Chapter 32: Buying Guns (Part 1)

  "Ouch!!!"

  The door creaked softly as it was opened, and following the familiar butler in were two obviously Chinese men of yellow race, only...only one of them couldn't help but look a bit too tall and robust. As the sturdy man in black military uniform walked into the room, Karl hadn't even had time to react when the middle-aged white housekeeper Davis, who had been standing by with a smile, suddenly changed his expression. He took a few steps to the side, intentionally or unintentionally positioning himself out of sight of the robust man, and then used his eyes to signal to the butler that he didn't need to leave, so he stayed by the young white man Karl's side.

  "Is there something wrong with this man?"

  As Davis made this move, the young white man named Carl slightly furrowed his brow. However, when he looked over at him, he found that Davis's eyes were narrowed, clearly focusing all his attention on one of the two men who had just entered - a tall and sturdy young man.

  Carl knew the rules. Generally, if someone had a gun or a short knife dagger on hand, they would be carefully brought into his room in the foreign concession, after all, his identity was at stake, so he wasn't worried that the other party would play any tricks, after all, this was China, but it was also a standard colonial territory of European powers, whether this country was willing to admit it or not, it couldn't change the fact.

  After a sigh of relief, Karl's interest was piqued, and he carefully sized up the butler who had trained under the Hessian mercenaries (Hesse-Kassel, a small German state with centuries of mercenary history, once the largest and most rigorous producer of top-level mercenaries in the world) for nearly five years and had helped his father escape danger several times.

  "What a robust man!"

  He silently praised him, a robust man with such a physique is hard to find in Europe, except for some specially trained servants or gladiators. Indeed, he was extraordinary. Karl only then discovered that this country was not as rotten as he had imagined, at least they still had elite soldiers, unfortunately, these soldiers were more willing to use violent means to overthrow the emperor's rule!

  "Hello sir, sorry to disturb your lunch break, but we're here to discuss some business with you!"

  The speaker was Li Han, and the one following him was none other than Yan Zhongzhi. As they were approaching the Mid-Heaven Gate at noon, they coincidentally heard a gunshot near Meiting Mountain, where the Chuwangtai Arsenal was located. They quietly followed the sound and ended up rescuing a group of Huizhou rebels who were being pursued by Qing soldiers. It turned out that Yan Zhongzhi knew them, and after a brief exchange, he learned about the difficulties faced by the Eighth Engineering Battalion guarding the arsenal. Li Han helped Yan write a simple letter using his special pen, which was then passed on to the battalion through Tian's help. Fearing that his presence might cause unintended consequences and lead to the failure of the rebellion, Li Han suggested sponsoring some funds to purchase firearms for the progressive new army within the Eighth Engineering Battalion, who had been disarmed. Only after securing the arsenal would they arm the thousands of rebels in the city, ensuring a revolutionary victory.

  Li Han convinced Yan Zhongzhi and others, but for this era, he obviously didn't know much. Moreover, although he didn't get lost on the road with no reference points, even if he heard that there were many places in Hankou District where military supplies could be bought, even if he finally ran to the place and came back, when would he dare to confirm?

  In the end, this difficult problem was solved. Yan Zhongzhi had once been a bodyguard of Sun Wu, the leader of the uprising, and had followed him to buy guns at a foreign firm in Hankou several times. Although he had been injured and his body was somewhat weak, for the success of the uprising, he still followed. After some discussion, Li Han left Tian Shi behind and took out the captured guns to arm the rescued Huizhou Party members, telling them to find a hiding place to hide first. After refueling sufficiently, Li Han only brought Yan Zhongzhi with him, speeding up to the limit that the simple roads of this era could reach. It took an hour and a half to arrive, shaking all the way. In the middle of crossing the river, they encountered some trouble because they had to bring the car over. As a result, it wasn't until Li Han took out 1,000 taels that an American captain agreed to take them and their car to the other side.

  However, after the bumpy ride in the car, both of their faces turned unsightly, especially Yan Zhongzhi, who had injuries on his body and was staggering as he walked, his face turning a sickly pale.

  Since entering the room, Li Han felt very unnatural. At first, he didn't pay attention to it, but when the housekeeper unintentionally stepped into his blind spot, he suddenly became alert and realized that he might have encountered a master of this era. However, since he wasn't planning to attack the other person, he didn't think much of it either. Seeing Yan Zhong's pale face about to faint, he directly approached him and stated his purpose.

  "We want to buy guns, are there any?"

  He expressed his thoughts in standard English with a somewhat respectful tone, and Li Han stood there waiting for the other's response.

  "Oh?"

  Karl's face showed some surprise, but he didn't want to engage in more idle chatter and directly entered the topic. But weren't these people usually fond of chatting with him about the weather first, then sighing over the friendship between their two nations, admiring the empire's advanced power, and finally discussing the purchase of military equipment?

  Now it's changed to a different person, and this business has become very prosperous!

  "No problem, Mr. China. As long as you can afford it, we have plenty of goods in stock, whatever you want! However, our goods are all high-quality products from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, so the price..."

  "M1888, sixteen taels of silver for one rifle, with five bullets as a gift. The gun is only 70-80% new, but it's guaranteed to be well-maintained and has no quality issues!"

  The voice came from one side of Li Han's body, but it was the middle-aged butler Davis standing in his blind spot who spoke when mentioning the performance and price of the weapon.

  "Hmm..."

  Li Han hummed, "Your country's M1888 is a synonym for poor quality in Europe. Not only is the shell ejection difficult, but the gun mechanism also tends to malfunction. The difficulty of shell ejection means that on the battlefield, you may lose your life at any time because you waste more time than the enemy. The self-activity of the gun mechanism can easily cause misfires. Such a third-rate product, even if it's a used and worn-out weapon, is still overpriced at eight taels per rifle. Your foreign firm has even quoted a high price of sixteen taels per rifle... As far as I know, a brand new Remington rifle costs no more than seventeen to nineteen taels. The Russians' water polo can be bought in Shanghai for fifteen taels... If that's the case... then forget about this deal..."