Far East.
Having received orders by telegram from the homeland, Richard quickly met with the Far Eastern government's senior officials and began promoting the weapons production line.
Richard went straight to Li Hongzhang, then Grand Secretary of the Far East and Governor-General of Zhili, and cut straight to the point. "Your Excellency Li, just tell me—do you want it or not?"
Li Hongzhang was no stranger to military affairs; indeed, he understood them quite well and was fully aware of what had happened in the West. Examining the sample Dreyse rifle Richard had sent over, he said, "The workmanship is indeed exquisite. However, Ambassador Richard, if I remember correctly, this Dreyse rifle did not seem to perform particularly well in the war between Prussia and France, so..."
Now you were getting picky! Richard felt somewhat unconvinced, so he said, "That is correct. What you said is true—the Dreyse rifle was not perfect in performance. But at present, especially in the Far East, it is more than sufficient. And as far as I know, many of your top arms manufacturers are still producing extremely outdated muzzle-loading rifles. Our Dreyse rifle production line is far more advanced than those rifles. This was proven several years ago in the Italo-Austrian War. Take the 1853 Enfield rifle produced by Nanjing Arsenal, for instance—it is a product a whole generation behind."
"Ambassador Richard, that is true enough, but at present we have no need in this regard. Or rather, we have no new procurement plans."
Li Hongzhang had seen plenty of cases of foreigners selling their own weapons to Qing China. Generally speaking, foreigners' words were not especially trustworthy. Besides, the Imperial Court truly had no money now.
Richard was in no hurry. "Your Excellency Li, do not rush to a conclusion. Once you know