082 Into the Barrage of War (1)
In July 1826, a man was sent to East Stella from the United States.
The federal government’s undersecretary of finance, Steve Borson, delivered a letter signed and signed by the president to Lee Hwan.
The letter, written by the President of the United States, John Quincy Adams, was written asking for 400,000 rounds of ammunition as a foreign currency.
“400,000 feet.”
“If Eaststellar releases these bullets, we are willing to bear any high interest rates. In addition, we will actively support the expansion of the Dominion of Eaststellar that is currently taking place near Canada.”
Even so, the United States was in a state of weakness due to the wars with Spain and France, and it was very devastating to use that gap to set up Mexico and Portugal.
In particular, Portugal had more powerful artillery than any other force that currently exists in Europe, so the pressure must have been great.
Lee Hwan thought for a moment.
“2 million shots is not a small amount.”
“… … I know. But we, the United States, are under threat from the enemy. If East Stellar overcomes this desperate crisis, I will never forget the future grace.”
Eaststellar was selling cannons of 20 rounds for a pound each.
So, for 2 million shots, the price is 1 million pounds.
It was said that it was not a small amount by any means since it was ordered to build an old ironclad ship excluding armament for 1.5 million pounds.
However, from Lee Hwan’s point of view, it was not an amount that would change the business situation and change the fortunes of the company.
However, the question was how these two million rounds would change the international situation in the future.
He decided to replenish the ammunition.
“good. Let’s replenish the ammunition.”
“thank you!”
“However, I would like to ask for a steady transaction with East Stellar in the future.”
“Of course! Now Eaststellar will get the best treatment for any transaction with us in the United States of America! On the honor of our United States of America, I promise!”
As a human being, entering the bathroom and exiting the bathroom are different.
It is unknown how long the US will stick with Lee Hwan and fart, but even if this attitude goes on for at least a year, East Stellar will be able to build a great foundation for the future.
Lee Hwan also entrusted the United States with the task of drilling a supply route to receive ammunition.
“Recently, the battle in the South is fierce, so you transport ammunition through the Central or North.”
“I don’t think so. But the problem is that we have to continue to transport and trade ammunition in the future… … .”
“Well, time will figure it out.”
“Ugh.”
“Anyway, then we, East Stellar, will deliver 2 million units in a fortnight.”
East Stellar had the technology to produce 100 million bullets per year.
Compared to the military industry of the future, this was absurdly slow compared to the size of the company, but at present, no other company has been able to extract as much ammunition with a single company’s volume.
Lee Hwan decided to hand over a portion of the overwhelming amount to the United States.
***
Shortly after visiting East Stellar in the United States, Lee Hwan met with the French Governor-General of North America.
Louis Marquette, the French Governor-General, wanted to meet Lee Hwan, so he was terrified.
This is because the atmosphere in the French camp was not very good because of Portugal, which has recently appeared in North America and is confusing the front.
The French expeditionary force wanted to procure more military supplies, but it was not as easy as they thought.
Road conditions were not very good, and the armaments they had procured from Europe were slowly running out, making it difficult to even procure food any more.
The war was still going on, and he had to buy bullets somehow to keep the front line alive.
He asked Lee Hwan with a smile.
“I know that you have just been to the United States. What contract did you sign?”
“I decided to give you ammunition. We took 2 million shots as a credit loan.”
“… … You got the ammo on a credit loan? Wasn’t the original ammunition supposed to be paid in full in gold?”
“It’s about guns.”
“iced coffee… … !”
“We have an obligation to pay ammunition to countries that sell guns. So, if the situation is urgent, it is possible to give it as a credit.”
At the time when Lee Hwan initially supplied the ES-1 by lease, he had written the obligation to supply the ammunition in the contract.
At that time, there were no countries that did not sign, as the countries that bought guns seemed to be walking on a path that had nothing to do with war.
However, as time passed and war broke out in the United States, in principle, ammunition should only be supplied to countries supported by Yi Hwan.
One earlier, because the contract was nailed as obligatory to supply ammunition, Lee Hwan was able to receive money by supplying ammunition regardless of who was fighting the war.
France rolled its head to try to sneak up on Lee Hwan’s deal with the United States, which they considered an adversary, but Lee Hwan had already made an ammunition supply agreement one step ahead, so France had no choice but to keep its mouth shut.
Lee Hwan asked with a smile.
“By the way, what did you come here for?”
“… … We also want to receive some ammunition.”
“That’s right. Then, you decide how much ammunition you want to receive and how you want to pay, and arrange the date to receive the ammunition. You can pick up the ammunition directly from the North American branch of East Stellar, where it is produced and imported.”
It was quite unfavorable and dangerous for all countries to say that ammunition was directly received by the required country on site, but Lee Hwan did not care about that.
This is because it was clearly stated in the contract and the terms and conditions were understood and signed by the buyer.
Of course, he would not have known at the time that a single signing would create such a dangerous situation.
“Can’t the conditions be adjusted?”
“Yes, no. We have just settled in the West, so defending the base is just too overwhelming.”
In fact, it would be much safer for Eaststellar’s mercenaries to carry ammunition.
However, there was absolutely no need for Lee Hwan to bear the costs involved.
Even if you don’t do that, customers are lining up, so there is no need to run a business while burning raw money.
