Jiuxi

Chapter 1029 [Survival]

Late August, south bank of the Jing River, Jinyang City.

When the Qin King Lu Chen's ceremonial procession entered the city, countless soldiers inside and outside the city gave warm and thunderous cheers.

These elite warriors have been training hard for nearly three years in accordance with Lu Chen's arrangements.

In the past three years, the ten main armies seemed to have not made any major moves, but in fact, under Lu Chen's close attention, they have been conducting very strict internal selection.

New firearms are supplied first, internal assessments are conducted every month, and joint inspections are conducted by multiple departments every six months. The best will be promoted and the worst will be demoted. No one can just rest on their past achievements and wait for death.

Strict requirements will naturally have corresponding treatment. The timely and full payment of monthly salaries to each army is the basis. Lu Chen is very strict on this point. In three years, he has dealt with a total of four deputy commanders and twelve captains, including some generals who had made great military achievements in the past.

After such sharpening and forging, once the long sword comes out, it will surely amaze the whole world.

And now the soldiers have finally waited for this day to come.

After entering the city, Lu Chen did not directly summon the generals of various armies for a military meeting, because he had received a secret report before entering the city that an envoy from the north wanted to see him.

In the main hall of the Marshal's Mansion, Lu Chen received the envoy from the Kingdom of Jing who dared to cross the river to seek a meeting with only two followers.

"Foreign minister Han Xian pays respect to His Royal Highness the King of Qin of Qi!"

The envoy was nearly fifty years old, with an elegant temperament and a firm gaze. One could tell at a glance that he was a well-read man.

He seemed to have not noticed the fierce generals and guards on both sides at all, and the only thing in his eyes was Lu Chen sitting high on the commander's seat.

"Han Xian?"

Lu Chen looked at him and raised his eyebrows slightly.

Han Xian was obviously well prepared, and replied respectfully and appropriately: "Your Highness, I am a Jinglian man, and I do not have Qi blood."

"I think so too. Your regent king would not deliberately send a Qi person to disgust others."

Lu Chen spoke calmly, and then got straight to the point: "Tell me, what do you want to see me for?"

Han Xian's prepared greetings were useless, but he reacted very quickly and said directly: "I am here on the orders of the Regent King, hoping to get the approval of His Royal Highness the King of Qin to promote the establishment of a friendly alliance between Qi and Jing."

At this moment, the hall was suddenly filled with murderous aura, and fierce generals like Xu Gui stared at Han Xian's face with knife-like eyes.

When the State of Jing was in an advantageous position, it would frequently start wars and wantonly bully the people of Qi. It regarded the ten states in the north of the Yangtze River and the Heluo region of the Great Qi as blood bags that would never run dry. It used all sorts of means to drain the blood of the people of Qi to nourish the powerful Jing army. The blood debt it committed is too numerous to list.

Now that the Great Qi is strong and well-equipped, the Jing army knows that they are no match for it, so they want to make a friendly alliance to delay time. How can there be such a cheap dream in this world?

"Don't worry."

Lu Chen's two simple words restored the calmness of the hall. He said with a smile, "First, let's hear what conditions Qing Yu Huaijin can come up with."

Hearing him calling the Regent of Jing State by his name, Han Xian's expression did not change at all, he just sighed quietly in his heart.

On the surface, Lu Chen did not directly reject Han Xian's proposal, but this ambiguous attitude meant that he did not take the peace talks seriously at all, and he did not even bother to create some psychological pressure on Han Xian.

Even so, Han Xian remembered Qing Yu Huaijin's earnest advice before he left, and could only force himself to say: "Your Highness, in order to facilitate the peace talks, our country is willing to make the following sincere efforts. First, from now on, Qi and Jing will be brothers, Qi is the elder brother, Jing is the younger brother, and our regent prince respects His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin as his brother."

For the Jinglian people who have been rampant for decades, such conditions are indeed a shame, and Qing Yu Huaijin, who made this decision, will also be criticized and condemned by the court and the public for a long time.

However, Lu Chen didn't even raise his eyelids, and the others sneered.

Han Xian bowed his head and said, "Secondly, in order to make up for the various losses your country has suffered in the past twenty years, our country is willing to pay compensation of 10 million taels of silver, 500,000 taels of gold, 10,000 war horses, and 30,000 cattle and sheep."

Lu Chen said calmly: "This price is much lower than I expected."

Han Xian couldn't figure out what he was thinking. Although the compensation amount set by Qing Yu Huaijin was indeed higher, he couldn't reveal all his cards right away, so he continued, "Third, if His Royal Highness the King of Qin agrees to a friendly alliance between the two countries, our country is willing to pay tribute of 2 million taels of silver, 50,000 taels of gold, 2,000 war horses, and 5,000 cattle and sheep each year."

Lu Chen looked at the courageous envoy from the Kingdom of Jing and suddenly laughed softly. Han Xian had been an envoy to the extinct Kingdom of Zhao and the surviving Kingdom of Dai. He had always been a superior and looked down upon the rulers and ministers of foreign countries. Now it was finally his turn to understand that the situation was stronger than the person.

