Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1534: Day , Chapter : Bargaining!

In response to Ibugele's question, Gao Shen spoke directly:
"Khan, it's just a matter of money!"

"The Ministry of Industry has calculated that building a firearms factory requires silver from all aspects, including the construction of the factory building and the training of craftsmen. Our Ministry of Industry has made a simple calculation and found that it will cost one million taels of silver to build a firearms factory!"

Hearing the figure of one million taels of silver, Ibugele and Dariachi were both stunned for a moment. Dariachi said directly:

"We, Luo Bei, are going to pay for this?"

Gao Shen looked at Dariyachi as if he were a fool, and then asked in return:

"The eldest prince wants to build this firearms factory in your Luobei. Does that mean the court has to pay for it?"

Dariyachi said as a matter of course:
"We Luobi are now part of Daqian, so the imperial court will naturally take care of us. Moreover, we are now with the Cumans, and we are also protecting Daqian's borders. The Cumans now have the help of the Roman Empire, and they are well-equipped and have fierce firepower. We are in urgent need of help!"

Gao Shen shook his head and said:

"My great prince, you don't know that our Great Qian has just been established, and the whole country is also in a state of disrepair. The court is also short of money. In order to cover family planning expenses, the court laid off tens of thousands of officials last year!"

“And forgive me for being blunt, but Your Majesty has already overcome all objections in the court by allowing the construction of a firearms factory in Luobi. Prince, you want the court to build a firearms factory free of charge, but this is absolutely impossible…”

"Even if His Majesty the Great Emperor agrees to your request, the elders in the cabinet, the generals in the staff department, and all the officials in the court will never agree to it. Please understand this, Great Prince!"

Hearing Gao Shen say this, Daryaqi was also a little angry, but at this time Ibugele frowned and interrupted:
"Do we have so much money to build a firearms factory? I heard that the firearms factory built by the imperial court in Jinzhong was built very quickly without spending much money!"

"You don't know, Khan! To produce firearms, it is not enough to have only a firearms factory, but a complete industrial chain is needed. Let me give you an example. A firearm is made up of parts such as the barrel and the gun body. In addition, it also needs gunpowder and bullets. Without gunpowder and bullets, a firearm is not even as good as a fire stick!"

"So we need a steel mill to produce gun barrels and bullets for us, a lumber mill to produce gun bodies for us, and a gunpowder factory to produce gunpowder for us. We also need skilled craftsmen to assemble these things. These links are indispensable. If any one link is missing, the musket cannot be produced!"

"The reason why we were able to quickly build a firearms factory in Jinzhong is because the supporting facilities in Jinzhong are very mature. We only need to bring our craftsmen in Liaoyang to Jinzhong for technical training, and the entire factory can be put into production!"

“But these things are not currently available in Robi, so everything needs to be started from scratch, so the cost is very high and it will take a long time…”

Ibugele and Dariachi, the father and son, were completely confused by Gao Shen's talk. Having lived a life where the wind blew the grass and the sheep were seen everywhere, they did not understand Gao Shen's words at all. They did not understand why they had to build so many factories when they only wanted to build a firearms factory!
After the father and son exchanged glances, Dariyachi spoke first:
"Master Gao, please don't bluff us here! We in Luobei also need blacksmiths and carpenters, why should we start from scratch? In my opinion, the court just doesn't want to help us build a firearms factory!"

Gao Shen smiled and shook his head and said:

"My Lord, I know that you, Luo Bei, have tried to imitate our Daqian's firearms, and have succeeded in making a fire gun!"

"What do you mean you still want the court to help you build a firearms factory?"

"If my guess is correct, it's because the muskets you produce are firstly in small quantities and secondly of unstable quality. The firearms you produce often explode. These problems are caused by the fact that your steel and gunpowder do not meet the standards!"

"If Luo Bei wants to produce high-quality muskets like ours, he must follow our Daqian standards!"

"As for whether the eldest prince is bluffing you, I don't know if you have heard of a saying, that is, what you hear is not as good as what you see. So I invite you to go to Yijing. At that time, I am willing to act as a guide and take you to visit our Daqian factories in Yijing. I will experience the various steps of producing fire guns!"

Looking at Gao Shen who pretended to be frank, although Ibugeldarachi and his son felt that Gao Shen was lying, they didn’t know how to refute him.
Ibugel, the Great Khan, hesitated for a moment and said:

"Master Gao, we Luobei people have plenty of cattle and sheep, but silver is really scarce. I wonder if the price of this firearms factory can be cheaper?"

"One million taels of silver is too much. Even if we search the entire grassland, it will be difficult for us to come up with so much silver!"

Hearing what Ibugele said, Gao Shen also felt the desire of Ibugele and the entire Luobi tribe for the firearms factory. He immediately put on an awkward posture and said:

"Great Khan, it's not that I don't want to help with this matter, but it's a matter of great importance and I don't have the power to make the decision. Let's put it this way. After the current matter is over, His Royal Highness the Grand Prince will go to our Daqian and make a request to His Majesty. I believe His Majesty will consider it appropriately!" Ibugele said with some disappointment:
"Well! That's it!"

After saying this, Ibugler asked again:
"Master Gao, when can you hand over your firearms?"

"Your Majesty, our firearms can be transferred at any time, but before your Majesty leaves, there is a request that you, the Khan, must fulfill!"

"What does His Majesty the Emperor want?"

“The Khan just told you that this batch of firearms was brought directly from the Liangzhen camp. They are the active weapons of our Daqian soldiers. Therefore, Your Majesty requires that this batch of firearms must be equipped to the most heroic Luobei soldiers…”

As soon as Gao Shen said this, Dariyachi on the side spoke up:
"Then Gao Shen, you should give me the things. My subordinates are brave soldiers of Robe. Each of them has chopped off the heads of the Cumans. They are true warriors and the sharp blades that defend Robe!"

