Chapter 8: Testing the Guns (Part 1)

In addition to the sixteen Spencer carbines, Liu Yu also purchased four Remington 1866 rifles. With these high-powered single-shot rifles, he could establish a flawless fire network, similar to that used in the Battle of Pueblé. First, he would have the Remington rifles fire from a distance to pick off enemy troops. Once the enemies came within 200 meters, he would concentrate all sixteen Spencer carbines to fire seven rounds in just over ten seconds, then reload and fire again, dealing massive damage to the enemy.

Unfortunately, the total number of rifles was insufficient, meaning he had fewer illegal goods at his disposal. Any army in this world would have to pay a heavy price to succeed against such tactics, but in North Vietnam, it was enough to deal with any opponent except the French. As for offending the Vietnamese government forces, was that still a concern?

Originally, Deng Cunyu might not have agreed to this deal. The release of these twenty rifles could affect the entire situation in North Vietnam, and the French consul might come after him. But he couldn’t afford to anger the Black Flag Army. The thought of them causing him trouble made him lose the courage to refuse.

The illegal goods business near Haiyang was extremely competitive, and it took him several attempts to obtain these rifles from Liu Yu. Their business involved arms and drugs—anything profitable, they would do. So when it came to the deal, he insisted firmly: “Rifles and bullets together, 1,400 taels of silver—this is a fair price!”

This was by no means a fair price in Vietnam. In Hong Kong, it could probably be bought for less than half, or even one-third, of that amount. But this was Vietnam—a place where even money couldn’t buy foreign rifles. A Martini rifle cost only twenty or thirty taels of silver in Hong Kong. Moreover, Deng Cunyu could make a huge profit by reselling them.

Yet Liu Yu stepped back and watched Jiang Ningxue roll up her sleeves to negotiate with Deng Cunyu herself. Her voice was still as pleasant, but Liu Yu felt this deal was slipping away from him. Whether in his past life or this one, he was a complete failure at haggling. Meanwhile, his lovely fiancée seemed highly skilled at it, forcing Deng Cunyu to lower his price twice yet still pressing further, as if buying clothes.

Finally, Deng Cunyu conceded: “Give me 1,100 taels of illegal goods, and I’ll give you the samples you showed me earlier!”

Jiang Ningxue still refused: “1,000 taels of illegal goods—perfect! Boss Deng, you’re still making a profit! Ayu, give him 1,000 taels!”

Just as she tried to make it a fait accompli, Liu Yu spoke up: “1,100 taels it is! No problem, but you need to assign someone to guide me!” After all, he hadn’t tested these antique rifles from the late 19th century himself; he needed a military advisor. Deng Cunyu readily agreed, pointing at Lian Jincheng, who was watching the scene: “Him! I’ll lend him to you for three days—guaranteed to turn you all into expert marksmen.”

He could tell that the people around Liu Yu were all skilled at using shotguns; if they could handle their most familiar guns so adeptly, operating breech-loading rifles was even less of a concern.
Lian Jincheng smiled—he was quite easy to get along with: “Marulia! Please take good care of me from now on!”
Liu Yu, however, found a topic from Deng Cunyu’s words: “By the way, Boss Deng, why has black-market goods become so scarce lately?”
Deng Cunyu rarely told the truth, but this time he said it: “I don’t know what’s going on. There’s a general in Guangxi who usually looks out for his fellow smugglers, often helping them transport goods. But this time, for some reason, he turned on them and seized a large shipment—reportedly worth tens of thousands of taels!”
Even though Liu Yu knew history well, he wasn’t familiar with these details: “That general really isn’t being friendly at all!”
“He certainly isn’t!” Deng Cunyu continued, “He, Li the veteran, has such a huge business yet still insists on borrowing a large amount of ammunition from me. Doesn’t he know I can’t afford to pay back right away?”
At this, Deng Cunyu seemed furious, but Liu Yu added, “Ningxue, give Boss Deng another two hundred taels as a deposit for black-market goods!”
Two hundred taels in black-market goods was indeed a large sum, but Jiang Ningxue didn’t hesitate—she immediately found two hundred taels, weighed them accurately, and handed them to Deng Cunyu.
Hearing this, Deng Cunyu didn’t dare refuse.
Although Liu Yu represented the Black Flag Army, no matter how powerful they were, could they really defeat the French? If the French consul got angry, he would lose everything. So, sweating, he smiled at Liu Yu and said, “The sea routes aren’t safe right now. Let’s do it next time!”
Liu Yu replied with a smile, “I won’t treat Boss Deng unfairly. The price will definitely be fairer than this time! Besides, this is just a deposit. Whether to sell or not is up to Boss Deng!”
After thinking for a while, Deng Cunyu finally said, “Keep three hundred taels as a deposit! I’ll buy you a batch of Spencer rapid-fire guns, but it’s hard to say when they’ll arrive. It’s also uncertain whether I can get them or not, but I guarantee they’ll be breech-loading guns!”
He had made up his mind—since he had the power to order rifles, and Liu Yu liked the Winchester 1873, fine, they’d buy that. It was extremely expensive, so they’d use it to deceive Liu Yu and see how much money he could raise to buy guns.
Now even Jiang Ningxue admired her future husband—just by talking, he had managed to acquire so many modern foreign guns and ammunition. Even better, he had ordered the next batch of weapons as well. Judging from the deposit, it was a significant amount—maybe everyone in Liu Yu’s camp could get a breech-loading modern gun.
As for the remaining payment, with Liu Yu as his husband, wasn’t that a problem?
After clarifying the goods and black-market items, they considered the deal settled. But once again, trouble arose.
Twenty rapid-fire guns were easy enough—Liu Yu had bought 300 bullets per gun, that is, 6,000 bullets in total. 500 bullets made one box, so 60,000 bullets required 12 boxes, needing at least a dozen people to carry them.
So as soon as they left, Liu Yu said to Lian Jincheng, “Find a way to hire two mules to carry the goods!”

Lian Jincheng smiled brightly: “So, will you give me the 100 taels of contraband you promised now? Amen!”