Liu Chang didn't seem to expect Count De Mons to drop four hundred silver yuan at once, and hesitated: "Count Deess ......"

Next to Ye Niangzi is a good student admires Liu Chang's means, she has been trading with Desmond for more than a year, and she has to bargain with Desmonds every time, and the final transaction price is still a lot higher than the price in the Shanghai concession.

But today the sun came out in the west, and although each rifle was about ten silver yuan higher than the retail price of the Shanghai Concession, De Mons sincerely wanted to make this big deal with Liu Chang.

She knows Liu Chang's details, and she only has so much strength in total, how can there be a large order of hundreds of thousands of silver yuan, and the old fox Demons is in his trap.

But then she almost jumped up, not only because of the price cut by Demons: "Your Excellency, in order to show my personal sincerity, I am willing to give fifteen barrels of red powder and five barrels of saltpeter in addition to fifty barrels of granular gunpowder. ”

For the fifteen buckets of red powder, Ge Mengjin bargained with De Mons for more than an hour, and finally failed to reach a price that was satisfactory to both parties, but Ye Niangzi was very greedy for these fifteen barrels of red powder.

Red powder is sulfur, and sulfur is indispensable for the manufacture of black powder, but in this era, it is relatively difficult to obtain large quantities of sulfur.

Even in peacetime, the circulation of sulfur as a military material was still strictly controlled, and now during war, sulfur is the first controlled material.

There were no sulfur mines in the area controlled by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, so from the rise of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to the fall of Tianjing, they were unable to obtain enough high-quality sulfur, and could only obtain a small amount of sulfur through smuggling.

In the coastal areas of Zhejiang and Fujian, sulfur is also difficult to obtain, for example, there is no sulfur mine in Zhejiang Province (the later Suichang sulfur mine was established nearly 100 years later in 1942), and in order to make black powder, Zhejiang Province Lvying Baqi must import about 3,600 catties of sulfur every year.

And now, in order to prevent the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom from using smuggling methods to obtain sulfur, the sulfur control along the coast has reached an extremely strict level, and in this case, the fleets of Ge Mengjin and Ye Niangzi also suffer from the shortage of black powder.

The black powder made by Westerners is indeed of superior quality, but the price is too expensive, and Ge Mengjin is only willing to use granular gunpowder when it is most critical, and usually uses homemade black powder.

There is no shortage of charcoal, and saltpeter can barely think of a way, but sulfur really can't think of a good way, Ye Niangzi is going to increase the price to grab these red powders on the boat this time, but I didn't expect De Mons to send it out directly.

She was really greedy, but she couldn't spoil Liu Chang's good deeds, so she couldn't help but feel angry.

These fifteen barrels of high-quality sulfur are enough to prepare three thousand catties of black powder, which is enough for Ge Mengjin's fleet to last two or three years.

As for the five barrels of saltpeter that come with it, it is also a high-grade product, although it can obtain a certain amount of nitrate through the people for reprocessing, but the quality is a lot worse after all, and the process is too cumbersome, these five barrels of saltpeter can also come in handy at all times.

Ye Niangzi even calculated, if you count these twenty barrels of gifts, the transaction price of Liu Chang and De Mons is cheaper than the 4.5 silver yuan per barrel that his couple worked hard to cut.

But she soon almost couldn't close her mouth, and the degree of De Mmons's price reduction today seemed to be too much: "Your Excellency Liu Checkpoint, I have brought a large number of sub-medicines, fire caps and spare parts this time, and I am willing to charge only one cost price." ”

The medicine can be solved by casting its own lead bullets, but the rifle has a big drawback, that is, it must have a fire cap to fire, and without a fire cap, the gun is equivalent to a fire stick.

If this time and space wants to make a qualified fire cap, it is equivalent to another time and space to create a fourth-generation aircraft, and a complete industrial system is needed, and De Mons brought 10,000 rounds of fire caps and all kinds of gun bullets, strips and other spare parts, and he offered a very low price: "As long as you add another four hundred taels, these things are yours!" ”

“ok！” Liu Chang was very satisfied: "OK! ”

He could see that Demons's price was not too profitable, after all, this was not Shanghai, but the forbidden arms trade at the mouth of the Oujiang River, and if he was caught by the Manchu customs and the Green Battalion, Demons would not only be discredited, but also completely bankrupt.

Desmond also felt that although the price reduction was close to madness, the whole transaction was still full of profits, and he sold Liu Chang two thousand four hundred silver yuan of arms, including the depreciation and labor costs of the sailing ship, and the total cost would not exceed one thousand two hundred silver yuan.

It was a very good deal, but he was more interested in larger orders: "Are you happy with my price?" You can't find a second arms agent that offers such a deal, I can arm your army with more high-quality arms, and even if your army has the size of three infantry brigades, I can raise enough arms in the first place! ”

Liu Chang expressed his satisfaction: "Although the price is slightly higher than that of the Shanghai Concession, I am satisfied with the price of arms you provide. ”

"So, Your Excellency Liu, can we talk about our follow-up order? In particular, the issue of deposits. ”

Liu Chang said for the first time: "First of all, I need a large number of rifles to arm my three infantry battalions, preferably Mini rifles, if you can't find Mini rifles, you can use a firing rifle instead, and the rifles of the auxiliary troops can use flintlock smoothbore guns, I hope to get this batch of rifles in the shortest possible time." ”

"Secondly, I need to arm my artillery battery with enough field artillery, please provide at least eight field guns, and I need a qualified artillery consultant, by the way, I need a thousand shells per gun, preferably with flowering shells."

"I need a lot of sapper equipment and medicine, and it would be better if I had a Western doctor."

"In addition, due to the decisive battle with the Qing army in Wenzhou Prefecture, I need a large amount of ammunition, at least three hundred barrels of granular gunpowder, and another 300,000 fire caps for my firing pistol."

Liu Chang spoke fluently, but Ye Niangzi had a feeling of wanting to expose him.

He only had the strength of two infantry companies, and the arms he consumed would not exceed 10,000 silver yuan, but this foreigner really believed it: "I only have such a boat, and I can't transport so many arms at one time." De Mons raised his own difficulties: "And with so many arms, I must have a certain amount of time to raise supplies. ”

Liu Chang told him: "Then you can ship it in batches, but time waits for no one, I believe that within a few months, there will definitely be a demon anti-smuggling ship in the Zhoushan Islands." ”

De Mons confirmed that he had found a unique way to make his fortune, and what he needed was a race against time: "I will meet your needs as soon as possible, I will fly the British flag while avoiding inshore sailing, and ...... Do you pay the deposit now? ”

His eyes were fixed on the ten gold ingots in Liu Chang's hand, which was five hundred pounds!

Liu Chang had already replied to him: "In view of the fact that although your price satisfies me, you cannot provide enough military supplies at one time, I will pay a deposit of six hundred silver yuan." ”

He brought three thousand silver dollars this time, and two thousand four hundred silver dollars were used to pay for the goods, leaving six hundred silver yuan: "But in view of the pleasant cooperation between us, I will pay an additional twenty taels of gold as a deposit." ”

De Mons blurted out, "Give two more!" ”

He was referring to these ten-tael gold ingots, and Liu Chang nodded: "Then let's make up five!" Fifty taels of gold. ”

Demons, who had received three thousand silver yuan and fifty taels of gold, was in a good mood: "Then let's officially start trading!" ”

He couldn't wait to rush back to Shanghai to organize a large supply of goods.

The heart has sailed.

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