The nobles of Wallachia are basically a group of war scum who have no strength but are blindly confident.
The blind optimism of these guys directly caused Alexei's preparations for the war to be sluggish. He always felt that people in this country had no ambition and no motivation to do things.
Alexey was extremely helpless about this. After all, it seemed to him that the fire was about to reach the roof, but the group of idiots in the room were still fighting in confusion. If it were you who faced this every day,
It's strange that I'm not only angry to death, but also so angry that my liver hurts.
So after Li Xiao returned to Bucharest, he immediately went to him and complained: "These bastards don't take the war seriously at all. They really treat the Turks as the sick men of the Near East. It makes me mad!"
Li Xiao just listened to his complaints quietly, and at most nodded in agreement from time to time. But what Alexey said basically went in one ear and out the other, because Alexey simply wanted to
Talking and venting, as for what is said, is meaningless.
"The railway will not be completed until February next year at the earliest, and it will be a single line!"
After vomiting for a while, Alexei finally finished venting and started talking about serious things.
Li Xiao nodded and said that he understood. In fact, Alexey didn't need to explain it in particular. He also knew that the railway would not be completed that quickly. It would be good to be open to traffic in February next year. After all, you cannot compare the standards and speed of infrastructure construction in the Great China in future generations.
Asking for the little wretches of this era will do no good except make you faint.
In fact, when this railway was originally planned, it was not a single line, but a double line. After all, the efficiency and value of a single line are a bit low. However, because of the war, in order to put the railway into use before the war broke out, it was not practical to repair the line.
You can only repair a single line first, and then repair the other half while using it.
"How to solve the problem at the front of the car?" Li Xiao asked.
"Importing it from France, what else can I do?" Alexei sighed.
To be honest, he gets worried whenever he thinks about having to use imported locomotives. After all, there is likely to be a war with France in the future. In that case, it will be very troublesome to continue to import locomotives and spare parts from France. Once the other side blocks it, you can only stare.
of.
"Purchase as many spare parts as possible!"
Li Xiao didn't have a good solution. Who made Russia's industry in this era almost impoverished? It's useless to ask for anything. Heavy machinery such as locomotives are completely dependent on imports. It can be said that the country's related industries have just started.
, don’t make any hopes for three to five years.
Alexei replied with a tangled look on his face: "The price offered by the French is not cheap. If you prepare more, it will take up a lot of funds!"
Li Xiao raised his head and glanced at him, knowing what he meant by coming to the door immediately. Either there was a problem with funds, or he wanted to help him bargain with the French.
No matter which one it is, Li Xiao can't ignore it. After all, he has invested a lot of money in this railway, and he hopes that this railway will become a hen that lays golden eggs.
"Let me talk to Uncle David and ask him to come forward and contact the supplier," Li Xiao sighed, "but it is unrealistic to expect special discounts. Those profiteers' noses are more sensitive than the others. Don't expect them to be trustworthy at this time.
"
Alexey also sighed. Of course he knew that whenever a war was about to deplete capital, he would be the first to know. At this time, these capitalists would turn into man-eating beasts. Don't expect them to be moral.
What's more, Russia is still on the opposite side of France. They will not be polite when facing their enemies. They will not be polite enough if they don't eat you alive.
Li Xiao reminded: "It's better to contact suppliers in as many countries as possible. The French are not the only ones who can produce car heads!"
"I know!" Alexey sighed again, frustrated: "There are many countries that can produce locomotives, but not many have good enough relations with us. In addition, you have to consider transportation costs. France is the closest to us... The United States
People are willing to sell us the locomotives, but the problem is the shipping fee..."
Li Xiao stopped talking. This was the pain of being controlled by others. He smiled bitterly and said: "That's why I said before that large-scale industry is the future trend. Without industry, you can only be slaughtered by others. At that time, you were still complaining.
You see, without my strong request, you would not be willing to open the gun factory. In that case, what you need to worry about now is not only the problem of spare parts for the front of the car, but also where to purchase bullets in the future!
"
Alexey was speechless for a while. What Li Xiao just said was what happened a year ago. At that time, he strongly requested to upgrade the domestic gun and bullet factory built together with Duke Gorchakov's family and requested to purchase the latest
Boring machines and lathes to be able to produce more advanced rifles and bullets.
However, not only the Gorchakov family disagreed with this investment, but Alexei and a few other friends also disagreed. They believed that the existing firearms and equipment were sufficient for the Russian army, and there was no need to increase the investment.
Invest in producing rotary-action rifles and copper-jacketed bullets.
They even think that the cost of these bullets alone will bankrupt them, and say that the military does not need such extravagant ammunition. Aren’t the paper-shell ammunition wrapped in oil paper already very useful? Why bother?
Naturally, it was impossible for Li Xiao to agree to such shallow and ignorant opinions. In the end, he broke up with the Gorchakov family on bad terms, and Alexey, Boris, and Vishniak also reluctantly agreed because they couldn't stand the kindness.
Easy to invest.
It's just that this year, when the first batch of new single-shot rear-action rifles using copper-loaded rifles were equipped with the Wallachian National Army, their powerful effectiveness shocked all the onlookers.
That firing speed! That accuracy! And good service performance! It simply beats all previous rifles in all aspects, including the paper-shell breech-loading rifles previously equipped by Wallachia.
Especially after more than half a year of trial, the advantages of copper custom-loaded ammunition have been fully demonstrated. It is easy to store and there is no need to worry about moisture problems. Even soaking in water does not affect the trial. Anyway, the grassroots troops have unanimously praised it.
It is precisely because of its powerful effectiveness that even Kornilov and Nassimov, who had watched the Wallachian National Army exercises, were excited. It took a lot of effort for the two brothers to get through to the Navy Ministry.
As part of my work, I purchased 2,000 of them from Li Xiao and others for trial use.
Even Kornilov and Nassimov directly believed that the rifles currently in service in the Russian army were junk, and it would be best to replace them with new rifles from Wallachia. Anyway, looking at the trend, if the new rifles and bullets will be used in future wars
If you perform well, sales will definitely not be a problem!