NovelEnglish500,000 was, of course, not too much for Xie Xuanchen. Mu Mingtang knew the financial situation of his mansion, not to mention the imperial court. Xie Xuanchen himself could immediately take out that amount this instant. However, the issue was not about the money.
Xie Xuanchen sneered. Although he was smiling, the smile didn’t reach the bottom of his eyes as his orbs were still cold, “500,000 is really not much, but although we have a lot of money in the Ye Dynasty, none of it is superfluous. It is impossible for me to use even a single penny of the people’s money to support those from other countries, let alone 500,000.”
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtYe Luyan was completely annoyed. He flicked his sleeves, threw the wine glass on the ground and said darkly, “From Prince An’s words, does this mean that you don’t agree to the negotiations and would like to commence a war?”
Xie Xuanchen was still sitting upright with a sword-like posture and awe-inspiring eyes.
“Let’s go to war, then.”
Xie Xuanchen’s voice was forceful and his eyes were cold, stunning the entire palace into a wave of silence.
Ye Luyan was very angry and he looked at Xie Xuanchen gloomily. The eyes of the two locked in on each other as the sound of arguments could be faintly heard. Ye Luyan said in a serious tone, “Our army is strong and mighty. Plus, our warriors are brave and fearless. Father Khan proposed peace because he wanted to give the Ye Dynasty some leeway. Our army is not afraid of a war, but can you afford it?”
Xie Xuanchen smiled and answered, “You will know once you try.”
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmNo one in the hall dared to speak as even Prime Minister Song’s heart was in his throat. In fact, what Ye Luyan said was correct— the Beirong people were nomads in the first place and they were not afraid of fighting. Besides, the imperial court truly couldn’t afford it.
Xie Xuanchen stared back at the man contemptuously, not giving in in the slightest. After a while, Ye Luyan took the lead to take a step back and said, “Since the peace talks are the consensus of the two countries, the details can be discussed again. The matter of the tributes can be discussed later on.”
All the officials present, including Jiang Honghao, who was in charge of the financial affairs of the Three Divisions, were surprised. They were all ready to pay a price for peace, but they didn’t expect Xie Xuanchen to make a sudden taunt like that, let alone Ye Luyan’s regress in the end?
Giving in during negotiations was a sign of compromise as it revealed one’s bottom line. In fact, it would be impossible to take it back later on. Although Ye Luyan suggested further discussions on the tributes later on, the Beirong officials knew that if they agreed to it, there would practically be no room for discussions.
All the officials looked at each other in blank dismay as no one would have ever thought that the talks would end up this way.
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