The First Bank of the Ming Dynasty is busy with business, and a large number of nobles from the European continent queue up to handle related business. Next door to the First Bank of the Ming Dynasty, the Tianjin Ocean Trading Company is also doing a prosperous business.
In a reception room of the Tianjin Ocean Trading Company building, business manager Gan Tian was smiling as he received a nobleman from the Holy Roman Empire.
"Earl Lawrence, you are absolutely right to find our Tianjin Ocean Trading Company. As long as you have money, our Tianjin Ocean Trading Company can sell you all the goods."
Gantian looked at Earl Lawrence in front of him and said with a smile.
According to the first news, the Holy Roman Empire's army was defeated by the Spanish army in the Netherlands. The army of more than 100,000 people was almost completely lost. Several principalities in the western region had been destroyed by the Spanish, and the one in front of them was
Duke Lawrence, his principality was one of the principalities that was destroyed.
I just didn't expect that he would actually come to Hong Kong. It seemed that he was here to buy arms and weapons and take back his family's territory.
"Really?"
"I need weapons, the most advanced muskets and cannons from your Ming Empire, muskets and cannons that are more advanced than the Spanish."
Earl Lawrence said expressionlessly.
The Spaniards are so abominable. After they occupied their territory, they directly announced the abolition of the principality that their family had inherited from generation to generation. They also seized their own family's castle and wealth. Even one of their own sons was arrested because he was slower to escape.
He was imprisoned and sent to the guillotine.
His hatred for the Spaniards was like the surging waters of the Rhine River, and he vowed to send all Spaniards to hell.
"no problem!"
When Gan Tian heard this, he immediately agreed readily and nodded to the clerk next to him. The other man immediately understood and went to get some samples to test.
Arms trading is an important business of Tianjin Ocean Trading House. It is the only trading house in Ming Dynasty that has obtained the foreign arms trade license. All arms and weapons sold to foreign countries are traded through Tianjin Ocean Trading House.
Soon, the man came over with several Hongzhi Type 26 rifles, Hongzhi Type 28 pistols and some related artillery information.
"Earl Lawrence, please take a look."
"This is a Type 26 rifle developed and produced by our Ming Dynasty Miyun Arsenal. There is a huge difference between this rifle and traditional muskets."
"First of all, it uses breech-loading bullets, and they are copper-cased bullets with uniform specifications. You only need to press the bullets in individually. You don't need to load lead shot and gunpowder yourself."
"The second thing is that it uses a firing pin to fire the bullet. It only needs to be pressed lightly to fire the bullet. Then the pull bolt is pulled, the bullet case is automatically ejected, the bullet is automatically loaded, and the trigger is pulled again to fire the bullet."
"Its rate of fire is several times faster than the muskets in the hands of the Spaniards, its shooting accuracy is higher, and its effective range is longer. It can definitely suppress the Spaniards easily."
Gantian took the rifle and introduced it in detail.
There is no doubt that this rifle is still an obsolete rifle from the Ming Empire. It was developed and produced in the 26th year of Hongzhi. It is an old product more than ten years ago and is no longer used by the Ming army.
But as far as Europe is concerned, it is still the most advanced rifle with many innovative designs that can greatly speed up the rate of fire.
The reason why such rifles are deployed on the European battlefield is naturally to make the battle between the two sides more fierce. The deployment of new weapons can affect the trend of the battle and create new pressure on both sides.
The Holy Roman Empire defeated the Spaniards with new weapons. Naturally, the Spaniards would soon come to them again to buy the same rifles.
This business not only requires profit from both ends, but also needs to be cut off one after another, otherwise we will not be able to live up to the current good situation.
After hearing Gantian's introduction, Lawrence picked up the rifle and looked at it carefully, and even operated it. As the bolt was pulled, the bullets inside were ejected. It was also very difficult to press the bullets inside one by one.
It's very convenient. When you pull the trigger, you can hear the crisp sound and you will know that this is an absolutely high-quality product.
Take another look at the workmanship. The long gun body is full of streamlines, the solid wood stock is carefully brushed with tung oil, and all metal parts are made of high-quality metal.
Even Earl Lawrence is a layman, but he can still see that this rifle is definitely the most sophisticated rifle.
"Your Majesty, this pistol is a weapon fired at close range and can be loaded with six bullets at a time. It is the most powerful weapon in close combat situations."
"It also uses unified copper-cased bullets, uses automatic ejection and striker-type firing."
