Chapter 479: Weighing

"The Emperor is right here at Qin Pass; I must report these conditions back to him," the latest website said.

Dou Wei swept a glance with the corner of his eye at the Imperial Guards behind him.

Although he was spirited, with these soldiers watching, he could not show it.

Tiemuta nodded, "Tell the Emperor of Great Song that this time for peace talks, we Northern Di did not lose; rather, the great Khan does not wish to see the two countries continue to clash and the people suffer."

"The Emperor is benevolent and considers it the same way; in this war, we of Great Song did not lose either," Dou Wei said.

Naturally, he was not saying this for Tiemuta to hear, but for Zhao Heng, Yan Wang, the ministers in the Imperial Court, and even the people of Great Song.

They had forced the Northern Di to negotiate for peace, yet they had to sign such a contract as if they had been defeated.

Once the news spread, he, Dou Wei, would be pointed at and cursed behind his back.

Showing a moderate amount of strength could at least save him from some harsh criticism.

A cold sneer hung on Tiemuta's face.

He did not believe the Northern Di had lost this time; they had indeed suffered setbacks in the east.

But in the west, they had won.

If not for Yan Wang using tricks to rescue the Emperor of Great Song.

They would certainly have let Great Song perish under the iron cavalry of the Northern Di.

The only reason for the peace talks was that Yan Wang had thoroughly angered them.

Unless Yan Wang was removed, it would be difficult to destroy Great Song.

Therefore, besides negotiating with the Imperial Court of Great Song to ease the situation from Xiliang to Jinzhou, they could free up their hands to focus on dealing with Yan Wang.

His Great Khan also decided to take advantage of the conflict between the powerful clans and the Imperial Clan to support the powerful clans.

He would let the powerful clans within Great Song suppress the Imperial Clan, making things difficult for Yan Wang internally as well.

Of course, it would be even better if a force like the Yuan Family could emerge among these powerful clans to secretly defect to them.

However, he also knew this was difficult.

The powerful clans of Great Song were different from Yuan Li.

To the powerful clans of Great Song, ever since the founding of Great Song.

This world had been governed jointly by the powerful clans and the Imperial Clan.

The empire of Great Song also belonged partly to them.

Although internal strife was endless, they would not want the Northern Di to enter and rule the Central Plains unless they were at their wits' end.

After all, any one of them had the hope of replacing the Zhao Clan and vying for the world.

But just because the chance was small did not mean there was no chance at all.

They, the Northern Di, would keep trying.

Thinking of this, facing Dou Wei's reprimand, he decided to give Dou Wei some face and chose to remain silent.

Seeing this, Dou Wei revealed a subtle smile and took the opportunity to refute several items in the contract.

Tiemuta either remained silent or argued loudly with Dou Wei.

Half an hour later, with the stalemate unresolved, Dou Wei turned and walked toward Qin Pass.

Climbing the city wall, he presented the parchment to Zhao Heng, "Emperor, these are the full conditions proposed by the Northern Di."

Zhao Heng unfolded the parchment, glanced at it briefly, and his expression changed, "They, the Northern Di, are the ones who first sought peace with our Great Song; why are they still so arrogant!"

"Your subject scolded them the same way. In this battle, there were wins and losses; why should Great Song pay the Northern Di an annual tribute of five million taels of Silver, and the ceasefire does not even include the Yanzhou line? It is simply abominable," Dou Wei said, filled with righteous indignation.

Zhao Heng had let him come forward to meet Tiemuta, undoubtedly wanting him to bear the infamy.

But Zhao Heng would not have guessed that he and the Dou Family had private dealings with Tiemuta.

This time, the peace talks were quite cooperative, allowing him to give a harsh scolding.

Now, whether or not to accept the conditions for peace talks lay solely with Zhao Heng himself.

Thinking of something, he added another sentence, "Tiemuta said the five million taels of annual tribute was something the Emperor promised them when he was in Xian City."

Zhao Heng's old face flushed slightly; at that time, Xian City was besieged, and he had no other choice but to compromise with the Northern Di.

Now that Tiemuta brought this matter up, he could not help but feel a twinge of guilt.

"It is not impossible for the Northern Di to want annual tribute, but five million taels is too much. You tell him to give only one million taels," Zhao Heng snorted.

When they were in Yancheng, the conditions proposed by the Northern Di included annual tribute.

