I want to be emperor

Chapter 708 The Arms Merchants of the Great Chu Empire
The ultimate goal of the Great Chu Empire is to bring all these places under actual control, but to avoid the integration of too many indigenous people.

You must know that there are quite a few indigenous people on Java Island. Even if there is no statistical data, it is estimated that there are millions or even tens of millions of people.

No one in the Great Chu Empire would be willing to incorporate millions or even tens of millions of Javanese natives who were not very good-looking.

Just like unwillingness to integrate with the Fusang people...

When there are too many natives in a place, the Great Chu Empire is not willing to play the game of annexation and integration...

Instead, it will change a set of gameplay, just like what the empire did in Fusang.

This set of gameplay is a series of measures taken by the top of the Great Chu Empire for most of the areas that need to be annexed. The effect is similar to the Eastward Movement of the United States.

But the specific means and measures are more complicated and more efficient, and a lot of economic value will continue to be plundered in the process.

Java Island is bound to be fully taken down and annexed, but not directly annexed now.

Now the military's military operation on Java Island is just the beginning... The No. 14 Division swept eastward forcefully, defeated the resistance of the local aborigines, and forced the local aborigines to sign a harsh and unequal treaty.

The treaty is similar to the treaty signed between the empire and Fusang. The main clause is to cede a number of coastal ports and many islands; at the same time, cede part of the territory in the western part of Java Island, which greatly expands the territory of the Banten Province of the Great Chu Empire. It covers an area about 250 kilometers long in the west of Java Island.

According to this treaty, the Matalan Sultanate only retained the territory of the central and eastern regions of the main island of Java, and ceded all other islands to the Great Chu Empire.

Including some other unowned islands, or islands with only weak indigenous people, in fact, the Great Chu Empire has completely controlled and brought the islands around Java Island under control.

Including Bali, Timor Island and many other messy Lesser Sunda Islands in eastern Java.

In addition to territorial changes, there are many other terms such as indemnity, the right of military access in the whole area, the right to garrison troops in some areas, the right to finance and military supervision, and the full liberalization of the market.

The Great Chu Empire has always been very harsh on the terms of these defeated puppet states.

After the "Chuma Bada Treaty" was finalized, it also announced the large-scale influx of people from the Great Chu Empire into Java Island and the beginning of continuous expansion on Java Island.

On the other side of the Matalan Kingdom, it was because the high-level officials signed such an extremely harsh treaty with the Great Chu Empire, which caused great internal dissatisfaction.

Especially the astronomical amount of war reparations, the money ultimately needs to be borne by the people in their country, especially the middle and lower classes.

At the same time, the comprehensive liberalization of the market and the monopoly of trade means that they have completely lost their trade autonomy. A large number of cheap products from the Great Chu Empire will flood into the market of the Mataram Kingdom like sea water, causing countless local handicraftsmen and even big businessmen their bankruptcy.

As for foreign trade by sea, let alone foreign trade, they, like the Fusang people, are not even allowed to own sampans, and they cannot go to sea to trade on their own.

These terms were all accepted by the local aborigines, so they aroused fierce resistance.

The local people continued to rebel, and this small-scale rebellion intensified, and now there are rebels with more than a few thousand people in many places.

The current Matalan Sultanate is still in the mood to confront the Great Chu Empire. It offered its knees early, and then turned around to fight various rebels in their country.

And in the process of encircling and suppressing them, they found that there was the Great Chu Empire behind these rebels... because the weapons used by these rebels were basically all the exported weapons of the Great Chu Empire, from cold weapons to matchlock guns and even There are artillery.

When they cautiously approached the Great Chu Empire to inquire about the situation, the officials of the Fan Affairs Department in Bada City directly rolled their eyes at them: Why, do you still have a problem with me selling some weapons?

Besides, you can also ask us to buy all kinds of weapons, ranging from cannons to spears and big knives, all kinds of weapons and equipment are available, as long as you spend money, we will sell them all!

It is worth mentioning that there are also frequent wars in Fusang now. There are vengeances and revenges between various daimyos, grievances and grudges, and fights every day. From time to time, the daimyos unite to fight against the Tokugawa shogunate!
The arms sales of the Great Chu Empire in the Fusang area are increasing year by year, and the export of arms to the Fusang area has replaced various other goods, becoming the largest export of the Great Chu Empire to Fusang.

Very profitable!

It's not just about Fusang and Ma Dalan. In fact, the Nanyang area is full of fireworks and wars everywhere...

A rebellion broke out within the Kingdom of Aceh, and it has been fighting for several years. Their internal rebels have also united with many small indigenous states in central Sumatra, so that the Kingdom of Aceh has been fighting for several years. To wipe out.

