Álvarez and Captain Leo soon arrived in the Executive Council administration building, where the East Coaster's Foreign Minister, Gaumore, invited them to formally negotiate the purchase of the ship.

They were accompanied by a Spanish naval officer, apparently acting as a technical adviser, and the head of the negotiations was Lieutenant Leo. For Lieutenant Leo, the East Coast people are also very familiar. Born in Spain, he married in Lima and currently lives in Buenos Aires, where he is the sheriff of the town of Colonia.

It seems that he has been appreciated by his superiors over the years, and he has climbed to the rank of captain. This time the purchase of ships with the East Coast Republic was directly ordered by the West Indies House of Spain to the Viceroy of Peru and General La Plata, who then handed over the matter to Captain Leo, who was well acquainted with the East Coast, and the Rodriguez family was responsible for liaising and inquiring about the news.

Since both sides are old acquaintances, Gao Mo naturally no longer goes around in circles. As he did with the Ottomans on that occasion, he asked his secretary to send a direct copy in Spanish of the information and prices of the various types of warships and weapons exported from the east coast for the Spaniards to see.

Each of the three Spaniards had a copy in their hands, and they discussed it in a low voice as they watched it carefully. Gao Mo didn't pay attention to them, and instead chatted softly with Captain Wang Tiehammer, who was pulled over to temporarily serve as a technical advisor.

"I heard that the War Department intends to realign the two fleets and move the home port of the Second Fleet to Fort River, South Africa? Do you have any ideas? Gaumo lit a pipe and asked the king as he smoked. His personal relationship with Wang Tiehammer is not bad, although they belong to the two camps of civilian officials and the military. But privately, the two have been in contact with each other.

"How can you not have an idea? But it's complicated. It's not that simple. Wang Tiezhu smiled faintly. said: "Recently, Lao Guo (Guo Zili) has risen very quickly, especially the successful exploration of African routes, which is a great plus for him. It is said that he once led a fleet to the coast of Mumbai, and he has a certain understanding of the hydrology and climatic conditions in the Indian Ocean, so he is the best choice for the next step if he wants to explore the route to South Asia. This kid, luck is really good, and now many people have a positive opinion of him. Some Emperor Han elements in the government and the army also advocated that he should command the Second Fleet and sail to the coast of Daming as soon as possible. ”

"Huh." Gao Mo also smiled. said: "Lao Wang, what is it?" His foundation can't be compared with you, he is still only a lieutenant, and his acting commander's exploration fleet has also been disbanded, what does Lao Guo compare with you? You've commanded an escort detachment and fought a naval battle with the British, that's the qualification! At present, we are in the country, and those who have experience in fleet combat command are you, except for Lao Lu (Lu Ming). So, you still have a great advantage, usually go to Minister Wang's activities more, and contact more feelings, the position of commander of the Second Fleet is still yours. Can't run away! ”

Wang Tiezhu smiled and didn't speak, and after a while, he sighed again. said: "Even if the Second Fleet is established, it is estimated that there will only be two or three ships, and the strength is very limited, which is far worse than the First Fleet." Lao Guo and I are fighting here, and Lao Lu over there has long been a position as the commander of the First Fleet, and no one is fighting with him, and there is no way to fight. This is a cow, in comparison, Lao Guo and I are inferior. ”

"Lao Lu is indeed a cow." Gao Mo also said approvingly, "At the beginning, I was inconspicuous, and I concentrated on building a navigation school and a shipyard, and then I came to today's status step by step." Looking back now, people are really smart, and they understand it in their hearts. Look at his 36th birthday at the end of last month, didn't Lao Guo's adjutant and your navigator all go to the banquet, and how many officers and non-commissioned officers on various ships of the Navy went to the banquet, and that scene was called a spectacular. Who let the family be the principal of the nautical school for so many years, and the peach and plum are all over the world? Now, I'm afraid that even Minister Wang has to discuss some things with him, tsk, people live to this point to be called wonderful. Lao Wang, you and Lao Guo are really a little less interesting than others. ”

After the two of them chatted for a long time, a few Spaniards over there finally finished chatting, and then began to formally put forward their requirements and ideas to Gaumo.

