Chapter Ninety-Two: The Turks Buy Arms and Their Return Journey is Blocked and Blocked

The Ottoman envoy followed the shopkeeper who accompanied him to leave Lu Chengxiang's office, and the shopkeeper complained: "Today's incident almost made you mess up!" You have also seen how we Lu always did this, how can you still mention that incident? ”

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned this!"

They went together to a teahouse, sat down in a corner far from the crowd, and the shopkeeper told the envoy: "I have inquired about this batch of muskets. ”

"Tell me, what's going on?"

"This batch of more than 15,000 branches was redressed from the Japanese army. Originally, part of it was sold to Nanyang Sulu and other countries to deal with the Franco. But I don't know which people have great powers and quietly bought most of them. Now we know that part was sold to the Russians. I heard that recently the Russians have eaten the sweetness of muskets and bought more than a thousand more, as well as a large number of bullets. Now there are more than 5,000 muskets in Hami, which are also presumably ready to be sold to the Russians. We must intercept these 5,000-odd muskets and get them in our hands. ”

The envoy anxiously asked, "How can we get this batch of snatches?" Even if those people promised to give us muskets, they would take the opportunity to blackmail us? ”

"No!" The shopkeeper said, "Our Mr. Lu came forward to talk about this, and no one dared not to give face." Mr. Lu spoke, and no one would dare to move in this batch of robberies. However, the people involved are too complicated, and we have to rush to Hami immediately to avoid any changes. ”

"What about the price of this gun?" The Ottoman envoys had not forgotten their duties as merchants.

"When we get to Hami, I'll buy it in the name we want, and I'll stick to the price with the Russians. I can't do it any lower! ”

"Good! It's great to be able to do that! Thank you for your help! This is done, and the Ottoman Empire will not forget you! ”

"Oops! Let's travel thousands of miles together, don't be so polite, in the Ottoman Empire, do we need your help if we are in trouble! Now the Russians have got their hands on new muskets. Hurry up and prepare, we should be on our way right away. ”

These men from the Ottoman mission spent almost all the gold and silver they had brought with them to buy goods they had never seen before. Then he reluctantly left Yaogang and went straight to Baotou, where he got on the boat, went up the river along the Yellow River to Lanzhou, and then took the train to Hami.

When he arrived in Hami, the shopkeeper went to negotiate with the 'arms dealer' to buy arms, and in order to let the Ottoman envoy know the whole situation, the envoy and the general entered the negotiation as an entourage.

Of course, the location of the negotiation is very mysterious, but the negotiation is quite smooth, and the person who came forward to negotiate bluntly said: "It doesn't matter who the goods are sold to, our shopkeeper is doing business to make money." If you pay more than the Russians, the goods will be given to you! ”

The shopkeeper was also not polite, "We have bought this batch of goods." We don't take advantage of the price, just the price you trade with the Russians. There is no need to talk about this anymore. Truth be told, you're not qualified to talk too much! ”

This person is also very knowledgeable, and he smiled and said, "Hehe! Your big shopkeeper has spoken to our shopkeeper, and we want to give face. The price is easy to say, but this batch of goods, the quantity is not small, our shopkeeper said, if you want it, you will take it all at once, we can't sell it separately. ”

"How many cargo?"

"Five thousand muskets, five hundred thousand shotguns, five hundred thousand solid rounds, and one and a half million more than 1.5 million. According to the price given to the Russians, the price of each new musket is five thousand taels of silver, these two ** are two thousand five hundred taels of silver, and five thousand are twelve and a half million taels. Bullets are two rounds of one tael of silver, so one million rounds of bullets is half a million taels. ** is one tael of silver fifteen, then one and a half million ** is one hundred thousand taels of silver. It adds up to 13,100,000 taels of silver. What do you think? Don't talk about such a business if you don't have an appetite! Remember, we're going to have real money. The seller said proudly.

Although the envoy couldn't understand what they were saying, he knew from the seller's disdainful expression that he was settling accounts, and the seller was crazy.

When the shopkeeper heard that the seller had finished settling the account, he didn't answer immediately, and said, "I understand what you mean, let me tell the family about it immediately!" See how we do it!"

"Yes, but we can't wait too long, the day after tomorrow, there is no news from you. Our convoy is about to set off, and at that time, don't say that we don't give Mr. Lu and his old man face. Such a batch of goods is waiting for you in Hami, but our shopkeeper has given Mr. Lu a big face! ”

Leaving the seller, the envoy had already understood the whole content of the conversation from the mouth.

The envoy of the kiln keeper asked, "That's it! Can you eat the goods? ”

"Oops! When I came out, I didn't expect to buy so many muskets! I really don't dare to settle on such a big business? I'm afraid I can't take out so much silver? "The envoy didn't expect it to be such a big deal.

"Hey! If you can't do it, just tell them that we can't do it. That's all I can do for you. However, it is likely that these muskets will be transported to the Russians. Here, the Russians recognize these muskets very much. The kiln shopkeeper said.

