Longzang

Chapter 1076 War and Peace

The Ji Kingdom delegation arrived in low spirits, and left even more dejected. Neither Xiao Jingyuan's promising son nor his talented adopted son were utterly defeated, like wilted eggplants.

Xiao Jingyuan remained calm and agreed to all the terms without hesitation, then returned to Jidu with two copies of the contract.

After the fortified city gates disappeared from sight, the old general suddenly sighed. The other generals were all puzzled, so Xiao Jingyuan no longer concealed his thoughts and slowly said, "If I were surrounded by a million-strong army instead of a peace-seeking delegation..."

The adopted son's eyes lit up, and he asked eagerly, "Can we win?"

Xiao Jingyuan said, "We can't win, but we can give Wei Yuan a good beating. Even without the help of immortal soldiers, we can still inflict heavy casualties on Wei Yuan. If we talk about it then, the two contracts will not only become one, but they will also be much thinner."

"That's right, Wei Yuan is too weak to fight anymore, so naturally he won't make such an outrageous demand!"

Xiao Jingyuan sighed again, suddenly looking much older, and said slowly, "Sun Chaoen was greedy for life and feared death at the last moment. He suddenly retreated and did not fight to the death when the main force of Qingming was most exhausted. He is a sinner for all time! It is a pity that few people can see through his sinister intentions."

Silence fell over the carriage.

……

When the delegation returned to Ji, as expected, the King of Ji was furious when he saw the two contracts. He berated Xiao Jingyuan in court and then imprisoned him and all the generals who had been sent on the mission to investigate their treasonous activities.

When the Treaty of Guan County and the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation of Qingji were presented, the entire court was in uproar, finding it unbelievable. The officials vehemently criticized Xiao Jingyuan for his poor negotiating skills, while a small number of civil officials passionately demanded a renewed war with Wei Yuan. However, none of these civil officials were on the Development Agency's funding list.

Those who clamor for war are only a small group, just trying to attract attention; the officials from top to bottom are completely ignoring them.

After the noise subsided slightly, Sun Chaoen stepped forward and said, "The most urgent task is to send another envoy to negotiate peace. I believe that Duke Cao is loyal and patriotic, highly respected, and once fought a day-long battle with the enemy chieftain without being at a disadvantage. Even the enemy chieftain has to take him seriously. If Duke Cao is sent as an envoy to negotiate peace, this matter will surely be accomplished."

The Duke of Cao's buttocks were still sore. Hearing Sun Chaoen's words, he was both happy and a little scared. But when he saw the Prince of Ji looking at him, he could only bite the bullet and say, "I am willing to share the country's burdens!"

Prince Ji was overjoyed, then gave Sun Chaoen a meaningful look. He hadn't used that look in a long time. Sun Chaoen understood immediately, and that very night, Cai Miao slipped into the palace under cover of darkness.

At this moment, a young general standing at the end of the ranks hesitated, but ultimately, after assessing the situation, he said nothing. However, his expression did change, which Sun Chaoen noticed.

When Duke Cao returned to Guantun County, he heard that Wei Yuan was already waiting for him at the city gate. He was so surprised that he immediately jumped up from his soft couch and, while maintaining his composure, went to the city gate as quickly as possible.

Upon seeing that it was Duke Cao, Wei Yuan immediately laughed heartily and said loudly, "I still vividly remember that battle. Duke Cao was an opponent I could hardly defeat. I never expected to meet you again today."

These words carried for miles, and were clearly heard by everyone in the delegation. The Duke of Cao, his face flushed but his backside aching slightly, managed to respond with considerable difficulty.

Wei Yuan affectionately took Cao Guogong's arm, and together they entered the city gate tower. Countless cameras captured this historic moment. Cao Guogong was both delighted and afraid, and could only follow Wei Yuan into the city.

After the entire process, including visiting the accommodations, was completed, Wei Yuan left on his own. The negotiations the following day were presided over by Xu Henshui, which stirred the emotions of the delegation members.

Xu Henshui was furious. He casually revealed Fairy Linglan's delicate hand, instantly terrifying everyone and making them dare not act rashly again. Such a slender, jet-black demonic claw was frightening to look at.

The negotiations proceeded smoothly. Prince Ji agreed to bestow upon Wei Yuan the title of Prince Rong, which was already the highest honor. He then agreed to pay reparations and send several princes and princesses as hostages. Duke Cao subtly mentioned that Prince Ji's princesses were exceptionally beautiful, no less so than the princesses of Zhao.

Upon hearing this, Xu Henshui's expression changed slightly, becoming somewhat strange, clearly indicating that he understood.

