GBP Chapter 21 The Secret Underground
Chapter 21 The Secret Underground
It was late at night, but the sound of horses still echoed through the horse farm.
The grooms, accompanied by ordinary people, tended to the horses day and night, constantly feeding them the finest feed, stirring it continuously, and placing it in stone troughs to observe how each horse ate.
The entire horse farm was brightly lit, as if it were daytime.
This environment was convenient for everyone to work, but it also made it easy for others to spy on them. At this moment, a young eunuch was secretly watching from the shadows.
He received orders from Gao Chen to take turns with several other eunuchs to monitor the horse farm, in order to find more flaws and evidence against Li Mao.
Just as the young eunuch was intently spying, a gust of evil wind blew from behind him.
The young eunuch turned around to look.
"Who?"
The young eunuch plopped down, and the fierce-looking man behind him was none other than Li Mao's personal bodyguard.
The person in the middle is none other than Prince Shou, Li Mao.
"Young master, what brings you here? Are you here for the horse race too?"
"Yes Yes Yes."
The young eunuch nodded abruptly, took out some silver from his pocket, and said, "I..."
"But there are no races at the racecourse right now!"
Sweat dripped down the young eunuch's face. He swallowed hard before beginning his explanation.
"I just sneaked over to take a look..."
"Your Highness, please spare me! I promise I won't do it again..."
Li Mao took the money.
"I'll place a bet on you tomorrow. You should go back now, Eunuch."
"Go back and tell your master that the competition hasn't started yet, so there's no need to rush!"
After saying that, Li Mao waved his hand.
The little eunuch slunk away.
The little eunuch crawled away like a dog, but the personal guard didn't quite understand.
“Your Highness, Gao Chen is becoming increasingly arrogant. He spoke ill of you to the Emperor before, and now he has sent a eunuch to openly monitor you. Why don’t you kill him?”
Li Mao plucked a leaf and blew it away, his gaze calm.
“Gao Chen has repeatedly complained to the Emperor, but each time he has no evidence. Yet the Emperor has never blamed him. Can you guess why?”
The guard stroked his chin and shook his head.
"This subordinate does not quite understand, please enlighten me, Your Highness."
"His Majesty does indeed like me, but he prefers the unassuming Prince Shou. He needs an obedient son, and he also needs someone to keep an eye on me at all times so that I won't dare to do anything I shouldn't under his watchful eye."
“Killing Gao Chen is tantamount to blinding the Emperor. At that time, I will have hundreds, or even thousands, of eyes around me.”
"What great things can we do together?"
The bodyguard suddenly understood and was deeply impressed by his master's wisdom. He then quickly followed him into the horse farm.
When the steward heard that Li Mao was coming, he hurriedly came to greet him.
"See you, Your Majesty."
"Get up, you've all worked hard late into the night."
"It is our honor to serve the prince. There is no hardship to speak of. Our horse farm is thriving day by day."
Therefore, we dare not slacken our efforts. In another three months, we will be able to produce three hundred fine horses.
"Excellent, that is exactly what I wish for. I can select a few of the best horses to present to Father Emperor."
"And the supervisory offices in various places should also be prepared, including those princes and nobles in the capital."
"Please rest assured, Your Highness, we will keep an eye on this matter."
As Li Mao spoke and looked around, he gradually walked deeper into the horse farm.
This is where the horse feed is stored. These haystacks are over ten meters high, standing like mountain peaks in the darkness.
Meanwhile, underground, the lights were bright, and countless furnaces spewed flames.
The craftsman poured molten iron into the mold, and the final pouring of water produced a hissing sound.
After walking only a dozen steps, Li Mao and the others were already drenched in sweat.
However, Li Mao didn't care. Instead, he became engrossed in inspecting the various weapons.
"Your Highness is truly farsighted. He has used the noise from the horse farm to cover up the sound of hammers striking weapons."
"Even if Jiang Ziya were alive, he probably wouldn't be able to see through it."
Li Mao didn't reply, but picked up the item and examined it carefully.
"Have you tested this bow and arrow? What is its range?"
The steward looked troubled.
“Your Highness, we are conducting casting in the basement. The terrain here is cramped and not spacious enough. If we want to conduct experiments, we will probably have to go to the surface.”
"But if we go to the surface, what if we get discovered...?" This puts us in a very difficult position.
It is indeed a difficult task.
Li Mao put down his weapon and looked around.
"You must all put your minds to this matter; I will also devise a foolproof plan."
"It's not just these bows and arrows; swords and spears also need to be tested, especially against the swords and spears of the Imperial Guards."
The weapons and armor used by the Imperial Guards were all top-notch.
After Li Mao finished speaking, the steward felt immense pressure.
Seeing his predicament, Li Mao said calmly, "If you have any difficulties, you can always ask me if you need money or manpower in the future."
"We have no shortage of money or other things now, but we are afraid it will be difficult to improve our iron technology and other processes."
"If the craftsmanship cannot be improved, there is no way to surpass the Imperial Guards."
"I will handle this matter personally, so there is no need to worry. Let's proceed with the casting."
"After the casting experiments of these weapons are completed, they will be packed and sealed for storage."
Seeing the craftsmen drenched in sweat, Li Mao felt a pang of pity. As he left the underground workshop, he said to the steward, "Treat these craftsmen well. Don't just wait until holidays to demand that they have a big meal of fish and meat every two or three days."
"Only when everyone has the strength can the weapons be forged well."
The butler quickly bowed and clasped his hands in greeting.
"Please rest assured, Your Highness, the food is now top-notch; even nobles and princes cannot afford such a fine meal."
Li Mao nodded.
"If the food can truly reach this level, I would be quite pleased."
Immediately, Li Mao's expression turned serious: "We must be on high alert at the horse feed depot."
The steward nodded repeatedly: "Your Highness, everything is arranged as you said. They will not appear on the surface, and no one will know that there is a secret passage underground that leads directly to the market."
"Ok!"
After confirming the situation, Li Mao led his men away.
On the other side, Gao Chen had a pile of food in front of him, listening to a little tune, his eyes closed, thoroughly enjoying himself.
After all his hard work, he has finally found something to hold against Li Mao. As long as the eunuch obtains concrete evidence today and reports it to the emperor tomorrow, Li Mao will surely be reprimanded, and might even be dismissed.
He was listening to a little tune, waiting for the result, when the little eunuch returned with his face covered in blood.