Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 162 Peace Negotiation
Yu Fan's conditions seem simple, but they are actually very difficult.

Yan Yi originally wanted to get Yu Fan for free, or use Yu Fan to extort a large sum of money and grain from Wang Lang. However, if he followed Yu Fan's terms, it would be him, not Wang Lang, who would pay the heavy price.

Yu Fan was the Gongcao of Kuaiji, so how could Wang Lang abandon him so easily?
The more eager Yan Yi is to get Yu Fan, the greater the price he will pay.

He was very clear about this principle, and immediately gave up the idea of ​​recruiting Yu Fan in the short term, and planned to imprison him for a period of time first.

If Wang Lang was willing to use an astronomical amount of money to redeem Yu Fan, Yan Yi would also accept it.

I could just release it today and catch it again another day. Rather than keeping it around for show, it's better to take advantage of it now.

Yan Yi had a plan in mind, so he didn't stay any longer. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Yu Fan, he left Yu's house.

He has a lot of things to do every day, so he doesn't have time to chat with others.

After returning to the official temple to handle official business for a while, he heard Hua Sheng, the assistant clerk of the guest department, report that Wang Lang's envoy had arrived at the official temple and was waiting in the school room.

The schoolhouse was only a place for low-level officials to rest and wait, and it was somewhat humiliating for Wang Lang's envoy to be placed here.

Yan Yi glared at Hua Sheng with some dissatisfaction and ordered, "Invite him to the guest hall for entertaining. We will meet in the hearing hall in half an hour."

Hua Sheng, a man of considerable talent from a prominent Wucheng family, was gradually promoted. He had intended to curry favor with Yan Yi by humiliating Wang Lang's envoy, but this backfired, and he was terrified. He bowed his head, apologized, and hurried to the school.

The envoy sent by Wang Lang was none other than Xu Jing, currently serving as a Wuguan official. Because the mission was of such importance, Wang Lang also gave him the temporary title of Fuyi Zhonglang Jiang.

Xu Jing was deeply reluctant to go on this mission. Not long after the military report from the front reached Shanyin, Wang Lang, unable to withstand the shock, fell ill. Consequently, many important matters fell on Xu Jing's shoulders. Now was the perfect time for him to seize power. He would never have been willing to make such a trip just to save the lives of Yu Fan and the others.

It was not known whether Wang Lang was confused or too ill to think clearly, but he actually sent Xu Jing, who had always been at odds with Yu Fan, as an envoy. This move was beyond the expectations of many people.

Of course, there weren't many people who got along well with Yu Fan, but they usually kept it to themselves because they were concerned about Yu Fan's power. There were many who took advantage of his misfortune.

Xu Jing was already in a bad mood, and being made to wait in the school room, he was already filled with rage. He paced back and forth in anger, cursing under his breath. Only when he was invited into the guest hall did his expression soften.

Half an hour later, Yan Yi personally came to the hearing hall in the front yard of the official temple.

Xu Jing and five other envoys from Kuaiji were already waiting in the hall. When they saw Yan Yi coming in person, they quickly stood up to greet him.

Yan Yi had to personally step forward because he had no other choice but to do so. The reason was simply that he lacked anyone available around him.

Quan Rou is too self-interested to handle this matter. Zhou Xin would have been a suitable candidate, but he's unavailable at the moment, so Yan Yi has to take charge.

The anger on Xu Jing's face disappeared in an instant, and there was a hint of flattery in his dignified and reserved look.

Yan Yi was now a powerful figure in Jiangdong, his reputation immense. He was already a powerful figure on the same level as Wu Jing, Wang Lang, and Xu Gong. Furthermore, his recent defeats of Zhu Zhi and Wang Lang put a great deal of pressure on Xu Jing.

"Mr. Xu, do you know Liu Xuande?"

Yan Yi sat down at the head of the main hall, looked at this historical Prime Minister of Shu Han, and asked with a rather malicious tone.

