Chapter 231: Digging One's Own Pit and Jumping In

An incomparably huge Iron Vehicle, pulling a massive iron house behind it and equipped with four wheels, drove over at high speed.

He had never seen such a thing!

Xiao Moting smiled slightly, "This is a transport truck from Beijiang; it can help you transport all this equipment back to the Kokand Kingdom."

Luosang was overjoyed, "That is wonderful, you truly are a benevolent King..."

"The shipping fee is three thousand taels," Xiao Moting interrupted.

The words of gratitude in Luosang's mouth had not yet had time to be spoken when his body suddenly stiffened.

This costs money too?

He glanced at the mountain of armor.

With heavy iron helmets and iron spears, if they were to be pulled back by horse-drawn carriages, it would take at least ten-plus days.

Although it would take a long time, it would save silver.

Having spent over seven hundred thousand taels on the purchase, Luosang wanted to save a sum of money, yet it was inconvenient to directly refuse Xiao Moting.

Three thousand taels of silver was not much, but if he refused, what if he made Xiao Moting unhappy?

Besides, doing so would make the Kokand Kingdom appear stingy, as if they could not even afford three thousand taels of silver.

Thus, a flash of inspiration struck Luosang, and he feigned politeness.

"Prince of Zhenbei, thank you for your kindness."

"It is just that we have also brought a horse caravan for transport, all of them sturdy and strong thousand-mile steeds, which can save half the transport time; it will only take seven days to transport the goods back."

"The war between the Kokand Kingdom and the Rakshasa is intense, and our Sovereign has given us a strict order, requiring the equipment to be transported back to the country within seven days. This Iron Vehicle is massive in size, so I fear it cannot be transported within seven days; we appreciate your kindness."

Xiao Moting raised an eyebrow, "Your Sovereign requires these pieces of equipment to be transported back to the country within seven days?"

"Yes, thank you very much," Luosang nodded repeatedly, pretending to sigh, "It is a pity that Beijiang has no horses faster than our thousand-mile steeds; otherwise, if there were fast horses, I would have no problem paying five thousand taels in shipping fees to have the goods transported back to the country within three days."

He was cunning and old-fashioned; the moment he saw Xiao Moting wanted to charge a fee, he immediately threw out a problem that the other party could not possibly solve.

He would neither offend Beijiang nor lose face, and he could even subtly show that the Kokand Kingdom, which abounds in horses, raises horses stronger than anywhere else!

Luosang felt very proud, and several ambassadors nodded secretly at him.

But just at this moment, he suddenly heard the sound of Xiao Moting giving an order.

"Load all the equipment onto the truck and send it to the Kokand Kingdom."

Luosang was startled and immediately cried out, "Prince of Zhenbei, the Sovereign requires the items to be sent back to the country within seven days; I fear this Iron Vehicle will not do..."

Xiao Moting glanced at him, "Two days."

"Ah?"

"Within two days, I guarantee all this equipment will be delivered to the Kokand Kingdom." Xiao Moting's expression was calm as he added, "You just said you were willing to pay five thousand taels in shipping fees, correct?"

Luosang was stunned, his tongue seemingly tied in knots.

No...

How did he dig a hole for himself?

The original shipping fee of three thousand taels had almost doubled in the blink of an eye; this was a loss!

Luosang grew anxious, "Prince of Zhenbei, there are at least seven hundred li of road from Beijiang to Kokand; with such a large Iron Vehicle and no horses to pull it, how could it possibly deliver the goods to the Kokand Kingdom within two days?"

"Rest assured," Xiao Moting said, "If it is not delivered on time, I will compensate you three thousand taels."

Luosang gaped, completely unable to speak.

His heart felt as if it were bleeding.

He had originally wanted to save three thousand taels, but now, not only did he not save it, he had also lost an additional two thousand taels.

Regret!

Xiao Moting's expression was cold and stern, maintaining the aura of the Northern Frontier War God, yet a faint, almost imperceptible smile curled at the corners of his lips.

Even flies and mosquitoes are meat; this shipping fee of five thousand taels is enough for the Northern Frontier Camp to buy quite a lot of supplies.

The soldiers were still waiting for spring clothes to be made; the seven hundred thousand-plus taels of silver earned would be just right for buying cloth to make clothes.

Bai Wei stood to the side, watching Xiao Moting and Luosang haggle, and finally seeing him fleece Luosang, she covered her mouth, nearly laughing until she fainted.

She really hadn't expected his mind to turn so quickly.

If Xiao Moting had been born in the modern era, with his business acumen, he would certainly have founded a large company and become a CEO.

The soldiers carried the goods and loaded them onto the truck.

Taking advantage of this gap, Bai Wei thought for a moment, took out her Repeating Crossbow, and walked in front of Luosang and his party.

Luosang and the several ambassadors were feeling annoyed about spending an extra five thousand taels in shipping fees, and when they caught sight of Bai Wei walking over, they dared not be negligent.

"Greetings, Bai."

"Ambassador Luosang, you brought quite a few thousand-mile steeds to Beijiang this time, right?" Bai Wei smiled brightly.

Through her veil, Luosang could not see the smile on her face, only a pair of eyes flickering with cunning; not knowing what medicine she was trying to sell in her gourd, he was immediately somewhat guarded.

"Yes, these hundred-plus thousand-mile steeds are sturdy and strong, with great speed; they are all rare, fine horses."

"That is good," Bai Wei nodded with a smile and shook the Repeating Crossbow in her hand, "Watch closely."

She walked into the training grounds and fired the crossbow bolts at a target in the distance.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Several sharp crossbow bolts shot out rapidly, accurately hitting the straw man in the distance.

The speed at which the crossbow bolts were fired was very fast, one after another.

In the time it took Luosang to blink a few times, Bai Wei had already finished firing ten crossbow bolts, all of which were deeply embedded in the straw man.

The straw man targets on the training grounds, some wearing light armor and some wearing leather armor, were, without exception, pierced through by the Tungsten Steel Arrow heads and deeply embedded.

Luosang and the other ambassadors stared with their mouths wide open.

The strange Bow and Arrow in Bai Wei's hand had a small, compact design and looked very lightweight, but they had not expected its power to be so great!

And the rate of fire is incredibly fast!

Compared to a firearm that requires reloading after every single bullet, one could have already fired over a dozen crossbow bolts in the time it takes to reload!

If such a bow and arrow were used on the battlefield, it would undoubtedly be a lethal weapon for killing the enemy!

Luosang became excited at once and hurried over to Bai Wei.

"Bai, what kind of bow and arrow is this? I'll buy it, I'll buy it!"

With such a repeating crossbow, they would no longer be at a disadvantage when facing the Matchlock Team of the Rakshasa Kingdom!

Bai Wei smiled, "This is called a repeating crossbow; it is a bow and arrow that I... that I invented."

She did not say it was transported from the modern era; there was no need to reveal too much to the people of the Kokand Kingdom.

"Bai is truly ingenious and incredibly clever!" Luosang and several ambassadors from the Kokand Kingdom looked at Bai Wei with eyes full of excitement and admiration, "Having such a wise lady by the side of the Prince of the North is like adding wings to a tiger; it is truly enviable."

Bai Wei blushed.

What was going on?

Had she been mistaken for Xiao Moting's wife by these foreign envoys?

She hurriedly looked at Xiao Moting, signaling him with her eyes to explain.

But Xiao Moting only smiled slightly, looking as if he had no intention of speaking at all.

Luosang was incredibly excited, holding the repeating crossbow and examining it incessantly, "Bai, how many more of these crossbows you invented do you have? Could you sell them to our Kokand Kingdom? Any amount of silver will do."