The prince is more stable

Chapter 676 Overbearing Pressure
Zhao Xiaoqian was very unhappy.

You can trample on my dignity, you can insult my character, but you can't take my money.

If the Liao people took all the grain, money, and supplies from the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, not counting the counties under the jurisdiction of the prefectures, it would be equivalent to leaving the Song Dynasty with only sixteen empty cities and millions of hungry mouths in those empty cities.

Am I here to reclaim lost territory, or is this a targeted poverty alleviation effort?
This is absolutely intolerable.

The Song and Liao dynasties had just finished negotiations, and the Liao delegation was being escorted out of the government office by officials.

Chen Shou immediately arranged for a team of imperial guards to bring back Xiao Fengxian and other Liao officials.

Zhao Xiaoqian was furious; the outcome of the negotiations was a complete mess.

Under the pressure of military might, the negotiations that should have given the Song Dynasty the biggest advantage ended up being mutually beneficial. Why should we achieve a win-win situation when my fist is bigger than yours?
Xu Jiang followed behind Zhao Xiaoqian. After Zhao Xiaoqian's outburst of anger, Xu Jiang's old face also showed a embarrassed expression. The old man was quite old, and now he was following Zhao Xiaoqian with his eyebrows drooping and his eyes downcast. He wanted to admit his mistake but couldn't bring himself to do it, which was a bit funny.

At this moment, Xu Jiang probably realized that the Liao people had gained an advantage in the negotiation, which explained why Zhao Xiaoqian was so angry.

It's not entirely Xu's fault for being rash. The literati of the Song Dynasty ultimately harbored a deep-seated fear of the Liao Dynasty. After all, the Song Dynasty had been terrified of the Liao Dynasty for over a hundred years since its founding.

Even though the Song Dynasty's military strength is now superior to that of the Liao Dynasty, the cowardice ingrained in their bones cannot be eliminated in a year or two.

Therefore, Xu Jiang subconsciously fell into a misunderstanding during the negotiations. His utilitarian mentality was too strong, and he only thought about taking back the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, even if it was just sixteen empty cities.

As for the future, the Song Dynasty court will need to allocate a large amount of grain and money to digest this new territory, and also to win over the hearts of the people of Yan and Yun. Xu Jiang can no longer worry about these things; he only wants to take back Yan and Yun.

This led to the negotiation outcome: the Liao Dynasty ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, but took away the money, grain, and supplies. It was clearly a loss of sovereignty and a humiliation for the country, but it turned into a pure trade. It was as if the Liao Dynasty sold the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun to the Song Dynasty at a price, and took back a large amount of grain, grain, and money.

People's perspectives differ depending on their vantage point.

Perhaps Zhao Xu and Xu Jiang could both accept this outcome with pleasure, and even all the subjects of the Song Dynasty would feel the same way. As long as the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun were recovered, it didn't matter whether they were empty cities or not. The recovery would be a huge honor and would make the whole country proud.

However, Zhao Xiaoqian was not going to tolerate the Liao Kingdom's bad habits. Given Zhao Xiaoqian's greedy nature, he was determined to take a share of the money accumulated in the various treasuries of Yan and Yun.

The Liao people taking away his money was tantamount to cutting off his source of income. How could he tolerate that?

Inside the main hall of the government office, Xiao Fengxian and a group of Liao officials were brought back by Chen Shou, who was half-inviting and half-forcing them. They looked around in confusion, wondering why Prince Zhao had suddenly called them back.

Not long after, Zhao Xiaoqian came out with a sullen face, and Xiao Fengxian smiled and politely went up to greet him.

Zhao Xiaoqian waved his hand, turned to look at General Xu, and said, "Mr. Chongyuan, has the alliance between the two countries been finalized?"

Xu Jiang said with a embarrassed expression, "It's confirmed..."

Xu immediately added, "But this is a matter of great importance. The alliance between the two countries has only been agreed upon by the two delegations, and the results have not yet been reported to the court and the emperor..."

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded: "The alliance hasn't been officially stamped yet, which means that the alliance isn't actually finalized, right?"

Xu nodded: "Yes."

The two exchanged questions and answers, leaving Xiao Fengxian and the Liao officials somewhat bewildered, and many of them immediately felt their hearts sink.

Is this Prince Zhao up to something again? What is he planning to do?

Zhao Xiaoqian looked at Xiao Fengxian and smiled slightly: "The alliance is not yet finalized, shall we sit down and talk again?"

In front of the Liao officials, Xiao Fengxian and Zhao Xiaoqian still maintained an unfamiliar and distant appearance, and even had to subtly show some hostility.

The acting skills required were not easy to master, but Xiao Fengxian was clearly able to handle it perfectly.

"I wonder if Your Highness has any complaints about the alliance?" Xiao Fengxian asked politely.

Zhao Xiaoqian said casually, "Oh, I'm basically satisfied, but there's one place that needs to be modified..."

"This humble subject wishes to hear its details."

"That's right. The recovery of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun by our Great Song Dynasty was originally a joyous occasion, and it was also a joyous occasion for your Liao Kingdom. After all, the two countries made peace as a result, and the Liao Kingdom gained at least several decades of peace, right?"

Xiao Fengxian forced a smile: "Right...right?"

Zhao Xiaoqian's lips curled up, and he said, "However, you said in the alliance that when you withdraw the Liao army and Khitan people from Yanyun, you also have to take away all the grain, money and materials. Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Xiao Fengxian remained silent for a moment, then turned his head and quickly exchanged glances with the Liao officials before forcing a smile.

