In the beginning, he was ranked alongside An Shigeng as a spoiled brat.

What's the use of stealing meteorite copper?

Useless!

The method for refining the elixir of immortality? The vast resources? Neither is as simple as it sounds.

It would be better to just seize the readily available elixir of immortality and consume it immediately, rather than obtaining the meteorite and being hunted down by all sides, only to end up disappointed.

Coupled with the intimidating power of the Zhang family, various forces that had gathered in the capital city all left.

As for the final trading party and where the elixir of immortality would be refined, no one was worried at all.

Taking advantage of chaos is where everyone's opportunity lies.

"This young master Zhang is no ordinary person; he managed to resolve this crisis with just a few words."

Let's leave too, otherwise we won't be able to leave even if we want to. As for the elixir of immortality? The Mohist school alone can't stop us!

"Indeed, it's easier to rob someone on the street than to survive here at the hands of that young master Zhang."

"Very well, the situation in Lin'an Prefecture is not good now, it's better to leave sooner rather than later!"

···

The aftermath was quelled by the Zhang family paying three times the amount in compensation.

It wasn't land, just a burned-down building. The Zhang family was responsible for the repairs, plus three times the compensation, which was similar to demolition compensation in later generations. In the end, it was only about 10,000 gold coins.

What seems like a huge number is nothing more than a drop in the ocean for the Zhang family.

However, the impact of this battle was that the Zhang family completely resolved the crisis.

The carrot and stick approach, though a common tactic, is undoubtedly the most effective.

"The Sunflower Manual? You want the complete Sunflower Manual?"

Zhang Xiaoshan looked at Dongfang Bai in the study with a surprised expression.

But he soon realized that Dongfang Bubai's Sunflower Manual was incomplete, and he had not made any breakthroughs for a long time, so he had other ideas.

Wangshan is a dead horse!

The realm that seemed so close, a realm that could be broken through with just one period of seclusion, had taken Yaoyue and Lianxing nearly twenty years to achieve.

This was all thanks to Zhang Xiaoshan, who helped them overcome their inner demons.

Otherwise, achieving a breakthrough would be an extremely long and uncertain prospect.

"Yes, but what price is the cult leader willing to pay?"

"The price? Isn't the one million taels of gold that our sect has stored in the Zhang family enough?"

One million gold!

As for the Zhang family's business acumen, a single book like the Sunflower Manual is more than enough.

"Ha, this is a matter of cooperation between me and the leader. Besides, without this million gold, the Zhang family would have already taken action against the Sun Moon Cult."

Otherwise, how could Ren Woxing have survived after provoking the Zhang family twice?

One million taels of gold, supposedly the price of two magnificent steeds, was actually Ren Woxing's money for two life-saving missions.

"Then what do you want?"

"what do you want?"

Zhang Xiaoshan stared at Dongfang Bubai in deep thought, seemingly without any particular desire.

The Sunflower Manual? If he could get the complete version from Tong Guan, what use would Dongfang Bubai have for the incomplete version? Besides, who would practice that?

As for the Sun Moon Cult, Zhang Xiaoshan looked down on it even more.

Although the Sun Moon Cult has many experts, they are all monsters and demons. Instead of keeping them, the Zhang family would be better off recruiting a group of assassins to serve them.

Besides, the Zhang family isn't involved in the underworld.

"Why are you staring at me?"

Her voice carried a hint of coquettishness and shyness, and Zhang Xiaoshan immediately rolled his eyes upon hearing it.

"We all know each other perfectly well. A honey trap? Give me a break!"

'You...you shameless scoundrel!'

Zhang Xiaoshan shook his head after hearing this. It seemed that the woman only knew these few swear words and didn't even bother to change her lines.

After all, they weren't women who rose from humble beginnings. Even Hongxiao and Jiangxue were well-mannered and raised in a wealthy family; they had never learned to swear in the streets.

"It's not impossible for me to get you the complete Sunflower Manual, but you have to do three things for the Zhang family afterwards."

Don't worry, these three things won't be difficult for you. At most, it might involve killing or something similar, which you can refuse!

"Three things? Okay!"

Three attacks are nothing compared to breaking through to the Grandmaster level.

Zhang Xiaoshan nodded. As for the complete Sunflower Manual, he would naturally ask Tong Guan for it.

For the Zhang family, this was not a difficult task.

Anyway, it's not his cultivation.

"Piaoxu, prepare half a catty of ambergris tea, a 15-ounce old ginseng root, and a translated copy of the Nine Yin Manual, and present them to the Grand Chancellor!"

"Yes!"

The preciousness of ambergris tea goes without saying, but a 15-tael ginseng is not worth 6,000 gold coins, but has a starting bid of at least 10,000 gold coins.

As for the Nine Yin Manual?

It's possible that a copy of the Nine Yin Manual existed within the Song Dynasty imperial palace.

However, the Nine Yin Manual is derived from Sanskrit homophones, making it incomprehensible to most people, including Tong Guan.

As for using this to break through to the Grandmaster level?

Zhang Xiaoshan could only say that Tong Guan was overthinking things. Even Dongfang Bubai was full of confidence before, but in the end, he still failed.

This formidable barrier is truly a case of "looking at a mountain but running to your death!"

