The sun never sets

What? That's it? I haven't said anything yet!

Lin Yongchang was about to say something, but Ronglu had already picked up the teacup and looked at him with an indifferent expression. The old man's expressionless face was very cold, as if he would summon hundreds of swordsmen at any time, so he had to leave first. From beginning to end, Ronglu didn't even look at Wuyun Qiqige, and only glanced at Lin Yongchang twice.

Maybe this big guy is a little different from the Mongolian girl, but so what? Ronglu has seen all kinds of people. The situation in the court is very bad now, but can it be worse than the Taiping Rebellion? If he were young, he might have said something more, but Ronglu is old and not as strong as before. He no longer has the patience to understand many things.

After leaving Ronglu's house, Lin Yongchang felt a little disappointed. He thought Ronglu would be an opponent, but Ronglu was old and could not be his opponent. Maybe he should go and see Yuan Weiting and his generals?

Wu Yun Qi Qi Ge took a deep breath and pulled Lin Yong Chang's hand, saying, "That old man with a white beard was a bit scary."

"That's Ronglu Rongzhongtang."

"Oh, is that why we gave him the gold?"

"Correct!"

"But why doesn't he want it?"

Lin Yongchang looked back at the brightly colored palace gate, smiled, and said, "He must have his own reasons."

Wuyun Qiqige just asked casually and soon put the matter behind her. She asked excitedly, "Is the matter done? Let's play in the city today."

"kindness........."

Lin Yongchang paused deliberately, and Wuyun Qiqige hugged his arm and shook it, but she was still too young, so this trick was not very useful. Instead, it reminded Lin Yongchang of the Fourth Princess in the Qing Palace, whom he had only met once. The Fourth Princess was very beautiful, but she was not necessarily prettier than the girls who were possessed by the four evil spells in later generations. Only her legs were really long and straight.

"is it okay?"

"Well, let's go out and have fun in the city today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow! If there's nothing else to do."

Wuyun Qiqige only heard the first sentence and immediately cheered. So Lin Yongchang first went to "Da Zhalan", which is called "Da Shilan" in old Beijing, and exchanged gold for some silver notes and silver dollars. He then went to Dongjiaominxiang and exchanged gold for some pounds at Standard Chartered Bank. He didn't want to buy anything with pounds.

Instead, they plan to take it back and make samples for imitation.

Alas, he also wanted to take the upright path, but the situation was such that good people were forced to take crooked paths.

The bank boss was arrogant at first, but after seeing so much gold and hearing Lin Yongchang's fluent English, he instantly changed his face. After hearing about it, the British in the bank came out to communicate with Lin Yongchang and found that his English was really good, but with an American cowboy accent, not a London aristocratic style.

"Mr. Lin, would you like to buy our bank's financial products? The annualized interest rate..."

The high-nosed British man kept talking about how good Standard Chartered Bank's financial products were. However, Lin Yongchang had been cheated by financial products in another world, and he would never touch this thing again. Even if he really wanted to touch it, he would sell the financial products to others.

Lin Yongchang laughed and began to ask about the situation in South Africa, "Has the Boer problem not been solved yet?"

The Englishman was eloquent just now, but now he immediately became like an eggplant hit by frost, and said weakly: "The British Empire will soon be able to eliminate those hateful rats!"

Well, the white people in South Africa have also become rats, and the arrogance of the British is evident. Except for the Anglo-Saxons, everyone else is inferior in the eyes of the British. Just like now, although this British guy is talking to Lin Yongchang with a smile, the arrogance in him is still visible to the naked eye.

Wuyun Qiqige followed Lin Yongchang to Dashilan and then to Dongjiaominxiang, and she didn't feel bored. She looked at the various scenes around her with relish, the tall houses, the wide roads, the strange-looking foreigners, all of which she had never seen before. The girl looked at the Western scenery for a while, and then went to see Lin Yongchang. Her little heart was full of doubts. What were those gibberish words? Why didn't they speak human language? Could it be that the foreigners were really devils?

