Bian Huai froze for a moment. Only after a while did he confirm that he had heard correctly. He was so furious that he laughed. “Impossible!”
Jiang Jin said indifferently, “Then you’ll have no choice but to let your Grand Chanyu hang there for a few days.”
As though she had anticipated this reaction, she waved her hand, and Ji Duoyan—their conveniently useful hostage—was hung up again.
Ji Duoyan, whose mouth was gagged: “…”
You people can negotiate all you want. I can’t even speak with my mouth stuffed shut, so why are you hanging me up?
“You!” Bian Huai was livid, his face dark and vicious. “Aren’t you afraid that I’ll slaughter every Han civilian in Chongzhou?”
The corners of Jiang Jin’s lips curved upward. “I don’t know who the Han civilians you kill will be, but I can guarantee that among the Ji tribesmen I kill, there will be members of your family.”
Just moments ago, thanks to the efforts of Qiu Liao’s highly efficient team of civil officials, the identity records of the Ji tribesmen had been delivered to her. Only then had she discovered that everyone in Wenxia City was important.
Even the Ji civilians in the city were either close relatives of the Grand Chanyu and other members of the imperial family, the family members of civil and military officials, or the relatives of soldiers and generals.
“How despicable!” Ji Cang’s face flushed with rage.
Yao Ji looked at him in puzzlement. “Despicable? Wasn’t it equally despicable when you slaughtered our Han people? We’re merely treating you the way you treated us.”
Ji Cang was rendered speechless. Thinking of the corpses they had moved out at noon, he couldn’t help questioning her again.
“Why were there Han civilians among the soldiers’ corpses this afternoon? And you still had the nerve to charge us for them? Refund our money!”
They had only discovered after receiving the “merchandise” that quite a number of Han corpses had been mixed in. Wasn’t that fraud—passing off inferior goods as the real thing and cheating them?
The thought that they had bought those corpses with actual gold and silver made them both heartbroken and furious.
Jiang Jin looked at him with contempt. “Those Han people were all your lackeys, working for you and dying to protect your Ji tribesmen. Don’t they deserve a proper burial?”
Bian Huai’s eyes flickered, and he cursed inwardly. He had already guessed that this might be the result.
However, quite a few of the Han corpses had not died in battle. They had been killed outright.
Clearly, the Jinyang Army had easily identified those people who had been disguised as ordinary Han civilians.
How long had it been?
He couldn’t understand how the Jinyang Army had managed, in such a short time, to find the “spies” they had hidden among the Han civilians.
He had originally thought that those Han people might prove useful someday.
Instead, the Jinyang Army had simply killed them all!
They were Han, every one of them. What ruthlessness.
Seeing that they had fallen silent, Jiang Jin continued with the matter at hand. “The issue of the corpses is settled. Now tell me: what are you willing to offer in exchange for your Grand Chanyu and your family members?”
Shi Ju snorted coldly. “You have no sincerity whatsoever. The conditions you’ve given us are impossible to fulfill. You’re deliberately making things difficult for us.”
Jiang Jin sneered. “The ones with no sincerity are you. You want to exchange your Grand Chanyu, all your civil and military officials, and more than twenty thousand Ji nobles for only three commanderies.”
“And yet you keep making excuses and dragging your feet. Don’t tell me you’re just waiting for Ji Duoyan to die so you can seize the throne?”
Bian Huai’s heart chilled. “Don’t even think about sowing discord. The Grand Chanyu will never believe you.”
He then looked toward Ji Duoyan, who was hanging from the city wall. “Grand Chanyu, we will certainly find a way to rescue you!”
Jiang Jin remained noncommittal. “Is that so? Then why don’t you make an offer?”
Bian Huai ground his back teeth. After a moment, he said, “Could you at least allow the Grand Chanyu to say a few words?”
Jiang Jin refused. “No.”
Ji Duoyan had not suffered enough yet. If he were allowed to give some sort of rousing speech, it would greatly boost the morale of the Ji army.
Bian Huai: “...Then can you allow us to see the Ji officials?”
Jiang Jin continued to refuse. “No.”
Bian Huai clenched his teeth. “Then how are we to know whether they’re still alive?”
