Chapter 1511: Giving Qingqiu City to You

"Very well, Baifeng. Since you can say with such certainty that your Cavalry is very powerful, then I will believe you. I can also see your sincerity, but what about the Bombs? How many Bombs will you bring this year? If there are no Bombs, our casualties might be much higher."

Baifeng did not hesitate at all: "I can guarantee that there will be enough Bombs, and I will send them over more than once. I will have people send Bombs along with the food, ensuring that there will be no shortage of Bombs."

"Of course, you also know that we in Huaxia have very strict management over Bombs, so they must be sealed and locked. The transport will have to rely on your Logistics Department. If the Bombs are lost on the way, Xuanyuan, that would not be a good thing for our cooperation. If you agree to this requirement of mine, we can write it into the treaty."

Xuanyuan understood that Baifeng was reminding him not to think about stealing Bombs during transport, so he explained the pros and cons in advance. For the sake of cooperation, Xuanyuan naturally had to agree. As for the Bombs, he would just have to see if he could find any that failed to explode, just like last year.

"That is fine, but you tell me first: if your Bombs are lost, what should be done? It is very likely that they could be lost on the road due to transport or some other reason. What should be done then?"

Baifeng said sternly: "If the Bombs are lost, or if the seals are broken—that is, if our Huaxia mark is broken—I will assume that your people did it. Then our cooperation will likely come to an end. Either we go to war, or you cede all the gains from the Shennong Clan that we conquered together. See if you agree to that."

"Baifeng, isn't that being a bit too difficult? No one can say for sure what kind of trouble might be encountered on the road. What if they fall into the water or are burned by fire? How would we explain that? Would you believe us?"

"I will also send people to follow and escort them the whole way. The Bombs are too important, Xuanyuan; you should know that better than I do. The Bombs are related to the lifeblood of Huaxia's development, so I cannot be that at ease, even if you are my ally and my friend."

Since there was a reasonable solution, Xuanyuan did not say anything more and accepted the requirement, then moved on to discuss other projects.

"Then, regarding the distribution of the spoils of war this year, are you going to change it, or will you stick to last year's requirements and not make any changes?"

Baifeng looked at Xuanyuan with a smile: "That depends on you. It is not easy for me to keep changing my own terms of promise. After this year of war, let's see if you want to make any changes, or perhaps we can discuss a method that is most beneficial to both of us?"

The first year, the Xuanyuan Tribe took full advantage, and the second year, Huaxia took the advantage, which shows that the current distribution method is not entirely reasonable. Xuanyuan also felt that he could not compete with Huaxia in terms of population. Just the conditions offered by Huaxia were something he could not match. Jiang Yuwang and Jiang Ke might even tell people from other tribes about Huaxia after they returned, and at that time, those willing to surrender might be more inclined toward Huaxia.

However, if he wanted to develop the Shennong Clan, he could not do without the population of the Shennong Clan. Relying solely on the population of his own Xuanyuan Tribe, when would he ever be able to cultivate such a vast land? Therefore, this time it was his turn to speak up and change the treaty.

"Baifeng, what does your Huaxia lack the most right now? Territory, or population?"

Baifeng pretended to be indifferent: "Actually, we don't really lack either now. Our territory is already large enough that we can't manage it all. We used to lack population, but not so much anymore. Besides, you should have already heard that we in Huaxia discovered a large tribe in the northwest, a Wild Tribe. We are going to attack them, and as long as we conquer them, we won't lack population at all."

Xuanyuan conceded: "Baifeng, you also know that if our Xuanyuan Tribe wants to cultivate the territory of the Shennong Clan, we need a large population. Therefore, the population of the Shennong Clan is very important to me. See if you can let the population of the Shennong Clan go to me."

Baifeng shook his head with a calm expression: "That won't work. Huaxia doesn't lack population, but that doesn't mean we don't want it. You want both territory and population now; what is Huaxia supposed to do? Why don't you, the Xuanyuan Tribe, go and attack them yourselves? Once you conquer them, everything will be yours, and we in Huaxia won't touch a single hair of it."

Xuanyuan gave in again: "As long as you are willing to make concessions to our Xuanyuan Tribe regarding the population, then you can set conditions for other things. For example, the plants you want, how many Wax Seeds you want, or if you want saplings, I can give them to you."

Baifeng felt a little stir in his heart, but not much. These were benefits, but they could not compare to the hundred thousand or even two or three hundred thousand people that might be divided among them. With population, what couldn't he do? He could completely consolidate his territory and then search within it; he would surely have a high probability of finding the plants he needed.

"No, no, how can a few blades of Grass or a few trees compare to so many people? I wouldn't mind spending a little more food to trade with you every year, but population is too important to me. It won't work, it won't work; I cannot agree to your condition."

Xuanyuan, as if he had made a firm decision, said something shocking: "In addition to the territory that should be exchanged with you, I can give you Qingqiu City as well."

Baifeng's eyes widened, thinking he had misheard. If he hadn't been drinking tea, he surely would have choked. Xuanyuan's words not only shocked Baifeng but also shocked the people of the Xuanyuan Tribe. They did not expect the Tribal Chief to plan on selling Qingqiu City directly.

This price was quite substantial. A Qingqiu City and the surrounding lands were indeed worth a great many people. Xuanyuan had truly bled heavily.

However, after a little thought, Baifeng understood. The Xuanyuan Clan wanted to devote all their energy to the land of the Shennong Clan, so the territory here was becoming gradually marginalized for him. No matter how much manpower and resources had been invested in Qingqiu City, he could completely abandon it.

A city that was restricted by various reasons and could not be expanded into a larger one, versus a piece of land that could be expanded infinitely and support countless people—Xuanyuan could quickly make a choice.

Besides, although Qingqiu City was considered quite good in this era, how many years had it taken to build? It was just that the Youxiong Clan had lived there for a long time.

If Huaxia were to take over Qingqiu City, they would have to carry out large-scale renovations and reconstructions. After all, the construction quality of Qingqiu City was truly too poor.