"The grain and money in the granaries and treasuries of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun are the fruits of our Great Liao's many years of hard work. Now that our Great Liao is withdrawing from Yan and Yun and taking away what belongs to us, shouldn't we do the same?"

"No, absolutely not!" Zhao Xiaoqian declared resolutely. The Liao officials present paled in shock.

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed and said, "Before we started negotiating, we drew a bottom line. The negotiations were just to prevent the two countries from fighting each other, losing soldiers, and committing more bloodshed, so that both sides could recuperate and rebuild their lives. In short, we were doing this for peace. What about you?"

Caught off guard by the sudden mention of value, Xiao Fengxian was stunned. After a long pause, he stammered, "We...we are also doing this for peace."

“That’s right, but let’s think about it another way. If we hadn’t had this negotiation, and our Great Song had directly used war to recover Yan and Yun, just imagine, after recovering Yan and Yun, wouldn’t the grain and money in the official granaries and treasuries of the sixteen prefectures also belong to our Song army?”

"Yes, yes... right?"

"You see, you understand this principle too. So, the grain and money in the official granaries and treasuries of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun actually belong to our Great Song Dynasty. Isn't that right?"

Xiao Fengxian was even more bewildered, and said with difficulty, "Is...is that so?"

"Of course, so your taking away the grain and money is tantamount to robbing our official granaries before you leave, while we only get sixteen empty cities and are supposed to celebrate with joy. Vice Envoy Xiao, I feel insulted, but I have no evidence..."

After hearing what seemed like a reasonable yet twisted argument, the entire Liao delegation was dumbfounded. Their brows furrowed and their eyes were vacant as they tried to process what Prince Zhao had just said and make sense of the logic behind it.

Xu, standing behind Zhao Xiaoqian, looked increasingly embarrassed. He knew he had made a mistake by agreeing so readily. If Zhao Xiaoqian hadn't intervened, the Liao people would probably have already taken advantage of him.

Zhao Xiaoqian is right. Why should you take my things?
At this point, Xiao Fengxian and the Liao officials gradually understood that Zhao Xiaoqian meant to leave behind the grain, money, and all materials of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, leaving the Liao people with nothing but their bare bottoms to withdraw from Yanyun.

In front of Liao officials, Xiao Fengxian still had to maintain his loyalty to Liao, so he said with a grim expression, "Your Highness, the alliance agreement between the two countries has already been agreed upon. Would it be inappropriate to change it now?"

Xu Jiang finally stepped forward, stroked his beard, and said calmly, "His Highness the Prince just said that without the seal, it is not considered confirmed."

The Liao officials immediately erupted in commotion. The agreement they had just reached was now null and void. With things like this, it was hard for them not to doubt the sincerity of the Song Dynasty's ceasefire.

The Treaty of Chanyuan at least maintained peace between the Song and Liao dynasties for nearly a century. The Treaty of Hejian, on the other hand, is far less valuable than the Treaty of Chanyuan.

No, the Treaty of Hejian contained absolutely no gold!

Xiao Fengxian was the chief envoy for the negotiations. Now, under the intense gaze of a group of Liao officials, Xiao Fengxian could not easily reveal his traitorous nature. He could only say with an ugly expression, "Your Highness, aren't you going a bit too far with your actions?"

“Not excessive! These are my things to begin with, it would be excessive for you to take them all away,” Zhao Xiaoqian said resolutely.

Xiao Fengxian was about to continue arguing, but Zhao Xiaoqian was too lazy to waste his breath on him.

Therefore, Zhao Xiaoqian said in a very firm tone: "Please look at the situation carefully. You took the initiative to come to us for negotiations. My Great Song Dynasty is not obligated to negotiate."

"If you are not satisfied, you may leave immediately. I will go to the Song army camp to muster troops. A hundred thousand troops will sweep through Yan and Yun. What you refuse to give, we will take ourselves."

"The Liao Kingdom shall completely withdraw from the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun within two months. All grain, money and materials in Yan and Yun shall not be taken away. On the day the alliance is signed, our Song army shall immediately take over all the official granaries and treasuries of the Sixteen Prefectures."

"That's the decision. Who agrees? Who disagrees?"

Xiao Fengxian and the Liao officials fell silent at his forceful and sharp words.

After a long pause, Zhao Xiaoqian nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Xu Jiang and said, "Mr. Chongyuan, thank you for revising the terms of the alliance. Our things should not be easily given to others."

Xu Jiang looked ashamed and hurriedly nodded, saying, "I understand."

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled, ignoring the group of Liao officials whose faces were ashen, and turned to leave.

Before leaving, Zhao Xiaoqian gave Xiao Fengxian a deep look.

Xiao Fengxian also looked angry but dared not speak out, but he nodded very subtly.

Zhao Xiaoqian was delighted.

The value of high-ranking spies infiltrating enemy countries is still increasing.

This is the use of a high-level spy. On the path of colluding with foreign countries and betraying one's country for personal gain, spies have always spared no effort. Once they play their role, what one person can do is often equivalent to the bloody battles fought by thousands of troops on the battlefield.

The Liao delegation's chief envoy was Xiao Fengxian, which saved the Song Dynasty a lot of trouble, and the benefits gained far exceeded expectations.

After Zhao Xiaoqian left, the main hall of the government office remained silent.

Xu stroked his beard and said calmly, "Gentlemen, in order to end the war between our two countries forever, let's revise the terms as soon as possible and implement the Treaty of Hejian. Every day the treaty is delayed in being signed, the people of our two countries will suffer from the ravages of war for another day, and countless more deaths will be committed in the world. How wonderful!"

(End of this chapter)