White House, Office of the President.

Lincoln and Seward sat across from each other, both with solemn expressions.

Although the two had promised Li Zhen that they would punish McDowell when they were in Dading Restaurant, it was not the two of them who really wanted to deal with Brigadier McDowell. After all, McDowell also thinks about the country, so he made such a decision, which is excusable and cannot make people feel cold.

Lincoln looked at Seward and said, "Your Excellency Seward, you are usually the most scheming and the fastest in your brains. Now the matter of Brigadier McDowell, what can you do about it? ”

Xiward shook his head and said, "It's not easy to deal with, after all, Li Zhen is holding on." ”

Lincoln slapped the desk and said hatefully, "Do you really want to deal with McDowell?" If this is the case, how can we make the officers and soldiers of the army turn their hearts to the Federation in the future? After all, McDowell made decisions on his own for the sake of the Federation. After a pause, Lincoln said angrily: "This McDowell is really, he didn't win the war and got it back, and now he is making decisions on his own, which makes us very embarrassed, and we have more than enough to succeed." ”

Siward frowned and said, "It's useless to complain, hurry up and find a way to solve it." ”

Lincoln said, "It's not easy to handle! ”

Seward said: "Either way, I don't support having to deal with Brigadier McDowell. The best result is to be able to take care of both Brigadier General McDowell and Li Zhen's emotions, and to appease both, so that the matter can be resolved satisfactorily. If only Li Zhen's conditions are met, I don't agree. ”

Lincoln sighed, "How easy it is! ”

The two of them looked at each other, and there was a deep helplessness in their eyes.

"Boom! Boom!! ”

There was a knock on the door, and there was a sudden sound.

Lincoln said impatiently, "Come in!" ”

The door opened, and Mr. Scott, the former commander of the coalition forces, strode in. Lincoln saw Scott come in and asked, "Lord Scott, is something happening on the front battlefield?" ”

Scott said, "Yes, there are some things! ”

Lincoln's face changed dramatically, he sat up straight, and asked, "What's going on?" ”

Scott was not in a hurry, and said without hurry: "Mr. President, there is no need to be so nervous, the current situation is very good for us, and it is still moving forward steadily, and it has achieved good results at sea and on land." However, the soldiers of the southern army had the machine guns used by the Chinese army, and this weapon was extremely lethal, which slowed down the advance of the battlefield, caused us a lot of trouble, and greatly increased our casualties. ”

Lincoln gritted his teeth and said, "It's a weapon again, and the disaster is not a one-way street!" ”

Scott changed his words and continued, "There's one other thing besides weapons. I heard that the army surrounded the Dading Restaurant, and the soldiers wanted to arrest Li Zhen. What's going on? Why do you suddenly want to arrest Li Zhen? ”

Seward explained: "Here's the thing, McDowell learned that the weapons used by the soldiers of the Southern army were Chinese, and thought that Li Zhen had sold the weapons to the South, so he directly sent a major with a company of soldiers to capture Li Zhen. Who knows, the major did not catch Li Zhen, but was caught by Li Zhen. Now, Li Zhen is holding on to this matter, and he must punish Brigadier General McDowell. Li Zhenhu is messing around, we are very embarrassed! After all, McDowell is also for the country. ”

Lincoln sighed: "Li Zhen is too cunning, he puts the responsibility of selling weapons in the hands of merchants. It is said that the businessmen bought weapons from China and then resold them to the south, and we cannot grasp Li Zhen's handle. ”

Scott thought for a moment, then said with a smile: "The solution is very simple, ostensibly make a charge against McDowell, and then let McDowell come out when the turmoil of this matter passes." I'm sure McDowell understands what we mean. As for the issue of weapons, the weapons in the south are very powerful, and we must buy them, otherwise, the losses will be even greater. ”

Lincoln said, "Mr. Scott's suggestion is good, and that's the only way to deal with it at the moment!" ”

Seward shook his head and said, "It's not that simple! ”

Lincoln asked, "Why?" ”

Xiward said: "We have been dealing with Li Zhen for a while, don't we know Li Zhen yet? This guy is a man who will repay his eyes and ask the lion to open his mouth when he sees the benefits. If we try to buy weapons from him, we will be blackmailed. ”

Scott took the initiative to say: "I have some friendship with Li Zhen, I'll give it a try." ”

Seward was overjoyed and said, "Your Excellency Scott is willing to go, it is the most suitable." ”

Lincoln said, "Thank you, Your Excellency. ”

Scott shook his head and said, "Everything is for the country, not hard." ”

He stood up and said goodbye and left the president's office. For the country, Scott gave willingly. As long as he can help the country solve difficulties, it doesn't matter if he doesn't want this old face. Scott came to the room where Li Zhen lived and knocked on the door. After a while, Huang Qiang opened them, saw that it was Scott, and welcomed Scott into the room.

After Scott sat down, he said straight to the point: "President Lee, I have come to visit this time, not for private matters, but for official business, for Brigadier General McDowell and weapons. ”

Li Zhen smiled: "Say it straight! ”

Scott continued, "President Lincoln and Secretary Seward are in the process of agreeing to convict McDowell, so please be patient with President Lee. At the same time, the Federation wants to buy a batch of weapons from Mr. President to attack the southern government. ”

Li Zhen smiled slightly and said, "I'll wait and see what happened to McDowell." As for weapons, I am also willing to sell, a machine gun, according to the Chinese monetary method, a hundred taels of silver. ”

Scott's eyes widened, his face showed horror, and he almost roared, "Why don't you go and grab the money?" ”

Li Zhen shrugged his shoulders indifferently and said, "Mr. Scott, because you are here, I will give such a preferential price." If Lincoln and Seward had come, I would have asked for three or five hundred taels of silver and a machine gun. If it's too expensive, you don't have to buy it, anyway, I don't lack this money. Of course, you don't need too many such machine guns, a thousand machine guns are the most sufficient, and each battlefield can be equipped, which is enough to compete with the opponent's firepower. ”

Scott said pitifully, "President Lee, is it cheaper?" ”

Li Zhen said: "This is the lowest price, and it can't be lowered!" ”

Scott was silent for a long time, then said, "I'll go to President Lincoln and talk to you, and then I'll tell you the results." With that, Scott left Li Zhen's residence and headed for Lincoln's office. After he reported the news, Lincoln and Seward discussed for a long time, and there was no way to take more, but to agree, the initiative was in the hands of Li Zhen, and they had no right to refute.

Because, Li Zhen only gave two choices!

Buy! Or don't buy it!

You don't have to buy it, Li Zhen doesn't want to sell it yet. In order to get the weapons, Lincoln and Seward could only endure the pain of being extorted by Li Zhen, and spent a million taels of silver to buy a thousand machine guns to equip the army.

ps: the third shift;