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

They went down the stone steps. Although it was an underground palace, there was no dampness or musty smell. The air was fresh, as if it had a natural air circulation system.

Although Xiao Ce didn't know how he did it.

At this moment, he became thoroughly curious.

Once inside, it's a completely different world, about the size of an entire manor.

Inside were many lumps of iron machinery.

Eliza then began to introduce these machines.

After listening to Eliza's introduction, Xiao Ce was so shocked that he couldn't speak.

The reason is simple: this underground palace was divided into individual rooms, and inside were the most advanced machines in the West, such as lathes.

Eliza said the entire underground palace could accommodate five thousand people working at the same time.

These machines and lathes are perfectly capable of producing weapons…

Within a month of starting construction, enough weapons could be produced for an army of 50,000.

As long as this place can be kept running, there will be no shortage of ammunition or anything else.

In other words, if production is carried out ahead of schedule, weapons for any number of armies can be produced.

Moreover, Eliza said that this place has all kinds of weapon raw materials, enough to equip 100,000 people.

After hearing this, Boudica and Xiao Ce both felt their scalps tingle.

They did consider the issue; they considered operating through the Roman Empire.

However, there is indeed a time issue with transporting goods from East Asia.

Furthermore, Xiao Yang also mentioned that while the Roman Empire wasn't very strict about gun control, stockpiling large quantities of firearms could result in severe penalties if caught…

It wasn't that he was afraid of being sentenced; his main concern was about the weapons he had worked so hard to acquire.

It would be such a waste if they were detained.

Those military factories were all controlled by powerful families.

They're not for sale at all.

Private individuals are not allowed to operate such businesses, and if you want to buy them on the black market, the prices are not only high.

It's not very realistic to equip an army with that, and they could easily report it.

After all, these black markets are actually controlled by those twelve families.

From a certain perspective, it's simply a matter of fighting fire with fire.

Moreover, the local tyrant might just be an unknown underling of a large family.

Therefore, Xiao Ce had been thinking about the military factory. Because, back in Lingas City, it was indeed something that could be solved with money.

However, once they leave Lingas City, if they want to deal with those people from the British Empire...

Therefore, weapons must be used.

Although he has now connected with John Jonard, there are still rules they follow: they cannot openly support armed groups that launch coups.

Of course, they may also have ways to provide covert support.

However, John Jonard was no good. If you asked him for help with something so important, you were sure to get ripped off.

However, since we haven't even established a foothold here yet, thinking about this is clearly too far off.

Xiao Ce disliked worrying unnecessarily.

Therefore, I didn't think about this issue in detail.

But now, to my utter surprise, they've sent one over directly.

This generous gift is indeed hard to refuse.

Eliza then looked at the two men and said, "Miss Boudica, these machines came as parts, and the two gentlemen later found a professional to assemble them. Absolutely no one knows anything about it."

"Furthermore, they've left several installers, repairmen, and instructors here... So, all we need to do is find some trustworthy people to teach them how to manufacture it. I don't think there's any problem with safety. Miss Boudica, you'll definitely want to reclaim everything that's rightfully yours in the future. There are ways to do that then, but the military factories of various countries are mostly controlled by the royal families, and a few are within the Twelve Families. However, they won't provide weapons for the civil war... If you don't have weapons, negotiating with them is useless..."

Boudica was also hesitant to make a decision on this matter, and instead looked at Xiao Ce questioningly.

Xiao Ce didn't even think about it: "Grandma Eliza is absolutely right! Since they dare to give these, why shouldn't we accept them... Besides, these are all treasures..."

"Only with a strong gun can you stand tall, you know?"

Boudica asked Xiao Ce, "Ce, do you know those two gentlemen?"

Xiao Ce shook his head.

Boudica looked at Eliza with a puzzled expression.

Eliza said, "Miss Boudica, don't overthink it. He must have his reasons for doing this. But after everything I've been through, I've come to realize one thing: everything has two sides. If the good outweighs the bad, why not choose the good?"

"Besides, we haven't seen any downsides yet. Let's make the most of it. We shouldn't worry about things that haven't happened yet..."

“Let’s start using them. Maybe they’re attracted to your status and experience… Just like Kimberly, go ask Kimberly why those two gentlemen are helping them. I’m sure he doesn’t know…”

Listening to what Granny Eliza said, Xiao Ce still felt that what the old woman said made a lot of sense.

"Grandma Eliza, we'll accept this!"

Eliza nodded and then looked at Boudica.

Boudica said to Granny Eliza, "I will obey! This is a gift for him."

Eliza was clearly very interested in Xiao Ce.

Having seen countless people, she naturally recognized Xiao Ce's extraordinary qualities.

However, Eliza's upbringing naturally prevented her from asking such a direct question.

"Mr. Ce, do you still want to inspect the gate from here?"

Xiao Ce shook his head: "No need."

Xiao Ce knew nothing about these things; if someone from the Heavenly Mystery Institute came, they would probably consider it a treasure.

However, that was before; they might have developed even more advanced machines.

As they walked out, Xiao Ce continued to ask Eliza, "Grandma Eliza, are there still no workers in charge of production here, only technicians?"

Eliza nodded: "That's right, Mr. Ce. However, we have more than a hundred servants in our entire estate. These servants are all handpicked by me and are people I can absolutely trust. They have all been trained and are already skilled in production."

"However, since I have no orders, I do not dare to make decisions on my own. I only do so when they are training."

As Xiao Ce spoke, they left the underground palace.

Once up there, Xiao Ce asked Eliza, "By the way, Eliza, what kind of weapons can you produce here? I didn't know..."

Eliza said that she could have someone show him the weapons that had been produced later...

Just then, a servant came over and said to Eliza.

