Helping the Boers is, of course, a lucrative deal, but if you take into account the political accounts of the deal, the deal may not be profitable. But watching money sit in front of you and not make it is by no means Scrooge's style. And Scrooge felt that it was actually not bad to make trouble for the British on this issue.

First, for the first time, the Boer War showed the world the weakness of the invincible British Empire. Before the Boer War, the image of the British Empire was invincible and invincible was already quite deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and in Europe, no country dared to directly offend the majesty of the British Empire, but after the outbreak of the Boer War, everyone (including the British) was surprised to find that the British Empire was not as strong as imagined.

Although the British defeated the Boers in the end, the British Empire needed a national mobilization in order to defeat a rebellious group of quasi-natives. And it was necessary to resort to extreme barbaric means in order to achieve final victory. This qiē greatly influenced the British national policy. It was after the Boer War that the emerging countries of Europe began to openly question the hegemony of the British Empire, and it was also after this war that the British Empire began to have to move from strategic expansion to strategic contraction.

It is also definitely a good thing for the United States to have the Boers and the British fight hard. Although as early as the "Monroe Declaration" in 1823, the Americans had already declared that "America is the America of the Americans", and since then, it has become the national policy of the United States to exclude the power of European countries from the Americas. But this goal will not be so easy to achieve, and in the final analysis, the problem lies with the damned British. For example, the Spaniards, who still exist in South America, are no longer an opponent of the United States militarily, just as Canada is no longer an opponent of the United States. If they really make up their minds to do it directly, the Americans can crush those Spanish idiots like a little bug. But behind those damned Spaniards there are even more damned Britons. Therefore, it is not a big problem to bully and bully Spain and support the Cuban natives to make trouble or something, but if they really want to kill them, they are worried that they will beat the small ones again and provoke the old ones like they did in 1812. As a result, the presidential palace and Capitol Hill were set on fire. Although the United States is far more powerful today than it was in 1812, Britain is the world leader after all, and although Americans have always said "not afraid, not afraid", they are still very scared in their hearts. Therefore, in the original history, it was only after the British had exhausted their foreign appearance in the Boer War that the Americans dared to launch a war against Spain and truly use violence to realize the ideal that "America is the Americas of the Americans".

Scrooge has invested a lot of capital in South America, especially in Cuba, and has been in business for a long time. If the United States can really seize Cuba in one fell swoop, then Scrooge will naturally be able to reap a handsome reward, so at this time, it is definitely beneficial to support the Boers. What's more, it is precisely because at this time that no one is really optimistic about the Boers, and at this time, the return on investment will be the highest. Therefore, it is not uncommon for Scrooge to turn a blind eye to the matter of arming the Boers.

With Scrooge's acquiescence, the Boers began to be systematically instructed by Blackwater, while others began to visit the MacDonald Infantry Weapons Company to see the advanced weapons it had to offer.

……

"Mr. Simon, this is the company's newest fortified artillery" A sales manager named Yuri was pitching an 11-inch heavy fortified gun to Simon, a representative on the Boer side. In fact, this giant cannon was not necessarily suitable for the Boers, because it was so cumbersome that it was completely impossible to move. Although this gun is slightly lighter than the German Krupp 280 Fortress gun, it is only about a ton lighter, and such a "lightness" is actually meaningless.

This artillery was more often used in coastal defense forts. It is definitely a first-class good for defending the harbor, against the enemy navy, and preventing the enemy from landing, but because the British have Cape Town in their hands, the British do not need to play any beach landing at all, and the main operation of this war is definitely land warfare. And in land warfare, this immobile artillery, although it cannot be said to be completely useless, but, compared to its price, to be honest, the efficiency is very low.

However, this is not in Yuri's consideration, for him, the more weapons he buys, the more expensive and more weapons he buys, the better.

