My Father in Law is Lu Bu

Chapter 702

“This armor!” The eyes of Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang glinted after taking a single look at Yangzhou's equipment. They still had enough common sense to realize that these equipment were forged like a piece of art.

In the ancient times, the people did not have iron smelting techniques. Armors were basically pieces of iron stuck together. The protective iron parts covered half the area while the rest were connected with nails. Because of this, the armor of the ancient people were very ugly and made a lot of clanking noise.

However, this integrated armor did not have this disadvantage.

“This equipment is sold by Liu Mang the King of Shu?” Yuan Tan immediately stepped forward and picked up the armor. He could not let it go the moment he touched it.

“This is…” Yuan Tan immediately found out that the armor was lighter than the one he himself used.

“Yes.” Yuan Xi nodded. These equipment were sold by the Yangzhou Army. They were first sold to Liaodong before Yuan Xi bought them.

“I want as many of these armors as I can get.” Yuan Tan immediately said.

“Brother. These equipment are not cheap.” Yuan Xi shook his head bitterly.

“Not cheap?” Yuan Tan frowned. Are you trying to say that he, Yuan Tan, cannot afford it?

“Each set of armor is one hundred gold.” Yuan Xi explained. This was the price in Liaodong. Liu Mang's price is already so high. Buying from Gongsun Du would be even more expensive.

“A hundred gold!” Yuan Tan hesitated. He only has a hundred and fifty thousand gold in his hand. Even if he uses everything, he would only be able to buy one thousand five hundred sets of armor. Meanwhile, he has a hundred thousand soldiers in his hand.

“Brother. We do not need to buy many of these Yangzhou armor. We just need to give it to the officers.” Yuan Xi suggested.

The officer's eyes started to shine. They already saw the benefits of this armor. By using this, their rate of survival would be several levels higher.

“Alright. I'll take five hundred sets.” Yuan Xi gritted his teeth. Of this five hundred sets, he would leave two hundred for his personal guards. The remaining would be given to the other officers. In other words, you would need to at least be a 1000-men general if you want to use this Yangzhou armor. Just like this, he would spend fifty thousand gold.

“Brother. What about this sword? Is it also from Yangzhou?” Yuan Shang took fancy of the sword.

Yuan Xi nodded.

Yuan Shang picked up the sword and cut the table next to him. The table was split into two without any resistance. It was as though Yuan Shang was a martial arts master. However, everyone there knew that Yuan Shang was just a third-rate general at best. It was obvious that he could do this because of the sword.

“Gu Yu. Take out your sword.” Yuan Shang said to one of his personal guards.

Hearing this, Gu Yu took out his sword without hesitation. Everyone else could not help but nod at Gu Yu's sword as it was of high quality.

“Hold it well.” Yuan Shang then used the sword from Yangzhou and slashed at Gu Yu's sword.

There was a loud clang and a piece of Gu Yu's blade flew out. This piece even cut Yuan Shang in the face. However, Yuan Shang did not care about his wound and even laughed.

“Again! Take out all of your swords!” Yuan Shang said to his other guards. One by one, they all took out their swords which were then cut in half by Yuan Shang.

The generals of the Yuan Family all gasped. If you fought someone using this on the battlefield, you would lose your weapon in a single clash. How could they fight without a weapon? Even people with excellent martial prowess would die if they were to fight unarmed. Besides that, all of them who took out their weapon were Yuan Shang's own personal guards. All of their swords were undoubtedly of good quality.

“Come! Take my Jiuxiao.” Yuan Shang shouted to his men.

Yuan Tan immediately felt jealous. The Nine Heavens was awarded to the Yuan Family by the Emperor.

The Jiuxiao Sword was the proof of the heir of the Yuan Family. It was originally Yuan Shao's sword but now it was Yuan Shang's. It was tempered thousands of times using iron obtained from a meteor.

Even the Qinghong Sword and the Yitian Sword in Cao Cao's hands were made from this meteor. The difference is that while Jiuxiao used the essence, the Qinghong and Yitian were made using side materials.

Fortunately, one of Yuan Tan's advisors quickly stopped Yuan Tan from immediately stepping forward to snatch it away.

Yuan Shang slashed at the Jiuxiao but this time, it was Yangzhou's sword that broke. Despite this, the generals of the Yuan Family were in awe. The Jiuxiao Sword was basically a divine weapon. Only a few people had one such as Lu Bu and Guan Yu. Meanwhile, Yangzhou's sword was something that could be mass produced. If the Jiuxiao was something they could not obtain, then perhaps they could still obtain Yangzhou's sword. They all looked at Yuan Shang hoping for Yuan Shang to buy them one. ɽ𝘈ɴó𝖇Ês

“I want these swords.” Yuan Shang also nodded and shouted. The generals of the Yuan Family all became excited.

“Each sword is fifty gold.” Yuan Xi gave the price.

“So expensive?” Yuan Shang frowned. Though the armor was more expensive, Yuan Shang was still not satisfied. “I'll just buy a thousand.” Yuan Shang said to Yuan Xi. That would be fifty thousand gold.

“I wonder. This sword and that armor. Which one is better?” Suddenly, one of the warriors asked and the others started to think.

Everyone already saw the strengths of that sword but the armor was vital for defense. What if this weapon and the armor were to collide?

Yuan Xi immediately called for someone to bring over another one of Yangzhou's sword. After testing it out, the sword broke. However, the armor was also damaged. Neither was better than the other. However, it does not matter. Since these equipment was bought from Yangzhou, Cao Cao would definitely not be able to obtain it.

“Second brother. What about the price for the supplies from Yangzhou?” Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang immediately focused on the actual problem that is their lack of food. Even if they had good equipment, they would not be able to fight without food.

