Chapter Fifty-Eight: Agreeing to Sell Russian Arms The Tsar personally inspected the looting

Count Petrov personally tested it and knew that this musket could greatly increase the combat effectiveness of the Russian army, but when he heard the price of more than five thousand taels of silver, he was too frightened to think about it. But when I heard Jiang Ji say that there were other ways, how could I not be eager to know.

Jiang Jian smiled and asked: "Count Petrov, if you don't use a new gun, you can use this half-new robbery in your hand, isn't it okay!" ”

"Huh?" Count Petrov was stunned for a moment and immediately said: "Yes, yes! If it's cheaper, it's fine! ”

"If that's the case, I think that if I talk to the family, not only can I lower the price, but it will also be easy to persuade the family to agree to sell your weapons." Jiang Ji said.

"Yes, yes! I totally understand what the Shogun said. Hehe! It seems that between our good friends, it is easy to discuss things together! Count Petrov nodded, and put on a close-rope approach.

"But, Count Petrov, I still don't know if the family will agree to sell weapons to you. Because this is not a trivial matter, which greatly increases the combat effectiveness of your Russian army, and at the same time we offend the mighty Ottoman Empire. This matter will definitely be carefully considered in the family. ”

"No, no! General, you're too worried. As long as we defeat the Ottomans in Ukraine, we will be able to control the Black Sea coast. After the border between our two countries is drawn, you can also go to the Caspian Sea. Our two countries fought side by side, not to mention the Ottoman Empire. ”

"For me, I'm willing to fight alongside you. But after all, I am still a front-line general, and I must get the approval of my family to do such a thing. ”

"In this way, the general will not waste time, and immediately send someone to report this matter to your family as soon as possible. Let's just say that our Tsarist Majesty pays tribute to His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. I sincerely hope to be friendly with you. And please ship the weapons as soon as possible! "Count Petrov is in a hurry.

Jiang Jian couldn't let him know that there was a telegram to contact his family, "I will immediately send someone to Hami as soon as possible, and from there I can use carrier pigeons to deliver letters to my family." It's a little faster. Jiang Jian thought for a moment and then said: "Count Petrov, you still have to work hard, I will quietly get you a musket and dozens of bullets." You should rush back to Moscow at once, and let His Majesty the Tsar test this firearm, and see how much money he can accept such a weapon, if he can't accept it, there is no point in us making such a great effort. ”

"Good! I'll go back immediately, and you must hurry up on your side, because our Ukrainian side may fight at any time. If you can agree to sell us weapons, we can drag the war back a bit. Count Petrov said excitedly.

Jiang reported the situation to his home by telegram, and his opinion was to sell muskets to the Russians and weaken the power of the Ottoman Empire by supporting Russia. At the same time, we control the number of bullets of the Russians so that they do not have muskets that pose a great threat to us. Besides, this musket is not of the same grade as the weapons we use, and there is no big problem. We can also make a decent profit by selling these obsolete weapons. This step is very beneficial to our development along the Ural Mountains and the Ural River. Because we have drawn the border with Russia to the Caspian Sea, we can justifiably send our troops there.

The command center received a telegram from Jiang Pin, and Zhang Zhimu couldn't leave, so he stayed and seriously discussed Jiang Pin's suggestion. Several members of the kiln gang at home also participated in the discussion. At the same time, Ouyang He also sent Jiang Jian's suggestion to Ningde's side to ask for General Ningde's suggestion.

Everyone fully discussed the pros and cons of this matter, and finally Ouyang He put forward a suggestion, "I think, we can sell these muskets to the Russians, Jiang Jian's opinion is very good, on the European side, the Ottoman Empire is still the strongest, we develop westward, sooner or later we will meet them, it is better for us to support the Russians and use them to weaken the power of the Ottoman Empire." However, we can't do this in the name of Yaogang and the Ming Dynasty, in the name of General Jiang Zhu. We cooperated, and said that we did not want to offend the Ottoman Empire and did not agree to sell weapons, but General Jiang Fei sold weapons to them privately. But the border was about to be drawn, and both sides had to send people to work together, and where there were no rivers, stone and cement pillars were to be made. Our border guards are also about to be in place. ”

Ouyang He's suggestion was recognized by everyone, and Yan Boju squeezed his eyes and said, "If the Ottoman Empire is defeated, they will soon know that it is we who support the Russians, no matter whose name we sell weapons." I think if the Ottomans come to us, we can sell them weapons. We have so many old muskets left, which can be exchanged for a lot of silver, and how good we can use it for construction. ”

Chen Yufeng smiled and squeezed Yan Boju and said, "Yo! The old thing is very good at settling accounts! ”

"Hey, hey!" Yan Boju was not annoyed, and said with a smile, "The muskets we have changed into are all good guys. Let's just say how much Wu Sangui and they can replace this time. These things can't be sold casually in our Ming Dynasty. But if you sell it, as long as you don't pose any threat to us, you help others and you come back with money, what a good deal? ”

Zhang Zhimu knows very well that the situation of a country or region can be completely controlled through the sale of weapons, "What Yan Bo said is also right, we can not only obtain economic benefits through the sale of weapons, but also control the situation of a country and a region through the export of weapons, and this is also a means that we will use in the future." ”

Ouyang He nodded and said, "As soon as Mr. Zhang said this, things became clearer. Selling weapons will also be a good foreign weapon in the future. Both the Ottoman Empire and Russia will depend on us in the future, and we can control these two old enemies with weapons. In that case, it will be more convenient for us to go west. ”

"Hmmm! We're playing more and more now, and it's getting more and more fun! Chen Yufeng said.

