"so rude!"
As the elder brother, Nalanjie is usually gentle, but he also has a bluffing side.
His eyes were wide open, and he was quite powerful. Nalanyan, who was beating her brother wildly with a book in her hand, stopped unconsciously, with a blank look on her face, as if she was being restrained.
Nalanjie took advantage of the situation and snatched the volume. When he opened it and looked at it, he couldn't help but frown. The cover of the book was torn and the thin thread used for binding was also showing signs of looseness. The book was almost useless.
He rubbed his brows, threw the half-used book on the small table, and said calmly:
"It is difficult for us to temporarily suppress the turmoil in the Liao Kingdom. If we come to Youzhou and cannot return with a great victory, all our previous efforts will be in vain!"
"Not only that, the eight major tribes that have been temporarily stable will also cause chaos again..."
"We can't bear this kind of trouble again, so we must win this Youzhou negotiation!"
"It is true that Brother Su and I are even friends. We have conspired together before, but this time the situation is different. Behind me is the entire Liao Kingdom, and there are eight major tribes that are ready to make a move."
"Brother Su, as the Taiwei of Daliang, represents the Daliang Dynasty. I think Brother Su will definitely not give in!"
"Personal friendship and the interests of the country and the family are like fish and bear's paws. After all, you cannot have both!"
"..."
After hearing this, Nalan Yan looked happy: "That's right!"
Nalanjie remained silent, with his hands behind his back, standing in front of the window admiring the night view of Ping'an City.
The weather was cold at night in the north, and the cool breeze poured in from the window. Nalanjie was the first to bear the brunt. He felt a chill in his heart, his hair floated slightly, and his thoughts wandered to nowhere.
"I heard that a group of beautiful girls came to Pinyu Pavilion in the city."
Nalan Yan poured tea and drank tea by herself, and sat down comfortably on the chair. She glanced sideways at Nalan Jie's back, her face full of aunt's smile.
After hearing this, Nalanjie, who was standing in front of the window in trance, staggered, and the desolation and artistic conception just now disappeared completely.
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
Nalanjie turned around, with a dark face and a lecturing tone: "Don't forget your identity, you are my Princess Ruyi of Daliao!"
"What about the princess? The princess cannot continue the family line!"
Nalan Yanhun didn't care and said confidently: "I also remind you that you are the crown prince of Daliao, and you will inherit the throne in the future."
"But you are now more than 20 years old, and you have several sisters-in-law, but you have not given birth to a son or a daughter. Not to mention the father and the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, even I am worried for you."
"..."
Nalan Jie's face was as black as the bottom of a pot and he glared at Nalan Yan fiercely.
As a result, Nalanyan was confident and glared back with a look like "I am thinking about Daliao's future" and "I am doing it for your own good".
"Eh!"
Nalanjie sighed slightly and looked away.
His face was as dark as the bottom of a pot, but there was also a hint of worry——
It turned out that since King Hunxie seized the throne of Liao Emperor, their father and son had faced many doubts.
For example, some people questioned the ability of the new Liao emperor to govern the country, which triggered the civil strife in Liao.
Surprisingly, Nalanjie showed amazing talents, single-handedly subdued the eight tribes, and succeeded.
This also led to Nalan Festival becoming famous in the Liao Kingdom and having a great say.
However, success or failure brings with it questions about Nalan Festival, one of which is Nalan Festival's fertility.
Nalanjie had been the heir to Prince Hunxie for a long time, and he had several concubines, but after so many years, he had not given birth to an heir.
This has to worry the civil and military officials and people of the Liao Kingdom——
Although you, Nalanjie, are powerful and can suppress the unrest in the country, you cannot have children. The country is unstable and will definitely be the source of trouble in the future!
"I heard that the foreign women who came to Pinyu Pavilion this time are all virgins, and they are all extremely beautiful. They know everything from music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry and songs. You should really go and take a look."
Nalan Yan drank tea leisurely, not looking sideways at Nalan Jie.
Nalanjie remained silent, his brows furrowed, as if he was thinking about some important issue.
"Don't you also like reading and writing? You must have something in common with those foreign women. Maybe you can have several children if you marry them home."
Nalanyan looked old and arrogant as she lectured and scolded her brother:
"In this way, we can stop those people's mouths and make my father feel at ease..."
"Hey, are you listening? This is a serious matter. Aren't you scholars supposed to be romantic? But it's better for you. You think of yourself as a scholar all day long, but the result is nothing like it!"
"..."
Nalanjie rubbed his eyebrows, glared and scolded:
"Shut up! You are a woman and a princess of Daliao. How can you talk about the Jade Pavilion without speaking? You are not afraid of being laughed at."
Nalan Yan was not embarrassed at all: "I am not a Central Plains woman, so why should I abide by those annoying etiquette? Listen to me..."
