The Prodigal Son

That afternoon, Qin Yu wrote a letter and ordered someone to deliver it to Yan Li in Guanzhou as quickly as possible.

The following day at noon, Xi Ya led the Chu delegation to Yuechi.

Xi Ya didn't bring many people with him. Besides the few people he brought from the capital of Chu and Baili Yunshan, he only had a few dozen guards accompanying him.

Song Xian, along with Lü Si and a group of people, welcomed the Chu delegation into the prefectural governor's mansion.

"Where is your esteemed Lord Qin?"

As Xi Ya followed Song Xian and the others inside, she asked Song Xian, "Isn't he the one in charge of the negotiations? Why haven't we seen him?"

Song Xian chuckled and said, "We only found out after we arrived that Lord Qin had some urgent business to attend to at Yuwang Pass. We sent someone to contact Lord Qin yesterday, and he told us to talk to Lord Xi first, and that he would be back soon!"

Is Qin Yu not here?

Xi Ya frowned instantly.

Qin Yu was the mastermind behind these negotiations between the two countries.

If even the mastermind isn't here, what's the point of talking about it?

Xi Ya quickly realized what was happening.

He didn't believe that Qin Yu was simply not there!

This is most likely a negotiation tactic employed by the Ning people!

Let the two deputy envoys talk to them first, slowly exhausting their energy and probing their bottom line in negotiations.

When the time is right, Qin Yu, the mastermind, will "rush back" and make the final decision!

If the negotiations between the two sides reach a stalemate, Qin Yu can still appear in time to allow the negotiations to continue.

Yes, that should be it!

This is also in line with Qin Yu's cunning style!

This person is young, but quite cunning.

Xi Ya smiled calmly, "Since Lord Qin is not here, why don't we wait until he returns before discussing this further?"

Upon hearing Xi Ya's words, Lü Si instantly flew into a rage. "Old man, what do you mean? Do you think we're not worthy to talk to you?"

"How dare you!"

Baili Yunshan was furious and looked at Lü Si with a cold gaze.

"What are you barking like a dog?"

Lu Si was not afraid at all, pointing his finger at Baili Yunshan and cursing, "Who do you think you are? Who gave you the right to speak here? You better get this straight, you're the ones who begged to negotiate with my Great Ning! If you want to talk, then talk; if not, then get lost!"

Baili Yunshan's expression changed, and he clenched his fist suddenly. "You..."

"Yunshan!"

Xi Ya raised his hand to stop Baili Yunshan, then looked at Lü Si meaningfully, "Young Master Lü, did Lord Qin teach you this?"

Ok?

Lu Si was slightly surprised.

That old guy has a sharp eye!

You noticed it right away?

Lu Si cursed inwardly and sneered, "What a joke! Don't you even know who I am? I've never been humiliated in the capital of Da Ning, and you think you can take my insults here? You're giving me too much face, aren't you?"

Xi Ya, far from being angry, looked at Lü Si with a smile. "I not only know Lord Lü's identity, but I also know that Lord Lü has been dealt with quite a bit by Lord Qin in your country's capital! I just didn't expect that, given Lord Lü's temper, he would be so quickly subdued by Lord Qin! I truly admire Lord Qin's methods!"

Upon hearing this, Lü Si was furious and cursed, "You old bastard, you motherfucker..."

"Lord Xiaolu!"

Song Xian promptly spoke up to stop Lü Si, saying, "Our Great Ning has always been a land of propriety; let no one say that our Great Ning envoy is ignorant of etiquette!"

Lu Si was displeased. He glared at Xi Ya and walked forward with a dark expression.

This old man, he needs their help, yet he dares to expose their shortcomings?

When the formal negotiations begin, we must thoroughly humiliate this old man!

"Lord Song truly lives up to his reputation as the son of Chancellor Song!"

Xi Ya smiled after his narrow victory. "I have met Prime Minister Song once before, and I admire his talent and foresight. When you return to your capital, please give my regards to Prime Minister Song."

"Of course, of course!"

Song Xian smiled modestly, "However, my father has already stepped down from the position of prime minister, so it is indeed somewhat inappropriate for the Junior Tutor to still address me as 'Prime Minister Song'."

"No, no!"

