Deposed Crown Prince: After three years of service on the frontier, the entire court knelt and begge

Xiao Tao clearly did not trust Xiao Xiangqing's one-sided account.

However, they were still very curious about the firearms that Xiao Xiangqing mentioned.

After all, just hearing about firearms sounded impressive, and he always felt that what they were saying was an exaggeration.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xiangqing gave an awkward smile.

He had only heard Mr. Qianlong talk about it; he had never actually seen it.

Therefore, he was not sure whether this matter was true or false, let alone whether he actually possessed such a thing!

Seeing that Xiao Xiangqing hadn't taken any action, Xiao Tao said, "Eighth Brother, what's going on? You don't have it, do you... Since you have connections to buy it, you can't be unable to produce it, can you?"

Cai Man continued, speaking to Xiao Xiangqing, "Yes, Eighth Prince, what you've described is indeed tempting. But it sounds like something out of a storybook... it's really hard to believe. If you can produce these things, I'll have no objections and will do as you wish..."

"However, if you can't produce anything, then... you'll have made a wasted trip!"

Xiao Xiangqing subconsciously looked at Mr. Qianlong beside her.

Mr. Qianlong slowly walked out and said to Xiao Xiangqing, "Since we've come here, we've come with sincerity, and what we say is true! We will naturally fulfill all our promises to you!"

Just then, Mr. Qianlong said, "I would like to trouble you all to move outside the military tent..."

Upon hearing Mr. Qianlong's words, Xiao Xiangqing's face clearly showed a hint of nervousness.

He wanted to say something, but Mr. Qianlong stopped him with a look.

At this moment, Xiao Tao and Cai Man met Mr. Qianlong and he spoke, appearing very confident.

It seems this story is definitely not unfounded.

Just then, Xiao Tao, Cai Man, and a large group of ministers followed them out...

Mr. Qianlong then spoke to Xiao Tao again, asking them to go to the carriage and retrieve a box from a hidden compartment underneath.

However, they must be careful and handle things with care, no matter what.

Although Xiao Tao did not understand Mr. Qianlong's true purpose, he still did as he was told.

A short while later, two soldiers carried a box over without much effort.

This box is smaller than a regular box, and it has a lock on it.

Mr. Qianlong took a key from his waist and opened the box.

If Xiao Ce were here, he would recognize what was inside at a glance.

It contained some bombs and some guns that looked like flintlock pistols.

However, this gun is clearly different from Xiao Ce's repeating firearm.

"These are the firearms I was talking about... Fourth Prince, I will now demonstrate them to you."

Xiao Tao and Cai Man naturally agreed.

Perhaps for the sake of visual impact, Mr. Qianlong had them bring in some livestock.

First, they used their long spears, and then, from a hundred meters away, they shot and killed a sheep with a single shot.

Then came a gun that looked like a shotgun. At short range, it was aimed at a flock of sheep not far away, and one shot killed or wounded more than ten sheep.

Finally, there were the bombs. Their bombs were significantly different from the wooden-handled grenades Xiao Ce had.

These bombs were considerably larger, and appeared to be made of iron.

Mr. Qianlong once again used a flock of sheep as the basis for his experiment.

It was a bomb that killed dozens of sheep.

Meanwhile, the sound of the bomb attracted the attention of many people.

Even the two people resting and waiting to be summoned in one of the tents heard this sound and subconsciously went outside the tent to take a look.

...

Mr. Qianlong uses living creatures as targets, which creates a strong visual impact.

Especially the last few bombs, which blew up all the sheep, leaving none intact.

No one present was a fool.

In any battle between two armies, such weapons would be used.

Then the destructive power is enormous.

This scene clearly shows that what they said was true.

When Xiao Xiangqing saw that Mr. Qianlong was still holding back this trick, his expression was indescribably delightful...

"Fourth brother, see... I didn't lie to you. We said we came with sincerity! We came to help you... Now you believe us, right?"

