Steel Dynasty - Chapter 265

[Chapter 265 Thoughts]

A cold wind blew by, and the young man in white shivered in the cold wind.

Xiao Ming noticed this, and combined with the young man’s thin skin, tender flesh, and frail appearance, he probably lived in a place with a strong sense of culture in the south all year round.

What he just said was a bit harsh. If King Wei had been in front of him, he would have jumped and cursed.

As the saying goes, it is better to make friends far away than to attack those close. Xiao Ming still understood this truth. Although he knew that King Wei’s motives were impure, he still wanted to unite with King Wei under the current situation.

After all, vassal kings with different surnames are eyeing each other, but they are of the same origin and clan.

So he said: “Don’t be offended, it was just my king’s nonsense. Since the Third Emperor sent you here, it must be about artillery this time. Let’s make a long story short, how many artillery does the Third Emperor need, and how much does he plan to produce for each cannon?” Silver?”

The young man in white breathed a sigh of relief. He thought about Dian Zhuan. This Prince Qi was different from the other princes he had come into contact with. He seemed to have a murderous aura about him, and his tone of voice also contained a hint of majesty.

What he said just now captured his mind for a moment, and when he reacted, he said: “The King of Wei said that he needed three hundred artillery pieces. His Highness gave King Zhao twenty thousand taels of artillery pieces. Is it for the sake of the clan? It’s cheaper, but King Wei also said that if His Highness feels that he is at a disadvantage, he is willing to buy it at the same price as King Zhao.”

“Uncle Sanhuang is really generous. In this case, I can’t help him if I don’t give him a certain price, so be it. , I will give you 500 taels for each artillery piece, and 19,500 taels for each artillery piece,” Xiao Ming said.

The young man in white felt a wry smile in his heart. King Wei was indeed right. This King of Qi was very stingy and would not allow too much advantage.

He said: “Okay, Your Highness, I came here this time and brought money. I just ask that Your Highness can deliver the artillery immediately after the imperial army to solve the Japanese problem.”

Xiao Ming thought to himself that this King of Wei is indeed richer than that one .

King Zhao was much happier and said: “Uncle Three Emperors is happy. In this case, after providing the first batch of artillery to the Forbidden Army, I will immediately send someone to deliver it to Uncle Three Emperors.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.” The young master in white said with a smile. .

In fact, this was not what King Wei meant, but that he made the decision himself. In a few words, he had already seen the character of King Qi, who did not recognize people, only money.

Zhao Yuanliang suffered a loss in Qingzhou because he was not happy enough.

So after thinking for a moment, he decided to pay immediately. This would definitely make Xiao Ming happy. After all, although Qingzhou had made a lot of money this year, it was only a drop in the bucket compared to the wealthy King Wei.

And the King of Qi made a lot of moves in the six states, so he must be in need of money.

“No need to thank you. It’s getting late, so Xiao Changshi might as well stay and have a meal before going back.” Xiao Ming said with a smile. He was always very polite to people who gave money.

The smile on the face of the young master in white grew thicker, and he said: “No need, I have been waiting for His Highness in Qingzhou for a month. King Wei is probably very impatient and has to rush back.”

“Well, that’s fine, go back .

Let me say hello to Uncle Sanhuang, these Japanese pirates are a scourge along the coast, maybe we will have a chance to cooperate in the future,” Xiao Ming said.

Xiao Qi nodded, “Yes, Your Highness, I will definitely convey it.”

Then Xiao Qi told Xiao Ming about the silver. It was definitely unrealistic to take out three million taels of silver at once. Xiao Qi brought hundreds of silver notes this time. Ten thousand taels, one hundred thousand taels of gold. These one hundred thousand taels of gold are now at Tuojiang Wharf. All it takes is someone to collect them.

The remaining one million silver continues to be offset by goods, which is generally the case for large-scale transactions in Dayu.

In view of the fact that the military workshop would need a lot of iron in the future, Xiao Ming also asked for some coal and iron, in addition to five hundred thousand stones of grain, 30,000 pieces of cloth, and saltpeter and other things.

For him, he actually likes this method of bartering. After all, real money cannot be used as food if there is a war.

In ancient times, food, cloth and various resources were truly stable currencies.

After agreeing on the quantity of various goods, Xiao Qi bowed and left.

Looking at Xiao Qi’s figure, Xiao Ming always had a strange feeling, as if he suddenly saw a member of his family who had been missing for many years.

However, he had no objection to Xiao Qi. He was polite, neither humble nor overbearing, and he seemed to be an extremely smart person.

The only thing that puzzled him was why King Wei would use such a young and handsome young man to make a long history.

Suddenly remembering the special hobbies of certain princes in ancient times, Xiao Ming shivered and got goosebumps all over his body.

Shaking his head, Xiao Ming stopped thinking about the matter and asked Zi Wan to send someone to find Fan Zeng.

There is still business to be done.

…

Tuojiang Pier.

Xiao Qi asked the boatman to unload all the gold in the ship. At this time, there were already people from the government on the dock receiving these materials.

This time I have been in Qingzhou for more than a month. While Xiao Ming went to Cangzhou, he visited almost every place in Qingzhou.

In the past month, he had seen many scenes in Qingzhou that were different from Jinling City.

The biggest difference is that there are no wealthy families in Qingzhou, and the people’s lives have become easier and more comfortable without the oppression of the wealthy families.

The most important thing is that the people of Qingzhou have supported King Qi to the point where they only recognize King Qi and not the king.

No one in Qingzhou talks about Chang’an, and no one talks about the emperor. The people in Qingzhou don’t seem to be interested in any of this.

What they were interested in was what government decrees King Qi had issued, what new products he had introduced, Bowen Academy, business and other topics.

Especially when the locals say that the King of Qi is not good, the people of Qingzhou will often rush forward, scolding him if it is light, and beating him if he is serious. Such people’s support is what he truly respects.

“Uncle Three Emperors, why is Prince Qi so easy to deal with?” Xiao Qi looked in the direction of Prince Qi’s Mansion and suddenly sighed deeply.

Having been by King Wei’s side for these years, he understood King Wei’s persistence, but this persistence now seemed to him to be extremely dangerous.

When he goes back this time, he must persuade King Wei again to give up his crazy plan and become a vassal king with peace of mind. After all, Xiao Ming has become a threat now.

“Set up the ship.” A trumpet sounded.

The merchant ship flying the flag of King Wei slowly set sail, and Xiao Qi turned around and returned to the cabin.

This time he came to Qingzhou, on the one hand, for the artillery, and on the other hand, he also wanted to meet Xiao Ming, so as to have a look at this all-powerful seventh prince of the Chongqing Kingdom.

Now that he had seen it, he had a preliminary understanding of King Qi, and he became more and more worried about King Wei’s situation.

However, he also knew very well that Xiao Ming’s current advantage was only to defend the city with artillery. If the two armies actually fought in the wild, Xiao Ming would still not be a match for King Wei.

Moreover, there is no way to deal with Xiao Ming. He only needs to rely on superior troops to besiege the city for a year and a half, which is enough to defeat him.

(End of chapter)