The emperor is biased and wants to kill me, but you chickened out when the army is at the city gates

Chapter 47 The New Crossbow is Complete

The northern border region, Sanguan Town.

This place is about 120 miles from Beining City, located at the northernmost border, and connects the three kingdoms of Daqi, Jurchen, and Khan.

Although Sanguan Town is called a town, it is actually a no-man's-land. It was a barren land before, but after merchants from various countries, wandering knights, and some peddlers gathered there, it gradually formed into a small town.

At this moment, Mogu, dressed as a Hu person, appeared in the largest market in Sanguan Town.

"Oh my, what brings you here today, Manager Mo? It's been a year or two since I've seen you personally make an appearance!"

In an inconspicuous shop, a tall, bull-like Khan shouted excitedly.

Mogu smiled faintly: "Hulieza, my friend, it has indeed been a long time since we last met."

Huliza immediately gave Mogu a big bear hug and said, "Come on, I'll take you for a drink. We'll drink until we drop tonight."

"and many more!"

Mogu hadn't forgotten why he came here: "I've come to give you money."

"Old Mo, it wasn't enough that you tricked me out of the drinks, now you're trying to swindle my money too?"

Hu Lie put on a stern face and spoke in a half-serious, half-joking manner.

But Mogu wasn't buying it at all. Instead, he smiled slyly and said, "Haven't you always wanted to become the most powerful merchant in your Khan Kingdom? Now the opportunity has come. Let's see if you can seize it."

"Really?"

Hu Liezha's eyes flashed with a sharp light, but his tone revealed no excitement whatsoever.

"If you don't believe me, then I'll go find Buck."

Mogu is no pushover; when it comes to cunning, Huliza is no match for him.

Bak is actually a competitor of Huliza. Both of them are in charge of the largest chamber of commerce in Khangu, so they don't see eye to eye.

"Alright, alright, I shouldn't have said that. You Han people are too good at manipulating people's hearts."

Huliza readily admitted defeat and asked anxiously, "What exactly did you bring this time that you dared to make such a boast?"

Are you sure you want me to talk to you about this here?

Mogu looked at the merchants coming and going and said meaningfully.

Hu Liezha slapped his forehead: "I was rash. Come on, I'll take you to the inn."

There is an inn in Sanguan Town that has no name, but it is the most unique place in the entire town.

There has always been an ironclad rule here: anyone who enters the inn must not use force.

It's important to know that Sanguan Town is a lawless area, teeming with outlaws, yet this inn has remained standing and everyone obeys its rules, demonstrating the immense power behind it.

Therefore, many merchants often choose to discuss business at inns to avoid being robbed or killed.

Meanwhile, a similar scene has been playing out along the entire border of Daqi.

Whenever there is a market or town along the border, the managers of the three major chambers of commerce will appear carrying several bags of refined salt.

In less than a day, truckloads of grain, cotton, gold, and silver began to set off for Beining City.

A few days later, refined salt and coal stoves were discovered in several border cities of the Great Qi.

But instead of reporting it, they started frantically grabbing it.

For border regions, whether it was the Great Qi or foreign barbarian states, salt was always a scarce commodity, let alone refined salt.

As for coal stoves, such inexpensive means of keeping warm, they naturally wouldn't miss out on them.

However, after many people bought coal stoves, they found that their coal briquettes burned very quickly, and the claims that they would not produce black smoke or have a pungent smell were simply a hoax.

As a result, many merchants took the coal stoves and began demanding refunds.

Qin Xuan had anticipated this scene and had already provided a solution.

He instructed the managers of the three major chambers of commerce to each give away a pound of coal briquettes when others came to cause trouble.

Sure enough, the merchants who originally wanted to return the goods were delighted to hear that they could get a pound of coal briquettes for free and that they could still get a full refund if the coal did not perform well. They happily took the coal briquettes home.

"Your Highness is truly a brilliant strategist. In just a few moves, he not only quickly made a name for the coal stove, but also sold the coal briquettes."

Huaiyun is currently on the northwestern border, personally overseeing the trade here.

"This promotional tactic is indeed impressive, but the cost is far too high."

One of Huaiyun's smartest managers couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him.

“太大了吗？”

But Huaiyun just smiled and said, "Manager Liu, what do you think we're actually selling this time?"

"Isn't it this cheap and practical coal stove?" Manager Liu was confused by the question.

“You’re wrong. The Prince didn’t ask us to sell coal stoves at all this time. He can even give them away for free.”

Huaiyun only understood Qin Xuan's true intention at this moment. Shocked, she explained to her shopkeeper, "What the prince asked us to sell were actually coal briquettes, because these coal stoves are too easy to imitate. But what about the coal briquettes?"

Upon hearing this, Manager Liu was instantly stunned.

A few breaths later, he slapped his thigh and exclaimed in astonishment, "Your Highness is truly a genius, to have come up with such a business idea."

The coal stove has a simple structure, and even though the curved iron sheet of the stove body is difficult to manufacture, it can still be imitated.

But what Qin Xuan wanted was for others to copy it.

Because only if everyone uses a coal stove will they need to use coal briquettes.

But what about coal briquettes?

The only method of production is found in Beining City.

In this way, Qin Xuan essentially sold countless coal briquettes through a small coal stove.

Even if he only made a penny from each coal briquette, it would be enough to make Qin Xuan incredibly wealthy.

"What are you waiting for? Immediately send a message by carrier pigeon to have more coal briquettes sent from Beining City."

Huaiyun laughed and cursed, then hurried off to the next stop.

In Beining City, coal mines are working day and night, with orders pouring in like snowflakes.

The salt mines were just as busy.

The same non-stop operation resulted in large quantities of unprocessed mineral salt being rushed to the workshop, where it underwent a series of filtrations before being dried into refined salt.

Looking at the convoy that was almost forming a long line, Qin Xuan felt excited, but also increasingly anxious about the production of the new crossbow.

With the export of refined salt and coal briquettes, the Shence Army's combat strength had reached a point where it had to be improved.

After all, the area outside the pass is not the same as the inner city; there are many desperate people who live by the sword.

"Your Highness, Elder Gao requests your presence at the training ground. The new crossbows have been upgraded."

Just then, Zhao Luoying rushed over excitedly.

Qin Xuan was overjoyed and pulled Zhao Luoying straight to the training ground.

"Your Majesty, please."

Kaohsiung respectfully handed over the latest crossbow, quite confident.

Without thinking twice, Qin Xuan picked up the new crossbow and pulled the trigger.

Zhao Luoying was startled. Just as she was about to speak, she saw that the target two hundred meters away had been pierced through by a single sword.

The terrifying range and penetrating power instantly made Zhao Luoying's blood boil.

"Your Highness!" Zhao Luoying wanted to say something, but she was too excited to describe the power of the new crossbow.

Qin Xuan was equally excited, and took a deep breath, saying, "This new crossbow is complete!"