1850 American Gold Tycoon.

Not only are there all facilities for eating, drinking and having fun on the Elegance, but there are also hundreds of strong and well-equipped private bodyguards with live ammunition, and even naval guns.

Liang Yao once suspected that this was not only a large yacht, but also a warship.

Leonar led Liang Yao to a cabin where there were objects in the shape of four cannons.

The reason why it was said to be in the shape of a cannon was because it was covered with a black curtain. Liang Yao could only tell from the rough shape that it was four cannons.

Laonar waved his hand lightly, signaling his subordinates to lift the curtain. After the curtain was opened, the true face of Lushan with four cannons was revealed in front of Liang Yao.

Two of the four cannons are relatively mature front-loading rifled guns, and the other two are breech-loading rifled guns.

Liang Yao carefully observed the barrels of the four cannons. The barrels of these four cannons no longer use the integral casting process, but the latest winding process.

The material of the gun barrel is also changed from the mainstream pig iron to the wrought iron jacket to wrap the steel inner barrel to enhance the strength and toughness of the gun body and prolong the life of the gun barrel.

This also means that these guns can hold larger charges and have a longer range than traditional artillery.

The tail of the two breech-loading guns has the unique tail bolt of the early Armstrong gun with a crank handle. This tail bolt is called the Armstrong screw in later generations.

This is the bolt-locked breech-loading gun he wanted, and it is also a technical difficulty that California gun engineers have been unable to overcome.

Liang Yao stepped forward, held the handle on the tail bolt and turned it around a few times, and then vertically lifted the air trap in front of the tail bolt, which was also a heavy iron block like a weight.

Immediately, Liang Yao stuffed the air-holding device vertically back to the distance, and turned the handle to tighten the air-holding device with the tail bolt. This kind of air-holding structure is called a vertical air-holding structure, and the design is very ingenious.

After playing with the air-tight structure of the cannon, Liang Yao checked the muzzle. The caliber of the cannon is 1.75 inches (45mm) and the length of the barrel is about 1m, which is 22~24 times the diameter. The weight of the cannon body is roughly estimated It should be in the early 300 kilograms, and if you count the gun carriage, it is estimated to weigh about [-] kilograms.

Overall, this is a small and sophisticated gun.

"Are there any shells?" Liang Yao turned around and asked.

Liang Yao is a soldier, and being able to skillfully handle artillery is quite normal for Lionel and James' uncle and nephew.

But in the eyes of the accompanying French gun engineer, it was a bit abnormal.

This is a brand-new artillery. Before boarding the Elegance, they had never been in contact with this kind of artillery. In the end, it took a while to figure out how this artillery was operated. They felt that the design and structure of this artillery was very delicate.

And this American general seems to have been in contact with this kind of artillery before, and he can play with this unique air-holding structure very clearly as soon as he gets started.

Lyonar winked at his men, and the two took it and pried open the four ammunition boxes beside them.

There were four ammunition boxes, solid bullets, grenades, blasting bullets, and shrapnel. The types of ammunition were quite complete.

It can be seen that although this type of artillery is still in the experiment, the degree of completion is already very high.

Liang Yao picked up a solid bullet and weighed it in his hand. It weighed about 6 pounds. The solid bullet looked like an enlarged version of the Minie bullet. The shell was engraved with thread grooves that fit the rifling.

...

"General Liang, we have taken a lot of trouble for your affairs." Laonar said, "Our Rothschild family is already so sincere, shouldn't you also show your sincerity?"

"Of course, of course." Liang Yao said with a smile, "It would be even better if we could take another look at the technical drawings."

"It's fine to look at the technical drawings, but not until we see your kerosene plant."

When he came to Onar, he didn't see rabbits or hawks. During his visit to Liang Yao's kerosene factory, he didn't intend to show Liang Yao the relevant drawings.

The purpose of his special trip to the United States this time is also to see Liang Yao's kerosene production plant with his own eyes to confirm whether Liang Yao's plan to increase kerosene production to 5000 million liters within two years is reliable.

After so many years of playing finance, he has cheated a lot, and in the end he was also worried that he would be cheated.

Although August repeatedly told him that Liang Yao was a reliable person, Lionel still only believed in what he saw with his own eyes.

"You want to visit my factory?" Liang Yao couldn't help frowning.

"What? Can't you?" Laonar looked at Liang Yao, "I want to visit your factory for such a big cooperation project. This request is reasonable."

"It's reasonable, very reasonable. You should be cautious about such a large cooperation project." Liang Yao said, "It's just that my factory is in California, and the traffic there is not very convenient."

"It's okay, for the sake of our cooperation, I think it's still necessary to take a trip. The children of the Rothschild family are not as delicate as you think, and the hardship of traveling and traveling is still bearable." began to speak.

