Ningyuan's red cannons were originally naval cannons, and after being removed from the ship, they were used as fortress cannons. These cannons were of average quality and were very old, and they were even worse than the red cannons imitated by Kong Youde. An Lesi knew that Deng Ming had no interest at all, but it was good to sell them to these rich men as treasures for housekeeping. When they were transported, An Lesi carefully dressed up these cannons and showed them beautifully to the gentry leaders.

After a bargaining, ten red cannons were sold by Anlesi for more than 40,000 taels of silver.

When the two British guys were popular, the two guys were very excited and kept muttering: "Can this kind of old cannon sell so much money? Boss An, let's cooperate in the future. Let's go find the Dutch to get the cannons, and you'll be responsible for selling them."

"It's OK, but I just want that huge naval gun, small and light cannon." An Lesi heard from Deng Ming that all naval guns were not suitable for dismantling them for the army as field guns, and Deng Ming hoped to produce field guns by himself, so that the military could also put forward various technical requirements to arms dealers as needed. In the future, even if An Lesi could produce lighter and lighter guns with higher fire rates, it is estimated that these old money would not be attracted to them. Even if they could, the Imperial Parliament would not agree to sell advanced cannons to them. At least, An Lesi, as an Imperial Parliament, had no such plan.

The shopkeeper who stayed in Huzhou told An Lesi that his shop in Sichuan was producing flintlock rifles at full speed. The news sent last time said that by April, the monthly production of flintlock rifles in Chengdu would be estimated to reach about 120. After seeing that even the rifles in Zhejiang were booked for two months, An Lesi's partners were expected to continue to lend to banks to further expand production. Now loans are very easy for An Lesi's arms dealers. Several bankers selling bonds in the southeast have noticed the hot sales of rifles. Yu Youming, Feng Ziming and others have written to An Lesi's shopkeeper and offered to invest in their arms dealers.

"I'm lucky again this year, and it's true that good people will be rewarded." An Lesi felt that the future was bright. Being able to make money this time was inseparable from his active response to Deng Ming's call. If he hadn't paid for the research of the weapons Deng Ming needed out of his own pocket, this kind of good thing would not be his turn: "After returning to the capital, we will immediately start studying light artillery."

...

At this time, An Lesi didn't know that Hangzhou was repeatedly mentioning his name. After Zhang Tao, the consul appointed by Deng Ming, was called to the Governor's Office, he shook his head when he heard that the government wanted to buy a rifle: "I can't agree to Governor Zhao, let alone I can't agree to it, even if Duke Bao said it, it won't be enough."

"Didn't Baoguo Duke say neutrality? Why did he refuse to sell Zhuang Yuncheng rifles to us? Can this be called neutrality?" Song Kui became anxious when he heard this.

Now the northern part of Zhejiang is in chaos, and the eastern part is about to collapse. If all the gentry unite, their army will be more numerous than the green camps in a province. In the past, the green camp could defeat a large number of mobs with armor and organizations, but now the gentry has rifles, and the number of green camps is quite unbeatable, let alone at a disadvantage. If this continues, how can we persuade Zhuang Yuncheng to stop clearing the monarch and return to the negotiating table?

"Our side strictly adheres to neutrality, does not send troops into Zhejiang, and does not intervene in the civil war between Governor Zhao and Mr. Zhuang. But weapons were not sold by Duke Baoguo, nor were they produced by Duke Baoguo. As far as I know, all rifles in Chengdu are now produced by a boss named An Lesi and several of his small shareholders. Even if Duke Baoguo wants a rifle, he needs to buy it from Boss An, and he has to pay." Zhang Tao said for a long time before Zhao Guozuo and his gang figured out the current weapons procurement mechanism in Chengdu: "The Empire Parliament can prohibit merchants from selling weapons to someone, but cannot force merchants to sell weapons to a buyer."

"Are we in the ban?" Zhou Peigong asked. After hearing about the power of the rifle, he was also a little moved and wanted to buy a batch for his Yangtze River Suppression Team.

"I don't know, I haven't received the instructions." Sichuan has never sold arms to foreign countries before, so the parliament has never considered citing this law, but Zhang Tao estimated that the Imperial Parliament may have been discussing this matter now.

"If Duke Baoguo did not prohibit Boss An from selling us rifles, would Boss An sell us rifles?" Duke Zhou Pei asked relentlessly.

"You have to ask Boss An this, I can't decide for him." Zhang Tao smiled friendly.

The power of the rifle was shocked by the power of the Zhejiang Governor's Yamen. After learning that Zhuang Yuncheng won consecutive victories, Zhang Tao found that he had seriously underestimated the power of this new weapon at first. Not long ago, Zhang Tao sent a letter to Deng Ming, strongly suggesting that Deng Ming replace the Sichuan Army with this new weapon as soon as possible, and strictly prohibit the rifle from flowing into the Qing court's yamen, even the Yangtze River Suppression of Deng Zongli Yamen, which was the most friendly to the Sichuan Army.

Although Zhang Tao did not say it clearly, Zhao Guozuo and others were not fools, so it was naturally obvious that the other party was insincere.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Tao took the initiative to visit them the next day. As soon as he entered the door, Consul Zhang said with a smile: "Last night, I received a letter from Duke Bao. Duke Bao gave me a clear instruction that he could sell rifles to you, which cost about 300 taels per unit."

