The products sold by the Song Dynasty were all outdated. They were definitely not as good as Krupp cannons in terms of production cost, but they could not lag behind in price.
If others dare to increase the price by seven or eight times, the Song Dynasty will dare to increase it by ten times.
The total cost of these 50 cannons plus various supporting facilities is less than 30,000 taels of silver. Selling them for 300,000 taels is not too much.
After all, the Song Dynasty is the only country in the world that has arms, and it has a monopoly on the business.
Unlike the late Qing Dynasty, Britain, France, Germany and even the United States all had guns and cannons, and the fierce competition led to severe price pressures.
"Your Highness, please think carefully. We will go to the Western Chalukyas and the Arab Empire on this trip. If Your Highness doesn't buy it, I'm afraid they will buy it."
Seeing that Jatiraja Chola I was still hesitant, Tan Wenxue added fuel to the fire.
After hearing Folian's translation, Jatiraja Chola I finally made up his mind and said, "Can we exchange it for spices?"
"The price of spices is not constant, and this is a barter. If a large amount of spices is shipped to the Song Dynasty, their value will depreciate, so we only exchange them for gold and silver."
Tan Wenxue shook his head.
Jatiraja Chola I pondered for a while and said, "If we are willing to buy it at the price of nine pounds of gold per statue, can you not sell it to the Chalukya?"
"ah?"
Tan Wenxue was surprised and said, "Your Highness, nine pounds of gold is the normal selling price. I'm afraid this additional condition is not acceptable. The Song Dynasty has always emphasized free trade and fair transactions. You are really embarrassing it."
"Then what will it take for you to not sell this artillery to the Later Chalukya?"
Jatiraja Chola I asked.
"This seriously violates the spirit of free trade in our Great Song Dynasty."
Tan Wenxue fell into silence.
Jatiraja Chola I looked at him with earnest eyes.
As if moved by the other party's sincere eyes, Tan Wenxue finally gritted his teeth and said, "But it's not impossible, unless Your Highness is willing to compensate for our losses."
"Oh? How do you mean?"
Jatiraja Chola I asked hurriedly.
“You have to pay more!”
Tan Wenxue squeezed out a few words from between his teeth and said, "Eighteen catties of gold for one ounce is worth fifty statues. Your Highness knows that cannonballs and gunpowder also cost money. If you have nine catties of gold for fifty statues, we can also sell fifty statues to the Hou Zhaluqi. That way we can make a lot of money on cannonballs and gunpowder. But if we don't sell them to them, we will lose a lot on cannonballs and gunpowder. We are only doing this because of Your Highness's hospitality. Otherwise..."
Eighteen pounds of gold?
Jatiraja Chola I was also shocked and immediately discussed the matter with several important ministers around him.
After a while, no one knew what the ministers said to Jatiraja Chola I, but he finally made up his mind and said, "Okay, I agree."
Although the price of one statue is eighteen kilograms of gold, plus various accessories, the total price may be more than thirty kilograms per statue, but as long as the mortal enemy, the Chalukya Dynasty, is eliminated, this amount of money will be just a small amount of money.
The wealth of a dynasty is more than just a few thousand kilograms of gold.
"Congratulations, Your Highness. When I return, I will report this news to the court. I will definitely lobby the court on this matter. Please wait for my good news."
Tan Wenxue said with a smile.
Although the price was almost excessive, a crude steel cannon with a barrel cost of only 180 guan was sold for 3,456 guan, nearly 20 times the price.
As for the shells and gunpowder, you only need to make 10 times the profit, 200 shells and 1,800 kilograms of gunpowder.
The quoted cost of the shells was 3 guan (approximately 100 tbsp) and the gunpowder was 200 guan (approximately 100 tbsp), but in reality the shells cost only 1.5 guan (approximately 100 tbsp) and the gunpowder 120 guan (approximately 100 tbsp). The total cost, with the gun barrel weighing 180 guan
When it was sold to the Chola Dynasty, it cost 3,000 strings of artillery shells, 1,200 strings of gunpowder, and 3,456 strings of gun barrels. The complete set of artillery was 7,656 strings of guns, and with fifty pieces, it was worth 380,000 strings of guns.
The Song Dynasty seemed to be making a lot of money.
But this will mean less business from Hou Zhaluqi.
Even if they were sold at nine jin each, fifty of them would be worth 300,000 strings of cash.
The Chola Dynasty wanted 50 statues, and when they passed through the Chalukya Dynasty, they sold another 50 statues, which would have totaled 600,000 strings of cash, a loss of 220,000 strings of cash.
In the end, it’s not a huge profit, but a huge loss.
But the problem is.
It’s okay to not allow the sale of cannons.
After all, the Song Dynasty is a country of credibility. Since it has signed this exclusive sales contract, it must abide by it.
But who said that the Song Dynasty only had artillery?
Anyway, the contract only stipulates that artillery cannot be sold.
Grenades, flintlock rifles, ceramic fragmentation mines, primitive rocket launchers, there is always one suitable for the Hou Zhaluqi.
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