As soon as Wang Yuanguang made this statement, many royalists echoed his sentiments.
Other officials couldn't help but want to speak up in rebuttal, but they all fell silent after being glanced at by Xue Shen.
Xue Shen looked directly at Wang Yuanguang and spoke slowly, "What you say, Prime Minister Wang, makes sense. If His Majesty needs it, we would gladly go through fire and water for you, let alone just send you to the Northern Rong as a hostage. But does Prime Minister Wang really think that the Northern Rong people will accept the previous conditions?"
He curled his lips coldly, but the smile didn't reach his eyes: "You've underestimated the Northern Rong King's appetite."
Wang Yuanguang, unable to save face, said sarcastically, "Whether we accept it or not, we'll know after the next round of negotiations."
Xue Shen nodded, and said with a hint of sarcasm, "I only hope that when the Northern Rong people offer their new terms, the officials who advocate peace will be able to muster some courage."
After saying this, he disregarded etiquette and bowed perfunctorily to Emperor Cheng'an before striding away.
Although Emperor Cheng'an was annoyed by his rudeness, he remembered what he had just agreed to, and his eyes flickered, so he had no mind to dwell on such a trivial matter.
The following day, Wang Yuanguang once again led envoys to negotiate with the Northern Rong.
Given the previous example of the Northern Rong people killing their envoy, Wang Yuanguang originally wanted to take a conciliatory approach and set the peace talks on the border line where the two sides were locked in a standoff. However, the Northern Rong people immediately retorted with insults, acting as if they were begging for peace talks and that if the Northern Rong people didn't come to their camp in person, they could ignore the talks altogether.
Wang Yuanguang waited for half a day in the makeshift tent but did not see any Northern Rong people. He could only sheepishly lead his men to the Northern Rong military camp to request an audience.
The Northern Rong general who received them looked disdainful: "I thought you Wei people were as courageous as Shen Mingjiang, but now it seems you're nothing special."
Wang Yuanguang and the others' faces twitched, but they could only force a smile and say, "Our Great Wei has always valued the integrity of scholars and the importance of etiquette and rules. Not everyone is as rough and unrestrained as General Shen."
The Northern Rong general chuckled twice: "You think you have any backbone coming here to beg for mercy?" He said without any politeness: "You wait here, I'll go and ask the king."
Then he left Wang Yuanguang and the others behind.
Wang Yuanguang and several officials stood in the center of the tent. There wasn't even a stool to sit on, let alone tea. Inside the tent were several Northern Rong warriors, each as strong as an ox, wielding large swords, glaring menacingly at Wang Yuanguang and his party. If they made the slightest movement, several blades would instantly be pressed against their necks.
Wang Yuanguang and the others were all civil officials with high positions in the court; they had never suffered such humiliation before.
But now they were in the camp of the Northern Rong people. Having experienced the last time when the Northern Rong people killed someone without saying a word, Wang Yuanguang did not dare to make any demands. He could only stand motionless in the tent, waiting for news from the Northern Rong people.
But waiting like this meant a whole night passed.
The Northern Rong general who had received them never showed up again, and the Northern Rong king was nowhere to be found. The few warriors in the tent guarded them almost like prisoners, constantly pointing their swords and spears at each other.
The group was exhausted and starving, but they dared not relax for a moment and stood there all night.
When the Northern Rong general reappeared the next day, the peace envoys, led by Wang Yuanguang, all looked haggard and exhausted, having lost the momentum of the previous day.
The Northern Rong general smiled and had benches brought over for them to sit down. However, after standing for half a day and a half and a whole night, their knees were stiff and their legs could not bend at all. After finally sitting down, they were all grimacing from the torment.
The Northern Rong general laughed heartily and said, "Everyone says that the Great Wei values etiquette, but I don't think it's much better than us Northern Rong."
Wang Yuanguang and the others dared not speak out in anger, but endured the humiliation and brought up the important matter: "General, when can we see the King of the Northern Rong?"
"You are nothing but a few subjects, how dare you meet our king? If you wish to see the king, your emperor should come in person," the Northern Rong general said arrogantly.
Wang Yuanguang said slowly and deliberately, "Your Majesty is of noble birth, and we, your subjects, will handle this matter. We have come here with the sincerity of seeking peace, but the Northern Rong seem to lack sincerity."
The Northern Rong general sneered, drew his sword from his waist and slammed it on the table: "If you hadn't been sincere, the five of you would already be hanging on the city wall."
His imposing manner and complete unreasonableness immediately overwhelmed Wang Yuanguang, who could only speak more tactfully: "Regarding the conditions proposed by the Northern Rong King last time, we—"
“Hey, last time was last time.” The Northern Rong general raised his hand and interrupted him rudely: “Last time the king gave you a chance, but you didn’t agree. Now you’re asking for peace again, but the conditions are different.”
Wang Yuanguang's heart sank. Then he saw the Northern Rong general take out a roll of cloth covered with writing: "This is our king's request."
Wang Yuanguang barely suppressed his anxiety and examined the cloth. The officials sitting beside him also turned their gazes toward him.
"The three towns of Taiyuan, Zhongshan and Hejian were ceded, with the Mo'er River as the boundary, and the area south of the Mo'er River was designated as the territory of the Northern Rong."
"The tribute included ten million taels of gold, eighty million taels of silver, twenty thousand cattle and horses, and three million bolts of silk and cloth..."
"Princess Xuanci will be sent as a concubine to the King of Beirong, with ten noble ladies from the royal family as her dowry. Princes and prime ministers will be sent as hostages..."
"Five thousand young girls, one thousand young girls, and three thousand entertainers and dancers..."
With each line Wang Yuanguang read, his hand trembled a little more. After reading them all, even a peace advocate like him felt that the Northern Rong were really going too far.
He glared angrily at the Northern Rong general, wanting to say something, but when the other man picked up his sword, he softened his tone and said, "These conditions are far too harsh, and we can't raise that much gold, silver, and manpower in such a short time."
The Northern Rong general arrogantly declared, "If we can't gather enough troops in a day, then we'll besiege the city for a day. We'll withdraw when we've gathered enough. If you think our conditions are too harsh, then we can have a real battle. We won't need your emperor to collect the troops and send them to us; we'll go get them ourselves. Then we can replace our king as the emperor of the Central Plains."
His words were extremely disrespectful, but Wang Yuanguang dared not rebuke him, and could only force a smile and say, "This matter is of great importance, and I need to go back and discuss it."
This time, the Northern Rong general had no intention of killing anyone. He magnanimously said, "Go. I'll give you one day. If you don't see the gold, silver, and women delivered today, then tomorrow we'll prepare to attack the city. The Northern Rong soldiers can go into the city and choose for themselves."
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