"What are the conditions of the Han Dynasty?"
The Himita envoy cautiously raised his head to look at Chu You, wanting to hear the Han's terms.
"It's very simple."
Chu You smiled and said, "First, send your Holy Maiden to the Great Han as a hostage."
Secondly, you must provide security and protection for any Han Chinese who enter the Himitai tribe.
Third, merchants from the Han Dynasty who enter your territory to do business or build workshops shall not be subject to commercial taxes.
Fourth, we permit our Han army and its subordinate troops to be stationed in your territory. In the event of military action, your troops will be under the command of the Han army, and your territory will provide them with provisions.
"this......"
Himita's envoy was stunned. He knew that the Han Dynasty would put forward some harsh conditions, but he did not expect them to be this harsh.
The four conditions proposed by Chu You were less about demanding submission and more about getting them directly incorporated into the Han Dynasty.
"These conditions from the angels are far too demanding, and I apologize that my department is unable to agree to them."
The Himita envoy shook his head, his face ashen, and rejected Chu You's proposal.
The second and third points are somewhat easier to handle; they simply mean treating the people of the Han Dynasty as honored guests.
As for the first and fourth points, the Himita envoy knew without even thinking that his king would definitely not agree.
You must understand that Himiko was not just a saint in their eyes. The common people, nobles, and royalty had long ago decided that she would be the heir to the throne. How could she possibly go to the Han Dynasty as a hostage?
Furthermore, everyone in the Himidae tribe knew that their king had always been ambitious and wanted to unify the Yamatai Kingdom. How could he tolerate a foreign army stationed there and become someone else's puppet?
Seeing that his proposed conditions were rejected, Chu You was not angry at all; instead, he even showed a smile.
Chu You looked at the envoy from Himitai and said with a smile, "Since you cannot meet the conditions of my Great Han, there is nothing more to say. Show them out!"
As soon as he finished speaking, two guards outside the tent entered and gestured for Himitei's messenger to enter.
Upon seeing this, the envoy from Himitai opened his mouth as if to say something, but faced with the fierce gazes of the Han soldiers, he could only shake his head, sigh, and turn to walk away.
Shortly after the Himitai messenger left, Chu You ordered someone to bring Shejinlu to him.
Shejinlu asked respectfully, "I wonder why the angel summoned me here?"
Chu You said in a deep voice: "From today onwards, all soldiers of the Han Army shall begin to build siege weapons, and we will launch an attack on Shishui Village in five days."
"yes!"
Shejin Lü responded loudly, then turned and left with an excited expression.
Originally, Shejin Ritsu was worried that Himidai's request for peace with the Han Dynasty would affect his status. Now that he saw the Han Dynasty was about to break with Himidai, Shejin Ritsu was finally relieved.
Subsequently, Shejinlu gathered his six thousand Han soldiers together, and under the leadership of the engineering students, began to cut down trees to manufacture siege weapons such as catapults, siege towers, and ladders.
Chu You also sent several messengers to the Guishan Valley and Cangjituo tribes, which border the Bimitai tribe, to invite them to share the Bimitai tribe with the Han Dynasty.
Those scions of noble families, merchants, and caravans from royal trading companies led tens of thousands of captured Japanese slaves to build furnaces near the mine and begin smelting silver.
After some discussion, Chu You decided to send five ships back to the Han Dynasty, carrying the previously captured pearls, jade, silver ingots, and other valuables, while also reporting the situation of the Japanese islands to the court.
A few days later, the messenger sent by Himita returned to the palace and told Himita in detail about the four conditions proposed by Chu You.
Himitai, his face flushed, shouted, "This is simply outrageous! Although the Han Dynasty is powerful, how can they act so domineeringly? Do they want us to be their puppets?"
Himita's roar echoed throughout the palace hall.
The city lords, stronghold chiefs, and nobles from all the cities in the hall lowered their heads, not daring to say a word.
Himiko, sitting to the side, said calmly, "Things have come to this point, Father, there is no need to be angry. Now that we have rejected the conditions proposed by the Han envoy, they will surely seek an opportunity to send troops. We should prepare accordingly."
"Whew!"
Hearing his daughter's words of advice, Himita let out a soft breath.
After calming himself down, Himita looked at the envoy and asked, "Did you see any Han soldiers on your trip to the Han camp? What was their situation?"
The messenger thought for a moment and said, “Your Majesty, the Han army camp is as solid as a city wall. The Han soldiers are tall and imposing, and everyone is wearing iron armor and carrying sharp long swords. Although I don’t know how many there are, judging from the size of the camp, there should be no fewer than five thousand people.”
Upon hearing this, Himidai and everyone else in the hall frowned.
The Japanese archipelago itself had very little iron ore, and coupled with the limitations of smelting technology, ironware was extremely scarce. Even the royal guard of Himidai had only a few hundred men equipped with iron weapons, and not a single piece of iron armor.
Now that I have rejected the conditions proposed by the Han envoy, they will surely seek an opportunity to attack. It will probably not be so easy to repel the Han army.
Himiko spoke up, saying, "The Han army has crossed the sea and is facing supply difficulties. They certainly cannot hold out for long. If we want to defeat the Han army, we must fortify our defenses, clear the fields, and hold our cities. When their supplies run out, they will naturally choose to retreat!"
Himita nodded upon hearing this: "That's right, it's the only way right now!"
Immediately, Himita ordered the urgent mobilization of 20,000 soldiers from Himita's tribe to defend Shishui Village, the closest village to the Han army. At the same time, he relocated more than a dozen tribes around Shishui Village into the village, taking all their food and supplies with him.
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