In a tavern not far from the entrance of the Fire Temple, Princess Ting was waiting anxiously. The cup in her hand was being turned around.
A strange man suddenly appeared in front of her, smiled slightly, and sat down. Princess Ting raised her head and took a look. She was stunned for a moment, and then asked with a smile: "Have you seen it?"
"Hmm~" The man took the teacup that Princess Ting was playing with, poured himself a cup of tea, and drank it in one gulp.
"Actually..." Princess Ting lowered her head and wanted to say something.
"Ting, stop talking...her and I can never go back..."
"Oh, okay~~"
"I have wronged you all these days..." the man put down the tea cup and said.
Princess Ting shook her head: "It's okay, as long as you are good, it's okay with me..."
"Haha, why do you say this..." The man stretched out his hand and gently scratched Princess Ting's nose, "Let's go home~"
"Okay~~" Princess Ting stood up and took the man's arm. She leaned her head on the man's shoulder, and a strong sense of satisfaction came to her heart...
...
More than ten days passed in the blink of an eye. During these days, Ma Xiaoquan, apart from going to the morning court, went home to chat with Princess Ting.
After these days of contact, Ma Xiaoquan discovered that Princess Ting is a very independent woman. Although she looks weak, she actually has her own opinions.
Especially when the two talked about the Hongzhou rebellion, Princess Ting simply ordered someone to get a topographic map of Hongzhou, and then analyzed some of the topography of Hongzhou to Ma Xiaoquan.
Ma Xiaoquan was very surprised. Logically speaking, women are usually not very interested in war and military affairs, but he did not expect that Princess Ting not only had a good reputation, but also had her own set of analytical theories.
Regardless of whether her analysis was right or wrong, at least to Ma Xiaoquan's ears, it still made sense.
On this day, Ma Xiaoquan and Princess Ting were still discussing the matter of Hongzhou. The two sat opposite each other on the topographic map. Princess Ting pointed to a certain place with a small bamboo branch and said: "This is where the Baiyi tribe was mentioned by the father."
territory......"
Ma Xiaoquan dragged his chin and asked: "Since you know that this is the territory of the Baiyi tribe and that this tribe is the most difficult to deal with, why don't you pull it out first?"
Princess Ting smiled bitterly and shook her head: "My father and I went on an expedition ten years ago, but we returned without success. Not to mention that our people are not as good as ours, and our equipment is not as advanced as that of the Baiyi clan."
"Oh?" Ma Xiaoquan frowned, "Why, I see that your equipment is very good, why do you say it is not as good as them?"
Princess Ting said: "The Baiyi Clan is specialized in manufacturing weapons, and the weapons they make are highly lethal and not very expensive. The reason why Hongzhou is difficult to recover is that, firstly, it is too large and we do not have enough manpower. Secondly,
It is also the Baiyi Clan who are constantly supplying weapons to various ministries in Hongzhou, we are no match at all~"
At this point, Princess Ting seemed to have thought of something. She called a servant in and gave a few instructions. The servant nodded and left. After a while, the servant came in carrying a long cloth bag.
Ma Xiaoquan looked at the long cloth bag carried by his servant and asked Princess Ting curiously: "What is this?"
Princess Ting smiled slightly and signaled the servant to hand the cloth bag to Ma Xiaoquan.
After receiving the long cloth bag from the servant, Ma Xiaoquan opened the bag.
"I'll go, this..." Ma Xiaoquan's eyes widened after seeing what was in the bag, "This is a fucking gun."
"Gun? Well, my father said so too~"
Ma Xiaoquan completely pulled off the cloth bag, revealing the entire gun body.
After carefully looking up, down, left, and right, Ma Xiaoquan focused his attention on the most important part of the gun body, the barrel.
"Kaka..." Ma Xiaoquan tried to pull the gun bolt, and it went smoothly without any lag.
"How is this possible?" Ma Xiaoquan couldn't believe it. In this era, there are still people who can make guns, and the manufacturing process is very good. Although there is still a gap with the technology in modern society, if calculated according to this era, it is already quite powerful.
Already.
The body of this gun is somewhat lacking in polishing, and it must have been rushed out.
"Where did you get this?" Ma Xiaoquan asked Princess Ting.
Princess Ting said: "Hongzhou~"
"Is this done by the Baiyi tribe?"
Princess Ting nodded: "Yes."
"No wonder~" Ma Xiaoquan put down his gun and smashed it, "You guys are carrying a big knife. I have already set up a gun waiting for you. Well, the range of this gun should be four hundred feet, right?"
"With..."
"Then do we have this gun?"
Princess Ting sighed: "We also got some from various channels, but it was not enough. Even the guns we bought, many of them were fake and would explode."
"Haha, I'm sure. Do you think the gun is so easy to make?" Ma Xiaoquan said, "Have you ever copied it yourself?"
"Yes, but the quantity is very small, not enough to equip the army~"
"Hmm~~" Ma Xiaoquan narrowed his eyes slightly and dragged his chin and said, "How many guns like this can be made now?"
