1850 American Gold Tycoon

"Thank you, Lord James, for your kindness, but Standard Oil has just received 1 million pounds of funds from your bank, and Standard Oil is currently very rich in funds.

The question that Standard Oil now needs to consider is how to make good use of the 1 million pounds of funds on hand, rather than needing more funds. "

Liang Yao put the tea cup in his hand on the tea table and said.

"I'm here to tell you good news. His Majesty Napoleon has decided to provide another huge order to California, an order for 50,000 sets of military uniforms." Le Goff said.

"It will also be completed within half a year?"

Faced with this sudden big order, Liang Yao wanted to be happy but couldn't.

Last month, Gibson also placed an order for 13,000 military blankets and 5,000 sets of military uniforms to his garment factory.

In addition to these military orders, the garment factory also has original civilian orders.

Liang Yao's Lotus Garment Factory occupies more than 75% of California's garment production capacity. The scale and output of other garment factories are still relatively small. Even if Liang Yao transfers some orders to these garment factories, he may not be able to complete the 50,000 sets within half a year. Orders for military uniforms.

"His Majesty hopes that you can complete this order within six months. If it is really impossible, you can complete this order within nine months." Le Goff said.

Napoleon III hoped to get these military uniforms within a year. After deducting the transportation time, completing the order within 9 months was the bottom line that Le Goff could accept.

"If it is nine months, then I will definitely be able to complete this order as scheduled. You only need to wait at home for the good news about the delivery of the military uniforms." Liang Yao breathed a sigh of relief.

In 9 months, the workers were able to complete the order of 50,000 sets of military uniforms by working overtime.

"In addition to military uniforms, Sir James has also secured a military industry order for you." August intervened from the side.

"Military industry order? Your Majesty is interested in our California-made rifles?" Liang Yao's eyes lit up.

Although Hong Mingxiang helped him digest the inventory of 5,100 Walter 1851E rifles, due to the large inventory, counting the newly produced guns in the past three months, the Sacramento Arsenal still has 33,000 Walter 1851E rifles in stock.

As for Liang Shaoqiong's Yue Yong, they purchased a full-blooded version of the Walter 1851 rifle. The output of this type of rifle was not high and the inventory was relatively small. Liang Yao is not worried about the problem of too many Walter 1851 rifles in stock.

After all, he also needs to use this type of rifle.

The reason why the sales of the Sacramento Arsenal have been poor is that, in addition to the damn congressional bosses in Washington who have been unwilling to purchase more advanced rifles for the Army to replace the old Springfield M1842 rifles, poor export sales are also a very important reason.

The fragrance of wine is also afraid of the deep alleys. The low reputation of the Sacramento Arsenal is the main reason for the poor export performance of the export-oriented Walter rifle.

In addition to giving priority to purchasing weapons from their own arsenals, the militaries of various countries also tend to purchase imported weapons from established arms manufacturers.

Because the weapons of those established manufacturers have been tested by war, their quality and reputation are relatively guaranteed.

Compared with old arsenals such as Springfield, Enfield, and Dresser, the reputation of the Sacramento Arsenal is almost zero.

The best place to test the quality of weapons is the battlefield, and the battlefield is the best advertising platform for weapons.

The only combat record of the Walter M1851 rifle is Liang Yao's expedition to Japan.

As for this battle, its influence on the Europa continent was lackluster.

If the French army can use the Walter M1851 rifle to achieve good results in the Near East, the reputation of the Sacramento Arsenal will naturally follow.

It is difficult to find a patron like France, who has an army that can fight and a country that is not short of money, even with a lantern.

Being able to sell small arms produced in California to France is what Liang Yao dreams of.

"Exactly, Sir James offended many people in order to sell your rifle to His Majesty," August said.

Auguste was not exaggerating. Selling foreign weapons to the French army was bound to offend France's domestic arms dealers.

If it weren't for the sake of the kerosene business, James, an old fox, would definitely not have helped him recommend California arms products to Napoleon III.

"I owe Sir James a big favor for these." Liang Yao said with a smile, "I wonder how many rifles your Majesty wants?"

Liang Yao thought that since the French army wanted equipment and the Crimean War was imminent, the number of rifles Napoleon III wanted must be very considerable.

"50,000." August said with a smile, "But His Majesty hopes the price can be cheaper. After all, the price of 155 francs for a rifle is too expensive." (1 US dollar is equivalent to approximately 1,823 francs)

The order for 50,000 rifles made Liang Yao smile from ear to ear. After all, it was an established power in Europe with deep pockets.

"How about 150 francs each?" Liang Yao wiped out a zero.

"You are not sincere enough, Mr. Liang. This is a big order of 50,000 rifles. The British Army began to replace the 1851 model Minie rifles in 1851, and it has only replaced less than 20,000 of them until now. Our Majesty But under pressure, I placed a large order for 50,000 rifles in one fell swoop." August was not satisfied with the price.

"What price do you think is enough to be sincere?" Liang Yao squinted his eyes and looked at August.

"130 francs a piece." Auguste reported the price.

130 francs is 25 US dollars. This guy directly cut the unit price from 30 US dollars to 25 US dollars, which is a bit beyond Liang Yao's bottom line.

"The price is 140 francs ($27) a piece." Liang Yao said with a pained expression on his face.

"Okay." Osuster reluctantly accepted the price.

After negotiating the price, the next step is to deal with the details, such as when all the guns will be delivered, the amount of ammunition, and what percentage of the deposit the French side will pay.

In the end, the two parties reached an agreement that the Sacramento Arsenal would deliver 33,000 rifles immediately, and the remaining 17,000 rifles would be delivered within six months.

The French side paid 60% of the payment, which was 3.9 million francs, as a deposit, and the remaining 40% of the payment was guaranteed by the Bank of France and Rothschild Bank.

Payment will be made after all the remaining 17,000 rifles are delivered and accepted.

The French government currently has a good reputation, and after Napoleon III came to power, the French political situation gradually stabilized and the economy will enter a period of rapid development.

Liang Yao doesn’t have to worry too much about the French government defaulting on its contract.

Of course, having a Rothschild bank guarantee also made Liang Yao feel at ease. After all, the balance of 2.6 million francs was hard to say would be a huge sum of money for the Rothschild family.

In order to increase the production of kerosene, Liang Yao decided to form the California Petroleum Association and open Standard Oil's refining technology to the association's members.

However, before opening up the refining technology of Standard Oil Company, Liang Yao also had a bolder idea, which was to first establish a chemical company in which the government held an absolute majority share to improve the future financial situation of the California state government.

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