1855 United States Tycoon

Under the guidance of Wang Qinian, Rong Hong and Zhang Yu met the legendary United States tycoon in Scrooge's small living room. Although Zhang Yu had heard the story of Scrooge McDonald from Rong Hong more than once before this, the tycoon who was said to be in charge of the lifeline of the country was so young, which surprised Zhang Yu. .

Scrooge asked the two guests to sit down on the sofa, and Elizabeth served them black tea from China.

"The two came to me from China across the ocean. I'm afraid it has been a long time since I drank authentic Chinese tea." Scrooge said braggingly, "These teas were brought to me by a good friend of mine from China. When I came back, he told me that this is the best China tea."

Zhang Yu gently took a sip of tea, then looked at Rong Hong, smiled, and put down the tea cup. Rong Hong took a happily sip, and then praised in English: "It really is a good tea, very fragrant."

Scrooge only smiled when he saw Zhang Yu and didn't speak, so he smiled and said: "My tea should be rare in United States, but it's probably not a good thing in China, the hometown of tea. "

Zhang Yu doesn't understand English, so I can only look at Rong Hong. Rong Hong also translated Scotch's original words to him. After listening, Zhang Yu smiled slightly and replied: "Mr. Macdonald’s tea is authentic Lapsang Souchong. Even if it is placed in China, it is definitely a good tea. It’s just that your maid makes tea at a level It’s too bad. The utensils and water used are not authentic. I don’t know who taught her how to make tea. It’s a waste of tea."

Zhang Yu thought that Scrooge didn't understand Chinese, so he was extremely rude when speaking. Anyway, when Rong Hong was translating, he naturally knew what to say and what not to say. .

Sure enough, when Rong Hong translated this sentence, it became: "Mr. Zhang said that Mr. MacDonald’s tea is of course excellent, but the utensils used are not compatible with it. For making Gongfu black tea, you should use China. Yixing’s purple clay teapot, not the British bone china that Mr. now uses."

"I don't know much about these." Scrooge smiled and said, "For me, this thing is just for refreshing. The two of you came to me today because they wanted to talk to me. What kind of business?" Scrooge said. Although I know that traditional Chinese people are always used to talking about the subject when they talk about this kind of things, but Scrooge does not have so much time to waste with them. So he simply followed the habits of the United States people and talked about business straightforwardly.

For the straightforwardness of the United States people, Rong Hong has long been used to it, so he didn't care about it. He replied: "We hope to be able to purchase the production line of McDonald's 1857 rifle and related patented technology from your company."

This business is actually quite good. No matter how good the performance of the MacDonald 1857 is, after all, it is only a rifle that uses black powder. Now the company has fully converted the McDonald 1864 rifle, so it seems that selling the old production line is also a kind of rifle. Good choice. But Scrooge did not intend to use this kind of goods to be eliminated immediately to deceive two rookies who have no knowledge of the development trend of weapons. He knew that after this production line, Manqing needed more industrial equipment. If you can leave an honest impression on these Qing dynasty people now, it will definitely be of great benefit to his future plans.

"I don't understand why you guys thought of buying this. To be honest, if you need McDonald's 1857 production equipment, I can even sell it to you at the price of scrap. Of course, the shipping costs are yours. I guess, these things I'm afraid that the shipping cost is higher than its price." Scrooge said, "but I don't recommend that you buy such backward things that are about to be eliminated."

"I heard that McDonald's 1857 is the best rifle in the world." Rong Wing asked in surprise.

"Oh, it used to be." Scrooge replied, "but since the appearance of the MacDonald 1864 rifle, it has been completely outdated. I dare to say that in less than five years, most of the world’s powerful armies will be Put on a rifle similar to McDonald’s 1864. And McDonald’s 1857 can only be used to bully African natives."

"How could this happen?" Rong Hong didn't quite believe it.

"Adding to the production of an 1864, it is not much more expensive than the production of an 1857, but the 1864 using smokeless gunpowder and cartridges is much stronger than the 1857 in performance. The gap between them is almost the same as the after-installation. The gap between the gun and the front-loading gun is the same." Scrooge continued to explain.

"We use 1857 to deal with the domestic rebels. 1857 is enough." After Rong Hong translated Shi Gaozhi's words to Zhang Yu, Zhang Yu said so. Obviously, McDonald's 1857 production line can be bought at the price of scrap, and he feels very satisfied.

"If your country really wants to equip 1857, you don't actually need a production line." After pretending to listen to Rong Hong's translation of Zhang Yu's opinion, Scroozhi smiled again, "Your country bought this production line back. Then we produced the 1857 rifle. Since you have to import a lot of raw materials, the cost of this thing will never be much cheaper than our 1864. And because our civil war is over, the federal government's large-scale disarmament has put the excess weapons on the international market. So, cheap 1857s are everywhere in the international market. Buy these guns directly, and the price may not even be a quarter of the new ones you made. And I dare say that with the promotion of 1864 rifles It won’t be long before the British and French will start to change their clothes in large quantities. The 1857 they hold will also be sold on the international market at the price of scrap iron. Therefore, it is cheaper to make 1857 than to buy second-hand 1857."

