The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Jia Lian was not surprised that the Queen of Joseon knew that he was writing calligraphy on paper made by beautiful women in the palace.

After all, whether it was those beauties or the ordinary maids in the palace, they were all arranged by the Korean side.

It would be strange if the other party knew nothing about what he was doing in the palace.

Jia Lian didn't care that the other party was paying attention to him.

On the contrary, he couldn't help but be moved by the Queen of Joseon's suggestion to spend the night in the palace.

Even if he didn't have such intentions, he was still a normal man.

Conquering a country and sleeping with the king's woman is undoubtedly the most power-hungry thing.

The Queen of Korea noticed Jia Lian's interest, so she wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered her head in his ear.

She whispered in Jia Lian's ear in Chinese, "As long as the Prince of Pingliao agrees to my conditions, I will show him my skills tonight."

After speaking, the Queen of Joseon gently licked Jia Lian's earlobe.

Jia Lian's blood suddenly surged.

The sight of the lithe and graceful queen sitting on his lap already aroused his restlessness.

How could I bear such provocation?
Just then, Jia Lian felt the time was right, so he stopped being polite.

With his left arm around the woman's slender waist, he turned around and pressed her down onto the chair, looking down at the queen of Joseon.

This was the first time the Queen of Joseon had been looked down upon by a man, especially one so powerful, capable, and handsome.

Her heart was pounding uncontrollably.

Despite her embarrassment, she pushed against Jia Lian's chest with both hands, feigning reluctance, and asked happily, "Does the Prince of Pingliao agree?"

Jia Lian shook his head and said with a smile, "Since the Queen is so confident, why don't you let me see the Queen's methods first?"

In this way, I can also judge whether the Queen is truly worthy.

The queen was about to object when she heard this.

Jia Lian didn't give her a chance to refuse, and pounced on her, kissing her most charming and alluring neck.

As their skin touched, the Queen of Joseon's expression immediately became alluring, and her beautiful eyes narrowed.

The arms that had initially pushed Jia Lian away now climbed up his body and clung to his back, unconsciously stroking him.

It wasn't that she was so sensitive; she was completely unable to extricate herself after Jia Lian kissed her neck.

This was exactly what she had planned.

The so-called negotiation is just an excuse, or rather, a kind of fun.

Does she really think she's worth 95 million taels of silver?
No, she's not that stupid.

She believed that Jia Lian and the Wei Kingdom behind him wouldn't really want the 95 million taels of silver.

Moreover, given the significant disparity in strength between the two sides, there are few conditions to negotiate.

Leaving aside the fact that the Wei state behind Jia Lian now seems fully capable of launching a war to annihilate Korea.

Take Jia Lian's tens of thousands of soldiers, for example; they, brother and sister, couldn't afford to offend them.

Since we can't afford to offend them, we can only try to appease them and build good relations.

If they could please Jia Lian, who held the power of discourse, they could prevent him from harboring any ill will towards North Korea, or at least towards them, his siblings.

As long as the other party does not have malicious intent to kill, then any conditions are negotiable.

the most important is.

They could only talk to Jia Lian.

However, Jia Lian's negotiations were not limited to them.

Although the siblings had usurped the power of the Yi dynasty, countless families throughout Korea wanted to replace the Kim family.

Without outside help, none of these families can match the Kim family.

But if they were to get in touch with Jia Lian, it would be a catastrophe for the Jin family.

Therefore, regardless of Wei's ultimate goal, the siblings must first bind Jia Lian to the Jin family.

What wealth and beauty? His brother has already given them all to Jia Lian in turn.

Now, she intends to use her status as the Queen of Joseon to completely eliminate Jia Lian's idea of ​​abandoning the Kim family.

She believed that no man could resist a woman like her.

No man could resist the pleasure of toying with another king's queen.

Because of these considerations, the Queen of Joseon appeared extremely compliant to Jia Lian's advances.

She didn't care at all that this was the palace where the King of Joseon entertained his guests.

They didn't care that there were other people in the hall.

The King of Joseon was a man who indulged in women.

They have never been shy about engaging in public displays of lewdness.

Moreover, she also noticed that although Jia Lian brought some guards into the palace, they were all dressed as women.

