The northern government was in trouble, but the southern government wasn't much better. First was the internal power struggle. The newly formed Confederate government was the result of compromise and balance among the states.
As a temporary grassroots team, their ability to execute naturally couldn't be counted on. Most things could only be carried out with the cooperation of the state government.
Under the dual leadership, all kinds of chaos were inevitable.
After winning the Battle of Cincinnati, they should have followed up and concentrated their forces to destroy the industrial center of the northern government in one fell swoop. Instead, the southern government attacked from all sides.
They attacked the bordering states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and so on.
The Four Sides Blossoming strategy seemed to be very powerful, but it also meant that they had lost the opportunity to end the war quickly.
This kind of stalemate was the favorite of the big powers. Arms dealers from all over the world gathered in North America to divide up the feast.
In a manor in Missouri, the owner, John Casey, asked with a smile, "How did the negotiation go, Fickel?"
Fickel said dejectedly, "Don't mention it, my friend. This business can't be done. The state government actually wants to buy breech-loading rifles.
God, the mainstream weapon in the world now is the breech-loading rifle. Besides, what's the difference between loading from the front and the back? Isn't it all fired? "
For this war, Ficker had obtained two hundred cannons and thirty thousand rifles, preparing to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune. The cannons were naturally sold at a high price, but the rifles weren't so lucky.
In times of war, everyone was the most realistic. They used whatever weapon was useful. Without a doubt, breech-loading rifles that could be fired while lying down were more competitive than front-loading rifles.
The southern government was already at a disadvantage in manpower. Although the ratio had risen from 1: 2 to 2: 3, they still couldn't afford to die. The state government wanted to reduce casualties as much as possible.
John Casey shrugged and said, "Sorry, I can't help you with this problem. In normal times, it wouldn't be difficult to convince the state government to buy a batch of weapons, but this is a time of war.
We have to consider the military's opinion. Everything is for the sake of winning the war. The breech-loading rifles provided by the Austrians are really good. I even tried them myself.
Regardless of whether it was the firing speed or the accuracy, both had greatly improved. The only weakness is probably the short range, but that's not really a weakness.
On the battlefield, most of the soldiers can only hit within 200 meters, so 800 meters is enough. "
Ficker complained, "Damn it, if you knew, why didn't you tell me? I wasted my energy for nothing. If I had known earlier, I would have gone to the north. I only came here because of you. "
John Casey's expression did not change as he said, "Isn't this your own doing? Who told me that the weapon in his hands is the most advanced in the world?"
Ficker said with dissatisfaction, "My batch of guns is indeed the most advanced in the world, at least among the rifles."
John Casey said helplessly, "Alright, even if that's the case, it's useless. Who asked you to come so late? If you had come a month earlier, the government would have bought all these guns.
Now it was no longer possible. The facts had already proven that the muzzle-loading rifle was being phased out. The government would not joke around with the lives of their soldiers to purchase this batch of outdated equipment.
Why don't you modify these guns? I've seen it, it's not difficult to modify them into breech-loading rifles. Although it will increase the cost a little, can't we earn it back in the future? "
Ficker frowned, and a flash of dissatisfaction appeared in his eyes. Modifying was easy to say, but this was not Europe. This was the south of the United States. There were not many factories that had the ability to modify rifles.
And one of them was John Casey's munitions factory. Although it was called a munitions factory, it had actually just been modified.
Before the north and south split, it was just a machinery factory. However, John Casey was shrewd. As soon as the south declared independence, he ordered equipment from Europe and poached people from a few munitions factories in the country, turning the machinery factory into a munitions factory.
It was naturally impossible for a hastily established group to develop new weapons.
The production capacity also did not meet John Casey's expectations. Right now, they could only produce three cannons, eight hundred rifles, and fifty thousand rounds of ammunition each month.
It would take at least a year or two to fully utilize the production line's capacity.
Obviously, John Casey could not wait that long. Who knew how long the civil war would last? Once the war ended, it would be a problem for the munitions factory to survive.
The appearance of the breech-loading rifle brought a turning point for John Casey. Modifying a breech-loading rifle was undoubtedly much faster than producing a rifle.
With his connections in Missouri, he had no problem selling the modified old rifles to the government at the price of a new rifle.
However, not all rifles could be modified. Some rifles were easy to modify, while others were not worth the cost.
Ficker's tens of thousands of rifles were undoubtedly suitable for modification. The relationship between the two was not bad, but in the face of profit, relationships were the most unreliable.
John Casey's munitions factory equipment was bought from Ficker. Now that the tables had turned, he was prepared to make a killing off Ficker.
As for whether Ficker would refuse, naturally, it was not a question. Anyone with a brain would know that this batch of rifles could not be sold in the south, nor could it be sold in the north.
They could not expect the Austrian arms dealers to only sell weapons to the southern government and not to the northern government, right?
The breech-loading rifle was not a high-tech product. It would only take a month or so to get a sample and copy it. If Austria did not sell it, other European countries would.
Moreover, the northern government would make their own copies. Now that the US was the world's most counterfeiting country, it was easy to copy a rifle.
If they left the American market, it would be difficult to sell these tens of thousands of rifles. They also had to consider the increased transportation costs, so they might as well choose to cooperate and make some profits.
Ficker said directly, "Alright, my friend, give me a price. As long as the price is right, I will sell it to you."
As a qualified arms dealer, since he had guessed John Casey's intentions, he naturally would not choose to modify the rifles and be cheated of another sum of money.
John Casey laughed and quoted, "Twenty-five thousand pounds."
Hearing this number, Ficker immediately became angry. He stood up and said, "Why don't you just rob someone?"
John Casey comforted him, "What's the fuss, my friend? Business is business, and these obsolete weapons are not worth much now.
Apart from modifying them, you can only sell them to the native tribes. How long do you plan to sell so many guns?
It is also risky for me to buy these guns to modify. It takes time, and if the civil war suddenly ends, then it will all be wasted on me.
For the sake of an old friend, I will add another three thousand pounds. This is already the highest price.
You have to know that the southern government has just signed a huge military order with Austria. They sold two hundred thousand breech-loading rifles to the southern government at once. "
Ficker's expression changed greatly. This was undoubtedly bad news. He then returned to normal. Two hundred thousand rifles seemed like a lot, but after being distributed among the fourteen states, each state had an average of less than fifteen thousand rifles.
This was far from meeting everyone's needs, especially for a state like Missouri, which was at the frontlines. It was like trying to put out a cart of firewood with a cup of water.
Preloaded rifles were not easy to sell, but that was because the Americans had many of them. In this country where everyone carried guns, if one did not have their own gun, they would be embarrassed to call themselves an American.
Ficker bargained, "One hundred thousand pounds. This is already the lowest price in the international arms market."
After thinking for a moment, John Casey quoted again, "Twenty-nine thousand pounds. Who asked us to be old friends?"
"Ninety-five thousand pounds. I can't go any lower."
"I will add another two thousand pounds. I can't go any higher."
…
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