We need money

Compared to gaining another person completely subservient to the Van der Linde Gang, Dutch was more focused on the progress of his own plan at this moment.

He sat on the sofa, deep in thought, while Hosea, Arthur, and John were discussing the recent business.

The arms business had completely spread throughout New Hanover and Lemoyne; after all, it was the Van der Linde Gang's home turf, so the arms promotion went exceptionally smoothly.

The combined population of New Hanover and Lemoyne was roughly over one million. This was the West, after all, and the population was very sparse, especially since the total population of America in this era was only seventy million, with most concentrated in the Eastern regions, so the population in the Western regions was pitifully small.

And this was also the main reason why most of the capital from the East didn't come to the West; there weren't many people, and consumption power was pitifully low, so coming here to develop might not even cover the shipping costs.

Even so, New Hanover and Lemoyne were considered major population states in the West, because further west it was even more remote, desolate, and rampant with bandits, simply not a place for humans to survive. For example, New Austin, controlled by the Howling Wolf Gang, had an even more pitifully small population; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say there were thousands of miles of uninhabited land, with only a few scattered small towns.

And this total of five hundred thousand people didn't bring high profits to Dutch's arms business; on average, only one person out of a hundred would buy a gun. Calculating this, his arms profits in this area could only reach a million dollars in the short term, which, while a lot, lacked staying power. The subsequent plan to build numerous bunkers in Lemoyne required a large amount of capital, and the research and development of Tanks and airplanes also needed financial and personnel support. Therefore, he had to expand his business channels.

And now, Hosea and Arthur John were discussing this very topic.

"So, we must expand our business channels, Arthur. I've discussed this with Dutch; we plan to first sell our arms business to Cuba. If the cooperation with Cuba is stable, then we can consider Mexico." Hosea held a glass of medicinal wine, savoring it slowly.

His health hadn't been good before; he had a minor lung problem, a complication caused by a cold. If he had continued the gang robbery life back then, even if Arthur hadn't contracted tuberculosis, Hosea would likely have died of lung disease a few years later as his lung problems gradually worsened.

But it was different now; the Van der Linde Gang was very rich, and Hosea's illness was no longer an illness at all. He took whatever medicine was good, and he could probably live another thirty years now.

"Alright, Cuba? Hmm... Dutch mentioned that place when we were fighting on Guarma. Are they still in civil strife?" Arthur peeled a strip of beef jerky with a small knife, then put it into his mouth, chewing slowly as he pondered.

"Yeah! I've already found people to start investigating during this time. The situation in Cuba isn't too good right now; there are three factions fighting internally, and I think this will be a very good environment for selling arms.

But it might be a bit dangerous for us." Hosea nodded, taking out a map of Cuba and placing it on the table.

John, standing nearby, exclaimed in surprise, "sh*t! How big are they? To actually have three factions fighting! Damn it, I remember America occupied Cuba a year ago, didn't they? When we were still in Blackwater Town!"

John was referring to the Spanish-American War of 1898, but he had only seen it in the newspapers and hadn't paid much attention to it.

In this era, wars between America and Europe were not much different from village brawls; in the Battle of Manila, the total casualties on both sides did not exceed five hundred, which was even fewer than the number of people Arthur himself had killed. In this era, for these Western outlaws, eradicating them was far more difficult than fighting a war. This was also why bandits were rampant in the West now, but the East simply didn't care.

No one funded it, no one provided manpower, and they couldn't be completely wiped out. Anyway, the interests in the East were booming, and the West was a thankless task, so they didn't even bother to look.

"The population of Cuba is quite large, John, possibly several million." Hosea patted his shoulder, then pointed at the map and explained.

"During the Spanish-American War, America's excuse was to support Cuba's independence, but now that the fighting is over, America wants to forcibly occupy it, which has led to conflicts.

Currently, there are three major factions within Cuba: one is the rebel army backed by other old empires, another is the Cuban government supported by America, and the third is Cuba's own revolutionary army. There are also many other small factions and miscellaneous gangs. So, this place has a huge arms market!

What we need to consider now is how to safely transport our arms there and then find suitable sales channels." Hosea tapped the map, rubbing his brow, looking a bit worried.

This was a problem; Cuba was in chaos, and they might be completely wiped out if they went there, as these factions were likely connected to or at least backed by some old empires. Furthermore, entering Cuba by ship would definitely be intercepted and inspected by the coast guard, and if arms were found, they would be directly impounded.

"Can't we just transport them by ship?" John asked blankly.

He was always like this, pointing out the core of the problem with a single sentence.

No one responded to him. John scratched his head, feeling a bit confused as to why everyone went silent the moment he spoke.

What did that mean? John looked blankly at Arthur and Hosea, then at Dutch, who was walking over from a distance.

"Oh, John, don't look at me with such a blank stare, my boy!" Dutch exclaimed, looking at John's eyes.

"Alright, Hosea, you're overthinking the problem! We've developed steadily to this scale, even cooperating with the Morgan Family, painstakingly encompassing two states, and winning over all the people. What was it all for? Wasn't it to be able to trade freely?" Dutch spread his hands, his Little Mustache trembling constantly.

"Listen to me, if there's no market for arms trade, then we'll force one open! The Morgan Family has taken so much profit from us; now it's time to use them.

Hosea, go to the Morgan Bank now and find the manager. Have him contact Miss Camille, and in my name, Dutch Van der Linde, take out a ten million dollar loan from the Morgan Bank. Use that ten million dollars to purchase British warships in the name of the Lemoyne State Government!

At the current price of British warships, we should be able to purchase about ten.

Get the warships back to me within a month, load the arms onto them, then take our gunmen into Cuba and forcibly sell our arms!

Damn it, haven't we, the Van der Linde Gang, been developing steadily all this time precisely to be able to trade freely? And isn't our cooperation with the Morgan Family just for a treasury where we can withdraw money for free?

If we don't use the people and don't use the money, then how are we supposed to develop?

Damn it, the arms of our Van der Linde Gang, those damned factions in Cuba will have to buy them whether they want to or not!

In short, we're going to sell them!!!"

In a few words, Dutch completed the entire plan for selling arms to Cuba.

Damn it, Miss Camille will have to lend this money whether she wants to or not! And he, Dutch Van der Linde, not only won't repay this ten million dollars, but he won't repay it next time he borrows money either!

This time, he could borrow it based on his reputation and the scale of development during this period, but next time, he would borrow it by force!

Otherwise, why would they cooperate with them?