"Externally, the means that can be used in the future, the military is only a cornerstone, a last resort. In addition, we can also use economic maneuvers, political means, through the arms trade, and even the free export of weapons to achieve our goals. Zhang Zhimu said, "This is the manifestation of our comprehensive strength as a big country." ”

"What Mr. Zhang said is so good!" Ouyang He said, "In the future, we must sum up all these means, and our senior cadres and generals must master them!" ”

"I think we can sell them two thousand taels of silver for a second-hand musket. Each musket was counted as two hundred rounds of ammunition, and the bullets were two rounds of silver and one tael. However, we can sell them another four hundred ** per musket so that they can reload themselves. Twenty taels of silver. Zhang Zhimu said while calculating.

"It's better for them to pay in gold," Chen said. However, it is also possible to pay for a portion of the grain. We still need to transport military rations over the Ural Mountains for a short time. ”

"This is a good way," Zhang Zhimu said, "the Ukrainian side is the granary, Russia occupies Ukraine, there will be no shortage of food!" ”

Yan Boju said: "These Russians don't know how much silver they have, how many muskets can they buy? ”

"If they buy a hundred, they can create a local advantage on the battlefield, and if they buy a thousand of these muskets, they can also create an overall advantage on the whole battlefield. If they could buy 10,000, they could sweep through the Ottoman Empire. Ouyang He said.

Yan Boju pinched his fingers and calculated, "One hundred is two hundred thousand taels of silver, and one thousand is two million taels." Don't think about 10,000 of them, they can't have that little money! ”

"Huh! The old thing is quite clear! Chen Yufeng said with a smile.

Jiang Ji received a call back from Yaogang, smiled, and said in his heart: "You are not as good as my old ginger in business!" "Jiang Zhen also has to add some price to Count Petrov.

After Jiang Ji had the musket wrapped, he asked Count Petrov to take it away. Count Petrov barely left this tightly wrapped musket along the way. Count Petrov was also very hard-working, and ran to Moscow almost day and night. When he arrived in Moscow at night, he knew that it was impossible to enter the Kremlin, and even if he barely entered, he would make a lot of noise. Count Petrov quietly returned home, took a hot bath, ate a meal of smoked fish and borscht made by the house's cook, and slept with the beautiful plump lady. The next day, he came to the Kremlin and asked for a secret meeting with the Tsar.

The Tsar did not expect Count Petrov to return so soon, and while the servant was talking in his ear about it, the Tsar was studying the affairs of Ukraine with several adults. However, when he heard that Count Petrov had returned, he hurriedly said: "Everyone, the matter of Ukraine is a threat to us and an opportunity, you should study it first." I still have something to go out for. ”

Several adults looked at each other one by one, not understanding what could make the tsar let go of such an important matter.

When the Tsar came to the secret room, when he saw that Count Petrov was really here, he immediately asked: "Count Petrov, how are things going?" I didn't expect you to come back so quickly. It's such a cold day, my count! ”

"Your Majesty, it's my honor to serve you!" Count Petrov hurriedly got up and said.

"Count, you're welcome! Sit down and talk! ”

"Your Majesty the Tsar!" Before Count Petrov sat down, he pushed the package with the musket from the table to the Tsar's side, "Your Majesty, you can see that this is the musket of the Ming army!" ”

"Oh!" When the tsar heard this, he stood up in surprise and immediately took matters into his own hands and opened the package. A finely crafted musket was revealed in the face of the Tsar. The Tsar picked up the heavy musket and asked, "This is the musket that the Ming army used to kill our countless soldiers?" ”

"No, no, it's not, it's what they can sell us muskets. The muskets, which their own army was armed with, were much better than such guns. But that's what they won't sell to us. Said Count Petrov.

"What? Did you take back a kind of robbery that the Ming army didn't want to use? "The tsar was clearly angry.

