"Boom!"

A cannonball flew out of the barrel of the cannon, towards the distant target - a humanoid tied with straw, as the cannonball landed, those straw men were hit by the cannonball, the flying straw played the role of human bones and flesh, when falling from mid-air, it had been ignited by the scorching heat brought by the cannonball, and smoke and fire kept rising around the test site.

"This is our six-pounder gun, and it works well in mountain combat! The effective firing range is 400 steps. ”

Sitting on a gilded throne covered with two Bengal tiger skins, His Majesty the Sultan nodded with satisfaction with his beautiful beard twisted in his hands, and he had already seen the scene of the artillery hitting the target in the clairvoyant mirror.

"My national teacher told me that after Thaipusam, a new source of strength will appear, and I didn't expect that those damn Tamil festivals would bring me good luck!"

His Majesty the Sultan of Shahi proudly held the gem-encrusted scimitar hilt with his right hand, and continued to observe the demonstration that Lin Wenbing had made for him.

Thaipusam is a festival of the Tamil people who believe in Hinduism, and according to the Tamil calendar, the full moon day in October (i.e. between January and February of the solar calendar) is the birthday of the great god Shiva and the young son of the goddess of the snow-capped mountains, the god of war and the god of strength. According to Hinduism, on this day, he received a spear given to him by his mother, the goddess of the snow-capped mountains, and has been invincible ever since. The Hindu devotees call his birthday Thaipusam.

As the Shahis, who have Kipchak and Turkic blood, naturally do not go to such festivals. However, on days like these, it is always a good thing to gain strength. Especially in the case of the Mughal Empire's continuous use of troops in the Deccan region, it was always a good thing that there were Celestial merchants who traveled thousands of miles across the sea to deliver weapons.

When Lin Wenbing demonstrated to him the power of the eight-pounder cannon and the six-pounder cannon he brought, His Majesty the Sultan was extremely satisfied, and he motioned to the warrior beside him, took his saber, and prepared to give it to Lin Wenbing as a reward. In recognition of his meritorious service in transporting weapons from thousands of miles away.

Unexpectedly. His Majesty the Sultan's good intentions were reversed by the interpretation of a two-pole warrior and a two-sword sword! It's almost a catastrophe!

The warrior held the scimitar decorated with gold and precious stones in his hand and glared at Lin Wenbing, and the hearts of all the merchants in Nanzhong instinctively sank downward, not knowing what this warrior was going to do.

The warrior pulled his sword out of its sheath a little. Immediately in the sunlight. The blade is sparkling.

"What is he talking about?"

Lin Wenbing asked in a low voice. While asking. While staring at the bearded samurai without blinking, he was by no means a good kind of samurai at first glance.

The general didn't understand the samurai's accent very well, but he heard a few words vaguely. "I, you, the sword, His Majesty the Sultan, reward."

"This warrior has been ordered by His Majesty the Sultan to compare the quality of the sword with us!"

"Go! Let him see if our cutter is sharper than his scimitar! ”

Lin Wenbing looked up at the Shahi Sultan who was standing on the throne, and gestured with his eyes, what did the scimitar in the warrior's hand mean, the Sultan smiled, just nodded, and the golden peacock feather that was high in the middle of the head moved up and down a few times.

"Go, take the Jedi knife made of iron and steel that the lord rewarded me with and cut it down against that guy!"

Lin Wenbing took out two short firecrackers from his package, which belonged to the gifts specially used to sell to dignitaries everywhere, and were inlaid with patterns made of gold and silver wire.

After thinking about it, he took out from the cage a set of armor made of iron steel, that is, high manganese steel, which was also decorated with gold and silver filigree, and although it was not as exaggerated as the Sultan's scimitar, it shone in the sunlight.

"Sue sù Sultan Xià, these two treasures are the treasures of my Nanzhong, and they are the right bets for the gambling game. Regardless of whether they won or lost, after the two sides exchanged swords, the armor and fire were given to His Majesty the Sultan. ”

After listening to the stammering interpreter. The samurai jumped into the field, waved the scimitar in his hand and chopped it at the sailor who was holding a sword in his hand to list a portal, and the sailor was unequivocal, and swung upwards violently, and the two knives met in the air, and there was a crisp sound of gold and iron striking in everyone's ears.