"I heard that the California government is currently in financial difficulties. Our Rothschild family has always been very enthusiastic. We are committed to helping the government solve their financial crisis in Europe. As long as Guizhou can pass our assessment, I would like to provide Guizhou with a personal We can still do a multi-million pound loan."

James on the side also said with a smile.

"Thanks to your concern, the financial problem of the California government has been resolved, and there is no need to borrow foreign debt at present." Liang Yao politely declined James' kindness.

The people of the Rothschild family are not good people, and their money is not so easy to get, especially this James' money.

During the reign of Louis XVIII, James did sell the bonds that saved France and restored the credibility of the French government.

But all this also comes at a price, that is, the financial lifeline of France has been controlled by James since then.

It is unacceptable for Liang Yao to let a Frenchman control the economic lifeline of California.

This is also the reason why he insisted on issuing California government bonds on Wall Street. Wall Street is no longer a thing, but it is also the capital of the United States. The federal government still has some constraints on Wall Street.The eating situation of these domestic capitals will not be too ugly.

But foreign capital doesn't care so much, especially capital without borders like Rothschild.

"Oh? That's a pity." James was a little surprised by Liang Yao's reaction.

"However, to expand the production capacity of my refinery, I still need your £100 million." Liang Yao added.

...

"That's great. I happen to have some spare money waiting to be lent to someone worthy of investment." James said with narrowed eyes.

"I heard that California can produce a firearm with performance comparable to that of the Derby needle-fired gun. His Majesty Napoleon III is also very interested in your new rifle. The French army is considering replacing it with a new rifle. I You can still say a few words in front of His Majesty. As you know, the French Army is the number one army in Europe, and the number one army in Europe is equipped with firearms. This is an inestimable market."

James has made it very clear that as long as the two parties cooperate happily, he will recommend the Walter m1851 rifle produced in California to Napoleon III to equip the French army.

The Minie gun was first invented in France, but due to the turbulent political situation in France before the establishment of the Second French Empire, the replacement of military weapons was also put on hold.

This has also caused the current French Army to be very embarrassed.

As the country that invented the Mines gun, the standard rifle of the French army is still the old mle1842 musket, almost becoming the latest power to introduce rifled guns.

On the other side of the English Channel, Britain has been replacing rifled guns since 1851, and France is obviously lagging behind in this respect.

Even next year, when the French army participated in the Crimean War in 1854, the equipment of the French army was still the old mle1842 and mle1853.

Although judging from the year of weapon naming, 1853 should be a rifled handle, at least it should be engraved with rifling in the barrel of a smoothbore like the old American, and used as a transitional weapon.

However, the mle1853 is a serious musket.
In the middle and late period of the war, a small number of elite French troops were able to switch to mle1854. This was the first serious rifled gun of the French army, but the proportion of equipment was still very impressive.

The equipment problem is also the reason why the casualties of the French army in the Crimea battlefield are much higher than those of the British allies.

The British army suffered less than 5000 casualties on the Crimean battlefield, while the French army alone suffered more than [-] casualties.

Liang Yao was very happy to sell the weapons to France.

Although with France's industrial capabilities, it is possible to understand the technology of the Walter m1851 rifle immediately, but France will rush to join the war next year.

Even if they have a thorough understanding of the technology, it is too late to build a new production line for mass production, so they still have to rely on Liang Yao to provide ready-made munitions.

During the war, Napoleon III can also get personal favors. After the Crimean War, the American Civil War is coming soon, and California also needs the recognition and assistance of the international community.

If you want to become a great power, you need the existing great powers to recognize and accept your existence first.

France, on the other hand, is obviously more willing than Britain to recognize the United States as a great power.
-

Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire.

The Mosetz frigate flying the St. Andrew's Cross flag of the Russian Imperial Navy appeared on the coast of the Bosphorus in Constantinople.

On the prow of this cruiser of the Russian Imperial Navy stood a majestic Marshal of the Russian Empire.

His chest is covered with dense medals, which show his extraordinary status in the Russian Empire.

He is Prince Menshikov, Admiral of the Russian Empire.

Of course, these are just two of his identities. In addition, he is also the Tsar's adjutant and the Governor of Finland.

Menshikov can have so many prominent status not because of his outstanding performance in the Great Patriotic War in 1812 and in the Russo-Turkish War in 1828.

It is largely due to the fact that his ancestors were very rich. His great-grandfather was Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, the first generalissimo of Russia and the closest comrade-in-arms of Peter I the Great.

This is why Nicholas I trusted Menshikov so much. Nicholas I often compared himself to Peter the Great, so he also had great expectations for the great-grandson of the first marshal of the Russian Empire.

Peter the Great has a capable minister like Alexander Danilovich Menshikov as his right-hand man, so his great-grandson can naturally become his right-hand man of Nicholas I.

1850 American Gold Tycoon