Watching He Tongyuan and his entourage leave the Prime Minister's residence, leaving Jin Tai and the others looking at each other in bewilderment.
For a moment, Kim Tae felt that He Tongyuan and his group did not seem to be here to negotiate, but rather to deliver an ultimatum to Silla!
The order was worded harshly!
The threat is palpable!
In short, it all boils down to one sentence: we must not form an alliance with the Great Gan Dynasty!
What right do the people from the Prince Xin's Mansion have?
How dare they be so high and mighty? Don't they even know where they are?
This is the residence of the Prime Minister of Silla!
Damn it!
Kim Tae felt a surge of anger, and his face darkened.
The other officials in the room remained silent.
After a long while, an official finally spoke up: "Your Excellency, these people from the Prince of Xin's delegation are far too arrogant!"
They actually came to our Silla Kingdom and spouted nonsense!
Are they taking advantage of our Silla Kingdom because they think we have no one left?
Are you bullying our Silla Kingdom because we lack sufficient troops?
joke!
Although our Silla Kingdom is small, we can still muster an army of over 100,000!
"Your Excellency, please give the order! I will immediately arrest all those members of Prince Xin's delegation!"
"presumptuous!"
Prime Minister Kim Tae shouted, "In times of war, envoys are not to be killed!"
Besides, the relationship between our Silla Kingdom and the Prince Shin's Palace is not yet completely broken; is it really necessary to do this?
"This humble servant was rash, Your Excellency, please calm your anger!"
The official immediately bowed in greeting.
In the Silla Kingdom, Prime Minister Kim Tae held a highly respected position, not only because he was the Prime Minister of Silla.
More importantly, the current King of Silla, Kim Soong-hee, is Kim Tae's nephew.
The young King Kim Soong-hee ascended the throne at the age of two and has been on the throne for over five years. His mother, the Queen Dowager, serves as regent, while the king's maternal grandfather, Kim Tae, has become the prime minister of Silla, wielding immense power.
All major military and political affairs of the Silla Kingdom originated from the Prime Minister's office.
Therefore, no one ignored the Prime Minister's reprimand.
Glancing at the official, Prime Minister Kim Tae frowned and asked, "Minister of War, what is the total number of troops in all parts of Silla?"
"Report to the Prime Minister,"
The Minister of War quickly replied, "The Silla Kingdom has a total of 163,000 soldiers. Apart from the capital's imperial guards, the number of troops that can be mobilized in various regions is around 110,000."
If another portion of the Imperial Guards were transferred, 130,000 men could be dispatched north.
"Your Excellency, should we recruit another batch of soldiers ahead of schedule, just in case?"
"Yes, you did a great job!"
Prime Minister Kim Tae nodded and said, "Preparation is the key to success, and lack of preparation leads to failure!"
Regardless of our choices, we should plan ahead.
As for the imperial court, we will continue to negotiate with them, and our troops and supplies must keep up with the military operations.
Based on the standard of an army of 200,000, we demand that the imperial court provide provisions!
"this……"
The Minister of War paused for a moment, his expression turning somewhat grave.
"how?"
Prime Minister Kim Tae was somewhat annoyed and said, "Is this request so difficult to fulfill?"
"Your Excellency, that's not the case."
The Minister of War waved his hand and said, "In order to win over our department as soon as possible, the Great Gan court will surely agree to our request."
However, nowadays, the Dongning Navy and Dongning merchant ships often roam the seas, and any ships that dare to challenge the imperial court are sunk.
Even if the imperial court agrees to our demands, I'm afraid the grain supplies won't be able to be delivered.
The imperial court would also use this as a reason to decline.
"Is the Dongning Navy really that powerful?"
Prime Minister Kim Tae frowned and said, "They're just a few dozen ships. They've never seemed that powerful before."
"Your Majesty the Prime Minister,"
The Minister of War gave a wry smile and said, "The Dongning Navy is equipped with cannons, which are extremely powerful."
The imperial navy has already sunk one or two hundred ships.
During this period, no ship could pass through the entire sea area if it was hostile to the Dongning Navy.
Therefore, regarding the matter of provisions, I'm afraid...
"Never mind."
Prime Minister Kim Tae-il waved his hand and said, "Anyway, there are so many things, so let the Grand Envoy handle them."
You can pay now.
"We need money to continue negotiations!"
"Your Majesty the Prime Minister,"
The Minister of War nodded and said, "So, we are preparing to form an alliance with the Daqian court?"
Are we not going to consider the Prince Xin's residence?
"Anything else you're considering?"
Prime Minister Kim Tae said with a smile, "Who gave them such a big mouth to threaten me?"
Dongning now is like a dilapidated house, and everyone wants to step on it to find something good.
Can we, Silla, just stand by and watch these good things slip through our fingers?
Are you willing to accept this?
Furthermore, Dongning is connected to us by mountains and rivers. If we acquire this land, our Silla territory will expand by hundreds of miles.
This is a great achievement that will go down in history!
What merit do I, Jin Tai, possess to deserve such great achievements?
Therefore, we naturally cannot let it go!
"Your Excellency the Prime Minister is truly awe-inspiring!"
The officials quickly praised it.
With such a great achievement, Kim Tae's reputation will be even better.
Who knows, we might even go further then!
A smile crept onto Kim Tae's lips at the thought of taking things a step further.
"but,"
After a moment, Prime Minister Kim Tae continued, "It's best not to make this public!"
We'll continue negotiating with Dongning.
Troops in various regions also need to be mobilized.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
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