Chapter 34 Confidential Procurement and Chartering Agreements (1)

  Although he spent a lot of money, Li Han couldn't help but feel some heartache. The money in his hand was dwindling with every transaction. However, despite the pain, he paid the bill and let Yan Zhong follow the middle-aged white housekeeper, Davis, to pick up the goods. After arranging them in the car according to his previous plan, he finally felt relieved. Turning around, he saw a smiling young white man, Carl, walking towards him with two empty wine glasses.

  "Sir, forgive me for my previous rudeness. You may call me 'Karl', and you? Would you like a cup?"

  He lifted the red wine in his hand, "Although it's not as famous as the Empire's Bull Blood Wine and Ice Wine, it's still pretty good..."

  Li Han nodded and said, "My name is Li Han, you can call me 'Li' directly, thanks!"

  His gaze followed his hand, and the young white man named Karl was holding a bottle of fine red wine that had just been taken out of the ice cellar. Li Han noticed some French words on the wine label and inadvertently saw the engraved year 1862, a genuine antique "heavenly wine".

  "A red wine from Bordeaux, France, once collected by Emperor Napoleon III, flowed into Germany during the Franco-Prussian War, later passed through the hands of the Imperial Envoy to China, and now has been given to me... Try it, not bad!"

  Karl smiled and poured him a glass of wine, handing it in front of him.

  "Thank you!"

  He took the wine cup handed over by the other party, Li Han used the special training he had received before, and held it in his hand for a slight shake. He then brought it to his nose for a light sniff, and only after that did he take a small sip. After savoring it in his mouth for a while, he finally swallowed it down.

  "Good wine!"

  He faintly praised it, actually this red wine is just like the Chinese elegant people tasting tea, also paying attention to three steps, only with a little difference.

  1. Color: Pour the wine into a colorless glass and hold it up to eye level to observe its color. Good red wine has a ruby red color (the same as rubies). High-quality red wine is clear and almost transparent, with better wines being brighter. Inferior or adulterated red wine has an irregular color and poor brightness.

  2. Smell: This is the most obvious and reliable way to determine the quality of wine, we only need to smell it once to distinguish between good and bad. High-quality red wine has a relatively light aroma, showing wine fragrance and aged flavor without any unpleasant odor. It's particularly worth noting that poor-quality wine always has an irrepressible unpleasant "stale taste" or pungent strange smell.

  3. Palate: Hold the wine glass up, place the mouth of the cup between the lips and press down on the lower lip, tilt the head slightly backwards, suck the wine into the mouth, gently stir the tongue to make the wine evenly distributed on the surface of the tongue, then control the wine in the front of the oral cavity, swallow it after a while. Each time you taste, take in about half a mouthful of wine. The entrance is smooth and feels good in the mouth, with a harmonious balance between the flavor and astringency, leaving a long-lasting aftertaste of fragrance and slight astringency in the mouth. The mouthfeel is extremely comfortable, especially the sweet and fragrant feeling of sugar in the wine, which cannot be experienced in other wines. There is a pure oak aroma and the unique aroma of fine wine, delicate, mellow and smooth.

  Following these steps, the red wine in front of him was indeed an excellent choice in terms of color, appearance and taste. Although Li Han rarely drank due to his alcohol tolerance, he had learned for a period of time for the sake of convenience during missions abroad, so what he made was quite similar, making Carl, who already had doubts in his heart, even more suspicious.

  He couldn't help but ask, "Excuse my impertinence, sir, but you're not an ordinary Qing national, are you? I see a confidence and attitude in you that most people in this country don't possess. Your knowledge of firearms is also impressive - many military officers here, even those responsible for government procurement, don't understand these things, yet you seem to know them inside out. You must be no ordinary person... And if I may ask impertinently, sir, who are you?"

  Li Han's heart skipped a beat, but his face didn't show it. He smiled faintly and slightly nodded at the other person, "Where, being able to make your country's ambassador give such precious red wine, you're not an ordinary person either. I'm just an ordinary overseas Chinese who has returned home, if there's anything different about me, perhaps it's that I used to be a mercenary abroad for a few years..."

  Carl suddenly realized that perhaps the overall consciousness and professionalism of mercenaries were not as good as those of professional soldiers, but the work they did was the most dangerous. Killing and arson were nothing more than usual, and mastering various firearms was a basic skill. No wonder Davis, who had also been a mercenary before, became vigilant as soon as he saw this young man in front of him for the first time.

  The doubts in his heart were somewhat answered, but when he asked himself about his identity, Carl didn't respond. After all, his identity was not ordinary. "Are you also a revolutionary? I've met many revolutionaries from your country, but compared to them, I think more highly of you. You should be more aware of the dangers of this revolution..."

  Li Han nodded, but didn't respond. Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind, and he suppressed the excitement in his heart, asking cautiously, "I see that your company has considerable strength, I wonder if your company has enough strength to undertake a huge military procurement?"

  "Ah, Mr. Chinese, could you roughly tell me how much military supplies you need to purchase?"

  It's really a case of "when it rains, it pours", he came to China this time with a substantial amount of goods, which had been piling up in his hands for some time. If they couldn't be sold, the loss would be huge, just from depreciation and transportation costs alone. Naturally, he hoped to get as many orders as possible. However, he also became interested, looking at this sturdy Chinese soldier wearing a strange black military uniform (?), thinking to himself "Could it be a procurement from the Qing government?" The way he spoke was so grand, making him feel for an instant that it might be a government procurement. But he immediately dismissed this idea, jokingly thinking "The Qing government? How could they possibly appear together with those rebel groups?", it's clear that they would also participate in the upcoming Hubei riot.

  But I don't know how much more of this old empire's tender flesh can be carved off next to him!

  "If your supplies are sufficient, I need enough equipment for 5 standard infantry divisions! That is to say, we need to have 8,000 rifles, 500 revolvers, 240 light machine guns, 72 heavy machine guns, and two artillery battalions with approximately 72 standard 27-caliber 60mm rapid-fire cannons, 24 standard 27-caliber 75mm howitzers, 12 standard 20-caliber 88mm howitzers, and 12 standard 35-caliber 105mm cannons! In addition, we need 150 boxes of bullets and 20 boxes of hand grenades!"

  "Are you kidding me, sir?"

  Karl's face suddenly turned very stiff, he had these things, but this strong firepower configuration, let alone the empire, the whole world only has the so-called first army of Germany and the declining French army barely met a part of it, can't help but make him suspect that the man in front of him who looks like a military man is not joking with him!

  "What do you say, sir?"

  Li Han's face hung a faint smile, and from his back he took out the tactical bag that had been prepared earlier, pulling it open to reveal bundles of ￡500,000 in counterfeit notes, all of which were dumped onto the table in front of him. "Dear Mr. Karl, this is my guarantee of confidence!"