Chapter 7: Rapid-Fire Guns! Part 2!

As if on cue, Boss Deng truly admired this young man’s sharp eyesight: “These are old Western rifles that were phased out. After passing through several hands and being unwanted by anyone, my supplier forced me to take over a dozen of them as payment in debt!”
“A dozen?” The crucial word from Liu Yu finally appeared: “That’s quite a number!”
Lian Jincheng took over the conversation: “Yes, not just a number! My supplier had a lot of stock that couldn’t be sold, so they had to give it to us as payment in debt. Amen!”
Deng Cunyu had around a hundred rifles and pistols in total, but Liu Yu’s only requirement was breech-loading guns.
Breech-loading guns were expensive to acquire, so Deng Cunyu only had five or six types, with just one or two of each—far from sufficient for a comprehensive combat force.
It should be noted that a modern army must be equipped uniformly, but even with about ten different types of breech-loading rifles, Liu Yu’s forces could see a significant boost in combat capability.
But how could such a force confront the French tricolor flag?
In future Sino-French wars, they used tens of thousands of breech-loading rifles, hundreds of modern cannons, and dozens of warships in Vietnam.
This strength was barely a fraction of that of the Black Flag Army, which, when going to war with the French, was equipped with 200 Remington 1866 single-shot breech-loading rifles.
Moreover, the batch of rapid-fire guns Deng Cunyu had was absolutely top-quality!
Affordable and excellent!
The world’s first true rapid-fire rifle—just pull the trigger once to fire a bullet; it had created many miracles. The Spencer Cavalry Carbine!
Liu Yu recognized it at first glance.
He truly felt as if he had found a new path out of darkness; he quickly grabbed his beloved gun.
The gun wasn’t very new and had likely gone through many hardships, but it was well-maintained, and Liu Yu could smell the gun oil.
There were a few French words on the rifle—this was also old stock phased out in France, passing through several hands before ending up in Hong Kong, Asia’s largest arms market, and then in Deng Cunyu’s possession.
A gift from heaven—I must seize it!
Spencer Cavalry Carbine, you will begin another legend in the East!
The rifle in Liu Yu’s hands was the cavalry carbine version of the famous Spencer rifle used in the Civil War—an even older generation of rapid-fire rifle than the Winchester 1866 mentioned earlier.
The world’s first true rapid-fire rifle! Just pull the trigger once to fire a bullet—no need to reload after each shot.
This was a great gun!
Affordable and excellent! A gun that was both affordable and capable!
Liu Yu quickly retrieved information about this rifle in his mind.
Its magazine could hold only seven bullets, far fewer than Winchester’s 15-bullet magazine, reducing its firing rate. But due to the type of ammunition, its range was much greater than that of the Winchester, which also used pistol bullets.
Seven shots in a row! At the thought of this, Liu Yu became even more excited.
During the Civil War, this rifle, though not recognized by the Army Department, gained a reputation among troops like wildfire.

In June 1865, General Edwards wrote in a letter to the Ordnance Department: “My troops have been equipped with Spencer rifles since July 14, 1864… No matter where we go or what kind of battles we face, we always find that the Spencer rifle is our best and most reliable friend.” Many soldiers preferred to use several months’ worth of their pay to buy a Spencer rifle, and some commanders even paid out of their own pockets to equip their troops with them. This network of rifles was enough to intimidate any enemy. Even the U.S. Army Department, which usually focused on short-sighted purchases of older rifles, was forced to place additional orders under pressure from its officers and soldiers. By the end of the war, the U.S. government had purchased 100,000 Spencer rifles, and the number of rifles bought by soldiers at their own expense was almost the same. It was a rifle suited for the battlefield! In the years after the Civil War, the Spencer Company went bankrupt due to poor management, and the Spencer rifle was phased out—though this was more related to market positioning than anything inherent in the rifle itself. This rifle could only kill humans; its pistol cartridges were not very effective against animals larger than deer. In peacetime, Americans no longer hunted each other but rather bison in the West—something the Spencer rifle was almost useless against. Even after the company went bankrupt, the U.S. cavalry continued to use this cavalry carbine for a long time, and its ammunition was produced until the 1920s. In the second half of the 21st century, production of the Spencer rifle resumed—though the original version now costs an exorbitant price. But Liu Yu’s prey were not bison, but the French, the Japanese, the British… those foreigners who had invaded China! Thus, it was inevitable that Liu Yu would become excited; he even revealed his trump card: “Great! I’ll trade contraband for your Spencer rifles!” Sima Tai was stunned—he never expected Liu Yu, who had always seemed extremely shrewd, to act so foolishly now. Opium was valuable and could be used as cash, but it wasn’t easy to obtain. As for Deng Cunyu, he only accepted real gold and silver. He wouldn’t take Vietnamese lead coins, Qing dynasty coins, or even various types of silver—only gold and silver dollars! After all, he was in a monopolistic business, and revealing his bottom line to others would mean leaving himself vulnerable to exploitation. What he didn’t expect was that Deng Cunyu, upon hearing this, became almost ecstatic: “What did you say? Contraband? Do you have contraband?” Lian Jincheng beside him also said, “María! May God bless you! Our boss has been searching everywhere for supplies—never thought you’d bring them right to us.” Sima Tai had to admit that Liu Yu was truly lucky—never expecting Deng Cunyu to be so bold. But upon further thought, arms and drugs were already the two most profitable industries—like a corrupt couple, they seemed destined to get involved: “Contraband is no problem! I’ll give you as much as you want, but I want all these Spencer rifles! And I’ll take all the Spencer rifle bullets you have too!”

“Deal! Sixteen Spencer rapid-fire guns, 300 rounds per gun — I’ll give you a fair price! Let me see those contraband items!”
It’s a deal!
Liu Yu was full of confidence.
With a Spencer in hand, firing continuously and blasting in all directions, where in the world could he not go?
Only he didn’t know that trouble had just begun.