Given the wealth of the Tang dynasty, how could it not be able to build a heavy infantry formation of several tens of thousands? But sometimes, it wasn't just a problem of money.
Take WuZi Steel for example. While Wang Chong would love to buy a few million jun of it, the problem was that one had to have a huge stockpile and a high production rate!
This was how scarce resources were. Even if one had the money, it was impossible to buy them.
"Iron Cloak Li sure is a reckless waste of resources!"
Without a doubt, Wang Chong knew that Iron Cloak Li must have plundered the high-tier Deep Sea Xuan Metal from the Western Regions and Abbasid Caliphate merchants on the Silk Road.
Even the Tang dynasty didn't have enough high-tier Deep Sea Xuan Metal for themselves, and yet, these Western Regions and Abbasid Caliphate merchants were able to buy it and smuggle it back to their own countries. From this, it could be seen how brazen the trade on the Silk Road was.
As long as there was sufficient profit, there was nothing that couldn't be traded. It was no wonder Elder Zhao and Elder Ye raised this issue during grandfather's birthday banquet.
But upon seeing this metal gate, Wang Chong realized that Elder Zhao and Elder Ye had underestimated this problem. The problem of smuggling on the Silk Road was far more serious than they had thought.
"When I return, I should get the Zhang Clan to send some men to move this gate back and have them forge it into heavy armor. I believe that they should be interested in this matter. Also, I should inform big uncle and The King of Song to investigate this matter. "
Wang Chong thought.
After seeing this metal gate, Wang Chong's interest in anything else disappeared. With this metal gate, Wang Chong's trip wouldn't have been in vain.
But at this moment, no one was aware of Wang Chong's thoughts. In the treasury of the Iron Cloak Highwaymen, everyone was overjoyed.
The treasury of the Iron Cloak Highwaymen was filled with mountains of treasures. Treasures such as sabers, swords, bows, silver, gold, copper, antiques, paintings, agates, pearls, corals... Everything was piled up like a mountain.
Even Xu Gan and Huang Yongtu were dazzled, needless to say, the others.
Bai Siling had already thrown herself onto a pile of riches and screamed. Everyone was shocked by his excitement.
Were all women dragons? Whenever they saw a treasure, they would beam with joy and be extremely excited.
"Unbelievable. There are so many treasures here. There must be at least a few million taels of silver, right?"
As a soldier, Zhang Lin didn't have much of a concept of such things, but he was still shocked by Iron Cloak Li's treasury.
"A few million taels? Commandant Zhang, you forgot to add a zero. These treasures are worth at least ten million taels, and they are all gold. The Hu merchants on the road to the west were all extremely wealthy. Moreover, there were more than ten bandits who had pledged their allegiance to him, and the treasures they offered him added up to at least ten million taels of silver. It's just that some things are hard to sell. "
"Things like calligraphy and paintings, although they are worth that much, it will be hard for you to find buyers. It's troublesome to deal with. However, even after deducting these, there should be at least seven to eight million taels of gold! "
Huang Yongtu said bluntly.
As someone who came from a prestigious clan, he had a broad view of the world. He had seen many things before, and he could see through their value with a single glance. In this aspect, Zhang Lin couldn't even catch up to him.
"Seven to eight million taels?"
Bai Siling sat up from the pile of riches. She was also stunned by the number that Huang Yongtu reported. Even though women were innately drawn to wealth like dragons, how many of them knew how much it was worth?
It was the same for Bai Siling as well.
It was only at this moment that she realized that they had really struck it rich!
The harvest from eliminating a large group of bandits was truly bountiful.
This operation was like a pie falling from the sky. If only they had known that there would be such a generous reward, the students of the Three Great Training Camps would have long fought over it.
"I think that we should take out a million gold taels for this operation as compensation for the soldiers who sacrificed their lives. What do you think? "
Wang Chong suddenly walked in and asked.
"Un."
The group glanced at one another and nodded. The ones who had contributed the most to this operation were the veterans of the Tang dynasty.
If not for them, it would have been impossible for the four of them to reap such a huge harvest. Putting everything else aside, just the bandits of a small stronghold were more than enough to deal with them.
Since Wang Chong wanted to give them a million gold taels, there was nothing anyone could say about it.
After all, the lives of Xu Gan and Huang Yongtu were only saved by the lives of some cavalrymen. The scions of prestigious clans were indeed arrogant, but they weren't completely inhumane.
"We'll do as you say."
Xu Gan and Huang Yongtu said.
Wang Chong nodded. Leaning against the wall of the treasury, he fell silent. He had seen much of the world, so he didn't mind giving a bit more to the cavalrymen who had died in battle.
However, Wang Chong wouldn't do that. He wasn't the only one in the treasury, and not all of the treasures here belonged to him.
Xu Gan, Huang Yongtu, Bai Siling … He could donate his share to them, but he couldn't force the others to do so.
Giving out a million gold taels meant that the family of every soldier who had died in battle would receive 25,000 gold taels. This was already a huge sum of money.
An ordinary family would only spend around ten gold taels a year, and the widows of the fallen soldiers wouldn't have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of their lives.
