Chapter 691: Do you have money to make?

"If it weren't for the Anglo-Dutch war ......." When such a thought flashed through Knight's mind, he was horrified to find that even without the Anglo-Dutch War, the Netherlands would not have the ability to organize a large fleet to find trouble with the Ming Dynasty. The reason is very simple, the country of the Netherlands is small, there are too many places to take care of, and the stalls are too big. Unless the Netherlands gave up all their interests in the Americas, Africa, the Mediterranean, the North Sea, and so on, it would be possible to form a fleet to the east. In that case, without waiting for the British to fight, the Dutch themselves rebelled first.

The maritime strength of the Ming Dynasty has developed rapidly under the stimulation of huge profits from maritime trade, not only the naval strength of the Ming Dynasty, but also the civilian sea ships, and the thousand-ton armed merchant ships are not a rare thing. According to Knight's observations along the way, the main fleet of the Ming Navy is basically above the 2,000-ton level, which is the three-pole battleship that the Ming said.

In just over twenty years, the country has caught up with the accumulation of half a century of Dutch people. The war potential of this country can be seen. Knight is not a fool, he quickly calmed down, even if he tries his best, he may not be able to defeat the opponent, on other people's territory, hehehe!

"Well, Your Excellency, you have succeeded in convincing me that I think it is more important to the Kingdom of the Netherlands to have the friendship of the Ming than to Borneo." After making up your mind, you don't want to throw out the money. Although at this time, what he wanted to do most was to strangle the villain in front of him.

"Well, it was a wise decision. I will not participate in the next negotiations, and hand it over to your compatriot Nadim, who is now the spokesman of the Ming Dynasty in Europe. Chen Xie decided that he would not lack courage and directly give Nadim a lofty title, otherwise it would not be convincing.

Knight was pleasantly surprised, because he thought of the bribe he had given to Nadim earlier, five thousand guilders. To be honest, it was still very risky to come to China this time, especially the large amount of gold that I had carried, which was enough for the Ming cabinet minister in front of me to tear up the hypocritical face before and rob naked, naked, and naked.

Nadim, who was sitting opposite, spread his hands and said, "Your Excellency General, we are now opponents, negotiation opponents." As the most trusted European of His Excellency the Cabinet Ministers, I have to remind you to forget my nationality for a moment. ”

Nai nodded, confident in the outcome of this negotiation.

Nadeem is also confident, especially in his commission earnings. Well, although it is only a five percent commission, it is already a number enough to drive him crazy. This is different from the shares of the bank, working in the bank, he only gets a salary, and he has never seen what the share dividends look like. Every time there is a meeting at the end of the year, the above must be summarized like this, the past year ......, for the future development, so the dividends are directly converted into new shares.

Then, there was no then, in terms of shares, Nadim's value was growing, but his stake in the Dafa branch in Xinghai City was shrinking. SO, now he is most concerned about the profession of an agent who can get paid quickly.

"Mr. Nadeem, my old friend, since we all know each other well, I am not polite. Don't fool me with the old arms that the Ming army has replaced, but ask for the latest styles of rifles and cannons. Knight was very direct, Nadim shook his head with a smile and said: "No, no, no, dear Mr. Nat, first of all, I want to correct you a small mistake, even the equipment replaced by the Ming army is the most advanced equipment in the world today." Secondly, I would like to remind you not to misjudge the professionalism of a successful businessman in the face of profits. ”

Knight spread his hands and made a helpless expression and said, "Okay, I still want to see the sample." ”

"Come with me, as you wish, there's a nice shooting range here." Nadim stood up and asked Knight to go out. It is a military camp in itself, stationed by a New Army infantry battalion guarding the Huating New District. Following in Nadeem's footsteps, Knight and his attaché arrived at the shooting range. A long wooden box was seen, the lid had been opened, and the cushioned straw rope packaging could be seen inside. Walking up, Knight picked up a rifle and removed the straw rope from it.

"The active equipment of the Ming Army, the Ming II front-loading rifle, unique rifled shooting, advanced flintlock ignition device, the maximum firing range of 800 meters, and the effective firing range of 200 meters." These numbers are already familiar to Nadim, so he naturally blurted them out. The same Mini rifled rifle, the quality of this export version can not be compared with the equipment of the Ming army, the main disadvantage is reflected in the steel, this is a rifle produced with serious steel produced in Liaodong, and the life span can only be guaranteed to be 1,000 rounds. Of course, Nadim also doesn't know the specific lifespan of Daming's active rifle, and the lifespan of 1,000 rounds is enough to make Knight have pink eye. Not to mention the effective range of 200 meters, compared to this rifle, the last purchased smoothbore gun is simply rubbish.

