Chapter 5: Liu Yu’s Decision (Part 1)

No matter what, he still couldn’t master the elaborate bowing rituals of the Qing Dynasty. This time, it was Sima Tai who took his hand and said, “No need for excessive formalities. We’re all good friends! Just speak freely. These two thousand taels of contraband is neither too much nor too little—it’s all for the sake of reputation. It doesn’t hurt to give my share to my brothers!”
Those two thousand taels of contraband seemed like an enormous amount, but there were many people to share it among. Moreover, the goods were difficult to handle, so when it came time to distribute them, each person would likely get only forty or fifty taels at most.
This was still a huge sum—requiring at least a year or two of frugality to save up—but it wasn’t enough to make anyone a wealthy man. Thus, everyone turned their gaze to Liu Yu, waiting for his decision.
Liu Yu remained bent over: “I want to buy guns—foreign guns!”
“Please recommend a source, Sir Sima!”
Buy guns? As soon as these words were spoken, the impulsive Jing Shi Yi slapped his thigh in excitement. An elderly man who was usually calm praised, “How did I not think of that?”
A young man beside him already stared at the foreign gun carried by Sima Tai—truly an excellent gun that made his mouth water.
It was really good, truly excellent! Everyone could see its advantages—it could fire from a distance of a mile, with precise accuracy. While he fired one shot, this foreign gun could fire at least two. It was also convenient to use, with paper cartridges that didn’t require adjusting the amount of gunpowder bit by bit…
The members of Liu Yu’s camp also praised, “What a sensible and prudent approach! Great! Excellent! Truly outstanding!”
They kept praising it endlessly. Everyone’s gaze toward Liu Yu changed. They had initially thought the young head of the family was too young and lacked insight, but now they realized they had been blind!
Who would have thought of using contraband to buy foreign guns?
He truly deserved to be the head of the family!
Even Jiang Ningxue felt that her husband was exceptionally charming. Marrying such a man, despite the age difference, would make her happy.
Over there, Sima Tai had been stunned for a while without reacting. Liu Yu added, “Foreign guns! The best ones!”
Sima Tai suddenly felt relaxed and inspired. How had he not thought of this? “Right! Use contraband to buy foreign guns—like the ones I have!”
With that, he removed the Mini-type foreign gun from his hand. “These are definitely the best guns!”
He had bought this rifle at a high price from an arms dealer in Haiyang. But due to financial constraints at the time, he only purchased one. He had long dreamed of carrying two fast guns on his shoulders and a short gun at his waist—who would dare to challenge him?
As he stroked his beloved gun, he said, “I have a source. With two thousand taels of contraband, we can definitely give each person a gun! I just wonder if there’s enough stock.”
But in the eyes of the young head of the family, these weren’t even good guns—they were already outdated models.

In the second half of the 19th century, military rifles were updated almost every decade. By the end of each decade, new models had completely replaced the old ones. Europeaners had already abandoned front-loading military rifles over a decade earlier and switched to the latest back-loading rifles.
Thus, Liu Yu shook his head and said, “We need something better!”
The soldiers of Liu Yu’s unit admired his vision even more—truly, great heroes emerge from youth. Wasn’t this kind of foreign rifle good enough?
Si Ma Tai was startled by Liu Yu’s tone. “Is this not good enough? Then what kind of foreign rifle do you want?”
“Ammunition enters from the back!”
“Great!” Upon hearing this, Si Ma Tai immediately patted Liu Yu’s shoulder vigorously. “Amazing! Truly amazing!”
He had seen such new rifles with ammunition entering from the back before, but only foreigners had them. The French Marine Corps looked extremely imposing with these rifles. If he could get one, how impressive that would be!
But then he lost his confidence to show off. “Younger brother Liu, I also want to buy guns, fast guns, but we don’t know what’s good!”
“These firearms sold by foreigners are indeed excellent, but there are too many types—some with ammunition entering from the front, some from the back, smoothbore, flintlock, and even deadly weapons like hand grenades. There are hundreds of varieties in total, and even as an elder brother, I can’t explain them all!”
“I heard that Lord Li Hongzhang of our Tianchao has the mind of a prime minister, but he only remembers a few hundred types of foreign firearms. If even a prime minister is like this, what about us? Won’t we be slaughtered by foreigners?”
Liu Yu merely sneered.
Li Hongzhang might have countless unique qualities, but what did that matter in this regard?
As a fervent enthusiast of military history, he knew all about the many rifles of that era and could describe them in detail. Moreover, he had met an rifle enthusiast living in the United States online—who was even more obsessed than him, with countless guns, including a dozen repeating and single-shot rifles from the 19th century. Just the real Winchester 1873 rifle made his mouth water.
At least if he were in charge of military procurement, he would never be deceived by arms dealers over and over again like Li Hongzhang.
Thinking of this, he smiled slightly and said to Si Ma Tai, “Lead the way!”
“Huh?” Si Ma Tai hesitated. “Are you familiar with those foreign firearms?”
Liu Yu replied calmly, “Everything is in my mind!”
“Great!”
Si Ma Tai had been waiting for this moment for a long time. He shouted, “Let’s take these contraband goods to Haiyang to buy foreign rifles! Follow me!”
He had thought that someone in Liu Yu’s unit would object—after fighting so hard, they hadn’t gotten a single penny, yet all of it was to be spent on foreign rifles. But he was wrong.
Everyone’s steps became lighter as they imagined what it would be like to have foreign rifles. Money wasn’t the problem; not having a single foreign rifle was.
Many people gathered around Si Ma Tai, asking in detail about the origin, specifications, and advantages of this Mini-type foreign rifle, occasionally saying, “Brother Si Ma, can I touch this gun?”

They asked very detailed questions; it seemed even Sima Tai needed to understand about this gun. Even wounded soldiers with injuries didn’t need assistance, nor were they allowed to rest and recover on the spot. As they walked quickly, wasting no time, they asked, “Can we pick a good gun first this time?”
Their faces were filled with happiness.
In this era,
a foreign gun was worth more than anything.
They had dreams.