Duke Mikhail's request is simply too much. Li Xiao and Alexey are naturally unlikely to agree to it, but this old fox is not easy to get rid of. After discovering the advantages of the new rifle, how can he give up no matter what?
Gather a handful of wool.
"If you don't have 100,000, at least 50,000 will be given!"
The old fox's tone was very tough, as if there was no need for discussion at all. It's just that his manner could scare others, but it couldn't scare Li Xiao.
"Don't say fifty thousand, there are not even five thousand! If you insist, we can consider giving you three to five hundred!"
Prince Mikhail immediately blew his beard and glared: "Five hundred are useless, fifty thousand, even one less is useless!"
Li Xiao was not polite and retorted directly: "Three hundred, not even one more. Do you want it? If not, we just keep it for ourselves. It happens that we don't have enough!"
Duke Mikhail was so angry with Li Xiao that he wanted to teach someone a lesson. Alexei could only jump out and "settle matters". He told Duke Mikhail:
"Uncle, it's not that we are stingy. The production of new rifles is very troublesome. We in Wallachia can't even do a complete replacement. How can we afford tens of thousands of them for you?"
However, Duke Mikhail refused to give up and angrily accused: "That's your problem. Why didn't you produce such a good weapon in advance? Now you can only improvise. This is your work mistake.
!Only you can be blamed!”
But before he finished speaking, Li Xiao shot him back: "Blame us? We contacted you last year and asked you to quickly buy machine tools from abroad and hire more engineers to produce new rifles. But what was your answer?
Yes, you won’t agree to anything! Well, now that you’ve discovered the benefits of the new gun, do you still have the nerve to beat me up? Let me tell you clearly that there aren’t so many new guns in use, and it’s all your fault. Who told you to be stingy?”
Now Duke Mikhail really couldn't say anything, because he did reject Li Xiao's request, because at that time he and Leonid had similar ideas. They both felt that the rifles produced before were advanced enough.
It's just a broken gun. No matter how advanced or useful it is, where can it go?
Rather than spending so much unjust money, it would be better to put it in his own pocket and be comfortable. At that time, he rejected Li Xiao's suggestion without even thinking about it. Who would have thought that he would be dumbfounded now!
But he still refused to give up, and said stubbornly: "I won't listen to your nonsense. I just want new guns. No matter what you do, you must prepare enough for me! Otherwise, you are the only one asking!"
Li Xiao suddenly became angry and replied unceremoniously: "Are we the only ones asking? Then you can ask. Anyway, there are at most three hundred, not even one more!"
Li Xiao's toughness made Duke Mikhail helpless, because he really couldn't fall out with Li Xiao and the others. Once they fell out, Wallachia would definitely not buy his account, let alone three hundred new ones.
I'm afraid there won't be any guns, and Leonid will definitely be driven away again.
He still has too much work to do in the future that requires cooperation from Wallachia. If he falls out, he will be the one to lose the most.
But Li Xiao's attitude is too irritating. He is also a Duke and a Field Marshal, so he doesn't give him any face. This is too crazy!
In the end, Alexei stood up to smooth things over: "Uncle, it's not that we didn't cooperate with you on purpose, it's that we really can't take it out. And even if we can take it out, you can't afford it!"
Duke Mikhail was stunned at first, then smiled contemptuously and said: "Can't afford it? You are too underestimated me! How much does fifty thousand rifles cost? Even if it is twice as expensive as the old rifles, there are only a few
money?"
Li Xiao immediately sneered and said sarcastically: "Are you really not afraid to tell you that the price of the new rifle is ten times that of the old rifle and twice as expensive? You have underestimated the technical cost! In addition, I am not afraid to tell you whether it is necessary or not.
"Affordable doesn't just mean that you can't afford guns, the price of ammunition is also not cheap, 50,000 new rifles are enough to pawn off the pants of those gray animals of yours!"
Duke Mikhail, who did not believe in evil, immediately asked about the price of the ammunition. As a result, his expression changed immediately after Alexey reported the number. The price was indeed a bit exaggerated, and he really could not afford it!
"Why is it so expensive?" Prince Mikhail asked in surprise and anger.
"Doesn't copper cost money? Doesn't the equipment needed to produce new ammunition not depreciate or wear out? If it's too expensive, just continue to use flintlock to grab it, it's cheap!"
Faced with Li Xiao's sarcasm, Duke Mikhail was truly speechless. He found that the difference between the war and the time when he was young was getting bigger and bigger. At that time, the war was probably decades ago.
In any case, there is not much technological progress compared to a hundred years ago.
But now, in just three to five years, new weapons and equipment have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, and their lethality and power are far greater than before. The battlefield experience and tactics summarized in the past hundred years have become increasingly outdated.
Duke Mikhail doubted that in a few years, veterans like him might not be able to adapt to the new battlefield environment and would have no choice but to retire honestly.
Thinking of this, Duke Mikhail sighed: "Okay, get me a thousand new rifles. I will use them to test the actual combat effectiveness and test new tactics. Remember, it must be a thousand, any less."
It’s no longer enough!”
To be honest, Li Xiao didn't want to give it even a thousand. In the end, Alexei stopped him and agreed to Duke Mikhail's request.
"Although one thousand is a bit much, it still gives the old man some face. Maybe we will have to rely on him in the future?"
Li Xiao knew why Alexey said that. The reason was very simple. Recently, they had successively offended Count Uvarov and Grand Duke Constantine. Although they had enough reasons to pass the test smoothly, those two were definitely not
If you do good things, there will definitely be trouble later.
Now that the war is imminent, no one can guarantee that no accident will occur, and Nicholas I will obviously not take his side, so he may be very passive by then.
And if Duke Mikhail could put in a good word and share some of the pressure, then they would be able to relax a lot. Giving him a thousand rifles for this purpose can be regarded as a good relationship.
But although Li Xiao can understand, he still thinks that Alexei is too talkative. You must not be merciful when dealing with these old foxes, otherwise these disrespectful guys will try their best to come over and take advantage of them.
But he has no shame at all and will never be lenient when taking advantage!