Chapter 315 Clearance
Let’s go back to the trading market in Bodelai Town, when Bubuyaweisi and Odley Kevin had a big fight on their way back to the Abyssinian Empire.
A group of Negmute merchants slowly entered the town of Bodelai, and Lawrence, the company commander of the border guards stationed in Bodelai, greeted them warmly.
Lawrence: "Mr. Yan Reid, you guys came really early today!"
Yan Reid: "Hahaha, you are too polite, Mr. Lawrence. The weather is nice today. I think this indicates that our cooperation can reach a new level."
Unlike other caravans that arrived at Bodelete town early to "buy", the Ya'an Reed caravan arrived much later. However, East Africa's attitude towards the Ya'an Reed caravan was obviously different, and even the border guards took the initiative to greet them.
Lawrence: "Mr. Yanred, as far as I know, a new batch of guns arrived today. This morning, a batch of guns from your capital Tigray and Amhara region were bought in advance. But don't worry, we will keep all the good stuff."
Upon hearing the exclusive information provided by Lawrence, Yan Reed hurriedly expressed his gratitude and said, "Thank you for the information, my friend. These northerners are too ambitious. They have monopolized the empire's arms business in the east, and they want to get involved in the south. They are really greedy guys."
Yaanred refuted the unethical behavior of his peers. Before the market was opened in East Africa, the trade activities of the Abyssinian Empire were concentrated on the coast of the Red Sea. Cities such as Negmet in the inland south naturally could not enjoy these dividends. As for the north, there were actually trade routes, but the relationship between Egypt in the north and the Abyssinian Empire was extremely bad, and the trade volume between the two was very small.
Lawrence: "Mr. Yan Reed, don't be angry. There is no end to the business. Besides, we in East Africa stand on the side of you, Negmet. With the support of East Africa, sooner or later you will be able to compete with those big forces."
Just as the British supported John IV, the Kingdom of East Africa was also looking for its own representative within the Abyssinian Empire, and the local forces in the south of the Abyssinian Empire, headed by the city of Negmet, were the targets of East Africa's wooing.
The southern part of the Abyssinian Empire was far less developed than the northern and eastern parts, and it had little influence in the empire. But now, the British have torn the entire Abyssinian Empire into pieces in one war. Now the local forces in the Abyssinian Empire are divided by warlords, and the various forces in southern Abyssinia are also eyeing the throne of the empire for their own interests. They support Nat Hogg, the former commander of the southern empire, to be the speaker.
Speaking of Nathhog, it is quite dramatic. He is also a descendant of a large family in the Tigray region. He was sent to the south by the former emperor of the Abyssinian Empire, Theodore II. He was a general appointed by Theodore II to guard against East Africa. However, after Theodore II was defeated and committed suicide, the empire fell apart. With the recommendation of various forces in the south, Nathhog also became one of the strong contenders for the emperor of the empire.
As for why the southern forces nominated Nat Hogg as their representative, it was because of his status as a descendant of the Solomon family. The Solomon family is equivalent to the royal family of the current Abyssinian Empire and is more easily accepted by the whole country.
The supporter behind the various forces in the south was the Kingdom of East Africa. In other words, Nathhog went from being a general who was on guard against the invasion of the Kingdom of East Africa to one of the contenders for the pinnacle of power in the Abyssinian Empire with the support of East Africa.
…
Led by Lawrence himself, Yanred's men came to the specialized arms store in the town of Bodelai. Unlike Bubuyaweis and O'Dley Kevin, they came to the backyard of the arms store, where boxes of arms had already been neatly stacked.
Lawrence got a crowbar and opened a box himself. The wooden box painted green still had a strong smell, and from the smell one could tell that the goods were very "new". After opening it, he saw shiny flintlock rifles neatly stacked in the straw. Lawrence took out one and handed it to Yanreid.
Lowens: "This is the M1809 muzzle-loading smoothbore rifle that was used by the Prussian regular army. It is very famous in Europe. You can see that these parts still retain their luster and their reliability is still trustworthy."
Lawrence himself felt a little embarrassed. It was really difficult for the East African government that such antiques could be dug out and sold.
Prussia was not equipped with many of these rifles at the time, because the Prussian army was restricted to a very small scale by France during Napoleon's reign. The fact that such antique goods can be found in East Africa only shows that they are really cheap, and they were basically collected from Prussian arsenals at the price of scrap iron.
After serving in the hands of East African militia for a few more years, it can be said that these guns are over 50 years old, much older than Lawrence.
Obviously, these old guns look pretty good. They were refurbished and repainted at the East African Arsenal.
Although family members know family members, Lawrence still said shamelessly: "It may be a little long, but it is stable. After all, the Prussian army is a powerful army in Europe and has very high requirements for the production of its own weapons. Moreover, the unified standard makes it easier to replace and maintain parts. It is definitely much stronger than the weapons we sell to the northerners."
The sources of the Abyssinian Empire's rifles were mixed. They were basically antiques sold by various countries. The quality was uneven, and some were even broken. Those like the East African ones that were refurbished before being sold were even rarer.
So Yan Reed was very satisfied with the appearance of this batch of guns. He asked, "Mr. Lawrence, can I check the other boxes?"
Lawrence: "Of course no problem!" and handed over the crowbar in his hand.
After all, it was just one box, so Yaan Reed didn't dare to be careless. What if this box was a fake one specially prepared in East Africa? That would be a big loss.
It was obvious that as Yan Reed randomly sampled a few boxes, they were all of the same quality, and he said with satisfaction: "Mr. Lawrence, I am very satisfied with this batch of goods, but we still need to put it to the test in the end!"
Lawrence: "You can go to our border guards' shooting range in the suburbs. The terrain there is very open."
Finally, Yanred personally tested the power of these rifles on the outskirts of Bodelais, and found that they had reached the upper-middle level of the Abyssinian Empire's firearms units.
Yaan Reed: "We are very satisfied and can pay the bill now, gold and silver coins or livestock!"
Lawrence: "All is fine, my friend. Use whatever is convenient for you!"
Finally, Yanred exchanged the last batch of Ottoman silver coins in his hands at the Hechingen Bank. These silver coins were obtained when he did business with Ottoman merchants on the Red Sea coast. But now Egypt was at war with Abyssinia, and trade between the two countries was almost interrupted. The Ottoman silver coins depreciated severely in Abyssinia, so Yanred was eager to get rid of them.
It doesn't matter for East Africa. These Ottoman silver coins can still flow back to the Ottoman Empire after being taken to the Sultanate of Zanzibar. After all, Abyssinia is a landlocked country, but East Africa is not.
At the same time, this also meant the collapse of the Ottoman Empire's financial influence on the Abyssinian Empire, and what took over were hard currencies such as the British pound, the franc and the East African financial notes issued by the Hechingen Bank.
After all, the Abyssinian Empire is a big country with a population of nearly 10 million. The temptation of this market is not small. At the same time, for East Africa, the Abyssinian Empire is not as poor as the natives of West Africa, whose only "gold" has some trading value but almost no purchasing power.
East Africa was also eager to return the antique guns in its hands. With the installation of the Dreiser rifle production line, East Africa was about to bid farewell to the muzzle-loading flintlock rifles, and the war-torn Abyssinian Empire was a good buyer.
(End of this chapter)
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