Gao Shen nodded and said:

"Prince, the entire grassland knows about your bravery and that of your men, but the one who performed best in this battle was General Urigenbayar. It was because of General Urigenbayar's timely assistance that we were able to repel the attack of the Robe people!"

"After hearing about General Urrigan Bayar's deeds, His Majesty the Great Emperor also admired General Urrigan Bayar very much, so His Majesty the Great Emperor directly requested that this batch of firearms be equipped to General Urrigan Bayar!"

"This is your Majesty's decree. Your Majesty believes that Daqian's firearms can exert their greatest force in the hands of General Uzhigen Bayar and make the Cumans pay the price in blood!"

After hearing what Gao Shen said, Dari Achi immediately wanted to stand up and say something, but before he opened his mouth, he saw his father's eyes. Dari Achi understood what his father meant, hesitated for a moment but still chose to shut his mouth. The room became silent for a while!

Geshen did not seem to be at all surprised by Ibugler's attitude. He smiled and said:
"In order to deal with the upcoming offensive of the Cumans, His Majesty plans to provide more assistance to Robe. The firearms we brought now are just the first batch. In the next few months, more firearms will arrive in Robe from Daqian!"

“So it doesn’t matter if you can’t get a share now, you will definitely get one after a while…”

After hearing what Gao Shen said, Ibugele and Dariachi's expressions eased a little. Finally, Ibugele hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding and saying:
"Since His Majesty the Great Emperor has issued an order, then we should follow His Majesty the Great Emperor's order! This batch of firearms will be equipped to General Urigenbayar!"

After confirming this most important thing, several people discussed some other things, and then Gao Shen said goodbye and left. In the end, only Ibugele and his son Dariachi were left in the tent.

Seeing that there were no outsiders in the Khan's tent, Daryaqi said directly:
"I feel like the Daqian court doesn't want to help us build a firearms factory. Gao Shen's words are just excuses, all bullshit excuses!"

Ibugele said nothing upon hearing this, only a bitter smile appeared on his face. Although no one talked about some things, everyone knew them well among each other. Hundreds of years of blood feud were not so easy to resolve!
Even though Ibugele led Luobi to surrender to Daqian, it was just a stopgap measure forced by the situation. Most people in Luobi, from top to bottom, had never thought about it. They had always been obedient subjects of Daqian. They were thinking about leaving Daqian all the time!

Ibugele knew very well that Ye Mingsheng and all the officials in the Daqian court also understood this point, so Daqian had always been very cautious in the matter of aid, and mostly provided things that were not so powerful. Not even a single heavy artillery, the real trump card of the Daqian army, was provided!

Seeing that his father did not respond, Dariyachi changed the subject and asked:
"Father, why do you think Gao Shen must give this batch of firearms to Wuzhigen Bayar?"

Facing this question, Ibugel also did not speak, but a hint of suspicion also appeared in the eyes of Robe Khan...

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The 15th day of the first lunar month, Lantern Festival
After the palace dinner and drinking some wine, Ye Mingsheng followed An Miaoyi back to her palace. At this time, An Miaoyi was taking a shower and changing clothes in the bathroom next door, while Ye Mingsheng was lying on the bed drunk alone.

Although Ye Mingsheng's face looked a little red and he looked a little drunk at this moment, his mind was very clear, and he couldn't help but recall Chen Rouer's crying to him!
Ye Mingsheng never believed everything Chen Rouer said. He knew that this little girl who looked cute and well-behaved in front of him was not a good person behind the scenes!

But to be honest, Ye Mingsheng likes Chen Rouer's admiring look!
In the past, Ye Mingsheng liked to carry out some GR worship propaganda in the army in order to increase the loyalty of the army!
But deep down in his heart, Ye Mingsheng never thought that he was worthy of others' admiration. He was not a good person, nor a hero. He was just an ambitious man who longed for Q power!

So when Ye Mingsheng felt the admiration of the soldiers in the army, although he responded enthusiastically on the surface, in his heart he was more or less ashamed of himself...
But it's different with Chen Rouer. Ye Mingsheng likes her youthful vitality, and her admiration and dependence on him!
Although Ye Mingsheng knew very well in his heart that what Chen Rouer admired was the Emperor Daqian who was wrapped in all kinds of halos, not the real Ye Mingsheng!
However, Ye Mingsheng is still willing to share some of his time and energy with her!
It can be said that what happened a few days ago scared the usually willful and unruly Chen Rouer. Although she often punished her servants, at most she would just give them a couple of slaps or a couple of kicks. She had never seen anyone being beaten to death!

That cruel and bloody scene had a great impact on Chen Rouer's mind, and it also caused her to have nightmares for several days!

To be honest, Ye Mingsheng didn't mind An Miaoyi punishing Chen Rouer!
Even Ye Mingsheng supported An Miaoyi's punishment of Chen Rouer to some extent. After all, Chen Rouer would beat and scold the palace maids and eunuchs around her at will. Although these beatings and scoldings were only physical pain and verbal insults and did not involve the level of life, this also made the two words "Rou Fei" notorious in the palace!
The second reason is that Chen Rouer spends money lavishly. Since all the money Chen Rouer spends is given by her parents' home, Ye Mingsheng can't say anything about it on weekdays, but Ye Mingsheng also can't stand Chen Rouer's extravagant lifestyle!
But for this incident, Ye Mingsheng felt that An Miaoyi had really gone too far. Although those young eunuchs did violate the palace rules, you didn't have to beat them to death. This was really too cruel!
In Ye Mingsheng's impression, although An Miaoyi was always strict in managing the affairs of the palace, she was not so cruel. Especially such a thing as beating someone to death was rarely seen under An Miaoyi's rule in the past...