Nalanjie didn't wait for her to finish, he stood up and pushed her out of the house: "There are still things to do tomorrow, so don't be distracted. You should go back to your room to rest early."
"I almost forgot about this."
Nalan Yan had been locked out, but she still refused to leave. She shouted at the top of her voice, "That's it. It's not too late to go to Pinyu Pavilion after the business is done!"
Inside the room, Nalanjie tugged the corner of his mouth fiercely, ignored him, turned off the lights, changed clothes, and rested.
…
The next day.
Youzhou Post House.
When the sky lightened up, Su Xian had already gotten up.
Today is the day to go to Ping'an City and negotiate with Nalan Festival.
Last night, at the banquet in the flower hall of the post house, although the two deputy envoys explained the negotiation process between Qian Zhongshu and Nalanjie in detail, Su Xian did not hear what he wanted.
That is, what exactly does Nalanjie want to do?
But Su Xian also had a premonition that today's negotiations would not be so easy.
After packing up, Su Xian led everyone on the carriage and rushed straight to Ping'an City in the north of Youzhou City.
Ping'an City is built into a city, surrounded by city walls and battlements, which are heavily guarded by soldiers. Ping'an City is also surrounded by city gates, and routine inspections are required for entry and exit.
Su Xian's motorcade entered the city directly.
He stopped in front of the city gate.
Nalan Jie, Nalan Yan, and the accompanying Liao ministers were already waiting in front of the city gate. Seeing Su Xian jump out of the carriage, Nalan Jie smiled and greeted him, bowing and saying:
"Brother Su, you've had a hard journey."
"Your Highness the Crown Prince." Su Xian smiled and returned the gift.
After a brief exchange of greetings, both parties introduced their accompanying personnel.
Su Xian was a little surprised that Nalan Yan also followed, but Nalan Yan didn't look good and rolled her eyes.
Su Xian's heart moved and he smiled:
"Princess Ruyi, if I had not let you return to the Liao Kingdom, but instead kidnapped you to Daliang, what would have happened now?"
"you dare!"
Nalan Yan raised her eyebrows and took a step forward, as if she was about to take action in person.
Back in the day, Su Xian went north to the Liao Kingdom to help his family get out of trouble, and King Hunxie successfully ascended the throne of the emperor.
But what made the Nalan brothers and sisters ashamed was that their father, the new Emperor of Liao, actually went against his promise and wanted to force Su Xian to stay in Daliao.
Fortunately, Su Xian had already made arrangements and captured Nalan Yan as a hostage. He finally escaped from the Liao Kingdom safely and set foot on the land of Daliang...
From Nalanyan's point of view, her family was indeed unkind in that matter. However, she first offered herself as a pledge, and after Su Xian let her go, she took the initiative to apologize later, which was considered a settlement.
Furthermore, the two countries currently have different opinions on the issue of Ping'an City's trade rules. The Liao Kingdom is determined to win this time, so in Nalanyan's view, Su Xian is the enemy.
She never had a good look towards her enemies.
"Yan'er, don't be rude!"
Nalan Jie's face was stern, he turned around and scolded Nalan Yan, then looked at Su Xian and said with a smile:
"We are ready. Brother Su, please come in. It would be better to agree on the rules of the transaction as early as possible. This will be beneficial to both of us. Brother Su, please come in!"
"Huh." When Nalan Yan saw this, she had no choice but to give up and turned her head away proudly.
"Your Highness, please!"
Su Xian had no time to talk to Nalan Yan and exchanged pleasantries with Nalan Jie. Finally, the two of them walked into the municipal hall side by side and chatted all the way to the municipal council chamber.
This is where the negotiations take place!
Along the way just now, the two chatted happily, calling each other brothers and sisters, laughing from time to time, and the atmosphere was very harmonious, giving Nalan Yan, Yang Zhilan and others who were accompanying them a sense of time and space.
Logically speaking, the two sides should be at war with each other, but it is really incredible that they are so harmonious.
Nalan Yan couldn't help but feel anxious in her heart, and said to herself:
"Brother, you won't forget what I reminded him last night, right? As expected, as soon as I saw Su Xian, I called him brother and sister. We talked happily, and we were so happy..."
After some time.
In the middle of the huge municipal meeting hall, on both sides of the long wooden table, people from both sides were already seated.
On the Daliang side, Su Xian was naturally headed, followed by the two deputy envoys, the Youzhou governor, and finally the Youzhou guard Luo Gan.
Yang Zhilan stood silently behind Su Xian.
On the Liao side, Nalan Jie was the leader, followed by Nalan Yan, and several Liao ministers.
Both sides were evenly matched, with five people each.
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is indeed extraordinary. The civil strife in Liao this time is no less than the last time, but His Highness can easily resolve it, which is really admirable!" Su Xian said with a smile.