Lin Yongchang smiled and said, "The Boers won't hold out for long. England is the empire on which the sun never sets. It will be easy and pleasant to deal with the Boers. Once the army arrives, the clowns will naturally be crushed into powder!"

"you're right!"

The Englishman was inspired and immediately began to sell various financial products. He mentioned some professional terms such as inflation and industrial capacity, but Lin Yongchang was determined not to pay no matter what the Englishman said. When the Englishman got tired of talking, he asked slowly, "Sir, do you know where I can buy an Imperial Lee Enfield rifle? I want the smokeless powder version."

Many people say that the Lee-Enfield is the best bolt-action rifle. German and Soviet fans would disagree and think that Mauser and Mosin-Nagant are the eternal gods. The Lee-Enfield is strong in firing rate. A well-trained lobster soldier can fire 6.5 rounds in 10 seconds. During the First World War, the British army fired a volley of Lee-Enfield rifles, so much so that the Germans thought they had hit the British machine gun position by mistake.

This is the fastest bolt-action rifle, lacking only in range and accuracy.

"Mr. Lin is an expert, but the Lee Enfield has only been out for a short time, and even the Empire hasn't finished its upgrade yet... I'd better introduce an arms dealer to you."

Lin Yongchang is going to buy some Lee Enfields for the Dalai Lama, using British-made weapons to fight the British, which is in line with the standards of "universal values". A good arms dealer will sell weapons to attack his motherland.

After leaving Standard Chartered Bank, Lin Yongchang went to exchange some francs, marks and US dollars, as well as a lot of British dollars, leaving no gold left. Gold is always a hard currency, and the banks of the great powers are happy to exchange currency for gold. Banks from all countries have a good attitude towards Lin Yongchang, a wealthy man who speaks fluent American English.

Lin Yongchang has a kind of temperament that makes people feel convinced and trustworthy. He is rich and can get along with anyone. It is rare to see someone like Ronglu who would yell at others without saying a word. But the big boss of the bank cannot be compared with Rong Zhongtang. Although the Great Jin Dynasty is about to die, it has not yet died. A lean camel is bigger than a horse. The military minister of the Great Jin Dynasty is still one of the most powerful people in the world.

Chapter 37 Buying a Gun

Lin Yongchang received a lot of business cards, most of which were from banks in Dongjiaominxiang, and also from arms dealers from various countries. The Great Jin Kingdom was obsessed with buying German goods, and was cheated again and again. Lin Yongchang was different. He bought the ones with the best cost-effectiveness, or to put it more bluntly, the cheap ones.

Things like easy jamming, easy explosion, and difficulty in loading are not considered disadvantages for him. No matter how bad it is, it is better than the matchlock guns used by Tibetan soldiers, right? Matchlock guns were used during the Ming Dynasty. It has been two or three hundred years, and it is time to change to new weapons.

Lin Yongchang's favorite rifle was the Lee Enfield, not because the British were the world's hegemon. The Lee Enfield was really easy to use, and the lack of range was not a problem. There was only one person who could hit a target 400 meters away. According to his thinking, rifles could only solve battles within 400 meters, and further away would be the job of mortars and infantry guns.

But unfortunately, the British arms dealer heard about his story and refused to sell him the latest Lee Enfield rifle, even if he paid more.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will protest! I don't want to cause trouble!"

Lin Yongchang continues

The price was raised, and after it reached 40 taels of silver for a rifle, it stopped increasing. Damn, I don't believe it. Without Zhang the butcher, we won't eat hairy pigs! No wonder the British were defeated by the Americans later. Their business philosophy is obviously not good!

Without the British Empire, there is still Germany. But the profiteers in Germany are no better than the British. They refused to sell the latest 1898 Mauser rifles because they really couldn't get them. The German army was still changing its equipment, so how could they sell them to the Far East?

