Chapter 24: The Fisherman (Part 1)

Liu Yu still hadn’t replied! The elders from Liu’s Camp beside him were biting their tongues hard, afraid of laughing again.
They had all switched to breech-loading firearms, and no one ever complained about having too many of them—especially since this time it was seventy Spencer rifles. In total, they had 150 breech-loading guns, a number that was terrifying.
What did it mean to thrive and make a breakthrough? Liu’s Camp was the perfect example. From now on, who would dare underestimate them? This was North Vietnam’s first unit to fully adopt breech-loading firearms. With 150 such guns at their disposal, who could resist them?
The key lay in choosing the right leader. They now obeyed any unreasonable order from Liu Yu without question.
They wanted to laugh, truly wanted to, but since Liu Yu hadn’t given his approval yet, they could only bite their tongues to suppress their uncontrollable laughter.
What Liu Yu valued even more were those tens of thousands of bullets. Though these breech-loading guns were excellent, they had a fatal flaw.
Front-loading rifles like flintlock guns could be easily reloaded as long as there was black powder, but breech-loading guns were different—each shot used one bullet, and once they ran out, the guns became useless scrap.
Worse still, they used metal-fixed bullets. Not only could they and even the American South during the Civil War not produce such bullets, but the rifle bullets used by the French were completely different.
Liu Yu had always worried about what to do once his brass bullets ran out. Now, he had received a huge blessing—nearly 60,000 Spencer bullets in total. With this, his rifle ammunition would last for three or four major battles.
He believed that with improved training and careful use of ammunition, a rifle would typically fire no more than 100 shots per battle. At least in the first year of the Sino-French War, he wouldn’t have to worry about running out of bullets.
His joy showed on his face, but he knew he couldn’t give in easily. “Boss Deng, you’ve done well. How much goods do you want on credit?”
Deng Cunyu smiled, but was anxious inside. This was his last trump card—the 70 rifles and 46 million bullets were the last supply he could find. He couldn’t get any more breech-loading guns or brass bullets.
And that group of Polish merchants had even more capital, greater strength, and a larger fleet—they had to act first. “I’d like to order six ships’ worth of goods on credit first.”
He had only brought back four boxes of Eagle Dollars. With this military supply, he could only order two more ships’ worth of goods on credit. He had to beat the Polacks to it. “I can provide you with another batch of rifles.”
It was completely a blank check—he, Deng Cunyu, had no way to guarantee those rifles. “And the rifle bullets…”
As he spoke, his expression changed—he heard the sound of a steam whistle.
Be careful! Be careful!
The elders of Liu’s Camp immediately grew tense. Liu Haohao shouted, “Get ready for battle!”
Although Liu Yu had assured them that the French wouldn’t be able to retaliate in the short term, anything could happen—especially since the merchant ship seemed to be flying the tricolor flag.

“Should we send the rifles first?” Jiang Linyang also rushed over. “That will boost our combat strength.”
“I trust my judgment.” But Liu Yu suddenly cheered, “It’s the Russian flag—prepare for battle!”
Deng Cunyu’s expression darkened instantly. He hadn’t expected those Polish merchants to return so quickly. He had just arrived when they came back.
After all, he only had a small warehouse in Haiyang, while the Poles had set up a trading firm. They unloaded goods and rushed to buy the supplies Liu Yu needed. Before even selling the unloaded goods, they handed them over to the Polish firm to sell. Three Polish cargo ships immediately set sail back.
Before they could even stop, Deng Cunyu grabbed Liu Yu’s hand and shouted, “Young Master Liu, lend me six ships’ worth of goods. I really have a batch of breech-loading rifles—I’ll bring them to you on my way back.”
He was well aware of the strength of the Polish merchants. By the time they reached shore, they would wipe out all the goods in Haiyang, leaving not a trace for him.
Even if Liu Yu showed him some favor, he could only make a small profit. How could he let such an opportunity slip away? “Young Master Liu…”
Liu Yu smiled. “I’ve said it before—I’m practical. I only recognize gold, silver, contraband… and arms. Well, if you can get me what I want, that’s fine too.”
He glanced at Deng Cunyu. “From what I remember, this batch of arms, plus those four boxes of Eagle Coins, should be enough for you to buy two ships’ worth of goods. I’ll leave you one more ship.”
“I can take credit, but I want gold, silver, contraband, and arms. I’ll owe you as much credit as you give me.”
As they spoke, a Polish merchant jumped off the ship deck and happily reported to Liu Yu, “As promised, we’ve brought you two lathes you wanted.”
Their firm indeed had two obsolete Western-style small machine tools in stock, along with some other machinery. Without distinguishing types or asking about prices, they gave them all to Liu Yu.
Their services didn’t stop there—they were truly considerate. “To show our sincerity, we’ve brought 270 taels of gold, pure gold. You can check it right away. In addition, we’ve also brought a large amount of Eagle Coins.”
Although silver and Eagle Coins were good—much lighter than lead coins or copper coins—they were still too heavy for Liu Yu’s camp.
What was 1,000 taels of silver? At 16 taels per jin, that was over 60 jin of silver. Even a strong man might not be able to carry that much.
Initially, those four boxes of Eagle Coins were only worth a little over 1,000 taels of silver, which already exhausted Deng Cunyu.
That’s why Liu Yu preferred gold more than anything else. He was satisfied. The Polish merchant continued, “I’m still gathering more gold and silver. On the next ship, we’ll bring 10 Remington rifles and hundreds of bullets, plus something that will surprise you.”
“More importantly, we’ve brought two steamships. These will help minimize your losses before the French arrive. So I’m asking to take control of all the remaining goods in Haiyang.”
“No! I disagree!” Hearing this, Deng Cunyu almost fought with the Poles. “I demand equal opportunities!”

Liu Yu smiled as he looked at the two people arguing. “I’ve said it before—once the door is opened, interests are intertwined.”
“I need gold, silver, contraband, weapons… and so on.”
“Whoever can meet my needs will get the goods.”