Xu Jing was confused by the question. After racking his brains, he remembered the origin of Liu Xuande and found that he was currently serving under Gongsun Zan.

He was somewhat unsure of Yan Yi's intentions and said cautiously, "I've heard a little bit." Yan Yi usually paid close attention to the situation in Xuzhou. If Xuzhou broke out in chaos, Yuan Shu would be caught in a trap and would no longer have time to spy on Jiangdong. That would be the perfect opportunity for him to seize the situation and sweep across Jiangdong.

Liu Bei is now assisting Tao Qian in resisting Cao Cao, and the day when the chaos in Xuzhou will begin is just around the corner.

At that time, a bloody storm will sweep across Xu and Yang states.

Yan Yi, who had foresight about the future, was already intensively preparing for this catastrophe. At this time, Wang Lang was one of the fat sheep he had been accumulating strength for.

A heated discussion surrounding weapons, territory, and prisoners then ensued.

Two hours later, the discussion came to an end.

Both the Yan and Wang families had no objection to the cessation of hostilities.

Wang Lang's army suffered 15,000 casualties, nearly half the total number of soldiers. Such a huge price to pay for nothing was achieved. This incident caused an uproar throughout Kuaiji, destroying the image and reputation that Wang Lang had painstakingly cultivated for a year. Complaints and opposition arose one after another.

Wang Lang was exhausted and had long regretted sending troops to Qiantang. His only wish now was to quickly negotiate a peace with Yan Yi, ending the war that had severely damaged his reputation and appeasing the people.

Yan Yi needed to concentrate his forces to fight against Wu Jing, and was also eager to make a ceasefire with Wang Lang.

Under these circumstances, the two sides quickly reached the following agreement:
1. Wang Lang's army withdrew from Qiantang territory. Both sides collected the bodies of their fallen soldiers.

2. Both sides shall cease fighting and make peace from now on, use their former territories as the boundary, each side shall guard its own homeland, and shall not invade each other for one year.

3. As the "invading party", Wang Lang's army gave Yan Yi's army a symbolic compensation of 10 million coins.

As the armistice agreement was drawn up, Xu Jing's face lit up with a relieved smile. With this matter settled, his mission was halfway accomplished.

But when it came to the issue of redeeming the captives, Xu Jing became furious. If Yan Yi had not been present, he would probably have jumped up and cursed.

"What?! Yu Fan, Zhou Xin, Shang Sheng, a ransom of 100 million coins each?"

Xu Jing stared at Yan Yi in amazement, his emotions surging like a tidal wave. "Three hundred million for the ransom? Why the hell didn't you just go and rob it? Are these three people made of gold or carved from precious jade? How could they be worth so much?"

He refused without hesitation. If he agreed to this, Wang Lang would skin him alive when he returned to Kuaiji.

Yan Yi's smile faded, and his expression immediately changed. "In that case, let's not discuss this matter any further. Mr. Xu, please return to Shanyin and report back. I have important matters to attend to, so I will not accompany you any longer."

Xu Jing was so angry he felt like jumping up and down. If he couldn't redeem even one person, it would be difficult to report to Wang Lang. Seeing Yan Yi stand up and leave, he hurriedly said, "Young Master, please stay! I'm not refusing, but I have a different opinion on the ransom amount. I wonder if you could discuss the ransom for the three of us separately?"

This remark hit the spot exactly where Yan Yi wanted to go. He slowly walked back to the couch and sat down, then asked with an impatient look on his face, "For Mr. Xu's sake, I'll do as you say. I wonder who Mr. Xu would like to discuss first?"

Xu Jing thought for a moment and then said, "Let's discuss Shang Sheng first. What do you think, Young Master?"

For him, Shang Sheng was undoubtedly the most important of the three captives. As for Yu Fan and Zhou Xin, they were not within his consideration. He wished that these two would stay in Qiantang forever.

(End of this chapter)