Chapter 6: Buying Guns (Part 1)

Deng Cunyu opened his eyes, which he had previously kept shut. He never expected anyone to be dissatisfied with his goods.
For heaven’s sake!
These were top-notch items!
There were at least 40% new smoothbore guns and flintlock guns, plus two single-shot pistols—goods that couldn’t be bought even with money outside. He glanced at Liu Yu and asked, “Young Master Liu, how much money do you have?”
Liu Yu looked at the weapons on the table with a condescending expression. They were all outdated models, not even as good as the Minié rifle carried by Sima Tai. It seemed he underestimated Deng Cunyu completely. “Brother Sima said your place has the most and best foreign guns—a dazzling array, unique even in all of Annam…”
This greatly satisfied the nouveau riche’s vanity. He continued to look down on this young customer from the bottom of his heart. “Not to mention foreign guns, I can even get you foreign cannons…”
But he could only bluff Liu Yu with that. If he really tried to smuggle Western cannons, which France strictly prohibited from being imported, into Vietnam, he would be the first to face consequences. Besides, his capital was only enough for dealing in foreign guns—entering the cannon business would be pure suicide.
Yet Liu Yu sneered next, “Is that all you have?”
Jiang Ningxue, who stood beside him, might not know much about firearms, but she could tell that the Western guns on the table, even if not as good as Sima Tai’s, were still top-quality, far superior to the shotguns they used. To her surprise, Liu Yu wasn’t satisfied.
At that moment, Lian Jincheng stepped in. “There! There! There! I’ll bring you some newly arrived high-quality goods, amen!”
His impulsive action really put Deng Cunyu in an awkward situation. Now he kept a tight expression, stopped crossing his legs, and stared intently at Lian Jincheng, fearing he might cause another problem.
This time, Lian Jincheng carefully brought out four rifles. Sima Tai’s eyes lit up—old friends!
They were almost identical to his Minié rifles. Although they used front-loading ammunition, they were rare treasures that couldn’t be bought even with money outside!
As for the people from Liu Yu’s group, their eyes turned red when they saw Lian Jincheng place the guns on the table!
What great guns, what excellent designs, and how well they were polished!
Lian Jincheng said in a hushed voice, “These are our boss’s newly acquired goods—limited supply! No more will be sold!”
Deng Cunyu grew nervous, his eyes wide open. The Minié rifles were considered borderline in France. Selling a few was fine, but if more were sold, France might intervene.
But he didn’t want any trouble, yet trouble found him. He heard Liu Yu sneer again, “Is that all? Even scavenging in Hong Kong would yield better stuff than this?”
“Scrap?” This time, not only Deng Cunyu but even Sima Tai couldn’t stand it.
These were top-quality foreign guns!
Liu Yu casually picked up a Minié rifle and said nonchalantly, “Don’t think I don’t know quality! Boss Deng, these are second-hand goods you imported from Hong Kong, right?”

Deng Cunyu’s expression froze. Liu Yu continued to explain in detail: “Hmph! The foreign guns you have here are all old models discarded by the Orientals. Now that they’ve switched to breech-loading guns, those old front-loading guns are shipped in bulk to Hong Kong to be sold off!”
Deng Cunyu could no longer sit still. He stood up, forcing a smile on his face, but it couldn’t hide his embarrassment.
Liu Yu, on the other hand, sat down again. While adjusting one of the front-loading guns, he said with a smile, “I’m truly here to buy goods! Boss Deng, please don’t ruin your reputation. These guns are old models discarded by Japan. In Hong Kong, they cost less than one or two taels of silver—sometimes you can even get two or three for that price. I wouldn’t even want them for free!”
He spoke sincerely, but not entirely truthfully.
It was these old models discarded by the Japanese that the famous Li Hongzhang had just purchased in three thousand units to equip his Huai Army, thinking he had gotten a great deal and boasting about it greatly.
Besides, Vietnam was different from Hong Kong. Under the French embargo, even with money, one couldn’t acquire weapons. But now Deng Cunyu was completely confused by Liu Yu: “Young Master Liu, you’re so knowledgeable. Don’t treat me like a scoundrel—please don’t ruin my reputation!”
Liu Yu smiled and said, “I’m here to help your business. Bring out the good goods!”
Don’t underestimate Deng Cunyu either. He had been in this business for nearly ten years and had seen all kinds of people!
But there was no one who knew so much about Western firearms, even detailing them as if they were familiar to him. What shocked him even more was the phrase, “Ruin your reputation!”
It was just something Liu Yu said casually, but to Deng Cunyu, it sounded extremely serious.
He was skilled at handling situations and had his own influence in Annam. Few people dared say such things to him.
“Who sent you to buy guns? The Black Flag Army? Former members of the Yellow Flag Army? Lu Zhiping from Gaoping?”
He racked his brains countless times but ultimately thought the Black Flag Army led by Liu Yongfu was the most likely candidate: “Could it be that they’ve been using old guns all these years, which made them suspicious? Was this young man sent by the Black Flag Army?”
The Black Flag Army controlled Shengbao and was the strongest military force in all of Northern Vietnam. They were the very troops that had defeated Li Weiyeh. At this thought, Deng Cunyu grew anxious. He clasped his fists and bowed slightly: “Gentlemen! Please come in!”
This really broadened Sima Tai’s horizons.
He had been on good terms with Deng Cunyu, even friends, but it had taken him great effort to buy just one foreign gun from him. Who would have thought he had hidden goods?
As for Jiang Ningxue and the people from Liu Ziyi’s group, they couldn’t imagine what kind of rifle could be better than these Mini-type foreign guns.
But they quickly remembered the powerful foreign guns used by the French when Uncle Liu died in battle!
At this thought, they didn’t even know how to express their excitement.
As for Lian Jincheng, he quickly put away the old guns on the table, inwardly praising Liu Yu.

But when Deng Cunyu tried to move, Liu Yu remained motionless. He sneered again, “Boss Deng, I’ve come this time with just one purpose…”
“To buy a breechloader. Do you have any?”
Hearing this, Deng Cunyu couldn’t move at all. This was a taboo for the French!