Lu Chen did not show any obvious anger, so Han Xian had to rack his brains to think of a strategy on how to convince this Southern Qi nobleman who could be called a god of war.

The problem is that the initiative is not in his hands.

After a moment, Lu Chen said calmly, "Envoy Han, I don't like beating around the bush. Since you are here to seek peace on the orders of Qing Yu Huaijin, you should know that I don't need to give you this opportunity to meet."

Han Xian lowered his head and said, "I understand."

"My time is precious and cannot be wasted on meaningless probing and wrangling, so I don't want to hear you bargaining here anymore."

Lu Chen sat up straight, his eyes sharpened: "Now I will tell you, if Jingguo wants to make peace, you must agree to my three conditions."

"Your Highness, please explain clearly."

"First, ever since the Jing Kingdom first sent troops to invade the south in the 62nd year, your hands have been stained with the blood of the Qi people. This account must be settled. To put it simply, let's not count the dead for now. As long as the Jinglian nobles and soldiers who participated in the Qi-Jing war are still alive, they must be executed one by one."

Xu Gui and others naturally felt relieved when they heard this, but Han Xian showed a difficult expression for the first time.

Although the condition proposed by Lu Chen was reasonable, it was obviously unacceptable to Jing State.

If Qing Yu Huaijin really dared to agree, she might not see the sun the next day.

Lu Chen continued, "Second, from the day the alliance is signed, Jing State must disband all its troops. I will send troops to maintain the authority of the Qing Yu family and ensure that you still enjoy a transcendent status and power in the country. If I know that you still have a soldier, the alliance will be immediately declared invalid, and I will launch a northern expedition at any time."

Han Xian's face immediately turned pale as if he had just chewed bitter melon.

Even the brave generals of the Qi army felt a little embarrassed at this moment. If the State of Jing agreed to such conditions, what would be the difference between that and the direct destruction of the country?
Lu Chen looked calm and said calmly, "Third, in order to compensate Da Qi for the losses in the past few decades of war, Jing State should cede Shandong Road and Qingyuan Road to Da Qi. As for compensation such as gold, silver, cattle and horses, the ministers of both sides can discuss it after the first three items are determined."

Until this moment, Han Xian remained silent.

Although the negotiation was to make a high offer and pay a low price, the three conditions proposed by Lu Chen were too harsh and he had no room for bargaining.

And based on his understanding of Lu Chen, such conditions might be the result of Lu Chen slightly lowering his standards. After all, the purpose of this powerful Southern Qi official's marching north was to directly destroy the Jing Kingdom.

After a long while, he said with a gloomy expression: "I have taken note of your request and will convey it to our Regent Prince."

"Whether it is conveyed or not is actually not that important."

Lu Chen sneered and said slowly: "Qing Yu Huaijin is not a weak and ignorant little woman. After these years of experience, she has already learned to put honor and disgrace aside. Therefore, the so-called peace talks are just a means for her to delay time. Even if I offer more stringent conditions, she will not even frown. It's nothing more than wrangling back and forth. After all, it takes a long time for the envoys to go back and forth. If it can be delayed until the turn of spring and summer next year, maybe this king will be forced to withdraw his troops."

Han Xian felt quite helpless. This was the result of being controlled by others. No matter how Qing Yu Huaijin was willing to save face, in Lu Chen's view, her every move clearly showed her intentions on her face.

Of course, he must have some ability to be chosen by Qing Yu Huaijin to go south, so he explained: "Your Highness, please allow me to report. His Highness the Regent Prince of our country knows that His Highness the Prince of Qin is a master of military tactics, and your noble family is brave and fearless. Our country has no choice but to hold the city to the end. If we can avoid this war and reduce bloodshed and sacrifice, our country is willing to pay the price to calm His Highness the Prince of Qin's anger. Therefore, seeking peace is not a delaying tactic, but a sincere act."

"Good eloquence."

Lu Chen brushed it off and then said bluntly: "Qing Yu Huaijin will not agree to the three conditions proposed by the king, and the king does not have the patience to continue waiting for her reply. But when you go back, you can tell her that the king has left her a way out. Before the king leads the army to capture Dadu, she can consider whether to accept the king's proposal."

Han Xian was slightly stunned, as if trying to guess how much truth or falsehood Lu Chen's words were.

Lu Chen stood up and walked slowly to Han Xian. Everyone in the hall stood up almost at the same time, staring at Han Xian with sharp eyes. If he dared to make any rash moves, he would be chopped into meat paste in an instant.

"Tell Qing Yu Huaijin that there is no point in stalling for time. Our army will not stop. I know she will face a lot of resistance, and fighting and stalling is the only viable strategy. Therefore, I will personally lead the army to crush all obstacles. By that time, I believe she will be able to make the final decision."

Lu Chen paused for a moment, and said seriously: "Although the way out I left for her cannot allow her to preserve the ancestral temple of Jing State, it should allow your tribe to leave a bloodline. If she is willing to accept this path, let her come to see me in person."

Han Xian was confused by what he heard. When he met Lu Chen's clear and sharp gaze, his heart suddenly trembled. He bowed his head and said, "I obey your orders!"

(End of this chapter)