Longzang

Chapter 1077 The Secret Pact
Duke Cao returned in triumph, much to the delight of Prince Ji. However, all the high-ranking officials in the court knew perfectly well that it was all for naught.

The real key issue was the three prefectures, which required a 100 million tael in reparations. As for the trading ports, caravan passage, and extraterritoriality, the bigwigs felt they were not important.

Even if the crown prince or princess were to be sent as hostages, as long as a suitable and appealing pretext was found, it would be tolerable if one gritted their teeth and endured it. After all, Prince Ji was still in his prime, and if needed, he could still have a continuous supply of offspring.

After bestowing some additional rewards upon the Duke of Cao, the King of Ji began searching for a new envoy.

As soon as the discussion began, Sun Chaoen stepped forward and said loudly, "The Minister of War is a man of high moral character and great prestige, loyal to the country! With him in charge, success is assured!"

The Minister of War shuddered, glared at Sun Chaoen, and gritted his teeth, saying, "Your Majesty, this old minister has been plagued by illness lately, and even standing is extremely difficult. I had intended to retire and return to my hometown in the next few days, but I am truly unable to shoulder such a heavy responsibility. I hope Your Majesty will consider this carefully!"

Prince Ji asked with concern, "You look well, my dear minister. Are you truly planning to retire and return to your hometown?"

The Minister of War gritted his teeth and said, "I do indeed have this intention, and I hope Your Majesty will grant it!"

Prince Ji sighed and said, "Granted."

The officials were all stunned, not expecting that Prince Ji wouldn't even utter a single polite word. The Minister of War was also taken aback, and after a moment he knelt to express his gratitude before returning to his ranks, remaining silent.

Sun Chaoen's gaze swept over the ministers, making them tremble with fear. At this moment, the Duke of Wei stepped forward and said, "Such an important task is best entrusted to Lord Sun!"

Once one person stepped forward, the other ministers, who felt their own positions were in grave danger, immediately found a guiding light and echoed his sentiments, praising Sun Chaoen as a rare and unparalleled wise minister throughout history, and deeming him the only one fit to undertake the great task of peace talks.

Sun Chaoen tried his best to decline, but the public opinion was overwhelming, so he had no choice but to say, "Your Majesty, I am willing to share your burdens!"

Prince Ji was overjoyed and kicked Sun Chaoen to Qingming, instructing him to return quickly. In Sun Chaoen's absence, Cai Miao's charm diminished by half.

When Sun Chaoen arrived at the foot of Guantun City, he was greeted only by a captain. Not only did Wei Yuan not appear, but none of the cultivators from Taichu Palace showed up either.

Many in the delegation were secretly gloating, ready to see Sun Chaoen make a fool of himself. Sun Chaoen's reputation at court was extremely poor; he was practically the epitome of a treacherous minister, and all righteous people wanted to see him fall from grace.

For this peace talks, Wang Hu was sent to negotiate. Throughout the talks, Wang Hu was listless and indifferent, no matter how eloquently the ministers of Ji State argued, he would only reply with "No."

Thus, the first day of negotiations ended without result.

As night fell, Wei Yuanfang visited Sun Chaoen's residence. The two met again and were both deeply moved.

Wei Yuan carefully examined Sun Chaoen's physical condition and then said, "You are currently burdened with a lot of resentment and malevolence, as well as a great deal of karma. This is the consequence of being condemned by everyone."

Sun Chaoen asked, "Will this affect my cultivation?"

Wei Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "Originally, with your talent, it would have been difficult for you to form a mental world, so it wouldn't have affected you, since that was your limit. But things are different now. I have found many methods and obtained a lot of resources, which can gradually improve everyone's physical constitution, so the realm of cultivation is no longer out of reach. There is hope for a breakthrough, and your current state is no longer acceptable."

I'll make some plans for you later, and try to turn this into a stroke of good fortune.

Sun Chaoen was both surprised and delighted, his voice trembling slightly as he asked, "Do I still have hope for a breakthrough?"

"Of course. As long as you have good fortune, over time, your innate qualities will naturally change. Furthermore, the prosperity of the various realms in the Azure Netherworld can help you perfect your inner world."

