Wild North America 1846

next morning

Fangcaodi

The town hall was filled with the strong aroma of coffee. Richard led Gai Wangshan, Gao Shiheng, Liu Wu and other men to come here and were welcomed by Captain William Richardson.

Both sides attached great importance to this meeting.

In addition to grocery store owner Odom Russell, William Richardson also has three new faces, the respected Dutch captain Doug, the town mayor Fox and the British adventurer Ronald Evanson, a representative of

Negotiating group for Yerba Buena Park interests.

"Please take a seat, Mr. Richard. The development of the Datang Society in the past half month is impressive, and the future is even more worth looking forward to. I think it is time to sit down and have a chat."

Captain John Richardson was still leading the negotiations on the Yerba Buena side. He made a "please sit down" gesture and sat down next to the long table. Others sat down one after another.

"Thank you, Mr. Captain John. I have been looking forward to this meeting and hope it will be a good start for our cooperation."

Richard sat down calmly, his eyes lingering a little longer on the Dutch captain Doug and the British adventurer Ronald Evanson, revealing a solemn meaning.

As far as he knew;

Doug was born in a down-and-out aristocratic family in the Netherlands. He was the second son of a family who had no right to inherit aristocratic titles and titles. He left Amsterdam and traveled around the world when he was young. He has the Dutch's fanatical sailing adventure gene in his character.

Cao Cao is a respected boss.

There are frequent marriages between royal families in Europe, especially the royal families of England and the Netherlands, which are both Protestant countries.

Therefore, Doug's aristocratic status made him highly respected in the North American continent, and he was able to develop a good personal relationship with Rear Admiral Bacon, the commander of the Caribbean Fleet of the Royal Navy, and was even invited to attend the engagement ceremony of Rear Admiral Bacon's daughter.

The meaning contained in this is worth pondering.

The British adventurer Ronald Evanson is another type. These so-called adventurers have great powers and mysterious backgrounds. They may be spies or spies sent by the British Empire's Colonial Department to various parts of the world.

This is a tradition originating from the Age of Discovery. Those Europeans, under the guise of missionaries or adventurers, went deep into the deserts of West Asia and the rainforests of Indochina with ulterior motives, exploring unknown islands and the Amazon of South America. Their footprints were almost

It is located in rare and inaccessible places across all continents in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

European colonists and armies followed closely, setting off rounds of frenzy to carve up colonies.

Among them, emerging colonial powers such as Britain and France are particularly keen on this.

Richard didn't expect to see one here.

"Mr. Richard, based on your needs, I have called New York. The famous firearms designer Mr. Samuel Colt will leave with his team soon. It is expected to arrive here in three weeks, accompanied by

Bring a whole weapons manufacturing factory and a few excellent construction engineers."

Beginning of talks

William Richardson dropped a surprising news, which showed the profound heritage of Fangcaodi.

Whether it's the United States or Europe on the other side of the Atlantic, whatever talents or materials Datang will need, Fangcaodi can meet the needs. It's so hardcore.

Hearing the good news, a hint of joy flashed across Richard's brows, and he couldn't help but sit up straight and said, "Thank you, Mr. Captain, Mr. Samuel Colt's arrival will be an exciting cooperation between us."

The beginning of.”

"You're welcome, Mr. Richard, Datang will pay for Mr. Colter's weapons factory and shipping tickets. We just completed the transaction. For the sake of in-depth cooperation between the two parties, we will give a preferential commission ratio and transportation costs."

"That's very reasonable. In addition, we also need almost all supplies, including some factory equipment." Richard said, taking out a thick stack of paper from his body and handing it over.

William Richardson didn't expect him to be so direct. After being stunned for a moment, he took it and looked at it carefully. Captain Doug also curiously turned his face to study the demand list.

The list of material requirements is very long, ranging from cotton, iron billet and steel ingots, cocoa, coffee, tobacco, sugar, wheat flour, cowboy hats, gloves, blankets, nails, kerosene lamps, British woven cloth, French wine to 300 sewing machines and 50 sewing machines.

Weaving looms, chemical dyes, 20 sets of steam machine tools, 3,000 spindles of textile machinery, and finally, an order for two 3,400-ton iron-hulled steamships.

