Zhu Zhun didn’t resist and allowed Lang Ying and her men to tie him up.
Lang Ying took the letter, checked it, escorted Zhu Zhun and presented him before Zhang Yun.
Zhang Yun took the letter, broke the seal, checked it again, glanced through it and chuckled. He instructed Lang Ying, "Take him to meet the princess."
Su Rong and Zhou Gu were discussing their next strategy for assaulting Xuzhou City. Upon hearing the news that Zhang Yun had sent a messenger announcing that Dawei’s Crown Prince had dispatched an envoy, she quizzically replied, "Oh? Why would Yuan Zhao send a letter?"
Zhou Gu scoffed, "What else could it be for? Negotiating peace?"
Su Rong laughed.
Before long, Zhang Yun arrived escorting the envoy and handed over the letter to Su Rong, "This is Zhu Zhun, a close aide of Dawei’s Crown Prince."
Su Rong took the letter and glanced at Zhu Zhun, who was bound. She did not read the letter immediately and instead, asked Zhu Zhun, "Your prince, he must be having a hard time caught between two fronts, isn’t he?"
Not knowing how to respond, Zhu Zhun remained silent.
Su Rong arched her eyebrows, "Did Yuan Zhao send a mute?"
Zhu Zhun finally spoke, "I am not a mute."
Su Rong stared at him, "Then why are you not answering my question? If you don’t speak, should I feed you to my dogs?"
Zhu Zhun’s face tightened, "In war, envoys are not killed."
Su Rong was amused, "Are all of you from Dawei this naive? I don’t care whether envoys are killed or not, what if I decided to kill you?"
Zhu Zhun fell silent once more.
Su Rong asked him again, "Your prince, isn’t it hard being caught between two fronts? Answer me."
Zhu Zhun clenched his fists, knowing that Su Rong was mocking the prince. He remembered the humiliation of the prince on the battlefield after how the Prince had previously defeated Su Rong at Heiya Pass. Now, the prince was sending him to negotiate peace. As a close aide to the prince, he could feel the humiliation better than anyone. He was not afraid to die, but before leaving, the prince had instructed him to bear any humiliation but to ensure peace with Nanchu was achieved.
Therefore, he hung his head and reluctantly spoke, "Yes, my prince seeks to negotiate peace with the princess."
Su Rong smiled, complimenting, "Your prince is quite adaptable indeed."
After she had spoken, she opened the letter. After reading it, she handed it to Zhou Gu who read it and passed it to Ye Guixue. Ye Guixue read it and ordered, "Take him away first! Go call the teacher."
Since Xie Yuan was not present, they needed to discuss the matter.
Su Rong waved her hand and Lang Ying escorted Zhu Zhun away.
After a while, Xie Yuan arrived. After reading the letter, he asked, "What are you thinking, Su Rong?"
Su Rong chuckled, "He says he wants to negotiate for peace. But should we simply agree? I want to take three more of his cities first. I want Yuan Zhao to know he shouldn’t mess with me and relish the pain of him losing a chunk of his territory."
Xie Yuan turned to Zhou Gu, Ye Guixue, and Zhang Yun, asking, "What do you think?"
Zhou Gu responded, "Then let’s fight. Either way, we still have enough provisions to last a month and a half."
Ye Guixue said, "We should follow the princess’s advice."
Zhang Yun had no objections.
Xie Yuan proposed, "Instead of draining our soldiers’ energy fighting, why not let Dawei voluntarily cede cities? We have taken four cities now. If Dawei cedes another three cities, and presents us with a hundred thousand taels of gold, and a thousand of Dawei’s best horses, alongside the blueprints for the siege cannons, then we Nanchu can lay down our weapons."
Upon hearing his suggestion, Su Rong blinked, "Would Yuan Zhao agree to hand us these without a fight?"
"Apart from the blueprints for the siege cannons, he should agree," Xie Yuan said.
Su Rong immediately responded, "We don’t need the siege cannon blueprints from Dawei. I remember everything I see. When we destroyed the siege cannons, I took a close look at its structure. Even if we had the blueprints, it’s extremely difficult to manufacture and build those things. Even if we wanted to build one using the blueprint, it would probably take our arsenal two to three years."
Zhou Gu’s eyes lit up, "Of course, you remember everything you see. I can’t believe I forgot. Cui Yanjin was really regretful and spent many days lamenting to Xingzhi that the valuable siege cannon was destroyed by the Dawei’s own hands."
Ye Guixue also remembered Su Rong’s abilities and began to laugh.
Xie Yuan said, "We still need to demand it. Only by making harsh demands and bargaining will the Dawei agree. Yuan Zhao is fully aware that our weak military supplies are a significant issue; we can’t swallow the whole Dawei, and Daliang faces similar problems. Therefore, peace talks are inevitable, but how to get what we want, and let Dawei truly peel off a layer of skin, is the main issue."
Su Rong agreed, "Alright, let’s go with uncle’s plan. I’ll write a letter to Yuan Zhao immediately."
Su Rong didn’t enjoy writing letters, but she was willing to write this one. Her words were as sharp as possible, demanding everything she could and pushing for the harshest conditions. Xie Yuan had suggested three cities. She instead demanded that in addition to four cities they had currently captured, Dawei should cede another seven cities to Nanchu. Dawei would have to offer half a million taels of gold, ten thousand horses of the finest breed, blueprints for the siege cannon, the improved design of crossbow bolts, and so on. After listing all the conditions, she added a final sentence stating that she, representing Nanchu, was unafraid of pushing Dawei. If Dawei did not agree, Nanchu would fight to the end until they obtained what they wanted.
After writing the letter, she handed it over to Zhang Yun, "Take this letter to Zhu Zhun. Allow him to leave and tell him, I’ll wait for Dawei’s answer in ten days. After ten days, if I don’t get a response, I’ll begin the assault on the next city. Whatever Dawei doesn’t hand over, I’ll take."
Anyway, she already knew Yan Huisheng’s character well. If he didn’t get what he wanted, he wouldn’t withdraw from Dawei. Regardless of his lack of manpower, he’d manage to restrain Yuan Zhao and his soldiers.
Zhang Yun nodded, took the letter, and left.
Zhu Zhun had thought Su Rong would make things difficult for him. He didn’t expect her to simply ask him a few questions, mock him a bit, and let him go quickly. In fact, she even prepared a prompt response to his prince and ordered him to be released.
Zhu Zhun left the city, riding his horse away from Xinqi City. He kept in mind Su Rong’s message; he only had ten days. Ten days would just about allow enough time to make a round trip from Xinqi City to Lanwan River without rest, even if it meant driving several horses to death in the process.
He returned to Xuzhou without stopping even to stand. Zhu Zhun did not meet Helan Jue and Nangong Zheng. He simply dropped a message for them to hold Xuzhou City for ten days while he reported back to the prince. He would return within the ten days with the prince’s response. During this time, they must guard Xuzhou City vigilantly. After all, no one knew if Su Rong would attack Xuzhou City within these ten days.
Helan Jue and Nangong Zheng were shocked that Zhu Zhun’s meeting with Su Rong went so smoothly. Both looked at each other without a word and ordered their men to remain on high alert at the city gate.
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