The Kingdom of Siam and the Kingdom of Burma went to war again, and by the way, the little brother of the Kingdom of Cambodia was also brought along. The war between Siam and Myanmar has lasted for hundreds of years. Before the Great Chu Empire killed the Nanyang Peninsula, they themselves It was already beating life and death, and now it is just continuing to fight.

At the same time, the Kingdom of Burma is still fighting with the Arakan Dynasty in Upper Burma... Well, in fact, they have been fighting before.

Similarly, the Arakan Dynasty is also fighting on two fronts, and they are still fighting with the Mughal Empire in the Bay of Bengal area!
The entire Indochina Peninsula and even the Nanyang Islands are in chaos...

All of the above mentioned are relatively large-scale and influential countries in the local area. In fact, there are still a large number of small states, and even some indigenous tribes that have not even established a country are fighting wars every day.

And behind these wars, there are basically the shadows of the arms merchants of the Great Chu Empire.

For example, the Dachu Empire Hirado Arms Trading Company, which specializes in arms trade in the Fusang Islands, has salesmen running around the Fusang Islands to sell various export weapons and ammunition.

Almost all daimyos on the Fusang Islands are customers of their company... so it often happens that the armies of both sides use the same weapon, and what is even more embarrassing is that sometimes the Hirado Arms Trading Company arranges door-to-door service.

For the weapons and equipment of the same ship, give half of the warring party A first, and then deliver half to the warring party B on the opposite side...
It sounds funny, but it's reality!
There are many other weapons companies like the Hirado Arms Trading Company. All defense companies in the Great Chu Empire are wholly owned by official capital. There are important political considerations involved.

Therefore, the Great Chu Empire adopted a monopoly system for arms exports.

All arms manufacturers do not have their own export channels, and the government-run arms trading companies still have export rights.

These arms trading companies are authorized to specialize in the export of arms from a certain region.

For example, the Hirado Arms Trading Company specializes in the arms business of the Fusang Islands.

Nanyang Arms Trading Company specializes in arms business in Aceh Kingdom, Myanmar, Siam, Arakan, Cambodia and other regions.

Banten Arms Trading Company monopolizes the exclusive arms business in Java Island, Borneo and other regions.

Luzon Arms Trading Company specializes in arms business in Luzon Islands.

In India, West Asia, North Africa and other regions including Bangladesh, the arms export business is exclusively operated by Western Trading Company.

The arms export business to the Americas is exclusively operated by the Toyo Trading Company.

In addition, in Central Asia, the empire also exported arms to several countries, and this part of the business was carried out by the Western Region Arms Trading Company.

These arms trading companies or armed trading companies represent the official will of the Great Chu Empire.

The arms export of the Great Chu Empire was not only for making money, but more to cooperate with the empire's overseas expansion strategy.

The arms export of the Great Chu Empire has always been accompanied by a lot of political conditions, and it has never been purely arms exports.

But even so, the arms export volume of the Great Chu Empire has been rising year after year, and surpassed many commodities, becoming the second largest export commodity after cotton cloth.

Even silk and porcelain, the traditional advantageous export commodities, are far inferior now.

This is the charm of technology, and it is a direct manifestation of the national power of the empire.

Being able to make an indigenous country buy your silk and porcelain in large quantities is nothing, but being able to make an indigenous country buy a large amount of your weapons is a manifestation of strength.

The large number of weapons exported by the Great Chu Empire also allowed the domestic defense industry to develop quite well, and was able to use the profits brought by arms exports to reduce the cost of self-use weapons and equipment, and ultimately reduced the cost of military procurement of weapons.

Now the imperial military purchases a standard cap-trigger musket, the price is about [-] Chu Yuan, which is the price of the latest cap-percussion gun, but the arquebus guns exported by the Great Chu Empire are sold in some areas. The price can also reach about ten Chu yuan.

This price is actually very expensive. You must know that when the Great Chu Empire was equipped with matchlock guns, the price of matchlock guns was only about three or four Chu yuan...

Now, 20 years later, the production cost of matchlock guns is actually very low in the Great Chu Empire, and the production cost of matchlock guns for export will not exceed one Chu yuan...

However, the price of ordnance export has nothing to do with the cost directly, but depends on the relationship between supply and demand.

Most of the arms export market of the Great Chu Empire is a monopoly export market, and the Great Chu Empire adopts a single arms trading company monopoly to avoid internal friction, so the price of arms in a region is not based on its own The cost, but the ability of the other party to pay and whether the demand is urgent.

The higher the ability to pay and the more urgent the demand, the higher the price of arms exported by the Great Chu Empire.