The material order provided by Richard is not only large in quantity, but also diverse in variety. It involves a high level of industry, especially sewing machines, looms, 20 sets of steam machine tools and 3,000 spindles of textile machinery, all of which are among the largest in the world today.

Cutting-edge industrial scientific and technological achievements.

The order for two 3,400-ton iron-hulled steamships is even more eye-catching. This alone is worth 237,000 pounds. It is an order of huge value to British shipyards and is full of temptation.

As early as 1837

The United Kingdom built the iron-hulled steamship "Great Western" with a displacement of 3,000 tons. It could cross the Atlantic route in 14 days and transport a large amount of materials and personnel. It caused a sensation in the entire European and American world and was hailed as "across the ages."

"Steam Technology".

In 1843, the iron-hulled steamship "Great Britain", which had undergone major technological improvements, was launched, with a displacement of 3,400 tons. Its steam turbine technology had matured, and it was immediately put into use on the Atlantic route.

Since its operation, many steam iron-hulled ships have appeared in European and American countries, gradually becoming the main fleet of transatlantic routes, and have great potential to replace sail cargo ships.

Sail cargo ships originally took 2 to 3 months to sail across the Atlantic. Today's steam iron-hulled ships can take 11 to 12 days. Not only do they have a large cargo capacity and are easy to maintain, but they also require fewer crew members and are extremely economical.

improve.

This huge list of material needs shocked everyone in Fangcaodi and made them all silent.

The list was sent to the British adventurer Ronald Evenson. When he saw the order for two 3,400-ton iron and steam ships, he couldn't help but cursed: "Oh, Shet, are you sure this is not a joke?"

"

"I'm pretty sure, Mr. Evanson." Richard answered with certainty.

"Oh... I'm sorry, I'm really shocked. Do you know how much these two advanced ships, which are the pearls of the British shipbuilding industry, are worth? After the news came out, this order was enough to drive the British shipyards crazy and break through the world.

The threshold of Tang Hui."

"You mean...the shipyard trade representative from Europe?"

"No, Europe is too far away. The British shipyard will entrust a former partner or an officer from the Caribbean Fleet, or... an adventurer like me." Ronald was afraid that Richard would not understand what he meant.

- Evenson shrugged his shoulders and continued in a very sincere manner;

“Well…as far as I know;

There are at least 5 shipyards in Great Britain that are capable of producing the iron-hulled steamships you need. They all need ship orders to maintain sufficient technical capabilities and workforce, and to obtain reasonable profits. Competition among them is fierce.

And I happen to be familiar with the relevant personnel at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth, England. Now I only need an authorization telegram to discuss shipbuilding orders.

Please believe that if this is not a joke, you will get a preferential price.

As an adventurer, although I am keen on exploring unknown discoveries in the world, this does not prevent me from making extra money. There is no contradiction between the two."

"Oh..." Richard suddenly realized, but he was not in a hurry to agree to Ronald Evanson's request.

After all, this is a cooperation with Parkview. When Ronald Evanson has not shown enough strength, and when William Richardson's attitude is unclear, Richard will not make a hasty decision.

The total value of this order exceeds 300,000 pounds, which is equivalent to approximately 1.5 million US dollars, or 76,000 ounces of gold, which is almost two-thirds of the existing wealth of the Datang Society. The value is very astonishing.

If this business can be concluded, Fangcaodi can make a huge profit just from the commission and transportation costs. There is no doubt about the temptation.

This is Richard's bargaining chip to deepen the cooperation between the two parties and strive to establish an all-round intimate relationship with Fangcaodi.

Richard does not believe in British friendship. The most appropriate relationship is only when the interests of both parties are closely tied together, so that both parties will be prosperous and both will be harmed.

The supply order he put out was enough to open 4 to 5 grocery stores, a clothing factory, a weaving factory, a weapons manufacturing factory, a medium-sized textile factory, and a shipping company with transoceanic transportation capabilities.

William Richardson did not expect that Datang would have such a huge appetite. After careful consideration, he could only say, "Sorry, please wait a moment. We will have to study it before we can reply to you."

Finished

He took the list of supplies and left the venue one after another with several other people to discuss it privately.