But the Germans then denied the German 1888 Commission Rifle, saying that the two rifles actually had similar performance. Lin Yongchang also endured it. His purpose of coming here was to buy weapons, not to debate with people. In many cases, the weapon of criticism is no match for the criticism of the weapon. When he comes with more "truth" one day, he will deal with the Germans.

The Type 88 Commission rifle is fine, it's better than nothing. But the German profiteers actually asked for 35 taels per rifle, which is outrageous! The ex-factory price of the Hanyang rifle is only 18 taels, and the price the Germans asked for is twice that of the Hanyang rifle. If you have this money, why don't you buy the Hanyang rifle?

Well, the main reason is that they can't be bought. Lin Yongchang has no connections in Hubei, and it's hard to buy weapons even if he has money. In addition to supplying some of the Hanyang rifles to the Wuwei Army, most of them were given to the Hubei New Army. It's not just the court that is training new troops, the governors and governors in the south are doing this. If you fall behind, you will be beaten. How many times has our Great Jin been beaten? Even a husky should be trained.

The imperial court organized a new army to save the Jin Dynasty, but the new army turned out to be full of traitors, which was like shooting itself in the foot. However, the dynasty continued to be like this, and everything they did was wrong. Training a new army meant death, and not training a new army also meant death. There were thousands of roads before the imperial court, and they were all dead ends.

The price offered by the German profiteers was too high, so Lin Yongchang decided to try his luck with the Russians and Americans. The Russians were always greedy, and when they saw the fat sheep coming to them, they asked for 25 taels for a Mosin-Nagant rifle. Lin Yongchang didn't speak Russian very well, and when he told the Russians that Davarishi was not understandable, he had to find a translator to translate the two languages.

"25 taels is too expensive. I need to buy at least 1000 rifles. Can it be cheaper?"

Aren't Russian and Italian products synonymous with cheap? Why are they so expensive? As for Japanese products? The Murata rifles used by the Japanese army are rubbish, even the Jin Dynasty doesn't like them. But if the Japanese are willing to sell them cheaper, Lin Yongchang doesn't mind.

The Russian waved his hands repeatedly, and the translator converted Russian into Chinese. "It can't be any cheaper. Mr. Chekov said that 50 dollars is a reasonable price. He believes that the Mosin-Nagant is the best rifle in the world, far better than the German ones."

The current market price is that one ounce of silver can be exchanged for two silver dollars, and 2 ounces of silver is 25 silver dollars. The Russian Mosin-Nagant is not expensive, but in line with the principle of bargaining as much as possible, Lin Yongchang kept bargaining with the Russians through an interpreter, and finally he used his ultimate move - a drinking contest.

By drinking seven bowls of Fenjiu in a row, Lin Yongchang successfully drank three Maozi and got the lowest price, 16 taels per bottle. However, due to the friendship forged at the wine table, he decided to offer 18 taels per bottle, and the extra 2 taels naturally went to his new friends Chekhov and Andrei.

After Chekov and Andrei woke up from their hangover, their faces were not looking good. They were a little happier when they heard that they could get some kickbacks. 16 taels, that's really not much profit, and the Russians also have to spend money to manage them.

Lin Yongchang drank a lot of wine last night and got up at six o'clock as usual. He first warmed up vigorously and then had breakfast. Chekov and Andrei had just gotten up. Who said that the Russians are all very good drinkers? It depends on the person.

"In addition to those 1,000 Mosin-Nagant rifles, I need a lot more weapons."

Lin Yongchang smiled and said, "I know the weapons you brought are definitely not new. We won't lose money, but we will make less money. Russia has so many troops. How many weapons do they need to replace every year? Those broken and damaged weapons can be brought to China and sold."

Andre was puzzled. "What's the use of those junks?"

What's the use of junk? This is a good question. If a part is broken, can't you just ask a blacksmith to make a similar one and put it in place? Junk is just a treasure in the wrong place. If there is any problem with those rifles processed locally... it's not Lin Yongchang who is using it anyway.

"Just get them. I'll give you five taels for a rifle that has eighty percent of its parts working, and ten taels for one that fires. Can you get some cannon?"

