Washington
Secretary of State Safar said calmly, "Mr. President, these are the quotes from arms dealers in various countries, as well as the offers from domestic capitalists.
Of course, they do not mean much to us. The Federal Government was far too hasty in preparing for this war. Whether it is the government army or the militias of the various states, all of them are short of weapons.
At present, many of our troops are still using hunting rifles brought from home by the soldiers themselves. In terms of weaponry and equipment, we simply have no way of comparing with the Southern army.
Even if we bought up every last item in these arms dealers' inventories, it still would not meet our needs. So any talk of choosing is sheer nonsense."
President Lincoln rubbed his forehead. He seriously suspected that the Secretary of State had come here specifically to pick a fight. Since there was no choice, they would simply make do and buy whatever they could. What was there to discuss?
"Send people to negotiate with them. Push the prices down as much as possible, and kick out whoever is asking the highest price."
Safar shook his head. "I'm afraid that won't work. The Austrians offering the highest prices are selling breech-loading rifles, which are superior in performance.
More importantly, they have the largest stock on hand. They can provide us with one hundred thousand breech-loading rifles, one hundred and fifty thousand muzzle-loading rifles, and eight hundred artillery pieces of various types in one go.
Not long ago, they sold the Southern Government two hundred thousand breech-loading rifles, one thousand artillery pieces, and a quantity of ammunition. If those fools in the South had not been so stupid, these weapons would never have fallen to us."
In the Secretary