Chapter 565: Foreigners Want Good Things (Fourth Update, Please Subscribe)
Russia not only buys weapons from South China, but is also a major customer.
As one of the great powers, Russia's industry and military industry are definitely the floor of all European countries. It may even be several floors below the floor.
After being flattered by Britain and France in the Crimean War, although they lost the war according to tradition and sacrificed a tsar, they still had to face reality.
After the Tsar suffered a "stroke", the new emperor began to import equipment from Britain and France. Not only did he import equipment, but he also sent officers around the world from time to time to test and purchase various new weapons.
The lesson of Crimea is too profound. We must be vigilant.
When Count Philip von Bruno chased Nanhua like a dog-skin plaster and pestered it to sell Alaska to the "America Company", he unexpectedly discovered that the weapons produced by the company were actually very good, especially the cutting-edge Type 61 revolver, which was simply a perfect weapon.
After all, the Type 61 revolver is not only the world's first double-action revolver with a side-swinging revolver, but also Zhu Xianhai drew on some classic designs of later generations when designing it, such as Colt's M1917 revolver, and he said that the metal eggshell used was definitely an epoch-making weapon in this era.
When leaving Nanhua, Count Philip von Bruno took away one hundred Type 61 11mm pistols. Half a year later, several Russian officers came to Nanhua and signed a contract directly with the Nanhua Arsenal to purchase 41,000 Type 61 pistols. They not only ordered weapons, but also purchased technical patents to be independently produced by the Tula Arsenal in Russia.
It was also from 1863 that Nanhua entered the international arms market by exporting revolvers to Russia. In the following seven years, although Nanhua's weapons were sold to Spain, Egypt, Turkey and other countries, Russia has always been a major customer of Nanhua Arsenal.
Even now, Russia is still the largest user of the Type 67 rifle. Two years ago, Colonel Grove and Colonel Gonias were immediately conquered by this new rifle after they came to South China. They purchased 30,000 Type 67 rifles without hesitation. Subsequently, this 9mm rifle was produced in Russia under the name of "Grov rifle".
What was Major Grove’s greatest contribution?
The rifle was changed to 11mm caliber to increase its power. The Russians did not believe in the 9mm caliber. They always thought that the larger the caliber, the greater the power. Another method was to use the traditional triangular bayonet. This became the Grov rifle. Even the Gatling machine gun manufactured by Nanhua was named the Grov machine gun in Russia.
However, the perfect performance of the Type 70 rifle in France last year dazzled the eyes of military experts from European countries. The new rifle and bullet will give the Ming infantry a great tactical advantage in terms of accuracy and range. Overnight, the old large-caliber black powder rifle and bullet were eliminated.
As the biggest fan of Nanhua, Russia naturally couldn't sit still, so Colonel Grove once again traveled thousands of miles to Nanhua, and the Type 67 rifle that uses 7.5mm bullets is simply tailor-made for Russia - because its basic design is taken from the Grove single-shot rifle that Russia is producing. From the perspective of reducing the investment in the transformation of state-owned factories, purchasing it is definitely the most appropriate. In addition, the Grove rifle is simple and reliable to use, and does not require much maintenance. It has long been proven in Russia that Russians cannot operate too complicated weapons, so this rifle is at least very suitable for Russians to use.
In order to prove what he said, Li Chenqin walked towards the Russian officers with a smile on his face, greeting them in French as he walked.
"Colonel Grove, what do you think of the Type 71 rifle?"
"Manager Li, this rifle is amazing!"
Colonel Grove replied in French, somewhat excitedly.
"It absolutely subverts all our imaginations. It can even shoot at targets 2,000 meters away. My God! I have never seen such a perfect weapon!"
French was the international language at that time. Grove, who was born into an aristocratic family, could speak French. As for Li Chenqin, he not only studied in France, but his wife was also French. Not to mention him, even Ding Fu, the interpreter beside Yang Fuqing, could speak French. After listening to the prince's instructions, he translated the Russians' words word for word.
Listening to their conversation, Yang Fuqing couldn't help but exclaim.
"It turns out that even foreign brothers like Russia buy foreign guns from Ming Dynasty. It seems that buying this foreign gun should be a good idea!"
Unlike Yang Fuqing and others, Colonel Grove was a weapons expert himself. Although he was very satisfied with the Type 71 rifle, he still mentioned its shortcomings.
"We noticed that the 7.5mm rimless bottleneck bullet, although perfect, is not suitable for use in Russia. Through the study of technical data, we found that the requirements for the chamber size of the rimless shell are relatively loose, which allows a larger production tolerance during machine processing, saving both man-hours and money. It is more suitable for the Russian light weapons industry. Is there any solution to this problem?"
The experts raised technical questions as soon as they opened their mouths, to which Li Chenqin answered promptly.
"That's no problem. We can modify the design and use a rimmed cartridge case instead."
"There is also the issue of caliber. You use the metric system, but the metric system is not suitable for Russia. We need to modify the caliber of the rifle. Perhaps the three-line, or 7.62 mm, is more appropriate."
Party A has always been the biggest boss, and arms dealers are also businessmen, so naturally their demands must be met one by one. However, with just a few words, both parties reached an agreement on the redesign of rifles and bullets. The result of the agreement, of course, is that the Russian army received the Grov II rifle.
After reaching an agreement on the introduction of rifles, Li Chenqin said to Colonel Grove,
"Colonel, if it's convenient for you, you can visit the artillery factory. There must be products there that you are interested in."
For big customers like Russia, the company will of course actively recommend various weapons. Nanhua Arsenal is a comprehensive weapons factory that not only produces various light weapons, but also mortars and Krupp artillery are its flagship products. As the factory manager, Li Chenqin will naturally not miss the opportunity to promote other weapons. Besides, this is also a mission!
"Okay, Manager Li, we will visit there in the next two days."
After Grove and his party left, Yang Fuqing took the initiative to step forward and asked.
"There must be something good in the artillery factory!"
Looking at Yang Fuqing who was a little curious, Li Chenqin laughed and said.
"Oh, it's the large-caliber naval guns. The Russians started to reorganize their naval armaments last year. The Kluge heavy artillery of our Ming Dynasty is world-famous, so we will naturally not miss this opportunity. By the way, Your Majesty, have you made up your mind? You have just seen that the Russians are very interested in the Type 71 rifle and production equipment. If..."
Before he could finish, Yang Fuqing interrupted him and said.
"1.1 million taels, 50% of the payment will be in Hu silk. If you agree, we can sign it now."
Why are Ming Dynasty weapons so popular?
To put it bluntly, it is because the payment method is flexible - barter trade can be accepted. In this era, this way of trade is simply a killer. After all, for countries with tight finances, compared to gold and silver, they are more willing to use barter to purchase weapons and machinery and equipment.
Although he was a little jealous of the Type 70 rifle, after weighing the pros and cons, Yang Fuqing decided to introduce the production equipment and technology of the Type 71 rifle.
After all, even foreigners bought this kind of rifle from them. With the endorsement of foreign brothers, this kind of rifle must be worth introducing.
After finalizing the contract, Yang Fuqing said again.
"Manager Li, if it's convenient, let's visit the artillery factory with the Russians in a couple of days!"
(End of this chapter)
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