As expected, several Russians shook their heads. Rifles were fine. Cannons were prohibited from being imported into China by the great powers, mainly because they were too heavy and too big. Even if they were disassembled, they would still be a large mass, making it difficult to bring them to China. The Russians' industrial level was at the bottom among the great powers, and they were heavily dependent on foreign capital. Many of the Russian army's weapons were produced by the French.

The caliber of Russian artillery is always different, probably to make it compatible with other countries' shells in wartime? However, every country in this era likes to come up with some unique designs, and Russia is not the only one to do so. Later, the Japanese army and navy also came up with two different systems, which is speechless.

There is no doubt that the Russian field artillery is definitely not as good as the French 75mm rapid-fire gun

, but this means that there is no way to buy Miss 75? The only way is to find a way to get some other artillery to fill the scene. Although Chekov and Andrei both said that they could not get Russian artillery, Lin Yongchang thought they could give it a try.

Russia has a long history of corruption, no worse than ours. Even if we can't get the cannon now, what about the future? We have to look at the long term.

Chapter 38 Administrative Consultant

The character of Russians is similar to that of Mongolians, well, similar to that of Mongolians in history. They are rude and barbaric, and no matter what they do, they are not as meticulous as the British, nor as passionate as the French. Many European scholars have said that if you cut a Russian into pieces, you will find a Mongolian inside.

Lin Yongchang got an unexpected harvest from the Russians. He sent people to receive 200 % new Mosin-Nagant rifles, including bayonets, bullets, cartridge belts and other accessories, and then paid the corresponding amount in pounds. The rest of the money would be paid after the other rifles were shipped.

Doing business with the Russians requires such honesty. The Russians have defaulted on their debts more than once or twice. Of course, the same is true for doing business with other powers. Didn't the Germans, who are considered to be strict and rigid, also fool Zhang Zhidong with the Type 88 Commission rifle? The same is true for the British and Americans. Before credit is established, it is better to treat them as robbers, liars and thieves.

200 rifles cost more than 200 yuan, part of which was paid in pounds, but rifles were not enough to satisfy Lin Yongchang's appetite. He wanted more, more weapons, soldiers, and preferably cannons, so that he could occupy a piece of territory.

After returning to the courtyard with the weapons, Lin Yongchang asked his men to move the guns into the house. Then he opened the wooden boxes, picked out a few rifles, and studied their structure.

Is the Mosin-Nagant a good bolt-action rifle? Yes, it is a good rifle, and the Russians used it for fifty years. However, this rifle is not very friendly to the Chinese, the recoil is too strong, and the Russians have never done a good job in ergonomics. Russian soldiers have always been called gray animals because their uniforms are gray.

But the same thing goes, at this stage, just have a gun and don't be too picky.

Touching the cold gun, Lin Yongchang felt that the murderous aura could not be stopped, so he wanted to find someone to practice with. There were too many people he wanted to kill, so there was no rush. The Mosin-Nagant had a large recoil and poor ergonomics, but it also had its advantages, and it was exactly the opposite of the Lee-Enfield. The Mosin-Nagant had a long range, high accuracy, and great power. In the hands of elite soldiers, it could exert even greater power.

Buying guns could be a big deal or a small deal. Lin Yongchang, in line with the principle of thinking the worst, invited a Shaoxing lawyer to come over and help write official documents to explain the situation to the court. It would be fine if he was swinging a big knife under the emperor's feet, but what was he planning to do with so many guns? Was he planning to rebel? So he had to write a memorial to the relevant departments in the court. Lin Yongchang was now a representative of Tibet, and he wanted to represent China in the future.

He can write, but firstly, his handwriting is not very good-looking. Secondly, the team has begun to expand, and he can't do everything himself. In addition, the group of legal advisors has a tradition, and letting them polish it can avoid a lot of trouble. In feudal society, there are always many taboos. Lin Yongchang has established a persona of a fool with a lot of money for himself, but it doesn't mean that he will always use it. His goal is to have a thousand faces for a thousand people. If he goes to the literary and artistic circles, wouldn't it be a sure thing for him to win the title of Best Actor?

