Zhu Ci decisively changed his tone and got straight to the point: "Why does the Marquis of Huating insist on seeing me?"
Fu said, "I have heard that Your Highness desires grain, so I wish to strike a deal with Your Highness."
Zhu Ci breathed a slight sigh of relief. He was not afraid of Fu setting conditions; what he feared most was the other party having no conditions to offer yet still refusing to provide the grain.
Zhu Ci's expression remained unchanged as he said nonchalantly, "What kind of business does the Marquis of Huating wish to conduct?"
Fu said two words: "Rockets."
Zhu Ci was not surprised that he knew, asked directly, "Which kind?"
“Blueprints.”
Not for sale!
Fu Chunshheng gave a light laugh. "Your Highness should consider it carefully."
Zhu Ci raised his eyes and glanced at him. "You might not be able to afford it."
Fu replied, "As long as there is a price, there is nothing this Marquis cannot afford."
Zhu Ci pondered for a long while, then suddenly turned his head and said to Gu Rouqian, "You all go out first."
Gu Rouqian was stunned. He had been listening so intently that being asked to leave now left him feeling quite restless.
Upon meeting Zhu Ci's calm gaze, Gu Rouqian nodded. Of course, the main reason was that Jiang Xueyan and Jiang Quan had already obediently stood up and walked outside; it would have been inappropriate for him to remain.
As Gu Rouqian and the others withdrew, Fu also raised a hand to dismiss the attendants.
Zhu Ci actually didn't care; he just didn't want Gu Rouqian to hear.
He stared deeply at Fu, his right arm pressed against the tea table, leaned forward slightly as he said, "As for the blueprints, you'll have to trade Zhu Yousong's head for them."
“Fine.”
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Why is this person being so suspicious! A startled kitten scurries out of the cabin. jpg
Next update at 6:00 PM~
Chapter 77
This shocking statement didn't seem to cause any emotional fluctuation in Fu.
At least, one could not tell from his body language, as for his expression.. behind the veil, only a faint silhouette could be vaguely seen; his face was not visible at all.
Zhu Ci raised an eyebrow slightly. "Decisive. But this is only one of the conditions."
Fu did not seem surprised and said directly, "If there are any other conditions, Your Highness may simply speak them."
Zhu Ci pondered for a moment before saying, "Grain, cloth, sugar, saltpeter, iron ore, so on."
Fu said, "We have all of those things, but a single set of firearm blueprints won't be enough."
Zhu Ci said with a smile, "It seems the Marquis of Huating hasn't received the latest news. It's not one, but three."
Zhu Ci practically laid his cards on the table by telling Fu that he knew Fu had people around him.
Fu was not surprised that he knew this; the people he had sent out had received no training at all and could not be considered true spies.
He was surprised that Zhu Ci had actually improved three types of rockets in such a short amount of time.
Fu asked, "Three blueprints? Which three?"
Single-shot Rocket, Fire-Dragon Water-Spout, Swarm of Bees.
Fu straightened his back slightly, appearing interested: "How were the effects of the Fire-Dragon Water-Spout and the Swarm of Bees?"
He already knew how effective the Single-shot Rocket was; at that time, Zhu Ci did not have many men under his command, so the Fu siblings could still gather some information.
Later on, the Fire-Dragon Water-Spout was used directly against the Sea Bandits, the Swarm of Bees was never used at all, so it was impossible to know its true power.
Zhu Ci thought for a moment and said, "If the Marquis of Huating is curious, he may certainly take a look."
Fu Chunsheng naturally would not refuse; while Zhu Ci was sending someone to fetch the rockets, he negotiated the "price" with him.
Zhu Ci continued to demand an exorbitant price just as before; regardless of whether Fu Chunsheng agreed or not, he would state his demands first and only negotiate if the other party disagreed.
When it comes to business, sometimes it's just like this.
After Fu Jing listened quietly to his requirements, she nodded slightly. "Very well."
Hmm?
His nod actually left Zhu Ci a bit bewildered.
So decisive? These conditions were clearly to his advantage.
Perhaps seeing the astonishment in Zhu Ci's eyes, Fu gave a light laugh and said, "I can agree to any conditions Your Highness sets, provided that Your Highness answers one question for me."
Zhu Ci thought to himself that forget one question, even a hundred questions would be fine.
One question could exchange for so many supplies; even if three blueprints were included, he was still getting a bargain.
After Zhu Ci nodded, he heard Fu Qingcheng say softly, "I would like to know, from where does Your Highness come?"
Hmm?
What kind of question is that?
Zhu Ci's mind raced for a moment, then, on a sudden impulse, he looked up at Fu.
However, through the hanging veil, he could not gain any more information from Fu's expression.
However, he knew that Fu would certainly not ask a question that everyone already knew for no reason.
Could it be that the other party has found something out?
