Chapter 6: Buying Guns (Part 2)

“I just want a breech-loading gun!”
It was still the same phrase from Liu Yu.
Deng Cunyu was truly in trouble now.
His smile looked even uglier than his tears, but thinking of the Black Flag Army behind this young man, he felt he couldn’t afford to provoke them: “Young Master Liu! Please, these breech-loading guns are strictly prohibited by the French!”
“Really?”
Liu Yu spoke so calmly, while Deng Cunyu was on the verge of crying.
He couldn’t afford to anger the Black Flag Army, but if the French found out he was selling breech-loading guns to them, they would surely kill him: “These breech-loading guns… these breech-loading guns…”
Over there, Lian Jincheng was already interceding for Deng Cunyu: “Enough! Really, enough!”
“Do you think I don’t have enough silver? Do you look down on me?”
Deng Cunyu grabbed Liu Yu’s clothes, begging for mercy, even kneeling down: “This… this… it’s really… just a few breech-loading guns… really, just a few!”
It was the Black Flag Army! The invincible Black Flag Army of North Vietnam!
He could only cling to one idea: “If I can’t offend the Black Flag Army, then I’ll just sell them! Just sell a few less!”
From what he knew, the Black Flag Army currently had only American Lin Mingdun-style breech-loading guns, fewer than a hundred in total. So, selling them a few guns, as long as the French didn’t notice, should suffice to cover it up.
Lian Jincheng understood his intentions and spoke up: “Boss! I’ve taken them to the basement!”
Deng Cunyu had dug a basement in the small chapel to store the arms he smuggled. But before, no matter how important the client, he had never thought of taking them to the armory. Now, he finally broke the rule.
Liu Yu wasn’t aware of how fortunate he was. He watched Lian Jincheng lead the way with a kerosene lamp, while Deng Cunyu followed anxiously. Liu Yu calmly reassured him, “Boss Deng, this is to support your business! I won’t shortchange you!”
“I’d rather you not support my business!” Boss Deng was extremely frustrated, but seeing Liu Yu’s calm demeanor, he couldn’t help but marvel: “When did the Black Flag Army produce someone like this? With such composure, he’ll surely become someone extraordinary in the future!”
He became even more reluctant to offend Liu Yu and personally led him down the ladder, bending over: “It’s crowded in here. Young Master Liu, Sima Tai, just the two of you need to come down.”
Liu Yu glanced up at Jiang Ningxue’s slender legs, inhaled her delicate scent, and finally stepped down the ladder: “Ningxue, wait for me here!”
Deng Cunyu’s basement had originally been a cellar. Later, to store the weapons he smuggled, he secretly dug a few more meters. Now, under the dim light of the kerosene lamp, Liu Yu saw a variety of foreign guns at a glance.
Front-loading, breech-loading, smoothbore, rifled—firelock and flintlock guns were all here. From the oldest models to breech-loading rifles, there was nothing missing. It was truly like an antique rifle museum.
Before Deng Cunyu could breathe a sigh of relief, Liu Yu patted his shoulder from behind and pointed at a breech-loading rifle in the sea of guns, saying, “Boss Deng, you’re not trying to fool me with this, are you?”

Boss Deng was shocked. He saw the breechloader the young man was pointing at and heard the young man say softly, “Sima, this is the Shinaide gun!”
Sima Tai didn’t have Liu Yu’s knowledge. He only saw that the gun the young man was pointing at was indeed a breechloader. “What’s so special about it?”
Liu Yu was about to show off. “This Shinaide gun is the worst type of breechloader. It isn’t a natural breechloader but was created by the British using an old front-loading rifle—by cutting off the rear part of the barrel and modifying it into a breechloader. That’s why its price is extremely low…”
This time, it was Boss Deng who was shocked again. He really had no idea where the Black Flag Army got such an expert in Western firearms, as half of what he said was something he didn’t even know.
He also didn’t know that what Liu Yu said was only half true. The Shinaide was indeed a inferior type of breechloader, but it was still a breechloader after all, with pretty good performance. It had even been used by the British Army for many years. Liu Yu had high opinions of this gun.
He just said with a smile, “The problem is that the price of this gun is reasonable…”
Before he could finish speaking, Liu Yu had already moved on to another gun, and this time even Jin Cheng began to admire him.
His eye for detail was truly remarkable. There were nearly a hundred guns of various kinds hanging in that basement, along with countless rounds of ammunition, yet he managed to spot the only breechloader among them. “This is a Remington 1866 rifle. It’s not bad at all!”
Hearing this evaluation, Boss Deng felt anxious again. He really was sent by the Black Flag Army.
The Remington 1866 rifle, also known as the “Lin Ming Dun” rifle used by the Black Flag Army, was the most popular single-shot breechloader rifle in the world at that time.
Over the years, despite the Black Flag Army’s efforts, they only managed to acquire just 200 Remington rifles, which formed the core of their firepower against the French army.
Liu Yu gave this rifle high praise. “Sima, this gun has great power and is very sturdy. It’s quite suitable for you!”
This Remington rifle was a typical example of a durable breechloader. A well-trained shooter could maintain a high firing rate. Over a million of these rifles were sold at the time, equipping the armies of more than a dozen countries—except for the U.S. military, which was always lagging behind in terms of civilian markets.
Even in 1933, Remington Company was still producing this 1866 model in limited quantities. Many arsenals in the Qing Dynasty also tried to replicate it—according to Li Hongzhang, this Remington rifle was almost the second-best rifle of its era.
After confirming the person’s identity, Liu Yu turned his attention to other rifles. “Hmm! Not bad, not bad! Boss, do you have any British-made Martini guns?”
Deng Cunyu had to admit that this person truly knew his stuff, immediately naming a top-quality gun. It was said that Li Hongzhang rated this gun as the best gun of its time. “That gun is good, but it’s too expensive. We never acquired it!”
As they spoke, they heard Liu Yu exclaim in surprise, “Hey? Is this a Winchester 1866 rifle?”
Boss Deng had been selling guns for many years, but no one else had such keen eyesight as him. “Young master, you really have great insight!”

In his past life, Liu Yu had met a madman obsessed with light weapons who lived in the United States. The man owned a dozen antique rifles, including a genuine Winchester 1873, which he would take out to show off every time they met, boasting about its value of tens of thousands of dollars.
“What a great gun! What a great gun! Sima, take a look! It’s a shame.”
The first few compliments made Boss Deng feel extremely pleased, but the last sentence of regret made his heart sink.
“Boss Deng, do you have a Winchester 1873?”