1855 United States Tycoon

The revolutions in the southern provinces have not all gone smoothly. At least, Hubei, the first successful revolution in the original history, although the Tongmenghui also tried to initiate a revolution, Hubei was managed by Zhang Zhidong quite strictly. Transferred to the capital, but Hubei is still not easily shaken. In addition, the Tongmenghui’s habitual secrecy was not in place, so the uprising was destroyed by the Qing government before it started.

At this time, the Qing court was also hurriedly discussing how to suppress the revolution. After the revolution broke out, Regent King Zaifeng, Queen Mother Yulong, and a number of important ministers discussed countermeasures. In their view, the best way is to let Tieliang lead the Northern Army to suppress the chaotic parties in the south. However, after the order went down, the Beiyang Army was always unable to move. They first wanted to pay for the promotion and to reward the silver. After all these were satisfied, the Beiyang Army started to move, but the Beiyang Army was so sluggish, it was like a rich Miss going out for an outing. From the tenth day after the Hangzhou Uprising, the Beiyang Army began to move south from Tianjin, and it took ten days. The striker of the Beiyang Army had not yet arrived in Xuzhou.

However, the Hubei New Army moved much faster. Compared with Yuan Shikai, the Manchu nobles believed in Zhang Zhidong more, so Zhang Zhidong was able to return to Hubei to suppress the situation and prepare to lead the Hubei New Army to suppress the uprising in Jiangnan.

In the Qing Dynasty, the Hubei New Army was second only to the military power of the Northern Ocean. Coupled with Hubei's location on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and the presence of Zhang Zhidong, the pressure on the revolutionary army immediately increased.

...

The first thing that felt this pressure was the restoration of Anqing that had just taken control. Before the army of the Hubei New Army came over, the gunboats belonging to the Hubei New Army first drove along the Yangtze River to the vicinity of Anqing and shelled the camp of the original Anqing New Army and now the Revolutionary Army. And there was an artillery battle with the Anqing New Army. In the artillery battle, the Hubei New Army also clearly showed higher tactical literacy. Their artillery fired faster and more accurately. In the exchange of fire, the Revolutionary Army suffered nearly 100 casualties and lost five cannons. And this is almost all the artillery in the hands of the Anqing Revolutionary Army. After this, under the supervision of Zhang Zhidong, the Hubei New Army of about four thousand people began to march towards Anqing. The situation suddenly became dangerous.

After learning about the crisis in Anqing, several people in charge of the Liberation Association, including Tao Chengzhang and Qiu Jin, ignored Chen Qimei and Shanghai. Tao Chengzhang went directly to the Pacific Tour in Hangzhou, hoping to get from there. Order a batch of weapons. This foreign company was founded by Chen Guang and other Chinese, and the real boss behind it is of course MacDonald. At the same time, Qiu Jin rushed to Anqing with the most direct line of troops from the Liberation Association to stabilize the situation.

...

"Mr. Tao, you know, according to general rules, we can't sell weapons to countries that are in civil war." Who painted with Tao Chengzhang is the general manager of the foreign trade company, this young man is called Chen Ping, Chen Guang's grandson , As a well-mixed three generations of Chinese, including appearance, he has quite little Chinese spirit. Due to two consecutive generations of Marrying Ocean Mar, Chen Ping looks completely white, but he can still speak Chinese, but his Chinese dialect is far less authentic than English. It can be said that apart from his name, he can't see how much China tastes in him.

"But to be honest, you also know that my grandfather started this foreign business to help China rebel. He has always hated the Manchu Qing government. Therefore, as long as it is a rebellion, we are always willing to help. Just this There needs to be one more procedure inside. We register a company in Cuba, and then use this company’s name to purchase weapons and sell them to you. In this way, we will not violate the United States government’s principle of selling weapons."

"Mr. Chen, is this too late? Moreover, the weapons are sent from United States, and it will be very time consuming to ship them again. Is there a faster way?" Tao Chengzhang asked.

"It’s very fast to register a company in Cuba. I’m going to send a telegram. At night, it’s morning on their side, and then we can register that company in the morning at most. Honestly speaking, Cuba’s law applies to company registration. There are very few restrictions, in order to provide such convenience for companies in many countries. Of course, they will not do this for free. They need to collect money to help us bypass legal issues. You know, most of them are from Cuba. Re-export transactions can be rebated, but arms sales to bypass legal barriers are definitely not included. Therefore, this shipment needs to pay a tariff to enter Cuba. Therefore, the price will be a little higher than usual. ..."

"This is understandable, so when will these arms arrive the fastest?" Tao Chengzhang asked.

