roccoschili Chapter 379 What qualifications do you have?
Chapter 379 What qualifications do you have?
After a long while, the messenger swallowed hard, enduring the excruciating pain, and repeated his words in a trembling voice:
"The Great Chanyu... The Great Chanyu proposed peace talks. There are three conditions... First, 300,000 shi of grain and 10,000 bolts of silk."
Secondly, Princess Ying Yinman of Qin... went to the royal court for a marriage alliance.
Thirdly, the Chu woman Mi Yueyao from the Gewu Academy was sent to the grasslands as a concubine...
When he finished speaking, haltingly, he seemed to have all his strength drained away, and he was panting heavily.
The words had barely left his mouth when the anger of the civil and military officials was reignited!
"Insolence! You barbarian scum, even on the verge of death, you dare to spout such nonsense!"
"Your Majesty! Such insulting words deserve to be uttered! I request that this man be immediately thrown from the palace and torn apart by chariots in the marketplace!"
The generals all had wide-open, fierce eyes, and their beards and hair stood on end.
If it weren't for the imperial guards stopping them, Li Xin, Wang Ben, and the others would probably have rushed up and torn the envoy to pieces long ago.
However, faced with the wrath of his ministers, Ying Zheng, sitting high on his throne, suddenly smiled.
"hehe……"
He first chuckled softly, then the laughter gradually grew louder, echoing throughout the empty Zhangtai Palace.
But there was no warmth in that laughter, only endless coldness and mockery.
Ying Zheng was so angry that he laughed instead.
He abruptly stopped smiling. "Peace talks? With your barbarians who are only fit to gnaw on grass roots in the wasteland..."
Ying Zheng slowly stood up, looking down at the envoy, and said calmly,
"What qualifications do you have?"
The words were spoken.
The envoy looked up in horror at the Qin emperor, a chill running down his spine.
Before he arrived, both the Great Chanyu and Xiang Liang said that the Qin court and people were afraid of war, and that as long as pressure was applied, the Qin would definitely compromise.
But the Ying Zheng before him showed no sign of wanting to compromise.
That posture clearly indicated that they wanted to completely annihilate the Xiongnu!
"Your Majesty the Emperor of Qin! Please calm your anger! Please reconsider!"
The envoy panicked completely, prostrated himself on the ground, and shouted urgently, trying to weigh the pros and cons for Ying Zheng:
"Although the Qin Dynasty has a strong army, its northern border is bitterly cold and snow blocks the mountains!"
If a full-scale war were to break out, with 300,000 soldiers and horses to feed, Qin's grain supplies would simply not be able to reach the front lines!
Moreover, there are undercurrents within Qin, and the nobles of the former six states are restless. If the main force of the Qin army is tied up in the north by the Xiongnu for several years, Qin will surely be thrown into chaos in the rear!
The envoy was panting heavily, his posture already at its lowest point.
"The Great Chanyu is also thinking of the people of both countries! If the Great Qin finds the conditions too harsh... then, then we, the Great Xiongnu, can forgo the first requirement of 300,000 shi of grain and silk! We won't take a single grain!"
The envoy gritted his teeth and threw out his final bottom line: "As long as Great Qin agrees to the second and third conditions... as long as they send a princess for marriage, plus that woman named Mi Yueyao!"
The Great Chanyu immediately withdrew his troops three hundred li, and vowed never to venture south to graze his horses for ten years!
"Your Majesty the Emperor of Qin, exchanging two women for ten years of peace on the border—isn't that a worthwhile trade?"
Upon hearing this, the tense atmosphere inside Zhangtai Palace subtly paused for a moment.
Don't you want 300,000 shi of grain and 10,000 bolts of silk anymore?
Just two women?
Upon hearing this, the raging anger in the hearts of the court officials actually subsided somewhat.
If the previous condition had been "ceding territory and paying reparations," it would have been an utter disgrace, and the entire Qin court would rather die than agree to it.