Shahi Sultan was confident when he saw his warriors slashing at the soldiers of the Nanzhong caravan with their swords, and his full moon scimitar was made of so-called Indian iron from another Hyderabad in the northwest corner of India, and the local smelters sealed black manganese, bamboo charcoal, and certain plant leaves in an earthenware furnace and burned them, and when these things melted, the dregs formed a mass of metal, which was then repeatedly melted and cooled four or five times, and finally smelted into a diameter of 5 inches. A block of metal 0.5 inches thick and weighing about 2 pounds, such iron was sold by merchants to Syria and other places to make weapons, and was given a famous name by the Crusader Westerners, Damascus steel, like Arabic numerals, a product of Indians, but was given the name of the Arabs.

However, Damascus steel, which has been famous for hundreds of years, is actually the product of smelting ultra-high carbon steel (containing 1.5~2% carbon) or carburizing high-carbon steel and low-carbon steel with crucibles, how to compete with pure high-manganese steel?

Moreover, the size and weight of the Jedi knife are far stronger than the scimitar, I can't cut you, can I still smash you?!

When the boom sounded. A knife fell to the ground, but it was the result of the Sultan's treasure sword being smashed by the Jedi Knife. The warrior looked at the half-cut blade in his hand, and couldn't help but be shocked and angry, and shouted loudly in the language of the tribe in his mouth, and the soldiers of the Sultan next to him pulled out their waist knives one after another, and some musketeers were even holding their muskets flat, ready to wait for the Sultan's call to fire and kill this group of Chinese merchants.

"Stop!"

The Sultan, who had been sitting firmly on the throne, put down the hookah in his hand, opened his eyes and walked down the throne step by step, walked up to the sailor, and stretched out his hand to see the sword in the sailor's hand.

The sailor turned his eyes and asked Lin Wenbing. Lin Wenbing motioned for him to hand over the knife to the Sultan. The sailor hurriedly turned his knife around, with its back facing the Sultan and its blade outward, and held it flat in the Sultan's hands.

The Sultan took the knife made of iron and steel, carefully looked at it in his hand, and then simply jumped into the field, danced a knife flower, and felt quite comfortable, his action caused a burst of cheers from everyone on both sides present.

"How much does this knife cost?"

"I just said it, win or lose. It's all our joke. As long as the majesty xià can see it, all the amount will be given to the majesty. ”

The Sultan was very fond of the Jehoku knife in his hand, although it was not ornamental, it was just a wooden scabbard. Generally decorated with brass handles. But it looks majestic. Compare it to the previous one. The scimitar is a little too fancy.

"Good! Guests from the East, say it! What goods have you brought, are they all the same as this sword? ”

"I brought four eight-pounder cannons this time. Eight six-pounder guns, twenty large and twenty large and small franc machines. There were also 1,000 such high-quality helmets, 3,000 knives, and 10,000 spear heads made of fine wrought iron. Five thousand pairs of armor. ”

"In addition, there were 2,000 arquebuses, each of which gave twenty rounds of medicine. Five thousand barrels of gunpowder. ”

"I don't know if your army is interested in such goods, Sultan?"

At this time, the Shahi Dynasty was in frequent battles, and it was not known how many weapons, knives, guns, armor, gunpowder and other items would be consumed every year, but the output of the Tellugu region could not meet such a large consumption.

"The most distinguished guest! Please sue me! How much do you cost for these shipments? Or, what do I need to exchange with you? The Sultan took Lin Wenbing's hand, pulled him all the way to the throne, patted the soft Bengal tiger skin mattress, and motioned for Lin Wenbing to sit down and talk.

Lin Wenbing couldn't stop scolding in his heart, isn't this just the same as tea, making tea, and making good tea? In the blink of an eye, he has changed from a guest to the most distinguished guest!

"How many of these knives have you brought?" The Sultan slashed straight in, twisting the blade of the Jeno Knife with his fingers, and his eyes sparkled with anticipation.

