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Su Qianxue asked calmly, "Is this a full-scale war, or will troops be dispatched? Will you make the choice, or shall I?"
"Let’s proceed with the battle as planned, then choose to fight within the borders of your Great Zhou!" Ben Xiang replied. "However, there is an additional condition: if our soldiers emerge victorious, we demand the right to pillage and burn a nearby city for three days! During this time, your Great Zhou army must not interfere. Furthermore, you must prepare one hundred thousand young women to serve our troops!"
Mu Prime Minister articulated his demands clearly. The true purpose of this battle was to establish a formidable reputation across the land! This would allow the Xia Kingdom to showcase its might before embarking on its campaign, suppressing all major vassal states.
To that end, if we win, the women of your Great Zhou will be at our soldiers' disposal. Afterward, whether they live or die is none of your concern. Additionally, we will raze a city to instill fear in all nations.
Su Qianxue's gaze turned icy; she had not anticipated Mu Prime Minister's aggressive stance. Her cold eyes fixed on him as she prepared to speak.
But Mu Prime Minister continued, "Your Majesty, the Da Zhou Emperor, I command four hundred thousand troops, yet I have no intention of annihilating your Great Zhou at this moment! What we seek is a display of power that will ensure all vassal states remain quiet while we focus on our campaign in the north. Therefore, after our victory, we will indeed sack a city and demand one hundred thousand young women as compensation!"
"We cannot show leniency; we must demonstrate our might! The Xia Kingdom cannot afford to grant too many benefits to its vassals; otherwise, it would only encourage rebellion. We must use your Great Zhou as an example for other states—if you dare to challenge us or harm our envoy group, we will destroy your cities, slaughter your people, and take your women."
"And we will do all this before your emperor and civil and military officials, as well as your army. You must accept this humiliation to instill fear in the neighboring nations."
"What if your Great Zhou refuses? The Xia Kingdom can shift its strategic focus and eliminate you first! We must reclaim our dignity! Otherwise, how can our envoy group continue to operate in other countries?"
Su Qianxue struggled to contain her anger, having cursed Langya Prince a thousand times in her heart. She and the entire court were well aware that this was Langya Prince's doing. Yet in the eyes of the Xia Kingdom, any incident involving our envoy group occurring within your Great Zhou's territory would ultimately fall upon you, Da Zhou Emperor.
"Let’s fight! Now, let’s talk about the number of troops on both sides!"
Su Qianxue sighed, reluctantly agreeing to the terms. She reiterated, "The conditions you are asking for can only be fulfilled if you win. If you lose, there’s no way we can grant them!"
"Of course! Since we are going to battle, my Xia Kingdom will send one hundred fifty thousand troops!" Mu Prime Minister declared confidently.
"You, Great Zhou Dynasty, should send fifty thousand!" he added.
The ministers of the Great Zhou Dynasty were taken aback. Luo Yuhua responded, "If we send fifty thousand while you send one hundred fifty thousand, aren’t you just bullying us?"
"Indeed, my Xia Kingdom is here to bully your Great Zhou. What will you do about it?" Mu Prime Minister shot back.
"Great Zhou Emperor, you can refuse this condition, but then I will shift my strategic focus and annihilate your Xia Kingdom first! In fact, with Jiu Zhu and Wen Xinhong here, you could kill all three of us before launching a full-scale attack! We wouldn’t mind at all!"
Mu Prime Minister exuded an air of superiority as if viewing all heroes of the world as mere livestock. He showed no fear in the court of a vassal state.
Jiu Zhu wore a disdainful expression and said, "Great Zhou Emperor, whether you agree or not, you have to agree! If you get impatient, feel free to kill the three of us; it’s no problem! Meanwhile, our Four Hundred Thousand Troops are ready to strike at any moment and will completely wipe out your capital!"
"With our Four Hundred Thousand Troops backing us up, why should we fear you? If you dare to make a move, your entire royal family will be exterminated."
"You... You dare!" Su Qianxue was so furious that her words became jumbled. Mu Prime Minister was too domineering and utterly infuriating!
"If I hadn’t contacted Jiang Han, I wouldn’t have had any chance of victory or even the courage to face this situation."
"Great Zhou Emperor, we’ve laid out our terms for battle! If you accept this scale of engagement, then let’s fight! If you refuse, we will launch a full-scale attack. The lives of millions in your Great Zhou Dynasty rest on your decision."
Mu Prime Minister continued speaking nonchalantly as if he were merely handling fish on a chopping board. He certainly knew that the Imperial Guard possessed new weapons capable of annihilating the Maple Forest Iron Cavalry, but that was for small-scale battles.
In a large-scale engagement involving hundreds of thousands of troops, merely having superior weaponry would hardly change the tide of battle!
Like the Maple Forest Iron Cavalry, once they set foot on the battlefield, they were considered invincible. However, after being ambushed by Lin Qingyue, the Maple Forest Iron Cavalry was forced to transform into Heavy Infantry to defend the city. In such circumstances, following the surprise attack, they suffered a complete rout.
On the battlefield, where changes occur rapidly, relying solely on newly acquired weapons for victory seemed to Mu Prime Minister like a pipe dream. Moreover, with Four Hundred Thousand Troops, all seasoned veterans and fierce soldiers, how could they possibly lose in a three-to-one situation?
The Great Zhou Civil and Military Officials wanted to speak, but under the murderous gaze of Mu Prime Minister, they could only remain silent.
Su Qianxue watched this scene unfold, weighing her options. If she did not agree, it would mean total war. Even with Jiang Han's material support, even if they won, the Great Zhou Dynasty would be left severely weakened. The Xia Kingdom's army could invade once again. At that point, they would face an endless stream of troubles. They would have no choice but to engage in limited warfare!
With sixty thousand Royal Guards fully equipped with new weapons, there was a chance they could fight back! All of this confidence stemmed from Shopkeeper Jiang; without him, she would have had no capital to wage war.
However, simply agreeing to fight was not enough; she wanted more than just that. "Mu Prime Minister," she declared, "I can agree to this battle! But if we win, merely avoiding the fulfillment of the terms is far too little!"
Hearing this, Mu Prime Minister smiled slightly, feeling that Su Qianxue had taken the bait. He did not believe that one hundred fifty thousand elite soldiers could not defeat fifty thousand troops from a vassal state. "Then what benefits do you seek from His Majesty?" he asked leisurely.
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