Chapter 60: Steady Progress

Three days later.

"General, five of those who were too severely injured did not make it; the others have all improved. If they continue to take the medicine, there should be no major problems."

Early morning.

Li Xingjian reported the condition of the wounded soldiers to Mo Di.

For the past few days, he and his senior fellow apprentice Hu Yan had been responsible for taking care of the wounded in the West Courtyard.

Mo Di, meanwhile, had been staying in the post house that Zhao Xu had prepared for him.

This was a request he had made to the Yan Wang.

After all, a great general of Yanguan having private contact with an Imperial Prince would certainly invite criticism.

Therefore, apart from normal contact with the Yan Wang, he did not want to be overly intimate with the Yan Wang, so as to avoid bringing trouble to himself and to the Yan Wang.

Although he was in Yanzhou, there were countless eyes in the Imperial Court watching this place.

"Hmm, the Yan Wang really has some ability." Mo Di put down the book scroll.

Over the past few days, although he had not gone to the Yan Prince Mansion, he had heard quite a few of the Yan Wang's deeds in Yan Commandery while at the post house.

Every single one of them surprised him, making him deeply feel how this Yan Wang was different from other Imperial Princes.

"Just as he said, if this medicine is used in time, more soldiers can be saved," Mo Di said slowly.

Then he walked outside, "Let's go to the Yan Prince Mansion, ask the Yan Wang how he intends to sell it, and once this matter is settled, we will return to Yanguan."

Having said that, the group arrived at the Yan Prince Mansion once again.

After the gatekeeper reported their arrival, he returned to lead them into the guest hall.

"His Highness's medicine indeed has miraculous effects. After I return, I will certainly submit a memorial to His Majesty to praise this medicine," Mo Di said with a smile.

Then he changed the subject, "I just don't know how Your Highness intends to sell this medicine?"

For the past few days, Mo Di had been nervous, and Zhao Xu had been equally nervous.

But upon learning that most of the wounded soldiers had improved, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He also reckoned that Mo Di should be coming to find him.

Hearing this, he said, "To tell you the truth, General, the secret preparation process for this medicine must use the Alcohol brewed by the Yan Prince Mansion. The cost is not low. For a bottle this big, I estimate it must be one tael of Silver per bottle."

He held a small Porcelain Bottle with a thin neck, which had a capacity of about 100 milliliters.

One ton of garlic could produce enough medicinal Wine to fill five thousand such small bottles.

A normal wounded soldier would only need three to five bottles.

"One tael of Silver!" Mo Di almost spat a mouthful of tea onto Zhao Xu's face.

"You might as well go rob someone," he thought to himself.

From the time he arrived in Yan Commandery until today, he had felt quite good about the Yan Wang's character.

Only now did he discover that this Yan Wang was truly a profiteer.

"Is it expensive?" Zhao Xu deliberately showed a puzzled look, "A soldier's monthly pay is two taels. Is it not worth it to save a soldier's life with three or five bottles? General, you are a military man; you should understand the value of a veteran of a hundred battles. If they died because of a small injury, that would be too much of a pity."

Mo Di looked at Zhao Xu, silent and speechless, because what he said made a lot of sense.

One thousand taels of Silver could not buy the life of an elite veteran.

After pondering for a long while, he said, "I am afraid I still need to report this matter to His Majesty. Only if His Majesty agrees can we make the purchase. After all, Yanguan needs quite a lot."

"That is no problem, I can wait," Zhao Xu smiled.

It would be even better if this advertisement reached the Imperial Court.

As for selling it for one tael of Silver, it was indeed a bit expensive relative to the low cost.

But he wanted it to be this expensive.

It was better for the military pay allocated by the national treasury to end up in his pocket than in the hands of the powerful clans of Da Song.

If it were given to him, he could still defend against foreign enemies.

If he sent the Silver to the powerful clans, was he worried they didn't have enough money to rebel?

"Since that is the case, I shall take my leave. Once there is news, I will send someone to Yan Commandery to pick up the goods," Mo Di stood up and bowed.

Zhao Xu returned the bow, went out of the Yan Prince Mansion with him, and saw Mo Di off to the city gate.

Watching the group's figures disappear into the dust of the official road, he sighed softly.

The reason why Yanzhou had been able to remain chaotic but not broken all these years,

relied on this old general guarding Yanguan while simultaneously deterring the Yuan Family.