Lin Wenbing silently calculated in his heart, in the entire caravan, he could make up to forty knives made of iron and steel, and the rest of the bulk goods were made of nine-turn steel.

Hearing that there were only forty such swords, the Sultan was a little disappointed, but he quickly returned to normal, after all, good things are always scarce! If there are as many as ants, then the horses are worthless.

"But we have a thousand helmets made of the finest steel, and the protection is excellent."

"My most honorable friend, tell me how much treasure do I need to give to gain your friendship?"

Lin Wenbing flattened his mouth, thought for a while, and pointed to the warrior who was standing dejectedly, "How much did the treasure knife he used just cost?" Not counting the above decorative items, only the price of the knife. ”

The sheath and sheath of the scabbard of the Tava scimitar are carved with precious metals such as gold and silver, and the handle and scabbard are inlaid with many red coral, turquoise, red sapphire and other treasures, and the knife body is also engraved with Quranic proverbs with the wrong gold and silver craftsmanship, although Lin Wenbing has no experience in appreciating weapons, but it can be known from the decoration alone that the cost of the knife itself is also expensive.

The Sultan groaned, and to be honest, he didn't know exactly how much the knife had costed. It was a waiter beside him who muttered a few words in a low voice in his ear.

"When I bought this knife from a knife maker in Hyderabad, it cost me a thousand gold coins! My most honorable friend, I don't know if you can buy a sword in your hand at such a price? Blinking his slightly yellow eyes, the Sultan asked Lin Wenbing.

His actions puzzled the samurai next to him, what did Fei do with so many words? If you like these treasures, find a reason to kill these merchants, and all the goods will go into the Sultan's treasury, and we will get a piece of the money. It's not like this kind of thing has not been done before, why are you so hesitant today?

This is the benefit of Lin Wenbing's demonstration of artillery to the Sultan at the beginning! The Sultan used the good sound transmission system in his castle to give Lin Wenbing a dismount, and Lin Wenbing showed off his strength by showing off the power of the artillery. In this way, the Sultan has to think about it. Once you plan to use tough and despicable means to detain the caravan and kill people and sell goods, will you succeed, what will be the price to pay, and after you really use bandit methods to obtain these weapons, will there be any more merchants to sell them in the future?

If they kill people and sell goods, some of these merchants will flee and sell weapons to the Mughals in retaliation. Then the Shahi family can't bear it!

A thousand gold coins! Buy a Jeopardan knife made of iron and steel?! Lin Wenbing thinks there is a problem with his ears? Or is this sultan in front of him confused by the sun? Started talking nonsense?

"陛xià. This steel knife was ordered by His Majesty, and we sold you forty of them for the price of one thousand gold coins. Don't you take a look at the weapons we've made from other materials? Lin Wenbing's voice was full of seduction.

I saw the swords that were slightly worse than the ones that cut off his Tava scimitar, the spearheads of spears made of the same material, and the black and thick arquebuses and armor. Shahi Sultan felt. Your choice is the right one. Once the choice is made to use force. It's definitely more than worth the cost.

"My treasure trove is open for you." Shahi Sultan's face was full of sincerity, "As long as you are willing to leave these weapons of yours to equip my sturdy warriors!" ”

"So, let's start talking about the price of the goods and how to pay for them, shall we?!"

A funeral gun head made of nine-turn steel. Sold for ten gold coins; A barrel of gunpowder costs one gold coin; A sword made of nine-turn steel, priced for ten gold coins. A helmet made of iron and steel was charged to fifty gold coins, the reason is very simple, we all know that this helmet is the same steel as the sword that cut off the Sultantawa scimitar, and the helmet made of such a material can still be worse in terms of protection ability? It is also very cost-effective to buy an extra one and go back to find a clever knife maker and ask him to make a good knife for himself!

An arquebus sells for a hundred gold coins, and the reason is simple. "If you explode before the twenty rounds are fired, we will pay you ten times the damage!"

