Chapter 180: Glass

"Five million four hundred thousand taels of Silver!"

Having successfully secured the exclusive sales rights, Zhao Xu sent the three merchants on their way.

At this moment, Yang He held up his fingers, too excited to know how to count.

"Look at you, so lacking in ambition; what is this pittance of Silver?" Zhao Xu said.

According to his understanding, each of the Eight Great Influential Clans was as wealthy as a nation.

Shen Yan, known as the richest merchant in Ningzhou, was said to have a family fortune of ten million taels.

Yet this person was merely a distant relative by marriage of the Xie Family.

If a mere relative by marriage was like this, it was easy to see the immense strength of the Xie Family.

In contemporary history, such ancient wealthy magnates were everywhere.

Just like the Eight Great Jin Merchants of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, each possessed a family fortune of ten million taels of Silver.

Therefore, the bit of Silver he had saved really did not amount to much.

Furthermore, those people had accumulated wealth over ten or several decades, and the influential clans had been accumulating wealth since the founding of the nation.

It was unrealistic for him to want to surpass them immediately.

However, he was confident that as the commercial territory of the firm expanded and the variety of goods in the Wangfu increased, it would not take long for his wealth to surpass theirs.

"It is not that this subordinate lacks ambition, but this subordinate is truly seeing this much Silver for the first time." Yang He was still sighing with emotion.

Zhao Xu smiled, "This is only the beginning; in the future, you will see far more wealth than this."

Yang He nodded, his eyes filled with longing, and he said: "This subordinate believes in Your Highness. Following Your Highness, this subordinate finds every day more interesting than the last."

The two chatted for a few moments, and Zhao Xu asked Yang He to go find Xie Hua and the others.

Since they had come from so far away, it was only right to host them for the sake of commercial cooperation.

Yang He departed.

Zhao Xu called for Xu Lie and, under the protection of his guards, headed toward the Armament Bureau.

Now that the influential clan merchants had finally been unable to resist participating in his commercial territory, it was even more necessary to get the Glass produced.

For one, Glass could elevate the packaging of his current goods to a higher level.

For another, it would add yet another type of commodity for the Wangfu.

He would never complain about having too much Silver.

To his North Territory lay the Northern Di, and to his west lay Xiliang.

These were the centers of two storms.

Now, the true war had not yet arrived, but once the situation deteriorated sharply, he would inevitably face continuous warfare.

And war was fought with Silver.

He did not want a day to come where his soldiers were guarding the Artillery on the battlefield, yet he lacked the Silver to produce ammunition.

Therefore, he needed to accumulate Silver now and exchange it for large quantities of supplies to prepare for a rainy day.

Arriving at the Armament Bureau.

Zhao Xu did not mention the matter of Glass, but instead went to the cannon-casting workshop first.

This was the courtyard designated by Wang Ying after the Armament Bureau mastered the cannon-casting craft.

"How many pieces of Artillery have been cast now?" Zhao Xu asked.

Commerce was the source of income for the fief, while the Armament Bureau was the cornerstone of the fief's security.

Therefore, he had always attached great importance to the Armament Bureau.

The Armament Bureau was also directly subordinate to the Wangfu and under his personal jurisdiction.

"Replying to Your Highness, eighty pieces of Siege Cannon have been cast," Wang Ying said. "The cost of one cannon is approximately two thousand taels of Silver."

"Continue casting. Each Lengbao needs one hundred cannons, each county seat needs fifty cannons, and Yancheng must have at least two hundred Siege Cannon," Zhao Xu said.

He was not making unreasonable demands.

Rather, it was based on the current situation in Yanzhou.

First, if the Northern Di attacked, whether Yanguan could hold was a question.

If Yanguan City fell, he would have to face the Northern Di people alone.

At that time, the only things that could protect the cities would be the Wangfu Army and the Artillery.

Secondly, there was the issue of the Yuan Family.

If one day the Yuan Family was determined to eradicate him and a great army came to attack, he did not want to lose a single city.