But now, the other side has lowered its demands again and again, not wanting the Qin treasury to bleed a single drop; it only requires the sacrifice of two women to avoid a major war.
In the eyes of many civil servants, this has completely changed the nature of the situation.
For a moment, whispers arose below the court.
Many officials began to shift their attention from the "arrogance of the Xiongnu" to that unfamiliar name.
"Who is this Mi Yueyao? Why would the Xiongnu Chanyu specifically request a woman from Chu?"
"The messenger said this woman is currently residing in the Academy of Natural History? Isn't the Academy of Natural History Lord Zhang Fan's territory?"
"Could she be one of Lord Zhang Fan's hidden concubines? But why would Lord Zhang want to hide a woman from Chu?"
"How strange! This Xiongnu Chanyu is ignoring the royal daughter of Qin and insisting on taking on an unknown woman from Chu. Could there be some hidden story behind this?"
The officials exchanged glances, their expressions varied.
More importantly, as the conditions for the envoys were lowered, many civil officials who had originally advocated for a firm stance on war began to have their minds made more flexible.
In their view, the national treasury is now empty, and the construction of the Great Wall and the Straight Road has already consumed a huge amount of manpower. If a national war were to start now, logistical support would indeed be a fatal weakness.
Moreover, Zhang Fan's promised plan for transporting grain and fodder has not materialized even as the deadline approaches.
If the supplies can't be transported up, how can we fight the war?
"If we can use the marriage alliance to keep the Xiongnu in check for ten years, it would be a blessing for the Great Qin..." an old minister with graying temples said in a low voice to his colleague beside him.
"Yes, back then, Duke Mu of Qin also used the policy of marriage alliance to appease the Western Rong, so that he could have the energy to go east and contend for hegemony. All the previous kings have done this, sacrificing one or two women to exchange for peace in the world, which is a blessing for the country."
The whispers among the civil officials gradually gathered, and even among the military officers, several somewhat conservative generals frowned and fell into deep thought.
After all, without food and supplies, no matter how brave the soldiers were, they couldn't possibly fight the Xiongnu cavalry to the death on an empty stomach in the snow.
From his high platform, Ying Zheng could see the undercurrents swirling below.
His face remained as still as a deep well, revealing no emotion whatsoever.
But the hands hidden in the sleeves of his robe had already slowly clenched into fists.
Throughout his life, Ying Zheng waged war, conquered the six states, and looked down upon the world. The word "compromise" was never in his dictionary.
Using one's own daughter and the families of one's ministers to exchange for so-called peace?
Ha ha!
Ying Zheng's eyes narrowed, and he was about to refuse outright and order the envoy to be dragged out and cut down as a sacrifice to the flag.
Just then.
"My lord, I have a report to report!"
A loud voice suddenly broke the hushed conversation in the court.
Zong Yu, the Prefect of Grain Supply, strode out from the ranks of civil officials, holding his official tablet. In the ensuing silence, he knelt down and proclaimed in a loud voice:
"Your Majesty! In my opinion, although the Xiongnu envoy's words were arrogant, the conditions he proposed may not be impossible for Great Qin!"
These words caused an uproar in the room.
The generals glared angrily at Zong Yu, and Li Xin even cursed, "Zong Yu! You old scoundrel! Are you trying to disgrace the Great Qin Dynasty?!"
Zong Yu ignored Li Xin's insults. He straightened up, his face filled with compassion, and addressed Ying Zheng with eloquence:
"Your Majesty! This old minister is by no means a coward who fears death! But as the Minister of Grain, in charge of the nation's finances, I cannot fail to consider the fate of the Qin Dynasty!"
Now that the severe drought in Guanzhong has just ended and the people have just been able to catch their breath, if a national war with an army of 300,000 were to suddenly begin, the amount of food consumed every day would be astronomical!
If the war drags on for a year or two, the Qin treasury will surely be depleted. At that time, the people will suffer, starvation will be widespread, and the remnants of the former six states will undoubtedly seize the opportunity to rebel!