He should also be grateful to him for being able to live until now.

Otherwise, when he recruited the Prince's Personal Army, the Rich Clan of Yan Commandery would likely have raised an army to attack the Yan Prince Mansion.

Moreover, although Mo Di kept saying he only came for the Secret Medicine during this visit,

he knew in his heart that a Secret Medicine for treating wounds was not enough to make him come out in person.

The reason he came was likely to personally probe his true strength.

In this way, if Yanzhou fell into a crisis, he might be able to count him as an ally.

However, judging from this, the old general probably did not have an optimistic view of the current situation in Yanzhou either.

"Your Highness, why have there been so many Iron Ore and coal entering the city these past two days?"

Just as he was thinking, Liu Fu suddenly pointed behind him at a team of donkey-drawn flatbed carts, which were piled high with Iron Ore.

Not far behind the convoy, there were also commoners carrying Limestone.

Xu Lie knew about this matter and couldn't help but smile.

"Your Highness's method is truly effective. Look at how busy everyone is; the Armory doesn't have to worry about anything now."

Zhao Xu cast the Yanguan matter out of his mind and thought of the task he had given Dong An and the others some time ago.

He calculated the time, and it was about time.

Thus, he immediately turned his horse around and went to the trading firm.

At this time, the trading firm was much quieter than usual.

He asked around and found that these Rich Clan scions were all still busy.

"How much Silver have they withdrawn in total these past few days?" Zhao Xu asked.

Because he worried about everyone cheating, the raw materials purchased for the Armory were all paid for by the Prince's Mansion.

He had even specifically instructed Qin Zhangfang to keep an eye on things.

"It has already reached 130,000 taels," Qin Zhangfang said after checking.

Zhao Xu nodded; he did not feel pained over the Silver.

The raw materials bought with this Silver would ultimately turn into the Armor on the soldiers' bodies.

The more they bought, the better; these things were always needed anyway.

Just as he was asking, Dong An and Yang He came over, making a racket.

"Admit defeat; the position of trading firm manager is mine," Dong An laughed heartily. "If you call me 'Big Brother', I might be able to advise His Highness to let you be a deputy manager."

"Bullshit, you're the one who will lose; I have a boatload of Coal Cake arriving outside the city tomorrow," Yang He jumped up and down.

Arguing all the way to the trading firm, the two stopped immediately upon seeing Zhao Xu and came over to salute with smiles.

"Looking at you two, it seems you are certain of victory," Zhao Xu smiled.

The two looked at each other, "To tell the truth, Your Highness, the win or loss is only between the two of us."

"There was no cheating, was there?" Zhao Xu's expression was playful.

"Of course not," the two shook their heads like rattles upon hearing this.

Zhao Xu nodded and asked about how the two had gone about purchasing goods.

While they were talking, many Rich Clan scions returned one after another.

Compared to the smugness of Dong An and Yang He, they all looked a bit dejected.

Zhao Xu was somewhat puzzled.

Did these two fellows actually have real talent and learning?

Tomorrow, he would have to ask Xu Ke and the others how the two had conducted their business.

"Tomorrow is the final day," Zhao Xu said. "At that time, the officials of the trading firm will be decided."

Leaving these words behind, he got up and went to the Armory.

At this moment, Wang Ying was testing steel refining with the craftsmen, using none other than the Graphite Crucible.

"Your Highness is truly amazing. In these two days, the Armory's warehouse has been piled full; there is no longer any worry about raw materials. This subordinate can now wholeheartedly study the techniques Your Highness entrusted to me." Seeing Zhao Xu, Wang Ying lavished him with praise.

Liu Fu looked at the molten steel in the Crucible, shaking his head and clicking his tongue; it was his first time seeing such a thing.

He could not help but put away his contempt for Wang Ying.

"Mm, that is good. How is the steel refined by this Crucible?" Zhao Xu asked.

He raised his eyes and looked over.

Not far away, the molten iron from the Blast Furnace flowed into the pool below.

The craftsmen by the pool began to stir it vigorously.

Afterwards, the steel-refining craftsmen used ceramic ladles to scoop out the molten iron and send it into the Crucible.

When the time was up, it was poured into a mold; this mold was a wide ceramic plate.

The shapes carved on it were like fish scales; this was precisely the mold used for casting Scale Armor plates.