Bang bang bang the test shot was in full swing, and after 10 rounds of ammunition, Knight and his attaché were completely convinced by the rifle. The Spanish phalanx was eliminated by arquebuses and new tactics, and the military reforms of Gustav II became a new benchmark for European military affairs. Well, these things have been left behind in the Ming Dynasty by the great military genius, Chen Xie, the prince of the Ming Empire. Especially in terms of military equipment, it is said that in addition to the cavalry, the rest of the Ming Empire has abandoned cold weapons, anyway, Knight has never seen an infantry carrying spears and armor.

It is said that the population of the Ming Dynasty exceeded 100 million, and this was after the end of a long civil war and external war.

Thinking about this number, Knight from Europe shuddered. A thought suddenly popped up in his mind, but he quickly told himself to calm down first and negotiate the matter of arms purchases first.

Fifty meters away, the target was brought in, and a thumb-thick plank was pierced, leaving seven or eight eyes in different positions. It can be seen that the accuracy of this test firing needs to be improved, and this is not a problem with a rifle, but a problem with people.

The same target was placed a hundred meters away, and Nadim and his attaché tried firing again, but the result of this test firing was a bit embarrassing, a total of five targets, fifty rounds were fired, and only five bullets hit the target. This was enough for them to test the penetration of the bullet, as the plank was pierced again.

The target is still moving backwards, this time it is 200 meters, and the line of sight is very reluctant, so that it can hit the target? Knight shrugged his shoulders and said, "Nadeem, my friend, I don't think there is any need to go so far, no one can hit such a far target." ”

Nadim snapped his shoulders and snapped his fingers, and a Ming soldier walked over, took off the rifle on his shoulder, and skillfully began to load, raise his gun, and aim. Bang bang, after firing five shots in a row, the Ming soldiers put away their rifles, turned around and walked away. The target was lifted back, and Nate and his entourage turned white. Five rounds, all on target.

"What's the trick to this?" Knight asked, and Nadim shrugged his shoulders and said, "There is a saying in the Ming army that soldiers' marksmanship is fed by bullets. These soldiers are trained to shoot live ammunition three times a month, consuming 10 rounds of live ammunition each time. ”

Knight twitched his cheeks, and Nadim continued: "The soldiers of the Ming Empire, before officially enlisting in the army, need to undergo three months of recruit training. Before entering the battlefield, they must undergo at least 100 rounds of live ammunition training. ”

All in all, it's about burning money. There is a problem, which Nadim also does not know, and that is the problem of propellants. The propellant that appears here is the general granule medicine, and the Ming army is equipped with chestnut granules.

"Okay, let's look at the price. Friend, I must remind you that this is a huge amount of money. "Knight is very good at negotiating and taking advantage of himself first. Nadim responded: "I must also remind you, my General. This is the only place in the world where weapons of this quality can be procured. ”

The two went head-to-head from the start, and there was no doubt that Nadim would not budge for his own sake. Knight was entangled little by little, and the two argued on the shooting range, and after a full hour of back and forth, their saliva was almost dry, and they barely reached a consensus. The price of a rifle was finally determined at 150 silver yuan, and you must know that Nadeem's price was 200 silver yuan. The low price Chen Xie gave him was 120 silver yuan, and if he could exceed this price, the extra would be his profit. I'm not afraid that this thing won't play with my life and carry it to the death with Knight.

After the price was determined, Nadim stopped talking about it and left the shooting range with his compatriots and returned to the hotel to rest. The next day, he continued to talk about the issue of artillery, and this time Nadeem's attitude was even tougher, and the number of 12-pound cannons that were sold to the outside world must not exceed 200. This time Knight also blew up, what are you doing, Knight is still worried about larger caliber rifled guns, you are good, the 12-pounder gun is not sold to the outside world.

The Ming 12-pounder rifled gun showed combat effectiveness beyond the times in the Anglo-Dutch War, especially in naval battles, and its superior range and strong penetrating power were unbearable for the British battleship. It's a pity that the number is a little less, there are only 200 in total, and less than ten boats are equipped.

This time he came to Daming, Knight's idea was to introduce technology and purchase no less than two thousand cannons. Rifles are secondary, I didn't expect to suffer this result.

"I need to meet with His Excellency the Cabinet Minister!" After arguing all morning, unable to convince Nadeem, Knight had no choice but to make a request.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid this request will not be able to meet Your Excellency, Your Excellency Cabinet Minister Chen Xie, who has gone to Nanjing for an important meeting. I don't think you can buy more cannons even if you see him. Nadim is also very persistent, in fact, he doesn't understand why he doesn't make money when he has it. R1152