Zhu Ci believed that there was nothing in his thoughts, words, or actions that could not be shared with others, except for one thing he had to hide from everyone: his origins.
He watched Fu impassively and asked, "What does the Marquis of Huating mean by this?"
“Your Highness is exceptionally perceptive; you must know my intentions.”
Zhu Ci had no way of knowing whether this man was bluffing or if he truly possessed some information.
No, the fact that he would ask this means he must already know a significant part of it.
Zhu Ci said cautiously, "I can say nothing about this matter."
Your Highness needn't worry. I am merely momentarily curious; is it not reasonable to exchange a single question for a condition from Your Highness?
Zhu Ci stared at him for a long time before asking, "Before I answer, could the Marquis of Huating tell me how you found out?"
Fu pushed the tea and snacks toward him and said, "The Heavenly Way cycles endlessly without change; even the stars in the heavens have their own trajectories, just like the people on earth."
Fu stopped speaking there, but what he had said was enough to set Zhu Ci's mind wandering.
Stars.. Astrology? Or some other kind of metaphysical method?
Zhu Ci did not fully believe in matters of metaphysics, yet he did not disbelieve in them either.
Back then, he had encountered many strange people and extraordinary events, some things truly could not be explained by science.
He pondered for a long while before saying, "It was a world like a fantasy."
He didn't say where he came from, but he did give a small hint.
Just as Fu said, trading one question for all of his conditions—this deal was simply too good. Even if this pie were poisoned, he would have to test its toxicity.
Fu did not seem to intend to ask further, merely inquiring, "How is it over there?"
Hearing him ask this, Zhu Ci suddenly realized that he rarely reminisced about the past anymore.
There was no time, there was no need.
By this time, the memories had become somewhat blurred. After a long pause, he lowered his eyes and said, "It was very good there; the people lived in peace and prosperity, the country was flourishing.
At this point, he let out a sigh.
This sigh was too heavy; even Fu Cai remained silent for a long time before speaking, "A time of peace and prosperity.."
Zhu Ci said nothing, he did not speak again, until the person sent to fetch the rockets returned, finally breaking the silence in the room.
“Marquis Fu, let's go. Let's see if those rockets are worth the great price you paid.”
Fu rose and walked out of the cabin with him.
Only then did Zhu Ci realize that Fu was tall and thin, roughly estimated to be at least 1.85 meters, perhaps even 1.9 meters. In ancient times, a height like that would make him stand head and shoulders above the crowd.
Well, Zhu Ci was also one of those mountains at this moment; he had to look up just to speak to Fu Chunsheng!
He could only be grateful that their discussion just now had taken place while seated inside the cabin. Although the other party sat slightly taller than him, it was at least limited; it wasn't like now, where standing together made him feel as though his momentum was being sapped.
For the time that followed, Zhu Ci spent most of his time fixing his gaze upon the sea, even while speaking, he tried his best not to look at Fu.
There was nothing he could do; the other person was nearly twenty centimeters taller than him, even if Fu was thin, his frame was still substantial. Comparing the two, the other person could likely envelop him entirely; whenever he stood beside him, his presence seemed to diminish, if he had to look up to speak, there was truly nothing left to discuss.
Fortunately, the power of the rockets truly saved some of Zhu Ci's dignity.
The Single-shot Rocket and Fire-Dragon Water-Spout were both fine; the improvements made to them were in success rate and accuracy rather than power, so the changes weren't that obvious. However, the Swarm of Bees was a different story.
The biggest problem with cluster rockets like the Swarm of Bees before they were improved was that the rockets would easily collide with each other inside the launch tube, causing erratic trajectories; furthermore, rockets would be ignited by the backdraft of adjacent rockets, causing them to fall and explode prematurely.
In this situation, the coverage range of the cluster rocket was highly unpredictable, even if the coverage range were large, it would be useless as the striking power was insufficient.
When Zhu Ci improved them, he installed hexagonal partitions inside the arrow tubes, much like a honeycomb, so that the Single-shot Rockets would not interfere with each other. There was no need to continue improving the Single-shot Rockets; the improved versions would suffice.
In addition, adjustable brackets were installed, allowing the angle to be adjusted according to the required range.
To put it simply, because of the previous improvements, modifying the Swarm of Bees was much easier and required very little effort, yet the results were the most effective.
When the Swarm of Bees was ignited and exploded across the surface of the sea, Zhu Ci even heard the sound of people gasping in shock, as the collective intake of breath from so many people was not a small sound.
Indeed, it is quite good.
Fu's voice sounded relatively steady.
He lowered his head slightly to look at Zhu Ci; from this angle, one could faintly see a layer of fine fuzz on the other's face, which still retained a bit of baby fat.
Under the sunlight, that layer of fine fuzz seemed to coat Zhu Ci in a faint glow.
Zhu Ci turned his head slightly and said, "If it weren't good, I wouldn't dare bring it out to trade with the Marquis of Huating."