Jiang Jin looked at him strangely. “It’s hot these days. If they were dead, you’d probably be able to smell them by tomorrow.”
Bian Huai: “…”
Jiang Jin looked down at him from above. “They’re alive for now, but that doesn’t mean they’ll still be alive in a few days. After all, our food stores are running low. Your Ji tribesmen will simply have to go hungry.”
Bian Huai stared blankly for a moment before exploding in fury.
How vicious!
They actually intended to starve the Ji tribesmen until an agreement was reached?
As for the matter of food, although he was stationed outside the city, he knew exactly how much grain Wenxia City possessed. And yet she was telling him that their supplies were running low?!
Jiang Jin was in no hurry. “Why don’t you think it over first? Come up with some sort of proposal, and then we’ll continue negotiations.”
Bian Huai’s face shifted from green to purple, his gaze fixed viciously on Jiang Jin.
The other Ji soldiers beside him felt equally humiliated. They wished they could hack the Jinyang Army into a thousand pieces.
Bian Huai took several deep breaths. After a moment, the clarity returned to his eyes. “Princess Jinyang, please release our Grand Chanyu first. We’ll return and discuss your proposal carefully.”
Only then was Jiang Jin satisfied. She waved her hand.
Ji Duoyan, who had just been hung up again, was pulled back down.
Ji Duoyan: “…”
Bian Huai took one last deep look at Jiang Jin before leading his men away.
Jiang Jin turned to Yao Ji, whose body was still covered in blood and grime. “Go down and rest. I’ll handle things here.”
Yao Ji pressed his lips together. He knew perfectly well that Jiang Jin herself had not rested either.
Seeing his expression, Jiang Jin understood what he meant and smiled. “Nan Wen, Ye Shang, and the others will be coming over to take over soon.”
Yao Ji nodded. “I hope Your Highness will get some rest as well. This subordinate will take his leave.”
A battle probably wouldn’t break out that afternoon. The key would be what happened at night. He needed to restore his energy and prepare for the fighting to come.
Jiang Jin entered the city tower and saw that Ji Duoyan was still in the same state as before.
His hands were bound behind his back, and his feet were tied together like a tightly wrapped dumpling. He also wore shackles, while a piece of rag had been stuffed into his mouth.
At that moment, he was glaring at Jiang Jin with a pair of murderous eyes.
Dongzhi frowned. She really wanted to gouge out his eyes and stomp on them, but since Jiang Jin had said nothing, she forced herself to hold back.
Jiang Jin gestured, and the soldier standing beside Ji Duoyan pulled the rag from his mouth.
The gag had clearly been stuffed in far too forcefully. It had torn the corners of Ji Duoyan’s mouth, and no one knew whether keeping it there for so long would leave him permanently disfigured.
“If you have the courage, then kill me!” Ji Duoyan snarled, his voice hoarse.
After suffering such humiliation, he truly no longer wanted to live.
Death would be the best possible ending for him.
Jiang Jin turned to the soldiers. “Have you given him any water?”
The soldier hurriedly replied, “Yes, but he refused to drink it.”
Was he planning to harm himself?
“If you have the courage, then kill me!” Seeing that Jiang Jin paid no attention to him at all, Ji Duoyan shouted again in fury.
Jiang Jin was unmoved by his provocation. “It’s obvious that you really want to die, just like your subordinates, who can’t wait for you to die a martyr’s death.”
“Ha! Your attempt to sow discord is useless against me,” Ji Duoyan said viciously.
Jiang Jin smiled. “Whether I’m sowing discord or not, you know the truth in your heart.”
Ji Duoyan turned his head away, refusing to speak any further.
Jiang Jin wasn’t about to indulge him. “Since he doesn’t want to eat or drink, don’t give him any water for the next two days.”
The soldier hurriedly acknowledged the order. “Yes!”
At Fengge Xuan in Sizhou.
Chen Xi gazed at the hazy world outside. A fine drizzle had been falling for several days, and there was still no sign of stopping.
Li Tong wore a worried expression. “Why does it feel as though the rain is getting heavier? I wonder when it will finally stop.”
