Chapter 594

After bidding farewell to Xie Yuan, Dawang could no longer jump around; he looked noticeably steadier.

That guy returned to the sleeping quarters looking just as grim, even Bai Ze gave him a sideways glance. "Did you lose a fight?" Impossible, right?

In Zhao Bao's startled exclamation, Dawang, covered in dirt, flopped onto the bed, leaving Zhao Bao standing beside the bed, his hand reaching out then pulling back, looking utterly helpless.

Dawang, looking old and gruff, sighed, "Ah, I just ran into Xie Yuan at the gate."

Bai Ze instantly understood.

It lay back down calmly, while Dawang sat up. "Zhao Bao, as soon as the palace gates open tomorrow, go summon Xie Tu into the palace."

Alright, the contractors have prepared everything in advance; the situation really looks dire.

Dawang had worried enough; returning to his own turf made things easier, and he thought of Changli. The household registration for Changzhou couldn't be submitted that quickly, so for now he still had to rely on a single line of contact with Changli.

Dawang early on dismissed his attendants, first went to the manor to summon Changli, but who knew this person didn't show up for half a day, guessing he was in an inconvenient place. Dawang's waiting time drifted to John Pu's place, where the pie he'd drawn for the Feather Forest Guard included horses and armor, and he needed to start making it happen.

Horses could be shipped from Youzhou; if not enough, we could just breed them at the ranch base. As for armor, Dawang had been spoiled; the gear his own armory produced he looked down on, yet it was still stronger than what the former Great Jin gave the border troops. He sent both prototypes and finished products first to Shanggu Pass and Shuofang Pass. The Feather Forest Guard, after painstaking selection, still couldn't be too shabby, and as for the two hundred thousand forbidden troops, with so many people he truly had no way to equip them for now.

John Pu saw him and came over enthusiastically, "My friend, it's been ages! Today really is a great day—could it be my lucky day?!"

Dawang also smiled and said, "Speaking of which, not counting weapons, I've also bought… about eighty or ninety thousand sets of armor from you?"

John Pu beamed, "Again buying armor?" From analyzing the weapons Dawang bought, he judged the shortage of armor must be even greater.

Dawang equipped units like the Owl Cavalry with more than one weapon each, and even used spare money to replace the border troops' swords with better ones, in quantities far exceeding the armor.

"You say my armor isn't of extremely perfect quality~? Look, you've bought so much of it and never had any after‑sales issues. Actually, you could even come to me for maintenance every few years; I'll give your armor a deep cleaning for only a low fee, and after a few years when this batch of soldiers retires, couldn't it be passed on as new to the next batch?" He opened with a boast about quality, then tried to drum up new business.

The king nodded without changing expression, "Your armor is not bad, but we have a big shortage here."

Seeing John Pu reveal an incredulous joy, the king suddenly shifted: "But…… can you do credit here?" He earnestly gazed at John Pu with sincere eyes.

"Oh~! My Prince, don't joke! When has the homeland allowed credit? It even charges a spatio‑temporal difference fee!"

The king calmly said, "There was no credit before, because I hadn't arrived yet."

John Pu: ……

Today's golden patron prince is not very cute.

"Are you having financial difficulties, or is the war situation… tight?"

The king nodded vigorously: "Both. I urgently need twenty thousand sets of ordinary armor, plus a new totem insignia. If we settle this order, we could even buy another twenty thousand swords."

John Pu's eyes lit up; sufficient profit could make one take risks.

"How do you plan to do credit? Or how do you plan to bypass the homeland?"

"You can't bypass it, but my account is in the red and I temporarily can't repay; how about we exchange minerals? Coal and iron, even silver, would work."

Upon hearing that, John Pu immediately blurted: "I only want silver." In his plane, silver is also a precious metal, iron is far inferior, and coal is useless to them since they already have more efficient substitutes.