"If you rush over rashly, even though you outnumber them, do you have any chance of winning against a fully armed force of five thousand men?"

They fell silent. If a thousand-man suicide squad were to carry these bombs, it could severely cripple their army.

At this very opportune moment, a smile appeared on Xiao Tao's face, his mouth agape in a wide grin.

"Eighth Brother, it's not that I don't trust you. Of course I know you're doing this for our own good; otherwise, we wouldn't have met with you, would we?"

"Come...come...please come in, please come in." Cai Man changed his expression and warmly invited them in.

They entered the military tent.

Xiao Tao cut to the chase and said, "Eighth Brother, we agree to your proposal to withdraw the troops!"

Xiao Xiangqing nodded and smiled, "Fourth Imperial Brother, I knew you were a smart man..."

Xiao Tao continued, "However, there are some things we need to make clear!"

Xiao Xiangqing said to Xiao Tao, "Fourth brother, what do you say..."

"You're right that Xiao Ce is incredibly powerful; he's become a dominant force thanks to those weapons. And you now possess similarly powerful weapons... You even have purchasing channels. Although you've offered to sell them to us, you haven't specified the quantity or price..."

"I'm saying, what if... what if... you offer an exorbitant price, or sell us dozens or even a hundred of them... then, forget about Xiao Ce! With these weapons, you can just do whatever you want to us..."

Xiao Tao had a smiling face, but he was clearly very meticulous.

These words were clearly beyond Xiao Xiangqing's comprehension...

Mr. Qianlong said, "Your Highness, your worries are unnecessary... If we had such intentions, we wouldn't have come to find you, would we?"

Cai Man chimed in, "Sir, you're right! We certainly know your sincerity... and we can't be unaware of it either! However, the risks His Highness mentioned do exist... So, I think since this is a collaboration, let's lay everything out in the open beforehand, so that our cooperation can proceed smoothly..."

After listening to Cai Man's words, Mr. Qianlong smiled and said, "Not bad...not bad...you're right! Then, I'll also promise you that as long as we cooperate, I will be absolutely transparent about the prices. And, however much we buy, you'll buy the same amount..."

"Actually, this weapon is indeed powerful. However, once both sides have this weapon, the gap won't be so large. At that point, it will be a battle of manpower... Therefore, we need to cooperate."

"What I'm thinking is that, when the time comes, we won't need to unify the world. Dividing the world equally would be a wonderful thing... We wouldn't have to fight each other... Don't you think so?"

Cai Man listened and nodded with a smile: "Okay... If you can abide by what you said, then we agree to cooperate... However, there is one condition: that you can be honest!"

After listening to Cai Man's words, Mr. Qianlong nodded repeatedly: "Of course! We can draw up a document."

Xiao Xiangqing nodded.

At this moment, Xiao Tao displayed remarkable composure.

"No need...no need...If you want to comply, you can do so without written documents. If you don't want to comply, writing ten or a hundred documents will be useless and futile!"

Xiao Xiangqing nodded in agreement: "That's right, let's settle this with practical matters!"

As Xiao Xiangqing spoke, she noticed that it was getting late and they still had something to do.

In other words, they didn't linger.

He cupped his hands in greeting and said to Xiao Tao, "Fourth Brother, since we've reached an agreement, I won't waste any more time... We'll settle this later. I still need to go find Xiao Zhan; if we can persuade him to come back, then we will..."

After hearing Xiao Xiangqing's words, Xiao Tao didn't waste any more words and agreed with a smile. "Alright! Then I'll have to trouble you, Eighth Brother! We'll set off at dawn tomorrow to go back!"

Xiao Xiangqing nodded happily, "Okay, we'll discuss it together then!"

After they reached an agreement, Xiao Tao was still very polite and led his group to see them off.

After seeing Xiao Xiangqing off.

They went back.

...

