Chapter 1448: Arsenal

Qingyang Shuo's brain went blank, deeply doubting whether his ears had misheard.

But what happened afterward made him certain that he had not misheard.

Captain Qiaozhi wore the gratified smile of an old father, while Captain Gelin was overwhelmed with shame.

But Captain Qiaozhi did not move in the slightest, just watching Captain Gelin like that.

Captain Gelin was ashamed and angry, roaring at Captain Qiaozhi: "Are you going to negotiate or not? Believe it or not, I'll beat you until you're kneeling on the ground calling me daddy!"

Captain Qiaozhi sneered, leaning his chair forward to signal that he would take over the following matters.

Qingyang Shuo glanced at Captain Qiaozhi and said indifferently: "We in Longyan have our difficulties."

Captain Qiaozhi nodded, then said extremely sincerely: "We in Britain exist precisely to resolve the difficulties of Longyan City."

"I believe you have also seen our sincerity; otherwise, Captain Gelin would not have personally brought out fifty Gold Coins to honor you."

"Therefore, I implore Qingyang Xiansheng to give us a definitive answer: can our purchase of Cannonballs from Longyan City be accomplished?"

Qingyang Shuo looked at Captain Qiaozhi; this young man had a future.

This was an attempt to seize the initiative in the negotiations.

However, this was even better; the fish had taken the bait.

As they showed an increasingly desperate desire, Longyan City could reap more benefits from it.

When it came time to name a price later, these two would have no choice but to be slaughtered by the Longyan people.

From the moment the British accepted the Longyan Cannon and fell into the quagmire of war, both Britain and the French had already fallen into Longyan's trap.

The more fiercely they fought, the greater the benefits Longyan City would gain from it.

Now that Captain Qiaozhi had laid his cards on the table, there was no need to continue acting so arduously.

Qingyang Shuo got straight to the point: "I can see you, so naturally, there is room to talk. However, our Longyan City currently does not have many places to produce Cannonballs, and we are even truly lacking in raw materials."

"How can we supply your needs?"

Longyan City was a transit city, and the factories built there were merely some basic infrastructure factories.

They did not involve military affairs.

Otherwise, given Longyan's top-tier military manufacturing level, the factories would have long since made the British and French drool with envy.

Longyan's influence in America was a bit small, and there was no way to deal with the attacks of two countries that had been deeply cultivated in America for a long time all at once.

When that time came, what Longyan City would lose would not just be its colony in America, but it might even allow the French and the British to master their manufacturing processes and technology.

Up until now, the military equipment used by Longyan City was actually all transported from Longyan to be supplied.

But this was too much of a waste of time and energy.

The current Longyan City needed a place in America to build an Arsenal to consolidate its influence.

And continue to develop.

Once Captain Qiaozhi heard this, he understood what Qingyang Shuo wanted this time; he wanted to build an Arsenal.

But if Longyan built an Arsenal now, it would expand their development.

This was something Britain was unwilling to see.

But without Longyan's Cannons, it would be very difficult for them to win this war.

Captain Qiaozhi hesitated immensely, unable to make a decision for a moment.

Captain Qiaozhi looked at Qingyang Shuo and asked, his brows furrowed: "Can the two Longyan Cannons snatched away by the French be fired with ordinary Cannonballs?"

Qingyang Shuo nodded, indicating that they could.

Captain Qiaozhi's gaze froze; those two Longyan Cannons could actually be fired with ordinary Cannonballs. No wonder the Longyan people hadn't given them Cannonballs back then.

Although he had never seen a Longyan Cannon, he knew the detailed contents of that transaction.

The Longyan Cannon was very light and easy to carry; in jungles and complex mountainous terrain, it could exert an unimaginable effect.

He now knew why Kelinxi had traded two colonies for two Longyan Cannons.

Such a convenient

and portable Longyan Cannon that could fight using ordinary Cannonballs—in the jungle, just two of them could influence the outcome of the war!

Now both Longyan Cannons had been hijacked by the French!

The situation was unfavorable for them, the British!

Longyan's Cannonballs had to be purchased; if possible, it would be best to also purchase Longyan Cannons!

"We can help you, City Lord, with the Arsenal now, but your Arsenal must provide a share of the weapons produced to us, the British."

This was equivalent to a tie-in; even if they couldn't get the technology for the Arsenal, they could ensure that they had a share of the weapons produced by Longyan City.

Qingyang Shuo pondered for a moment and said indifferently: "That is possible. We can sign a contract. You help us build the Arsenal, and we can provide you with some weapons, including Longyan Cannonballs."

"But what about the materials for producing weapons?"

"That requires large quantities of iron, black powder, and so on..."

"Do you expect us, Longyan, to provide them? Our Longyan City doesn't have that many mines in America. If these raw materials cannot be resolved, this matter cannot be negotiated."

Qingyang Shuo finished speaking, took a sip of tea, and fell into silence.

Captain Qiaozhi and Captain Gelin also fell into deep thought.

Qingyang Shuo had truly given them a difficult problem!

Kelinxi did not intend to let Longyan City continue to develop, but now they could no longer do without Longyan City's equipment.

Raw materials were indeed a difficult problem, and there were also great profits to be made.

Longyan had no way to gather these raw materials in America; they had not occupied many mines in America.

Asking them to provide the raw materials for producing weapons and then give themselves a share was obviously not very realistic.

But the British also did not want to pay more in benefits.

Qingyang Shuo's ultimate goal had always been the Arsenal and the mines; he looked at the two British men whose brows were once again furrowed into the shape of the character 'chuan'.

A smile welled up in his heart.

"Sir, allow the two of us to discuss this matter."

Qingyang Shuo nodded, not stopping them.

He merely said one sentence: "Time is running out, and I must leave Longyan City for a period; the two territories you Britain gave us are simply a difficult problem."

"I should have known better than to accept them in the first place."

Qingyang Shuo complained, but in truth, one of those territories was an Iron Mine that required no management, and as for the other, Qin Zhangfeng had long since sent word that he had already subdued many of the Indians there.

Captain Gelin and Captain Qiaozhi exchanged a look and walked outside.

Both of their brows were tightly furrowed, their eyes filled with gravity.

"We cannot continue to make concessions; if resources like raw materials are handed over to them, then the strength of Longyan City will develop very quickly," Captain Gelin said first.

"But if we don't give them, judging by the current situation, Longyan will absolutely not sell us ammunition," Captain Qiaozhi responded.

Captain Qiaozhi thought for a moment, weighed the pros and cons, and finally said: "We must give it; we have no choice."

"You just saw Qingyang Shuo admit that the Cannon we lost can be loaded with ordinary Cannonball."

"This means that if France fights us again, we will be at a great disadvantage."

Hearing this news, Captain Gelin exhaled a breath of stale air and sighed: "We cannot let the French continue to expand and occupy America."