The Prodigal Son

Upon hearing this voice, Qin Yu was startled and quickly peeked out from under Xu Wan's hair.

Yan Li!

He was accompanied by a group of guards.

He's finally here!

Hearing Yan Li's voice, Xu Wan and Nan Que'er quickly stopped their playful fight and got up, their faces flushed with embarrassment.

Xu Wan straightened her disheveled clothes, blushed, and bowed to Yan Li: "Xu Wan, Military Commissioner of the Great Ning Treasure Mirror Division, greets Your Highness!"

Seeing this, Nan Que'er also bowed.

Yan Li gave the two women a teasing smile again, bowed, and joked, "Greetings, ladies."

lady?

Hearing Yan Li's words, Nan Que'er was fine, but Xu Wan was so embarrassed that she wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into, while secretly annoyed.

That Yan Li is really something!

Why did they have to come at this exact moment?

Qin Yu, however, was thick-skinned. He got up as if nothing had happened, and greeted them with a big smile, "Your Highness, you've finally arrived! I thought you weren't coming!"

"How could I refuse Young Master Qin's invitation?"

Yan Li chuckled as she looked at Qin Yu, "Even if I didn't have important matters to discuss, I still had to come and pay my respects to you, the future military genius of Great Ning, just because I received your letter!"

Yan Li wore a broad smile, but inwardly he was filled with sorrow.

It had only been a little over half a year since he last saw Qin Yu in the capital of Daning.

But in just over six months, Qin Yu underwent a dramatic transformation.

Qin Yu, who cleverly organized the birthday banquet for Empress Dowager Da Ning, may have only been a little bit clever.

Qin Yu, who later shone brightly in Chenzhou, could perhaps be said to have been a surprise attack, or that the enemy's stupidity made him successful.

However, after this battle in Min State, all voices questioning Qin Yu should have been silenced.

Traveling thousands of miles, crossing the Qujiang River three times, and winning one battle after another...

He single-handedly changed the entire course of the battle, annihilating 100,000 enemy troops!

Their own casualties, at most, will not exceed five thousand!

This battle was enough to make the world understand that Qin Yu, who came from a military family, was never a spoiled brat!

Perhaps because of his congenital deficiency in meridians, Qin Yu spent all his time studying military strategy instead of practicing martial arts!

Perhaps he had no opportunity to use his talents before, or perhaps he was pretending to be weak to deceive others, which is why he presented himself as a playboy.

Now, he has the opportunity to show his abilities, and he has finally let the world see the real Qin Yu!

Qin Yu smiled, looking at Yan Li half-jokingly: "I say, you're not trying to flatter me to my detriment, are you?"

"No, no!"

Yan Li shook his head repeatedly, "These are truly my heartfelt words!"

"If you say that, I'll become arrogant!"

Qin Yu laughed and invited Yan Li to sit down.

As soon as Yan Li sat down, she saw the half-eaten beggar's chicken and joked, "You knew I'd be here today, so you prepared this delicious food for me in advance?"

"Absolutely not!"

Qin Yu smiled and sat down. "If Your Highness is hungry, I'll have someone bring you some wine and dishes."

"No need for that, this will do!"

Yan Li didn't stand on ceremony and tore off a chicken leg.

Just as he was about to put it in his mouth, an older guard quickly stepped forward to stop him and gently shook his head at him.

It was clearly a warning to him to be careful of poison.

"Don't worry!"

Yan Li brushed his hand away and smiled, "If Young Master Qin wanted me dead, would we still be here alive?"

As she spoke, Yan Li tore off a large piece of chicken.

The moment the chicken entered Yan Li's mouth, her eyes lit up.

"Hmm, Young Master Qin really knows how to enjoy life! Even though the chicken is cold, it still tastes really good!"

Yan Li swallowed the chicken in a few bites, praising it highly.

"Putting everything else aside, His Highness's temperament is quite to my liking!"