"Three hundred taels per piece." Zhao Guozuo's face suddenly sank: "This is enough to buy cannons."

The red-clothed cannon imitated by the Sanfan and Han Eight Banners cost about 200 taels, while the cheaper tiger squat cannon may only cost dozens of taels.

"The output is limited. Besides, Mr. Zhuang and his team have already paid 200 taels of silver per piece, and have prepaid all the rifles within five months." Zhang Tao smiled and spread his hands: "If Governor Zhao did not send an envoy to travel now, he might not be able to buy 300 taels per piece in those months."

Deng Ming's instructions were that if the Hangzhou government was willing to buy rifles at an astonishing price, it could be sold to them, because it would be impossible to buy them as long as Hangzhou was willing to pay a high price. Some gentry might even help the government to purchase them on behalf of the government. If a rifle was sold to Hangzhou, it would lose the ability to support ten to twenty soldiers, this transaction was not impossible. After all, Zhao Guozuo and the gentry in the province would definitely not win by competing with financial resources. Moreover, Zhao Guozuo could not buy guns like gentry and just use them to defend the city. If he wanted to restore control of the prefectures and counties, he needed to take the initiative, so he would need to spend more money to train the troops, and Deng Ming would definitely not send instructors to the Hangzhou government.

"We have no money." Songkui felt that it would be reasonable to cut the price by 90%. Even if you spend 30 taels to buy a rifle, it would be very expensive. Now Zhejiang has to send canal transportation to Beijing, compensate Fujian, and train troops to suppress Zhuang Yuncheng. The Governor's Office may go bankrupt at any time.

"Yes, I have no money." Zhao Guozuo also started bargaining: "At most, fifty taels per piece, it should be cheaper if we buy more."

"The price of rifles is this. No matter how cheap it is, it cannot be less than 200 taels. If it is only 200 taels, why should Boss An sell it to you?" Zhang Tao changed the topic and talked about another thing that Deng Ming explained: "Since you can't afford to buy a rifle, then consider the bird gun. This kind of gun has a power similar to a rifle, but it is very cheap, only thirty taels per piece."

"Thirty taels and three hundred taels, this cannot be about the same power, right?" Zhao Guozuo said coldly.

"The difference is actually very limited. The range is at least 80% of the rifle, and the power can be more than 70%. Rifles are actually to deceive rich rich people. Those who really know goods would rather use bird guns." Although it is exaggerated, Zhang Tao was not completely slandered. However, he did not mention the difficulty of training, firing rate and loading difficulty: "Another arms dealer in Chengdu is very interested in this business. They promise to provide the Governor with ten thousand high-quality bird guns that do not explode every year."

The Chengdu business guaranteed Deng Ming that if the arms business continues to flourish, they will launch rifles priced below 3,000 yuan within half a year, and a new model that has been improved. Of course, this price is only valid for the Imperial Army and the Scholars. After hearing this, Deng Ming thought that he would replace the old-fashioned coercion in the hands of the Sichuan Army and Scholars with rifles in half a year. He would not do it if Deng Ming paid for the rifle. He would have to increase taxes if the Imperial Council paid out for the money, which was not in line with Deng Ming's idea. There are now thousands of various types of coercion in Sichuan - so Deng Ming planned to carry out an old-for-new operation. Every Sichuan Scholars could exchange their old coercion for a brand new flintlock, and Zhao Guozuo took over the old gun.

A batch of coercion guns should be confiscated in Myanmar. Deng Ming planned to sell these old guns to the Southeast Governor to earn some money to enrich the Sichuan Army's military warehouse and increase the inventory of rifles.

"Ten thousand bird guns are only 300,000 taels of silver, and I can't afford them." Zhao Guozuo knew that he would have to spend a lot of training costs. If the bird guns could be used without training, the Ming army would not have liked Sanyan so much.

"It doesn't matter if there is no money. Boss Yu of Chengdu Industrial Bank is on the way to Hangzhou. As long as Governor Zhao nodded, he is willing to help Governor Zhao pay the deposit. When the bird gun arrives, he can also lend money to Governor Zhao and let you have the money to buy all these muskets."

"What does Boss Yu want?" Zhao Guozuo asked vigilantly.

"Boss Yu wants to cooperate with Governor Zhao to do some business. The cost of the first batch of 1,000 bird guns is the capital of Boss Yu. From now on, Governor Zhao will give another batch of bird guns every month, even if it will give Governor Zhao a dividend."

"What business do?" Zhao Guozuo's vigilance remained unabated.

"Of course it's a coastal business."

"Don't you know that the sea is forbidden to move to the boundary?" Song Kui asked in surprise when he heard this.

"Of course we know, we also know that there are no taxes in these areas." Zhang Tao laughed: "Governor Zhao is begging for rice with a golden rice bowl. Boss Yu can pay for the land in the prohibited sea area, settle down, fishing, and sea trade, Boss Yu is responsible for making a fortune and taking risks, not Governor Zhao is a copper coin. No matter how the business is done, it is guaranteed that Governor Zhao has a bird gun, how about it?"
Chapter completed!