not think that the weapon expressed by Deng Ming could be really manufactured.

"It's really good." Mu Tan, who considers himself a firearm expert, rarely admits his mistake to Deng Ming in this regard: "How much is the output?"

Mutan, who was born in the Fujian Army, once quoted a wide range of quotes saying that the muskets must be ignited with open flames, and the weapon described by Deng Ming was completely unrealistic. It was Mutan's skepticism that made the imperial government unwilling to share the research costs of arms dealers - money is used everywhere, and arms dealers are unwilling to invest heavily in a project of unpredictable success or failure, and the imperial government is the same.

"It can produce about fifty to one hundred pieces a month." Deng Ming sounded a little hesitant. The officers who were familiar with him guessed that fifty pieces might not be able to achieve, and one hundred was even more out of reach.

"So little?" Mutan looked at the rifle again: "It's just this barrel, right? This flintlock trigger doesn't seem to be much difficult, it's not much harder than a fuse trigger."

"Yes, but it's too expensive." Deng Ming hesitated for a moment and told everyone why the production of flintlock rifles is so low, because the arms dealer set a price of 8,000 yuan for each flintlock rifle.

"So expensive!" All the officers exclaimed. The crossbow machine that Zhang Changgeng sold to Deng Ming only cost dozens of taels of silver, which was about three to four thousand yuan, while the convex gun used by the Ming army now costs only 200 yuan.

"Because the mezzanines are basically seized from Myanmar and then handed over to the arms dealer for sale, many so-called damages are the butt stocks that are touched. If they are cracked, they are considered very serious. What costs can the snatched things have? And all of them are made by Chengdu themselves. Because there is no precedent, they are also very good masters. And the wages of researchers in recent years have to be put into the cost." Deng Ming explained that if they can be produced in large quantities, the selling price can be reduced in large quantities. After all, the research cost of investing in the cost is a fixed value. As long as the output is large, the price can be lowered soon.

However, Deng Ming did not have so much money in his hands. Chengdu's finances would invest a lot of education as soon as they had a surplus, and Deng Ming's private money would not come to help the imperial government pay the bills in vain. Now that the war has been over, the army has little loss, and weapons have a great advantage to the Qing army. If the Imperial Parliament agrees to impose another special tax in this case, it would be difficult to buy a large number of rifles - Besides, only Deng Ming knew that the rifles would completely eliminate bows, armor, big swords, and spears. In the eyes of others, even if they purchase such weapons that have not been tested in actual combat, the cost of other equipment would still not be saved.

Therefore, the flintlock rifle can only be replaced slowly, and there is still a long way to go to replace bows and arrows with it. It needs to rely on actual combat to make officers generally recognize its power, and now it can only establish some experimental troops. This kind of gear change will of course make the price of the rifle expensive. Moreover, this weapon developed to satisfy Deng Ming’s personal interests cannot be produced on a large scale, and the production cost will not be reduced, and process improvement will also progress slowly.

After hearing the expensive price of such weapons, many officers lost interest. Most people did not think that this completely unfamiliar weapon should be replaced with familiar crossbows too early. Even bird guns look much more reassuring than rifles, let alone such as amazing military expenses.

"A total of twenty samples were sent, this is the last one." After the demonstration, Deng Ming put away the last flintlock rifle. Deng Ming originally planned to buy these samples out of his own pocket. Anlesi's business has been studying for so long. If Deng Ming thought it was expensive and didn't pay, no one would be willing to spend energy to study new weapons according to his requirements in the future.

However, the remaining nineteen Deng Mings were sent to An Lesi to the gentry of Jiangnan. If they were willing to buy it, Deng Ming would not have to pay too much private money. After all, this thing has the name of a musket, and in the minds of Jiangnan gentry, firearms meant that they were powerful, otherwise the Qing court would not prohibit the green camp from having firearms.

