prosperous age

"Lord Centurion, what should we do now?"

That Muhammad is blind and has no opinions of his own.

We showed them all the firearms, but that old blind man still kept making excuses.

"Didn't they say they were bullied terribly by that Odysseus guy, even losing the capital?"

Inside the caravan, Commander Zhao Dezhu spoke in a deep, muffled voice.

He was selected for the caravan because of his burly physique and decent fighting skills, serving as a guard for the caravan.

His twenty men were all handpicked from the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) and were known for their fighting prowess.

Of course, after joining the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they also trained in combined attack techniques.

After all, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was also an army. While individual bravery was important in battle, teamwork was also indispensable.

Liu Shouyou also obtained a military book from Qi Jiguang, which introduced various variations of the Mandarin Duck Formation.

This method of small-team combat is actually very suitable for organizations like the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"Yes, Commander Wang, if we can't sell what we brought, I don't know how we'll explain it to our superiors when we get back."

Another captain spoke up.

He was in charge of cargo security. The main items he brought out on this voyage were weapon samples, including ten muskets and two medium-sized breech-loading cannons.

Of course, the goods they smuggled out were sold out at the port where they disembarked, namely Bandar Abbas.

The reason why the goods they brought out were considered smuggled is that, using the channels of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the goods from the Ming Dynasty that they took away did not go through the port procedures, but were directly loaded onto ships at the military port of Tianjin.

These goods were smuggled because no customs duties were paid.

Of course, this money will be shared with the shareholders when we take it back.

But there's no rush now. Making money is secondary; completing the task ahead is the most important thing.

Otherwise, if we go back, we'll definitely get into trouble.

"Let's go back to that inn first. It's free anyway, so let's stay there for two days."

After the brothers settled in, they went around to find out who was in power in the Persian court.

We'll try contacting them first to see if we can persuade them to convince the blind man.

The centurion leading this westward expedition was named Zheng Jun, a seasoned veteran of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, a hereditary centurion with the widest family connections within the guard post.

Although such low-ranking officers may not have much power in the capital, they are still quite popular on the streets.

As a result, he had friends from all walks of life and worked as a middleman in various trades in the capital for a long time, also acting as a guarantor, earning quite a bit of money.

Such a family would actually be considered wealthy in the capital.

Don't compare the centurions of the garrison to the centurions of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. They are the emperor's personal troops, so their military pay is not small, and they have considerable influence on the streets, so their income from both official and unofficial sources is not small.

The task assigned to the Embroidered Uniform Guard this time was to sell arms. Most of Liu Shouyou's men were good at causing trouble and extortion, but they were not good at negotiating deals.

Many of the intelligence agents dispatched by the Embroidered Uniform Guard also engaged in business, but they mostly ran taverns and the like, which were not difficult to manage.

They could do business with foreign countries, which was different from opening a physical store, so after searching around, they chose Zheng Jun.

Although he did not run his own business, he was involved in many commercial activities and had seen and heard a great deal about them.

So when the order came down, Zheng Jun's first thought was to make money through maritime trade. He raised funds in the garrison and bought a batch of goods, planning to take advantage of the mission to earn some money through maritime trade.

Now that he had earned the money, the question of how to complete the task was now before him.

Back at the state guesthouse prepared for them by the Persian Empire, after a hearty meal and drinks, the dozens of people went straight to sleep.

As instructed by the centurion, most of their troops will be dispatched tomorrow to inquire about the situation in Persia and understand the power structure.

It would also be good to find someone who could speak to their king and help persuade the emperor.

In any case, in addition to providing firearms, the vanguard also provided two hundred taels of silver as operating expenses.

Zheng Jun knew from the amount of money that the figure recorded in Wei Li's account was likely more than three or five hundred taels of silver for the activity expenses.

But with only two hundred taels in hand, he dared not ask and could only silently accept it.

In the palace, King Muhammad Hudabanda, due to poor health, went to bed early, but his servants remained awake.

He quietly lit a lamp, wrote a letter in his room, and then summoned his trusted confidant.

"Take this letter and go to Herat immediately to give it to His Highness Abbas."

Do you remember those Ming Dynasty people I showed you today?
Tell His Highness that they have come to the Empire to sell firearms to His Majesty.

I looked at those firearms, and although they weren't as big as the Ottoman firearms, the tubes were about the same size, so they must have been useful.

His Majesty does not wish to spend money to buy it; let's see if Your Highness is interested.