The envoy suddenly said: "No! We in the Ottomans could not afford these muskets, and the Russians could not afford them. The Russians can't come up with so much gold and silver! ”

"Oops! Don't even think about it. The shopkeeper of the kiln gang said, "In our Ming Dynasty, it is not ordinary people who can do such business." We don't know how deep the water is behind us. Their muskets, sold to the Russians, will certainly not be paid for entirely in gold and silver. There are hundreds of thousands of our troops in the Ural Mountains, and the Russians can pay for a part of the grain, and also with other goods. Of course, most of them have to pay gold and silver. They demanded that we pay in full for the gold and silver, just because they wanted to make it difficult for us. Let us retreat from the difficulties, that is, give us face, and do business with the Russians. ”

"These muskets must not be allowed to reach the Russians, in that case our empire will be finished!"

"Yes! How much gold and silver is left is also Russian, isn't it? "The kiln shopkeeper is on fire.

"But even if we agree to this, can't we give them money right away?" The envoy folded his hands helplessly.

"Huh! If Mr. Lu intervenes in this matter, there is nothing that cannot be done! As long as you can eat these goods, we have a way! The shopkeeper said.

"What should I do?" The envoy asked anxiously.

"To buy these goods, we just need a check. We can also send troops to escort and transport goods by car to the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea. Go there with your gold and silver and get your goods. But in this case, we need 200,000 taels of silver for freight, and our profit will be 1 million taels of silver. ”

No profit can not afford to be a businessman, the envoy understands very well. It is said that he used more than 10 million taels of silver to earn 1 million taels, which is not much.

However, what the envoy admired was that for more than 10 million taels of silver, the kiln workers only needed a check. This made him go crazy with jealousy in his heart. Didn't do that in business?

However, the envoy still bowed his head and said, "Even if our Sultan agrees, I'm afraid we won't be able to come up with so much gold and silver!" ”

"We've thought about it. You may also send us a portion of your grain at your market value, and we have a lot of troops on our side. And your valuable goods can also be converted into a part! ”

"Oh! You kiln gang people do business, it's really calculated! The envoy said, "But are you not afraid that we will lie to you?" ”

"Don't be afraid!"

"Yes! Why? ”

"First, we believe that you will not deceive your friends who help you! Second, we are not afraid, because the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea is closer to Russia. If you don't want it, we can still sell it to the Russians. ”

"You guys are terrible!"

"We can't put ourselves in for helping you. This time we waded into the water, but it was too deep! I don't know how many people I have to offend. However, Mr. Lu said it well, we are also helping ourselves when we help the Ottoman Empire. We are friendly with you, and we will have a trade route to the west, where gold and silver are not exchanged. I've done everything I can, and it's up to you to decide! ”

In fact, all this was a strategy formulated by the Yaogang people, the purpose of which was to use arms to hollow out the gold and silver of the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire.

At this time, the mind of the clever Ottoman envoy was completely controlled by anxiety, and he thought that if these muskets were completely taken by the Russians, then the balance of military power would be completely tilted in favor of the Russian Empire. But he really didn't dare to agree to such a big deal.

After thinking about it, the envoy still wanted to stabilize these muskets first, and prevent them from being transported to Russia first. In this case, he must first agree to the request of the kiln men to transport the muskets to the Caspian Sea, and then he himself will return to Damascus to report the situation to the Sultan, and as for what the Sultan will do, then it will be said, and he will not pay the silver in advance anyway.

After thinking about it, the envoy went over to the treasurer of the kiln and said: "I have thought about it, even if we in the Ottoman Empire sell all our property, we must also buy these muskets, and we must not let them fall into the hands of the Russians." ”

"Oh well! We signed an agreement, which I had the general counsel draft in our two Chinese languages. If you agree, we've signed the agreement. Then I sent a telegram to my family to buy all these muskets. We went to the Caspian Sea with the cars carrying the muskets. What do you think? ”

When the envoy heard that an agreement was to be signed, he hesitated a little and agreed, "Okay! It's a big deal, and there should be an agreement! ”

The envoy read the agreement repeatedly, did not hesitate any longer, signed it, and pressed his fingerprint.

They don't have to worry about the rest.

Until a convoy of cars from the west returned to Hami from the kiln. A few days later, the envoy and the treasurer of the kiln gang rode in a car and left Hami for a long way out of the city, and in a compound in an oasis deep in the desert, they saw several rooms stacked with weapons. However, the guards of these weapons were all covered with black cloths, and only their eyes were exposed.

The shopkeeper and the envoy took out a few random boxes from the pile of weapons, checked them, and found that there were no problems, and the people who followed them began to count the numbers. That's right, after loading the car, the shopkeeper signed a check and handed it to the person who negotiated last time. The man and a few people around him carefully read the check and said, "We have no problem looking at the check." The check signed by Mr. Lu of Yaogang is better than gold. But then again, we're not afraid to make mistakes! Hehe! I won't say much else. Hurry up and get your things away, we don't want to stay in this hellish place any longer! ”

The Ottoman envoy followed the convoy out of here, and his heart was still beating. He knew that the value of these goods was too high, and that if something went wrong, it would kill someone.