Deng Ming didn't expect that the flintlock rifle would be so expensive, so he casually said to An Lesi that he needed 200 to equip his experimental troops, and that he might also need 100 rifles a month in the future. But now Deng Ming has backed off. He felt that there were fifty weapons for the officers to recognize this weapon first, and he also asked An Lesi to reduce the monthly output. Deng Ming only guaranteed the purchase volume of twenty units per month, and the excess An Lesi needed to be sold on the market by himself.

An Lesi said that his weapons had passed through Wuchang and were transported downstream. Once transported, Deng Ming could start forming an experimental unit.

Deng Ming sighed: "One hundred and thirty guns are just a million. How much jade does it take to sell to make it?"

...

After arriving in Huzhou, An Lesi was warmly received by the dealer. The Ming Shi case has plagued the dealer for several years. Wu Zhirong and Cha Jizuo's complaints were like a sharp sword hanging on the dealer's head, which could fall and kill people at any time. In order to save himself, the dealer no longer knew how much money he had sent to the county, prefecture and province, but he could never completely eliminate the threat. All he could do was to prevent the sword from falling down for the time being.

Recently, the wind has become more unfavorable to the dealer. Zhejiang Xuezhan, who has been sheltering the dealer from the wind and rain for two years, suddenly refused to see the dealer's messenger, especially Liang Huafeng. He had told the dealer many times that he could settle such a small matter with just one word, and even did not want the dealer's money. Just apply two more strokes for Liang Huafeng in the book. But now even the arty Liang Huafeng avoids the dealer, which obviously means that the situation is very serious.

At first, the dealer thought that Anlesi was representing Deng Ming to help him clear. After he understood Anlesi's purpose, the head of the family Zhuang Yuncheng was hesitant and did not know what to do.

"As far as we know, the case was personally inquired by the Qing court's auxiliary minister. If we were not wrong, Oboi had already pointed out that the case should be tried in three parties and then reported the result to the court." An Lesi's hand was no less information than that of Zhejiang Governor Zhao Guozuo or Jiangnan Governor Liang Huafeng. As soon as this statement came out, Zhuang Yuncheng's face turned pale.

"Since it is the regent minister who is in charge, that great rebellion will definitely not be able to escape. Moreover, in order to shock the gentry in Zhejiang, those who slander the Qing court will be warned of a hundred people. Anyone who is in charge of the school will be included in the rebellion case. We also heard that even the carving plates and printing ink workers will be considered a great rebellion. It can be seen that this move of the Qing court was not entirely a silver, and it is useless for you to get the money." An Lesi took out all the information in his hand and shared with Zhuang Yuncheng: "Zhejiang Governor Zhao Guozuo planned to determine that 18 people were lingchi, 500 people were beheaded, 3700 people were exiled, and the army was exiled. After the Duke of Baoguo pleaded with him, Zhao Guozuo was willing to reduce it to eight people, 100 people beheaded, and the rest were exiled to Ningguta - the National Guild when Crossing the River Deeds arranged for someone to rescue him, if you were willing to go to Sichuan."

Zhuang Yuncheng was stunned for a moment, and suddenly burst into tears: "It's unfair, my father and son never wanted to rebel from the Emperor Qing Dynasty. How can we start this rebellion?" Zhuang Yuncheng even blamed himself for thinking that this case would also affect a large number of scholars in Zhejiang.

After crying bitterly, Zhuang Yuncheng finally made up his mind: "How many weapons and armor does Boss An have? I want them all!"

All the Zhuang family members who were listening were shocked. Someone came out to persuade the head of the family to make a long-term plan, but Zhuang Yuncheng had decided: "Since you have bought all these weapons, I want to send a few grandchildren to Sichuan first. I wonder if Boss An can arrange it?"

"No problem." An Lesi agreed immediately.

