We'll have you impersonate the Crown Prince and create a prosperous era for the Great Qian Dyna

Zhou Tiancheng's face turned dark.

You offended them so badly just now, but in the end, they still have a trump card up their sleeve.

What should we do now?

Negotiation is definitely necessary, since it concerns Zhou Rui's reputation for filial piety.

But Kazan clearly didn't want to offer the lowest price. If the negotiations failed, people would say that Zhou Rui had wanted to kill the Emperor Emeritus for a long time and was unwilling to part with any money, deliberately causing the negotiations to fail.

This is what Zhou Tiancheng and Zhou Rui cannot accept.

Zhou Tiancheng immediately changed his expression, becoming gentle and kind.

"Kazan's Messenger, what kind of sincerity do you desire?"

Kazan glanced at Zhou Tiancheng, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"You must hand over Shi Cheng to me. He kicked my deputy envoy, and he needs to give me an explanation."

"Besides, Your Highness the Crown Prince of Daqian, since you can use a bet to force me to kneel before your Daqian Emperor and shout 'Long live the Emperor,' could I then ask you to kneel before me and shout 'Long live the Emperor of Northern Xia'?"

"According to the rules, I represent the Emperor of my Great Qian Dynasty. The alliance between Northern Xia and Great Qian states that the Emperor of Northern Xia is the younger brother of the Emperor of Great Qian. Therefore, I represent your uncle, your elder. It's not unreasonable for you to kneel and kowtow, is it?"

His demand for Shi Cheng was something everyone could understand.

Shi Cheng's actions, striking the members of the delegation, were tantamount to slapping Bei Xia in the face. Kazan's actions were not problematic.

But making Zhou Tiancheng kneel down was just a side effect.

This is a personal grudge.

Shi Cheng was the first to jump out.

"Isn't it all about getting an explanation?"

"Take my head, Shi Cheng's head!"

"I never imagined that I, Shi Cheng, could be worth so much silver. It's worth dying for."

"But you want the Crown Prince to kneel? That's impossible. I, Shi Cheng, will be the first to object. At worst, I'll march all the way to your Northern Xia!"

Kazan was startled.

He began to carefully observe the civil and military officials in the court.

It was only at this moment that he realized that most of the civil officials were silent, pretending not to hear and acting deaf.

However, these military generals, especially those from the northern frontier, all glared at him angrily.

Even the Duke of Protectorate, Zheng Rong, frowned as he looked at him, his eyes clearly filled with murderous intent.

He just wanted to make the Crown Prince of Daqian kneel down!

Have these military generals gone mad?

This moment.

Kazan realized that this crown prince of the Great Qian Dynasty was practically a ticking time bomb, the kind that would explode at the slightest touch.

The key point is that his explosion didn't just affect himself; it affected the entire military system of the Great Qian Dynasty, including all the generals of the Northern Frontier faction.

Kazan was starting to regret his decision.

He shouldn't have dragged the crown prince into this.

Meanwhile, Qin Zhi'ang looked at Shi Cheng and his generals, and felt a little flustered.

How long has it been? Has the Crown Prince really become a force to be reckoned with?

Although they are just some military generals from the northern frontier faction and have no connection to the government, their presence will inevitably cause trouble for the Third Prince's ascension to the throne, and may even lead to a coup in the Qiankun Palace.

With a gloomy face, he immediately came up with a plan to sow discord between Kazan and Zhou Tiancheng.

Before Zhou Tiancheng and Shi Cheng could speak, he stepped forward and stood in front of Kazan.

"Envoy Kazan, how can you, Northern Xia, handle my generals?"

"I, Qin Zhi'ang, am the first to object to this."

Kazan turned to look at Qin Zhiang and immediately spoke with a disdainful expression.

Who are you?

Qin Zhiang's face darkened.

"I am the Minister of Rites of the Great Qian Dynasty."

Kazan was even more disdainful.

"I'm speaking to your crown prince and the emperor, what are you doing out here?"

Qin Zhi'ang was so angry that his hands trembled slightly.

But he couldn't forget his main task.

He quickly spoke up to remind the other person.

"Envoy Kazan, normally, once your delegation enters the territory of my Great Qian, it falls under the jurisdiction of my Ministry of Rites. Even if it is to negotiate, it is my Ministry of Rites officials who will dispatch personnel to assist."

"This is exactly the kind of thing my Ministry of Rites deals with. What do you think I, Qin Zhi'ang, am doing here?"

"I'll say it again, if you want to punish our Great Qian general, there's no room for negotiation!"

Zhou Tiancheng was about to step forward, but when he saw Qin Zhiang speaking up for Shi Cheng, he immediately shut his mouth.

Kazan immediately sneered upon hearing Qin Zhiang's words.

He can't do anything to the Crown Prince of the Great Qian Dynasty, but he can't do anything to you, a mere Minister of Rites?

"So you mean, Daqian doesn't intend to negotiate and will just compensate Beixia according to the prices on my list?"

Qin Zhi'ang's face darkened, and he quickly spoke.

That's not what I meant!

"What I mean is, we can trade it for something else."

Kazan immediately spoke up.

"No change."

Qin Zhi'ang was so angry that his stomach hurt.

Kazan showed him no respect whatsoever, yet he was somewhat wary of Zhou Tiancheng, which made him feel somewhat embarrassed.

He patiently began to speak.

"Aren't you going to listen to our conditions?"

Kazan immediately scoffed.

"Do you think I don't know your negotiation tactics?"

"They're using this reason or that excuse to force us to lower our prices."

"But let me tell you, don't even think about lowering the price this time. Your supreme leader is in our hands. Our emperor has already said that it's fine whether the negotiations succeed or fail."

"At worst, we'll go back and kill your retired emperor, then spread the word that your Great Qian emperor has no filial piety!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Zhiang paused for a moment, his breath catching in his throat.

He stared intently at Kazan for a long time before finally speaking.

"So you're saying you absolutely have to make the Crown Prince kneel?"

He didn't mention Shi Cheng at all.

Kazan stared at Qin Zhiang with wide eyes, then immediately spoke.

"The main reason is Shi Cheng! The Crown Prince was just incidental!"

"Don't talk nonsense. It's not that we can't talk to the Crown Prince. He doesn't have to kneel if he doesn't want to. Just give him some benefits. But Shi Cheng must be handed over to us."

Kazan regretted involving the Crown Prince, so how could he possibly accept Qin Zhiang's words?

Qin Zhi'ang's face darkened.

Why is this envoy from Northern Xia so cowardly?

Is he really that afraid of the Crown Prince?

Qin Zhiang felt a sense of powerlessness, as if he had punched cotton.

He turned to look at Zhou Tiancheng and saw that Zhou Tiancheng's face was contorted, as if he wanted to laugh but dared not. Qin Zhiang knew that he had completely lost face!

He gritted his teeth in resentment, turned around and returned to his seat, giving Zhou Rui a perfunctory bow.

"Your Majesty, this old minister has done his best, but this Northern Xia envoy is completely unyielding, and this old minister is powerless to help."

Zhou Rui didn't smile at all from beginning to end.

Because he knew Qin Zhi'ang had ill intentions.

At this moment, Qin Zhiang returned in disgrace. He gave Qin Zhiang a cold look and quickly looked away.

"Envoy of Kazan, your conditions are a bit too harsh. I still need to discuss this with my court officials. Why don't you go back first, and I'll send someone to negotiate with you after we have a decision?"