Therefore, in Fusang and the puppet countries under the control of the Great Chu Empire in various parts of Nanyang, the price of arms exports is often very high. It is normal for a matchlock gun to cost seven or eight Chu yuan or even ten Chu yuan. During the war, the price can often buy more than ten Chu yuan.

This is true of the arquebus, as it is with other weapons.

For example, artillery, in the Great Chu Empire, there are all kinds of artillery with reduced performance and exclusively for export, which are more expensive to sell.

A 110mm field gun, although the workmanship is worse, the effective range is only a few hundred meters of the monkey version of the artillery, the export price often reaches hundreds of dollars, or even thousands of dollars.

Moreover, the Great Chu Empire never exported all kinds of grenades, only solid shells.

Grenades are the unique weapon of the Great Chu Empire, and they have always been strictly imported and exported. In fact, these natives can also obtain a small amount of grenades currently used by the Great Chu Empire through some shady channels, but they basically cannot imitate them.

Because the grenade of the Great Chu Empire is a product of industrial production, it cannot be made by simply imitating it by hand, especially the shell... Without enough industrial capacity, it is impossible to process such a thin shell.

It's the same as the flintlock guns of the Great Chu Empire... Although the Great Chu Empire has never exported flintlock guns, in so many years of foreign wars, some flintlock guns have been lost on the battlefield. After large-scale colonization, the militias in the colonies were generally equipped with flintlock guns.

In this way, a large number of flintlock guns will be lost, and eventually these indigenous returnees will get them.

However, even if they obtained the flintlock guns of the Great Chu Empire, it would be difficult for these countries to imitate them.

Because the principle of the flintlock guns of the Great Chu Empire is very simple...the key to its technology lies in the spring. If you can’t reach the level of smelting technology and can’t make a spring with sufficient strength, then it is impossible to imitate the ones of the Great Chu Empire. flintlock.

At most, it is just a show, but the firing rate is definitely not up to the standard.

Among the performance indicators for measuring flintlock guns, the most important thing is the firing rate. Without a firing rate above 70.00%, flintlock guns basically have no actual combat value.

If you want to engage in large-scale line tactics like the Great Chu Empire and completely eliminate spearmen, it is best to achieve a firing rate of more than 80.00% for the flintlock.

If it fails to meet this standard, it will be the same as contemporary European countries. They also have flintlock guns, and the proportion of equipment has been gradually increased in the past few years, but they still dare not use them on a large scale, let alone completely eliminate them. Arquebuses and spearmen.

In this process, the Russians, the Dutch, and the Spaniards have actually obtained some 13-year-style flintlock guns from the Great Chu Empire through different channels and imitated them...but they are not...the imitated flintlock guns are due to the material However, the firing rate is generally only more than 60.00%, and the accuracy is also poor.

And the cost is also very high, almost four or five times the cost of a matchlock gun.

These have severely restricted the large-scale use of flintlock guns in contemporary European countries.

It is said that because the European region has set off a trend of equipping flintlock guns, although their flintlock gun technology is still poor, but no matter how bad they are, they are also flintlock guns, and their enemies also need flintlock guns to fight against, such as the Ottoman Empire ilk.

They couldn't make flintlock guns themselves. Although some early Spanish flintlock guns were imitated, the technical level of this kind of flintlock guns was very poor.

At this time, merchants from the Great Chu Empire appeared, um, in fact, they were the Western Trading Company. After they contacted the Ottoman Empire and learned about the Ottoman Empire’s demand for flintlock guns, in order to open up the industrial market of the Ottoman Empire, they also wanted to Lease several ports in remote and wild places from the Ottoman Empire as ports.

After the domestic application was approved, a batch of flintlock guns were exported to the Ottoman Empire. In order to meet the export standards, they also specially replaced the springs in this batch of export rifles with shrinking springs specially customized for export.

Its comprehensive all-weather firing rate is only about 70.00%. Well, this thing is actually the first type of flintlock gun equipped by the Great Chu Empire in the early years, which is the first batch of models of the two-year-style flintlock gun. Strictly speaking, this thing is It has been out of production for 20 years and was not restarted until an export order came in.

It's just that the production of this batch of flintlock guns for export is also a lot of trouble for the arsenal... because they have such a high level of processing, you let them process such low-level flintlock guns, and the performance level in all aspects cannot exceed the standard. It's not easy... For this reason, they specially found a bunch of production equipment that was about to be scrapped and built a new production line, so that they could re-produce the early two-year-old flintlock guns.

This early model of the two-year-style flintlock gun has a 70.00% all-weather firing rate. Its firing rate is comparable to that of a matchlock gun with mature technology. , and form line infantry.

