Chapter 243 Negotiation
The three envoys learned that the Tiger Soaring Army was not the army of the Golden Moon Kingdom's royal family, but rather an army reorganized after the rebellion of the former King Anshun's son.
The King of the Northern Frontier was a fool before, but he suddenly became enlightened after his family fell into misfortune not long ago. He is exceptionally intelligent and possesses unorthodox martial arts skills.
The three of them were curious about the army and Wen Zhiming himself. Now, seeing the Tiger Soaring Army in good order and with high morale, and Wen Zhiming even more dashing than the Prince of Anshun before, their curiosity turned into unease.
The emperor of Lanyu Kingdom doted on his sixth prince the most. After deciding that three people should come to discuss the matter of redeeming the prince during the morning court session, he also specially sent a trusted confidant to tell him that the safety of the sixth prince must be the top priority.
So, despite his panic, the leading envoy spoke first: "Please take us to see the Sixth Prince first, and we can discuss the ransom issue after we are sure the hostages are safe."
This request was perfectly reasonable, and Wen Zhiming immediately sent people to escort the envoys to the place where the Sixth Prince was being held.
The envoys were somewhat surprised to see that Wen Zhiming was not following them and allowed them to meet with the Sixth Prince alone. It seemed that the King of the Northern Frontier was not worried about them playing tricks.
In fact, they couldn't really do anything funny in the enemy's camp; at most, they could exchange a few private words with the Sixth Prince.
The guards of the Tiger Soaring Army stood watch outside the tent. They spoke in hushed tones, so that no one outside could hear them.
The three envoys were relieved to see that the sixth prince was in good spirits and his wounds had been treated, although his dark circles were very heavy, indicating that he had not rested well.
"Sixth Prince, after you were captured, His Majesty was worried day and night and has fallen seriously ill. We old ministers were also extremely anxious. Now that we see that the Sixth Prince is safe and sound, we can finally rest assured. The Sixth Prince has survived this calamity and will surely have good fortune in the future."
The sixth prince was already somewhat irritable because he hadn't seen Green Water yet today, but when he heard that his father was seriously ill, he became anxious instantly.
His father has always said he would pass the throne to him. He is not currently in Lanyu Kingdom. If something happens to his father, his throne will be in jeopardy.
"How is Father's condition now? Are the Crown Prince and others opposing Father's efforts to save me?"
These three envoys were specially selected by the Emperor of Lanyu Kingdom to support the Sixth Prince.
Upon hearing this, the envoy nodded: "His Majesty's illness is mainly caused by worry. Once we return and inform His Majesty that you are alright, he should recover. Since your capture, the court has been divided into two factions. One faction supports redeeming you at all costs, while the other faction, led by the Crown Prince, suggests delaying for a while until the Tiger Flying Army feels that you have little value, at which point they can redeem you at a very low cost."
"Damn it! They want me to die out there!" the Sixth Prince said angrily. "Have you met the King of Northern Frontier? What conditions did he propose?"
The envoy said, "I must first ascertain your safety before I can negotiate with the King of the Northern Frontier."
The sixth prince stood up, his handsome face clouded with gloom.
"Based on my understanding of the King of the Northern Frontier, he will not force us to sign a peace treaty, because he fears we will break our promises. He wants either wealth or weapons; he has a big appetite, so be careful."
Putting yourself in his shoes, if he were the King of the Northern Frontier, he wouldn't miss this opportunity to exchange hostages for benefits.
Normally, he wouldn't mind spending a few more days, and he couldn't let the Northern Frontier King collect the ransom too easily. But now that his father was ill, he had to go back as soon as possible. Otherwise, if something happened to his father, not only would his throne be in danger, but his own life would also be in jeopardy.
The envoy nodded and said, "Sixth Prince, rest assured, His Majesty has repeatedly instructed that your safety is of utmost importance. We should be able to redeem you as soon as possible."
Throughout history, there has been no precedent for using princes as hostages to demand wealth and weapons, so they were not too surprised by this.
The sixth prince waved his hand and gave instructions.
"Go. When you return, tell your father that the Northern Frontier King's martial arts are far superior to the former Anshun King's, and there should be no one in the Blue Feather Kingdom who can rival him. As long as the Northern Frontier King lives, our country will have no hope of winning the Golden Moon."
The sixth prince was not trying to boost the morale of others while diminishing his own.
In his view, the only person in the Blue Feather Kingdom who could rival the King of the Northern Frontier was himself.
With this defeat, it will be difficult for him to defeat the King of the Northern Frontier again in a short period of time, and others will be even more out of reach.
Now, if the Emperor knows that the Blue Feather Kingdom cannot gain any advantage from the Northern Frontier King, then the Emperor's idea of ​​exchanging weapons and wealth for him will be more firmly established.
Only in this way could he return to Lanyu Kingdom as soon as possible, carefully plan, and wait for his father to pass the throne to him so that he could build up sufficient troops and stockpile weapons. Then he could consider a grand plan to expand the territory and avenge today's humiliation.
The three envoys nodded in agreement and returned to the reception area with the guards.
Even though they were prepared, they were still shocked and turned pale when they saw Wen Zhiming hand them a list of people to redeem.
The items on the list were exactly as the Sixth Prince had expected; they were all weapons and horses. However, the amount was far more than just the Sixth Prince's claim of having a large appetite. If everything on the list were to be ordered, it would practically empty the entire armory of the Blue Feather Kingdom.
The leader of the three envoys was so angry that his voice trembled.
"King of the Northern Frontier, your ransom is outrageous! We simply don't have that many weapons. Isn't this asking the impossible?"
"Yes, the King of Northern Frontier is far too insincere."
It's normal to take hostages and demand ransom, but who goes so far as to empty someone's entire fortune?
"Envoy, please don't be hasty. Negotiations are about compromise and discussion. Our army will make a price, and you will make a counter-offer. Only when both sides accept it can we reach an agreement," Meng Lingge said gently, sitting next to Wen Zhiming.
She was wearing a veil, which made her stand out among the men in the room. However, women are generally more gentle and friendly than men, and her words showed no favoritism. Upon hearing this, the three envoys exchanged glances.
The leading envoy cautiously said, "Can we bargain? Then let's name a price, and please don't be angry, King of the Northern Frontier."
Although it is said that when two armies are at war, envoys should not be killed.
But the Northern Frontier King's face was ashen, and he looked very unapproachable, which made them a little apprehensive.
Meng Lingge nodded: "Of course, envoys, please speak."
Wen Zhiming chimed in, "The strategist is right. If we can reach an agreement, then we can talk. If we really can't, then we'll just have to kill the hostage."
"No, please don't kill the ticket."
The leading envoy quickly waved his hand, whispered to the other two, and said through gritted teeth, "To be honest, King of the Northern Frontier, we can only provide up to 30% of what's on this list. We really can't give any more than that."
Although their emperor had instructed them to prioritize the Sixth Prince's needs, if such outrageous conditions were met, they wouldn't be able to explain themselves when they returned.
If a country surrenders all its weapons, it will inevitably attract the attention of other countries. At that point, forget about expanding its territory; it won't even be able to protect its own land.
They wanted to save the crown prince, but they also didn't want the country to perish.
They originally wanted to say one percent, but when Wen Zhiming mentioned killing the hostage, they couldn't bring themselves to say it.
Thirty percent is actually quite high.
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