"We immediately place an order. According to the quantity you provide, the United States will be able to prepare the goods within about a week. Then if the ship is shipped in New York, through the Panama Canal, and then shipped to Shanghai, the whole process will be at least It takes one month. After arriving in Shanghai, if it needs to be transported to Anqing, it will take another five days." Chen Ping replied.

"Is there a faster way?" Tao Chengzhang felt a little slower after a month and a half.

"If the goods are shipped from San Francisco, that is to say, the goods are sent to San Francisco by rail first, and from there on the ship, it can save one and a half weeks. If you can hire the latest fast free shipping, you can save another week or so. In this way, we can deliver the goods within one month. Of course, if we do this, the transportation cost will also be ascending."

"Is it impossible to be faster?" After a month or so, Tao Chengzhang felt that he was still a little slower.

"It can't be faster." Chen Ping said, "At the current level of technology, this is the fastest speed. However, Mr. Tao, if you are really anxious, there is actually another way. "

"What way?" Tao Chengzhang asked.

"You can hire a group of mercenaries directly." Chen Ping replied, "There is a mercenary company in Cuba called the ‘Protection. Protection. Umbrella’ company. They can provide mercenary services."

"Mercenary?" Tao Chengzhang didn't think of this for a while.

"Yes, mercenaries. Now the laws of the United States have more and more restrictions on mercenary companies. Therefore, Blackwater's business scope has shrunk a lot. Now it can only provide key personnel protection and related training. It’s time to take over the business of foreign operations directly. Blackwater’s shareholders certainly don’t want to see the loss of business. So they registered this “protection umbrella” company in Cuba, where the law is relatively loose. Those services provided by Heishui. They have ready-made weapons in their hands. If they are hired, they can be faster. And their combat effectiveness is quite strong, because in fact, they are Heishui. Our father was Heishui back then. Born. According to him, “If we fight against the United States Army in Blackwater, one can fight at least three.” So you don’t have to worry about combat effectiveness. And as far as I know, some units of this company are now being used by the Philippines. Some companies hire, if you really need speed, then we can buy their remaining contracts from those companies in the Philippines, and then send them to Anqing to perform combat missions.” Chen Ping explained.

Using foreign devils to fight war, Tao Chengzhang had never thought of this.

"Is it all right to fight with foreigners?"

"What's wrong with this. To tell the truth, there are very few wars in the world where no mercenaries are involved at all. Just like the victorious army when the Manchu Qing suppressed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, weren't they foreign mercenaries? Of course, Now that the times have progressed, they are no longer called mercenaries in the war, but called volunteers. For example, in this war, they can be called the Cuban People’s Volunteers. In fact, these volunteers are often helping Arabs today. The chiefs beat the Turks, and tomorrow they will help the Turks suppress those Arab chiefs. Some people even get knighthoods on both sides. Now the situation is simpler. When propagating to the outside world, you can claim that they are Cuban revolutionaries. The whole world is fighting for democracy. Even, if you need it, we can also ask them to send a message in Cuba in the name of the International Association for the Promotion of Democracy or something else to support the Chinese people’s pursuit of freedom and democracy, and they are willing to fight for it. Statement. Of course, this statement also requires money."

"Do these mercenaries have artillery? How many people do they have? What weapons do they have? When will they arrive soonest?"

"Yes, Cuba’s law is more tolerant, allowing people to hold cannons. So they have cannons in their hands. But I don’t know if those guys in the Philippines have them in their hands, and how many. As for the price, it depends. I can talk with them only when I get in touch with them. However, there are more Cuban-born soldiers among today’s “protection, protection and umbrella” mercenaries, and their wages are lower than those of the United States, so the price is naturally lower. In addition, the price is also lower. Highlands also need to consider who the opponent is. Generally speaking, the price will be divided into four major grades according to the enemy, namely, the first-class power, the second-class power, the third-class country, and the uncivilized tribe. Britain, France, Germany belong to the first class. , Russia, Italy, Austria and Hungary belong to the second class, Turkey is the third class, and the Arab and Filipino indigenous people are the fourth class. I think the new army in the Qing Dynasty should be a little weaker than the Turkish army. Bargain to see if you can. Counted as third-class weak or fourth-class strong. This should not be too expensive. Of course, the final result depends on their quotation. As for the time, if you contact them immediately to start the negotiation, generally speaking, from negotiating the price, After signing the contract, they immediately set off from the Philippines and will arrive in Anqing in about half a month." Chen Ping said.

"Thank you, Mr. Chen. But I still need to discuss this matter with my comrades." Tao Chengzhang replied.

Thank you for reading this story at mtlarchive.com. Your support enables us to keep the site running!