When Zhuang Yuncheng asked someone to move the money to An Lesi, he explained to several sons who were surprised and suspicious: "I know you think this is too risky. Once you take this step, it will definitely be a killing. But from my perspective, this boss An is not like a lie. It is similar to what we inquired about. If you can't live, it's better to be vigorous. Moreover, Baoguo Duke seems to be trying to make Zhejiang uneasy. I will sacrifice my life to satisfy Baoguo Duke. Then he has to take care of my grandchildren, right?"

If Zhuang Ding had no combat power and had too little time, Zhuang Yuncheng would have thought about raiding Huzhou and causing a big upside down. After receiving An Lesi's weapon, Zhuang Yuncheng immediately organized Zhuang Ding's training, and the more instructors, the better the faster the better. At the same time, he sent one of his grandsons away in every room at the first time.

"Mr. Zhuang doesn't have to worry. This case will probably not start until March. You still have two months." An Lesi told Zhuang Yuncheng that although the Qing court and the Southeast provinces had a vague case in the handling of the persons involved in the case were held in the middle of last year, it was suddenly interrupted because the Ming army advanced eastward. Now the Qing court may not agree to the Southeast government to take action before recruiting Jiaodong rebels and confirming the security of the Yangtze River area. An Lesi probably will have to wait until March: "I will also send a letter to ask for the instructor Mr. Zhuang."

Anlesi used the Qing Dynasty's post station system, which not only could be used, but could also be sent to Sichuan even if it was 800 miles of expedited.

"Thank you for your advice." Zhuang Yuncheng took out a sample of a flintlock rifle: "This thing costs 120 taels of silver, right?"

"Not bad." An Lesi also felt that this rifle was too expensive. Even if it was easier to use, it could not compete with a bird gun of two taels of silver. However, his business still spent a lot of money to research and manufacture it, and he and other shareholders regarded it as a emotional investment in Deng Ming - proving that An Lesi and his partners took Deng Ming's affairs the most. Not only did they spend time and energy to study, but they also established a production team. Even as long as the Empire State places an order, they can start production immediately.

As soon as Zhuang Yuncheng got the gun, he asked Zhuang Ding to try to use various weapons. For those who have not received military training, the crossbow is slightly better, and the hard bow cannot be mastered. Even if the crossbow is not practiced hard for a year or two, it is difficult to reach the level of a regular army. Compared with the crossbow arrows flying around, the flintlock rifle has an amazing accuracy - the hit rate of the bird gun at the same distance is about four or five times that of the bow and arrow. After being sealed with silk, the flintlock rifle is more than ten times that of the crossbow arrows in the hands of the strong man in Zhuang's hands. Moreover, this weapon has obvious progress as it is practiced, and its power is even more terrifying. The thick wooden shield used as the target will be smashed into pieces.

"Okay, I wonder how much Boss An has left? How many flintlock rifles do I need as much as I want."

"I still have..." An Lesi stopped talking. He had already produced 150 flintlock rifles, and then planned to produce slowly at a rate of twenty per month, which could meet the needs of Deng Ming's test troops. If Deng Ming bought all these rifles, the investment in the arms company would have recovered a lot, and the sales of twenty per month were used to maintain this production line. An Lesi's business did not expect to make money on this thing.

Deng Ming was indeed guilty of Anlesi, so he handed over a large number of seized weapons to Anlesi for sale this time, which was enough to make up for Anlesi's investment. Although Anlesi believed that it could make profits in other aspects, it was always good to be able to recover some investment, and it was equivalent to the fact that the gentry of Jiangnan was responsible for the improvement and development of weapons.

"The Duke said he wanted one hundred rifles, but his face was very reluctant, and he obviously couldn't bear to spend money. Yes, the Emperor* team was going well. The money to buy a rifle was enough to recruit a few soldiers. There would be complaints in the army, right?" An Lesi changed his mind quickly. He almost blurted out that he had thirty more to sell (one hundred and fifty ones Deng Ming wanted and twenty samples he had brought, and An Lesi was left with thirty ones left.)

