Xie Nanxiao said helplessly, “Truly, we’re ashamed, but you can’t really blame us for this. After all, you didn’t come to negotiate for so long that I genuinely thought you no longer wanted the ships.”
“Speaking of which, when your ships were blown away by the wind, they dragged away the mooring bollards along with them. We had to rebuild the dock ourselves afterward.”
“The repair costs should have been paid by you, since your ships caused the damage. But we’re all Han Chinese, so I won’t charge you for such a small sum.”
Bai Wei: “……”
Xie Nanxiao paid no attention to his feelings and continued, “If you don’t have enough ships in Sizhou, Fengzhou has a few as well. We can sell some to you at an absolutely favorable price.”
Bai Wei: “……”
Did he think the storage fees were too difficult to swindle them out of, so he was going straight to selling them goods instead?
Jiang Jin was still unaware that her subordinate had one outrageous scheme after another.
At that moment, she stood atop the city wall and looked down at Shi Ju and the others beneath the gate tower. “You people have behaved disgracefully. We agreed to negotiate, yet you sent men into the city in the middle of the night.”
Shi Ju’s expression was complicated, and wariness filled his eyes. He got straight to the point. “What do you intend to do?”
Jiang Jin was being exceedingly considerate. “The same price as before. I’ll deliver everything inside the city to the city gate. As for what’s in the tunnels, you can send your own people to retrieve it.”
Shi Ju’s heart tightened, and he let out a cold laugh. “You want to slaughter us?”
Jiang Jin was speechless. “There’s no need for that. Your Grand Chanyu is still our guest in Wenxia City. How could I possibly set a trap to kill you?”
Shi Ju gnashed his teeth and looked at the Grand Chanyu, who had once again been hung out on display.
Was this what she called being a guest?
He tried desperately to calm himself, suppressing the urge to charge into the city and kill the woman at once.
Jiang Jin seemed not to notice the hatred and unwillingness in his eyes. The corners of her lips curved upward.
“We Han are a people of propriety. When negotiating, we conduct negotiations properly and don’t do anything unnecessary. Otherwise, what happened last night will become the norm in the future. I hope you can learn from this.”
Her words made Shi Ju even more furious.
She was saying that what happened last night had been their own fault, and that the deaths of their soldiers meant nothing.
Even more infuriating were the threat and contempt in her voice. What did she mean by “the norm”? What did she mean by “properly”?
Was she saying that they were the ones who had behaved improperly? Was she saying that no matter how many soldiers the Ji army sent, her Jinyang Army would kill them all?
Arrogant!
Suppressing the urge to spit blood, he kept his tone as calm as possible. “There’s something wrong with the tunnels, yet you’re still asking us to go in and carry out the bodies. And you claim this isn’t an attempt to kill us?”
Jiang Jin smiled. “There’s nothing wrong with the tunnels. If you truly don’t want to enter them, I can arrange for the bodies to be carried out. However, the tunnels are narrow, so there will be an additional charge.”
Shi Ju: “……”
He only felt a splitting headache. He couldn’t understand why everything became so abnormal whenever it involved Princess Jinyang.
He had never seen anyone turn dead bodies into a business deal—especially not when both sides were locked in a life-or-death struggle and utterly at odds.
But the Ji army truly did not dare enter those sinister tunnels. One careless mistake could cost several thousand, even tens of thousands, of soldiers their lives.
He did not believe Jiang Jin’s claim that there was nothing wrong with the tunnels. That was a lesson the Ji army had paid for with the lives of more than ten thousand men.
His brows furrowed deeply. “How much more do you want?”
Jiang Jin did not set the price particularly high. “How about two strings of cash per body?”
Shi Ju was so furious that he had lost all temper. He immediately made a counteroffer. “At most, five hundred and fifty copper coins.”
Jiang Jin sighed. “Does your Ji army have no sincerity at all? The lowest I can accept is one string of cash. The tunnels are difficult to navigate, and the distance is considerable.”
Chu Qing was completely numb by now. He watched as the two sides haggled back and forth—and, unbelievably, actually reached an agreement.
The bodies outside the tunnels remained priced at five hundred copper coins each, while those inside the tunnels would cost eight hundred. In short, the entire affair was absurd beyond words.
An extra three hundred might not sound like much, but the average worker in Fengzhou earned only around two hundred copper coins.
