Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 123 A Big Deal

This time when he went to Beijing, Zheng Guohui brought 150 personal soldiers with him, leaving 30 of them in Tianjin to watch over the ships, and the remaining 120 people all dressed in casual clothes and followed him into the city to serve.

It's nothing more than trivial matters like guarding the gate and serving as a servant.

When the shop in Dongjiaomin Lane opened, 20 people were assigned to work here. After all, if the goods worth tens of thousands of taels of silver were looted, there would be nowhere to cry.

In this important place of the capital, privately possessing swords and guns is a serious crime.

The guys all had a long rolling pin in their hands, and a big bamboo hat in their hands. When they were fighting on the streets, the effect was roughly equivalent to a battle formation with one hand holding a knife and the other holding a shield.

He can face a hundred street thugs without any fear, and no one can find fault with him.

Zheng Guohui had long been on guard against the sneak attacks of these people in the capital, and he countered each move and won beautifully.

He also has his limitations
There was a rule in place when the imperial court entered the Pass that if the emperor killed someone with his son, he would not be punished.

These royal family members usually commit countless evil deeds. Jingzhao Prefecture, the Infantry Commander's Office, and the Nine Gates Governor's Office all pretended not to see anything. No one wanted to step into this dunghill.

Not only can we not discipline them, but they also disgust people.

This Nanfengtang had been open for more than ten days and had earned over 2 yuan. It was truly a bank of wealth, and it was inevitable that it aroused envy.

Among these, 70% of the sales volume is the pineapple fruit that is famous in the capital.

Nanfengtang was the only business in the capital, and its products were so popular that they were sold out, making it a very famous place.

Now, famous restaurants in Beijing have also begun to offer dishes made with pineapple. Once launched, they have become very popular, and a table of dishes costs 12 taels of silver.

The most famous dishes are talked about by diners with great relish.

One of the dishes is called bacon and pineapple stew, which is made by cutting one end of the pineapple, scraping out the flesh, adding finely diced bacon, rice, bamboo shoots, and pineapple, covering it with the pineapple peel, and steaming it in a pot.

The steamed bacon and pineapple pot has a sweet and sour fruity flavor, tastes rich and delicious, and has a unique taste. It is a favorite of women and children.

There are also stir-fried sweet and sour pork with pineapple, pan-fried pineapple glutinous rice cakes, braised pineapple spareribs, etc. These novel ways of eating are all extremely delicious, and have set off a pineapple craze in the homes of the powerful before the New Year.

It's a pity that in the capital city during the cold winter, even the powerful and wealthy families can only eat cabbage, radish, tofu, and bean sprouts, with very few varieties of vegetables.

Suddenly, this novel thing that can be used as fruit and also for cooking appeared, and everyone was flocking to it.

Just at this time
The Nanfengtang in Dongjiaominxiang was sold out, causing an uproar among the powerful families in the capital.

Qianmen Mansion

Zheng Guohui was looking through the account books in the study. It had been five or six days since the incident involving Beiziye Babutai. Sales at Nanfengtang were booming, and a large amount of inventory had been cleared out.

A lot of old rock sugar, spices and other items were also sold, and even rare shells, cocoa and coconut meat that few people were interested in were sold.

Count down

Since its opening, the business has earned over 160 taels of silver. Of the over tons of pineapples, over tons have been sold, and over tons are still piled up in the west wing of the mansion.

The sudden stop was because the remaining goods were not enough to sell.

From now on

There are still 14 days until New Year's Eve. If we release these stocks, they will be sold out in almost two days. How can that be possible?
Zheng Guohui left these goods mainly to supply the palace and the mansions of some royal family members and dignitaries. The supply to the common people can be cut off, but the supply to these wealthy families must be guaranteed.

At the same time, it also means to raise one's own status.

As for "hunger marketing", although there is no new term for hunger marketing in this era, similar practices are called "hoarding" and "price gouging". Our ancestors have been doing this for thousands of years and it is no longer a new thing.

After review
Zheng Guohui put down the brush in his hand, rubbed his stiff hands, picked up the teacup and took a sip, feeling that the tea was a little cold.

He was in a good mood and didn't care much.

This trip to the capital was very fruitful. He married the beautiful eldest daughter of the Li family, opened up a new trade route for pineapples, earned money and established his prestige, and also had connections with officials in the court.

Visit those who should visit, and show respect to those who should show respect.

He also secretly met with the American Minister Smith and had a private conversation with him for half a day. The goods that Mr. Joe Johnson ordered through the Wan Guo Tong Bao Trading Company were purchased smoothly in the United States.

Through diplomatic emails that arrived more than a month ago, Joe Johnson reported in detail on the progress of the US's large-scale purchases by the Wan Guo Tong Bao Company. The weapons and equipment and US military ships in the order were particularly smooth, almost like picking them up for free.

