Chapter 86

Yan Ze'an walked along, sighing all the way; the bodies had been taken away, but the ground was still red. In the early morning, there was still the smell of gunpowder and a disturbing burnt odor here.

The horses in front were uneasy, and the coachman had to be particularly careful to control the carriage.

As Yan Ze'an was heading towards Anyang, Li Xian was giving Xu Ren and others their final "training," "First, we must figure out how they obtained the gunpowder formula. Second, we don't need any political concessions; they mean nothing to us. We only need commercial benefits.

We need to open up a huge market and secure a source of raw materials and resources."

As everyone was discussing, Song Xing ran over, "Young Master..."

"Wait!" Xu Ren suddenly spoke up, "Given Li Xian's current status and influence, it's inappropriate to call him Young Master or Master. Especially since we will be negotiating with the Cai Kingdom; these details must be paid attention to.

Hmm, how about calling him General? When there are outsiders, call him General. When there are no outsiders, maintain the original habits.

Calling him Sir seems too distant, and calling him Master is clearly inappropriate. 'General' is the most suitable."

Li Xian immediately agreed, "Mr. Xu is right. From now on, I will call myself General. Ha, I am also a general who commands a region."

Song Xing was very quick-witted and immediately changed his tone, speaking loudly, "General, the Chancellor of the Cai Kingdom has arrived at the border."

"Open the city gates and welcome him with open arms."

Then, Li Xian, Xu Ren, and others went to the entrance of the city hall to wait for the arrival of Chancellor Yan Ze'an from the Cai Kingdom. A carriage with over a dozen servants slowly and leisurely stopped about ten zhang in front of Li Xian. Chancellor Yan Ze'an slowly got out of the carriage and then slowly walked towards Li Xian.

Li Xian remained calm on the surface, quietly watching—just watch you act, act hard, act away.

Yan Ze'an slowly walked up to Li Xian and smiled slightly with a hint of arrogance, "Young Master Li is indeed a young talent."

But Li Xian suddenly sneered, his voice loud, "Chancellor Yan! Why did the Cai Kingdom attack our Great Xia Kingdom without cause, causing tens of thousands of Great Xia men to be buried at the border, and every household in Anyang to be in mourning!"

The guards on the Great Xia side glared angrily, and the few at the front even unsheathed their long swords from their waists and planted them on the ground, creating a series of thuds.

A chilling atmosphere suddenly spread. These guards had just been transferred from the front lines, each exuding a fierce and lethal aura.

Yan Ze'an was immediately stunned. Damn, you're putting on airs. But considering the current situation and the possibility that the Great Xia Kingdom might have already launched a northern campaign, Chancellor Yan had to soften his stance. He carefully put aside his earlier arrogance, "Sigh, we were also misled by villains..."

Li Xian chuckled, "I don't consider myself a gentleman either. How about this: if your Cai Kingdom can send 100,000 troops to attack the Chen Kingdom, I will give you 5 spirit stones. For every county of the Chen Kingdom you capture, I will give you 3 spirit stones. If you can destroy the Chen Kingdom, I will give you 30 spirit stones! What do you think?"

Yan Ze'an was speechless. I said, do you negotiate like this?!

Actually, not just Yan Ze'an, even Xu Ren was stunned—Young Master, your negotiation attitude is quite eye-opening.

There was a moment of silence. After a long time, Yan Ze'an's face turned pale as he said, "Sigh... we are willing but powerless. With 200,000 troops lost, our Cai Kingdom cannot afford to send troops for the next ten years."

Li Xian's tone remained firm, "Then, who ordered the attack on our Great Xia Kingdom?"

"This... of course, it was the Emperor..."

"Very well, you will..."

"Cough, cough." Xu Ren quickly interrupted Li Xian's passionate speech. If you continue, the negotiations will really break down. The initial intimidation is enough.

Li Xian had spoken out of habit, feeling too exhilarated and almost saying, "Send the head of the Cai Kingdom's emperor." Hearing Xu Ren's reminder, he realized he had let his guard down again. He quickly composed himself, "Then, the Emperor of the Cai Kingdom must apologize to the Emperor of the Great Xia Kingdom."

This condition was good, reasonable, and would earn Li Xian political capital—Li Xian didn't need political concessions from the Cai Kingdom but needed political capital within the Great Xia Kingdom. Xu Ren nodded in approval; this condition was well-posed.

But Yan Ze'an was in a difficult position. This was a very embarrassing matter, but he couldn't refuse this time—Li Xian's demands were too reasonable. "This matter needs to be reported to the Emperor. Please forgive me, but I cannot agree to it."

"Then, Chancellor Yan, what can you decide?"

"I... I can't decide anything. I came today just to understand Young Master Li's intentions." The Chancellor was already dazed by Li Xian's unconventional moves.

Li Xian's tone softened for the first time but remained firm, "Alright, my intentions are clear.

First, the Cai Kingdom must apologize to the Great Xia Kingdom.

Second, the war losses in Anyang amount to 450 spirit stones and 200,000 taels of gold, which must be compensated.

Third, the Cai Kingdom must not obstruct the trade caravans signed by Anyang.

Fourth, three generals of the Cai Kingdom, Wang Qisheng, Yan Zhengqing, and Lu Chenggang, must come to our camp to apologize and offer incense for the fallen soldiers.

Fifth, the Cai Kingdom must promise not to invade the Great Xia Kingdom for the next ten years, for any reason.

I need a reply within seven days, or there will be consequences!"

Chancellor Yan Ze'an didn't even enter the city hall and was sent back by Li Xian. Once he left the Anyang border, the Chancellor's face suddenly turned dark, "What a cunning little fox. What a greedy and vicious wolf!"

The servants beside him didn't dare to respond, only quietly driving the carriage forward.

On Li Xian's side, after Yan Ze'an left the Anyang territory, he immediately wrote a letter detailing the situation and had Song Xing deliver it to his father, Li Yulong, as quickly as possible.

The reason Li Xian didn't let Yan Ze'an enter the city hall was to prevent any ulterior motives—once inside, many things would become unclear. So Li Xian had to block Yan Ze'an outside and speak in public. Sometimes, public opinion can be very powerful.

After that, Li Xian began to sort out the affairs of Anyang. The current situation in Anyang was truly a mess, a mess on top of a mess. Just when things were starting to improve, they were completely disrupted by this war, especially the Brilliant Stars Group in the Qingyun Valley, Li Xian's largest base, which was severely affected.

However, there was another serious issue—gunpowder! This time, Li Xian didn't mention gunpowder in front of Yan Ze'an, but he had already sent people to investigate, especially among the prisoners of war, and was interrogating a few officers more strictly.

Additionally, since others had already produced gunpowder, Li Xian no longer cared about keeping it a secret. He immediately ordered the armory to produce gunpowder in full force and even planned to sell it as the next important commodity.

After three days of busy work, Li Xian finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then, he embraced Xia Qingqing and stood on the city wall of Anyang, looking into the distance, "Qingqing, from today on, I, Li Xian, truly have a foothold."

"Um." Xia Qingqing, seeing the many people around, blushed and leaned against Li Xian's shoulder, feeling both shy and happy, with countless joys in her heart.

(Smart to the top, lazy to the bottom. Haha, please vote, please vote.)

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