Chapter 534

Your Highness, please believe in the sincerity of His Majesty's negotiations. When Your Highness's elder brother was on the throne, he frequently made moves in the northern borders, repeatedly sending people to assassinate Your Highness. His Majesty would never do such a thing; we can sign a friendly treaty, agreeing to mutual self-governance between south and north, and never interfere in each other's internal affairs.

The king listened to his flowery talk without hearing anything useful, then speechlessly asked, 'Han Attendant Minister, do you think I'm still young?'

Han Kuo raised his head in confusion. The Northern Border King, seated on the high seat, wore silver-white armor and leaned against that white giant beast; his fair, handsome face still had a childish air, but his eyes were already remarkably outstanding, making it easy to imagine his future bearing. Yet now, no one looking at him could say he is an adult. What does the Northern Border King mean by asking that…

'Your Highness bears a noble aura, dragon patterns and phoenix grace.' Han Kuo thought, might as well just praise him; kids always like to hear nice words.

'Oh, thanks for the praise.' The king gave a half-hearted thanks.

'Then you should have seen that I am not an ignorant child, I am not easy to fool~ Negotiations, of course, are based on mutual interests. Why negotiate? Because the cost of continued confrontation is too high, and we seek a solution beneficial and acceptable to both sides.'

The king pointed outside and said, 'We're just one step away from Chang'an now; why should we negotiate? Do you think those so-called 300,000 soldiers out there can stop my Mystic Armor Cavalry? What would you use to block them? The humor of Han Attendant Minister and the innocence of the Imperial Uncle?'

Han Kuo: ……

Wei Shen: ……

Marquis of the Eastern Capital: …… Actually, old man, I hardly needed to come.

'Chang'an is already within reach; why should I withdraw? Wait until the Imperial Uncle secures his position, then launch a northern expedition to settle accounts with me?!'

'……His Majesty absolutely does not want to meet Your Highness on the battlefield; as long as the troops withdraw, avoiding soldier casualties and turmoil in Chang'an, Your Highness may propose any conditions.'

The king smiled, eyes narrowed, "Then I'll speak some plain truth. I've always been an honest man, so I'll say it straight: to me, taking Chang'an is as easy as reaching into a bag and pulling something out. Chang'an's forces couldn't beat the Xiongnu before, and now they can't even stand against the northern border. Your chances of holding Chang'an aren't one in ten thousand. If you don't give me an explanation today, why would I give up the half of the realm that's already in my grasp?"

Why don't you, Minister Han, think of a reasonable excuse for me? If you were in my place, would you withdraw the troops? Victory is within reach—would you really abandon the Central Plains and retreat to a northern border thousands of miles of ice and desolation?

Han Kuo was already cursing under his breath—of course he knew! He also felt this task was deadly; the only consolation was that the king seemed somewhat reasonable, at least for now, and had no intention of suddenly killing the envoy.

"Your Highness, please forgive me! This is all for the sake of the people under heaven. If Your Highness has any conditions, just state them; I will do my utmost to persuade the Emperor."

The king rubbed Bai Ze's fur, "That's true. Bai Jun has gone mad, conscripting three hundred thousand troops around Chang'an—likely sparing only women and children. He doesn't care, but I still pity the common folk."

Han Kuo: ……

The king extended three claws, "Fine. For the sake of the people's face, I'll talk a bit. I have three demands; if you agree, withdrawing the troops isn't out of the question."

Han Kuo appeared overjoyed on the surface, but inside he thought, 'This kid can't be crazy—how easy is he to fool?'

The king first extended one claw, "One: Bai Jun must withdraw from Chang'an and relocate the capital southward. Behind Chang'an lies the Wei River—there's no reason for the Southern Jin to keep their capital on our northern border's edge. You're stockpiling five or six hundred thousand troops here; how can I sleep?"

As soon as he finished the first point, Han Kuo's face fell like a dead dog's, which Wei Shen found amusing. The king didn't let him interject, quickly extending another claw.

"Two: Not only Sili, but all the lands I have conquered shall belong to the northern border.

"Three: three million taels of silver, fifty thousand shi of grain, within two days!"

As soon as those words were spoken, everyone in the tent gasped; listening closely, even Wei Shen and the Dongdu Marquis could be heard.

This isn't just the king lion opening his mouth wide—he's practically flying out of the skylight in his dreams.

Han Kuo gritted his teeth, "Your Highness, please don't joke. After years of war and drought, the treasury was empty when the Emperor took over; we truly cannot produce such a huge sum, be it silver or grain."

With a 'pa!' the king threw the front paw of Bai Ze, which he had been carrying, to the ground, stood up, and proclaimed loudly, "Fine, negotiations are broken!" That was swift and decisive.

Bai Ze: ……

Han Kuo hurriedly urged him with earnest words, "Your Highness, Your Highness, please wait a moment… this… this really cannot be produced. Your Highness, consider whether you could propose a reasonable figure? Relocating south in such a short time isn't realistic either…"

"My hundred thousand cavalry heading south—have you seen their armor and weapons? Have you seen those warhorses? Do you know how costly they are? You don't! You only need to know that the expense of my southern campaign is several times three million. On this march I haven't taken a single coin or grain from the people; how could a mere three million taels of silver and fifty thousand shi of grain possibly compensate for that loss?"

When I raised my troops and swore the oath, I said I would march south to aid the state; now, just a few more cities and you want me to withdraw with empty hands—don't I care about face?

If it weren't for the years of drought and grain shortage, do you really think you'd have a chance to negotiate?!

Han Kuo: "This…"

The king: "You can't bring up anything else? These three are non‑negotiable! The distance from here to Chang'an is nothing—a fast horse can make a round trip in half a day. So I'll wait until sunrise tomorrow; by then I want to see your sincerity, at least half payment. Otherwise, I'll attack Chang'an at once.

Don't count on those thirty thousand vanguard cavalry outside either—once the armored warhorses charge, they'll scatter, as fragile as paper under iron hooves.

Han Kuo left, worried and heavy‑hearted; as soon as he was gone, Wei Shen sprang up and circled the king, saying, "Even though we now have tens of thousands more mouths to feed and supplies are tight, we're at the final step—do you still have the leisure to swindle Bai Jun out of a sum?"

The king lifted his chin, quite smug, "Do you think this is pointless? Do you believe that once we take Chang'an we could just as easily get these things?"

Wei Shen nodded honestly.

"Cousin, just trust me. With the grasslands' border troubles and internal and external woes, my grain pressure is enormous. I know in my heart whether the treasury can produce this sum—my father, when he held the Wan Shou celebration, was basically slapping a swollen face to look fat; after Bai Jin took over, he's been constantly putting down rebellions, so what could possibly remain in the treasury by the time Bai Jun gets his hands on it?"

That sum of money and grain—Bai Jun certainly can't produce it himself; by now he also realizes Chang'an will sooner or later fall. If he wants to negotiate, he'll have to reach out to the scholar‑gentry and wealthy merchants, and once he does, I won't need to—do you understand?"

Dongdu Marquis: ……

Wei Shen: ……

This guy wants both grain supplies and fame!

"Tsk! With an honest heart you really can't be this king!" said Wei, the upright cousin Shen.

Feng Xiang watched the envoy leave their camp and then hurried back to the king's tent; from afar he saw the king snatch the guard's sword and chase after, slashing at Wei Gongzi……

"This is……

The Dongdu Marquis gave a dry laugh, "Are the brothers just bonding? Oh, our Highness is really lively, hahaha……" Anyway, it definitely can't be internal strife.

Feng Xiang: ……