Chapter 58: The Correct Way to Eat Chives
"Bang, bang"
The sound of continuous gunfire echoed rhythmically in the forest. Those were Butler Hong's soldiers, who were taking turns trying out the new weapon. Lord Sun was also among this group of soldiers.
He also tested it.
However, what was tested was a short and powerful revolver. Since it was a test shooting, there were plenty of bullets, allowing Lord Sun, an ancient otaku, to satisfy his urge to pop beans.
His joy was multifaceted.
Just now Jiang Xia secretly told him that thank you Sir Sun for your help, and this six-star rapid-fire musket is a thank you gift to him.
Although Mr. Sun is a scholar.
But we also know that this short musket is easy to hide, and can even be hidden in the sleeves or boots. It can fire six shots in a row with considerable power, and can save lives in emergencies.
Besides, this gun is free.
Free of charge.
The joy of getting something for free filled Lord Sun's heart at this moment.
As for Jiang Xia and Butler Hong, they were on the other side of the woods. Soldiers had set up a table for them and served them tea. It was obvious that they were going to discuss something here.
"That musket is a very good weapon."
Butler Hong is very good at nourishing his Qi. While drinking tea, he said to Jiang Xia slowly:
“But I just looked at the target. The power of your spear within 300 steps is no different from the ink crossbow we usually use, and it is not necessarily more advanced.
For ordinary soldiers, it is difficult to be accurate beyond 300 steps, not to mention that our army's ink crossbows can fire continuously, while your muskets can only fire single shots.
If this is what you call a policy to stabilize the country, then it is a little too low-key.”
Jiang Xia did not answer immediately.
Negotiations for the business have already begun.
Hun Sen is deliberately devaluing firearms and trying to lower their prices.
If he really wasn't interested, this conversation wouldn't be happening.
"Mr. Hong is wrong."
Jiang Xia also had a smile on his face. He turned around and looked at the soldiers who were shouting and taking turns using their guns, having a lot of fun, and said:
"I also have a fire gun that can fire continuously, but I will ask a simple question now. Mr. Hong, please don't hide it. How much does it cost for you to make an ink crossbow?"
"this……"
Butler Hong was a little hesitant.
This black crossbow was obtained by the royal family of his country from a cultivator thanks to their close relationship with Mo Shuang Mountain. Its production method is top secret in the army, and he is not very clear about it.
I can only say vaguely:
“It is said that it would take a day for a master craftsman to make a black crossbow. As for the cost, I am not sure, but it should be around thirty taels of silver.
It is more expensive, so it can only be equipped to the elite in the country."
"That's it."
Jiang Xia spread his hands, smiling even more, and said:
"Mr. Hong, why don't you guess how much my gun costs?"
Butler Hong thought about it and recalled various details.
I saw the gun just now. It was made entirely of wood. I touched it and it was a hard kind of sour jujube wood. It was not a good wood, but it was not rare either. Only the barrel and other parts were made of iron.
Not much material is used.
And since it is produced in Fengshan, a place rich in minerals, the price will only be lower.
Taking labor costs into account, it is definitely lower than the Mo Nu.
"Twenty taels?"
Butler Hong said a number and Jiang Xia curled his lips.
He made a low gesture.
"Ten taels?"
Manager Hong's sitting posture suddenly changed.
"almost."
Jiang Xia did not reveal his cards either.
Just nodded, and said vaguely:
"Including the craftsman's wages, this is about the price. If Governor Hong buys more than 200 at a time, I can give you a lower price.
Of course, the price of bullets and percussion caps is separate."
Butler Hong was silent for a few breaths, and after some calculations in his mind, he showed an expression of "too expensive" and said:
"Not to mention the time it takes for the soldiers to change their uniforms, even with the new weapons, they still need more training, which is another expense..."
"Mr. Hong! Are kidding me?"
Jiang Xia was immediately dissatisfied. He shook his head and said:
"Why should I let Lord Sun, who is so weak, test the archery? Don't you know the ins and outs of it? Let me ask you, how long does it take you to train a crossbowman?
There are also archers in the army, which makes training them even more difficult.
Although I have never practiced archery or horse riding, I have heard from people who know the subject that without one or two years of training, it is impossible to become a combat force with the archery technique.
Not to mention the ability to shoot accurately from a hundred paces away, in large-scale battles, they would have to line up in formation and launch missiles.
But I am not bragging when I take out this musket. Based on the training level of these elite soldiers, they will be able to become combat-ready within seven days. If Governor Hong still thinks this is too slow, I have instructors who can be rented to you.
They are responsible for the training.
In one month, the governor will have an extra army under his command."
At this point, Jiang Xia coughed lightly, stretched out his hand, felt in the air, and said to Butler Hong:
"Butler, you might want to think about it a little more. Muskets are convenient and easy to use. When war really comes, we can recruit some strong civilians and train them briefly so that they can go into battle.
I won’t say anything else, just talk about firepower.
How spectacular it would be to see five or six hundred guns firing at the same time?
They don't even need to learn how to shoot accurately; they can overwhelm the enemy with just a barrage of bullets.
As far as I know, several countries surrounding Fengming Kingdom are eyeing this land. It takes time for them to train their troops, but if we use my firearms, we can mobilize large numbers of troops in a short period of time!
If we catch them off guard, we can not only avenge the oppression we suffered decades ago, but also expand our territory.
Mr. Hong.
