Chapter 262: The Han Family Seeks Artillery

"Censor Ma, please accept my condolences..."

In the residence of Ma Yuan, Mi Yan looked at Ma Yuan, who seemed to have lost his soul, and sighed.

Ever since he was sent back to his residence, he had become like this.

Just as he was thinking about how to continue comforting him, he suddenly heard a commotion and saw Yang Feng striding over.

Arriving at the same time was Mo Kuan, the eldest son of Mo Di.

"Lord Mi."

Seeing Mi Yan, Yang Feng and Mo Kuan bowed.

Mi Yan returned the bow, glanced at Ma Yuan, and sighed slightly.

Seeing this, Yang Feng walked up to Ma Yuan, sat down opposite him, and said loudly, "Can Censor Ma find out who killed Ma Xuan and his son just by sitting here in a daze? Doing this will only pain those close to you and gladden your enemies."

"The Duke of Yi is right, Censor Ma. The imperial court is in chaos right now; you cannot just remain so decadent."

The light gradually returned to Ma Yuan's eyes. He sighed faintly, "The reason my elder brother sent Ma Chong to Jingshi was because that child was lustful and ruthless. When Ma Han was young, he nearly lost his life several times, and my brother suspected it had to do with him, but he could find no evidence, so he sent him away."

After a pause, he continued, "So that child must deeply hate his father and his younger brother. Now that he is in charge of the Ma Family, I estimate that I am not far from being expelled from the Ma Family. You should all leave; I am useless."

The three of them exchanged glances, and Mi Yan shouted, "Censor Ma, what nonsense are you spouting? Even without the Ma Family, you are still a Censor of the Censorate of Great Song. You have Yan Wang behind you; what are you afraid of!"

"Yan Wang?" Censor Ma muttered these two words unconsciously, then suddenly his eyes widened.

Yang Feng and Mo Kuan both nodded at him at this moment.

"Do you mean that Yan Wang supports me?" Ma Yuan looked at Mi Yan and asked tentatively.

Mi Yan nodded affirmatively and said, "His Highness often mentions Censor Ma in his letters to Imperial Concubine Mi and speaks very highly of Censor Ma."

Upon hearing this, Ma Yuan's eyes grew even more spirited.

Mo Kuan then said, "Does Censor Ma not want to continue the investigation? Whether the Ma Family father and son were harmed by bandits or someone else, there must be a truth to be revealed."

Ma Yuan swept his gaze across the faces of the three men one by one and nodded slowly.

Mi Yan was the uncle of Yan Wang, and Mo Kuan's younger brother was in Yan Wang's army.

And Yang Feng had always greatly admired Yan Wang.

Now, adding himself to the mix, he suddenly realized that the Emperor seemed to intend to cultivate a force for Yan Wang in the court to counter the powerful clans.

Or perhaps it could be said that the Emperor wanted to maintain a balance between Yan Wang and the powerful clans.

"Yan Wang."

He muttered the name again.

Since that was the case, what did he have to fear? He was not left with nothing.

Thinking of the face Dou Wei wore when the court session ended, how could he let him cover the sky with one hand in the court and do whatever he pleased?

Furthermore, the case of Mo Di remained unsolved, and the deaths of his brother and nephew were still a mystery. If he did not investigate to the end, how could he be content?

He stood up and said, "You are right. There is still Yan Wang, and there is still the truth that needs to be investigated. Otherwise, I will not be able to close my eyes in death."

Hearing this, the three of them nodded simultaneously.

Although they did not say it directly, they shared a tacit understanding.

From now on, in the imperial court, they would become the Emperor's mouth and Yan Wang's shield.

Yanzhou.

The day after Zhao Xu ordered troops to Feihu Pass to rescue the people of Jinzhou, the Prince's Mansion welcomed a special guest.

Prefect of Qizhou, Han Shu.

"Your Highness, I have long admired your great name. Seeing you today, Your Highness is truly dashing and elegant." In the Hui Ke Tang, Han Shu sat in the lower seat, his ruddy face full of smiles.

