Chapter 244 The husband sings and the wife follows
But Wen Zhiming seemed not to believe their difficulties. Upon hearing this, he stood up and said coldly.
"Thirty percent? Then there's no need to discuss it further. Show them out!"
Immediately, guards entered, making a move to drive the envoy away.
The envoys remembered what Wen Zhiming had said earlier: if they couldn't reach an agreement, they would have to kill the hostages. How could they dare to leave?
But the Northern Frontier King in front of them looked fierce and menacing, as if he would slash them if they said anything unpleasant, which made them dare not act rashly.
He immediately turned to Meng Lingge, who was obviously easier to talk to, and begged for mercy.
"You are the strategist, right? Please help us persuade the King of the Northern Frontier. It's not that we don't want to agree to such a large amount of weapons, but even if we wait for the Emperor to agree, the civil and military officials will not agree."
"Yes, if the negotiations break down completely, the two countries will go to war again, and the people on the border will suffer. The King of the Northern Frontier is clearly a monarch who loves his people like his own children, so how could he bear to see his people suffer?"
"I would appreciate it if the strategist could be more accommodating and discuss the matter with the King of Northern Frontier to see what percentage is acceptable. We will then report to the Emperor upon our return to the country."
The three envoys nodded obsequiously and looked at Meng Lingge with expectant expressions.
“Your Highness,” Meng Lingge said, unable to refuse the envoys’ earnest request, “the three envoys have a point. It is indeed difficult for Lanyu Kingdom to produce so many weapons. Since they are sincere in rescuing people, let’s accept a smaller ransom.”
Wen Zhiming looked impatient, but his tone softened a bit.
"Minimum 70%, one hand for the person, one hand for the goods."
The three envoys still looked troubled. Although they knew that a 70% success rate already represented a huge concession from the King of Northern Frontier, the amount was still too large. They knew without a doubt that the Crown Prince's faction would do everything in their power to obstruct it.
"King of the Northern Frontier, Military Advisor, we can only contribute a maximum of 50%. Even this 50% requires us and the Emperor to overcome all objections; exceeding that is truly impossible."
After some haggling, the three envoys had no choice but to reveal their true intentions.
This was also the information the Emperor had given them before they set off.
Wen Zhiming and Meng Lingge exchanged a glance, then quickly looked away.
Wen Zhiming turned around and snorted coldly.
Meng Lingge stepped forward and advised, "Your Highness, let's settle for half. The two countries are close and can be considered neighbors. Let's treat it as making friends with Lanyu Kingdom. It doesn't matter if we suffer a little loss when dealing with friends."
The three envoys rolled their eyes inwardly. Good heavens, they captured their crown prince, extorted half of their country's weapons, and this is considered a loss? What are they then?
Is that a joke?
But they couldn't get angry; they had to nod and agree, begging the King of the Northern Frontier to concede.
Meng Lingge said some nice things to the three envoys, but Wen Zhiming remained silent with a sullen face. Finally, the leading envoy gritted his teeth and added another ten thousand taels of gold before Wen Zhiming finally nodded.
Meng Lingge seized the opportunity and quickly wrote down the agreement. After coaxing Wen Zhiming to sign it, she had the three envoys also sign their names, and then personally saw the three envoys off.
"My lords, as you have seen today, we finally managed to persuade the King of Northern Frontier to agree to pay 50% of the list in exchange for the release of the Sixth Prince. Once you return to your country, you must arrange for it to be sent over as soon as possible. Otherwise, if it takes too long and the King of Northern Frontier gets angry and refuses to agree, then we really won't be able to save your Sixth Prince."
"We will remember this and thank you, strategist."
The three envoys left with deep gratitude.
When Meng Lingge returned to the council chamber, she saw Wen Zhiming sitting there with an inscrutable expression, so she went up and lifted his chin.
"The King of the Northern Frontier is so imposing. He wants to kill the hostage and drive people away. It's really frightening. I'm so scared."
"What's there to be afraid of?" Wen Zhiming smiled, grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms. "No matter how powerful the King of the Northern Frontier is, he still has to listen to the strategist. This time, I followed the strategist's advice and reached an agreement. I wonder if the strategist has any reward for me?"
"Nonsense." Meng Lingge was afraid of being seen and tried to get up, but the man held her tightly.
"I helped you reach the agreement, so you should reward me. How can you ask me for another reward?"
Wen Zhiming and Meng Lingge played the roles of good cop and bad cop, respectively. Indeed, their pre-arranged plan was to reach an agreement on 50% of the weapons on the list.
It was said to be 50%, but it was actually the full amount they had previously agreed upon.
Thinking that the envoy would definitely haggle when he arrived, the two doubled the amount on the list in advance, and after negotiating 50%, they got what they wanted.
As for the ten thousand taels of gold, it was a completely unexpected gain.
“Your words make sense, then I will reward the strategist.”
Wen Zhiming lowered his head slightly, and with a slight curve of his lips, covered Meng Lingge's lips. Just as he touched her lips, which were as red as rosy clouds, he heard a flurry of footsteps outside.
Wen Zhiming smiled wryly, realizing this was truly not a good place to be intimate with his wife.
He didn't mind being discovered, but Meng Lingge was shy and would definitely be angry if someone saw such an intimate scene.
He couldn't bear to see his wife angry.
Wen Zhiming reacted quickly, placing Meng Lingge steadily on the stool beside him in an instant. He picked up a teacup with his right hand and brought it to his lips, while using his left hand to grab another teacup and put it into Meng Lingge's mouth.
While Meng Lingge was feeling embarrassed and angry, Wen Zhiming's request for a reward and his bestowal of gifts were all ways of taking advantage of her. What a cunning man.
The doting and lingering kiss captivated her, but it was fleeting. In a flash, she was pushed aside to sit down, and a cup of tea was placed on her hand the next second.
Before he could ask any questions, Cao Ran, Ren Yang, General Liu, and other military officers entered one after another.
Meng Lingge's face was still flushed, but thankfully she was wearing a face mask. She forced herself to remain calm, picked up the teacup in the water, and silently drank her tea.
It has a sweet taste, a clear tea soup, and a few red dates and goji berries floating on top.
This is the tea that Lu Shui prepared for her a few days ago. It's suitable for pregnant women and is gentle and nourishing.
She placed the tea in the central tent between the two of them, since there wasn't any in the council chamber. It seems that when she saw off the envoys, Wen Zhiming went to the central tent to fetch it for her, or perhaps she always carried it with her.
While she was doing her best to serve her husband, he was thinking of her all the time.
Thinking about it this way, the tea in my hand tasted even sweeter.
After the generals sat down, Cao Ran asked in confusion, "Your Highness, where are the envoys from the Blue Feather Kingdom? Haven't they arrived yet?"
They were training at the military camp today, a little distance away, and rushed over as soon as they received the news.
Meng Lingge took out the agreement signed by the envoy.
"An agreement has been reached, and the envoy is already on his way back."
The generals passed the agreement around and examined it carefully, all of them somewhat shocked.
"The Prince and Miss Du just reached an agreement? With so many weapons, they really agreed? And they even gave away ten thousand taels of gold?"
They all knew how outrageous the list was, and even if the Blue Feather Kingdom's envoy agreed, a heated debate was inevitable.
As a result, in the short time they were delayed, the two of them got the job done.
Wen Zhiming briefly explained that they had put on a show together and that the list had been doubled up, and then attributed all the credit to Meng Lingge.
"Miss Du is intelligent and resourceful, and has repeatedly achieved great feats in the military camp. From now on, she will be the Tiger Soaring Army and my true strategist."
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