Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 325: Duped Arms Dealer

The Northern government found itself in a predicament, and the Southern government wasnt faring much better. Firstly, there were internal power struggles. The newly formed Confederate government was a result of compromises and balancing acts among the states.

As an interim administration, its effectiveness was limited. Most actions had to be carried out with the cooperation of state governments.

Under this dual leadership, various forms of chaos were inevitable.

After the victory at the Battle of Cincinnati, there should have been a pursuit to capitalize on their victory, concentrating forces to seize the Northern industrial center. However, the Southern government launched attacks on multiple fronts instead.

They successively attacked bordering regions such as Maryland, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa.

While this multi-pronged approach appeared grandiose and extended beyond enemy borders, it also missed the opportunity for a swift end to the war.

This kind of stalemate is what the great powers love the most. Arms dealers from all over the world are now flocking to North America, hoping to share in this feast.

Inside a mansion in Missouri, the owner, John Casey, asked with a smile, Fickell, how did the negotiations go?

Fickell replied with a dejected tone, Dont even mention it, my friend. This deal cant be done. The state government actually wants to purchase breech-loading rifles.

Good heavens, the mainstream weapons in the world right now are muzzle-loading rifles. Whats the difference between bullets being loaded in the front or the back, arent they shot out the same anyway?

For this war, Fickell had procured two hundred cannons and thirty thousand rifles, ready to make a profit. The cannons naturally sold at a high price, but for the rifles, he wasnt as lucky.

In times of war, people are the most pragmatic. They use whatever weapons work best. Undoubtedly, breech-loading rifles, which can be fired from a prone position, are more competitive than muzzle-loading rifles.

The Southern government was already at a manpower disadvantage. Although their ratio had improved from historical levels of 1:2 to 2:3, they still couldnt afford heavy casualties. The state governments wanted to minimize soldier casualties as much as possible.

John Casey shrugged and said, Sorry, I cant help you with this issue. Convincing the state government to purchase a batch of weapons wouldnt be difficult during peacetime, but now its wartime.

We have to consider the militarys opinion, and winning the war is everything. The breech-loading rifles provided by the Austrians were indeed effective. Ive personally tested them.

Both the rate of fire and accuracy are greatly improved. The only weakness might be their range, but thats not much of a drawback.

On the battlefield, most soldiers can only hit targets within two hundred meters, so an effective range of eight hundred meters is sufficient.

Fickell complained, Damn it. If you knew, why didnt you tell me? Youve made me waste my energy. If I had known, I would have gone to the North. I only came here because of you.

John Casey remained unfazed and said, You brought this upon yourself. Who told me that his weapons were the most advanced in the world, again?

Fickell, dissatisfied, replied, My rifles are indeed the most advanced in the world, at least among muzzle-loading rifles.

John Casey, feeling helpless, responded, Well, even if thats the case, it doesnt matter now. Whose fault is it that you were late? If you had come a month earlier, the government would have gladly purchased this batch of rifles.

But its too late now. Its been proven true that muzzle-loading rifles are being phased out. The government wont joke with their soldiers lives by procuring outdated equipment like these.

Why dont you consider modifying this batch of rifles? Ive seen that converting them into breech-loading rifles isnt difficult. Although it may incur some additional costs, you can surely recover them later, right?

Fickell frowned, his displeasure fleeting. While modification seemed simple in theory, this wasnt Europe but the Southern United States, and there werent many factories capable of rifle modification.

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And one of them was John Caseys arms factory. Although called an arms factory, it had just been recently converted.

Before the split between North and South, it was merely a factory for machinery. However, John Casey was astute; as soon as the South declared independence, he ordered equipment from Europe and poached personnel from several domestic arms factories, transforming the mechanical plant into an arms factory.

It was impossible for the hastily assembled team to develop new weapons.

The production capacity also didnt meet John Caseys expectations; currently, they could only produce three cannons, eight hundred rifles, and fifty thousand bullets per month.

To fully utilize the production lines capacity, it would take at least one to two years.

Clearly, this was something John Casey couldnt wait for. Who knew how long the civil war would last? Once the war ended, survival for the arms factory would be a challenge.

The emergence of breech-loading rifles was a turning point for John Casey. Converting old muzzle-loading rifles into breech-loaders was undoubtedly much faster than manufacturing new ones.

With his connections in Missouri, he had no trouble selling the converted old rifles to the government at the price of new ones.

However, not all rifles were suitable for conversion; some were easy to convert, while others would not be cost-effective to modify.

The tens of thousands of rifles from Fickell were undoubtedly suitable for conversion. Although the relationship between the two men was decent, when it came to interests, relationships were the least reliable.

John Caseys arms factory equipment was purchased from Fickell, and now the tables had turned. This time, he was ready to make a killing off Fickell.

As for whether Fickell would refuse, its natural that he wouldnt. Just using common sense, its clear that these rifles wouldnt sell in the South, and they wouldnt sell in the North either.

You cant expect Austrian arms dealers to only sell weapons to the Southern government and not to the Northern government, right?

Breech-loading rifles arent some high-tech products. It would only take a couple of months to copy them once theyre obtained as samples. If Austria doesnt sell, other European countries will.

Moreover, the Northern government can also produce its own knockoffs. Currently, the United States is the worlds leading imitator, so wouldnt it be easy to copy a rifle?

Without the American market, it would be difficult to sell these tens of thousands of rifles elsewhere. And thats not to mention the increased transportation costs. Its better to choose cooperation as he can still make some profit.

Fickell directly said, Alright, my friend, name your price. As long as the price is right, Ill sell them to you.

As a qualified arms dealer, since Fickell had guessed John Caseys intentions, he naturally wouldnt choose to be duped out of money again by agreeing to the modification.

John Casey chuckled and quoted, Twenty-five thousand pounds.

Hearing this figure, Fickell immediately became angry, stood up, and said, Why dont you just rob me instead?

John Casey reassured, No need to overreact, my friend. In business, such outdated weapons are no longer worth much.

Besides being modified, you can only sell them to indigenous tribes. How many years will it take to sell all these guns?

There are risks involved in purchasing these rifles for modification. It takes time, and if the civil war suddenly ends, Ill be left holding the bag.

As a gesture of goodwill, Ill add another three thousand pounds. This is already the highest price.

You should know that the Southern government has just signed a massive military order with Austria. They sold two hundred thousand breech-loading rifles to the Southern government in one go.

Fickells expression changed drastically; this was undoubtedly bad news. But soon, he regained his composure. Two hundred thousand rifles might seem like a lot but when divided among the fourteen Confederate states, each state would receive less than fifteen thousand rifles on average.

This wouldnt come close to meeting everyones needs, especially for border states like Missouri, where it would be a drop in the bucket.

Muzzle-loading rifles werent easy to sell because many Americans already owned them. In a country where gun ownership was widespread, not having ones own gun was embarrassing.

Fickell bargained, One hundred thousand pounds. This is already the lowest price in the international arms market.

After some contemplation, John Casey countered, Twenty-nine thousand pounds. After all, were old friends!

Ninety-five thousand pounds and thats as low as it goes.

Ill add two thousand more pounds, and thats my final offer.

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