"Less than 500 shots~ And we don't know if there is any possibility of explosion in the chamber. The soldiers are unwilling to equip it because they are afraid of explosion."
"It's only five hundred shots... If this is the case, then I will have to hurry up on my trip to Hongzhou."
"Well, when do you plan to go?" Princess Ting said, "I'll go with you. I fought with my father~"
Ma Xiaoquan nodded: "I will definitely take you, you are the coach, haha~~"
Princess Ting blushed, lowered her head and said: "You should be the coach..."
"No..." Ma Xiaoquan chuckled, "If you become the head coach, the people in Hongzhou will think that the alliance will unite no one, and they will underestimate the enemy... And to be honest, I think you are indeed the head coach.
material."
"Well, let's talk about this later. Then why don't we go down and find our father? Time waits for no one~"
The reason why Princess Ting is so anxious to urge Ma Xiaoquan is not only about Hongzhou matters, but also has her own selfish motives. After all, if she stays in the floating city for one day, her husband may meet Li Qinghan for one more day, which will make her husband forget about Li Qinghan's last memory.
The best way is to leave. Leaving is the best choice.
Ma Xiaoquan heard the hidden meaning of Princess Ting's words. He also wanted to leave as soon as possible. After all, it would be difficult to completely let go of his relationship with Qinghan for a while. Now that Qinghan was married to Zhao Wenyi, no matter what, he should not disturb him anymore.
She did.
"Okay~" Ma Xiaoquan nodded in agreement.
...
In the afternoon, in the north study room of the floating palace.
"Have you decided so quickly?" Zhao Yuntai put down the book in his hand and looked at Ma Xiaoquan and Princess Ting in front of him in surprise.
"Hmm~" Princess Ting nodded, "Father, Hongzhou should be dealt with as soon as possible. Not only the Yue King Ling Prince and others have ideas, but now other countries such as Wanshiguo also have ideas..."
"That's right~" Zhao Yuntai dragged his chin and thought for a moment, then raised his head and asked Ma Xiaoquan, "Is it because of the Vulcan Empress that I left?"
Ma Xiaoquan nodded simply: "For this reason, Qinghan has already married Wen Yi. If I stay here any longer, we will be embarrassed..."
"That's right~ As a man, you can take things up and put them down. That's what makes a man. Okay... Then, if you straighten things up like this, do you still need my help?" Zhao Yuntai said with a smile.
Ma Xiaoquan nodded: "Give me the five hundred guns you got."
"Oh? Are you interested in that thing? I told you before. Not all of those guns are good, some of them will explode."
Ma Xiaoquan smiled and said: "There's nothing we can do about exploding the barrel, because we have no choice."
"Haha, how many people are you planning to bring?"
Ma Xiaoquan and Princess Ting looked at each other, and Princess Ting said: "Including the two thousand people brought by your husband, we will have another two thousand here, for a total of four thousand."
"Four thousand?" Zhao Yuntai was stunned, and then said with a wry smile, "Hongzhou is so big, and a small tribe has tens of thousands of people. You just bring four thousand people. Isn't it a free gift?"
Princess Ting smiled bitterly and said: "But father, we also want to bring many people, but the food and salary are not enough. These four thousand people are still the number of people that my husband and I calculated after we calculated by ourselves. So, we went to Hongzhou. If
If we can't find food and salary supplies within a month, we will lose."
"Yeah~ Indeed~" Zhao Yuntai nodded, "Although there are thirty thousand soldiers in the floating city, these thirty thousand are almost designed to guard the floating city. It is indeed unrealistic to give you more soldiers. Okay, two
One thousand is two thousand, and I will do my best to satisfy you with food, salary, equipment, etc."
"Thank you, father~"
Zhao Yuntai waved his hand: "I should thank you~" After saying that, Zhao Yuntai's expression suddenly became serious. He stood up and patted Ma Xiaoquan on the shoulder: "Quan'er, my father has only one request for this trip.
If you can't fight, just fight. If you can't, it doesn't matter if you withdraw. Hongzhou really can't be recovered, and there's nothing we can do about it... Also, please be sure to protect Ting'er."
Ma Xiaoquan nodded: "Father, don't worry, Hongzhou will be taken back, and Ting, I will also protect her~"
Princess Ting reached out to hold Ma Xiaoquan's arm and looked at him affectionately.
"By the way, I have a friend who has been talking about having a fight with you. Are you interested?"
Ma Xiaoquan exclaimed: "No, you want to fight me? Who are you?"
Zhao Yuntai gave it a try: "Tell me first, whether to fight or not, you won't be afraid, right?"
"Huh? I'm scared? How is that possible?" Ma Xiaoquan patted his chest, "Just let him come~"
"Okay, then I'll arrange it~" Zhao Yuntai chuckled, as if he was planning something. When Ma Xiaoquan saw this, he felt like he was being cheated, but there was nothing he could do about it. He had already said the words and he couldn't take them back.
Cowardly?
...
After leaving the palace, Princess Ting complained: "Why did you agree so casually? What if you get hurt?"