Xi Ya shook his head and smiled, "In my heart, Prime Minister Song will always be the Prime Minister of Da Ning!"

"You flatter me, Junior Tutor."

Song Xian smiled and led them inside.

Soon, the two sides sat down in the inner hall and exchanged brief introductions.

After tea was served, the first round of negotiations between the two parties officially began.

Xi Ya took a sip of tea, and as he set down the cup, he got to the point: "Da Ning and Da Chu have always been on good terms, but this time Lord Qin has led his troops to brazenly invade Da Chu and plunder our territory, severely damaging the diplomatic relations between the two countries..."

"Your Excellency is mistaken!"

Song Xian raised his hand to interrupt Xi Ya, "Min and Da Ning have always been brotherly states, and I believe the Grand Tutor is also aware of the historical ties between Min and Da Ning!"

"However, the Great Chu has now mobilized a large army to support the traitor Yu Wu's usurpation of the throne. Our Great Ning, at the request of Crown Prince Yu Jing of the Min Kingdom, is raising a righteous army to punish the traitor!"

"The Chu army has suffered repeated defeats against our forces, yet instead of learning from their mistakes, they continue to reinforce their troops, intending to escalate the war!"

"Lord Qin led his troops into Gongzhou with the aim of intimidating the Chu state, discouraging them from further conflict, and preventing damage to the diplomatic relations between the two countries. What wrong has Lord Qin done?"

"In my opinion, the Junior Tutor should not only not hold Lord Qin accountable, but should also thank Lord Qin for reducing many unnecessary casualties for Great Chu..."

Listening to Song Xian's eloquent speech, Lü Si couldn't help but secretly curl his lip.

Why bother telling them this?

Might makes right!

If the State of Chu is not convinced, then let's continue the fight!

Beat them until they submit!

"Lord Song truly lives up to his reputation as the son of Prime Minister Song; he possesses much of the same charisma as Prime Minister Song in his prime!"

Xi Ya looked at Song Xian with admiration, "We are standing at different angles. If we continue to discuss right and wrong, we probably won't reach a conclusion by this time tomorrow! Great Chu has no intention of being an enemy of your country. We only hope that your country will withdraw its troops from Gongzhou and release the prisoners of our Great Chu."

"That's absolutely no problem!"

Song Xian chuckled and said, "When we set off from the capital, our Empress specifically instructed us that many of our Great Ning's soldiers had died at the hands of the Chu army. As long as the Junior Tutor can offer suitable conditions so that we can give those fallen soldiers an explanation, we will immediately withdraw our troops and release the prisoners, including your country's Seventh Princess!"

The capture of the Seventh Princess was within the Chu envoy's expectations.

But they have no time to care about princesses right now.

At this point, the princess was just an ordinary prisoner.

The more they cared, the higher the price Ningguo offered.

Baili Yunshan took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Our Great Chu lost 50,000 soldiers, and Qin Yu also massacred more than 10,000 of our surrendered soldiers. Shouldn't you be the ones giving us an explanation?"

"Explain?"

Lu Si smiled contemptuously, glaring menacingly at Baili Yunshan: "You still have the nerve to explain yourselves? Should we send another 100,000 troops to give you an explanation?"

Stop putting on airs!

Baili Yunshan sneered: "Do you think we don't know that Beiqi could start a full-scale war with you at any time, and Yan is also watching you like a hawk. You're too busy taking care of your own problems to send 100,000 troops?"

"Our dynasty indeed cannot send another 100,000 troops." Song Xian nodded and smiled, then suddenly changed the subject, "However, if we were to go to war with your country, the forces in Yinzhou and Minguo would be sufficient; there's no need to send another 100,000!"

"What arrogance!"

Baili Yunshan, though outwardly fierce, was inwardly weak. "I'd like to see what you all are capable of..."

"General Baili!"

Xi Ya interrupted Baili Yunshan at the opportune moment, looking intently at Song Xian: "Since we are sitting here, it means we both understand that continuing the fight will not benefit either of us! Let's stop talking about fighting again! Lord Song, you can first tell us your conditions for withdrawing your troops and releasing the prisoners."

"I don't have much to say about that."

Song Xian smiled and handed a piece of paper to Xi Ya, "Lord Qin has put forward some conditions. Junior Tutor and everyone else can take a look first!"