“It is one for five.” Yuan Xi replied.

Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang were shocked. This mean that they could buy five hundred thousand shi worth of supplies with only one hundred thousand gold. This was too cheap. The current market price for supplies was one for three at best. In some places, food was worth more than gold.

Yet the supplies that crossed the ocean from Yangzhout to Liaodong was only one for five?

The two brothers laughed. All their misgivings for the overpriced equipment was gone. They now thought of Liu Mang as a good person.

“It must be His Highness the King of Shu who did this.” Yuan Xi said. He was not as happy as Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan. This is because he knew that Liu Mang was not doing this out of charity. Liu Mang intends for the Yuan brothers to fight Cao Cao to the death. He even dread the next opponent he had to face if they defeat Cao Cao.

However, Yuan Xi quickly stopped thinking about it as Cao Cao was his current opponent.

“Brothers. Give me all that money. I will quickly contact Gongsun Du.” Yuan Xi said to the two.

***

Yuan Xi was right in that the prices of supplies was what Liu Mang wanted. Liu Mang even set the price for the weapons and armor.

“What? Each sword can only be sold for sixty gold or less? And the armor can only be sold for a maximum of one hundred and ten gold? I won't sell them! Absolutely not!” Gongsun Du immediately jumped after hearing this news.

Gongsun Du bought these weapons and armor from Yangzhou for fifty gold and one hundred gold. On top of that, Gongsun Du had to pay up front before the equipment is delivered across the ocean. Yet, he was only allowed to earn a ten gold profit for each item. If Yangzhou's ship sinks along the way, then Gongsun Du would lose a lot of money.

“Your Excellency Gongsun Du. This price was set by our Lord. The sword and armor can only be sixty and one hundred and ten gold at most. You will still be able to profit off of it.” The envoy from Yangzhou said to Gongsun Du.

“Profit? What a joke! Yuan Xi only ordered one thousand swords and five hundred sets of armor. I can profit out of them? This only amounts to fifteen thousand gold! How much risk do I have to take for this? First of all, I have pay upfront to His Highness the King of Shu. If the ship sinks, it would be my responsibility. Second, selling to the Yuan Family would mean offending Cao Cao. I only have Liaodong while Cao Cao have Yanzhou, Qingzhou, Bingzhou and Jizhou in his hands. Should I offend him for fifteen thousand gold?” Gongsun Du waved his hand with an expression that said he would not sell it even if he were to be beaten to death.

“Fifteen thousand gold is not worth it? Hahaha.” The envoy from Yangzhou sneered. This Gongsun Du was getting greedier and more demanding. Before Liaodong had even started trading with Yangzhou, he could only collect twenty thousand gold from taxes every year. This is how much he could get during years with good harvest.

Yet, Gongsun Du now looked down on fifteen thousand gold. This really showed that people's ambition was limitless.

“Your Excellency Gongsun Du. It is not possible for the Yuan brothers to only buy one thousand swords and five hundred armors.” The envoy shook his head.

“Do you think I can deceive you? The envoy sent by Yuan Xi is still here. Do you want me to call for him so that you can ask him?” Gongsun Du retorted.

“Really?” Before Yangzhou's envoy could continue, one of Gongsun Du's guard quickly approached and knelt down. “Report. There is someone claiming to be the envoy of Ye Hou who wants to meet you.”

Gongsun Du immediately realized who it is. Ye Hou was Yuan Shao's eldest son Yuan Tan. This marquis title originally belonged to Yuan Shao but the title was then given to Yuan Tan by Cao Cao in order to drive a wedge between the brothers.

“Report!” Another guard ran in. “Someone claiming to be the envoy of the Grand General wants to meet you.”

Now, Yuan Shang's envoy also arrived. Both Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang really acted fast.

“Lord Gongsun Du. Since you have important affairs, I will not bother you any longer.” Yangzhou's envoy said with a smile.

Gongsun Du felt embarassed. He had only just complained about the lack of business when business suddenly came.

“Respected envoy. I am not busy.” Gongsun Du quickly stopped the envoy.

“Oh right. My Lord also mentioned that if you agree to sell those equipment at the price set by my Lord to the Yuan brothers, then Milord is willing to deliver the equipment first before asking for payment.”

This was now basically giving Gongsun Du money for nothing. Gongsun Du can now sell Yangzhou's equipment without any capital at all. On top of that, he would profit ten gold for each item purchased.

“This…” Gongsun Du almost lost his mind hearing such a good news. He quickly shook his head. “Respected envoy. I will have my mind escort you back to rest while. Give me time to consider this.” Gongsun Du could not process this information as it was too good a news.

The envoy from Yangzhou was not in a hurry to get Gongsun Du to make his decision since the equipment were still being transported over.

Later, Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang's envoy met with Gongsun Du. Yuan Tan purchased another two thousand five hundred sets of armor and three thousand swords. Meanwhile, Yuan Shang purchased two thousand sets of armor and five thousand swords. Both of them spent about four hundred thousand gold each.

Happiness came so suddenly. If Gongsun Du agrees to the transaction, he would earn a profit of at least one hundred and twenty thousand gold. He did not even have to pay capital for it. It was money gained for no reason.

Gongsun Du felt his breathing disturbed. In the past, he would never have believed he could earn over one hundred thousand gold for doing nothing.

“Sell! Why would I not sell?” Gongsun Du immediately said. Why would he not agree to such easy profits. On top of that, the battle between the Yuan brothers and Cao Cao would not end so quickly. The longer they fought, the more profits Gongsun Du would obtain.

“Men! Bring Yangzhou's envoy to me. No, I will go to him myself!” Gongsun Du shook his head and left with a vigorous pace, leaving behind a letter from Cao Cao on his desk.