Chapter 682

First Volume, Chapter 682: Talk Some Shit

The entire Negotiation Hall was in chaos.

Both sides were composed of their nations' top ministers.

Not to mention Qin Tianhu and Lü Li—even the lowest-ranking official present held a Fourth Rank government position!

You could say the Grand Hall nearly condensed the elites of both nations.

Yet these ministers, who normally spoke in flowery Confucian phrases with profound solemnity,

now screamed like street thugs, pointing fingers at each other's noses.

There was not a shred of understanding or decorum left.

The subtleties of state peace talks were deep, yet also shallow.

Strip away the layers, reveal the core interests—they were worth nothing.

Plainly put, whoever could crush the other gained the upper hand in negotiations and secured benefits for their nation.

Nothing was a better pressure tactic than "anger."

The ministers who understood this secret all turned into street brawlers, their fingers nearly poking into each other's faces.

Spittle flew everywhere.

Qin Tianhu and Lü Li cursed fiercely; the other envoys and peace officials weren't any better.

Minister of Revenue Li Xu rolled up his sleeves, pointed at Han Yu across the room, and snarled.

"You coarse barbarians, as a defeated nation, our great Shedynasty deigns to negotiate with you—you should be grateful."

"You ungrateful wretches dare parade through our Shedynasty's Jingji? You're begging for death!"

"If you push us too far, we'll mobilize a hundred thousand troops and massacre every last one of your barbarians!"

Facing Li Xu's rage, Han Yu sneered coldly and retorted sarcastically.

"You only shout loud—when it comes to the battlefield, you'll all piss your pants."

"You take advantage and still act offended? You really think you're the victors?"

"We gave you a little color, and now you've opened a dye shop? Pfft!"

"Don't speak of a hundred thousand—even two hundred thousand, my great Di's mighty troops will crush you like killing chickens and dogs."

The Minister of Court of Imperial Sacrifices snatched up a tea cup and slammed it to the ground.

Still not satisfied, he grabbed Li Xu's tea cup and hurled it straight at Chen Si.

"Mobilize troops! Mobilize troops!"

"Since the North Di barbarians refuse to accept defeat, let them be truly humbled!"

Chen Si, missing one arm, caught the flying cup midair and flung it back at the Minister's forehead.

Crack!

The tea cup shattered on impact; the Minister's forehead bled.

But the Minister was now utterly "excited," completely oblivious to the blood on his head.

Chen Si let out a soft snort.

"Mobilize troops? I think you're tired of living!"

"My great Di has already prepared materials and supplies—let the war begin!"

The Imperial Eunuch guarding the door watched the Grand Hall erupt into chaos, officials now physically attacking each other.

It was about to turn into outright violence.

The Imperial Eunuch wiped sweat from his forehead repeatedly.

He kept glancing toward the Palace Gate.

"Why hasn't Young Master Qin arrived yet?"

"If he doesn't come soon, these ministers will start fighting for real."

"This isn't peace talks—it's bandits fighting over a mountain peak…"

"Was the last peace talk this bad too?"

The Imperial Guard standing across sighed.

"Last time, our great Shedynasty suffered military defeat and had to beg the North Di for peace."

"The talks were held on North Di soil—I heard… it was even worse than this."

"The peace envoy sent to the North Di was a Vice Minister of Rites—he took a punch from their negotiator and suffered tinnitus for months."

The Imperial Guard had guarded peace talks more than once.

They'd drawn one clear pattern.

Negotiations between a great power and a small one were always harmonious—more like the small nation apologizing to the great one, and the great one displaying its magnanimous grace.

But when both sides' national strengths were nearly equal,

the negotiation site became wildly violent.

Pointing fingers and shouting wasn't rare—physical fights weren't either.

After all, with equal strength, neither side would yield to the other—why bow down?

The shouting match lasted half a Envoy.

The officials were exhausted, slumping onto their chairs, gasping for breath.

The eunuchs attending them hurriedly swept up the shattered tea cups and teapots.

They replaced them with fresh teapots, refilled the tea leaves, and served tea to both sides.

Qin Tianhu felt his throat was on fire—he lifted his tea cup and gulped it down.

It burned his tongue—he slammed the cup down with a smack.

"You damn thing, are you trying to scald me to death?!"

The Imperial Eunuch trembled in fear, quickly replaced the tea cup, mixed the previously removed cold tea with hot tea to make it lukewarm, and poured it again.

Only after fleeing the Grand Hall did the Imperial Eunuch finally exhale in relief.

"What's gotten into Grand Secretary Qin today? He's like he swallowed gunpowder—normally he's never like this."

The nearby Imperial Guard couldn't help sneaking a laugh.

"Don't provoke him at this deadline."

"If he scolds you, you take it."

"Both sides are holding back fury with nowhere to vent."

As Qin Tianhu rinsed his throat, Chen Si leaned over and whispered a warning to Lü Li.

"Pillar of the State, stop just yelling—Liang's officials clearly aren't intimidated by this."

"Hardline tactics won't suppress them."

"Better get straight to the point and discuss the matter."

"If Qin Feng arrives, the situation will change again."

Lü Li thought it made sense.

Though seething with rage, for the sake of the greater good, he had no choice but to swallow it for now.

Still wearing a cold, stern face, he said: "Grand Secretary Qin, have you finished yelling?"

"As for territorial cession and indemnity, our Great Di has already deliberated—ceding land is out of the question."

"Indemnity, however, can be discussed."

"The maximum we can accept is three million taels of silver."

Upon hearing Lü Li's words, before Qin Tianhu could respond, the Minister of Dali Temple exploded.

"What?!"

"Three million taels? Are you trying to bribe a beggar?!"

"Our Great Liang has invested a total of thirty million taels of White Silver in this war, front to back!"

"This is only the actual silver spent; if you count unregistered manpower and resources,"

"plus the grain losses in the Northern Border, the displacement of civilians, entire villages relocating, and the fact that the Southern Border and Central Plains have been forced to supply grain for the northern campaign, driving grain prices sky-high,"

"the total losses amount to at least one hundred million taels of silver!"

"Your Northern Di must pay at least one hundred and fifty million taels of silver to compensate Liang Kingdom's losses!"

Li Xu quickly added:

"Paying money alone isn't enough—you must cede land!"

"You must cede an entire border prefecture!"

Hearing Liang's officials' demands, Lü Li's rage flared again.

"What?!"

"One hundred and fifty million taels of silver—and still demand land?!"

"I'll talk to your grandmother!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Lü Li leapt to his feet and overturned the Negotiation Table.

Qin Tianhu roared in fury: "A mere Foreign Country Envoy dares to overturn my Great Liang's table? Unthinkable!"