Then Zhang Sheng, Bao Yun, Feng Tingyu, Ji Liuli, the Sixth Princess, and others also understood.

Wei Yuan wished he could sew Cao Guogong's mouth shut. How did his rumors even reach Ji Guo?

The negotiations lasted for several days but ultimately came to nothing. Fortunately, the conditions obtained by the Duke of Cao were somewhat better: Wei Yuan agreed not to send the Crown Prince as a hostage, the reparations were to be written into a secret agreement, and could be paid in kind. Extraterritoriality was changed to a jointly established judicial body responsible for investigating Qingming's illegal activities in Ji. This body was nominally headed by someone appointed by Ji, but in reality, it was controlled by Qingming.

In short, Wei Yuan didn't care about appearances, but in reality, he wouldn't budge. Overall, the terms were considerably more lenient, which relieved the Duke of Cao somewhat, and he went to deliver the revised treaty.

……

Jidu, a few days ago, late at night.

A figure appeared before the side gate of a magnificent mansion. Seeing no one around, he knocked on the door. The door opened, and a head peeked out. After looking around and confirming it was quiet and deserted, he pulled the person inside.

Inside the mansion was another world unto itself, keeping out the biting frost and cold.

The visitor removed his outer robe, revealing a smart outfit underneath, and was led into the study. Two people were sitting in the study: a middle-aged man with a short beard and a young man in gray.

Upon seeing the middle-aged man, the newcomer trembled and immediately bowed, saying, "This humble general pays his respects to the Crown Prince!"

"Rise," the Crown Prince said, gesturing for the young general to stand. "Today, when you dispatched the Duke of Cao as an envoy, you seemed to have something to say. What was it?"

The young general glanced instinctively at the gray-clad youth. The crown prince then said, "This is my teacher; please speak freely."

The young general then said, "At the time, I thought that we should not send any more delegations, no matter who goes. We should raise a large army again, build fortifications and confront each other, and fight several more major battles! Without several major battles, negotiations will be of no use."

The Crown Prince remained calm and said, "Why build fortifications instead of launching a full-scale attack? This is the opposite of Lord Sun Chaoen's strategy!"

The young general said in a deep voice, "Previously, Wei Yuan was attacked by mountain people in the north, and the main force was in the north, leaving the eastern front undefended. Therefore, we should launch a full-scale attack. However, after Wei Yuan's main force was recalled, Lord Sun should not retreat immediately. Instead, he should take advantage of the fortifications of the camp and fight a bloody battle with Qing Ming's main force. Only after this battle can we say whether it is war or peace."

The Crown Prince frowned slightly: "Lord Sun achieved brilliant results and preserved the main force of our Great Ji army. How come he is completely useless in your eyes?"

The young general hurriedly said, "This humble general admires Lord Sun's achievements. However, at the crucial moment, Lord Sun made a wrong move. A bloody battle back then would have dealt the greatest blow to Wei Yuan. Now, we could have fortified our position, resolutely refused to negotiate, and lured Wei Yuan to attack, leading to another battle. If we don't lose this battle, we can gain face without suffering significant losses. Therefore, negotiating again now is truly the worst possible strategy!"

The prince continued, "But what if we lose?"

The young general said, "If we lose this battle, sooner or later the Ji Kingdom will become easy prey for others. It's better to lose sooner rather than later. If we lose early, we'll still have time to bide our time and make a comeback. If we lose late, I'm afraid it will be too late to recover."

The Crown Prince looked at the young man in gray, and seeing that the young man made no comment, he pondered for a moment before saying, "You are not in that position, so there are some things you are not aware of. If we have a trump card, could we prevent Wei Yuan from acting rashly?"

"We should still fight!" the young general said resolutely.

"why?"

"If it weren't for the sudden uprising of the rebels, we wouldn't have known that our supposedly powerful military was actually so corrupt and lax. Without engaging in battle with Qingming, we wouldn't have known that the extraterrestrial army had become like this."

Since things have come to this, it's better to engage in a bloody battle with Qingming's main force. Only in this way can our weaknesses be thoroughly exposed, and only then can Wei Yuan truly respect our Great Ji, thus ensuring future peace. If we don't fight, Qingming will definitely provoke us at every turn. Are we going to swallow our anger year after year from now on?
Therefore, at this juncture, a decisive battle would bring a hundred advantages, while avoiding battle would bring a hundred disadvantages!

The prince was finally moved and asked, "What is your name?"

　PS: Obviously, the reason for stopping here is that the name hasn't been decided yet.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)