"Compared to Krupp's 280 mm fortress gun, our gun has a lot of advantages. First of all, our gun has an optional gun mount that can be rotated 360 degrees. This allows this gun of ours to deal with threats from any direction. In contrast, the Germans' Krupp 280, once installed, could no longer turn the muzzle in other directions. (Of course, our Yuri will never tell our customers that this comes at the cost of the artillery not being able to protect it with a cement dome.) In addition, our cannon has a longer range, the Krupp 280 can hit the shell at a distance of 19760 meters, but ours can hit the shell at a distance of 23000 meters. (By the same token, our Yuri didn't tell Simon that if he wanted to shoot such a long range, he would have to use a special jujube kernel-type shell, which costs three times as much as a regular cannonball, but is only three-quarters as powerful.) So, in a place where there is a need for a focused defense, where the enemy is expected to commit a heavy attack, to install a few cannons like this is like a nightmare for the enemy. Of course, the price of our artillery is also slightly more expensive than its Krupp counterpart, but as the saying goes, you get what you pay for......"

Under Yuri's deception, the Boers, who were not short of money, were very interested in this huge and expensive (up to 90,000 dollars each) fortress cannon, and Simon and his attachés discussed it for a while, although they did not say anything explicitly, but Ruiyou could see that they were obviously very interested in this weapon.

When you encounter a local tyrant, if you don't kill it ruthlessly, you should be destroyed. So then, Yuri began to sell their weapons to the Boers based on the principle of "only the expensive ones, not the right ones".

"Mr. Simon, there is also this artillery, you see, the 155 mm caliber howitzer, this is a weapon for infantry, the power and range are far superior to the artillery that the Europeans equip their troops, what? Are you worried that it won't move well? Ah, Mr. Simon, that's not a problem at all. We can also provide you with a fleet of dedicated artillery tractors. (In fact, it's just an ordinary truck with a towing hook) This thing can easily tow such a cannon, with the corresponding artillery and shells, and walk like flying. You know, the car was invented by us Americans, and the cars of other countries are technologically inferior compared to ours......"

But, in fact, artillery based on the ability of the car to maneuver was also not suitable for the Boers, because the Boers lacked fuel, and if the Boers really bought this thing, as long as the British blockaded the Boers, it would not be long before the Boers' cars would be turned into a pile of scrap metal due to lack of fuel.

Apparently, Simon also noticed this problem, saying: "This is good, but if the British blockade us, we will have difficulty getting fuel, and then this artillery maneuver will be very problematic." ”

But Yuri wasn't discouraged by this, and he immediately found a new idea.

"At that point, you can also put it on the train and use it as a train cannon. I thought, you always have coal to drive the train, right? Yuri replied.

In addition to artillery, all kinds of firearms are also indispensable. From automatic pistols that are convenient for sneak attacks and guerrillas, to cartridge rifles, to real weapons of mass destruction, water-cooled heavy machine guns, Yuri took Simon and others to see them all. As a result, the Boers, who were not short of money, came to a "buy, buy, buy, don't buy, still people?" ", bought hundreds of various artillery pieces, tens of thousands of various guns in one go. With just 12-inch fortress guns, they bought six in one go. So much so that when Scrooge finally saw this order, he was also taken aback. He said to Donald, who was in charge of the matter:

"Donald, how much strength do you think the British will have to exert to solve the problem after the Boers really get these things?"

"Uncle Scrooge, if I were to be asked to command, with a means that could be used, it wouldn't take much effort." Donald gave such an answer.

"Oh, you think so? Tell us what you think. Scrooge was taken aback.

"Ever since Sister Dena revealed that the Germans were working on poison gas bombs, now all over the world, countries with a little chemical power are working on this thing. The British are certainly no exception, and what we give the Boers will definitely make the British suffer, but after suffering, the position of Britain does not allow him to back down, so it is likely that the British will use chemical weapons in large quantities. Anyway, the British are notoriously ruthless. At that time, I don't think the Boers had any chance of winning. Donald replied.

"Do you think we should buy some gas masks for the Boers?" Scrooge asked.

"Of course not. At least not yet. Donald said decisively, "The power of chemical weapons must be shown before we can actually sell this thing." ”