Situ Yan had little interest in the haggling and slipped back to Yanmen Pass at the first opportunity.
Song Ming, with a worried expression, asked, "Boss, isn't sending only twenty thousand elite troops a bit too few?"
"It's enough to block Zi Ya's (Hui Ge's Fourth Prince) foreign aid. Why should we meddle in Hui Ge's internal affairs?"
"Exactly," Meng Changdong added. "If we help them with everything, what's left for Huo Jia's forces to do but to recuperate and then wipe us out in one go?"
Song Ming was startled. "Are you saying Huo Jia will betray us?"
"Who knows? Anyway, if I were him, I would never expose my weakness right from the start. It's true that asking for help requires sincerity, but when it comes to matters between nations, caution is always best."
Song Ming pondered for a long time and then slumped. "I thought we could return to the capital once the First Prince became the King of Hui Ge. It seems there might be another battle ahead."
Situ Yan said, "Not necessarily. Huo Jia is a smart man. Seeing that we didn't foolishly fall for his trap, he surely wouldn't dare to suddenly turn his back. Give the order, the entire camp is on high alert, ready to fight at any moment."
"Yes."
Hui Ge
Nu'er excitedly rushed into the palace. "Your Highness, the reinforcements from Da Yin have arrived."
"Oh, how many?"
"Twenty thousand."
Huo Jia was greatly disappointed. "Only twenty thousand?"
"Your Highness, I've inspected them. They are twenty thousand elite soldiers, all young and strong. Prince Rui did not send the old, weak, and disabled to make up the numbers. With these men, aren't they enough to block the foreign aid invited by the Fourth Prince?"
What use was it to merely block the foreign aid? He wanted to use Da Yin to make the Fourth Prince's army surrender voluntarily. They were all citizens of Hui Ge, and he was unwilling to kill his own people.
Nu'er didn't understand Huo Jia's disappointment, and Huo Jia didn't intend to explain. He turned to ask, "How are the peace talks progressing?"
"Da Yin insists on at least eight million taels of silver annually. The Prime Minister disagrees, so it's stalled there. The Fourth Prince is just hoping we fail to reach an agreement and has been obstructing the negotiations."
"Idiot," Huo Jia frowned. "This matter needs to be settled quickly. Go and tell the Prime Minister. Five million, and we'll offer another princess."
"Your Highness intends to select a princess for a diplomatic marriage?"
"With marital ties, wouldn't the cooperation between the two sides be more stable?"
"I will go and do it now. But I heard that the Fourth Prince has already betrothed the Seventh Princess to Bei Jiang. Besides her, it seems we have no other princesses of marriageable age."
"Heh, that depends on who ultimately makes the decisions in Hui Ge." Huo Jia's eyes gleamed, a stark contrast to the First Prince who had been forced into a corner in the teahouse that day.
Situ Yan did not have to wait long for this game of chess to conclude. Within ten days, the Bei Jiang reinforcements had quietly withdrawn, the old King of Hui Ge succumbed to poison and ascended to the heavens, and Huo Jia, suppressing Zi Ya, became the new King of Hui Ge. Gu Rong was fortunate enough to witness the enthronement ceremony of the new king. Then, he returned home with special products worth five million taels and the Seventh Princess of Hui Ge, Aisha.
As they passed by Yanmen Pass, Situ Yan scrutinized the elaborately dressed Aisha for a long time, quite displeased. "With such looks, she's worth three million taels of silver? Father, how did you calculate this account?"
Princess Aisha felt deeply humiliated.
Gu Rong's face twitched. "Matters of marital alliance between nations, can that be measured in money? And don't call me Father."
Situ Yan: ...
With the affairs of Hui Ge successfully concluded, Situ Yan found the lax army at Yanmen Pass itching for a challenge. These men were in dire need of training. He found Fu Yu, who arrived a step behind him, increasingly irritating.
"Report, General Ren of Dinghai Pass has sent a letter."
Ren Tianyu was requesting troops. As the northern commander, he was struggling against the fierce counterattack from Bei Jiang. Not only had he sent a desperate plea for reinforcements to the capital via urgent dispatch, but he had also sent urgent letters to all places with stationed troops.
Fu Yu naturally refused. Once military power was relinquished, it was difficult to reclaim. His father had instructed him to come with the tiger tally precisely to prevent this. However, the tiger tally ultimately could not withstand the imperial decree.
Fu Yu had questioned it, wondering how the Emperor in the distant capital could have issued a decree in advance when the news of Dinghai Pass's emergency had only just arrived. Yet, both the handwriting on the decree and the imperial seal were verified as authentic.
In the end, Situ Yan proudly took away fifty thousand men.
Song Ming was bewildered. Meng Changdong, sitting in the carriage, still felt uneasy two days later, wondering if he would be beheaded for imitating the Emperor's handwriting.
Situ Yan, however, was deeply moved. He mused that an imperial decree bearing the imperial seal was indeed very effective. He should ask his father, the Emperor, for a few more next time he went out.