…
It didn't take long for the inventory in the treasury to be completed. The pearls, agates, treasures, swords, and treasures … Adding everything together, they were worth around 13,000,000 gold taels. Discounting the paintings and antiques that were difficult to sell, there was still around 8,000,000 gold taels left.
Huang Yongtu's estimation was spot on.
As Wang Chong had contributed the most to the group, they gave the largest share to Wang Chong, which was 2,400,000 gold taels.
Xu Gan, Huang Yongtu, Bai Siling, and Zhang Lin each received 1,200,000 gold taels. The remaining 1,200,000 gold taels were distributed to the other surviving cavalrymen.
As for the remaining five million taels of pearls, agate, calligraphy, and antiques, Huang Yongtu took the initiative to take on this responsibility. He decided to use the power of the Huang family to sell these things when he returned.
The final sum was split equally between Wang Chong, Xu Gan, Huang Yongtu, and Bai Siling.
No one expressed any objections to this arrangement.
Everyone had benefited greatly from this operation.
Naturally, Wang Chong didn't say anything about it either.
…
"Wang Chong!"
As night fell and the stars shrouded the mountain, Wang Chong sat alone on the hill, gazing at the night sky. A voice came from behind him.
"Siling?"
A hint of astonishment flashed across Wang Chong's eyes as he looked at Bai Siling.
"Why are you here?"
As he spoke, he stood up.
"Why? Am I not welcome here? "
Bai Siling glared at him coquettishly.
"Of course not!"
With a bitter smile, Wang Chong hurriedly waved his hands. When Bai Siling didn't know his name, she would still hesitate to make a move on him.
However, after that life-and-death battle and learning of Wang Chong's background, Bai Siling no longer had any qualms about making a move on him.
After all, her fighting prowess was on par with Marchioness Yi!
How could Wang Chong possibly be a match for her?
"Hmph, that's more like it."
Only then did Bai Siling's displeasure turn into delight. As she spoke, she tossed a black object the size of a fingernail over.
"This is for you!"
"What is it?"
Wang Chong asked in astonishment. He subconsciously caught the object, and it felt extremely light, as though it was weightless.
"I took it from Iron Cloak Li. He hid it in the gap of his clothes. I took a look at it, but it doesn't suit me. I wanted to pass it to you during the day, but time is tight, and Xu Gan and the others are around as well. "
Bai Siling flicked her wrist casually as she replied.
On the other hand, Wang Chong's heart skipped a beat. Lowering his head, he took a look at the object under the starry sky. It was a thin layer of silk.
The silk was rolled up layer by layer, and it was only as thick as a small tree branch. Through the silk, Wang Chong could vaguely see a small ink stain on it.
Unraveling the silk layer by layer, Wang Chong saw a few words at the top of the silk:
【Iron Cloak Technique】
"It's really this!"
Wang Chong's heart skipped a beat. He subconsciously raised his head, only to see that Bai Siling had already turned her head to the side, revealing her fair neck. Her jade-like fingers were lightly stroking her hair, and her expression seemed a little unnatural.
Perhaps it was his imagination, or perhaps it was the darkness of the night, but Wang Chong felt that Bai Siling's cheeks were a little flushed.
"Why? Actually, even if you didn't give it to me, I wouldn't have told you. "
Wang Chong took the silk and said.
"You knew?"
Bai Siling's heart skipped a beat as she abruptly turned her head to look at Wang Chong in disbelief.
"Of course, I'm not a fool. Iron Cloak Li's Iron Cloak Technique clearly hasn't reached the level of mastery yet. Without mastering the technique, it would be weird if he didn't carry it around with him. Besides, I even saw you lowering your head to search for it! "
Wang Chong rolled his eyes.
"Bastard!"
Bai Siling stomped her feet in anger. Glaring at Wang Chong, she turned around and left.
"Brat, I shouldn't have given it to you!"
Bai Siling's furious voice could still be heard from afar.
"Hehe!"
Wang Chong chuckled softly, and his laughter made one gnash their teeth in anger. But as Bai Siling disappeared, so did his laughter.
Looking in the direction where Bai Siling disappeared, Wang Chong's gaze flickered. Eventually, he sighed deeply and retracted his gaze.
He wasn't a fool. Even a blind man could see through Bai Siling's thoughts. Needless to say, him. But at this moment, he didn't dare to accept it recklessly.
...
The night passed until dawn.
By the time dawn arrived, the royal court's carrier pigeon finally arrived. In truth, the royal court had already sensed that something was amiss when the pigeons didn't return yesterday.
According to the rules, the pigeons with the golden rings on their legs should have flown back after delivering the order. But the pigeons that should have appeared didn't return, and this caught the attention of the royal court.
Thus, the pigeons sent this time around were different from the usual ones.
These pigeons had silver rings on their legs, and they were able to communicate with one another. While the royal court could send a message over, Wang Chong could send a message back as well.
Just this point alone was enough to prove that the royal court had taken notice of this matter.
Zhang Lin was extremely swift. Based on the contents of the pigeon, he swiftly wrote a letter back. He wrote down all the details of the situation here in the letter and sent it over.
The first and second phase of the operation had been completed, but the royal court had yet to send word of the next phase. As such, Zhang Lin was at a loss as to what to do next.
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