Chapter 141: Lineage

"This..."

Zhao Xu put on a troubled expression.

He naturally could not rush to agree immediately, otherwise an old fox like Ma Xuan would see through his thoughts at a glance.

"Please rest assured, Your Highness. My Ma Family is absolutely not like those people such as Yuan Li who are disrespectful to Your Highness." Seeing Zhao Xu hesitate, Ma Xuan felt a surge of anxiety.

Ma Han was wearing the Plate Armor and was reluctant to take it off; he also pleaded, "If Your Highness does not believe us, I can stay in Yancheng."

Zhao Xu was stunned for a moment; for Ma Han to say this was no different from acting as a hostage in Yancheng.

Since things had reached this point, Zhao Xu felt he could loosen his stance, so he said, "That is not necessary. Since Prefect Ma is so sincere, this Prince will set this precedent. However, the Armor given to Prefect Ma cannot be as sturdy as the one Young Master Ma is wearing; the quality will be slightly inferior, though the ones for the commanders can be the same."

"Slightly inferior—to what extent?" Ma Xuan was somewhat disappointed.

"Prefect Ma, do not worry. At most, arrows will be able to pierce in just this much." Zhao Xu held up his little finger, pointing to the fingernail.

Ma Xuan immediately breathed a sigh of relief; for him, this was enough.

At this depth, soldiers would not die; at most, it would break the skin, which was not fatal.

Moreover, the better the Armor, the more expensive it naturally was, and he felt there was no need to have every soldier wear the same Armor as the soldiers of Yan Wang.

This required Silver, after all.

As for the commanders' being the same, he felt much more at ease; to him, if soldiers died, they could be recruited again, but every commander lost was one less.

"The difference is not big, then it is settled?" Ma Xuan beamed with joy.

Ma Han, however, was somewhat disappointed; his idea of staying in Yan Commandery had fallen through.

He was very interested in Zhao Xu, and during these days in Yan Commandery, he had heard many rumors and interesting stories about Yan Wang.

He really wanted to be the first to know what other interesting things Yan Wang could come up with.

"Settled." Both Zhao Xu and Ma Xuan ignored Ma Han, who was to the side.

Zhao Xu continued, "However, there is one thing this Prince also needs Prefect Ma to help with."

He then spoke of the matter regarding the trade route.

"Easy, easy." Hearing this, Ma Xuan was even more pleasantly surprised.

He had been wondering how to bring up the matter of Jinzhou with Yan Wang, never expecting Yan Wang to offer it up himself.

To him, Jinzhou was extremely important.

Because once Jinzhou was lost, Xiliang could move east out of Yanzhou, and south into Sizhou and Qinzhou.

At that time, the Ma Family would be finished.

This was also the reason why he had to fight Xiliang in Jinzhou.

Now that Yan Wang's trade route had to pass through Jinzhou and down to Sizhou,

then he must cooperate with the Ma Family to deal with the Xiliang people, and the matter of the Armor would be even more secure.

Seeing the trace of craftiness in Ma Xuan's smile, Zhao Xu thought it through after a brief moment of reflection.

However, he was not someone who would suffer a loss; since Ma Xuan wanted to use him, why wouldn't he want to use Ma Xuan?

He had been coveting the abundant population of Jinzhou for a long time.

After settling this matter, Zhao Xu ordered a banquet to be set.

He also called Chang Wei and Liu Fu over to accompany them, and at the banquet, he and Ma Xuan set the price for the Armor.

Twenty taels of Silver for a set of Plate Armor, and fifteen taels for a set of Scale Armor.

Ordinary soldier Armor in the Great Song generally only cost eight taels.

But such Armor was naturally incomparable to his.

Ma Xuan was also perfectly clear that one soldier wearing Plate Armor was enough to kill three or four soldiers wearing ordinary Armor.

Therefore, although this price made his heart ache, he still accepted it.

After testing the Armor, he could see that he could not produce the Plate Armor.

Although the Scale Armor could be produced, the quality of the scales was not as good as Yan Wang's.

The drinking session lasted for one hour.

Ma Xuan and his son were dead drunk, and Zhao Xu ordered them to be sent to an inn.