In his heart, he had accepted it, but when it came to actually paying out so much Silver, he felt pained again, so he wanted to bargain.

"As for Qinzhou and Yongzhou, they can be ceded to them, but if they cause trouble in the northwest, I will no longer recognize this condition."

Ma Han was also on the city wall; hearing this, he was filled with indignation, "Emperor, Qinzhou and Yongzhou are the territory of our Great Song; how can they be ceded just like that?"

"Hmph, the state of Qinzhou and Yongzhou is not the result of the good work of your Ma Family. I am now cleaning up the mess for your Ma Family, or are you saying your Ma Family has the ability to retake these two prefectures?" Zhao Heng snorted angrily.

In his heart, he had always kept the account of the loss of Qinzhou and Yongzhou on the Ma Family.

After the rebellion of Ma Jin, the Ma Family had completely declined, and he no longer feared them.

Regarding this matter of cession, he would not heed Ma Han's opinion.

Ma Han was suddenly speechless; he could not refute Zhao Heng's accusation.

Full of anger, he could only swallow it hard.

However, looking at Zhao Heng and Dou Wei, a bit of disdain could not help but grow in his eyes.

"The matter of the two countries exchanging Princesses for marriage is naturally no problem. When I return to Jingshi, I will select a Princess," Zhao Heng said.

For the marriage alliance, he would naturally not choose his own daughter; this had been the case throughout history.

But a daughter of the Royal Clan was necessary, otherwise, it would be equivalent to humiliating the other party.

"A ceasefire is a ceasefire; why leave the Yanzhou line alone?" The Northern Di had proposed many conditions.

But the result of the peace talks was only a partial ceasefire, which made him very dissatisfied.

"The Beidi Khan means that he currently has a personal feud with Yan Wang, which is not directed at Da Song, just like when members of the Cao Gang fight among themselves; even if they make peace, there are still members who arrange duels due to personal grudges." Dou Wei was searching for a suitable justification for this condition proposed by the Beidi.

Among the many conditions proposed by the Beidi, this one excited him the most, aside from the Border Market.

In this Northern Expedition, Yan Wang had once again turned the tide, which would inevitably cause his prestige within Da Song to soar.

The damage to the Imperial Clan's prestige caused by Zhao Heng's failed Northern Expedition would be compensated for by Yan Wang's illustrious military achievements.

And this was something he absolutely did not want to see.

Therefore, even if the Beidi did not take action, after the peace talks, whether to pave the way for the Third Prince's future ascension to the throne or for the interests of the powerful clans, he would have to unite with several other families to further suppress Yan Wang.

The Beidi taking action was exactly what he wanted.

The two sides consuming each other was what best served his interests.

"There is some logic to that, but if Yan Wang were to be defeated by the Beidi, wouldn't Yanguan be in danger?" Zhao Heng frowned; recalling Yan Wang's warning to him, he felt even more hesitant.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Do not agree to this matter for now."

Dou Wei did not continue to persuade him, knowing that further persuasion would arouse Zhao Heng's suspicion.

"There is also the matter of the Border Market; the Beidi request to open a Border Market outside Wuguan." Dou Wei observed Zhao Heng's expression.

"That is also a minor matter; it can be agreed to. You go and negotiate with Tiemuta again, and Ma Han, you go this time as well." Zhao Heng waved his hand.

Regarding the Beidi's peace terms, his main disagreements were over the amount of the annual tribute and the issue of the ceasefire.

Dou Wei had always favored peace, and in his view, he might not be tough enough, which was why he sent Ma Han along this time.

The two men acknowledged the order and turned to descend from the city wall.

Immediately afterward, he heard the faint sounds of an argument.

Before long, Dou Wei returned with a depressed look on his face, and Ma Han returned looking furious.

"Your Highness, Tiemuta has left; he said he will continue to attack Wuguan until Your Majesty agrees," Dou Wei said.

Ma Han did not speak, only nodding.

Zhao Heng's expression turned slightly ugly, as if he felt some regret.

However, he did not say anything and descended from the city wall with little interest.

He still held a shred of hope that the Beidi were merely bluffing to scare him.

Wait and see.

Seeing Zhao Heng descend from the city wall, Ma Han called for Commander and secretly ordered him to send the news to Yancheng by fast horse.