Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress novel Chapter 1363

Chapter 1363: Chapter 1358: Qualification

"What Minister Liu says is very true. Currently, the world has one major power, the Zhou Dynasty, and two, the Yan Kingdom. Both countries have vast territories, and the newly acquired cities on the Xiliang front need time to organize. Therefore... selecting a dozen or so cities to delineate would be the most appropriate. However, before dividing the cities, we haven’t yet finished discussing the matter of hostages. I kindly ask Minister Liu to allow me to finish..." Wang Hanbing maintained his composed demeanor as he slowly spoke, "Since our Yan Kingdom has decided to let the Crown Prince, the second prince, and the Great General be hostages to the Zhou Dynasty, shouldn’t the Zhou Dynasty also provide hostages to our Yan Kingdom?"

Before Liu Rushi could reply, Wang Hanbing continued: "Our Yan Kingdom is presenting two princes and a Great General to the Zhou Dynasty to show our kingdom’s sincerity in this nation-gambling strategy. Naturally... because we were in the wrong initially, the Zhou dynasty’s lack of trust is understandable! But now, with the Zhou army deployed on the border of our Yan Kingdom, we fear that when we send capable generals as hostages, the Zhou Dynasty might, due to past backstabbing by our Yan Kingdom, launch an attack on Yan City. At that time, without generals to defend, wouldn’t we be completely at their mercy, without even a chance to fight back!"

After speaking, Wang Hanbing stood and respectfully bowed towards the various court officials of the Zhou Dynasty: "This move is not literally to require the Zhou Dynasty to provide hostages but to give us some assurance, so that we in the Yan Kingdom know that the Zhou Dynasty is also earnest in this nation-gambling strategy! So I ask all of you officials to give us a break. After all... our Yan Kingdom’s request is logical and not excessive."

"Our Emperor has long declared that the Zhou Dynasty shall never provide hostages..." Liu Rushi, resting his hands on the table, gazed at Wang Hanbing, "The Emperor’s golden words are unchangeable! Just like us court officials of the Zhou Dynasty who believe that with our current military superiority, conquering the Yan Kingdom is only a matter of time. There is no need for risky peace talks. Yet the Emperor has ordered talks... so we have come to talk!"

With that, Liu Rushi raised his hand to salute Wang Hanbing: "We also hope the envoys from the Yan Kingdom will be considerate and not make this difficult for us! After all... we are currently in an advantageous position while your Yan Kingdom faces the threat of demise, so let’s not quibble over these trivial matters."

Wang Hanbing then realized the eloquence of Liu Rushi, this official’s words were indeed remarkable, employing both soft and hard approaches, while also putting the envoys from Yan in an awkward position, highlighting... that it was their Yan Kingdom asking the Zhou Dynasty to accept the nation-gambling strategy. He personally disagreed, but was here due to the Emperor’s command to discuss with them.

Seeing that Wang Hanbing seemed thoughtful, Liu Rushi smiled and spoke again...

"Suddenly remembering a saying by our Emperor after the great victory in the southern frontier against Xiliang during peace talks, it seems apt to share, slightly modified, with the envoys from the Yan Kingdom." Liu Rushi lifted his teacup and smiled, "If you are here to beseech peace, then come with a supplicant’s attitude; do not speak of fairness and demands before the strong, for the weak... do not possess such a qualification!"

The Yan Kingdom envoy team exploded upon hearing Liu Rushi’s words, banging the table and standing up to question Liu Rushi about the meaning of this.

Fan Yugan was about to roll up his sleeves to charge forward but was stopped by Liu Rushi: "Did these words hit the heart and lung of the Yan Kingdom envoys? Such a strong reaction? Diplomatic relations between nations have always been thus: I, Liu, am merely bringing this up for discussion in the open; why does it provoke such fury from the Yan Kingdom envoys?"

Wang Hanbing also raised his hand to stop the Yan envoys, smiling as he said: "Why the rush, aren’t we talking, we should take our time to converse!"

That day, the Yan Kingdom envoy team and the Zhou Dynasty court officials quarreled all afternoon but still didn’t reach an agreement on whether the Zhou Dynasty should provide hostages to Yan. The Zhou officials remained calm, but when the Yan envoys returned to the posthouse, they quarreled amongst themselves behind closed doors.

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