Wang Xuance jogged up the mountain, wanting to report the situation, but saw a group of big shots including Fang Er, Li Xiaogong, and Li Shimin. He couldn't figure out who to report to and awkwardly scratched his head, looking to Fang Er for instruction.
"Just tell me directly," Li Shimin said unhappily, seeing his hesitant look.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"It has been discovered that all the bandits have gathered at the Five Peaks of Mount Ni. Please give your orders."
"Orders my foot! Charge with the entire army, full firepower! Do not let a single one escape!"
Li Shimin was already impatient. After wiping out these mountain bandits, the next step would be to directly march the army to the Confucius family in Qufu! No matter how much the Confucius family tried to explain, they wouldn't be able to clear their names with so many bandits around Mount Ni!
"Yes!"
Shortly after Wang Xuance turned to leave, thunderous sounds came from below the mountain.
From three hovercrafts, six rocket launchers fired simultaneously.
"Swish swish swish swish~~~"
The four peaks evenly received a baptism of rockets. In just one salvo, 132 rockets were fired! At the same time, six machine guns also aimed at the four peaks. The shells ejected from the machine guns, trailing flames, flew like the scythes of death, their orange-red trajectories appearing in the air.
Everyone on the main peak of Mount Ni was shocked! Li Shimin, Li Xiaogong, Li Ji, and Liu Hongji were all seeing the might of hovercrafts for the first time. They all opened their mouths wide, disbelieving their eyes. Before they could react, the four peaks seemed to shake as if the earth were moving. Countless rocks flew out, trees were tossed about, and the mangled limbs of bandits were thrown up by the blast wave. Smoke, blood,碎石 (broken stones), and wood chips painted a bloody picture in the sky above the impact points!
"Your boat costs thirty million guan each?" Li Shimin's eyes widened like a bull's as he looked at Fang Er. "Damn it, let alone thirty million, even one hundred million would be worth it! With this one salvo, if it were used in a battle between two armies, it could wipe out over ten thousand men! With such terrifying firepower, Li Shimin knew that even if he brought the most elite soldiers of the Great Tang, he would have no chance of winning. It's too awesome!"
"Ah, yes!" Fang Er nodded mechanically, but inwardly cursed Wang Xuance to the high heavens. "Damn it, just because Li Shimin casually mentioned it, this guy actually opened fire at full capacity. Young people really lack experience! Look, Old Li's eyes have turned green now!"
"Kid, don't say I'm bullying you. Sell me two, and keep one for yourself, alright?" Li Shimin stepped forward, ignoring his royal dignity, and put his arm around Fang Er's shoulder, smiling.
"Two boats are sixty million guan. If I remember correctly, the national treasury only has the recently collected national debt, right?" Fang Er spread his hands helplessly. "To tell you the truth, for these three boats, I've emptied my coffers and am still in debt."
The moment the hovercrafts fired, he had foreseen this outcome. Such a killing weapon, if in his own hands, any emperor would not feel at ease. This thing is not on the same level as firearms and cannons! If one round like this were fired outside Chang'an city, the Great Tang might be destroyed in minutes.
"We'll owe it first! Don't worry, I'm an elder, I won't welch on your debt." Compared to the allure of the hovercrafts, the mountain bandits meant nothing to Li Shimin at this moment!
Fang Er dejectedly squatted on the ground, took a cigar from his pocket, took out a lighter, and paused for a long time without lighting it. He then said, "I still need to save money to buy milk powder and diapers for my son. If you keep owing me like this, I'll have to sell my house to get money! Also, the national treasury still owes me several million guan and hasn't repaid it. The railway was also funded by me on behalf of the Ministry of Revenue, which would cost at least tens of millions of guan, even hundreds of millions of guan. I can't afford to defer any longer!"
Li Shimin snatched the lighter from Fang Er's hand and adopted a fawning posture. He cupped his left hand to block the wind and lit the lighter with his right hand, then brought it close to Fang Er's mouth and smiled. "Hahaha, here, I'll light it for you. It's nothing. Tell me, do you want mines, land, or people! As long as you ask, I'll agree. How about letting Changle be your concubine?"
At these words, Li Xiaogong, Li Ji, and Liu Hongji were all stunned. The most beloved imperial princess was being offered as a concubine for a boat? The soldiers guarding them fled the mountaintop as if they had heard something. "My god, this scene, this conversation, is definitely not something we can stay and overhear!"
Fang Er directly plopped onto the ground, startled by Li Shimin. "Oh, why are you so careless? Get up quickly, are your legs numb? Come, sit down and talk. The ground is dirty, take this to cushion your butt." Li Shimin quickly pulled Fang Er up and was about to take off his cloak.
"No! No! Please don't do that, I wouldn't dare even if I had nine heads," Fang Er quickly waved his hands in refusal. What a joke, that cloak was embroidered with a five-clawed golden dragon, and was it something that could be used to cushion his butt? If he actually sat on it, wouldn't that be like sitting in shit!
"Hahaha, yes, yes, yes, I forgot about this. Old Ninth, take off your clothes and let Anzhi use them to cushion the ground!" Li Shimin, seeing that the dragon's tail on the edge of his cloak was unsuitable, pulled Li Xiaogong and was about to tear off his military uniform.
Fang Er refused a thousand times, but could not dissuade him. He was pressed on the shoulders and sat down on Li Xiaogong's clothes. "Damn it! That old fellow is too shameless! His calculation is too shrewd. If Changle were married as a concubine, he would probably not receive even a single copper from the sixty million guan. He would definitely seize it as a betrothal gift!"
Taking a puff of the cigar, smelling its faint fragrance, he was speechless at Li Shimin's suggestion! Li Shimin said concubine! Not wife! This was simply an unprecedented event! How to respond? The dignified princess is to be your concubine, and you don't want her? Who are you looking down on? Looking down on Changle, or looking down on Li Shimin? If he accepted, the sixty million guan would be gone in an instant!
After thinking for a long time, he slowly exhaled the fading smoke, and looked at Li Shimin with a troubled expression, saying, "Your Majesty, you are determined to kill me with kindness today! For Changle to be a concubine, that is simply impossible, it violates propriety!"
"Then as wife! An equal wife, how about it?" Li Shimin quickly changed his tune. "Since she has to get married anyway, who she marries doesn't matter. This kid is amazing, besides us old Li, he's the most amazing in the Great Tang right now. It wouldn't be a loss for Changle to be his equal wife!"