Chapter 176: Prince, this thing is invincible (first update, please subscribe)
A good arms dealer will not only sell arms to the warring parties, but will also stimulate the outbreak of war or help escalate the war in order to sell more arms.
Only in this way can one be a competent arms dealer.
As an arms dealer, Liu Kunpeng certainly knows the key. He is not worried about breaking the balance. Only by breaking the balance can he get more business.
How can they buy more arms without breaking the balance?
As they were talking, the two men arrived on the ironclad ship.
Li Fugui slapped the thick iron armor hard and said.
"Such thick armor cannot be penetrated by guns or cannons. In this area, it is simply like a crab, a tyrannical character..."
He said again, feeling proud.
"Brother Liu, you never imagined that this ironclad ship was actually built by Nanhua itself!"
"It was actually made by Nanhua. How long has it been made?"
Liu Kunpeng's face was full of disbelief, and he even looked at it carefully a few more times. He didn't dare to believe it at all. After all, he knew what Nanhua looked like.
How come they built a ship so quickly, and it was an ironclad ship at that?
Of course, he didn't know that this so-called ironclad ship was actually just a wooden hull. Similar things had existed hundreds of years ago.
"Yes, I guess in a few years, maybe a dozen years..."
Pointing to the "Great Eastern" which was as big as an island on the sea, Li Fugui smiled.
"Who knows, maybe by then, we can all build a big ship like this."
While speaking, Li Fugui said again.
"Can we really build such a big ship by then?"
Liu Kunpeng's eyes were full of disbelief. In his opinion, this boat was almost impossible to build by human power.
"Of course we can. Didn't the boss say that if the foreigners can do it, we Chinese can do it too, and we can do it better!"
Staring at the "Great Eastern", Li Fugui said.
"I asked someone to find my nephew in my hometown. He is going back to Nanhua on the ship this time. I will let him go to school and study abroad. In the future, I will build a big ship like this. What do you think, Brother Liu?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Kunpeng's face darkened. Seeing this, Li Fugui remembered that Liu Kunpeng had never found his brother. His brother was abducted by the Taiping rebels just like him. So many years have passed, and he might have died somewhere unknown.
"Hey, look at me, I only care about interrupting. Take this ship to Suzhou as soon as possible. Prince Zhong is there now. I heard that he is preparing to attack Shanghai again!"
"Attack Shanghai again? Zeng Tietong has surrounded Tianjing now, why doesn't he return to Tianjing?"
Liu Kunpeng said in surprise.
"Over in Shanghai, there are Governor Li's Huai Army, the Foreign Rifle Corps, and foreigners. Even if we send an army of hundreds of thousands, we may not be able to defeat them!"
Liu Kunpeng, who had lived in the Shanghai Concession for many years, certainly knew the local strength. He also knew that with the Taiping rebels' combat effectiveness, an army of more than 100,000 was just a number and it was impossible for them to capture Shanghai.
"That's right. If Prince Li Zhong loses many troops in Shanghai, he might draw troops from Prince Kang in Hangzhou. It's hard to say whether Hangzhou can be defended at that time."
Li Fugui nodded and said.
"The meaning of the boss's telegram is very clear. We should sell the ship to him as soon as possible, and then find a way to let him solve the siege of Tianjing. We can't let him lose troops in Shanghai. In addition, we must help them defend Hangzhou no matter what, even if we have to send our people. Only by defending Hangzhou can we continue to do business with them. However, the most urgent task at the moment is to sell the ironclad ship to Prince Zhong. With it, he can clear the way to Tianjing!"
A seemingly inconspicuous ironclad ship of less than 400 tons can play a role beyond people's imagination. Even Li Fugui can see what kind of changes such an unsinkable ironclad ship carrying a huge cannon will bring to the battlefield.
What’s more, it was Prince Li Zhong and his subordinates who had been fighting for many years.
Like everyone else, King Li Zhong was dumbfounded when he saw the two-masted steamer coming towards the river with black smoke coming out.
"Your Majesty, this cannon is the most advanced ten-inch cannon in the world, and the shell weighs nearly 100 kilograms. With it, Your Majesty, attacking the city will be as easy as tearing paper..."
Liu Kunpeng didn't know whether the ten-inch Dahlgren cannon was the largest cannon in the world, but what was certain was that neither the Taiping Rebellion nor the Qing Dynasty had such a large cannon.
"Your Majesty, with this cannon, we won't have to worry about not being able to take down the Qing monsters' camp. Bombarding the Qing monster walls under Tianjing City won't be a piece of cake..."
"That's right, Your Majesty. The Heavenly King has issued several urgent orders for us to return to Tianjing. We were originally worried about Zeng Tietongtuweizi, but now we don't have to worry about that. Besides..."
Zeng Tietong's "earthen wall" has always been a thorn in the side of the Taiping Army. Why was Li Xiucheng unwilling to reinforce Tianjing? To put it bluntly, he was not sure he could defeat the Hunan Army, which relied on digging trenches, building walls, and defending itself by "building a strong camp and fighting a stupid battle"?
Outside the city of Tianjing, Zeng Tietong's Hunan Army built dozens of strongholds. They tried to take down those strongholds one by one by bombarding them with cannons. However, they did not have enough cannons and gunpowder, and they used human lives to pile up the cannons. Even if they exhausted all their men, they still might not be able to take down all those "earthen walls".
But if a cannon like this is used, it will be a different story... It might be able to blow it open with just one shot!
While his subordinates were talking one after another, Prince Zhong walked to the giant cannon that was as tall as a person. He looked at the cannon for a while, and then looked at the cannonball that was as big as a human head.
"My goodness, this cannonball is bigger than my head. If it fires, it will definitely blow the city apart!"
As he spoke, Prince Li Zhong knocked hard on the hull again. The crisp sound of metal startled him.
"This is……"
"Ironclad ship! Your Majesty!"
Liu Kunpeng knocked hard on the hull and said proudly.
"Your Highness, look at this ship. It is covered with an inch thick iron armor. Not only can it not be penetrated by bullets, but even if it is hit by a cannon, it will just be like tickling. If the Heavenly Kingdom buys this ship, even if the Hunan Navy has thousands of boats, it will definitely not be its opponent."
"What! Armor!"
Everyone was knocking on the hull with their hands or swords in astonishment. The crisp sound of metal made them all look surprised. The armor was great! The armor... couldn't be penetrated!
"And it has special weapons to attack crabs that stick to small boats. Your Majesty, please take a look!"
As he finished speaking, Liu Kunpeng shouted towards the bridge.
"Xu Mingwu!!"
"have!"
"Aim for the port target ship and fire."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Mingwu on the bridge shook the handle of the Gatling gun, and the gunshot rang out in the blink of an eye. Along with the rapid gunshots, 20 mm lead bullets flew out one after another. In just a blink of an eye, the small wooden boat was covered with flying wood chips, and the deck was full of fist-sized holes. Before they could come to their senses, the small wooden boat was about to sink.
"What kind of gun is this? It can fire so fast?"
Looking at the stunned crowd, Liu Kunpeng said proudly.
"Gatling five-barrel machine gun, Your Majesty, this gun only needs a few shots to destroy a speedboat, and even if it runs out of bullets, the Hunan Navy is no match for it..."
I have set up a book club: 335260551. Everyone is welcome to join and discuss and deduce the plot together.
(End of this chapter)
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