Louis Marquette was silent in thought.
For Lee Hwan, who holds the monopoly on munitions anyway, practically any conditions would not be very effective.
Then he had only one option.
Creating a neutral zone where Eaststellar resides.
“Then, if we can secure a trading base linking Nevada, Utah, and Colorado and make it inviolable, can you sell the ammunition there?”
“Creating a trading base?”
The lands that Louis Marquette mentioned were areas where the United States and Mexico were in confrontation, and recently, the powers of France and Spain have been pushing up and creating a tight military tension between the four forces.
However, the internal situation was not particularly good due to the frequent uprisings of the Indians, and the vast wilderness of Nevada and the rugged terrain of Colorado made it difficult to expect special profits other than fur hunting.
Other than that, the only thing that can be expected is the low-density silver mines that adventurers find occasionally.
“How are you? I think this will be a good condition for other countries as well.”
“Well, if other countries accept it, then it won’t be a bad deal.”
Lee Hwan was obviously talking bluntly, but he was actually happy on his knees on the inside.
He had already been buying up blind lands in Colorado, Nevada, and Utah through the government before the war broke out in North America.
It was for Lee Hwan to monopolize the gold mines in Colorado and the high-quality silver mines in Nevada and Utah.
The problem was to establish a legal trading base linking these three regions, and if Lee Hwan had done this alone, of course, it would have cost a lot of money and time.
If the countries fighting fiercely in North America could create a trade base by saying that they would secure supply routes on their own, it would be welcomed by Yi Hwan.
“If you make a road in all directions, I can do the work of laying the road.”
“good. We’ll tangent to Spain from the French side. If we make a road, the United States and Mexico will react in response, so in that case Sir Ritterkirk would be grateful if you could negotiate with a little care.”
“Hmm, I see. It’s not that difficult.”
In fact, Lee Hwan thought that the Portuguese landing might have caused East Stella to become involved in the battle before it had completely laid its foundation.
However, the appearance of Portugal was bringing more benefits to Lee Hwan than expected.
***
After Napoleon’s defeat of France, they were more active in colonizing the colonies.
The conflict between the two countries was now reaching its climax as the Nguyen Dynasty, which had been in constant trade since 1806, refused to establish diplomatic relations and began to persecute Christians.
France organized an expeditionary corps armed with new weapons to oppress the Nguyen dynasty, and began the expedition in January 26th.
Because it was a secret expedition that was not disclosed to neighboring countries, Europe did not even know that they had left for the expedition.
A few financiers, such as the Morgans and Friedrants, have noticed this, but have not yet known the details.
Their cause was that the Vietnamese emperor Nguyen Phuc Kieu (Wanbok) persecuted the Christian forces.
According to the will of God, the missionaries in their home country were raised with the firm purpose of demonstrating religious freedom to the Vietnamese people, Sungjo Minmangje.
On July 11, 1826, Alain Pavard, commander of the 2nd French Expeditionary Fleet, appeared on the deck of the flagship ‘Rosemaria’.
Alain Pavard was leading an army of 3,000 new firearms he had received from Eaststella, who were buoyed by the dream that this expedition could establish a large-scale colony in Asia.
Now their expedition was reaching northeast Thailand.
“Admiral, it looks like we will soon reach the southern part of Vietnam.”
When Alain Pavard’s navigators reported that they had almost reached Vietnam, he quickly issued the following instructions:
“Since the southern part of Vietnam is all sandbars, it will not be as easy as we thought to build a ship. For the landing, it would be advantageous to search the northernmost point in the southeast, so organize a reconnaissance team and check the condition of the nearby water depth.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Alain Pavard showed meticulous attention to their language and topography for the occupation of Vietnam.
His sharpness allowed him to move his army a little more organically.
That was when the French expeditionary force was planning to drop anchor and dispatch a squad.
The soldier who had been on the watchtower quickly descended to the deck.
“Admiral! You can see the fleet ahead!”
“fleet… … ?”
Alain Pavard quickly picked up the telescope and sensed the looming silhouette of an enemy in the distance.
The size of the fleet was four large sailing ships, which appeared to be quite large.
He tilted his head.
“… … be a fleet Did you mean that you were operating a sailing boat using a mast like that in Vietnam?”
Western sailing ships and Eastern sailing ships differed from each other in terms of their appearance, and their uses were also quite different.
No matter how you look at it, it was definitely a ship from Europe.
“European ship.”
“What should I do? It is a secret no one knows that we went on an expedition to Vietnam.”
If they were the fleet of Seongjo in Vietnam, they would have captured them now and found out the way to the heart of the enemy camp.
However, if they were from Europe, it was a different story.
“Don’t touch them for once, and let them disappear from their line of sight.”
“Yes, I understand.”
The French expeditionary force chose avoidance rather than contact.
They so escaped the European fleet and headed west.
But soon after, something very bizarre happened.
Shoo woo… … .
Somewhere there was the sound of bullets breaking through the wind.
“The shells are falling!”
“… … what?!”
Aww!
A total of 12 shells flew and hit the aft of the flagship.
Then, the flagship was completely destroyed in one shot and began to sink.
“Damn it!”
“Admiral! Eaststellar’s explosive shells!”
“… … East Stella?!”