The large-scale disarmament of the United States after the Civil War led to the disbanding of many troops, which was particularly evident in the South.

Thousands of military bases, warehouses and barracks are deserted, and there are countless discarded weapons, clothing, tents and artillery. Just go and take them.

Before the war, the U.S. Navy still had more than 5000 ships of various types. After the war, the U.S. Congress drastically cut the budget and personnel. Some senators even clamored to return to the pre-war status and not spend a single dollar more on the military.

In just one year

The US fleet has been drastically reduced to a size of more than 800 ships. A large number of ships are anchored in ports with no one paying attention to them or maintaining them, which has become a headache for the local people.

I heard that there will be further cuts, at least by half.

With just a small amount of money, you can get a brand new sailing warship that has just been put into service from the port. It is fully equipped with naval guns and can be used directly.

What surprised Zheng Guohui the most was that as long as he was paid, the US military would even sell him the latest ironclad ships.

There are four ironclad ships anchored in the San Francisco Bay Area. Each ship costs $4, and the total price of the four ships is only $1.6, which is less than 4/6.4 of the original price of the equipment, which is equivalent to getting it for free.

The 6.4 US dollars is equivalent to approximately 6.6 to 6.7 taels of silver. The specific amount of excess depends on the results of the negotiation.

The key is
These four ironclad ships were equipped with Dahlgren 4-inch cannons equipped by the US Navy for ironclad ships. Each ironclad ship was equipped with two cannons, and the cannons were installed in the turret in the center of the ship.

Such powerful cannons were not put into service until the late Civil War. However, not long after they were put into service, the war ended and Congress drastically cut the navy's budget, so that the navy could not even afford to support its soldiers.

These new warships were parked at the edge of the bay. Exposed to the sun and rain, large patches of rust had appeared on the sides of the ships.

The meaning of Joe Johnson's report of this news is very clear. Of course, he hopes that an Oriental will take over.

Zheng Guohui was very excited after hearing this. After considering it for a while, he nodded and agreed. He added 4 ironclad ships, 6 three-masted sailing ships and some weapons and equipment to the order. The total value of the additional order was 10 US dollars.

Now we can buy weapons and equipment at scrap prices, which is much more cost-effective than making them ourselves.

Therefore, before the newly earned 4 taels of silver had even warmed up, another taels of silver were added to it, making a total of taels, which they immediately handed over to Smith, an American company, as a deposit for additional goods.
This deal was worth it! Zheng Guohui thought happily, swinging his crossed legs and tapping his legs rhythmically with his fingers, looking very pleased with himself.

His excitement was not without reason. A bright future was slowly opening up before his eyes.

As long as Zheng Guohui gets this batch of American weapons, his maritime military force will reach the world's advanced level, and it will be top-notch.

From now on
The vast South Seas allows me to roam freely. Zheng Guohui has enough confidence to deal with the French and the Red Indians (Dutch) and defeat them.

Naval warfare in the age of sailing ships

It is very difficult to sink a battleship because the naval guns fire solid bullets. The thick-skinned and tough sailing battleships can be hit by hundreds of bullets and still continue to fight.

in comparison
The damage caused by sea storms to warships is far greater than enemy artillery fire.

If they couldn't sink the enemy ship, they would capture it. This led to the prevalence of the tactic of boarding at sea. When Spanish warships went on expeditions, they would habitually carry a large number of soldiers to prepare for boarding operations.

As early as the early 19th century

After the Napoleonic Wars, French artillery officer Henri Joseph Pécsan developed a cannon that fired explosive shells in 1823. The tail of the cannon was a separate chamber with an inner diameter slightly smaller than that of the barrel, making it easier to fire explosive spherical shells.

This gun is 2.8 meters long, 8 inches in diameter, and weighs more than 3 tons. It fires shells filled with black explosive (note: weighing 59 pounds). This is the famous bombardment cannon.

So, the essence of a bombardment cannon is to launch explosive spherical bombs, that is, shrapnel bombs filled with black explosives inside.

In the Russo-Turkish Battle of Sinop in 1853, the Russian fleet was equipped with dozens of this type of artillery and inflicted heavy damage on the Ottoman Turkish fleet during the battle. The biggest contributor was this explosive spherical bomb.

But don't underestimate American ironclad ships. The United States was the country that started industrialization right after England. Although its industrial level and scale were far inferior, its technology was not behind at all.

Especially on these four ironclad ships, the bombardment guns they were equipped with were of extremely advanced technology, reaching the pinnacle level of muzzle-loading guns.

This is the large-caliber naval gun that the Americans independently developed and improved based on French artillery. It can effectively penetrate the thick side plates of any sailing battleship in the world today.