Before the price of artillery and armor could be opened by Lin Wenbing and the others, His Majesty Sultan Shahi had already furrowed his long eyebrows, and he held the four-foot-long Jedi knife pinned to his waist and walked in front of Lin Wenbing, "My friend, please don't interrupt me before I quote your price, in order to show my sincerity and respect for you, I have decided to use these to pay for your artillery and armor." ”

Behind him, ten palace maids walked out with a gold plate in their hands, which was covered with an unknown kind of textile and raised high.

"Look!"

A chamberlain lifted the covering covering over the gold plate, and when he arrived, a plate of multicolored gems appeared in front of everyone, and the light of the gems shone in the bright sunlight.

"These gems, in exchange for these goods of yours!"

His Majesty the Sultan seemed too lazy to bargain with the merchants here, and he ordered ten plates of precious stones to be removed from the treasury, which, in his experience, should be enough to pay for these weapons and equipment.

It took Lin Wenbing a lot of effort to divert his attention from the gold plates held by the ten slender palace maids, he walked up to the Sultan and gently pressed the two hands of the Sultan Xià to indicate the ten plates, "Your Majesty, although your treasury is full of such gems and gold coins, there are more places where you and your enemies need to use them in the war, and we can consider using something else to pay for the other half of the price." ”

Hearing that the interpreter said that other items could be used to offset the payment for these weapons, from Sultan Shahi to the samurai present, all of them were frowning, and none of them wanted their treasure troves to be emptied by others, right?

The Sultan himself grabbed Lin Wenbing's hand, "My friend, you are simply the messenger sent to me by Allah!" Go ahead! What are you going to want? Pepper? Pepper? Cinnamon? Jute? Gold? Steed? Or is it something else? ”

"We have heard that cotton is abundant under your rule, and the city of Hyderabad is a cotton distribution center in the inland area, and we make two demands to you: first, all the cotton produced here will be sold to us in the future, and we can pay for it with such weapons and equipment; Second, please and your nobles at all levels urge the farmers to plant the cotton seeds we provide! ”

His Majesty Shahi Sultan was stunned for a moment by Lin Wenbing's request, he originally thought that these merchants from afar would offer to use those precious spices to offset the payment, but he didn't expect them to ask for cotton grown by those lowly and inferior people to pay for the goods!

Such a request made him instinctively feel that there must be a conspiracy in this.

"If His Majesty the Sultan can allow it, then we can make a request to my proprietor, and the weapons and armor we bring in the future will no longer be made of this kind of steel," Lin Wenbing pointed to the spearhead and long knife made of nine-turn steel, "I will ask my proprietor to use this kind of steel as the main material for the weapons that will be gradually exported to you in the future." He tapped the scabbard of the Sultan's sword.

The general secretary is also very immoral, he loudly translated every word Lin Wenbing said, and ensured that everyone present could hear it.

The warriors present all cast their eyes on the Sultan with anticipation, expecting him to respond quickly.

Such a sword, such a spear, such armor, such artillery and gunpowder, it is said that the Mughal attack on the Deccan region will be repulsed, that is, it is not impossible for us to launch a counteroffensive in the Delhi area, or even drive them back to Afghanistan and drive the Marathas into the sea across the plateau!

"The matter is very high, and I will consult with my ministers, and ask my friend to stay in Hyderabad for a few days, and I will inform you when we have a result."

"It's good! Please send someone to inspect these items in the warehouse, and we will first hand over the goods of artillery and gunpowder to Your Majesty, and then hand over the other part after His Majesty has finished negotiating with the ministers. ”

Lin Wen Bing ordered the people to pick up the five plates of gems, and tried to control the almost crazy joy in his heart, Shi Shiran walked out of Golconda Castle.

"Lin Xianggong, do you think this sultan can accept our offer?" Lin Shi, who accompanied him, grinned and smirked on his horse, and asked Lin Wenbing if he asked the Sultan to hand over all the cotton to the Han Yuan firm for exclusive purchase, and at the same time promote the cotton seeds provided by the Han Yuan firm in the jurisdiction, is this a bit excessive? (To be continued......)

PS: Seeing that everyone's monthly pass sent me to a place alongside many familiar names, I immediately felt a little scared. However, for the sake of my own little vanity, I continue to ask for a monthly pass and a subscription.