"I still have 150 rifles." An Lesi decided to sell the rifle to Zhuang Yuncheng as much as possible. He recalled the rather forced smile on Deng Ming's face, and felt that the other party would probably breathe a sigh of relief after hearing that he had sold most of the rifles to others. Besides, if Deng Ming really needed it, An Lesi would produce it for him. Not only did he take out all the inventory, An Lesi even counted the recent output: "But the journey is long and it may not be intact. Others may also want it. In the end, there may be only 130. Mr. Zhuang should not be surprised."

"No problem." Although I only had a short day to work with weapons, Zhuang Yuncheng's family believed that the flintlock rifle was the most powerful and easiest weapon among Anlesi's goods. As for the price, Zhuang Yuncheng didn't care at all: "Silver is not a problem."

Zhuang Yuncheng is not only a big landlord, but also a wealthy businessman. Not to mention Zhejiang, even Liangjiang, Huguang also knows that he is rich. If it weren't for the excessive money, the dealer would not have invited all the famous scholars from all over the world to compile the "History of Ming Dynasty". If he hadn't given enough money, he would not have invited so many people. However, Zhuang Yuncheng did not intend to let his grandchildren take too much money away, because once he left Huzhou, the bloodline of those dealer-runners who escaped would be helpless surviving clans. In Zhuang Yuncheng's view, their life and death were entirely in the thought of Deng Ming.

If the dealer handed over all the amazing wealth to these orphans, Zhuang Yuncheng felt that it was tantamount to calling others to seek money and killing him; so Zhuang Yuncheng only let his grandsons take away the silver that would allow them to have food and clothing. The remaining money would be cheaper if they didn't spend it. Since Zhuang Yuncheng knew this well, there was no need to be petty about the price of weapons. The only criterion for measuring is whether it was easy to use and whether the lethality was great enough.

"Oh." After hearing Zhuang Yuncheng's words, An Lesi's heart moved and said tentatively: "These rifles must be transported from the upstream. Mr. Zhuang is so anxious that he may have to add some extra money. Why don't you want a rifle and buy more crossbows?"

"No, I just need a rifle, and the money is not a problem. Well, is it enough for each one to add twenty taels?" Although An Lesi claimed to be just a businessman from western Sichuan, he not only had information from Beijing, but also could take out armor and crossbows, such goods that are strictly prohibited from being owned by privately. Zhuang Yuncheng speculated that An Lesi must be Deng Ming's confidant, and the name of this businessman was just a cover.

"The more I make a fuss, the more trouble I cause for the Governor of Zhejiang, the more satisfied the Duke Baoguo will be, and the more kind I will treat my grandson... And I gave all the money to this person, probably to Duke Baoguo? Duke Baoguo got most of my property, and saw that I tried my best to fulfill his wish, so I naturally had to take good care of my family, otherwise who would work hard for him in the future?" Zhuang Yuncheng thought in his mind. Since the other party said that the government wanted eight people to sing chi, Zhuang Yuncheng knew that the banker would definitely not be able to escape the knife: "When should I wait for the silver at this time? Unfortunately, there are not thousands or tens of thousands of rifles, and I couldn't find enough bandits and Japanese pirates in a hurry. Otherwise, I would go and defeat Huzhou Prefecture, and my family would have no money in the future, Duke Baoguo would have to take care of them."

"Twenty taels..." Anle Si originally wanted to add a few taels to the end. If it were not considered for the early investment, the cost of a flintlock rifle would not be so much: "No problem, I'll send you an urgent report now, rent the fastest boat and the best horse, and bring it to you at full speed."

After agreeing on the price and the expedited fee, An Lesi felt that she was just dreaming, and the price she sold to Zhuang Yuncheng was much higher than that she could sell to Deng Ming.

