Chapter 315 Clearance
Talking back to the trading market in Badele Town, when Bubuya Weiss and Odley Kevin had a fight on their way back to the Abyssinian Empire.
A group of Negmot caravans slowly entered the town of Badelei. The company commander of the border guard stationed in Badelei town, Lawrence, greeted them warmly.
Lovins: "Mr. Ya'an Reed, you came really early today!"
Yan Reed: "Hahaha, Mr. Lowens is so polite. The weather is nice today. , I think this indicates that our cooperation can reach a new level.”
Unlike other caravans that arrived early to "rush to buy" in Badelei Town, the Ya'an Reed Caravan obviously arrived much later. However, East Africa's attitude towards the Ya'an Reed Caravan was obviously different. Even the border guards took the initiative to say hello to it. .
Lovins: "Mr. Yaan Reed, as far as I know, a new batch of firearms arrived today. In the morning, a batch of firearms were purchased in advance from your capital Tigray and Amhara region, but you Don’t worry, we keep all the good things.”
After hearing the exclusive information provided by Lowens, Ya’an Reed hurriedly expressed his gratitude: “Thank you for your information, my friend, these northerners. The ambition is too great. He obviously has a monopoly in the east. The empire’s arms business is really a greedy guy who wants to get involved in the south.”
Yan Reed refuted the unethical behavior of his peers and the trading activities of the Abyssinian Empire before opening a market in East Africa. Concentrated on the Red Sea coast, cities such as Negmut in the inland south naturally cannot enjoy these dividends. As for the north, there are actually trade routes, but the relationship between Egypt and the Abyssinian Empire in the north is extremely poor, and the trade volume between the two is very small. .
Lovins: "Mr. Yaan Reed, don't be angry. The business can't be finished. Besides, we in East Africa are on your side of Negmot. With the support of East Africa, sooner or later you will be able to do it." Compete with those big forces.”
Just as the British supported Johannes IV, the Kingdom of East Africa was also looking for representatives of its own interests within the Abyssinian Empire, and the local forces in the south of the Abyssinian Empire, headed by Negmot City, were drawn to East Africa. object.
The southern part of the Abyssinian Empire was far less developed than the north and far inferior to the eastern part. It was an underrepresented existence in the empire, but now it is better. The British conquered the entire Abyssinian Empire in one battle. The Abyssinian Empire was torn apart, and now the local forces in the Abyssinian Empire are divided by warlords. For their own interests, the various forces in southern Abyssinia are also eyeing the imperial throne. They support the words of the former southern commander of the empire, Nat Hogg. Matter people.
Speaking of Nathog, he is quite dramatic. He is also a child of a large family from the Tigray region. He was sent to the south by Theodore II, the former emperor of the Abyssinian Empire. He was the son of Theodore II. However, after Theodore II was defeated and committed suicide, the empire fell into pieces. With the recommendation of various forces in the south, Nat Hogg also became one of the strong contenders for the emperor of the empire.
As for why the southern forces elected 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 is the Kingdom of East Africa, which means that Nat Hogg has gone from being a general guarding against the invasion of the Kingdom of East Africa to competing for the pinnacle of power of the Abyssinian Empire with the support of East Africa. one of those.
...
Under the personal guidance of Lowens, Yaan Reed’s people came to the specialized arms store in Bodelai Town again. Different from the previous treatment of Bubuya Weiss and Oudley Kevin, they came to In the backyard of the arms store, neat boxes of arms have been stacked here.
Lovins found a crowbar and opened a box himself. The wooden box painted with green paint still had a strong smell. From the smell, he knew that this batch of goods was very "new". After opening it, The flintlock guns with shiny shafts were neatly stacked in the straw. Lowens took out one and handed it to Yaan Reed.
Lovins: "This is the M1809 front-loading smoothbore rifle that was commissioned by the Prussian regular army. It can be said to be prestigious in Europe. You can see that these parts still maintain their luster and their reliability is still worth it. Trust.”
Lavins himself was a little embarrassed. It is really difficult for the East African government to find such old antiques and sell them.
Prussia did not have much equipment for these rifles at that time, because the Prussian army was restricted to a very small scale by France during Napoleon's reign. The fact that such antiques can be found in East Africa only shows that they are really cheap, basically based on scrap metal. The price was collected from Prussian arms warehouses. After serving in the hands of East African militias for several more years, these guns can be said to be over fifty years old, much older than Lowens.
Obviously, the old guns in front of me look pretty good. They were refurbished and repainted at the East African Arsenal.
Although his family knew his family, Lawens still said shamelessly: "It may be a little long, but the advantage is stability. After all, the Prussian army, as a powerful force in Europe, still has high requirements for the production of its own weapons. It is very high, and has a unified standard, which makes it easy to replace and maintain parts. It is definitely much stronger than the weapons we sell to the northerners.”
The rifles of the Abyssinian Empire come from a mixed bag, basically. The quality of old antiques sold in various countries varies, and some are even bad. Those in East Africa that are refurbished before sale are even rarer.
So Ya'an Reed was very satisfied with the appearance of this batch of firearms. He asked: "Mr. Lowens, can I check the other boxes?"
Lowins: "Of course it's no problem. !" He said and handed over the crowbar in his hand.
After all, I had only opened one box, and Yaan Reid did not dare to be careless. If this box was specially prepared by East Africa, it would be a big loss.
Obviously, as Yaan Reid randomly inspected several boxes, they were all of the same quality. He said with satisfaction: "Mr. Lowens, I am very satisfied with this batch of goods, but in the end I have to put it into practice! "
Lovins: "You can go to our border guard's shooting range in the suburbs, where the terrain is very open. "
Finally, Yaan Reed personally tested the power of these rifles on the outskirts of Bedelai, reaching the upper-middle level of the firearms unit of the Abyssinian Empire Army.
Yan Reed: "We are very satisfied. We can pay the bill now, with gold, silver coins or livestock!"
Lovins: "It's all OK, my friend, you can use whatever is convenient for you. !”
Finally, Yaan Reed redeemed it at the Hechingen Bank. He got the last batch of Ottoman silver coins in his hand. These silver coins were obtained when he was doing business with Ottoman merchants on the Red Sea coast. But now Egypt is at war with Abyssinia, and the trade between the two countries is almost interrupted. Ottoman silver coins are in Abyssinia. The depreciation in Bixinia was serious, so Yaan Reed was eager to get rid of it.
It doesn’t matter in East Africa. These Ottoman silver coins can still be returned to the Ottoman Empire after being taken to the Sultanate of Zanzibar. After all, Abyssinia is a landlocked country, and East Africa is not.
At the same time, this also meant that the Ottoman Empire's financial influence in the Abyssinian Empire collapsed, and the takeover was hard currency such as pounds, francs and financial bonds issued by the Bank of Hechingen in East Africa.
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, the Abyssinian Empire is not the only "indigenous West African" to East Africa. "Gold" still has some trading value, but is a poor man with almost no purchasing power.
East Africa is also eager to replace the antique guns on its hands. With the installation of the Dreiser rifle production line, East Africa is about to say goodbye to front-loaded flintlock guns completely, and the war-torn Abyssinian Empire is good Receiver.
(End of this chapter)