Chapter 289 The Duan and Zhang Families' Unexpected Fortune: Cutting-Edge Technology

"What a fine Zhang family from Jiangnan!"

The Duan family of Dali!

Seeing the news from Jiangnan, the Zhang family once again escaped danger and intimidated the heroes with their absolute advantage.

It's important to understand that this isn't the Southern Martial World, where there are only a few big shots. The Central Plains Martial World has many masters, and most of them are ambitious. This time, the Zhang family has intimidated mostly top-tier masters from the underworld and the demonic path.

Moreover, news that has been circulating recently indicates that the Zhang family has once again become involved with the elixir of immortality.

The Zhang family, located at the eye of the storm, was in extreme danger.

However, what they were really concerned about was that Zhang Xiaoshan had been back at the Zhang family for half a year now.

Now it's time to bring their gold over.

It should be noted that the first batch of gold was three million taels as agreed, not counting the jade dividends given the current favorable situation. In just over half a year, there should have been one million taels of gold.

Therefore, both Duan Zhengming and Duan Zhengchun were extremely eager for it.

"Your Majesty, there is a group of merchants from the Central Plains outside the Zhenyuan Escort Agency. They claim that the red goods they are escorting have arrived."

"Is it?"

Duan Zhengming, Duan Zhengchun, and Gao Shengtai exchanged a glance, their eyes gleaming.

finally reached!

This is three million taels of gold, nearly five years' worth of direct revenue for the Dali Kingdom.

As the group walked out of the palace, they found hundreds of carriages parked in front of it, but there was no sign of the red goods.

Silk, tea, porcelain...

They didn't see what they wanted to see.

Although these silks, teas, and porcelains were top-tier luxury items in the Central Plains, they were not as practical as gold.

At the head of the procession stood Lin Zhennan, the chief镖头 (bodyguard/escort) of the Zhenyuan镖局 (escort agency), who bowed respectfully to the approaching Duan Zhengming brothers and said:

"I am Lin Zhennan from Zhenyuan Escort Agency, paying my respects to Emperor Duan!"

"Chief Escort Lin, is this all the Zhang family's prized goods?"

"Of course not."

Seeing the suspicious looks on their faces, Lin Zhennan naturally knew what they were talking about.

Even though he understood their feelings, after all, it was three million taels of gold, and it was the first time their Zhenyuan Escort Agency had ever transported such a large shipment.

The reward alone was 30,000 taels of gold!

They mainly relied on the Zhang family this time, so they only received a one percent cut.

After giving the order, all the goods were unloaded, leaving only one hundred taels of silver in the carriage.

"Remove all the wheels!"

wheel?

Upon hearing Lin Zhennan's instructions, the Duan family of Dali frowned even more.

The gold being transported this time was three million taels. Even if it was split up, each cart would carry 30,000 taels of gold. Adding the weight of the cart itself, it would weigh at least 2,500 jin, equivalent to a horse-drawn cart carrying 25 shi of grain.

This carriage was already heavily loaded.

One stone is 100 catties, and one catty is 16 liang, which is equivalent to 120 catties in modern times!

Given that the carriages already carried goods, each carriage probably weighed at least three thousand catties, so leaving tracks on the road was inevitable.

No one is an idiot, let alone an experienced bandit.

When the tracks left by the carriage are too obvious, it is known that something must be hidden inside the carriage.

If gold were made into wheels, it would be equivalent to concentrating all the gravity on one point, making it difficult to avoid detection.

"Your Majesty, there is no need to doubt; the gold is hidden inside the carriage."

As for how to deal with the tracks left by the carriage, the young master had already come up with a solution, and there was no gold hidden on the wheels.

However, the most important part of this cover-up was the wheels.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this wheel is worth a fortune, because the black covering on its surface is not cowhide, but a special kind of rubber that the young master brought from the Persian blacks.

I don't know how they used it, but they filled it with gas to alleviate the marks caused by the heavy pressure.

Furthermore, the core of the wheels has a special axle that accelerates the carriage's speed, thus dispelling any suspicion from others.

Lin Zhennan explained as he removed the wheels.

He then opened one end of the axle and pulled out a gold rod about seven feet long and one inch thick, weighing approximately ten thousand taels, directly from the wide axle.

Then came two more hardwood poles, each three inches in diameter, and two more golden rods. The three rods together were worth 30,000 gold coins!

Such a well-hidden concealment also made Duan Zhengming's eyes gleam.

Such methods, unless the carriage is burned, would make it impossible for an ordinary person to discover the secret even if they spy on the carriage a thousand times.

In particular, the carriage shaft rests on the horse's back, which distributes a significant portion of the weight.

"Truly amazing!"

Keep in mind that this is a weight of nearly 3,000 pounds, a completely overloaded load.

However, in this way, not a single flaw was revealed along the way.

Even though the southwestern border region is sparsely populated, it is also home to many experienced bandits, demonstrating the Zhang family's advanced technology.

"Your Majesty, please check and confirm!"

"Alright!"

He gave Gao Shengtai a look, and Gao Shengtai quickly went to find someone to confirm the entry into the warehouse.

If it really is three million taels of gold, then Dali has made a profit this time.