Xiao Xiangqing asked Mr. Qianlong, "Sir, did you see their true colors? Those two are really not trustworthy..."

Mr. Qianlong said calmly, "It's all about mutual exploitation, so what's the point of trust? However, as long as the benefits continue, we can maintain a harmonious cooperation..."

Xiao Xiangqing nodded: "So, are we really going to sell those firearms to them?"

Mr. Qianlong nodded: "Of course, we have a common enemy, so arming them is also a form of protection for us."

Xiao Xiangqing nodded.

Xiao Xiangqing remained suspicious of Xiao Tao.

In fact, Xiao Tao also harbored suspicions about Xiao Xiangqing...

Back in their tent, they began to talk: "Gentlemen, what do you think?"

Cai Man said, "Judging from their words, they're telling the truth! They also believe they're no match for Xiao Ce, which is why they need to win us over. After all, it's clear that the only way we can survive against Xiao Ce is by sticking together!"

Wu Wenjin, Xiao Tao's uncle who commanded 200,000 Central Plains troops and had remained silent until now, spoke up: "I'm starting to doubt whether that good-for-nothing is really that powerful. If he were that powerful, why would he always present himself as a good-for-nothing... Is there something he doesn't want to show his face?"

Xiao Tao then spoke up, "Uncle, actually, regarding that good-for-nothing Xiao Ce..."

Xiao Tao paused, gave a bitter smile, and then said, "It seems like 'useless' can't describe me anymore..."

"It's Xiao Ce. I suspected him before... After all, there are so many rumors circulating, and although it seems like Xiao Ce suffered a setback, no matter what the situation, the one who ultimately benefits is always him..."

Cai Man nodded: "That's right, this matter is already a done deal! Xiao Ce must have found a way to buy those firearms... Now that Xiao Xiangqing and the others have connections and can sell them to us, it wouldn't hurt for us to cooperate. As long as we share the benefits, let's cooperate for now... If the benefits disappear, we can still stop cooperating, right?"

"By then, our army will be fully equipped... so we'll have nothing to fear..."

Wu Wenjin listened to Cai Man's words and nodded approvingly.

Just then, Xiao Tao said, "Military Advisor Cai, have we forgotten about someone?"

Upon hearing this, Cai Man suddenly remembered that there were two other people waiting for them...

"Your Highness, do you still wish to see him?"

Xiao Tao nodded and then said, "Of course... Since we're here, we should naturally go and meet them... For us, it's our initiative now!"

Cai Man nodded.

Wu Wenjin then said, "You have important business to attend to, so you can go see them. I'll excuse myself."

Xiao Tao waved his hand and said to Wu Wenjin, "Uncle, you're being too formal. You're not an outsider... Besides, do you know who we're meeting? Shouldn't you excuse yourself?"

Wu Wenjin became interested when he heard Xiao Tao say that.

"Oh? Your Highness, who do you wish to see?"

Xiao Tao said to Wu Wenjin, "Uncle, you'll never guess who this person is!"

Wu Wenjin looked at Xiao Tao strangely.

Xiao Tao then ordered his men to bring the two men over.

A short while later, two men dressed in black, completely covered up, walked in.

Upon seeing the two people, Wu Wenjin sized them up.

However, the two of them were wrapped up like rice dumplings, making it impossible to recognize who they were.

After the two people came in, they subconsciously glanced at Cai Man and Wu Wenjin.

Before the two could speak, Xiao Tao guessed their concerns.

Without saying a word, he said, "Gentlemen, don't worry, these two are none other than you. Let me introduce them to you."

Without waiting for a reply, Xiao Tao introduced himself: "This is my teacher since childhood, and also my strategist, Cai Man. He is the person I trust most!"

Xiao Tao continued, "This is my uncle, Wu Wenjin, the commander of the Central Plains Army. You should be familiar with him!"

The leader of the group, dressed in black, said, "Since that's the case, then we won't keep you in suspense any longer! You should all recognize me, right?"