If you are interested in buying, please contact me as soon as possible so I can get in touch with those Ming Dynasty merchants.

Coral Dala was an official in the Persian royal court and a close confidant of Prince Abbas.

Prince Abbas, naturally the son of King Mehmed, has now been appointed governor of Herat, leading troops to garrison the area and defend against Ottoman attacks.

Because of the threat posed by the Ottomans, Abbas, after witnessing the power of the Ottoman firearms and cannons, wanted to purchase large quantities of firearms to arm his troops.

Heaven knows, the city, protected by high walls, was bombarded by the Ottomans for only half a day, and a breach was blasted in the walls, allowing Ottoman soldiers to rush into the city in droves.

In such a war, the Persians had no hope of victory.

Besides the Rummy gun, which was a powerful weapon, the Ottomans also had very advanced artillery casting technology.

They cast the Urban cannon more than a hundred years ago.

The cannon was 5.18 meters long, weighed 17 tons, and had a caliber of 762 mm. It could fire granite shells weighing up to 680 kg, making it the most powerful firearm at the time. The cannon directly destroyed the strong walls of the Byzantine capital.

Of course, modern Ottoman artillery no longer uses such large calibers, but is much smaller, yet its power remains formidable.

It was thanks to what was arguably the most sophisticated firearms of the era that the Ottoman Empire was able to run rampant, making all Western countries wary while simultaneously suppressing Persia in the East.

Unbeknownst to Zheng Jun and his companions, there were people in the palace who were even more anxious than they were.

When they took out two muskets in the palace, they already attracted attention.

Portuguese merchants were too greedy, and Portugal's own arms industry was weak, so they could only sell a small number of firearms.

Such numbers were a drop in the ocean compared to the Ottomans the Persians faced.

In fact, at this time, both Portugal and Spain were still producing munitions in private workshops, so the output was naturally not large.

The Ottoman Empire fared better. Ottoman monarchs established massive factories specifically for improving and producing firearms, which enabled the Ottoman army to be equipped with them in large quantities, much like the system of the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, correspondingly, the Ottoman Empire, which was powerful for a hundred years, actually suffered from the same problem of corruption as the Ming Dynasty, and its national strength began to decline.

However, the Ottomans continued their conquests, exerting a powerful influence on the surrounding countries.

Therefore, no neighboring country dared to underestimate them, and the Ottoman Empire remained the most powerful force in the Western world at that time.

Spain, which claimed to have an invincible navy, needed the support of countries like Italy and France to dare to confront the Ottoman navy.

Therefore, if we were to evaluate the strongest military power in the West during this era, it would be the Ottoman Empire, with Spain only ranking second.

The Persian system was similar to that of China, except that under the king, ministers were appointed to manage various affairs.

These ministers were similar to the Six Ministries of the Ming Dynasty.

Among them were ministers in charge of both the army and the navy, but this was a separate responsibility, unlike the Ming Dynasty which established a Ministry of War specifically responsible for military affairs.

In addition, the Persian Empire was divided into several provinces, each with a governor responsible for matters such as security and tax collection within its jurisdiction.

However, because it was similar to but not exactly the same as the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Jun was unsure who to approach to sell firearms. He also wanted to find an institution similar to the Ming Dynasty's cabinet, which would be much simpler. He wouldn't need to contact the Minister of Finance or the Minister of War; he would only need to appease the cabinet ministers, who would then persuade the king and appease the ministers, thus completing his task.

If a suitable person cannot be found, then the only option is to contact several Persian ministers.

However, before making a visit, you should first find out what these people like.

Although Zheng Jun, being a Ming citizen, didn't take these Persians seriously, it concerned his mission.

Therefore, he still needs to consider catering to the other person's preferences and giving a suitable gift, which will make the other person's attitude much better.

Having a good attitude will naturally help you complete your tasks.

However, just as he was sending people to gather information, Prince Abbas in Herat had already received a letter from a palace official informing him that Ming Dynasty merchants had come to the capital and were selling their firearms.

"How many firearms can the Ming Dynasty sell to us?"

Abbas frowned in thought.

Based on their previous contacts with Portuguese merchants, they were lucky if they could buy a dozen or twenty muskets at a time, or one or two cannons.

Moreover, most of these firearms were old firearms that had been used on these merchant ships and were discarded by them.

Such quantity and quality were simply insufficient to meet the needs of the Persian Empire.

They needed thousands of firearms to arm their army in order to fight the Ottomans on the battlefield.