The king rose, saying, "I'll go back and save up; in three to five years it'll be about right—let's meet again in five years?" He lifted his leg to leave.

John Pu wore a pained expression as he pulled him back, saying, "That won't do." This was his biggest client; to earn the king's money, he had even set up an independent new production line.

Twenty thousand armor sets and twenty thousand swords—we'll pay half the total price with iron and silver, and the contract should stipulate that the remaining half be paid with ingots. Let's try; if the homeland approves, it'll work.

"Only half?" The king rose again, "Let's meet again in five years!"

Sixty percent, no more.

Eighty percent.

……Eighty percent requires an additional ten thousand orders! Supply me with ingots within a year!

Deal!

The king readily hammered out the deal; the two quickly drafted a contract, agreeing to pay eighty percent of the price with silver and iron, and settle the remaining twenty percent with ingots within a year. Actually, as long as the traded goods incur no spatiotemporal surcharge and the seller agrees, the homeland won't intervene, because the currencies of different planes are inherently different.

After the king left, John Pu stood at the doorway scratching his head, "Could it be… he originally intended to order thirty thousand sets?" This compromise was too readily agreed upon.

That's right; the remaining ten thousand sets the king plans to send to New Changzhou, which has the fewest armors among the several southwestern passes.

The king gleefully contacted Zhu Ti, telling her to store all recent output from Youzhou's iron and silver mines in the warehouse, as he prepared to continue spending gold to change his fate.

After such a delay, Chang Li finally arrived late; the king saw fresh blood on his armor and was startled.

Does the Prince of Guanghan still dare to rebel?

Chang Li had no choice but to outline in advance his and Wei Peng's plan to retake Fudu and Peishui, saying, "……Who knew the prefect of Fudu was a follower of the Cui clan? hearing we are the Prince's men, they refused to surrender the city and wouldn't let us pass to relieve the disaster. We waited a day, agreeing that if the gate remained closed by nightfall we would storm it."

The king looked at the bloodstains on his body and asked, "Taken?"

"Of course." Those defending Fudu City were, in his view, nothing more than low‑grade city guards, not even counting as proper soldiers.

The king arrogantly crossed his arms at the waist, proud!

However, when we tallied after the battle, we found that Prefect Chen Hao had fled, likely eight or nine times out of ten to Prince Jing's side.

No problem. The king was feeling very bold at this moment.

The king's fright tonight at Xie Yuan's place counts as resolved.

Tomorrow I'll have the master find two new prefects to send over; we'll quickly achieve actual occupation, hurry to arrange a household census, and leave the southwest garrison to hold the fort…… Once you've settled the Liangtang disaster victims, on the return trip why not simply take Qu Xi and Cangyang? How great would it be to link up with Chang'an? I'll have Liang He meet you.

Xie Yuan, already settled in bed, suddenly sneezed twice—was it a seasonal chill or the king's new scheme? He thought it was the latter.

In response to the king's proposal, Chang Li shook his head and refused, "Three thousand cavalry are sufficient."

The king was practically bursting with joy—knowing that only three thousand people had been mobilized! And yet, he's lying relaxed in Chang'an while the grand undertaking moves on its own?

I'll leave you an opening permit in the first row of the warehouse, put some grain and fodder inside; when your supplies run out, take some out to rotate, and say I secretly sent people to deliver it. The king has now grown rich through banditry.

Zhao Ba thought the king would have to stubbornly resist a bit more the next day, hoping he'd stay honest and keep grinding; who knew that when he went to wake him early in the morning, he was greeted by a sunflower.

Have you sent someone to announce Xie Tu's defeat? The king swept away yesterday's gloom, smiling brightly early in the morning.

Your Highness, rest assured; as soon as the palace gates open, I'll send someone.

Remember, the moment you see him, send him straight to Chengming Hall—don't let Xie Yuan divert him! I await his life‑saving aid~

Zhao Ba: ……

What would happen if you usually glanced twice at the books Mr. Xie arranges?