"What? 32-pounder naval guns? Gao Mo shook his head and said with a regretful expression: "Whether it is a 32-pounder naval gun or a 24-pounder naval gun, it is not on our sales list. Even the less powerful 18-pounder guns will have to be sold in limited quantities, so don't think about these things anymore and follow the list we provide to choose what you need. ”

A few Spaniards were visibly disappointed when they heard this, but they also knew that 32-pound and 24-pound naval guns were hard to come by, and they were just trying to mention them. Now, as expected, the people on the east coast refused, and they put forward their real goals: "We are going to order two frigates, two high-speed cruisers, twenty spare naval guns, 24 spare canvases, some rigging cables, and some army equipment." The specific figures are written here, so please take a look. ”

Gao Mo took the list handed over by the Spaniards, and when he looked closely, he saw that it read: "Falklands" class frigates two; two high-speed cruisers of the "Yangwu" class; six 18-pounder guns, eight 12-pounder guns, and six 8-pounder guns; 24 pieces of cotton canvas (a number of crosssails and spinnakers); four 4-pounder Army field guns, six 6-pounder field guns, six 8-pounder field guns, and four 12-pounder field guns; 4,000 flintlock rifles, 4,000 sabers, and 500 collars of armor. In addition, there were rigging, cables, barrels, ammunition packs, shovels, sapper shovels, binoculars, cloth, tar, grain, oil, stoves, honeycomb coal, and other miscellaneous things.

"That's a lot of money! The Spaniards had too long a front and too many places to fight. The poor local military production capacity cannot keep up with the war consumption, and it seems that it is going to be a tragedy. Wang Tiehammer glanced at the list handed by the Spaniard, and immediately smiled unkindly.

Gao Mo looked at it casually, then handed the list to the secretary on his left, who immediately took out a thick price list and calculated it carefully. After the calculation, the unit price and total price of each commodity were listed one by one, and then handed over to Gao Mo.

"The unit price of the 'Falklands' class frigate is 54,000 pesos each, the unit price of the 'Yangwu' class high-speed cruiser is 100,000 pesos each, and the four warships are 308,000 pesos each; 20 naval guns 6,000 pesos, 20 army field guns 1,700 pesos, sabers, rifles and armor totaling 57,500 pesos, plus other miscellaneous goods, the total price of the entire military purchase is about 390,000 pesos. Count your whole number, a total of 390,000 pesos (about 325,000 yuan). The delivery time of the warship is ...... Well, is a year acceptable? Well, whether you accept it or not, our slipway is very tight, anyway, try to make it as fast as possible for you. In addition, as the first transaction between the two parties, I will give you a discount, 50 rounds of ammunition and 5 barrels of gunpowder for each cannon. So, if you have any objections, please raise them as soon as possible. Gao Mo looked at the list handed over by the secretary, thought for a moment and then said.

This is another big order, and the profit margin is also very high, if it is done, it will be no problem to make a net profit of 1670000 yuan.

"The price ......," said Captain Leo with a grimace.

"This price is already the lowest price, and it is not negotiable!" Gaumo directly interrupted Captain Leo's words.

"What about payment and delivery methods?" As if anticipating that the East Coasters would not budge on price, Lieutenant Leo immediately raised the next question.

"Pay half of the money upfront and we'll start building." "After the construction is completed, we will pay another payment for the goods within a month, and then we will start handing over the battleship." When the time comes, you send sailors to the port of the East, and then the ship will be sailed away, it's as simple as that. ”

"One year lead time is a bit long. If we make the down payment right away, can you start building for us right away? ”

"Of course." Gaumo immediately laughed, "Our business is not limited to the Kingdom of Spain. Of course, whoever pays the deposit first will take the lead, which is the principle. ”

Leo nodded, and then said to Alvarez, who had been standing quietly, "Alvarez, about the deposit......

"There is no problem with the deposit." "Your Excellency the Governor's envoy has allowed us to withhold the money for the next three years as a down payment for the purchase of the ship," said Alvarez. As for the balance of the other half, it will be paid by the Viceroyalty of New Spain, everything is fine, you don't have to worry. ”

"So......" Captain Leo turned to look at Golmore.

"No problem. We are old friends, the down payment can be sent a few days later, and we will start construction for you today. Gao Mo continued to say with a smile on his face, "As for army equipment, we still have some stocks in our arsenal at the moment, and we will work overtime to ensure that we provide you with enough army equipment within two months." ”

Gao Mo is also certain in saying this. At present, there are 10 hydraulic boring machines and 15 steam boring machines in the firearms manufacturing workshop of the Dayuhe Arsenal, with more than 100 technicians, skilled craftsmen and apprentices, and a monthly output of nearly 1,000 flintlock rifles. In the same situation as them, there is also a cannon casting workshop, which is even more powerful, with three or four hundred technical personnel and a monthly output of more than 20 artillery pieces.

The only trouble is probably the two shipyards. There are only four slipways in total, but now we have received orders for ten warships, and it is imperative to expand the scale of the slipway and shipyard. (To be continued......)