The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 1362: qualifications
Chapter 1362 Qualification
“Lord Liu is right. Today, there is one Great Zhou and one Yan. Both countries occupy a vast area. The cities in Xiliang were just taken and need time to be reorganized. Therefore… it would be most appropriate to select a dozen cities to be divided out! But before dividing the cities, we have not yet finished discussing the issue of hostages. Lord Liu, please allow me to finish…” Wang Hanbing still looked calm and composed, and spoke slowly, “Since our Yan country has decided to hostage the eldest prince, the second prince and the general to the Great Zhou, then… should the Great Zhou also hostage people to our Yan country?”
Without waiting for Liu Rushi to speak, Wang Hanbing continued, “We, Yan State, have sent two princes and a general to Great Zhou as hostages to show our sincerity. Naturally… Yan State made mistakes before, so it is understandable that Great Zhou is worried! But now Great Zhou has deployed its troops on the border of our Yan State, and we are afraid that our Yan State will send a general who is good at fighting to Great Zhou as a hostage. But Great Zhou will send troops to Yandu because of the previous stab in the back by Yan State… Then we will not even have a general to defend against the enemy. Wouldn’t we be completely at the mercy of Great Zhou and not even have the chance to fight back!”
Wang Hanbing stood up after he finished speaking and bowed respectfully to the officials of the Great Zhou. “This move is not actually to require the Great Zhou to hold hostages for our Yan State. It is just to give our Yan State a reassurance and let us know that the Great Zhou is also sincere in betting on the country! Please raise your hands, after all… our Yan State’s request is reasonable and not excessive.”
“Our emperor has long said that the Great Zhou will never hold hostages…” Liu Rushi put his hands on the table and looked at Wang Hanbing, “The emperor of the Great Zhou has made a golden promise, and once it is said, it cannot be changed! Just like us, the officials of the Great Zhou, we believe that our Great Zhou army has now gained a great advantage, and it is only a matter of time to destroy the State of Yan. Why bother to engage in risky peace talks? But His Majesty said let us talk… so we came to talk!”
As he spoke, Liu Rushi also raised his hand and bowed to Wang Hanbing: “I also hope that the envoys of Yan State will raise their hands and don’t make things difficult for us! After all… our Great Zhou is now in an advantageous position, but your Yan State is in danger of extinction, so don’t bother with these trivial matters.”
Wang Hanbing then realized how powerful this Liu Rushi was. This man was indeed a great eloquence. Not only did he use both hard and soft tactics in his words, but he also once again pushed the envoys of the Yan State into an awkward position and pointed out… It was the Yan State that begged the Great Zhou to agree to the strategy of gambling the country. In fact, he did not agree in his heart, but was sitting here talking to them only because of the emperor’s order.
Seeing that Wang Hanbing seemed to be thinking about something, Liu Rushi smiled and spoke again…
“I suddenly remembered what His Majesty said during the peace talks with Xiliang after his great victory in the battle in Southern Xinjiang. Now that I think about it… I can change it and share it with the envoys of Yan State.” Liu Rushi picked up the teacup and said with a smile, “Since you are here to beg for peace, you should adopt a begging attitude. Don’t mention fairness and demands in front of the strong. The weak… don’t have the qualifications!”
When the Yan State delegation heard Liu Rushi’s words, they were furious. They slammed the table and stood up to ask Liu Rushi what he meant.
Fan Yugan was about to roll up his sleeves and rush forward, but was stopped by Liu Rushi: “Did these words touch the heart of the Yan envoys? Why are they reacting so strongly? The diplomatic relations between the two countries have always been like this. I, Liu, just brought these words out in the open, why did they cause the Yan envoys to be so furious?”
Wang Hanbing also raised his hand to stop the envoys of the Yan State delegation and said with a smile: “Why are you so anxious? We are talking now, let’s talk slowly!”
On that day, the Yan State envoys and the officials of the Great Zhou State argued for the whole afternoon, but in the end they failed to reach an agreement on whether the Great Zhou State should give hostages to the Yan State. The officials of the Great Zhou State were still calm, but after the Yan State envoys returned to the inn, they started arguing among themselves behind closed doors.
Some of the Queen Mother’s party blamed Wang Hanbing for pushing the eldest prince out without authorization. They were not sure how they would explain to the Queen Mother and His Majesty after returning to the State of Yan.
The officials of the Yan State who were in the party of the Regent King also started to clamor…
“If you don’t push the eldest prince out, the Great Zhou won’t give in. Are you really going to put the regent in the Great Zhou? Do you want the regent to take charge of Yan’s political affairs in the Great Zhou? If the regent stays in the Great Zhou, then the affairs of Yan will be known to the Great Zhou. What country are we betting on… We might as well just give Great Yan to the Great Zhou!”
“Why…why did you have to agree to Da Zhou’s offer of hostages to Da Zhou? It’s not enough to hostage the Second Prince and General Xie! You have to push out a Grand Prince as well!” The Queen Mother’s party said this with insufficient confidence.
“If we don’t push forward the eldest prince, will the Great Zhou agree to gamble with the country?” Wang Hanbing put down the teacup in his hand heavily. “The Great Zhou will immediately send troops westward to attack the capital of Yan. Who will resist the army…you? Me? Are you and I going to the battlefield to give our heads to the Great Zhou? If we give our heads, will the Great Zhou have a chance to withdraw? If we can withdraw…I, Wang Hanbing, will commit suicide now to protect the peace of Yan State!”
The flickering candlelight reflected Wang Hanbing’s handsome and stern face. His words did not seem false, and his eyes were shining, causing the other envoys from the Yan State to purse their lips and remain silent.
The only sounds left in the hall were the flickering candlelight and the sound of exploding sparks. Everyone understood the logic behind Wang Hanbing’s words, but they just wanted to protect the interests of the Queen Mother.
But even if it is to protect the interests of the Queen Mother, the prerequisite is that the State of Yan must still exist, and the Queen Mother of Yan must still be the Queen Mother of Yan. If the country is gone, then supporting the Queen Mother’s Party and the Regent’s Party is all empty talk.
After hearing what happened in the Honglu Temple of Great Zhou today, the Minister of Finance of Yan State thought for a while and said, “It is indeed most appropriate for Lord Wang to push the eldest prince. After all, our Yan State is sincerely betting on the country with Great Zhou, and it is definitely not perfunctory. The eldest prince, the second prince and General Xie will be safe in Great Zhou. I am just worried that Great Zhou will make trouble after we hostage them!”
“I have already said this. When the Regent comes back, I will report this to him personally. I will also write a secret letter to inform His Majesty and the Queen Mother. If His Majesty, the Queen Mother and the Regent do not agree, then I will apologize to the Emperor of the Great Zhou with my own head, saying that this was just nonsense from my King Han Bing and has nothing to do with my Yan State.”
As soon as Wang Hanbing finished speaking, Xiao Rongyan stepped into the main hall holding the hem of his clothes and said, “What Wang Hanbing said is for the sake of Yan State. Whether it is Your Majesty, the Queen Mother… or me, we all support you. The promises you made to the Great Zhou at the negotiation table are all recognized by us in Yan State.”
Seeing Xiao Rongyan coming in, the envoys from the Yan State delegation hurriedly knelt down to greet him.
Xiao Rongyan sat down in the main seat, straightened the hem of his gown, and then said, “Everyone, get up!”