After traveling through time, I was spotted by the new emperor

Chapter 171: Negotiations should be slow

Zhang Dinggong was the first to speak:

"I am a rough soldier in the army and I don't understand the peace talks. However, as a general, there is one thing I believe I must insist on:

Mo Nan must not give in."

After Zhang Dinggong finished speaking, the others nodded.

Qi Kangping said, "Captain Ye is very eloquent. Let him negotiate the peace talks tomorrow."

Qi Kangping still clearly remembered Ye Wuwei debating with the scholars and killing everyone in the Taiji Hall.

Even Master Zhuang and the others were left speechless by Ye Wuwei, let alone the people from the north.

Ye Wuwei said:

"Although the peace talks were initiated by the North and we have the upper hand on the battlefield this time, our casualties are not optimistic if the fighting actually continues.

If it were in the past, we wouldn't have to worry so much and would drag them down, but things are different now.

Chamdo is still waiting for His Majesty to return and take charge, so we cannot engage in a protracted war with the North."

After Ye Wuwei finished speaking, the generals who had been somewhat indifferent to the peace talks began to take it seriously.

Things are different now. Qi Wushuang is no longer the King of Qi, but the Emperor of the Qi Dynasty.

It is no longer just Andu and Yingdu that belong to his power, the entire Qi Dynasty belongs to Qi Wushuang!

And their titles were obtained because Qi Wushuang ascended the throne as emperor!

To understand this, everyone should be serious.

Seeing everyone's expressions, Ye Wuwei knew that what he had just said had worked.

"When I met the eldest prince yesterday, he put forward three conditions:

1. Return to the north from the south of the desert.

2. The Black Water River is the boundary, and the five cities north of the Black Water River belong to the North.

10. The Qi Dynasty sent an annual tribute of 20 taels of silver and pieces of silk to the north.

We naturally couldn't agree to any of these three conditions, so I took him back to the barracks."

Ye Wuwei did not mention the letter.

Since the letter has been destroyed, the fewer people who know about it, the better!

Even if the contents of the letter are made public in the future, it can be denied without substantial evidence.

Ye Wuwei continued:

"After what happened yesterday, I guess the North won't insist on these three conditions anymore.

However, only when there is true mutual benefit can the borders of both sides be truly peaceful. Otherwise, even if an agreement is reached this time, it may be reneged on at any time.

So we need to think about what other requirements they may put forward besides these three conditions, so that we can prepare for them in advance.

And what can we get from the North?"

Zhang Dinggong:

"What the North lacks most is food, so they will definitely ask us to supply them with food.

But besides horses, there doesn’t seem to be anything else of value in the North.”

Chen Yanchi:

"Indeed.

Even if we were given such barren land in the north, it would be useless and extremely inconvenient to manage.

I would like to ask them to pay silver to the court every year, but I don't think the north is such a poor place that they can't afford it.

Only horses are still valuable.”

Others echoed.

Ye Wuwei asked, "What if I tell you there are two other valuable items in the North?"

"what?"

Everyone turned their eyes to Ye Wuwei, even Qi Wushuang, who had been looking at Ye Wuwei, looked more seriously.

"Kerosene and coal."

Everyone knows about coal, but this is the first time everyone has heard of kerosene.

"What is kerosene?"

"Like coal, kerosene is a mineral resource buried underground. Its use in the future will be very significant and it will become a scarce resource that everyone will compete for.

But for now:

The main uses of kerosene are lighting, lubrication, making firearms, and making ink sticks.

Especially firearms made with kerosene are very powerful."

"Really?"

Ye Wuwei nodded: "Of course it's true."

During Ye Wuwei's trip to the North, he discovered natural coke and oil spilled on the ground along the way. He realized that although the North could not grow crops such as grain, it was extremely rich in coal and oil resources.

It’s just that the ancient people had limited knowledge about these two resources, so they were not taken seriously.

"According to what Commander Ye said, how are we going to get these kerosene and coal?"

"Kerosene and coal are buried underground in the North. The people of the North don't know how to mine them, nor do they know how to use them. We can make a request to the North:

Qi Chao was responsible for the mining, and the kerosene and coal mined belonged to Qi Chao, who converted them into silver at a certain price and paid them to Beidi.

The North can use this silver to buy food from us."

"Will the North agree?"

"No, they are short of food."

"Actually, I discovered something when I went to the Northern Capital this time:

The Northern Royal City does not exclude merchants from the Central Plains.

Merchants from the Central Plains opened many shops in the Northern Royal City, selling silk, jewelry, jade, and medicinal herbs.

We can also officially open trade with the Northland."

"I heard that the Northern Prince is very hostile to people from the Central Plains. If he becomes the King of the Northern Lands, I'm afraid all the agreements will become worthless."

"Then we'll see what the North thinks."

Ye Wuwei couldn't say that he had poisoned the Northern Prince, so he could only be ambiguous.

After everyone had discussed it, Qi Wushuang left for a while.

After returning to their tent, Ye Wuwei said to Qi Wushuang, "I heard that Chen Shusheng is now in Andu."

"You mean to let Chen Shusheng preside over the peace talks?"

"Well, the treaty between the two countries needs to be drafted and written by a dedicated person, and there are many details that need to be paid attention to. I am not suitable to be the chief negotiator.

Furthermore, we have to wait until the Great Prince dies before we can move forward with the alliance. Otherwise, as everyone says, once the Great Prince becomes the King of the North, even if we reach an agreement, it will become worthless.

But I want to go back to Qamdo with you as soon as possible."

"How do you know Chen Shusheng is in Andu?"

"I asked the Nie family member who delivered the supplies, and he said Chen Shusheng personally led over 2,000 candidates from Changdu to Andu to take part in the provincial examination."

Qi Wushuang said sourly: "You do care about him."

"Scientific research is a big deal, so I naturally pay more attention to it.

However, I didn't expect that Chen Shusheng would be so responsible and personally take the candidates from Chamdo to Andu to take the exam.

After all, at this time, people in Chamdo didn't dare to go north.

If Chen Shusheng had not set an example, the candidates from Changdu probably wouldn’t have dared to come to Andu at this time.”

"Apart from the candidates from Chamdo, are there any candidates from other places coming to Andu?"

"There are a few here and there."

Qi Wushuang thought for a while:

"I really need to return to Qamdo as soon as possible, so let Chen Shusheng come to Mo Nan to preside over the peace talks."

"In fact, the negotiation location doesn't have to be in Mo Nan. We can also set the location for the peace talks in Andu."

Qi Wushuang instantly understood what Ye Wuwei was thinking.

"You mean we just have a meeting tomorrow, and then have the North send an envoy to Andu to discuss things slowly."

"Yeah, how can such a big thing be finalized in just a few words? We have to talk about it slowly and in detail."

Qi Wushuang took over Ye Wuwei's words:

"Furthermore, after the eldest prince dies, the King of Beidi will pay more attention to Humu Khan. Then, Humu Khan, who is in Andu, will make the King of Beidi even more cautious."

"Yes, after all, the Northland is still ruled by the King of the Northland."