"With such a pistol, when facing the Spanish cavalry at close range, as long as there are a sufficient number of pistols, it is possible to kill the Spanish on a large scale."
Gan Tian could tell at a glance that Count Lawrence liked this rifle very much, and immediately introduced the pistol.
"Not bad!"
Earl Lawrence picked up the pistol, looked at it carefully, and immediately nodded with satisfaction. The arms and weapons of the Ming Dynasty were really of high quality.
“How much does this rifle and this pistol cost?”
After thinking about it, Earl Lawrence also asked about the price.
The things made by Ming people are very good and will satisfy you in every aspect. The only thing you need to worry about is whether your pocket is enough. The things made by Ming people are expensive, extremely expensive. Even Earl Lawrence is a great aristocrat with a huge wealth.
Family territory and wealth, but when it comes to buying and selling arms and weapons, they still lack confidence.
"Your Majesty, this Type 26 rifle is priced at 320 taels of silver each. We can deliver thirty rounds of ammunition to you for free."
"The price of this pistol is 120 taels of silver each, and we can also deliver 20 rounds of ammunition for free."
"Of course, if you purchase a larger quantity, we can still offer certain discounts on the price."
Gan Tian smiled and quoted the price.
"320 taels of silver each?"
After Earl Lawrence heard this, he couldn't help being dumbfounded.
This is too expensive!
Not that expensive!
You must know that ordinary workers in the Ming Empire now only earn more than a dozen taels of silver a month, and this year they only earn about 200 taels of silver.
This is the salary level of workers in the Ming Empire. The Ming Empire was still the most powerful and richest country in the world. A worker cannot earn a rifle in a year. You will know how expensive this rifle is.
Over here in Europe, ten people wouldn't be able to earn enough money for a rifle in a year.
Converted into the monetary value of future generations, this is equivalent to saying that if you work hard for a year and it is not enough to buy a rifle, you know the price of this rifle.
“This is too expensive!”
Earl Lawrence thought about his family's wealth and couldn't help shaking his head.
"Your Excellency, this good thing is of course expensive. This is a better rifle than the muskets in the hands of the Spaniards, so the price is of course more expensive."
"But as long as you have an army of 10,000 people using rifles like this, believe me, you can not only regain your principality, you can even directly counterattack the Spanish."
"Our rifles do not require any special training. Individuals can go to the battlefield with just a few days of training, and they can also exert strong combat effectiveness."
"With such a powerful army in hand, you can expand your principality in time. By continuously expanding your territory, you can gain more wealth in time. Come to me to buy more weapons. Future Duke
Sir, you may not be able to become a king, and you may even hope to build a powerful empire."
Gantian's words are full of temptation.
But he did not boast that an army of ten thousand people armed with Type 26 rifles would be enough to march sideways in Europe.
After hearing Gantian's words, Earl Lawrence's eyes began to shine.
This sounds very attractive and tempting.
There are many ambitious people, but the key is to have the strength to support their ambitions.
In such an era, having such a powerful army in hand is undoubtedly the greatest confidence and strength.
"If I buy 10,000 pieces, how much discount can I get?"
After thinking for a while, Earl Lawrence asked.
"If you purchase 10,000 pieces at a time, we can first deliver them to any location you specify, including door-to-door delivery."
"Secondly, we can give you twenty free bullets for each rifle. You must know that this bullet is also very expensive. It is more difficult to make than a rifle. Ten bullets cost one tael of silver.
"
"Third, I can also give you 100 more free pistols, and then give you 2 cannons and some cannonballs. What do you think?"
Hearing that Earl Lawrence wanted to buy 10,000 rifles at once, which was a big deal of more than three million taels of silver, Gan Tian perked up, thought about it and said hurriedly.
After hearing what Gan Tian said, Earl Lawrence calculated it carefully and said: "These conditions, and the total price is 3 million taels of silver."
"No, no, you have cut off 200,000 taels of silver at once. The higher-ups will definitely not agree."
"Let's do this. I will give you another 1,000 sabers, so that you can form a cavalry team of a thousand people."
It is definitely impossible to give you discounts, I can only give you a few more things.
"Can!"
After hearing this, Earl Lawrence thought carefully and finally agreed to the plan. He then waved his hand, and his men immediately came over carrying several large boxes. When the boxes were opened, there was gleaming gold inside.
"Gold made of blood!"
Gantian couldn't help but sigh when he saw the gold.