The envoy stood in the tent tremblingly. The tent was very quiet at this time. The envoy felt his scalp numb. He couldn't help but swallow quietly due to the nervousness.
I thought Li Jin would be furious after hearing this, but unexpectedly the other party smiled and said:
"Can!"
The envoy suddenly raised his head and looked at Li Jin with disbelief in his eyes. After a moment, the envoy asked:
"Sir...is what your lord said true?"
Li Jin nodded with a smile.
"Really?"
"My lord, you didn't lie to me, did you?"
The messenger asked again and again to confirm.
"Of course it's true. If I say it's okay, it's okay!"
Li Jin said with certainty.
The messenger, who looked a little confused just now, couldn't help but rub his hands after hearing Li Jin's words of affirmation, looking very excited.
Li Jin ordered again:
"Okay, go back and tell your king that since I have promised you, I hope you can collect the money and send it to me within half a month."
"Don't miss the deadline, otherwise..."
"You understand!"
The messenger was dumbfounded and murmured:
"Sir, this...this half month is too short. In our small country of Annan, during this period, I am afraid..."
The messenger's voice became softer and softer as he spoke. After seeing Li Jin staring at him, the messenger was so frightened that he shut his mouth and did not dare to continue speaking.
Li Jin suppressed his angry expression and looked like he didn't want to talk nonsense. He just waved towards the messenger and said:
"The opportunity has been given to you, don't let me down again!!"
Seeing that Li Jin wanted to send him back, the messenger hurriedly said:
"Sir, Annan will definitely be able to get enough of this money. Then... why not your country withdraw its troops first?"
As if he had found a topic, the messenger smiled and said:
"Your country's troops are on the side, so... the logistics and military supplies are also very expensive. If you withdraw your troops early, wouldn't you..."
"Fuck your motherfucker!"
Fu Youde immediately said angrily:
"If the deal is not done, An Neng will withdraw his troops!"
"Besides, the Annan people are all treacherous people. Once the troops withdraw, what will happen if the Annan people don't admit their debt?"
"In my opinion, there is no need to postpone it to half a month. Since you Annan are impatient, it is better to send all the money over in three days. By then, we will definitely withdraw."
"It just goes along with your wishes!"
"Don't, don't..."
The messenger waved his hands in a panic and said anxiously:
"It's all the little envoy's fault. It was the envoy who just spoke out of his mind and said the wrong thing. Sir, please calm down."
Hearing this, Fu Youde sneered and threatened:
"Since you've lost your mind, why don't you hurry back to Annan and wake up?"
"If you don't want to leave, then never leave!"
After saying these words, the envoy was so frightened that he trembled and rolled out of the Ming army's camp in a short while.
After the envoy left, Fu Youde asked Li Jin:
"Master Li, aren't we going to conquer the entire Annan? Why did you suddenly change your mind again?"
Li Jin flicked his wrinkled sleeves and responded casually:
"Didn't I say I won't hit Annan?"
Fu Youde looked puzzled and said:
"But didn't your Excellency just say that you would accept Annan's compensation?"
"If their compensation is really paid, we will have to withdraw our troops."
Li Jin chuckled and explained:
"If you want to take money, Annan must also fight. Annan is going against the grain and plundering the people's fat and anointing. There is no need to exist anymore."
"At that time, Annan Kingdom will become the possession of our Ming Dynasty!"
"Help Annan defeat the unjust and eliminate the tyrants. We, the Ming Dynasty, are the masters of justice!"
After hearing this, Fu Youde suddenly realized:
"It turns out that Mr. Li wants to force Annan to oppress the people himself, causing anger and resentment, so that I, the Ming Dynasty, can take over Annan."
"Gao, Mr. Li is really tall!"
"In that case, when will we cross the river?"
Li Jin saw Fu Youde was so anxious, but he just said leisurely:
"The time to cross the river hasn't come yet, so just wait."
Fu Youde was dumbfounded, and Li Jin just smiled and said nothing.
...
Annan Kingdom.
At this time, a group of ministers were staring at the envoy with bright eyes to report some new news. When they heard that the Ming army agreed to Annan's request, everyone looked ecstatic.
The ministers finally breathed a sigh of relief. At least, they didn't have to die.
Chen Zheping clenched his fists even more excitedly. Since the Ming army agreed, it meant that Annan was finally saved. He no longer had to become the king of subjugation. As long as Annan was around, he would still have hope to regain control of Annan in the future!
Hu Jiyou on the side also felt very lucky. At least he no longer had to die. As long as he didn't die, he could live a carefree life in Annan.
For a moment, everyone in the tent had different thoughts. Chen Zheping looked at the others, and finally plucked up the courage to suggest to Hu Jiya:
"Hu Aiqing, since Daming has agreed to our request, we'd better collect the money as soon as possible."
Hu Jiyou stroked his mustache and nodded in agreement:
"What the king said is absolutely true. Only by collecting enough money, they can retreat. Otherwise, we, Annan, will be like fish on the chopping board and may be slaughtered at any time."
Afterwards, Hu Jisao ordered the attendants:
"Go get the Annan map!"
"yes!"
Soon, the attendant brought the Annan map and laid it out.
Hu Jishao stood in front of the map, glanced at the ministers in the tent, and then made arrangements:
"Hanoi Prefecture, hand over three million taels of silver, and the Minister of Household Affairs, Li Hao, will be responsible."
"Qinghua Mansion, hand over two million taels, Minister of Rites Liang Qichen is in charge."
"Guihua Mansion, hand over two million taels, Minister of War Zhao Ran will be responsible."
"Raising another one million taels from the national treasury is still the responsibility of the king."
"The last two million taels will be raised from the capital of Yanzhou in the south."
"Everyone must not slack off in all the above arrangements. Now the Ming army is a knife above our heads. There is no need to tell the truth about what it feels like."
"I really hope that you can fulfill your responsibilities and raise the money as soon as possible. Don't waste any time!"
"Whoever delays the opportunity to fight and causes negotiations to break down again will not be spared lightly!"
Hu Jisao knew that if this order continued, it would probably be impossible for the people to live in peace and stability.
He also climbed up step by step from below to where he is today. He himself knows very well what officials look like, but this is the way of the world today, it's just ordinary people, and the most important thing a country lacks are ordinary people.
According to the map, basically all the important towns in Annan were raided by Hu Jishen.
After hearing Hu Jishen's order, the other officials looked eager to give it a try. Everyone knew that this tax collection was a fat job.
In the past, they did not dare to collect taxes at will, but it is different now. The people have an imperial decree pressing on their heads, and they can plunder as much as they want. A mere million taels of silver can always be scraped out as long as they are ruthless.
In addition, it can also line your own pockets, which is a good job.
