The Prodigal Son

Yan Li didn't waste time with Qin Yu and directly stated her conditions.

First, five million shi of grain.

Second, five million taels of silver!

Third, six thousand warhorses!

Fourth, Da Ning reduced tariffs on Yan State by 30%!

Upon hearing the conditions proposed by Yan Li, Lü Si and Song Xian's faces suddenly fell.

That's outrageous!

This is simply treating them like fat sheep to be slaughtered!

Talk about sincerity? What a load of rubbish!

Yan Li thought she had them cornered!

Qin Yu wasn't angry, but he looked at Yan Li speechlessly, "Your Highness, aren't you being a bit dishonest?"

"I know I'm asking for a bit too much."

Yan Li did not deny it, "But you should understand that even if our dynasty only launches a feigned attack on Northern Qi, it will inevitably lead to a rift between our dynasty and Northern Qi!"

"Our dynasty purchases a considerable number of warhorses from Northern Qi every year. If relations between the two sides sour, it will be difficult to buy warhorses from Northern Qi! Even if Northern Qi is willing to sell, the price will rise significantly."

"Furthermore, our dynasty also sells a considerable amount of goods to Northern Qi every year. With relations between the two sides deteriorating, our trade with Northern Qi is likely to face significant problems!"

"You all have to bear some of the losses for our dynasty, right?"

Yan Li's words were reasonable and well-founded.

But Qin Yu didn't even believe in punctuation marks.

Qin Yu smiled wryly, "I was planning to have a few drinks with you today, and I even brought the wine! Since you're so dishonest, I'm afraid we won't be able to drink together."

"This doesn't matter!"

Yan Li smiled, "Public matters are public, and private matters are private! Even if we were to draw our swords against each other here today for official business, I would still be happy to drink with you, Qin Yu, in private!"

"This is ruining my mood!" Qin Yu stood up, his face full of displeasure, and instructed Song Xian and Lü Si, "I'm too lazy to haggle with His Highness the Crown Prince. You two talk to him! I'm going to go have a couple of drinks to calm down!"

After saying that, Qin Yu left the pavilion and asked someone to bring him the fine wine that had been prepared.

"His Highness the Crown Prince's request is excessive!"

Song Xian spoke directly, "It's just a simple errand; why would you need so much? Our dynasty will give you at most 500,000 shi of grain and 500,000 taels of silver!"

"That's impossible!"

Yan Li refused without hesitation, stood up, and instructed Feng Shu and the others, "You all keep those two company and talk! I'm going to find Marquis Qin to ask for a drink!"

After saying that, Yan Li immediately walked towards Qin Yu.

The guards were about to follow, but Yan Li raised his hand to stop them.

Yan Li walked over to Qin Yu, who was sitting by the spring, and looked at him with a smile: "You really won't even let me have a sip of wine?"

Qin Yu turned his head and looked at him, annoyed, "If you're going to play like this, all I want to do is fight you. Why would I want to drink?"

A smile flashed across Yan Li's face. "We probably have more opportunities to fight than to sit together and drink! But we certainly won't be fighting now."

They all knew that Da Ning and Yan would inevitably clash sooner or later.

But definitely not now!

Qin Yu was just saying that out of anger!

"That's hard to say!"

Qin Yu curled his lip, "It's not like my Great Ning hasn't been at war with both Northern Qi and Yan at the same time!"

"Alright! We're both smart people, so there's no need for us to talk about war."

As Yan Li spoke, he snatched the wine pot from Qin Yu's hand and poured it into his mouth.

"Cough cough..."

As soon as the wine entered her throat, Yan Li choked and coughed repeatedly.

"Your Highness!"

Upon hearing the cough, Yan Li's guards assumed the wine was poisoned and immediately rushed over menacingly.

At the same time, Qin Yu's guards rushed forward to prevent Yan Li's guards from harming Qin Yu.

"Step back!"

Yan Li stopped the guards, coughed a few more times before recovering, and said, "This is strong liquor! Is this the kind of liquor you made?"

"Um."

Qin Yu nodded slightly and snorted, "This wine was brewed by me! I was going to treat you to it, but you've gone and asked for an exorbitant amount. Don't you feel any remorse?"

Yan Li remained silent, tilting her head back to pour another mouthful of wine into her mouth.

Having learned from his previous experience, he only took a small sip this time.

The taste is instantly different when you take a small sip versus a big gulp.

It has a mellow and smooth texture, a strong aroma, and a smooth taste.

It was indeed much better than the premium wines he used to drink, which he bought from Daning.

Yan Li pondered for a moment, then chuckled and said, "My conscience doesn't hurt at all! If our positions were reversed, you'd probably be even harsher!"

Qin Yu curled his lip, "I'm ruthless because I have the right to be! What you're saying is just being unreasonable."

"You're always right."

Yan Li couldn't help but chuckle. "Let them haggle over the price, we'll just drink our wine!"

As she spoke, Yan Li took small sips of her drink again.

Not quite satisfied with the drinking, Yan Li looked at Qin Yu and asked, "Didn't you prepare any snacks to go with your drinks?"

Qin Yu said unhappily, "With your looks, I'm already being generous by giving you wine! You want snacks to go with it?"

"Well! Luckily I was prepared!"

Yan Li laughed heartily and immediately beckoned to his guards, "Bring me my dried meat!"

The guard obeyed the order, immediately brought over a package of dried meat, and then quickly withdrew.

Qin Yu glanced at him sideways.

There are dried venison, dried pork, and dried fish.

Yan Li leisurely ate the dried meat and drank the wine, finding it quite enjoyable.

The two sides in the pavilion, however, grew increasingly agitated as they talked.

The initial verbal sparring quickly escalated into physical altercations, with the two sides slamming tables and throwing chairs.

"Why don't you just rob me? Fuck your mother! I told you Yan people are a bunch of wolves in sheep's clothing! Last year when you needed something from my Great Ning, you were like little grandsons! Now you're all smug?"

"Lord Lü, if you want to talk, then talk; otherwise, find somewhere cool to stay!"

"Let's talk! I'll talk to you! 800,000 shi of grain, 500,000 taels of silver, that's the most I can offer!"

"Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar?"

"Aren't the people of Yan just beggars? If they push us too far, we can just suspend trade and see who can't hold out first!"

"Whether the trade routes are interrupted or not is not up to you to decide! If you want to suspend the trade, my Great Yan is not afraid!"

"Exactly! If we suspend trade, we can't guarantee that our generals won't act recklessly!"

"The people of Yan are only good at petty theft! You want to fight? Well, the Great Ning is ready to fight to the bitter end..."

The negotiators from both sides argued more and more fiercely, and it seemed like they were about to come to blows at the slightest disagreement.

Yan Li didn't even glance in that direction, happily enjoying her dried meat with her wine.

Qin Yu, however, was thoroughly annoyed by the arguing on the other end.

After a moment's thought, Qin Yu turned to Yan Li and said, "How about this? We each lead 10,000 troops and fight a battle. If I win, you will unconditionally send troops to contain Bei Qi! If I lose, I will agree to your terms!"

"National affairs should not be handled with emotion."

Yan Li smiled and refused, "Besides, when it comes to leading troops in battle, I'm afraid I'm not as good as you! I won't do a losing proposition!"