70.00% all-weather firing rate, this level has exceeded the level of flintlock guns in contemporary European countries.

The price of such a high-level flintlock gun is naturally very expensive, each reaching 25 Chu yuan...

This price is astronomical for a flintlock gun... You must know that whether it is contemporary Europeans or the Ottoman Empire itself, if a light matchlock gun is built by itself, it is only about three or four Chu Yuan, and some cutting corners or even It can be done in about two Chu Yuan.

Their self-made low-level flintlock guns are much more expensive, and the basic price is doubled, which is about six or seven Chu yuan.

And the two-year-style flintlock gun exported by the Great Chu Empire costs 25 Chu yuan...

But... don't dislike the Ottoman Empire, you even have to thank the Great Chu Empire for its generous support, and for this reason, the Great Chu Empire allowed the Great Chu Empire to set up leased land in parts of the West Asia Peninsula.

Because, apart from the Great Chu Empire, there is no second country or force that can provide them with such excellent flintlock guns.

Sometimes the price of weapons is not expensive, don't look at the cost, but the demand and the political environment.

As far as the current environment is concerned, it is very rare for the Ottoman Empire to be able to buy a high-performance flintlock gun that can resist or even surpass the flintlock guns of European countries at 25 Chu Yuan .

It's nothing to pay for it.

Of course, the Ottoman Empire is not stupid. After purchasing the first batch of [-] two-year-old flintlock guns, it began to carry out imitation research. Now it can barely produce some flintlock guns by itself, but the performance is not up to standard. Imported two-year-style Hou version flintlock.

Therefore, the two-year-style flintlocks imported by the Ottoman Empire were only equipped with their Imperial Guards, and some of their own garbage flintlocks were used to equip their ordinary infantry.

As for the two-year-style flintlock gun that wants to be truly imitated with an all-weather firing rate of 70.00%, there is still a long way for the Ottoman Empire to go.

Don't look at the increase in the all-weather firing rate of just a few percentage points, but it is actually very difficult.

You can refer to the Great Chu Empire back then. The two-year-style flintlock gun that was produced in that year was actually extremely expensive...the cost was more than 20 Chu Yuan, and it was used for many years to reduce the cost...After reducing the cost, it was fired around the clock It took them many years to increase the rate from 70.00% to 70.00% or so.

It took more than ten years before and after the Great Chu Empire to produce the two-year-type A-III flintlock gun with a firing rate of 70.00% all-weather, and the procurement cost was reduced to about eight Chu yuan.

From the 70.00-year-type A80.00 model with a 13% all-weather firing rate to the [-]-year-old flintlock gun with a [-]% all-weather firing rate, the Great Chu Empire paid a huge price for more than ten years of technical research and expensive research and development. and equipment improvement costs.

It is so difficult for the Great Chu Empire to increase the all-weather firing rate by a few percentage points, let alone the Ottoman Empire, which does not even have an industrial foundation. It is estimated that they will not be able to produce a flint with a firing rate of 80.00% for decades. Fire the gun.

This is still talking about flintlock guns. If it is replaced by the new percussion guns recently equipped by the Great Chu Empire, it will be enough for 100 years...

The percussion gun is not much equipped by the Great Chu Empire itself, and it has not flowed out, but even if it is leaked out one day, those indigenous countries, including the European countries, probably have seen the percussion guns of the Great Chu Empire. dumbfounded...

Because the key to firing the gun is not on the gun itself, but on the small copper cap.

The mercury fulminate in it is an industrially synthesized compound... Without technical guidance, no matter how hard the natives try to imitate it, they can't imitate it.

Is this cap percussion gun still a musket-loading musket, strictly speaking, it is still within the cognition range of the indigenous people.

If the natives were allowed to see the various rifled rifles being researched in the firearms research institute of the Great Chu Empire, they would doubt their lives!

There are many advanced research projects in the Firearms Research Institute of the Great Chu Empire, including front-loading rifles and rear-loading rifles.

Not to mention that the natives were incomprehensible after reading these things, even many people in the Great Chu Empire were surprised when they read them.

Many of the weapons and equipment used by the Great Chu Empire for their own use were unable to be imitated by the natives.

Not to mention self-use, even if it is a lot of exported weapons and equipment, the natives cannot imitate them, or they can imitate them, but the performance cannot meet the standard.

Barely the performance can meet the standard, but the price is absolutely sky-high!
Because all the weapons and equipment exported by the Great Chu Empire, regardless of their performance, are the products of typical large-scale industrial production, which is a completely different concept from manual workshop production.

At present, there is only one industrial country like the Great Chu Empire in the world!
(End of this chapter)