Therefore, she naturally had even less to worry about.

I was even a little impatient.

Compared to the mediocre and incompetent King Joseon, Jia Lian's charm was many times greater.

Suddenly realizing that Jia Lian had left, the Queen of Korea opened her eyes.

She noticed that Jia Lian had already stood up and was looking at her with a smile.

She subconsciously gathered her torn clothes and asked in a soft voice, "What's wrong?"

"nothing."

Jia Lian bent down and picked up the beautiful queen.

"This chair is too small and inconvenient for me to witness the Queen's methods. Let's find another place."

The Queen of Joseon was initially puzzled, but after a quick glance, she noticed that Jia Lian was carrying him up to the golden throne, and she immediately understood.

After Jia Lian put her down, she turned around gracefully on the throne and said with a playful laugh, "The Prince of Pingliao is really bold."

This is a seat reserved for our king.

No matter what, our king is a prince appointed by Your Majesty the Emperor of Great Wei, a hereditary title, and his status is above yours.

"You've overstepped your bounds."

Jia Lian, whose interest had already been piqued, responded with a wicked laugh.

"So what if it's usurpation?"

Today, I will not only overstep my bounds, but I will also defy my superior, so that the Queen may also witness my methods!

Having said that, Jia Lian no longer held back. He grabbed the Queen's legs and, amidst her feigned struggle, stripped off her thin silk trousers, tossing them behind him.

Upon seeing this, the Korean palace maids standing nearby quickly bowed and picked up their queen's clothes one by one.

They didn't know how to judge their queen's behavior of actively seducing the prince.

On the one hand, they felt it was a disgrace to the nation, since the king had only recently passed away and the queen was already engaging in such illicit relations with outsiders.

On the other hand, I also felt that the Queen truly deserved to be called the Queen; she had real courage and boldness.

For the sake of the greater good, he was willing to sacrifice his own reputation.

Ultimately, it all turned into peeping and fantasizing about Jia Lian's body.

The woman admired the strong.

Even their queen admired Jia Lian's legendary reputation, let alone ordinary maids like them.

They only regretted not being born with the queen's beauty; otherwise, perhaps they themselves would be lying on that noble throne, enjoying her favor...

After leaving the main hall, Jin Shijia did not go far, but chose to observe the situation nearby.

Unexpectedly, not long after, one of Jia Lian's female guards came out of the palace and spoke to Jia Lian's personal guards outside the palace.

The guards immediately lined up in front of the palace gates, clearly determined not to let anyone in.

Jin Shijia strongly suspected that he would be stopped by these guards if he went there now.

Not wanting to make a fool of himself, Jin Shijia, who already guessed what would happen inside the main hall, sighed inwardly and turned to leave.

However, he did not leave the palace, but waited in another place.

……

In the main hall.

After an unknown amount of time, the Korean palace maids and the female soldiers brought by Jia Lian finally breathed a sigh of relief.
For the female soldiers, watching a thrilling live sex show evoked not only shame and excitement, but also immense pride and a sense of accomplishment.

My prince is truly amazing; even the queen of a kingdom willingly offers herself to him and lets him play with her as he pleases.

Those who had close contact with Jia Lian felt a sense of superiority.

She herself had been played by the prince, and so had the queen of this kingdom.

In short, she was also a queen!
On the throne, the exhausted Queen of Joseon lay sprawled on Jia Lian's chest, taking a long time to recover.

She propped herself up and looked at Jia Lian's skin, which had also turned rosy, and the sweat on his forehead.

She chuckled softly, wiping away Jia Lian's sweat with her sleeve as she asked in a sweet voice, "What does the Prince of Pingliao think of my methods?"

Jia Lian lowered his head.

His hand unconsciously stroked the beauty's slender yet resilient waist, and then he couldn't help but nod.

"The queen's waist was like a knife that could kill."

"If I hadn't been a seasoned warrior, I fear I would have been defeated this time."

"Giggle..."

After laughing for a while, Queen Jin tossed her hair, leaned close to Jia Lian's ear, and teased, "The King of Pingliao is also very powerful, much more powerful than our deceased king."

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian neither agreed nor disagreed, but simply patted her shapely buttocks lightly and said with a smile, "Alright, get up and get dressed."