"So is the MacDonald 1864 rifle really so much better than the 1857?" Rong Hong asked.

"Ah, that's natural." Scrooge said with a smile. "There is a shooting range behind our company. If the two of you have time to be free, I can ask Wang Qinian to take you there to try the gun. You know these two. How different is the gun."

"So how much does a set of 1864 rifle production equipment cost?" Rong Hong asked.

"We can refer to our transactions with the Prussians." Scrooge said, "I can't tell you the specific details. This is a trade secret. In fact, the production equipment is not worth much, and the key is related patented technology. Generally speaking. In other words, for every 1864 produced, they need to pay me five dollars in patent fees. And the guns they produce cannot appear on the international market, otherwise, any 1864 that appears on the international market will need to be sold again. I pay a penalty of ten dollars."

"The patent fee for each rifle is $5? Can it be reduced a little bit." Rong Hong said, "You know, China is not a very rich country."

"The key depends on how much you plan to produce." Scrooge replied, "If you are like Prussia, you have to produce hundreds of thousands in five or six years, then I will be able to give you the same price as Prussia. If the quantity can reach millions, it can be cheaper."

For China, which is just starting out, it is almost impossible for the output to exceed one million within a few years."Of course, if you can agree to some additional conditions, it is not impossible that the patent fee is in accordance with the Prussian standard, or even lower." Scrooge said.

"What kind of conditions?" Rong Hong asked.

"All the imported raw materials needed to produce this rifle, such as steel, gunpowder, etc., must be imported from the McDonald family business under the condition that the price difference does not exceed 1%. In addition, if you want to build a coal mine, iron Mines, steel mills, artillery factories, etc., under the same conditions, the McDonald family companies should also be preferred.” Scrooge said. In fact, his meaning is quite clear. If the construction of China's Westernization Movement can follow his standards, then, um, it seems that there is still some money to be made.

"We need to discuss this with China," Rong Hong said.

"Actually, I think it’s boring for you to nail your eyes firmly on the munitions." Scrooge said, "The munitions are important, but if you can’t produce all the key raw materials by yourself, then buy raw materials for homemade weapons and direct weapons. What's the difference between buying weapons? I heard that some people in your country are talking about'rich country and strong soldiers'. This is a very good idea. Strong soldiers are not falling from the sky, but based on the prosperity of the entire country and the strong industry. Yes. There is no strong basic industry. Just relying on the purchase of weapons production equipment, IMHO, this is by no means a real way to enrich the country and strengthen the military. The McDonald family is very strong in mining, smelting, railways, chemical medicine, etc. Strength, I personally prefer to cooperate with your country in these aspects and contribute to your country’s ZTE.”

"Mr. MacDonald, thank you for your kindness to China. We do have our own plans to build basic industries. Mr. MacDonald, would you allow us to visit your family's business?" Zai He Zhangyu After a few conversations, Rong Hong said so.

"This is not a problem, I will let Elizabeth arrange it." Scrooge said, "In addition, the foundation of industry is not these factories, but more importantly related talents. For example, if someone changes all of my factories. But as long as my team is still there, it won’t take a few years before I can recover it all. Not long ago I talked to a Mr. Lin who is said to have some education in your country. I know from him. , Your country has no education in natural sciences at all. Without these, how could it be possible to establish an industrial country?

You may not know that I am also the superintendent of the University of Cleveland. Although our University of Cleveland is a newly established university, in terms of natural sciences, it is definitely one of the best in the entire United States. In the Macdonald College of the University of Cleveland, we have the best laboratory in the world, and we also have big scientists with global influence like Mr. Maxwell. In addition, the law and economics of the University of Cleveland at Rockefeller is also very good. If your country really intends to take the path of self-improvement, it must send personnel to learn the natural sciences and social sciences that adapt to it. Then, the University of Cleveland would be a good choice. "

Scrooge knew that in history, the Manchu Dynasty finally came up with a plan for young children to study in the United States. Although not many young children were sent to study in the United States, most of these people have achieved success in China later. Especially in the intellectual circles, most of the earliest figures in China's natural sciences originated here. If you can get this plan under the control of own, it means that if you need to intervene in the situation in China in the future, you can find a lot of help. And Scrooge knew that the rise of China is historically inevitable in the long run. Maybe China is not a place where he can make a lot of money, but after a few years, the situation will change greatly. By then , With the hat of "the old friend of the Chinese people". The McDonald family will surely get more benefits.

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