Bab 88: Negotiation
"You're not dreaming, General Hen," Jun Min said helplessly. Because he was wounded and he needed to act as a scholar, there was no way he could ride a horse, so they are traveling by carriage. General Hen was worried that they won't arrive at the capital soon enough, but luckily the carriage is also rushing.
Ever since General Hen knew that Jun Min's appearance was a flower boy, he had been saying that he was dreaming. How could he possibly accept that the person who was on par with a great general such as General Tou was a boy like this? More importantly, why is his body so small?
"You're really Jun Min?" General Hen asked for who-knows-how-many-times already.
"I am Jun Min. Or do you need me to kick you out of the carriage to let you confirm it?" Jun Min stared back.
The moment Jun Min released his aura, even General Hen felt suppressed. The coachman felt it even more and his hands trembled from fear. Despite him also being a soldier, this was the first time he felt such an intense bloodthirsty aura coming from such proximity. The horses ran even wilder because of their fear.
General Hen was astonished by the change the person before him had shown. A harmless flower boy had suddenly turned into a monster ready to attack. He quickly came to his senses and nodded.
"I get it, please retract your aura."
Jun Min did as the man said. General Hen felt more respect towards the man before him. Truly, you cannot judge a person just from their appearance. The appearance of this boy is usually harmless, but he can suddenly transform into a deathly person capable of striking at any time.
"How long till the end of the journey?"
General Hen looked at the still-running-wildly horses with their carriage shaking all over. He knows that with this kind of speed, they might arrive earlier, but the horses might die.
"One week at most."
"Good then."
…
Yan and Nanglong Souka soon arrived at the Yuan Kingdom. The two of them went their separate ways as Nanglong Souka would use his ways to reach the palace while Yan was just busy with his own business as a merchant.
Relying on his tricky methods, Nanglong Souka arrived at the palace and met the Yuan Kingdom emperor. This emperor was different from the Ming Kingdom emperor. This emperor was only in his thirties and looked bigger. His clothes were more solemn and all the officials around him feared him.
Looking at the atmosphere, Nanglong Souka can guess that the emperor is the one holding the reins for these officials. He is the kind of powerful emperor who will not tolerate anyone stepping on him. Nanglong Souka wondered, can he really negotiate with this kind of person?
"It's rare to see someone like you here, Minister Nanglong Souka," the emperor said lightly. The tone of his voice was calm, but it felt like an interrogation.
Nanglong Souka looked back. "I was just lucky when sneaking in."
There was no way he could simply sneak inside this place. The Yuan Kingdom may be small, but it was still powerful which made it hold one of the positions among the five big kingdoms in this area.
"Coming from so far away, I guess your intention is for Yuan Kingdom to back out from the Alliance Army, am I right?" the emperor said calmly.
Nanglong Souka let out a laugh and said, "Straight to the point, yes."
"Very well, the Yuan Kingdom will move back."
Nanglong Souka's eyes almost popped out. Just what the hell happened during this negotiation? Why did this emperor suddenly announce that they will retreat their soldiers without him saying anything more?
Seeing the confusion in Nanglong Souka's eyes, the emperor laughed. "You may think I'm stupid, but I have my own reasons too. Have you read the war report from the southeast of Ming Kingdom?"
"I haven't read it."
"To summarise, Young General Jun Min managed to contest against General Tou in a frontal attack which forced the general to withdraw his forces because he was not his match. All of this in a mere 3-4 days."
Nanglong Souka came to understand what the emperor implied with the war report. Given that Jun Min had finished his battle, he might be directed to handle the situation in the southwest given that Soujin was in the northeast and he was a talented general too.
The emperor must be worried that Jun Min will be sent here for the boy's fighting prowess was far from ordinary. Because of that, he chose to comply as soon as Nanglong Souka came here. He could just say that Nanglong Souka gave him an offer that he was interested in. There was no one who would disobey the words of this powerful emperor.
Besides, in the first place, he only participated in the coalition to rub off some benefit. If their army were to get destroyed first, there will be no point in battle. The Yuan Kingdom is the smallest among the five big kingdoms. He cannot act rashly.
"You're really wise," Nanglong Souka said in praise.
The emperor didn't say anything as he turned towards Nanglong Souka with scrutinizing eyes. "What is the Ming Kingdom's ambition? They have actually built such a powerful lineup."
Nanglong Souka raised his hand. "The plan of the emperor is not one this subject will know. What we know is that there is indeed something the emperor has been planning for a long time."
"I see. When the time comes, will you follow the emperor?"
"What do you mean?"
This kind of question was really tricky and Nanglong Souka could not answer right away. If he answered wrongly and the emperor of the Ming Kingdom heard it, he may be accused of treason. Given that the emperor had set his eyes on the Jun family, he might do the same to the Nanglong family and Nanglong Souka does not want to hurt his family.
The emperor noticed the wariness in Nanglong Souka's eyes and he laughed. He knows that the emperor of the Ming Kingdom is someone who often schemes against others because of how he obtained the throne in the first place. He had only asked out of curiosity, but he would never expect that Nanglong Souka would react so strongly.
"I don't have any plans to report you back to the Ming Kingdom. But if you truly wish for unification, maybe there will be something I want to propose," the emperor answered.
"This…"
Nanglong Souka was truly surprised by the emperor's words. From his words, it seems he is ready to give up on his throne, but why?
The emperor didn't explain anything and to convince others, Nanglong Souka gave the items he had prepared from the Ming Kingdom emperor. The emperor accepted the gifts and he announced right away that the Yuan Kingdom would retract their soldiers.
As for that topic, Nanglong Souka didn't give his answer. If they met again in the future, then probably this will be open for another discussion.
Yan only did some things he needed to do before meeting with Nanglong Souka again.
"You have finished?"
"Yes, the Yuan Kingdom won't participate in the war."
"Good then, oh yeah, have you heard that Jun Min won the war?"
"I have."
Inside his heart, Nanglong Souka sighed. If not for the boy, this negotiation might not be so successful.
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