Chapter Five Hundred and Twenty Nine Harsh Conditions and the Reliance of the Thais
In the main hall of the palace, Su Luduan sat on the throne, accompanied by two ministers of Zhou Yuan and Zhou Ping on the right side, and two Taixi envoys sat on the left side.
Grace put away her arrogance and spoke slowly:
"Marshal Su Lu, Grace admires the invincibility of the army you command, but sometimes the manpower is exhausted. With Jiameng Pass, I think the marshal already knows that we, the Taixi people, can rely on us."
"When I came here this time, His Majesty the Great Emperor of the Empire said that the special gold must be increased for trade. According to the previous contract, it is no longer appropriate. The quantity of trade must be doubled, because our Taixi crossbows are not as good as when the treaty was signed.
The crossbow is no longer the same."
Grace looked at Su Lu with a smile on her face and said.
Zhou Yuan's face turned red. This is naked contempt. In front of your face, I tell you that my crossbow has become more powerful. If you were soft before, it won't count. Now I am going to be tough and slap you in the face.
Zhou Ping raised eyebrows: "But your country is so dishonest and unjust."
Joseph said next to him: "The truth is only when the fist is big. Sir, be careful what you say."
Su Lu waved his hand and motioned for Grace to continue.
Grace glanced at Su Lu in surprise. He was not angry at all. He said that with the advancement of Han's mining technology, the amount of special gold available for sale had increased.
Clearing her throat, Grace continued: "The west of Jiameng Pass is the place where we, the Taixi people, have the final say. Your country must withdraw its military forces west of Jiameng Pass. If there is a war, your army will
Wu should be subject to the judgment of our Taixi people."
"We, Taixi, suffered heavy losses in the last war and our crossbows were destroyed. My lord, should your country make some compensation?"
Grace looked at Su Lu and said proudly.
The hall was quiet, except for the heavy breathing of Zhou Yuan and Zhou Ping.
Su Lu sighed: "Your Excellency Grace, please continue."
Grace was overjoyed that Su Lu had no intention of objecting. It seemed that the Han Dynasty did not attach much importance to the barbarian land, but it could make a fuss about it.
"Your country is currently at war with the British Empire. In future battles involving the British Empire, your country must stand on the same front as I, Taixi."
"For trade between the two countries, your country must grant most-favored-nation treatment to our merchants, and taxes should be implemented in accordance with the tax regulations on foreign trade formulated by our country."
"To carry out military technology exchanges, your country must share the latest bird manufacturing technology, ballista manufacturing technology, and military training regulations with our Thai-Western Empire, and must not keep them for personal use."
…
Grace talked non-stop, getting more and more excited as she talked, with saliva flying, as if he was the master of the palace, and the Thais were already a victorious nation.
Su Lu shook his head: "Your Excellency Grace, your country has too many demands. Just looking at your demands, it seems that the defeated country last time was not your country, Taixi, but my country, Han."
"There is no room for discussion on the conditions you mentioned. Your Excellency, please come back. We, the Han Kingdom, will be mobilizing our troops and preparing for a war."
Grace's expression changed, and she cursed in her heart, "You didn't even fart just now. I thought you succumbed to the crossbow, but you didn't expect to drive me away without even giving me a chance."
Joseph hurriedly stood up and said: "My lord, please calm down. It is not good for anyone if the two countries are fighting each other. Although our Taixi infantry is not strong enough, my lord, you should know that strong crossbows have the ability to change the situation of the war."
"Some of the terms mentioned by Lord Grace are debatable. I hope the prince can think about it carefully."
Grace also stood up: "Marshal Su Lu, we are here this time with a crossbow. How about this? Tomorrow I invite your Majesty and all of you to appreciate the power of the crossbow, and then we can talk."
Zhou Ping stood up angrily: "There's no need to talk anymore, the prince has already told you to go back. We are preparing to fight. Are you two funny?"
Zhou Yuan pulled Zhou Ping's sleeves and said politely: "Two envoys, since you are determined to show off, why not do this? There is a stone mountain in the southeast of our capital. I will send someone to guide you, and your country can release powerful forces there.
crossbow."
Joseph's eyes lit up and he said before Grace: "Okay, okay, we will release the crossbow on time at noon tomorrow. I hope all of you will be there."
Saying this, the two of them turned around and left.
Su Lu looked at the backs of the two of them and sighed again.
"The country is weak and is being bullied by others!"
"Within the range of the ballista, what we say is the truth."
Zhou Ping stood aside, silent. He was a little impulsive just now, and was really mad at Grace's unreasonable request. Now that he thinks about it, it seems that he went too far.
Zhou Yuan said: "Your Majesty, what should we do next?"
Su Lu's voice was low: "Tomorrow I will take His Majesty to the city to watch. As for the subsequent reception, neither I nor Your Majesty will appear again. You two will be solely responsible for it."
The two of them looked stern, and at the same time they cupped their hands, bent their bodies slightly, and looked at Su Lu respectfully. What the prince said next is the bottom line of our Han country.
"In this peace negotiation, the transaction volume of special gold can be doubled, but the price must be increased. Our country has the final say. The greater the demand, the higher the price. The specific price is as high as you can negotiate."
"As for the request to withdraw from the barbarian land, we can agree to it. Our country has reached a tacit agreement with Xiaolun Gongbu. He will no longer eat people. Our country will support him against the other barbarians as our force in the barbarian land. But the barbarians will eventually
They are barbarians, and the blood debt must be repaid sooner or later, so let’s play tricks on them first.”
"As for standing on the same stand as Taixi, I can agree to it on the condition that it does not harm the interests of our Han country."
"Trade is possible, but we have the final say as to which gate to open and what the taxes will be. This cannot be compromised."
"We can agree to carry out military exchanges, but the sharing of the latest technology cannot be unilateral. Our Han country does not yet have the manufacturing technology for strong crossbows. If the Thais are willing to provide it, we can use the latest flying bird manufacturing technology and crossbow manufacturing technology.
Technology is exchanged, two for one, and they won’t suffer any loss.”
Zhou Yuan and Zhou Ping bowed and agreed.
On the second day, Su Lu and Li Qingtong led all officials of the court to climb the Han Dynasty city wall and look at Dongshan in the distance.
At the foot of the east mountain, all the Taixi escorts had arrived, and they were pulling back the big black cloth they carried with their vehicles, revealing a small powerful crossbow. The densely packed crossbow arrows on the crossbow shone with a cold and breathtaking luster.
Grace looked at the Han troops around her arrogantly and asked about the leader of the Han troops.
"General Pingqi, can we fire the crossbow now?"
Ping Qi looked up at the sun and said with a smile:
"Your Excellency Grace, please do it by yourself. We are only responsible for accompanying you and will not interfere with your envoy's actions. Please do everything by yourself."
Grace snorted coldly and looked at Joseph next to her.
Joseph nodded: "We can start now. Once we level this hilltop, we should be able to see the top of the city over there."
Grace waved her hand: "Fire the crossbow"
The Taixi Army became busy, putting their hands on the handle on the back of the crossbow.
The creaking sound of the bow strings opening was endless, but within a moment, the crossbow arrows that were originally neatly arranged opened up one after another, and the square arrangement of crossbow arrows instantly turned into an open hedgehog.
"put"
Grace gave the order and the crossbow arrows were shot out in front of him.
"Buzz"
The trembling sound of crossbow arrows was everywhere in the air.