Liu Fu then said, "Yuan Li surely never expected that he would block the trade route of Yan Commandery, only for Your Highness to open up a new one in the blink of an eye; with the Ma Family helping out, there is also no great trouble from Xiliang."

"It is just that the price paid is somewhat high." Chang Wei was sullen; he was still a bit unhappy about the Ma Family's soldiers wearing their Armor, even if it was slightly inferior to theirs.

Zhao Xu was somewhat tipsy; he laughed heartily and said to Chang Wei, "What are you afraid of? In a while, you won't care much about the Armor anymore."

"This subordinate will not." Chang Wei shook his head.

"Wait until the new gadgets from the Armament Bureau come out, and you will know." Zhao Xu chuckled twice.

Chang Wei felt as if his heart were being scratched by a cat.

But since Yan Wang was keeping him in suspense, he could only suffer in silence.

"Furthermore, the Ma Family needing this Prince's Armor means they have a request of this Prince, and for the time being, they will stand on the same boat as this Prince." Zhao Xu continued.

In the modern era, many great powers would compete to sell Weapons to smaller nations.

This was not just trade; it was also a form of geopolitics.

This was similar to his relationship with the Ma Family; the two sides were currently in a state of huddling together for warmth.

As for whether they would part ways later due to interests, that was not important.

Because by that time, he would certainly no longer need to rely on Armor to fight wars.

Liu Fu and Chang Wei both nodded upon hearing this.

They had to admit that in terms of the big picture, they were still not as far-sighted as Yan Wang.

With the Ma Family wearing the Armor provided by the Prince's Mansion, they could gain an advantage in the war against Xiliang, which invisibly reduced the threat facing Shanggu Commandery.

The next day.

Ma Xuan took Ma Han and returned to Qinzhou.

Zhao Xu saw the two of them off at the West City Gate.

"Your Highness, in a while, this official will send someone to Yancheng to collect the goods." Ma Xuan mounted his horse and bowed to Zhao Xu.

"Rest assured, within one month, ten thousand sets of Scale Armor and eight thousand sets of Plate Armor will certainly be ready," Zhao Xu said.

Ma Xuan hoped to obtain a batch of Armor as soon as possible to equip the Ma Family's elite troops.

If they truly proved effective in actual combat, he would continue to procure them from the Prince's Mansion.

Upon hearing this, Ma Xuan was delighted and nodded heavily to Zhao Xu, "In that case, this official will come to pay a visit to Your Highness another day."

Ma Han, however, looked at Yancheng with some reluctance and likewise said, "Your Highness, thank you for your care during this time."

"No need for thanks; another day when the Yan Commandery Trading Firm passes through your territory, I hope you will look after them, Young Master," Zhao Xu said with a smile.

"That goes without saying, leave it to me," Ma Han patted his chest.

Having said this, Ma Xuan nodded once more and led Ma Han away toward the west.

Zhao Xu watched the two go far away, then turned and headed back.

"Father, from what I have seen and heard in Yan Commandery, this Yan Wang will surely achieve great things in the future."

After walking some distance, Ma Han looked back toward Yancheng.

"So what? In the future, the throne will still have nothing to do with him, and besides, no matter which Imperial Prince ascends the throne, they will not tolerate him," Ma Xuan said, "Who told him that the blood of the Influential Clans does not flow through his body?"

In Da Song, the high-ranking Influential Clans are not only powerful but also incomparably revered.

The Rich Clans among the common people of Da Song all take pride in marrying women from the Influential Clans.

Because this allows their family's status to be greatly elevated.

Other Rich Clans will hold them in higher regard, and their family members will also be preferentially hired when serving as officials.

Therefore, in Ma Xuan's view, the future of the Yan Wang will stop at Yanzhou.

Emperor Zhao Heng knows better than he does that an Imperial Prince without the bloodline of the Influential Clans cannot ascend the throne.

Although the Eight Great Influential Clans fight among themselves, they are always in step on this matter.

Just like when Zhao Heng was fighting for the throne back then, he never considered the Prince of Chun.

He knew that the Prince of Chun, who lacked the bloodline of the Influential Clans, would not receive the support of the Influential Clans, and the facts were indeed so.

"Sigh." Ma Han nodded; he knew his father was quite right.

It was just that compared to those Imperial Princes in Jingshi, he felt he appreciated the Yan Wang a little more.