Although he had not yet succeeded as the Shah of the Empire, at the age of two, he was appointed governor of the Khorasan region by Tahmasp I and was educated by Ali Quri Khan of the Shamru tribe, a great Turkman noble.

At the most dangerous time for the empire, he was appointed to come to Herat Province to guard the western frontier for the empire.

Abbas was naturally unwilling to be bullied by the Ottoman Empire for so long and wanted the Persian Empire to rise.

However, to achieve this goal, it is necessary to build an armed force capable of countering the Ottoman army.

In fact, while in power in Herat province, Abbas already had his own ideas: to build a standing army of tens of thousands of men as the main force to fight against the Ottomans.

This standing army must be equipped with firearms like those used by the Ottomans.

Otherwise, in the war between the Persian Empire and the Ottomans, Persia would still be unable to escape its fate of defeat.

Whether the Persian Empire could be preserved depended on the Ottomans' appetite.

Yes, the final choice was not in the hands of the Persian Empire, but in the hands of the Ottoman Empire.

Given the current situation, if they wanted to completely destroy the Persian Empire, the Persian Empire wouldn't even have the power to fight back.

On the battlefield, all they could do was struggle and fight with their lives on the line.

Furthermore, firearms were quite expensive.

The firearms the Portuguese sold them were very expensive.

Given Abbas's current strength, he doesn't actually have much money to buy firearms.

Even so, after learning that the Ming Dynasty could also sell firearms, Abbas still summoned his men to arrange affairs within the province.

Then, he took all the gold coins he could carry and rushed back to the capital.

Firearms cannot appear out of thin air.

No matter how high the price offered by the Portuguese and the Ming Dynasty, he had to buy it.

By accumulating firearms little by little, they can be deployed when the empire is in its most critical moment, and perhaps then they will still have the ability to put up a fight.

Otherwise, there would truly be no way to save the country.

The Persian Empire was vast, but it couldn't compare to the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, from the time Abbas received the letter to the time he returned to the capital with his guards, it was only five or six days.

Inside the state guesthouse, Zheng Jun was still cursing.

To this day, they have not yet fully ascertained the preferences of the most important ministers in charge of the empire's finances and army.

How are they supposed to choose a gift?

Are they going to deliver silver coins directly to our door?
What they brought out were naturally Da Ming Tong Bao silver coins in perfect condition.

However, this did not affect anything, as Persia at this time also circulated silver coins of various sizes.

Of course, the most valuable item was the gold coin.

At that moment, a servant from the royal palace led Abbas into the state guesthouse.

This place is specifically for receiving foreign envoys.

Although Zheng Jun and his group did not reveal their official identities, they still enjoyed good treatment because they were under the guise of delivering gifts to the king and were citizens of the Ming Dynasty.

"I would like to see the firearms of your Ming Dynasty."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Abbas cut straight to the point and stated his purpose.

"Your Highness, are you interested in firearms?"

Although Zheng Jun was surprised, he remained relatively calm. The sudden intrusion made him feel that the mission might actually be going well.

Who would travel this far to come here for no reason?

He knew from the introduction that the prince in front of him was the governor of the outer town.

"We need weapons."

Abbas didn't beat around the bush and said it directly.

"Bring it up."

Seeing the other party's attitude, Zheng Jun didn't hesitate and directly had someone send over samples.

Two brand-new arquebuses, only with a larger caliber and longer barrels than those used by the Ming army.

Abbas knew how to use firearms, and after examining the structure, it became clear that this was a matchlock gun, and it was quite well-made.

"How powerful is it?"

Abbas learned about the power of this firearm from Zheng Jun, which satisfied him.

I will definitely test the gun later.

However, there are more important things to discuss right now.

How many of these muskets do you have, and what is the price?

Abbas asked.

"The price is fifteen taels of silver per tube. As for the quantity, how many does Your Highness wish to purchase?"

The price of fifteen taels of silver naturally far exceeded the cost of these fine muskets.

In reality, it only cost the Ministry of War a little over one tael of silver to manufacture one of these muskets.

The price was set by Wei Guangde, with each item costing at least ten taels.

This price wasn't set arbitrarily by him; it was based on the market rates in Europe that the mission brought back.

The domestically produced ones are estimated to be similar in price to those from the Ming Dynasty, but once they are exported, their price will increase many times over.

All countries have very strict regulations on firearms and prohibit their sale to foreign countries.

Tenfold profit. (End of Chapter)