“Minister Liu speaks truly. Currently in the world, first is the Great Zhou, second is Yan—both nations occupy vast territories. The cities in Xiliang were just captured and still need time to organize, so… selecting a dozen or so cities to mark out would be most appropriate! But before dividing the cities, we haven’t finished discussing the matter of taking hostages. Please allow me to finish speaking…” Wang Hanbing maintained his calm, composed demeanor as he spoke slowly, “Since our Yan has decided to send the First Prince, Second Prince, and the General as hostages to Great Zhou, then… shouldn’t Great Zhou also send hostages to our Yan?”

Without waiting for Liu Rushi to speak, Wang Hanbing continued: “Our Yan sending two princes and one general as hostages to Great Zhou is to demonstrate our nation’s sincerity in this wager. Naturally… our Yan was at fault before, so Great Zhou’s wariness is reasonable! But now, the Great Zhou’s armies are stationed at our Yan’s borders. We fear that after our Yan sends capable generals as hostages to Great Zhou, Great Zhou might attack Yan’s capital because of Yan’s previous backstabbing… and then we wouldn’t even have generals to defend against enemies, leaving us completely at Great Zhou’s mercy without even room to fight back!”

After speaking, Wang Hanbing stood and respectfully bowed to all the Great Zhou court ministers: “This request isn’t really about needing Great Zhou to send hostages to our Yan, but rather to give our Yan a reassurance pill, letting our entire Yan nation know that Great Zhou is also sincere about this national wager! Please, esteemed ministers, be magnanimous. After all… our Yan’s request is reasonable and not excessive.”

“Our Emperor declared long ago that Great Zhou absolutely will not send hostages…” Liu Rushi placed his hands on the table, looking at Wang Hanbing, “Great Zhou’s Emperor’s words are golden—what he says can never be changed! Just like us, the Great Zhou court ministers, we believe our Great Zhou forces now hold a tremendous advantage, and destroying Yan is inevitable. Why bother with risky peace talks involving a national wager? But His Majesty told us to negotiate… so we came to negotiate!”

Speaking thus, Liu Rushi also raised his hands in salute to Wang Hanbing: “I also hope the Yan envoys will be magnanimous and not make things difficult for us! After all… our Great Zhou currently holds the advantage while your Yan faces the danger of national destruction. Don’t quibble over these minor details.”

Only then did Wang Hanbing realize how formidable this Liu Rushi was. This minister’s eloquence was truly exceptional—his words employed both soft and hard tactics while once again pushing the Yan envoys into an awkward position, making it clear… that it was Yan begging Great Zhou to agree to the national wager strategy. He disagreed internally, but was only sitting here negotiating with them due to the Emperor’s orders.

Seeing Wang Hanbing seemed lost in thought, Liu Rushi smiled and spoke again…

“I suddenly recalled something our Emperor said during peace talks with Xiliang after his great victory in Nan Jiang. Thinking of it now… it could be modified and shared with the Yan envoy ministers as encouragement.” Liu Rushi picked up his teacup and said with a smile, “Since you’ve come to kneel and seek peace, show the attitude of supplicants. Don’t speak of fairness and demands before the strong and the weak… don’t have that qualification!”

The Yan delegation immediately erupted upon hearing Liu Rushi’s words, slamming tables and standing to demand what he meant.

Fan Yugan was about to roll up his sleeves and charge forward when Liu Rushi stopped him: “Did these words strike the Yan envoys’ hearts and lungs? Such a strong reaction? Relations between nations have always been thus. I merely brought these words into the open—why should this make the Yan envoys jump with rage?”

Wang Hanbing also raised his hand to restrain the Yan envoys, smiling: “Why the rush? We’re negotiating, aren’t we? We can talk slowly!”

That day, the Yan envoys and Great Zhou court ministers argued noisily all afternoon, but ultimately failed to settle whether Great Zhou should send hostages to Yan. The Great Zhou court ministers remained calm and composed, but after the Yan envoys returned to their guest quarters, they argued among themselves behind closed doors.

The Empress Dowager’s faction blamed Wang Hanbing for arbitrarily pushing forward the First Prince—how would they explain to the Empress Dowager and Emperor when they returned to Yan?

The Regent’s faction of Yan officials also began clamoring…

“If we don’t push forward, the First Prince, Great Zhou, won’t relent. You don’t want to leave the Regent in Great Zhou, do you? Do you want the Regent to govern Yan’s affairs from the Great Zhou? If the Regent stays in the Great Zhou, then Yan’s national policies will be completely known to the Great Zhou. What would we wager then… might as well directly give Great Yan to Great Zhou!”

“Why… why must we agree to Great Zhou taking hostages? Isn’t sending the Second Prince and General Xie enough? Why must we push forward the First Prince too!” The Empress Dowager’s faction spoke without confidence.

“Without pushing forward the First Prince, would Great Zhou agree to the national wager?” Wang Hanbing heavily set down his teacup, “Great Zhou would immediately march west to attack Yan’s capital. Who would resist their great army… you? Me? Would you and I going to battle be delivering heads to Great Zhou? After we deliver our heads, would Great Zhou retreat? If they would retreat… I, Wang Hanbing, would commit suicide right now to protect Yan’s peace!”

The flickering candlelight illuminated Wang Hanbing’s delicate, stern features. His words didn’t seem false, his gaze blazing, causing the other Yan envoys to purse their lips and fall silent.

Only the swaying shadows of candlelight and the sound of sparks crackling remained in the hall. The logic in Wang Hanbing’s words was understood by everyone, but they merely wanted to protect the Empress Dowager’s interests.

But even protecting the Empress Dowager’s interests required Yan to still exist, for Yan’s Empress Dowager to still be Yan’s Empress Dowager. If the capital was gone, what use were Empress Dowager factions or Regent factions—all would be empty talk.

Yan’s Minister of Revenue, after hearing about today’s events at Great Zhou’s Honglu Si, thought for a moment and said: “Minister Wang pushing forward the First Prince is indeed most appropriate. After all, our Yan is sincere about this national wager with Great Zhou, absolutely not being perfunctory. The First Prince, the Second Prince, and General Xie should be safe in Great Zhou. We just worry that the Great Zhou might create difficulties after we send hostages!”

“The words have already been spoken. When the Regent returns, I’ll personally report this matter to him and will write a secret letter to inform His Majesty and the Empress Dowager. If His Majesty, the Empress Dowager, and the Regent all disagree, then I’ll offer my head to Great Zhou’s Emperor in apology, claiming this was my, Wang Hanbing’s, individual nonsense, unrelated to our Yan.”

Just as Wang Hanbing finished speaking, Xiao Rongyan entered holding up his robe hem and said: “What Wang Hanbing said was for Yan’s sake. Whether His Majesty, the Empress Dowager, or this king—we all support Minister Wang. All promises Minister Wang made to Great Zhou at the negotiation table, our Yan will honor.”

Seeing Xiao Rongyan enter, the Yan envoys quickly knelt in greeting.

Xiao Rongyan sat in the main seat, arranged his robe, then said: “All rise!”