The convoy drove until it reached the camp of the Yaogang garrison. The envoy knew that only the people of Yaogang had this ability, and it was safe for the convoy to stop in the barracks.

The next day, the convoy of munitions and other materials converged to form a long line of cars, leaving Hami and setting off west. In order to take care of the Ottoman mission, the convoy arranged for them to ride in two cars. The carriages were covered with canvas, with enough food to eat, and beds were made. Slowly the long journey began.

Since the roads are not very good, the cars are not very fast, but they are much faster than the horses and camels. On the road, except for refueling and water, or repairing the car, it is basically a few days to stop and rest for one night, and the rest of the days are to drive and walk day and night.

The envoy saw several cars full of soldiers in the middle of the convoy of vehicles carrying weapons, which he knew were escorting munitions. The value of these arms is so high and dangerous that it is impossible to imagine without military escort.

On the road, many cars went in different directions, and they were transporting supplies in different places. The convoy arrived in Bukhara, where they rested for the day. There are more than half of the vehicles in the convoy here. Here, the team carefully overhauled the vehicles. When the Ottoman mission arrived, the people were tired, but they were in good spirits when they saw that they would soon be home.

The shopkeeper of the kiln and all the people of the mission took a good bath and ate something decent in Bukhara.

They set out again, along the improvised road on the edge of the desert, until they reached the camp of the Kiln Gang army on the shore of the Caspian Sea. Here they received the bad news that the Persians had sent a large number of troops and stopped the passing caravan on the border, and no one was allowed to pass.

It turned out that the Persians learned that the Yaogang people had destroyed the moon and were about to hit Persia, so they quit. Although the Persian Empire is not as powerful as it was then, it has not reached the point where others will come to the door and not resist. Since they ended their years of war with the Ottoman Empire and made peace, their strength has been recovering. The distant Ming Dynasty reopened the Silk Road, and their Persian merchants benefited a lot, and the caravans also brought a lot of new information and business opportunities to the Persians. The Persians were very fond of business and good at business, so they were very welcoming to passing caravans. But they didn't expect that the Ming Dynasty people had dredged the trade routes, but they had expanded to their borders by force. The Persian Empire mobilized the whole country to make peace, and the Ming army was to invade and fight to the end.

After they arrived on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea, they found that the situation was not good, and the Persian army had already set up troops at the border and was about to fight a decisive battle with them.

Ningde was not afraid of the Persians at all, but they had no plans to fight the Persians. Now I just want to stabilize the borders, and I don't want to fight. Therefore, Ningde sent people to the border of the Persians with gifts to ask for a meeting with the generals of the Persian army, and told them that his army had no intention of opposing the Persians. However, they did not understand it very much, and they asked, "Why did you attack the moon and occupy their homeland?" If you can encroach on the land of others, you may also encroach on ours. Unless you withdraw from the country of someone else, we cannot be friendly!

At the current Persian border, the Persian army is still coming in a steady stream. War is likely to break out soon. Ningde had no choice but to mobilize the army to come over in response to the change in the situation. However, the instructions given to Ningde by Yaogang were to avoid armed conflict with the Persians as much as possible for the time being, but when the situation was in crisis, it could be dealt with on the spot.

When the Ottoman envoy learned about these things, he said: "It doesn't matter, our Persians will give the face of the Ottoman Empire." Tomorrow, our mission will leave here and return to the empire by the Persians. If you have anything you need to say, we can bring it over. ”

Ningde said to the envoys: "If possible, please bring our meaning to the Persians." We have no intention of going against them. We settle the month that others have our reasons. After we finished beating the moon and others, we did not cross the boundary between the Persians and the moon at all, this is our sincerity! ”

"Alright! General Ning, we will bring your words to the Persians. However, the Persians were very sensitive, and they would not retreat if they felt threatened all the time. My suggestion is that your army better stay away from the border, let the Persians relax, and things will probably be easier! The Ottoman emissary advised.

"Thank you for the suggestion!" Ningde doesn't want to fight now. The conditions around the Caspian Sea are good, which is suitable for recuperation here. His army is coming from the east, and he needs to rest well.

When the Ottoman mission left, the treasurer of the kiln said to them: "I will wait for you here for a month, and if there is no news of you after a month, I will not be able to control these arms!" Hurry up! ”

The envoy shook the hand of the shopkeeper and said: "This matter, we have gone through a thousand difficulties and dangers together, I know the seriousness of this matter, please be sure to keep an eye on these arms, I will rush back to Damascus immediately, the Sudan side still needs to spend a lot of words!" However, I am confident that the Sultan will accept my idea, because it involves the future fate of the empire! ”

The Ottoman mission, each armed with two horses, walked towards the Persian border.

But what they never expected was that when they entered the Persian border, they were dragged off their horses by the Persian soldiers, tied up, and put in cages, no matter how much they shouted, no one paid attention to them.

It wasn't until they were locked in cages and starved for more than a day that they were opened and interrogated. However, one of the Persian generals who interrogated them, as if he was interested in the many items they were carrying, did not listen to their justification, and ordered: "They are spies sent by the Ming army, and they are coming!" Pull them out and cut them down! ”