The first condition was the premise. Only when the general attitude was consistent and accepted could the following conditions continue. Ye Luyan spoke, “We came here for the peace talks with sincerity. We hope that after the truce, the Ye Dynasty will not garrison troops on the border and there will no longer be any need to build City Gods(1) and watchtowers. Our two countries will open our borders to each other and allow businessmen to come and go freely.”
(T/N: In ancient times, certain dynasties would build statues of their chosen or believed deities that were said to look after the people. These City Gods would provide protection to the public whilst being worshipped)
To not allow the garrison of troops and the construction of watchtowers was a bit risky to the Emperor as he frowned. However, when the Emperor thought about it again, he noted that the contract was a mutual act. If Beirong were to withdraw their troops as well, it would be fine as it would further promote their commercial circulation.
The Emperor replied, “It’s okay for us to withdraw the troops, but Beirong must agree to the same conditions; otherwise, it will be unfair if we are the only ones not defending ourselves.”
This remark was within Ye Luyan’s expectations and he readily agreed. After two consensuses were reached, the people on the Ye Dynasty’s side undoubtedly relaxed a lot.
Judging from the current momentum, it would not be difficult to reach an agreement. It would be great if they really didn’t have to fight again in the future.
Ye Luyan also seemed to be relieved as he was already very confident about the next few conditions. The first condition was more of a test, but since it seemed like the Ye Dynasty was serious about the peace negotiations, they would most definitely agree to the following terms.
Because of Xie Xuanchen’s sudden appearance, Ye Luyan urgently discussed with the envoys this afternoon and deliberately relaxed several conditions. Ye Luyan thought that their conditions showcased their utmost sincerity for seeking peace, so it would be weird if the Ye Dynasty didn’t agree to them.
Ye Luyan was sure of the outcome, so his voice became calm, “It really is the best case scenario since Your Majesty is also sincere about this negotiation. Except for the border mutual market, the Ye Dynasty should subsidise 300,000 taels of silver for military expenses and 200,000 pieces of silk to Beriong every year. The delivery should be made to Xiongzhou.”
Funding the military?
The Emperor frowned slightly. Ye Luyan phrased the term nice enough, treating it as a subsidy to the military expenses, but in other words, wasn’t this just an annual tribute?
However, 300,000 silver and 200,000 silk were not too much to ask for. If there was a real war, the military expenditure would be much larger than this amount. It was worthwhile to be able to buy peace with half a million.
The Emperor had already agreed to this condition in his heart, but he was the ruler of a country after all, which was why it would be embarrassing if he couldn’t maintain the dignity of a sovereign. If he agreed to this tribute in one go, his name might be remembered in the history books as one of the cowardly Emperors. Therefore, he pretended to decline and said, “As a country of brothers, it is necessary to help each other in my government.”
“To others it may be a lot, but to Emperor Ye, 500,000 is just a small number,” Ye Luyan refuted, “The capital here is densely populated and prosperous in business. Even though I’m not too sure how much profit you earn from there, 500,000 should not be a large number to you. Should there be a war, nothing would be retained, but if you could use that number to buy yourselves peace, then the earnings from court matters would not stop at 500,000.”
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