Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

boom--

Inside the Dongyan Hall, a eunuch was lifted high above Wanyan Wo's head and slammed onto the table.

With a loud crash, the table, unable to withstand such a violent force, was smashed into pieces.

The eunuch, upon being thrown, immediately coughed up blood and was on the verge of death.

All around were eunuchs and guards lying on the ground, groaning in pain.

"Damn it, is your Song emperor really so untrustworthy?"

He kicked a eunuch in the stomach repeatedly, cursing as he did so.

"My Great Jin Dynasty, seeing how pitiful you sheep are, finally showed a sliver of compassion and wanted to establish a marriage alliance with you. But what have you done?"

"How dare you mock this prince! Had I known this would happen, my great Jin warriors should have stormed into Bianliang and captured all of you untrustworthy rulers and ministers, taking you to the north!"

The scene unfolded because the Song state suddenly reneged on its promise and refused to give Zhao Fujin to Wanyan Wo for a marriage alliance.

This was a great insult to Wanyan Wo, not because he liked Zhao Fujin.

On the contrary, he had no feelings for Zhao Fujin whatsoever. All he wanted was to humiliate the Song royal family and extort a large sum of money from them, thus weakening the power of Bianliang City. Then, once the ships were completed, he would storm into Bianliang in one fell swoop.

After spending this time together, Wanyan Wo had come to realize that Zhao Ji was a weak and easily bullied ruler, and that his ministers were also mostly cowardly.

The more pressure I put on them, the more afraid I become of myself.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Ji refused to bestow Princess Fujin upon him this time, completely violating the original agreement.

He grew angrier the more he thought about it, and grabbed a guard, roaring, "Take me to see your dog emperor!"

The guard, whose face was bruised and swollen from being beaten, pleaded, "Your Highness, please calm down. His Majesty is currently discussing matters with his ministers and does not have time to see you at the moment."

"I want to see him, and he dares to make excuses? Lead the way!"

Wanyan Wo kicked him in the back, forcing the guard to walk toward the palace where Zhao Ji was.

……

At this moment, inside the conference hall, Cai Yuanchang, accompanied by Zhou Xianwu, was negotiating an arms deal with Shen Lang.

"Duke Zhenguo, His Majesty has already inspected your country's firearms and is very satisfied with them. He has specially ordered me to come and discuss the matter with you."

Facing this decisive and ruthless emperor of the Great Chu, Cai Yuanchang was extremely humble, fearing that he might inadvertently anger him.

Shen Lang smiled without saying a word, and Ban Dingyuan, who was sitting next to him, immediately spoke on Shen Lang's behalf: "Minister Cai, regarding the agreement on the arms procurement..."

I already made things very clear to Lord Zhou before I came. Do you have any further objections?

Cai Yuanchang cupped his hands in greeting and replied, "I am somewhat familiar with the relevant loan agreements, but when will the loan provided by your country be delivered?"

Upon hearing this, Ban Dingyuan looked at Zhou Xianwu behind Cai Yuanchang with a half-smile.

Zhou Xianwu said to Cai Yuanchang, "Prime Minister Cai, the so-called military loan from Chu refers to the provision of military equipment by Chu in lieu of real gold and silver."

"What do you mean?" Cai Yuanzhang asked, somewhat confused. "What do you mean by 'military weapons replacing real gold and silver'?"

Zhou Xianwu: "That's right, the State of Chu is willing to provide us with ten million taels of silver worth of weapons and has provided a purchase order with the prices of the relevant firearms clearly marked on it."

What kind of firearms, quantities, and ammunition our Great Song Dynasty needs to purchase can all be negotiated with the Chu Kingdom in advance.

The Chu Kingdom will produce the munitions and deliver them to us within the specified time.

Then, a certain amount will be deducted from the price on the purchase order, until all ten million taels of silver are spent.

"I see."

In this way, Cai Yuanchang finally understood that Chu's so-called military aid was based on the same principle as his own hype of the Song Dynasty's precious paper money back then.