Kimberly is back and looking for them.

Xiao Ce then asked Eliza, "Grandma Eliza, does Kimberly know about this?"

Eliza shook her head: "Of course not."

Xiao Ce continued, "Grandma Eliza, may I tell him?"

Eliza glanced at Boudica subconsciously, but Boudica didn't seem to care at all.

She was now certain that Boudica obeyed the extraordinary man before her in everything.

Eliza then said to Xiao Ce, "Mr. Ce, this is your decision. If you wish, you can open it to the public directly..."

Upon hearing Eliza's comment, Xiao Ce laughed and said, "There's absolutely no need for that..."

As he spoke, Xiao Ce told Eliza to go and take a look at the weapons they could produce.

Eliza then sent people to prepare, and then walked towards Kimberley.

It's clear that Kimberly's attitude towards Xiao Ce has improved considerably.

It was obvious that the two masked men had told Kimberly something.

It was definitely a masked man, because apart from the eldest gentleman, the second gentleman didn't say anything at all.

"Mr. Ce, are you just taking a stroll around here?" Kimberly asked.

Xiao Ce nodded.

Kimberly smiled and said, "So, have you thought it through and are you going to accept it?"

Xiao Ce looked at Kimberly: "Did they tell you something?"

Kimberly smiled and nodded. "That's right. They told me to try my best to persuade you to accept it. They also assured me that there's no ulterior motive; it's just a special gift for you. So you don't feel pressured. If they need your help, they'll contact you separately..."

Xiao Ce nodded: "They overestimate me. They put some things here that I couldn't refuse. How could I possibly refuse?"

Kimberly looked at Xiao Ce with a puzzled expression.

Xiao Ce was already certain just by looking at Kimberly's expression.

Kimberly was unaware of the military factory in the underground palace.

"You don't know yet, do you? There's a hidden world below this place."

Kimberly asked in confusion, "There's an underground palace too?"

Xiao Ce nodded and then recounted what had just happened.

Xiao Ce spoke without any apparent burden.

Kimberly looked very uneasy as he listened.

Xiao Ce smiled at Kimberly and said, "Mr. Kimberly, why do you have that expression when you hear that?"

Kimberly gave an awkward smile: "This matter is far too important. The two gentlemen didn't even tell me, probably for safety reasons. Do you trust me that much?"

Xiao Ce didn't trust Kimberly that much, nor did he trust him blindly.

He made this decision after careful consideration.

After all, if we want to mass-produce weapons in the future, we will inevitably need to purchase a large amount of raw materials, and if we want to keep these raw materials secret, we will inevitably have to go through Kimberley, the local bigwig.

Telling him now is an act of trust.

I'll tell him later; it was something I had to do out of necessity, something I only did after I had used him.

Although he thought this in his heart, Xiao Ce would definitely say it politely.

“Mr. Jin, you are the first benefactor I’ve encountered since arriving in Lingas City… Why wouldn’t I trust you? Besides, you were the one who introduced these two men to me… They didn’t try to hide anything from you; they simply forgot…”

Kimberly gave an awkward smile: "Mr. Ce, please don't flatter me, Lian Shan. Before, I did think it was me who introduced you... but now it seems my two elder brothers had their eyes on you all along..."

Xiao Ce recalled what the two people had said, and also noted that Boudica's ownership had already been transferred long ago.

"By the way, Mr. Jin, have you ever seen what they look like?" Xiao Ce asked casually.

Kimberly shook his head: "I've only met these two brothers a few times. And the situation is pretty much the same as yours, like a pie falling from the sky."

Xiao Ce nodded, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Kimberly said to Xiao Ce, "Mr. Ce, the things my two elder brothers entrusted to me, they followed my instructions and can't tell you... However, there's one thing you can rest assured about: it's all for your benefit and won't harm you in any way..."

Kimberly said to Xiao Ce, "To be honest, I even suspect that you did them a favor, and that's why they've come to repay it..."

Xiao Ce looked at Kimberly, becoming increasingly curious.

However, Kimberly has made it very clear that he won't say...

Xiao Ce stopped asking, since it was a good thing anyway.

A short while later, Eliza sent out a row of young Westerners.

They first bowed respectfully to Xiao Ce, saying, "Greetings, Master."

There are ten people in this row.

I thought these people were servants, but it turns out they were all technicians.

Xiao Ce was surprised that these technicians were so young.

After these technicians introduced themselves, it became clear that they all had different research areas.

Then they began to introduce the weapons.

Listening to the technicians' explanations, it became clear that the area already possessed quite a few advanced rifles, as well as various models of submachine guns, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Even sniper rifles were available, though their range was limited. However, the range of rifles, on the other hand, was significantly greater…

As for the bombs here, Xiao Ce still felt they weren't as good as the ones they made.

After they finished their introductions, they stared at Xiao Ce in a daze, not saying a word.

He was even grinning foolishly.

"Mr. Ce, are you... alright?" Eliza thought Xiao Ce was happy to see the guns.

In reality, Xiao Ce was thinking about other things.

Because these firearms are not easy to manufacture, and the manufacturing process is very advanced, judging from the machines and lathes we just saw, the conditions for their production are already in place here.

All they lack are blueprints.

Xiao Ce had always dreamed of owning a Maxim, an AK-47, and a 98k sniper rifle, and he had actually studied them thoroughly.

In his previous life, he often went to shooting ranges to disassemble and maintain firearms, so he was quite familiar with these things.

The Tianji Academy had these blueprints, and he tried to have them recreate them by hand. However, due to the significant lag in materials and craftsmanship, even if they managed to recreate something similar by hand, it would be difficult to achieve the desired result.

They were either far inferior in performance or not durable enough to withstand a few shots, but now with these devices, things are different.