Chapter 233: A Complex Situation
Our Discord Server: .gg/PazjBDkTmW
The artillery training grounds reeked of gunpowder, and the field was pockmarked with craters from cannon fire.
Zhao Yuanliang stared at the distant cannons—barely visible at four hundred paces—then at the shattered clay figures littering the ground. His mind reeled at the sheer destructive power on display.
He could now vividly imagine the Battle of Cangzhou, where these monstrous cannons had slaughtered dozens of charging cavalrymen with a single shot.
“Yuanliang, you’ve seen the results for yourself. Whether it’s worth twenty thousand taels of silver should be obvious by now. No offense to the Mystic Armored Cavalry, but four hundred horsemen truly can’t compare to a single one of my cannons,” Xiao Ming said, deliberately provoking him.
Zhao Yuanliang fell silent for a long moment before replying, “Your Highness, the cannon’s power is undeniable. But the price… could it not be lowered?”
“Out of the question,” Xiao Ming shook his head firmly. “I can’t afford to sell at a loss. Besides, I wasn’t even willing to provide these to the imperial court, let alone other feudal lords. Don’t think I’ve forgotten how your faction blocked the Emperor from sending reinforcements to Qingzhou. The fact that I’m willing to sell you cannons at all is already an act of generosity.”
In business, it was standard practice to inflate prices before gradually lowering them. As the saying went, the buyer is never as shrewd as the seller—after all, buyers could never know a seller’s true profit margins.
Xiao Ming’s sudden shift in tone left Zhao Yuanliang visibly uncomfortable. He cleared his throat. “Your Highness misunderstands. We had nothing to do with that incident—it was entirely the scheming of certain court officials.”
Bringing up old grievances was merely a bargaining tactic. As much as Xiao Ming despised Zhao Wang and his ilk, he wasn’t about to let personal grudges interfere with profit.