African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 326: Chapter 9 Clearance

Speaking of the Bodelai Town trading market, while Bubuawes and Oudel Kevin were engaged in a fierce battle on their way back to the Abysinnia Empire.

A Nigmet caravan slowly entered Bodelai Town, and Lawrence, the commander of the Bodelai Town border forces, warmly greeted them.

Lawrence: ”Mr. Yaan Reed, you’ve come quite early today!”

Yaan Reed: ”Hahaha, Mr. Lawrence, you’re too kind. The weather is nice today, and I believe it signifies that our cooperation can reach a new height.”

Unlike other caravans that rushed to Bodelai Town for ”shopping,” Yaan Reed’s caravan arrived much later. However, East Africa’s attitude towards Yaan Reed’s caravan was noticeably different, with even the border forces taking the initiative to greet them.

Lawrence: ”Mr. Yaan Reed, from what I know, a new batch of firearms arrived today. This morning, people from your capital Tigray and the Amhara region have already bought some in advance. But don’t worry, we’ve saved the good ones for you.”

Hearing Lawrence’s exclusive information, Yaan Reed hurriedly expressed his gratitude: ”Thank you for your intelligence, my friend. These northerners have too much ambition. Having monopolized the empire’s arms trade in the east, they still want to meddle in the south. Truly greedy fellows.”

Yaan Reed rebuked his fellow traders for their dishonorable actions. Before East Africa opened its market, trade activities of the Abysinnia Empire were concentrated along the Red Sea coast. Cities like Nigmet in the inland south naturally did not enjoy these benefits. As for the north, there were indeed trade routes, but relations between northern Egypt and the Abysinnia Empire were extremely poor, resulting in very little trade between the two.

Lawrence: ”Mr. Yaan Reed, don’t be angry. Business is endless. Besides, East Africa is on the side of your Nigmet. With East Africa’s support, you will soon have the capability to compete with those major forces.”

Just as the British supported John IV, the Kingdom of East Africa also sought its own interests within the Abysinnia Empire. The local powers in the south of the Abysinnia Empire, led by Nigmet City, were the targets of East Africa’s courtship.

The south of the Abysinnia Empire is far less developed than the north or the east and is relatively insignificant within the empire. However, now that the British dealt a blow to the entire Abysinnia Empire, causing it to be fragmented, local power warlords in the Abysinnia Empire want to seize the imperial throne for their own benefits. They are supporting the former commander of the south, Nate Hogg, as their spokesman.

Nate Hogg’s story is quite dramatic. He is also a scion of a prominent family from the Tigray region. He was sent south by the former Abysinnia Emperor Theodore II as a general to guard against East Africa. After Theodore II was defeated and committed suicide, the empire fragmented. Nate Hogg became one of the strong competitors for the emperor, supported by southern forces.

The reason the southern forces pushed Nate Hogg as a representative is due to his Solomonic lineage. The Solomonic family is equivalent to the current royal family of the Abysinnia Empire, making it easier for nationwide acceptance.

The supporters behind the southern forces are East Africa, meaning Nate Hogg transformed from a general defending against East Africa’s invasion to one of the contenders for the peak of power in the Abysinnia Empire, supported by East Africa.

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Under Lawrence’s personal guidance, Yaan Reed’s people visited the Bodelai Town’s specialty firearms store. Unlike the previous treatment of Bubuawes and Oudel Kevin, they accessed the rear courtyard of the store where boxes of neatly packed military supplies were ready.

Lawrence brought a crowbar and personally opened a box. The wooden box painted green had a strong smell that indicated how ”fresh” the goods were. Inside, rows of oil-coated flintlock guns were neatly placed in the straw. Lawrence took out one and handed it to Yaan Reed.

Lawrence: ”This is the M1809 front-loading smoothbore rifle, once part of Prussia’s regular army. In Europe, it’s reputed. You see, these components are still shiny, and its reliability remains trustworthy.”

Lawrence felt a bit embarrassed speaking about it. Such old antiques being brought out for sale certainly made it difficult for the East African government.

At that time, Prussia didn’t have many of these rifles because Prussia’s army was restricted to a small scale during the French rule under Napoleon. East Africa could only find such antique items because they were very cheap, acquired essentially at scrap iron prices from Prussia’s military warehouses.

After a few years of service under East African militia, these guns frankly speaking are over fifty years old, much older than Lawrence himself.

Clearly, these antique guns, although looking good after refurbishment at East African arms factories, showcased their appeal.

Though knowing their own, Lawrence shamelessly said: ”The age might be a bit long, but it excels in stability. After all, the Prussian army, known as strong in Europe, demanded high standards for their weapons production. They had uniform standards, making part replacement and maintenance convenient, far better than the weapons we sold to the northerners.”

The sources of Abysinnia Empire’s rifles were extremely mixed, mostly old antiques sold off by various countries, with quality varying drastically. Some were even broken; East Africa would refurbish them before selling.

Therefore, seeing the appearance of these firearms made Yaan Reed quite satisfied. He asked: ”Mr. Lawrence, may I inspect a few other boxes?”

Lawrence: ”Of course, no problem!” Saying this, he handed over the crowbar.

Having only opened one box, Yaan Reed couldn’t afford to be careless. If this box was deliberately prepared by East Africa as a sample, that would be a significant loss.

Clearly, after Yaan Reed randomly checked several boxes, all were of similar quality. He satisfactorily said: ”Mr. Lawrence, I am very pleased with this batch, but ultimately, it needs a field test!”

Lawrence: ”You can go to our border forces’ shooting range in the outskirts, where the terrain is very open.”

Ultimately, Yaan Reed personally tested the power of these rifles in the outskirts of Bodelai, reaching the middle to upper levels of the Abysinnia Empire’s army firearms unit.

Yaan Reed: ”We are extremely satisfied; we can settle the payment now. Gold and silver coins or livestock!”

Lawrence: ”Anything you prefer, my friend, whatever is convenient for you! ”

Ultimately, Yaan Reed exchanged his last batch of Ottoman silver coins at Heixinggen Bank. He acquired these silver coins in business dealings with Ottoman merchants along the Red Sea coast. Now that Egypt is at war with Abysinnia, trade between the two countries is nearly interrupted, and Ottoman silver coins have depreciated significantly within Abysinnia, prompting Yaan Reed to quickly get rid of them.

East Africa doesn’t mind, as these Ottoman silver coins can still flow back into the Ottoman Empire via Zanzibar’s Sultanate. After all, Abysinnia is a landlocked country, while East Africa is not.

Meanwhile, this also means the Ottoman Empire’s financial influence in the Abysinnia Empire crumbles, with British Pounds, Francs, and East African financial notes issued by Heixinggen Bank stepping in.

The Abysinnia Empire, with a population of nearly ten million, is indeed a sizable market. Simultaneously, unlike the West African natives who only have ”gold” as transaction value, leaving them with hardly any purchasing power, the Abysinnia Empire is a different story for East Africa.

East Africa is also eager to exchange those antique firearms. With the installation of the Dreyse Rifle production line, East Africa is set to completely bid farewell to front-loading flintlock guns, making the war-torn Abysinnia Empire a good recipient.