Sun Chaoen sighed, "It's just a matter of good fortune; how easy is that?"

"It's alright. Once the affairs of the Ji Kingdom are settled, if you don't want to be an official, you can come to Qingming to manage a city. As long as you govern well and are loved by the people, it won't be difficult for you to gain good fortune."

Sun Chaoen pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "The blessing of good fortune is so precious. Many of your fellow disciples from the Taichu Palace have fought alongside you all this way. The position of city lord is limited, how could I be qualified to occupy one?" Wei Yuan smiled and said, "This is just the beginning. In the future, we will have many people and many cities. The position of city lord will not only not be scarce, but there will be a surplus."

As the two were talking, a young man in gray clothes suddenly appeared in the room. It was Cangwu. He sat down calmly and said, "You two are having a very enjoyable conversation."

Wei Yuan was not surprised at all. Even with an immortal in front of him, he remained seated and said, "Lord Sun is preparing to betray the interests of the Ji Kingdom, and I will return the favor by giving Lord Sun enough benefits as a bribe."

Cangwu frowned slightly and said, "Why aren't you afraid of me at all?"

Wei Yuan said calmly, "Senior is just sending down a projection clone, at most at the mid-stage of the Imperial Realm. What am I afraid of? I don't think Senior would risk his true body. Since Senior has come, he is naturally here to discuss terms."

Cangwu nodded slightly and said slowly, "As expected of someone who has caught your eye, sir. That's right, I'm here to negotiate with you."

Sun Chaoen looked at Cangwu, then at Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan said, "This senior is the immortal of your Ji Kingdom now, and we've fought several battles together. Oh... I don't know your name, senior."

My name is Cangwu.

Sun Chaoen rose and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Immortal Lord Cangwu."

Cangwu waved his hand and said, "No need for formalities. I don't want to get involved in your affair with Wei Yuan, besides, those who aren't involved aren't as good as you."

Cangwu turned to Wei Yuan and said, "I need you to completely withdraw from Guantun County and the two neighboring counties. As compensation, I will give you a Starfall Core, which can be used as the foundation of your grotto-heaven."

Wei Yuan smiled slightly and said, "An extraterrestrial core? That's quite a grand gesture. But as you can see, Guantun County and the surrounding area have already become extremely prosperous. This cannot be compensated by ten or twenty million taels of silver."

Cangwu frowned and asked, "Then what do you want?"

Wei Yuan said, "It's very simple. I know that you and the person behind you want to reduce the number of people. With the current Heavenly Dao, the karma generated by rampant killing, even if there are ways to deal with it, will still have hidden dangers and troubles. So, you might as well give me the people you want to reduce. I can handle 30 to 50 million."

Cangwu frowned more deeply and said, "Is it that simple? There's no need to reduce so many people now. Thirty million is impossible, at most twenty million."

"Fifty million!"

"There's no room for negotiation, it's only 20 million."

"If it's only 20 million people, then we need to include the star cores. If it's 30 million people, then I don't need the star cores."

Cangwu said, "You already have the Sun and Moon Grotto-Heaven. If you add the Great Star from Outer Heaven, the Sun, Moon, and Star will become a unified whole, making your path to enlightenment smooth and like adding wings to a tiger! Are you really willing to give up this precious treasure for the sake of a mere few million mortals?"

Without a second thought, Wei Yuan said, "We can give up."

Cangwu gave Wei Yuan a deep look, then said, "...Deal."

In the spring of the fifth year of the Hongjing reign, Sun Chaoen reached a secret agreement with Wei Yuan and returned to the capital in triumph. This treaty was called the Guantun Treaty. In the treaty, Wei Yuan would withdraw from all the land of Ji State that he had occupied, which was equivalent to ceding Guantun and three other counties, and at the same time pay an indemnity of one million taels of silver.

At the same time, the "Qingji Friendship, Commerce and Navigation Treaty" was signed, which included provisions for opening trade routes, treaty ports, extraterritoriality, and so on. Ordinary people did not find anything wrong with these provisions.

This is the official treaty; the secret agreement contains only one clause: within three months, thirty million ordinary people must be relocated to the mountain people's territory.

(End of this chapter)