Shaoxing lawyers are good, but a little expensive. They cost two thousand taels of silver a year, which is 4000 silver dollars, and half of it has to be paid in advance. Even if it is 2000 silver dollars, it is enough to buy sixty or seventy rifles. However, Lin Yongchang had money in his hands now, so he gritted his teeth and hired one.

The legal advisor was a proper legal advisor from Shaoxing, in his fifties, surnamed Wang and given name Hai. He was originally an aide to the governor of Guangdong, and followed his employer to Beijing to perform his duties. However, his employer died of illness just after arriving in Beijing. After his employer was buried, Wang Hai planned to stay for a few more days before returning to his hometown. Lin Yongchang was recruiting legal advisors, and the two met under the matchmaking of a middleman. They were both very satisfied with each other, so they reached an employment relationship.

Wang Hai was satisfied with Lin Yongchang because the bald guy didn't bargain and gave him two silver notes of 5 taels on the spot. Lin Yongchang was satisfied because Wang Hai had the buff of [Administrative Efficiency +%] and he looked old, so he shouldn't trigger events like [Lust].

Administrative efficiency +5% can be considered a magical skill. Is it possible for a randomly found legal advisor to be so powerful? Even if he is from Shaoxing, it is a bit too much. Lin Yongchang explained his meaning, and Wang Hai was grinding ink beside him. When he finished speaking, the legal advisor picked up the brush, dipped it in the inkstone twice, and then wrote the official document in one go.

"Boss, what do you think of this?"

Wang Hai heard about Lin Yongchang bringing gold to Prince Qing and Rong Zhongtang as gifts. Everyone else was laughing at that big fool, but he smelled something different. It is said that when Chen Ziang first entered the capital, he smashed the precious zither in public, which made him famous in the capital. How many days has Lin Yongchang been in the capital? He immediately made the people of the capital remember him.

Although it is not a very good reputation, it is better to have a reputation than to be unknown, even if it is a bad reputation.

Wang Hai did not admit that he came here for the 4000 yuan a year. He thought he was just curious.

What about the price? Lin Yongchang was observing him, and he was also observing Lin Yongchang. He handed the article over, and he saw that Lin Yongchang just flipped through it a few times and nodded in agreement.

"Sir, it's very well written. I don't know which government office it should be sent to, so please do it for me."

Wang Hai smiled slightly and said with some reserve, "It's my job, thank you for being so polite."

"Well, I'm still short of an accountant here, and I can't find a reliable one for now, so you can take care of it first, sir."

Wang Hai kept smiling, and he did not think he was being exploited, but rather that he was trusted. So Lin Yongchang handed over the accounts to his master. The plate was getting bigger and bigger, and there were more and more things to do. He needed to get out of the tedious things and put his energy and time on more important things.

"That's about it. You can do the math first and give me the final figure in a few days."

The gold was sent back by the King of Qing, and Lin Yongchang had more money in his hands. But it is not enough to have expenditure without income. It is not Lin Yongchang's style to expect the Dalai Lama to send gold. You have to think of the worst in everything. What if the Dalai Lama doesn't give you money? Finding ways to make money yourself is the bottom line. But you still have to take the money if you can. You can't lose it. In order to be self-reliant, you don't have to give up the easy money.

Last time, Ronglu said he knew it, but there was no result after waiting for a few days. He planned to wait a few more days. If there was still no news, he couldn't wait any longer and had to act freely.

Chapter 39 Stubborn

The court's actions were so slow, and Lin Yongchang would not waste time waiting. Although life is a long wait before getting old, we can also do other things while waiting instead of just waiting.

He took Wuyun Qiqige to Dongjiaominxiang again, mainly to buy arms from the French and Americans, and more importantly to explore the terrain. That's right, Lin Yongchang was already planning how to rob Dongjiaominxiang. This was also learning from the practices of the Western powers, robbing as much as possible, and if the cost of robbing was too high, then do business.

