After discussing the specific terms of the peace talks, Mu Zian then brought up the matter of how to deal with the prisoners in Xuan'an City.
Mu Zian offered them a price of ten taels of silver per prisoner.
This price is quite reasonable.
Agobhutan naturally wants to go back.
After all, for Agobhutan at present, it is simply not worthwhile to spend nearly 70,000 to 80,000 taels of silver to bring back 7,000 to 8,000 mouths.
After several more rounds of back-and-forth, Agobhutan was finally only willing to spend 40,000 taels to ransom the uninjured prisoners.
As for those who were injured, regardless of the severity, they were all left to Mu Zi'an.
In any case, even if these injured people return to the grasslands, they will just be waiting to die given the medical conditions there.
Rather than spending money to redeem them, it's better to leave them all to Mu Zi'an.
For Mu Zian, Agobhutan's move was exactly what he wanted.
Mu Zi'an wanted the remaining three thousand wounded and disabled Xiongnu people to know that the grasslands had abandoned them, and that in the end, it was Dali that accepted them.
Mu Zi'an wanted to take good care of these three thousand people and even make their lives better than before.
Because Mu Zian wanted to use these three thousand men as a lever to completely undermine the foundation of the Xiongnu people and use them to slowly disintegrate the tribes on the grasslands.
If the people of the grasslands know that they will live better lives in Dali, then Dali will create a siphon effect on the grasslands.
If this continues, Mu Zi'an will be able to gradually incorporate the grasslands into his territory without spending a single soldier.
After both parties reached a consensus on their objectives, they began to formally sign the contract.
The contract also specifies three points.
First point: The Xiongnu voluntarily relinquish all the wealth they plundered in Liangzhou and voluntarily withdraw from Liangzhou, and the soldiers of Dali must not stop them and must return it to the Xiongnu Khan to ensure their safety.
Secondly, the Xiongnu would pay Dali 10 million taels of silver in reparations, to be paid off in five years, with an additional 500,000 taels of interest paid each year, for a total reparations of 12.5 million taels. The reparations could be offset by equivalent livestock or other goods.
Thirdly: a border market will be established between the two sides at the border between Liangzhou and the grasslands, allowing free trade and commerce. The Dali will have jurisdiction over the border market and the final right of interpretation, while the Xiongnu will have the right of supervision to ensure the fairness and impartiality of trade between the two sides.
After confirming that there were no problems with the contents of the contract, Agobhutan immediately took out the seal of the Right Wise King from his pocket and stamped it on.
Mu Zian also took out the seal of the Duke of Zhenguo and stamped it on.
The completion of the seal also signifies the complete end of this war against the Xiongnu.
The Xiongnu people chose to back down in the most humiliating way.
Within the next twenty years, the borders of Dali will no longer be disturbed by the Xiongnu.
The contract is made in quadruplicate, with Mu Zian and Agobhutan each keeping one copy.
The remaining two documents need to be packaged and submitted to their respective supreme rulers for review.
Since the Khan of the grasslands was currently inside the palace of Dali, the Xiongnu people were spared the trouble of braving the snow to return.
After wrapping the two contracts carefully, they were sent together to the capital of Dali.
After obtaining the contract, Agobhutan did not stay in Xuan'an City any longer.
The wind and snow on the grasslands are getting heavier and heavier. He must quickly withdraw his troops from Liangzhou, otherwise the grasslands will be in great danger this year.
On the way back, the thought of how much money Mu Zi'an had extorted from Agobhutan made his heart bleed.
Luan Ti, who was standing to the side, seemed to see through Agobhutan's thoughts and immediately offered words of comfort.
"Your Majesty, there is no need to be sad. It is already a stroke of good fortune that we were able to open a border market with Dali this time."
"With this market, as long as we have time, we can earn back even ten million taels."
"Although we suffered heavy losses this time, we still have nearly 50,000 soldiers who are ready to fight."
"Although we cannot attack Dali when the ice and snow melt next year, we can launch an attack on the Jurchen and Western Qiang."
“The livestock seized from them are then sold to Dali, where the profits can at least triple.”
"As for the ten million in reparations, the maximum annual compensation is only two and a half million. If we tighten our belts, the major tribes can still manage to meet their targets."
Hearing Luanti's voice, Agobhutan felt much better.
"Endure a moment of torment in exchange for a century of livelihood for my grasslands."
"I, Agobhutan, will accept any amount of criticism."
Luan Ti found it amusing, knowing that the tribes of Agobhutan would surely reap a large share of the profits from the opening of the border market.
What does it matter if we suffer some criticism?
Although he thought this in his heart, Luan Ti still praised him aloud.
"The Right Wise King has worked too hard for my grasslands."
At this moment, Mu Zian was secretly delighted as he looked at the contract in his hand.
After reading it, Jia Xu couldn't help but sigh inwardly, thinking that his young master's heart was simply too black.
Ten million to two million five hundred thousand taels of silver was enough to squeeze the last bit of profit out of the Xiongnu.
Unfortunately, Mu Zian was unable to intercept the more than ten million taels of silver, because the money was to be given to Xiao Yu.
Mu Zian could already foresee the uproar among the court officials over the ten million taels of reparations.
Although Dali collects 30 million taels of tax revenue annually, it is simply not enough to cover its expenses.
The treasury of Dali is in deficit every year, after all, governing a country requires money for everything.
Floods, droughts, and locust plagues have been relentless year after year.
Faced with this sudden windfall, it would be strange if they didn't fight tooth and nail.
Mu Zian had no intention of getting his hands on the ten million, but he did not come away empty-handed.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com