African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 315 Clearance
Back to the trading market in Bodelai Town, when Bubu Yawais and Odley Kevin had a big fight on the way back to the Abyssinian Empire.

A group of Negmut caravans just slowly entered the town of Berdelay, and Lawens, the company commander of the border guards stationed in the town of Berdelay, greeted them warmly.

Lawrence: "Mr. Ya'an Reed, you guys are really early today!"

Ya'an Reed: "Hahaha, Mr. Lawrence, you are welcome. The weather is fine today. I think this indicates that our cooperation will reach a new level."

Unlike other caravans who rushed to the town of Bodelai early to "snatch up", the Ya'an Reed caravan came much later, but East Africa's attitude towards the Ya'an Reed caravan was obviously different, and even the border guards took the initiative to greet them .

Lawens: "Mr. Ya'an Reid, as far as I know, a batch of new firearms arrived today. They have already bought a batch in advance from Tigray and Amhara, your capital, in the morning. But don't worry, we have all the good things. It is kept."

Ya'an Reed heard the exclusive news provided by Lawrence, and hurriedly expressed his gratitude: "Thank you for the information, my friend, these northerners are too ambitious. They have monopolized the empire's arms business in the east, and they want to be in the east." It’s really a greedy guy to meddle in the South.”

Ya'an Reid refuted the immoral behavior of his colleagues. Before opening the market in East Africa, the trading activities of the Abyssinian Empire were concentrated on the coast of the Red Sea. As an inland southern city, Negemet and other cities naturally could not enjoy these dividends. As for In fact, there are trade routes in the north, but the relationship between Egypt in the north and the Abyssinian Empire is extremely bad, and the trade volume between the two is very small.

Lawrence: "Mr. Ya'an Reed, don't be angry, the business is endless, and besides, we in East Africa are on your side with Negmut. With the support of East Africa, sooner or later you will be able to compete with those big forces. "

Just as the British supported Johannes IV, the Kingdom of East Africa was also looking for a spokesperson for its own interests within the Abyssinian Empire, and the local forces in the south of the Abyssinian Empire headed by Negmet City were drawn by East Africa object.

The south of the Abyssinian Empire is far less developed than the north and the east. It belongs to a humble existence in the empire, but now it is better. The British fought the entire Abyssinian Empire to pieces. Now Abyssinian The warlords of the local forces of the Byssinian Empire were separated, and the various forces in the southern part of Abyssinia also eyeed the imperial throne for their own interests. They supported the former southern commander of the Empire, Nat Hogg, as the speaker.

Speaking of Nathhogg, he is quite dramatic. He is also a child of a big family from the Tigray region. He was sent to the south by the former emperor of the Abyssinian Empire, Theodore II. He was the general appointed by Theodore II to guard against East Africa. , but after Theodore II was defeated and committed suicide, the empire was torn apart, and Nat Hogg became one of the strong contenders for the emperor under the recommendation of various forces in the south.

As for why the southern forces chose Nat Hogg as their representative, it was because of his identity as a child of the Solomon family. The Solomon family is equivalent to the royal family of the Abyssinian Empire, and it is easier to be accepted by the whole country.

The supporters behind the various forces in the south are the Kingdom of East Africa. That is to say, Nath Hogg has changed from a general who guarded against the invasion of the Kingdom of East Africa to one of the contenders for the peak power of the Abyssinian Empire supported by East Africa.

……

Under the guidance of Lawens himself, Ya'an Reid's people came to the exclusive arms store in Bodelai Town again. They were treated differently from Bubu Yaweisi and Odley Kevin before. They came to the backyard of the arms store. A neat box of ammunition was put away.

Lawwins found a crowbar to open 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 "new". After opening, a shiny flintlock gun After neatly stacking them in the straw, Lawrence took out one and handed it to Ya'an Reed.

Lawens: "This is the M1809 muzzle-loading musket rifle that was commissioned by the Prussian regular army back then. It can be said to be famous in Europe. You can see that these parts are still shiny, and their reliability is still trustworthy."

It was embarrassing for Lawrence himself to say that such old antiques can be dug up and sold, which is really embarrassing for the East African government.

There were not many of these rifles in Prussia at that time, because the Prussian army was limited to a small scale by France during Napoleon’s reign at that time. The fact that this kind of antique can be found in East Africa can only show that it is really cheap, and it is basically based on scrap iron. The price was collected from the Prussian munitions warehouse.

After several years of service in the hands of the East African militia, this batch of guns is said to be over fifty years old, much older than Lawens.

Obviously, the old guns in front of them look good from the outside, they were refurbished and repainted in the East African arsenal.

Although his family knew his family, Lawens still said cheekily: "Maybe the number of years is a little long, but the victory lies in stability. After all, the Prussian army, as a powerful European army, still has high requirements for the production of its own weapons, and it is unified. Standard, easy to replace parts and maintain, it is definitely much stronger than the weapons we sell to the northerners.”

The sources of the rifles of the Abyssinian Empire are mixed. Basically, they are old antiques sold by various countries. The quality is uneven, and some are even broken. It is rare to refurbish them before they are sold in East Africa.

So Ya'an Reed was very satisfied with the appearance of this batch of firearms, and he asked, "Mr. Lawrence, can I check the other boxes?"

Lawrence: "Of course no problem!" He said and passed the crowbar in his hand.

After all, only one box was opened, and Ya'an Reed didn't dare to be careless. If this box was specially prepared by East Africa, it would be a big loss.

Obviously, as Ya'an Reed randomly inspected several boxes, they were all of the same quality. He said with satisfaction: "Mr. Lawrence, I am very satisfied with this batch of goods, but in the end we have to do a real battle!"

Lawens: "You can go to the shooting range of our border guards in the suburbs, where the terrain is very open."

In the end, Ya'an Reed personally tried the power of these rifles on the outskirts of Berdelai, and reached the upper-middle level of the firearms troops of the Abyssinian Imperial Army.

Yaan Reid: "We are very satisfied and can pay the bill now, gold and silver coins or livestock!"

Lawrence: "It's all right, my friend, use whatever is convenient for you!"

In the end, Ya'an Reid exchanged the last batch of Ottoman silver coins in his hand at Hexingen Bank. These silver coins were obtained when he was doing business with Ottoman merchants along the Red Sea, but now Egypt is fighting Abyssinia. The trade between the two countries was almost interrupted, and the Ottoman silver coins depreciated severely in Abyssinia, so Ya'an Reed was eager to sell them.

It doesn't matter in East Africa. These Ottoman silver coins can still flow back to the Ottoman Empire when they are taken to the Sultanate of Zanzibar. After all, Abyssinia is a landlocked country, but East Africa is not.

At the same time, this also meant that the financial influence of the Ottoman Empire in the Abyssinian Empire collapsed, and the receiving orders were hard currencies such as British pounds, francs, and financial bonds issued by the Bank of Hechingen in East Africa.

After all, the Abyssinian Empire is a large country with a population of nearly 1000 million. The temptation of this market is not small. At the same time, the Abyssinian Empire is not the kind of West African indigenous people who only have "gold" and have some transaction value. , poor ghosts with almost no purchasing power.

East Africa is also eager to replace those antique guns in its hands. With the installation of the Dreiser rifle production line, East Africa is about to bid farewell to front-loading flintlock guns, and the war-torn Abyssinian Empire is a good successor.

(End of this chapter)