"Does the Emperor truly believe he is loyal to Great Zhou?" Old Mu did not think so, for if he were truly loyal, would he have co to fight?
"I couldn’t say for sure before, but now it’s uncertain."
Upon hearing this, Old Mu stopped speaking further.
The reply from Great Qi ca swiftly, setting the ti five days later for the third round of talks concerning peace negotiations at Linhe.
This ti, the brothers Baili themselves would negotiate in person.
The armies of Great Qi and Great Zhou each stood guard fifty ters away from the two of them.
Baili Han glanced at the guards beside him and waved them away, dismissing them.
Seeing this, Baili Yan also dismissed his guards and ordered the Great Zhou troops to retreat another ten ters. This distance ensured their conversation could not be overheard by either side.
"Tsk tsk, aren’t you afraid I might kill you!"
"If you wanted to kill , you wouldn’t have waited until now."
Baili Han snorted, "You are quite greedy, wanting to cease hostilities without sacrificing anything?"
"As one gets older, it’s easy to make irrational decisions in monts of dizziness," Baili Yan joked as he handed over a treaty, "This is the final version."
Baili Han took it and glanced over, his expression noticeably improving, "This is more like it."
"However, I have other demands!" After reading through it, Baili Han added.
"What demands?"
"Give that boy from the Ye Family an imperial pardon plaque," he paused and continued, "In the future, if that boy enters the military, he must not be stationed at the border between Great Zhou and Great Qi. Third, include in the treaty that the two dynasties shall never engage in political marriages."
In fact, this last point was the key to this peace negotiation.
He never wished to see another princess, like his mother, perish in war.
Baili Yan could understand this addition, but why did Baili Han want a plaque for Yangyang?
Surely he wouldn’t claim that Baili Han truly considered Yangyang his son, would he?
And forbid Yangyang from guarding the border? Isn’t that overthinking it a bit? What if, in the future, that boy doesn’t even join the military?
Seemingly noticing Baili Yan’s confusion, Baili Han said sowhat mischievously, "That boy spends quite a lot of ti with . What if, in the future, you grow old and senile and decide to hassle him?"
As for why Yangyang shouldn’t be at the border, he didn’t explain.
Baili Yan’s eye twitched, wanting to say that without ntioning it, he wouldn’t have thought of it; but because of the request for a plaque, he’d have to focus on the unusual relationship between the two of them.
"A plaque is manageable." Despite his curiosity, Baili Yan said this.
"That’s more like it!"
After Baili Han finished speaking, he swiftly signed the treaty. Once Baili Yan had also signed, the friendly alliance between the two dynasties was formally established.
The treaty included clauses such as neither nation initiating war against the other for fifty years, assistance in tis of need, and the commitnt that the two dynasties would never engage in political marriages.
This left other small countries and tribes hoping to exploit the situation deeply disappointed. They had anticipated seeing which country was weakest to take advantage of, hoping to grab sothing during the chaos. However, before they could start any conflict, the two dynasties had already negotiated peace. This was astonishingly swift.
Returning from Linhe, upon seeing Yangyang playing with crickets in the courtyard, Baili Yan’s eye twitched again. It was then he realized that Baili Han might have forbidden him from the Great Qi border out of fear that the boy could beco a formidable weapon one day.
Looking at the child playing with crickets, it was hard to imagine such a young child was the subject of such contemplation.
"Uncle, do you want to play too?" Otherwise, why was he staring at his crickets?
User Comments
0 comments from readers