At that time, the purpose of placing Artillery in every city would be realized.

Of course, if these situations did not arise, the Artillery would not go to waste.

These cannons could perfectly well be mounted on Warships.

"Your Highness, that will cost over two million taels of Silver," Wang Ying reminded him.

Besides managing the manufacture of Artillery, he also oversaw the accounts of the Armament Bureau.

Ever since they started casting Artillery, Silver had been flowing out like water.

Even he himself was frightened.

"When has this Prince ever been short of Silver for your Armament Bureau? Just cast them," Zhao Xu secretly wiped away sweat.

It was truly fortunate that the influential clan merchants had sent Silver over, otherwise he really would not have been able to sustain it.

Seeing Zhao Xu's indifferent expression, Wang Ying immediately felt reassured and stopped speaking.

Of course, he hoped that the Armament Bureau would not be short of Silver.

This way, the Armament Bureau could go all out in production.

"Has the Field Artillery been cast?" Zhao Xu continued to ask.

"Replying to Your Highness, not yet, but the iron molds for the Field Artillery have all been completed today, and production can begin immediately," Wang Ying said. "According to Your Highness's instructions, the cannonballs used by these two types of Field Artillery weigh eight jin and four jin respectively."

Zhao Xu nodded; these were two types of Field Artillery with different calibers.

Compared to the twenty-four jin cannonballs of the Siege Cannon, they were much lighter, but their advantage lay in the light weight of the artillery itself.

They could be flexibly relocated when pulled by horses, moving at any time to coordinate with changes in formation.

If encountered in the field, they could even more rapidly construct an artillery position.

Once these Field Artillery pieces were equipped by the Prince's Personal Army, corresponding training would be conducted to coordinate with the soldiers' combat.

After inspecting the Field Artillery molds, Zhao Xu told Wang Ying to continue keeping an eye on the artillery production.

At present, this matter was the most important and could not have any mishaps.

As for the matter of Glass, he felt that letting this kid Wang Chong handle it would suffice.

Thus, he beckoned to Wang Chong, who was following behind Wang Ying.

Wang Chong's face immediately lit up with joy, and he ran over, not forgetting to cast a smug look at Wang Ying halfway there.

The two of them had always been secretly competing.

Wang Ying felt that although his son Wang Chong understood various crafts, he was too reckless in his actions.

For example, regarding the Gunpowder entrusted by Yan Wang, the kid had nearly blown himself to death.

Wang Chong, however, believed his father was too cautious; while he made no mistakes, he could only follow the established routine.

"Your Highness, this little one is here." Upon reaching Zhao Xu, Wang Chong was all smiles.

Zhao Xu patted him on the shoulder, "Stop calling yourself 'this little one'. You did well with the Gunpowder and cannonballs last time. How about this: I will give you the position of a Ninth-rank Sicao, the lowest in the Armory Bureau."

Hearing this, Wang Chong was so happy he nearly jumped up. He hurriedly said, "Thank you, Your Highness! This subordinate will certainly work hard to serve Your Highness."

Although a Sicao was merely an official in the Armory Bureau who managed the specific affairs of a certain Workshop—for instance, there was a Sicao specifically watching over cannon casting, and specific Sicaos watching over iron and steel smelting—

he was still overjoyed, because this proved his ability to his father.

A trace of a smile appeared at the corner of Wang Ying's mouth, but he immediately restrained it before Wang Chong could look at him, returning to his cold, icy expression.

Seeing this, Wang Chong curled his lips.

Zhao Xu's gaze shifted between the father and son, and he shook his head helplessly.

Pulling Wang Chong to the office of the Armory Bureau, Zhao Xu said to Wang Chong, "I have a matter to entrust to you. Like the matter of the Gunpowder, this is very important. Complete it as soon as possible."

Wang Chong nodded, his expression becoming serious.

At this moment, Zhao Xu ordered someone to bring paper and a brush, and began to write on it.