Queen Kim was getting impatient waiting. Only then did she remember that her eldest brother might still be waiting outside the palace.

But she didn't care either.

Knowing that Jia Lian would be the easiest person to talk to at this time, she coquettishly wrapped her arms around Jia Lian's neck.

"Never mind him for now. The Prince of Pingliao just agreed with my methods, shouldn't he keep his promise and agree to my conditions?"

Jia Lian smiled but didn't reply. Instead, he waved to Aqi and Aqin beside him.

Upon seeing this, the two women immediately stepped forward to help Jia Lian change his clothes.

The palace maids beside her also rushed over to help the queen dress.

After putting on his robes, Jia Lian sat back on the throne.

Seeing that Queen Jin was glancing at him intermittently, clearly afraid that he would take advantage of her and then deny it, she patted the spot next to her.

Upon seeing this, Queen Jin immediately put on a charming smile, spun around and sat down next to Jia Lian, naturally snuggling into his arms.

Jia Lian lifted her delicate chin: "Alright, since the Queen has shown such sincerity, how could I be stingy?"
"Call your brother in."

Queen Kim beamed with joy.

Thinking she had already won Jia Lian's heart, she excitedly sent someone to fetch Jin Shijia, then immediately turned and threw herself into Jia Lian's arms, showering him with tenderness.

So when Jin Shijia entered the palace again, he saw Jia Lian sitting leisurely on the throne.

They can sit on the throne of their Korean kingdom, that's fine.

But his sister, the Queen of their Joseon Kingdom, was like a docile little woman, nestled beside Jia Lian, obediently serving him wine.

From his angle, he could even see Jia Lian's left hand resting on his sister's waist and hips, stroking her gently.

Unable to bear watching any longer, Jin Shijia bowed to the person above with a blank expression, then pretended nothing had happened and sat back down in his previous seat.

After serving Jia Lian a cup of wine and wiping his mouth, the Queen Jin noticed that neither Jia Lian nor his brother spoke. She then nuzzled Jia Lian with her half-exposed shoulder.

Jia Lian understood, sat up straighter, and coughed.

After Jin Shijia looked over, he said, "After your queen's detailed explanation, I have a basic understanding of the difficulties of Korea."

I am not an inhuman being.

They also happen to have some say in this matter, and therefore are willing to make some concessions on our original demands.

Jin Shijia's lips twitched, thinking that Jia Lian was utterly shameless.

Just by looking at the lingering lust on his sister's face, and her slightly disheveled hair and clothes, one could tell what Jia Lian had just done to her.

And they even offered a "detailed explanation".

Upon hearing this, he immediately disregarded the previous point and hurriedly stood up, bowed, and asked, "I wonder what concessions Your Highness is willing to make?"

Jia Lian placed his hand back on Empress Jin's waist, pulling her closer, and then said calmly, "Since 100 million taels of silver is indeed a bit too much for you, let's reduce it by half, to 50 million taels..."

Upon hearing that it was fifty million taels, Jin Shijia immediately became anxious.

Although it was indeed reduced by half, there wasn't actually much difference between 50 million taels and 100 million taels.

Anyway, these are all numbers they can't afford.

Empress Jin was also anxious and looked at Jia Lian, about to speak, when Jia Lian slapped her on the buttocks.

Jia Lian continued, "Don't be in a hurry."

Since the Councilor and the Queen have shown me sufficient goodwill, I will naturally reciprocate.

I can decide on the matter of these fifty million taels; I do not require you to repay them all at once.

All you need to do this time is prepare ten million taels of silver and hand it over to me.

The remaining forty million taels can be divided into ten years, with four million taels paid annually to our Great Wei.

Upon hearing this, the Jin siblings' anxious expressions subsided slightly.

The first payment was ten million taels, and the remainder would be repaid over ten years.

Although it is still an enormous burden, it suddenly seems that there is still a chance of it being realized.

Jia Lian noticed their expressions and continued, "Considering that your country does indeed lack mineral resources and has insufficient gold and silver reserves."

Of the initial ten million taels, you are allowed to prepare only half of the silver, which is five million taels.

The remaining five million taels can be converted into valuable assets such as grain and cloth.

