Shang Fu fell into thoughts, seriously considering the terms laid out by Mark.
It didn't take long for him to understand the point but whether to accept it or not is entirely another question.
For a second, Shang Fu regretted sending the third prince away. Shang Wei was his special advisor on whom he can rely.
But, anyway, now that there's nothing that can be done about it, he needed to think carefully before coming to the decision.
In the end, he gave a nod to it, "consider it done."
Just as Mark was about to celebrate it inwardly, the Emperor said, "But there's a small problem."
Mark looked at his father, waiting for an explanation.
After giving a slight pause, Shang Fu then said, "If I were to create a firearms division, at any time, we cannot run out of ammunition or equipment. And unlike other weapons, these firearms are only available in your store and you need to depend on your manufacturer to send the order to you before you can sell it to us."
"Yes, your worry is logical," Mark nodded in understanding but this biological father is the last person he would want to compromise with. So, he outrightly advised, "if you have a problem with procuring the weapons, then, all you need to convince your son that firearms aren't in the best interests of the palace. After all, he will be the commanding general of the firearms. I only put the condition on the revenue ministry. There's no restriction on the Emperor."
"Yeah, right…" Almost everyone rolled their eyes when they heard Mark's reply. They thought that Mark is taking advantage of Shang Fu's cowardly nature and trying to push him further.
But then again, this displays his stubborn nature or one may also call it arrogance, which even undermines the position of the Emperor.
The look of frustration was evident on the three guests from Western Yan as the Emperor was keeping his calm, not being offended by Mark's remarks.
By now, Emperor Shang perfectly understood Mark's personality. So, he decided to change his way of approach.
"Alright, fine. Your weapons, your rules… There's nothing we can do about that." For a second, the Emperor looked like he admitted defeat before he hit back at Mark, "Let's talk about something that can be done. In fact, this problem is from your end."
"Which is?" Mark raised his eyebrows.
Emperor Shang then pointed out, "I granted you an 80-acre land a while ago to build a smithy where you promised me three flying puppets, no, what were those names again? Ah, that's right; three attack helicopters in five years of time. But so far, there's no progress, and now, you are even talking about leaving the Empire."
Mark went stiff for a second. At first, he was indeed interested to build one but after making a trip to the dungeons while unlocking a factory system, he had forgotten about the real factory he was supposed to build on the land.
And that reminds him of the butler robots. In an instant, a way of mass-producing the bullets within less time has been found.
Meanwhile, the Emperor continued, "I understand that you and Song Clan have differences and you might have reservations about giving notice to the ministry of public works. If you have a problem with it, you can hire laborers through private organizations.
As I have already stated, all the expenses will be borne by the Imperial Palace. So, I wish for you to talk with your manufacturer and start the construction as soon as possible."
Mark let out a smile and nodded, "I will soon, Your Majesty. I'm working on the blueprint, I mean, the architecture of the weapon factory. Once it was finalized, I will inform the Imperial Palace."
"Finally, there is one piece of good news in this meeting," thought Emperor Shang as he felt relief in his heart.
With the meeting almost concluded with nothing else to talk about, he brought up the topic of Ji Clan for the final time as Mark got up on his feet to leave, "Since you have already punished Ji Guanli for his mistake, then, I hope you won't have any ill feelings towards the Ji Clan."
Ji Cheng looked at his friend. Until the meeting, he thought the Emperor was taking Mark's side but now, it appeared like the Emperor was practically requesting the other party to leave the Ji Clan.
And this only infuriated him more because it clearly indicated that Ji Clan is worthless in front of Lu Zhen.
At the same time, Ji Cheng also learned that there was a deal between the Emperor and Lu Zhen. Three attack helicopters, each one is capable of defeating a 7-circle expert. He could understand why the Emperor would ignore Lu Zhen's behavior.
However, that doesn't mean that he would back down on revenge. Even if Lu Zhen is an 8-circle summoner, he will still get it, although not at the expense of the destruction of his clan. For that, he needs to plan carefully.
Before Lu Zhen, he first needed to prioritize eliminating the Kunyu bandits who dared to extort 300 thousand gold coins from the Church of Nuwa on the Ji clan's behalf. Now that they have also lost four Elite warriors, Ji Cheng knew that his clan is at the mercy of the church.
Adding on top of that, there's Arch Bishop who doesn't want a beast Emperor to stay in the Phoenix Empire. Several schemes popped up in Ji Cheng's mind.
In the end, he calmly informed Mark in front of the Emperor, shocking his son and the Arch Bishop, "after thinking for a while, I believe that you aren't in the wrong. But, this isn't the reason I'm backing away.
The truth is that Ji Clan doesn't have the strength to challenge you without suffering heavy losses.
Neither our power is enough nor did my friendship with the Emperor appear to be enough. I'm willing to forget this matter and return to our home."
It was clear to Mark that this man would come back in revenge. So, he didn't take his words to the heart and simply replied with a nod, "alright."
Ji Cheng's expression was calm until Mark and his associates left the palace.
Once they were out of his sight and Ji Wen returned to the dining room to know what happened, Ji Cheng turned cold as he spoke to the other two, "we are leaving. Arch Bishop Ma, after our return, I want you to arrange a meeting with Cardinal Shi."
Ji Guanli looked at his father curiously.
Meanwhile, at the entrance of the palace, the carriage was waiting for Mark. Allen got back to being the coachman.
Once the Emperor along with the two imperial children who joined on his insistence, personally sent them off, the third prince asked, "What happened, father? The matter of Ji Clan was resolved and you get him to start the smithy but it looked like you aren't happy with this meeting. Is it because of his conditions?"
Shang Fu let out a sigh, "it's tough to handle people like him who have nothing to lose but everything to gain. Your second brother would at least listen to me because of our kinship but this guy has neither kith nor kin."
He then turned his head towards the 15-yr-old girl, and said, "By the way, Xiao Jiao, for a while, don't involve with Ji Clan. If it is necessary, I will drag Guanli to the Imperial City. No matter what, I don't want you to be caught up in the mess that was about to unfold."
"Eh?" Shang Jiao was taken aback, "what mess? I thought that Uncle Ji compromised."