After the last visit, Lin Yongchang drew a part of the terrain and buildings of Dongjiaomin Lane when he returned home at night. This time he wanted to conduct a more detailed survey. Of course, the purchase of weapons could not be relaxed.

Unfortunately, the French were unwilling to sell guns to him because he had no official status. The people in Dongjiaominxiang were civilized and could not do such ungentlemanly things. However, the French introduced a French arms dealer to Lin Yongchang, saying that Adolf could be contacted for business matters.

Adolf? Lin Yongchang was immediately shocked and asked if this Adolf was Austrian.

"I'm French!" Adolf found the bald man very puzzled. "Austria is not part of France."

"I know Austria belongs to the Habsburgs... Well, let's talk about arms."

Even though Lin Yongchang had the trading skills certified by the system, the stubborn French still refused to sell him artillery. Even one cannon would be fine, an infantry regiment cannot be without a single cannon, right? The cannons of Wang Zuolin's previous dynasty were only good for hearing, and they could not be relied upon in a real battle!

But no, the French are stubborn like that.

"The Wuwei Army is equipped with so many foreign guns and cannons, and I just want to buy two small cannons. Is that not possible?"

"Lin, rules are rules."

"Okay then." Lin Yongchang happily gave up the plan to buy the cannon, and then said, "You have to give me a cheaper price for the rifle."

The French M1886 rifle was the most advanced rifle in the world at the time of the interview, but that was more than a decade ago. The magazine structure and pointed bullet structure of the M1886 gun itself made it possible for the bullet to hit the primer of the previous bullet when in the magazine, causing accidental discharge; and the tubular magazine soon proved to be less efficient than the magazine structure, and loading was more cumbersome. Compared with new rifles from other countries, the firing rate was far lower.

However, the stubborn French still insisted on using the M1886, and they used it until after World War I. Lin Yongchang thought that the French were so stubborn because they were too stimulated by the "Franco-Prussian War". During the Franco-Prussian War, the Germans relied on railways for mobility and defeated the French army with fierce artillery fire, pulling the French down from the throne of the world's number one army.

During the Battle of Sedan, the French had better rifles than the Germans, but their field artillery was not as good as the Germans, and they suffered a great loss in the shooting. After that, the French put all their points on rapid-fire artillery, creating the epoch-making "Miss 75" field artillery, but ignored the development of rifles.

According to statistics, most casualties in battle were caused by artillery, and light weapons were often just self-defense weapons, but this was by no means a reason to abandon light weapons. The French not only valued rapid-fire guns, but also developed "offensive tactics" specifically for rapid-fire guns.

It was because of the Franco-Prussian War. The German army... was still the Prussian army at that time. The Prussian army relied on offensive tactics to win that time, so the French learned from them. Their tactics, weapons, and regulations were very similar to those of the Prussian army during the Franco-Prussian War.

Until the First World War, the French were still promoting the "offensive" spirit, completely ignoring the fact that the French army had suffered heavy casualties in front of the German trenches. Later, French officers used machine guns to supervise the battle, and the nobles forced

Forcing French soldiers to die was not only a matter of tactical rigidity, but also a deliberate attempt to eliminate unstable factors through the German army.

Those old soldiers who had fought in trench warfare for several years all harbored resentment towards the government and were also influenced by revolutionary ideas. If those old soldiers were not eliminated, the old soldiers of the revolution might storm into the Palace of Versailles.

The French felt the benefits of defense during World War I, and after the war they began to build fortresses as hard as they could, creating the world-famous fortress complex such as the Maginot Line. However, they were eventually defeated by the German blitzkrieg.

Alas, the French always remember food but not war, and are always so stubborn. The upper level has policies, and the lower level has countermeasures. The government says that it is not allowed to sell arms, does it really not sell? Lin Yongchang said: "I can add money!"