Qin Yu instructed Nan Que'er to fetch some wine, then smiled and said to Yan Li, "Your Highness knows I don't like beating around the bush. Let me be frank. The reason I invited Your Highness here is to ask you whether you intend to continue occupying Guanzhou, or whether you are prepared to exchange Guanzhou for benefits from us?"

"Since you've put it that way, I'll be frank too!"

Yan Li raised her eyes and looked at Qin Yu with a smile: "I know that your country certainly doesn't want us to occupy Guanzhou."

"Currently, our country and your country enjoy harmonious relations, and we are unwilling to have unpleasant relations with your country again over the sake of a single province."

"However, we paid a heavy price to take Guanzhou, and there is absolutely no reason for us to give it away to your country for nothing!"

"If your country can provide some compensation so we can give our soldiers an explanation, we will withdraw our troops from Guanzhou..."

Qin Yu naturally didn't believe Yan Li's words.

A heavy price to pay?

You're kidding me!

Yan Mu took away the main force of Guanzhou, and they still paid a heavy price.

If they had really paid a heavy price, they would have already marched on Xuanzhou to seek revenge.

However, some things are simply understood by everyone and don't need to be said aloud.

"Isn't it simple for you to want compensation?"

Qin Yu smirked. "However, how much compensation you get depends on your skills!"

"Oh?"

Yan Li's heart skipped a beat, but she smiled calmly. "Young Master Qin, isn't that a bit unfair of you? You called me all this way just to issue me a challenge?"

The State of Yan does not want to go to war with Da Ning!

I don't want to right now!

Recently, there have been signs of war between Bei Qi and Da Ning again. They hope that Da Ning will fight Bei Qi to the death!

The fiercer the battle, the more benefits the Yan state can gain!

The fact that Yan is now at war with Da Ning will only benefit Bei Qi.

Moreover, the hard-won trade between the two sides will inevitably be interrupted.

"No, no!"

Qin Yu waved his hands repeatedly, "I didn't issue you a challenge; I'm inviting you to cooperate with me!"

"cooperate?"

Yan Li asked, puzzled, "How will we cooperate?"

Qin Yu smiled and recounted the negotiations between Da Ning and the State of Chu.

Hearing Qin Yu's words, Yan Li was completely confused.

What does this have to do with their cooperation?

Ok?

As Yan Li pondered this, a sudden realization flashed in his eyes. "You wouldn't be inviting me to join you in putting pressure on the Chu Kingdom, would you?"

That Qin Yu is really cunning!

This method has already been thought of.

Please help him put pressure on the State of Chu, so that he can gain more benefits and also settle the matter of Guanzhou.

Kill two birds with one stone!

"Um!"

Qin Yu nodded and smiled, "My idea is simple: let's put pressure on Chu together! The results of the negotiations will be split 20/80 between our two countries!"

Sure enough!

Yan Li's face suddenly broke into a smile, "You two?"

He would definitely be willing to join forces to put pressure on the State of Chu!

But a mere 20% profit was not enough to satisfy his appetite.

"You two are idiots!"

Qin Yu rolled his eyes. "You should know that if you negotiated with us, you might not even get as much as this 20% share!"

"I believe that, but 20% is definitely too low!"

Yan Li thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Let's not haggle over these details! I know that Da Ning contributed far more to this battle than we did, so the lion's share should definitely go to you! How about this: the proceeds from the negotiations will be divided equally among three parties, with Da Ning taking two and Yan taking one! Is that acceptable?"

One-third?

This was slightly higher than he had expected.

His proposed division was 70/30, with Da Ning taking 70% and Yan State taking 30%.

never mind!

A little more won't matter!

Only by uniting and putting pressure on the State of Chu can they gain greater benefits!

"Alright! Since we're both straightforward people, let's not fuss over nothing!"

Qin Yu agreed, "I hope we can have a pleasant collaboration!"

"certainly!"

Yan Li laughed heartily, "This is more beneficial for both of us!"