The only difference is that his own speculation on the Baochao banknotes led to the complete bankruptcy of the already shaky credit of the Baochao banknotes.

However, in the State of Chu, the practice of taking goods first and paying later still required the payment in cash when the repayment deadline arrived.

Although he couldn't directly receive real money, Cai Yuanchang felt somewhat regretful.

But then I thought, what if I got this weaponry and then sold it at a high price?

Wouldn't that allow us to reap even greater profits?

Armaments worth ten million taels could be sold for twenty or even thirty million taels in one's own hands.

Once the repayment deadline arrives, not only can they make up for the debt, but they can also make a fortune from it.

If it really works, then I might be able to go into the arms trade in the future.

After figuring out the enormous profits involved, Cai Yuanchang's smile grew even wider.

"Many thanks to the Duke of Zhenguo for extending a helping hand to the Great Song Dynasty. I have no objection to the proposal for arms procurement."

Shen Lang immediately understood what Cai Yuanchang was planning when he saw the calculating look in Cai Yuanchang's eyes.

But it doesn't matter. If you can supply weapons to the whole continent, you'll actually be doing yourself a big favor.

He was also worried about how to stimulate the further development of the military industry.

"Since there are no objections, the arms procurement agreement is settled. The only requirement is that my Chu Kingdom sign and stamp the agreement."

"It is imperative that the Emperor Zhao personally order the marriage of Princess Fujin to Prince Su; this cannot be changed."

Cai Yuanchang hurriedly said, "Please rest assured, Duke Zhenguo, Princess Fujin and His Highness Prince Su are in love with each other. His Majesty would never do anything to separate the lovers."

"Then I will wait quietly in the official residence for His Majesty's decree."

After Shen Lang finished speaking, he didn't even bother to look at Cai Yuanchang's face, and pulled Ban Dingyuan away from the meeting hall.

As the two exited the palace gate and boarded the carriage, a servant suddenly ran over from around the corner in the distance.

The instant the carriage wheel turned, he tossed an exquisite wooden box into the curtain.

"Duke Zhenguo, be careful!"

Ban Dingyuan looked at the wooden box that had fallen to his feet and thought it was a trap, so he immediately stepped forward to protect Shen Lang.

"No need."

Shen Lang waved his hand, signaling Ban Dingyuan not to panic.

"Pick it up and take a look."

Seeing Shen Lang's resolute attitude, Ban Dingyuan finally breathed a sigh of relief and picked up the wooden box.

"Good weight."

The wooden box was heavier than I had imagined.

Ban Dingyuan carefully opened the wooden box lid.

What came into view were ingots of gold, each weighing ten taels.

On the lid of the wooden box were several land deeds, which were properties that Cai Yuanchang had established in the territory of Chu in his early years.

"Duke Zhenguo, this..."

"Don't worry about it. Since he wants to give it to us, let's go with the flow and accept it. Just remember to make a list and prepare a receipt, so that Liu Wu, that deadpan face, won't accuse us of embezzlement and bribery later."

Shen Lang's expression remained unchanged. After ordering Ban Dingyuan to put away the wooden box, he closed his eyes to rest.

The carriage moved slowly, and after about 15 minutes, it finally returned to the inn.

As a result, the two had just gotten off the carriage when they encountered Wanyan Wo, who had been waiting for them for a long time.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Wanyan Wu immediately asked Shen Lang loudly, "May I ask, are you the Emperor of Great Chu, the Duke of Zhenguo?"

Shen Lang strode down from the carriage and asked coldly, "I am Shen Lang. What business do you have with me?"

Wanyan Wo immediately placed his left hand on his chest and respectfully said to Shen Lang, "As expected of the Emperor of Great Chu, I am Wanyan Wo, the fourth prince of Jin Kingdom. I greet you."

Shen Lang glanced around, then waved his hand and said, "Let's go inside and talk."