in2ebook Chapter 835 The gunpowder has arrived, and the dog-eat-dog drama begins.
Chapter 835 The gunpowder has arrived, and the dog-eat-dog drama begins.
"It seems that even you, who often spar with her, have underestimated her." Prince Takumi chuckled sarcastically.
"If that's the case, how can we deal with her? How can we avenge my two sisters?" His tone suddenly turned cold.
Mu Tai said somberly, “There are two ways. One is to use the Emperor of Daze. No matter how capable she is, she can’t be more powerful than the Emperor. If the Emperor wants his subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die. However, the Emperor trusts Qiao Lian’er extremely much and has even entrusted her with several large states and important responsibilities. Looking at the entire Daze Kingdom, no one else has received such treatment.”
"Secondly, I will find someone with the same extraordinary abilities as her and use them for my purposes."
"Otherwise, all other methods will be in vain."
"Both of these approaches are incredibly difficult," Prince Takumi thought, feeling utterly hopeless.
Emperor Daze needs Qiao Lian'er, but where can he find someone with the same abilities as her?
"No rush. We'll discuss the next steps after that batch of gunpowder arrives," Mu Tai said quietly.
Prince Takumi, observing the situation, frowned.
"It seems that Lord Mutai still doesn't quite trust me."
"Whether you believe it or not should be determined by the transaction, not by empty promises."
"Hmph, I said I asked Dongfu Kingdom to prepare the best gunpowder, so their sincerity is obvious. Besides, I'm alone in Danu Kingdom, do you think I can fool Lord Mutai?" Crown Prince Tuohai just felt that Mutai was suspicious.
Mu Tai nodded slightly, a half-smile playing on his lips that made people feel somewhat uncomfortable.
"Then I'll see what the best gunpowder in Dongfu looks like."
A few days later, Pei Shijiu completed her task of distributing supplies, bringing tangible benefits and establishing the prestige of the Princess Zhenguo in this land.
Today, when people mention Princess Zhenguo, they all praise her and express their admiration and gratitude.
Qiao Lian'er was too embarrassed to show her face, otherwise she would kneel down and vie to give her gifts.
However, as the outermost line of defense, it is still necessary to train the army here. Despite its important geographical location, the army of Jinglang Prefecture is used to being lax. This is because the invasions by the northern regime are commonplace. As long as they do not cause too much harm or real danger, they will not be really vigilant.
Next, Qiao Lian'er needs to thoroughly reorganize the army here. Before that, she will conduct an investigation.
She then understood why the army here was so lazy.
It's still the most fundamental issue of survival.
Several guards colluded to embezzle military pay, resulting in soldiers receiving less than half of the stipulated pay. They also cut back on food rations, leaving soldiers without meat for days on end.
With the generals of the garrison acting in such a way, deceiving their superiors and showing no compassion for their subordinates, the defense of Jinglang Prefecture was naturally ineffective.
Qiao Lian'er decisively dismissed several generals and replaced them with reliable and capable ones. She recovered all the embezzled military pay from the previous generals and distributed it to the soldiers to make up for the shortfall. She also ensured that each camp and garrison had at least one meal of meat every day.
As a result, the atmosphere was completely renewed, the soldiers were all in high spirits, and the border defense became much more rigorous and cautious.
Whenever any unusual activity was detected, they would take immediate and proactive measures. With weapons and spears having no eyes, their defenses were impeccable, which made the northern tribal regimes much more restrained in their probing.
Qiao Lian'er calculated that the investment in Jinglang Prefecture was several times that of other prefectures. She couldn't help but shake her head and smile bitterly. Sure enough, even if such a place occupies an important position, even the emperor would keep his distance because the cost of governing it was too high.
However, now that it's in her hands and she's become the owner, she'll treat it like her own home.
Ships from Dongfu Kingdom carrying gunpowder arrived at the coastal border of Danu Kingdom, where a large caravan of horse-drawn carriages then delivered the gunpowder to Danu Kingdom's gunpowder depot.
Due to expedited construction, two newly expanded gunpowder depots have been completed.
Both the Great Khan and his ministers held high expectations.
If all three gunpowder depots are filled with high-quality gunpowder from Dongfu Kingdom, the strength of Danu Kingdom will be greatly enhanced, laying the foundation for a future attack on Daze Kingdom.
The first thing Mutai did was to check the quality of the gunpowder.
With a wave of his hand, the convoy stopped in front of the gunpowder depot, and then twenty vehicles were randomly selected.
If there are no problems with such a large sample size, then the gunpowder in these hundreds of carriages should be reliable.
Prince Takumi stood to the side, showing no concern whatsoever. Gunpowder was the pride of the Dongfu Kingdom, and it had won countless victories for the Dongfu Kingdom on the sea.
He would never lie about this. For him, it was not only a basic principle of cooperation, but if Da Nu Kingdom used Dong Fu Kingdom's gunpowder to inflict heavy damage on Da Ze Kingdom, it would be tantamount to venting Dong Fu Kingdom's anger.
Today is a good day, and Qiao Lian'er is also here. How could she miss this dog-eat-dog drama?
The door of the cargo wagon opened, and Mutai picked up a packet of gunpowder and removed the binding thread.
Gunpowder is composed of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal. To make the best gunpowder, these three raw materials must be of superior quality.
For the past few months, Mu Tai has been busy with gunpowder matters, and he can tell the quality at a glance.
His expression changed as soon as the gunpowder pack was opened.
He rubbed his fingers together again, his brows furrowing even deeper.
He went to another carriage and repeated the same action, his expression becoming even more somber.
Then he took the third pack of gunpowder from the third carriage, and then slammed the pack to the ground, his anger radiating from him.
Turning to Prince Takumi, he narrowed his eyes, his eyes filled with utter disgust and even murderous intent.
"As expected, the people of Dongfu Kingdom are not to be trusted. Even the Crown Prince is full of lies."
Crown Prince Takumi also angrily said, "Lord Mutai, what do you mean by this? The gunpowder has been delivered. The quantity is not enough, but it may have been damaged by storms. More will follow."
"What do I mean? See for yourself."
Mu Tai grabbed a few packets of gunpowder and threw them at the other party.
Prince Takumi opened the gunpowder pack, and when he saw it clearly, his face changed instantly.
The composition remains the same, but the raw materials are all of inferior quality. Even if people were to make fireworks and firecrackers privately, they would not choose such low-quality raw materials.
"Impossible, this is impossible. I clearly wrote back requesting the best gunpowder. They couldn't possibly have sent such a shipment to the Da Nu Kingdom."
"Someone must have switched the goods. Who did it?" Prince Takumi became agitated.
Suddenly, something occurred to him, and a chill ran down his spine again.