Chapter 28 of 100

Chapter 28

17 min read4,127 words

"Absolutely not," Ju Shou hurriedly opposed.

"Why not?" Liu Yao's tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction.

"Lord, do you think our strength compares to the entire Wuhuan tribe?" Ju Shou said calmly.

"What if the Wuhuan have more people? In my eyes, they are nothing but rats," Liu Yao said with confidence. This time, Liu Yao had completely annihilated the Wuhuan, which led to his blind confidence, believing that the Wuhuan could be easily destroyed.

A trace of anger appeared on Ju Shou's face, and he said coldly, "Lord, do you know what it means to be overconfident and thus doomed to fail?"

Liu Yao was immediately startled and quickly reacted, bowing to Ju Shou, "I apologize, Gongyu. I was being arrogant. Please teach me."

Ju Shou nodded, clearly very satisfied with Liu Yao. Liu Yao had great ambitions and strategies, and was approachable. Although he sometimes made mistakes, he could always correct them. Ju Shou was very fortunate to have met such a wise lord.

"Lord, we currently have about 40,000 troops, but to be honest, apart from your personal guard and Gao Shun's elite troops, the rest can only be considered average. The reason we were able to defeat the Wuhuan this time was mainly due to our strategy. If we had fought them head-on, we would have surely lost. Lord, you have just taken control of Youzhou, and various regions are still developing. We can maintain peace in our territory, but if we go to war, we may not be ready. Even if we destroy the Wuhuan, the Xiongnu will become a new threat, and Youzhou will be unable to resist them. It would be better to keep the Wuhuan to resist the Xiongnu. I believe that after a few years of development, we will not fear the Wuhuan, the Xianbei, or the Xiongnu."

"I have learned. Let's do as you suggest," Liu Yao said. But then, as if he remembered something, a mischievous smile appeared on his face, "However, since the Wuhuan came to seek peace, we can't let them off without a good bleed."

Ju Shou couldn't help but shudder when he saw Liu Yao's smile. In his experience, whenever Liu Yao showed this smile, someone was bound to suffer. He began to mourn the envoy in his heart. When he first joined Liu Yao, it was partly due to Liu Yao's strategic thinking, but Ju Shou never blamed him. On the contrary, meeting such a lord was a great fortune in his life.

Two days later, the Wuhuan envoy arrived in Jixian. Liu Yao prepared a banquet to welcome him.

When the Wuhuan envoy was led into the hall, he saw Liu Yao sitting in the main seat, with Shi A standing by his side. Zhang Fei, Huang Zhong, Tian Feng, and Ju Shou were seated on either side.

As soon as the Wuhuan envoy stepped in, Zhang Fei and Huang Zhong immediately released their killing aura, enveloping the envoy. The envoy, who was more of a Wuhuan official, had never experienced such intense killing aura before and was instantly terrified, his body going limp.

Liu Yao smiled slightly. Giving a warning at the beginning was always beneficial for the negotiations. "Ahem," Liu Yao coughed, and Zhang Fei and Huang Zhong understood, retracting their killing aura. "You are the Wuhuan envoy. Please sit."

The envoy felt as if he had just returned from the gates of hell, his legs weak, and he barely managed to sit down.

"What does your chieftain Qili Ju want?" Liu Yao asked straightforwardly.

The envoy respectfully said, "My lord, this time our king sent me to seek peace with the Han, to ensure mutual non-aggression. We also want to retrieve the captured General Ji."

Liu Yao sneered, "Your king has a good plan, thinking he can achieve peace with just a few words and retrieve my captives?"

"No, no, no. Our king said he can offer 8,000 fine horses, one top-grade warhorse, 20,000 cattle and sheep, 3,000 gold, and countless rare furs and medicines as conditions for peace," the envoy hurriedly said.

"Hmm? I find these conditions very satisfactory. Let's do it," Liu Yao nodded.

"Oh, thank you, my lord. Then, may I ask if you can release our Wuhuan generals now?" The envoy was very excited, thinking, "I didn't expect him to be so easy to talk to. The conditions are far below the limit set by King Qili Ju. When I return, the king will surely reward me."

"What release? Did I say I would release them?" Liu Yao feigned ignorance.

"You... You... You Han people are the most trustworthy, how can you go back on your word?" the envoy said angrily.

"Rubbish, can you criticize me, your lord?" Liu Yao slapped the table, startling the envoy. "The conditions you just mentioned are for peace. As for the four captives, you can have them if you pay the ransom." Liu Yao's lips curled into a mischievous smile.

"How much ransom does my lord want?" the envoy asked hopefully, his voice low.

"Not much. Four people, 5,000 fine horses per person, one top-grade warhorse, 10,000 cattle and sheep, and 2,000 gold," Liu Yao demanded exorbitantly.

"What? You... You... You are... robbing us," the envoy's face turned pale, and he stuttered in fear.

"Hmph, that's the price. If you don't agree, you can leave. As for those four who are wasting food, I'll have them buried," Liu Yao said indifferently.

"Do you not fear that King Qili Ju will lead his troops to attack Youzhou?" the envoy threatened, enraged.

Liu Yao laughed, "Good, good, good. You are the first to dare threaten me. Yi De, throw him out and gather the troops. We will attack Wuhuan Mountain tomorrow."

Zhang Fei, hearing this, jumped up excitedly; he had long been annoyed by this man.

"Wait, my lord, wait. We can still negotiate," the envoy, realizing Liu Yao was not swayed and was even planning to attack, became fearful. If this happened, he would be the Wuhuan's greatest sinner. He pleaded humbly.

Liu Yao waved his hand, and Zhang Fei understood and stepped back. "This is your last chance. Whether you want to pay the ransom is up to you."

The envoy gritted his teeth, calculated the limit set by Qili Ju, and finally said, "My lord, the conditions you mentioned are impossible. The most we can offer is 3,000 fine horses, one top-grade warhorse, 5,000 cattle and sheep, and 1,000 gold."

"Fine, let's do it as you say," Liu Yao agreed without hesitation. The original price was exorbitant, and the current ransom far exceeded his expectations.

"Phew." The envoy sighed in relief when Liu Yao finally agreed. If this continued, he would have been scared to death. "Since that's the case, my lord, can you release our four generals now?"

"Release is possible, but only after the ransom is paid. I don't trust these Wuhuan people, so the rule of paying first and releasing later must be followed," Liu Yao said.

"Thank you, my lord. I will inform you and send the ransom as soon as possible." The envoy left the hall, led by a Youzhou soldier.

"Ha ha ha ha." After the Wuhuan envoy left, Zhang Fei couldn't help but burst into laughter, "Ha ha, my lord, that Wuhuan man is really funny. Look at his face, green one moment, black the next."

"Ha ha ha ha." Hearing Zhang Fei, everyone else couldn't help but laugh.

"My lord, in total, we have gained a lot from the Wuhuan this time. Just the horses alone number 80,000, not to mention the rest. The Wuhuan will not recover from this for a long time," Ju Shou said with a hint of schadenfreude.

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