Actually

Bombardment guns also need to hit many times to sink an enemy ship. What really poses a huge threat to wooden warships are large-caliber muzzle-loading smoothbore guns, whose shells weigh hundreds of pounds.

As long as one shell hits the hull above the waterline, it is enough to sink the enemy ship. Such serious damage cannot be stopped at all.

The Dahlgren 19-inch cannon was invented by the US Navy in the mid-15th century. These four ironclad ships were equipped with this terrifying cannon.

Each ironclad was equipped with two Dahlgren cannons, a muzzle-loading smoothbore cannon about 15 times its caliber long and shaped like a beer bottle. It was invented by U.S. Navy Admiral Dahlgren.

The Dahlgren cannon had no rifling, but instead had a cavity cast in the hollow trunnion through which cold water could flow for cooling.

This physical cooling method is undeniably advanced in today's artillery casting technology.

This greatly enhanced the service life of the artillery. It could be cast into a 15-inch caliber artillery, capable of withstanding rounds of heavy-charge shooting without any risk of barrel explosion, reaching the pinnacle of muzzle-loading guns in terms of technology.

Zheng Guohui envisioned his own naval forces. Once equipped with such advanced warships, it would be like getting a dragon-slaying sword right out of the novice village. That power...

Tut tut...

Thinking of the happy things, I couldn't help but smile.

"Master, what makes you so happy? You can laugh just sitting here by yourself?" Madam Zheng Lidi (note: Li Yanhe, will be referred to as Zheng Li from now on) walked in with four beautiful maids and asked with a smile.

Four maids held trays in their hands, on which were exquisite pastries, freshly stewed soup, gold cups and silver utensils for washing hands and rinsing mouths, towels, pipes and other items. They stood neatly behind the lady.

When Zheng Guohui saw his wife coming and bringing a fragrant breeze into the room, he smiled and waved for Zheng Li to sit down beside him and said;

"Ma'am, I made a great deal. How can I not smile when I got such a good deal? I am secretly happy."

"Master, you are a man of both literary and military talents, and you are even proficient in trading cloth for silk. You are truly a man of heaven. I must have accumulated some good fortune in my past life, and I should be secretly happy for it!"

"Madam, you are too modest. We are a perfect match."

"Master...how can you praise yourself like this...aren't you ashamed?" Zheng Li was so amused that she burst out laughing, looking so bright and charming.

She turned around with a smile on her face and ordered, "Hurry up and prepare the food for Master. Don't let the freshly cooked phoenix wing, abalone wing, and bird's nest soup get cold. Also, there are the quail crystal sashimi, lily pastry, rock sugar lily, and water chestnut soup. These are all made in the palace."

Several maids worked together and set it up immediately.

At this moment

It was considered an afternoon snack. Since Zheng Li came into the family, she also brought the chef of the Li Mansion and the recipes of various palace cuisine snacks, which directly raised the living standards by two levels.

Zheng Guohui also felt hungry, so he took his wife's hand and walked to the table together, where they enjoyed the food served by the maid.

Zheng Li had a small appetite and could not eat much, so she only tasted a little of each exquisite stew and snack.

She was just accompanying him, watching Zheng Guohui eat with such relish that he finished a bowl of abalone, bird's nest and phoenix wing soup in just a few mouthfuls. She then advised him, with a mixture of laughter and tears, "Master, eat slowly. Chewing slowly and slowly is in line with your digestive system. This is the long-term solution. From now on, this humble concubine will learn to use large bowls when cooking for you, and give you generous portions."

"Madam, you should eat more and keep yourself healthy." Zheng Guohui said vaguely.

"Okay, I'll listen to you, Master."

Seeing that he was eating with relish, Zheng Lishi also had a big appetite and ate half a bowl of phoenix wing, abalone wing and bird's nest soup and a piece of lily pastry. The rest all went into Zheng Guo's stomach.

After lunch, he helped the master and mistress wash their hands and faces, applied pearl flower cream, and poured Zheng Guohui a cup of betel nut and ginseng tea for him to drink slowly.

The maids then quickly cleared the cups and plates, lit incense, and filed out.

In front of outsiders

Zheng Guohui and his wife acted very serious and would not tolerate any violation of the rules. Zheng Li was good in other aspects but would not give in at all when it came to the rules and regarded face as the most important thing.

When Zheng Guohui saw the maid go out, he put on an ambiguous smile on his face and turned to hug his wife's small body.

Zheng Li had been prepared for this move. She stood up lightly and dodged. She pointed at Zheng Guohui with her spring onion-white fingers as a warning, opened her sweet lips and made a fierce gesture, revealing her fine white teeth.

Stop it, my husband. If someone really finds out, I won’t be able to live anymore.

It's so embarrassing that it's absolutely not allowed.

(End of this chapter)