"I didn't expect that the rifle was so popular among the gentry. Judging from the meaning, if I hadn't had any guns in my hand, he would have wanted a few hundred more. Well, I don't sell all the samples, and go to a few more stores to see. If there were a few more such high-ranking customers, I would produce rifles in large quantities, and the cost could be reduced to a few hundred yuan in a few months. I sent a few guys to see the actual combat effect, and then provided it to the team of Emperor* - for our own people, of course, it should be as good as possible to be as cheap as possible." In a few words, a deal of tens of thousands of taels of silver was finalized. With other equipment, the dealer needed to pay An Lesi an almost twenty thousand taels of silver, but the other party didn't blink.

"I wonder what Mr. Zhuang still needs?" An Lesi further tested. Not long ago, he heard Deng Ming say that he would develop a light field gun that could accompany the infantry. At that time, An Lesi did not follow the investigation of his flintlock rifle, because his flintlock rifle had not yet been recovered. It was impossible to just listen to the wind and rain, and then put some money in the field gun. However, Zhuang Yuncheng was about to recover the cost of the flintlock rifle. If the other party purchased some expensive goods, maybe An Lesi could consider developing the field gun needed by the Duke of Baoguo.

"Do you have anything good?" Zhuang Yuncheng pointed to the flintlock rifle in his hand: "It is better to be as powerful as this rifle and be able to learn it quickly."

"I have some scrap copper... Oh, no, it's a tiger squat cannon." An Lesi just thought of the field cannon. When he heard Zhuang Yuncheng's question, he naturally remembered the rag he collected in Chongqing.

Although he knew that Deng Ming had no interest in the tiger squat cannon, An Lesi still asked the scrap company to help him acquire the weapons of the Han Eight Banners as much as possible. After obtaining the tiger squat cannon, An Lesi planned to sell it to Zhang Changgeng with permission from the imperial government to strengthen his strength. However, Zhang Changgeng, who was at both ends of the head and rat, was hesitant because his green camp could not blatantly equip the firearms. Since the other party was still hesitating whether to buy it or not, An Lesi naturally had difficulty selling it at a high price.

"Tiger squat cannon?" Zhuang Yuncheng's eyes lit up: "Is it a cannon?"

"A type of cannon is very powerful, and it is no problem to kill more than a dozen yamen runners with one shot."

"So amazing? That's when hundreds of people come, those who haven't died will run away after one shot." Zhuang Yuncheng's imaginary enemy is still a local yamen runner: "How many Boss An is there? When will he arrive?"

"I have three." Several of the scrap copper collected by An Lesi were placed in Wuchang, and five were transported to Anqing by him, trying to sell it to Zhou Peigong, the Prime Minister of the Suppression of Deng. Zhou Peigong was much happier than Governor Zhang, saying that he would buy it by the first month of the year, and at least two of them were bought. Last year's profits of the Zongliyamen of Deng were divided by Liangjiang and Huguang. However, starting this year, everyone agreed to leave more money for the General Office of Deng to build the General Office of Deng, so in February, Zhou Peigong should have rich money. Although one thousand taels per family was obviously too expensive, except for the Ming army, Zhou Peigong had no place to buy tiger squat cannons.

Given the good relationship between Zhou Peigong and An Lesi, although the other party did not even pay the deposit, An Lesi felt that the two doors that Zhou Peigong might want should be kept.

"I want it all." Zhuang Yuncheng murmured in his heart: "Don't Baoguo really want me to fight Huzhou? I'm willing to sell cannons to me."

After a brief pause, Zhuang Yuncheng remembered and asked, "How much is the silver."

"Two thousand taels of silver per door." An Lesi said in a long tune. If Zhuang Yuncheng was concerned, he would be preparing to lower the price again.

"Okay, if it can be shipped within a month, I will give you another 200 taels of silver per door." Zhuang Yuncheng once again emphasized that silver is not a problem.

"Actually, I have five doors." An Lesi said: "Wuchang also has inventory, so I'll write to you to urge you."
Chapter completed!