"Brother Su is ridiculous. If we talk about excellence, who can compare to Brother Su? I am dissatisfied with Brother Su. Although I solved the civil strife in Liao this time, the method I used was inspired by Brother Su." Nalanjie said modestly.
"His Royal Highness is too humble..."
"Brother Su is still more powerful..."
In this way, as soon as the negotiations began, Su Xian and Nalan Jie began to trade business with each other.
Nalanyan and others were stunned for a moment. This was a negotiation, involving millions of taels of silver and affecting the fate of countless people. It should be a very serious matter.
But the two of them were good at complimenting each other, being polite and harmonious, and completely dissipating the tense atmosphere.
Everyone was speechless...
Fortunately, after Nalanjie praised Su Xian for "making the Quyuan Plow", he finally got to the point. His face straightened and he said slowly:
"Quyuanli, I believe I don't need to say anything more. This thing is indeed an artifact for a country!"
"Brother Su should know that our country in Liao is mainly engaged in grazing. However, the climate has been abnormal in recent years, and it has been getting colder every year. The livestock in our country in Liao..."
"Farming food in the Liao Kingdom is an attempt I have wanted to make a long time ago. If the farming succeeds, it will be a good thing for both of us."
Siluke
"The Quyuan plow that Brother Su tinkered with is actually a magical tool for land reclamation and farming, so Xiao Wang boldly wanted to ask Brother Su for the drawings of the Quyuan plow."
"..."
After Nalanjie finished speaking, the atmosphere in the meeting hall changed.
Everyone couldn't help but sit upright.
It has begun, the negotiations have finally begun!
Nalanyan finally became nervous and stared at Su Xian. In her expectation, Su Xian would definitely say "no".
Because the last envoy Qian Zhongshu was like this. He refused without thinking and made a lot of nonsense, which made her upset.
She secretly held back all her strength. As soon as Su Xian said "no", she would jump up and argue. For the benefit of Liao, she decided to fight.
However, Su Xian seemed to think about it for a while, then suddenly put his hand into his pocket, took out something, wrapped it in oil paper, put it on the negotiation table, and said with a smile:
"Can!"
"I……"
Nalanyan didn't even raise her breath, and her face turned red from holding back. She was already ready to argue, but what did Su Xian say?
Can?
Is he crazy?
Not only Nalan Yan found it strange that Su Xian was so straightforward, but also the two deputy envoys, Youzhou governor, Youzhou guard Luo Gan, and even Nalan Jie and others found it incredible.
"Lieutenant, I'm brave, let's discuss this matter again, shall we?" the deputy next to Su Xian looked anxiously.
Nalan Yan finally regained her breath, raised her heroic eyebrows, and immediately said: "What else are we discussing? The matter of Qu Yuuli is settled like this!"
Su Xian saw that no one understood, so he explained:
"Before leaving, we discussed this matter with Your Majesty. If the Liao Kingdom can really grow food, it will indeed be a blessing. Her Majesty the Queen has already decided that there is no need to discuss this matter."
When everyone saw this, they said nothing more.
Nalanyan was very excited when she saw "victory in the first battle".
She had a vague feeling that the worry about Nalanjie last night should be used on Su Xian. Su Xian was the one who would sacrifice the interests of his family and country for his friends!
Daliang was willing to give out the drawings of Quyuanli. On the surface, it was the result of Empress Daliang's decision.
However, as Su Xian just said, "We have discussed this matter with His Majesty," I am afraid that among "us", Su Xian contributed a lot.
You know, Su Xian is a person who holds the position of Taiwei of Daliang!
Thinking of this, Nalanyan couldn't help but feel overjoyed. Su Xian had already made sacrifices regarding Qu Yuuli, so Su Xian would also give in when it came to the new trading rules!
In happiness, she held her head high, looked at Su Xian and said loudly:
"Next, it's time to discuss the new trading rules. I would like to declare first that Daliang must make a profit of two million taels of silver every year, otherwise there will be no discussion about reopening Ping An City!"
She was very proud and said:
"You and my brother are brothers and we have a close friendship. I don't expect this little thing to be difficult for you, so you should agree quickly. After all, reopening Ping'an City will be beneficial to both of us."
"..."
As soon as Nalan Yan finished speaking, Su Xian turned his head and looked over.
However, Su Xian's eyes... Why did he look like he was looking at a fool?
He glanced at it and then looked away, turned to look at Nalan Jie, who had a strange look on his face, and said word by word:
"Then, let me first express Daliang's attitude. As for the trading rules, we must follow the previously agreed method, and not even a word can be changed!"
"If you don't agree, then this negotiation can be ended now. Whether Ping An City opens or not has little impact on me, Daliang."