You said that my fire gun is the power to stabilize the country, isn't it? "
Butler Hong still didn't say anything, but the facts were right in front of him. Jiang Xia's words were so blunt that he didn't have time to think about it.
After a few breaths, he raised his head and asked:
"This method cannot be passed on to others. You must keep it secret and supply it to our country alone. How many do you need? How many of your muskets and bullet-making techniques do you need?"
"Mr. Hong is indeed a smart man!"
Jiang Xia was full of praise. He patted his thigh and said to Butler Hong:
"I will not play dumb with Mr. Hong anymore. As long as Governor Hong gives me all his support and helps me get rid of the hatred in my heart, I will hand over all the musket drawings to Governor Hong.
Free, no money required.
As for bullets and percussion caps, we'll talk about that later."
"free?"
Butler Hong laughed, drank the tea in his cup in big gulps, and said:
"I'm afraid the foundation of Ruyifang is not free, right? But it's okay this way, anyway, there is no way for my master to negotiate peace with Ruyifang.
With the help from Jiang Zhuangshi, what the master is planning will surely be more successful.
I will write a letter right now and wait for the master to decide on this important matter. Mr. Jiang, please wait patiently for good news. In addition, the miners at Fengshan Mine no longer need to mine.
I just went to the street and saw that the miners here are all strong and honest and capable, so they can be reorganized on the spot!
Recruit strong men from outside the mountains and start training them now.
As for the matter of training the soldiers, it will be entrusted to the instructors under the command of the warriors. Within a month, at least 500 usable soldiers must be trained!
The sooner the better!
My master is very useful."
——
"Give it out now?"
When Jiang Xia returned to the Huang family's house, he was scolded by Rogge.
"You still have the nerve to call yourself a businessman? How can you do business like this? Malte's replica bolt-action rifle is only at the level of the First World War.
But it is not something that can be easily understood.
You are so nice. You promised to give out the drawings as soon as you opened your mouth.
Knowledge!
The monopoly of knowledge is the most valuable. Don’t you understand this simple truth? "
"Don't worry."
Jiang Xia was not in a hurry. He sat on the chair and said to Roger:
“With the musket technology from that war, how long do you think you can keep it secret?
This world of theirs has the Mohist heritage, and Mo Nu Su has also observed it. You can ask him to tell you how high the production level of this world is.
People are not as backward as you think!
I dare say that as soon as this first batch of muskets arrives, Governor Hong will start to imitate them.
There is no such thing as patent protection in this world.
With the level of those military craftsmen, it is very easy to imitate a musket. Who knows , with some creative ideas, they may even be able to make a prototype of a semi-automatic rifle for you.
So, the key is not the gun itself.”
Jiang Xia took out a pointed bullet from his pocket, played with it in his hand, and said:
“The real key lies in this thing.”
"Then from what you said, the secret of bullets and gunpowder can't be kept secret for too long."
Roger sat on the other side of the table, rubbing his forehead and saying:
“I have talked to the locals these days, and they said that in this world there are alchemists who specialize in making elixirs and cultivating immortality, probably similar to alchemists.
Moreover, they are very skilled in making firecrackers. They have already mastered the proportion of gunpowder, but it is a little difficult to imitate the primer. It will probably take them some time to figure out the mercuric fulminate we use."
"Why wait for them to figure it out?"
Jiang Xia asked back:
"Haven't you heard of the word dumping? My plan is to wait until they have produced their first batch of imitation muskets, and then lower the price and dump them over there.
When they have figured out how to make bullets, they will dump the bullets as well as the primers.
Don't wait for them to build their own production line. Give them the impression that "it's better to buy than to make". Only in this way can the business last long.
As for the outflow of knowledge, you don't have to worry about it.
This is a firearm at the level of World War I. The weapon generation gap and technology tree are not so easy to climb. We have a full set of weapon blueprints from bolt-action rifles to pulse weapons.
We are also familiar with the manufacturing methods from bronze cannons to recoilless field guns. In this regard, we are almost two centuries ahead of them!
What are you afraid of?
Jiang Xia propped his chin with his hand and said to Roger:
“Even if we give them cheats, it will take them at least 20 years to advance their weapons to fully automatic ones!
Twenty years later, if we are still doing this low-level arms business, it would be too useless. We might as well just find an old crooked tree to hang ourselves on.
Roger, good friend.
This is the first pot of gold, just the original accumulation of capital.
After crossing this hurdle, we will have plenty of more profitable businesses to do. Don't forget, mortals are only a part of this world, there are also monks.
That’s a more upscale market.
Besides, do you still want to wait for this market to mature?
What a waste of time!
We have to guide this market and make it develop rapidly. How much can we earn by selling goods? What really matters is the dominance of standards, frameworks, and rules.
We make the rules!
Let me ask you, when the soldiers of Fengming Nation learn to use rockets to slaughter the enemy, which one will make more money, selling them 10,000 guns or one missile? "
He reached out and patted Roger on the shoulder.
explain:
“We will definitely build a money empire in the future, and the resources of this world will continuously flow into our hands in the form of transactions.
If you want to revive the Black Hand and take back your city, you need resources and manpower.
You need money!
Come and work hard with me, Lao Luo. This is my future blueprint for the Fanchen business. You and your warriors are an indispensable part of this plan.
We are friends, believe me.
Just work hard and don't do anything weird.
I will not treat you unfairly."