After finishing this bizarre appetizer, Jiang Jin began discussing the real matter. “What are your thoughts on my proposal from yesterday?”
Shi Ju knew she was referring to exchanging the Grand Chanyu and the others for the three commanderies. He shook his head. “The matter is of great importance. We need more time to discuss it.”
Jiang Jin was very understanding. “I understand. But you also know that there isn’t much food left in the city. I won’t continue feeding your Ji tribesmen. Whether they live or die depends on how quickly you act.”
“You!” Shi Ju was so enraged he nearly vomited blood. “Your conduct is truly despicable.”
Jiang Jin had mentioned before that the city’s food supply was running low, but she had never put it so bluntly.
Jiang Jin gave him a modest smile. “You flatter me. A despicable person like me could never compare with you. Don’t worry—there’s plenty of water here. They’ll die of hunger, but they won’t die of thirst.”
Shi Ju: “……” Was he supposed to thank her for that?
Seeing that he had fallen silent, Jiang Jin waved her hand. “You may leave now. Prepare the money as quickly as possible, and discuss the matter of your Grand Chanyu carefully. He’s watching you, after all.”
“Uhh… uhh…”
After hearing her words, Ji Duoyan let out muffled cries through the cloth stuffed in his mouth.
He had gone hungry for an entire day, suffered shock and fury, and been hung from the city wall at intervals. By now, he was extremely weak.
Shi Ju was alarmed. “Grand Chanyu!”
“Uhh…”
Ji Duoyan could only make meaningless whimpering sounds.
Shi Ju naturally couldn’t understand him, so he shouted loudly, “Grand Chanyu, rest assured! We will rescue you as soon as possible!”
Flames nearly shot from Ji Duoyan’s eyes.
Who wanted him to rescue him? He wanted Shi Ju to kill him!
Why wouldn’t he just do it?
Yet Shi Ju completely failed to grasp his meaning. Seeing the Grand Chanyu, who normally stood high above everyone else, hanging from the city wall like a maggot, writhing incessantly and appearing both ridiculous and pitiful, he could not bear to look any longer.
He led his men away on horseback.
Watching Shi Ju’s determined back as he departed, Ji Duoyan closed his eyes in despair.
Jiang Jin turned to Nan Wen and Chu Qing. “I’ll leave things here to the two of you.”
Nan Wen and Chu Qing hurriedly bowed. “Yes, Your Highness.”
Outside the tent, Bian Huai gazed into the distance toward Wenxia City. “When will Bi Tu and the others arrive?”
The strategist Chi Nai quickly replied, “General Bi Tu and General Hu Qiude should arrive tomorrow afternoon. General Qiu Lin will probably arrive the day after tomorrow.”
Bi Tu and Hu Qiude were the commanding generals stationed in Shouci Commandery and Fuping Commandery respectively, while Qiu Lin was the commanding general stationed in Xigan Commandery.
The matter of the Grand Chanyu was of immense importance. Bian Huai could not make the decision alone and could only wait until everyone had arrived before discussing it with them.
As they were speaking, Shi Ju returned in a fury.
“How did it go?” Bian Huai sensed that something was wrong.
Shi Ju made a strenuous effort to calm himself and repeated Jiang Jin’s words.
Bian Huai was so angry that he didn’t even know how to respond. He felt as though his head were about to split open. After a moment, he finally gave an order.
“Send word to Hu Qiude and tell him to hurry. He must arrive by tomorrow afternoon.”
He was afraid that the members of his tribe inside Wenxia City would not survive until the day after tomorrow.
Bao Yi thought for a moment before suggesting, “Why not send someone to Wenxia City to negotiate and ask the Jinyang Army to treat the captives well? At the very least, they should be given food.”
Shi Ju frowned. “I’m afraid the Jinyang Army won’t agree. They clearly intend to avenge the Northwest Army and Chu Qing.”
It was precisely because of these national grudges and personal enmities that he found the matter so difficult.
He also knew all too well that Princess Jinyang was certain to do exactly what she said.
After all, to the Jinyang Army, the Grand Chanyu and the others were enemies. If they could be exchanged for terms that satisfied them, that would be ideal. If not, it would hardly matter if they died.
Bian Huai sighed and decided he might as well give it a try. “Tell me, who do you think should go negotiate?”