Jin Shijia's brows relaxed a little more.

Even if Jia Lian didn't say it, he would still bring it up.

Because their country doesn't really have much gold and silver reserves.

Even in his mansion, there wasn't much gold or silver.

However, Jia Lian's initiative in bringing it up showed great sincerity.

This shows that he understood and considered the true situation in North Korea.

Sincerity is the first essential element for successful negotiations.

Jin Shijia quickly said, "Although Your Highness's method is already very considerate, fifty million taels is still too large for Korea."

Even if we can barely scrape together the first ten million taels.

We fear that we will no longer be able to afford the annual cost of four million taels.

Your Highness may not know, but our country's annual revenue is only a little over two million shi (a unit of dry measure).
Converted to silver, the annual income would only be a little over one million taels.

Even if we hand over all of these, it still wouldn't reach four million.

"I implore Your Highness to grant me this great favor."

Jia Lian sneered: "The Councilor is going too far."

I am merely a prince leading troops, not the ruler of my great Wei.

In my opinion, we could do it for free, helping you repel the enemy and gain a good reputation.

But would His Majesty and his ministers allow me to do this?

"If I were to actually do that, how could I face my brothers who have followed me across thousands of miles, risking their lives for me?"

He scolded him, but Jin Shijia didn't dare to reply.

Jia Lian softened his tone and sighed, "Don't blame me for forcing you; this has always been the way relations between nations."

Without sufficient benefits, why would our dynasty mobilize such a large army to rescue you?
Don't you understand this principle?

No, you know better than we do.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have sent Ambassador Li to our capital and made such a solemn promise.

Because you know that if it weren't for this, we would never have crossed the ocean and taken such a great risk to save you.

Therefore, it was not I who forced you.

It is not that our dynasty is abusing its power.

Rather, it was a pre-arranged transaction from beginning to end.

The Kim siblings remained silent.

Indeed, Jia Lian's statement has some merit.

The situation was critical at the time, and they were naturally willing to pay any price as long as the Great Wei was willing to send troops.

But now the Japanese pirates are either dead, have fled, or have been captured.

The crisis has been resolved.

At this point, they—no, it should be said that all the subjects of the entire Joseon Kingdom—naturally would no longer be willing to give everything to repay the Great Wei.

Moreover, Wei's demand for such a huge amount of wealth was clearly an exorbitant request.

Empress Jin carefully observed Jia Lian's expression, and after a long while said, "Fifty million taels, is this amount truly unchangeable?"

"Unchangeable."

Upon hearing Jia Lian's resolute words, Jin Shijia's expression turned solemn, but Empress Jin laughed.

She grabbed Jia Lian's arm again and said jokingly, "I don't believe that the superior country has mobilized such a large army just to demand fifty million taels of silver from Korea, which we simply cannot afford."

If the superior nation insists on doing this, it will not only cause my dynasty to disintegrate, but also lead to an uprising of tens of millions of people in my Joseon country.

I truly never imagined that this could bring any other benefits to the country.

Now that we have this kind of relationship, the Prince of Pingliao no longer needs to hide it.

Tell me, what exactly does the superior nation want from our Joseon nation?

Or rather, what are the true demands of the superior nation?

Queen Kim was not a short-sighted woman who could only bewitch the king.

On the contrary, having grown up in one of North Korea's top aristocratic families, she was exposed to how to govern the common people and how to balance the relationships between aristocratic families.

So she understood perfectly.

If we really follow Jia Lian's request...

This initial sum of ten million taels was enough to crush Korea, which had been ravaged by war for more than half a year, to the point that it could not lift its head.

Even if they survived.

Every year thereafter, the Koreans would have to endure the blood and sweat of being exploited layer by layer to pay a huge indemnity of four million taels.

It's foreseeable that this will happen in a few years.

Either North Korea will offend the superior country because it cannot afford the remaining debt, and will be attacked by the superior country.

Either the uprisings in various places overthrew the entire Li dynasty, leaving no one to take responsibility for the debt.

Having studied Han culture and knowing the principles of Han people's conduct, she did not believe that the Great Wei had gone to such great lengths just to destroy Korea.

This is unreasonable from both a moral and long-term perspective. (End of Chapter)