Gu Yuzhi was shocked, and speechless.
He couldn't utter a word for a long time, silently abandoning his previous idea of moving Tianquan Manor to the northern desert.
He silently considered the situation: himself, Mr. Huo, Guard Qi, Guard Zhang, General Lu, Brother Tian Shu, and the others...
With so many people, a thousand taels of gold is too much for him to afford!
Gu Yuzhi tugged at Guard Zhang's sleeve, his face contorted with a mournful expression, and said, "Guard Zhang, how about you choose a different local specialty? I can't afford this one!"
Guard Zhang exclaimed in confusion, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly burst out laughing: "Your Highness, how could I possibly want such an expensive sword?"
The sword's exorbitant price caused a great sensation in both the martial arts world and the imperial court.
He and Qi Chenglang had discussed this matter, and after Qi Shizi's guidance, they believed that the high price of the sword was due to Tianquan Manor releasing the news, which made sword lovers flock to it and compete for it, ultimately leading to such an outrageous price.
Guard Zhang smiled and said, "For martial artists, a good weapon is indeed an added bonus, but personal skill is the most important thing. Therefore, I only want to buy their most ordinary fine iron sword..."
He held up his index finger and said with a smile, "One hundred taels a handful."
Gu Yuzhi blinked: "One hundred taels isn't expensive."
Although Guard Zhang was right, he still wanted Guard Zhang and his men to use better weapons.
He scratched his head and turned to look at the Duke of Qi: "Duke of Qi, I have something very important to do, so I may have to set off a few days later."
Duke Qi did not know why the young prince changed his mind, but the young prince was the master, and they, as ministers, naturally could not interfere with what the master wanted to do.
He nodded with a smile and said, "Your Highness need not worry about us if you have something to attend to. I have already made arrangements and will escort you with two thousand soldiers."
Travel along the official road, and have the post station messengers send messengers at breakneck speed to inform the prefects of the cities ahead, ensuring that the gold and silver treasures will be safely delivered to the palace.
The remaining Lingnan naval forces were to stay here to guard the Jiangnan naval forces and stabilize the situation in Jiangnan.
Hearing that the Duke of Qi was alright, Gu Yuzhi grabbed Guard Zhang's hand and jogged out, saying, "Guard Zhang, hurry, let's go to Yunzhou!"
He wanted to personally talk to the owner of Tianquan Manor about buying the sword.
As Manager Wen mentioned before, the price is different for buying one item versus buying ten, and the price is also different for buying ten versus buying one hundred.
Teacher Shu said that this is the difference between retail and wholesale.
The more you buy in bulk, the lower the price you can get!
Therefore, Gu Yuzhi now wants to talk to the owner of Tianquan Manor about the price of wholesale refined iron weapons.
With that in mind, Gu Yuzhi was even less inclined to start a war with the Northern Barbarians this year; they should wait another two years!
When the time comes, the soldiers who move into Jingxiang will be able to make the most of Jingxiang's advantages, and the Mobei Army will be even more formidable after being trained by General Lu and Brother Tian Shu.
His cotton production was enough to make two cotton-padded coats for each soldier and replace all the weapons of the soldiers in the Northern Desert Army!
The more Gu Yuzhi thought about it, the more excited he became, wishing he could grow wings right now and fly to the manor lord of Tianquan Manor.
Guard Zhang was being led forward by the boy's small hand, running loudly, "Your Highness, Your Highness, wait a moment, wait a moment!"
He had a rough idea of why the young prince was in such a hurry, but if it was just a matter of replacing the weapons of a few people, that would be no problem. But if it was a large-scale replacement, without going through the Ministry of War, the Ministry of War and those pedantic scholars in the court would definitely submit memorials to criticize the prince, and they would put all sorts of accusations on him.
Gu Yuzhi didn't even turn his head: "We can't wait! These things are better done sooner rather than later!"
Chief Secretary Xie hurriedly chased after them: "Your Highness, where are you taking Guard Zhang?"
Gu Yuzhi was about to leave when he heard Xie Changshi's voice and hurriedly stopped the car.
He slapped his forehead and muttered under his breath, "Oh dear, I forgot to tell Chief Secretary Xie!"
When meeting and negotiating with the owner of Tianquan Manor, it would be best to have Chief Secretary Xie handle the matter.
Xie Changshi is eloquent and eloquent, and he can quote classics and historical texts. He will surely be able to persuade Tianquan Villa to give them a discount.
As soon as Xie Changshi walked up to Gu Yuzhi, Gu Yuzhi hurriedly told him all his plans, looking up at Xie Changshi with bright eyes, clearly waiting for Xie Changshi to praise him.
Chief Secretary Xie...
He stroked his beard without speaking, and Gu Yuzhi's smile faded considerably: "Chief Secretary Xie, is this not going to work?"
Chief Secretary Xie nodded slightly: "Your Highness, this matter is not easy to achieve."
Gu Yuzhi looked bewildered: "Why?"
Chief Secretary Xie held Gu Yuzhi's small hand and led him to stand under the shade of a tree before whispering, "Although the control of pig iron among the common people is not as strict as in the previous dynasty, the court will absolutely not agree to such a large-scale production of weapons."
The mass production of weapons could very well give rise to some unpleasant thoughts among these martial arts figures, thereby threatening the imperial court.
Gu Yuzhi puffed out his cheeks and said "Oh," looking utterly disappointed. After a moment, he exclaimed, "Then I'll tell my brother to move Tianquan Manor to the northern desert, have them buy pig iron from the court, and send the finished products to the northern desert army immediately, wouldn't that be great?"
He shook his head, feeling incredibly clever.
But the next moment, Chief Secretary Xie shook his head: "Your Highness, this is against the rules. The soldiers' weapons are made by the Ministry of Works. If you let martial arts practitioners make these, what will happen to the people in the Ministry of Works?"
"Furthermore, you suggested moving Tianquan Manor to the northern desert. I'm afraid people in the court will think that Your Highness has other ideas."
Gu Yuzhi scratched his head: "Other ideas? What ideas?"
He just wanted the Northern Army to have better weapons so that they could kill more Northern Barbarians on the battlefield and suffer fewer casualties. What else could he want?
Chief Secretary Xie said in a deep voice: "To hold onto military power is to be self-important!"
Upon hearing these four words, Gu Yuzhi's eyes widened, and he pointed at himself, saying, "Me? Holding military power?"
He wanted to say how could that be? He wasn't Gu Yufan, and he wasn't interested in being emperor. His biggest wishes were to defeat the Northern Di people for at least thirty years and not dare to offend them again, and to eat all the delicacies in the world.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, he suddenly remembered what Chief Secretary Xie had once told him: "To possess a treasure is a crime."
Even if he didn't have such intentions, he couldn't stop others from having wild thoughts!
Gu Yuzhi looked rather dejected, his back slumped, and he said weakly, "But I really want the soldiers in the Northern Desert to have better weapons!"
Where he couldn't see, Guard Zhang secretly slapped himself in the face!
He should have told Prince Qi about this quietly, instead of the young prince!
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