Zhao Xu smiled, and after Han Shu finished speaking, he said, "Prefect Han is too kind. Qizhou and Yanzhou are adjacent; speaking of which, we are neighbors. It would be logical to send someone to visit Prefect Han, but I have been busy with many affairs during this time and neglected it."

Han Shu smiled awkwardly.

In his view, Yan Wang was mocking him; after all, it was he who should have sent someone to pay a visit.

So he said, "This official did not forget, but I was afraid that people in the court would gossip, so I never dared to."

"Oh? Then what is the reason for the Prefect's personal visit to Yancheng this time?" Zhao Xu asked, though he had already guessed.

Han Shu chuckled and said, "With Your Highness's intelligence, you should have guessed it. The Emperor has promised that we may purchase Artillery from Your Highness. I hope Your Highness will grant this."

Zhao Xu thought to himself that it was indeed as expected.

Since it had been brought up, he would not beat around the bush, so he said, "Since the Emperor has spoken, there is naturally no reason not to sell. How many does Prefect Han intend to buy this time?"

"Three hundred pieces." Han Shu leaned closer to Zhao Xu.

"Very well. Eight thousand taels of Silver per piece of Artillery. You provide your own transport, and pay a fifty percent deposit first." Zhao Xu was not polite at all.

His purpose in selling Artillery was to earn the Silver of the powerful clans.

After all, he was not pleased with the powerful clans, but he was not at all averse to Silver.

"Eight thousand taels! In Jingshi, the Emperor clearly sold them to us for five thousand taels each." Han Shu almost jumped up.

Zhao Xu said, "The Emperor sold them to you for five thousand taels as a favor. Who said my Artillery only sells for five thousand taels?"

Han Shu choked; the news transmitted back from Jinling did not seem to have said that.

"But this is too expensive. Three hundred pieces would be two million four hundred thousand taels." Han Shu felt a pang of pain.

"If it weren't expensive, how could one crush the Yuan Family? If it weren't expensive, how could one repel the Northern Di? Firearm is cheap; does Prefect Han want those?" Zhao Xu said with a light laugh.

Upon hearing this, Han Shu almost bit his teeth to pieces.

Logically, he should have come to Yancheng long ago.

But no family wanted to give their Silver to Yan Wang for nothing.

So after obtaining the Artillery from Jinling, they had sent their best craftsmen to imitate them.

But the results were unsatisfactory.

For some unknown reason, the artillery they produced would explode the moment it was fired.

After several failed attempts at imitation, he received a message from Han Zheng telling him to go to Yancheng to buy them.

After all, Qizhou was close to the source and could get them first.

"Your Highness is right about that," Han Shu chuckled dryly, "but is it not possible to pay the Silver and receive the Artillery at the same time?"

"That is possible, but I can only supply those who pay a deposit first," Zhao Xu yawned lazily.

Since the Han Family had made a move, he believed that other powerful clans would follow in succession.

As for why these powerful clans had come so late, he had his own guesses.

It would be abnormal if they did not try to imitate the Artillery once they got their hands on it.

However, he was not worried at all; even if it were a White Cast Iron Cannon, what they produced would not be better than the ones from the Directorate of Weapons.

For one thing, the quality of their iron was not as good as his.

Moreover, they were completely ignorant of the casting process for Artillery, so there would inevitably be many sand holes and blisters inside the Artillery.

The explosion rate of such Artillery would be incredibly high.

"This..." Han Shu began to hesitate.

Zhao Xu's patience was gradually wearing thin.

He was in no mood to beat around the bush with these powerful clans; they were not that close, and they did not like each other.

Business is business; if they didn't want to do it, then so be it.

He still had to supervise the production of the Flintlock.

So he said, "If the Hanzhou Governor is reluctant to part with the Silver, then please return; my Artillery can be bought or not, it is not a necessity."

Hearing this, Han Shu became anxious at once and hurriedly said, "I will buy, this official will buy!"