"Yes, Your Majesty! However, I would like to ask Your Majesty not to be angry! Count Petrov said, "I would like to ask Your Majesty to know about this musket first." With this musket, our soldiers can top up to the original ten soldiers! ”

It seemed that Count Petrov's words played a role, and the very annoyed Tsar reluctantly squeezed out a few words, "Count Petrov, then you should hurry up!" There are a few adults over there waiting for me to have a meeting! ”

Count Petrov knew that he had to attract the Tsar's idea as soon as possible, thinking of this, Count Petrov picked up the Tsar's place on the table, pushed the circlip, the musket bent over, Count Petrov quickly took out two bullets, stuffed them into the chamber of the musket, "Kaba" buckled, and then said to the Tsar: "Your Majesty, there are already two powerful bullets in this robe, you only need to pull this trigger twice, you can fire two shots in a row." And then you can quickly load two bullets like we did and keep shooting! ”

The Tsar was attracted by Count Petrov's introduction, in fact, the Tsar also knew that Count Petrov was in such a hurry to come back in the snow and would not bring back a single waste to him, but he heard that the Ming army was not far away and felt uncomfortable selling him the best firearms. Seeing Count Petrov introduce him like this, the tsar asked: "Count Petrov, how many bullets did you bring back?" ”

"I'll bring it back, twenty shotguns and twenty solid rounds!" Count Petrov saw that the tsar was already interested, and immediately took out a box with bullets.

"Hmmm! There are two more bullets for this gun? The Tsar asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty, one is a solid bullet, and the other is a shotgun that shoots a lot of iron sand! They are all very useful, and they are all very powerful! ”

"That's it! Count Petrov, let's go to the back garden and try the musket you brought back! The tsar said.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will definitely not disappoint you!" Count Petrov said.

Coming to the back garden road, Count Petrov said to the Tsar: "In order to test the power of this musket, I went hunting with their generals. The effect of this gun is truly amazing. ”

"Hmmm! My Earl, you are still very elegant, and I hope you will not disappoint me! The tsar said.

Coming to the back garden, Count Petrov had a few logs for the garden to be built carried up and leaned against the wall. Then Count Petrov said to the Tsar: "Your Majesty be careful, loud!" ”

"You're not afraid of putting a gun, am I still scared next to me?" The Tsar said, "Just try to show me!" ”

Count Petrov knew that there was no need to talk nonsense, and took the musket and fired two shots at the log "Bumper", the tsar really did not expect the gunfire to be so loud, and he covered his ears in shock.

Count Petrov ignored this, and in order to demonstrate the effect of rapid reloading, he quickly loaded two shotguns, and soon "bumpered" two more shots, shooting the shotguns at those logs. After the shooting, Count Petrov said proudly: "Your Majesty, please test the effect of the shooting!" ”

The Tsar ignored the buzzing of his ears and went over to check the effect of the shot. I saw two solid lead bullets deeply embedded in the log, and the surface of the log was also spotted with gun sand, and the gun sand was also embedded in the wood. Needless to say, at this point. The Tsar understood the power of the musket very well. Turning around, he asked Count Petrov: "Have they already agreed to sell us this musket?" ”

"Not yet, Your Majesty!" Count Petrov said.

When the Tsar heard this, his nose was crooked, and he shouted: "Count Petrov, are you joking with me?" ”

"No, no, your majesty, don't get me wrong!" Count Petrov explained, "This arms trade is not something that a single general on the front line of the Ming army can decide. But he had promised to ask their court to sell us muskets. I hurried back, first, to let His Majesty know about this gun and see if it was suitable for us. And this gun is very expensive! I don't know...."

Count Petrov did not continue, and the tsar said: "This kind of robbery is not something that ordinary people can make, and we Russians can't make such a thing according to it." Besides, I don't know if we have such good steel. It's natural to be expensive. Tell me how much silver you need, right? ”

"This kind of gun costs five thousand taels of silver!" Count Petrov looked at the tsar and said.

"Value!" The Tsar looked at the musket expressionlessly and said, "However, our army cannot afford to use it!" ”

"I also know Your Majesty! Their general took your sword, and he gave me a suggestion. If you want us not to buy expensive new guns, just buy the second ** that is not used by their army and has already been used. Their general said that the robberies used by their army are all selected from the production line, and although they have been used, they are quite well maintained in the army. It doesn't affect the use at all. Said Count Petrov.

"Hmmm! It's a great idea! The tsar said, "We are going to war with the Ottoman Empire, and with such a robbery, we have a better chance of winning!" What is the price of the two of them? ”

"These must be agreed by their court to come down, and they can only know after notifying them together!" Count Petrov.

"Yes! We just have to wait! The tsar said helplessly, "There is no way if people don't sell it to us." ”

"Yes! They feared that doing so would affect their relations with the Ottoman Empire. Said Count Petrov.

The Tsar clapped his hands and said, "Yes! Count Petrov, no matter how much money was spent, was going to facilitate this arms business. We just want the Ottoman Empire to know that we are one with the Ming army. Don't let the Ming army unite with the Ottoman Empire! ”

"Oops! Your Majesty is truly wise! Count Petrov said, "I must take advantage of the opportunity to make contact with the Ming army, and make good relations with us, and it is best to form an alliance with them!" How many are we going to buy? ”

"Count Petrov, we can't hide this from you. This is a very important thing that costs a lot of silver. You will come with me to tell you about this musket. But don't mention the border. Got it? ”

"Your Majesty, rest assured! I know how to do it! Said Count Petrov.

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New progress in "Memories of the Southern Song Dynasty": the Battle of Yashan, the defeat of the Yuan army, the counterattack of the Song army, and the landing in Fuzhou.