“Five hundred horses?” The Northern Qi envoy’s voice became shrill. “How can this be acceptable?”

Northern Qi’s most famous resource was horses. Five hundred Northern Qi warhorses were worth even more than two thousand Great Zhou warhorses!

General Xu was also somewhat stunned, thinking to himself that Prince Jing really dared to make such an outrageous demand.

Prince Jing frowned: “How is it not acceptable? Do you think Wuye’s nephew isn’t worth five hundred warhorses?”

The Northern Qi envoy naturally couldn’t say he wasn’t worth it: “But there are also several Zhou generals!”

Those few Zhou generals weren’t nobodies either. Exchanging them for Woli’s return—Great Zhou wouldn’t lose out at all.

Prince Jing rolled his eyes upward, impatiently asking: “Among those few people, is there this prince’s nephew?”

The corner of the Northern Qi envoy’s eye twitched.

He didn’t know if his eyes were playing tricks on him, but just now Prince Jing seemed to have rolled his eyes…

Prince Jing didn’t care whether the Northern Qi envoy answered or not and continued asking: “Among those few people, is there General Xu’s nephew?”

General Xu very cooperatively said there wasn’t.

“Well there you have it. Is that young brat Woli an ordinary general? He’s your great commander’s nephew! Go back and ask what your great commander thinks.”

The Northern Qi envoy was persuaded in a daze. Once outside, when snow pellets hit his face, he came to his senses: It’s precisely because Woli is their commander’s nephew that it’s several people for one person—it’s not a one-for-one exchange!

Inside the room, General Xu’s expression was somewhat complex: “Your Highness, five hundred warhorses—Northern Qi can’t possibly agree, can they?”

Also, could you please not roll your eyes at their envoy? Please pay attention to the image of a Great Zhou prince.

Of course, this could only be grumbled about internally.

“Old Xu, why are you so straightforward? If they don’t agree, we simply won’t release him.”

General Xu choked.

He had thought it would be a matter of asking an exorbitant price and haggling on the spot. After all this time, it turned out to be a fixed price.

“Your Highness, there’s no need to be so rigid about this. The few soldiers of ours who were captured are all outstanding. Using one Woli to exchange them wouldn’t be a loss…”

Prince Jing’s face darkened: “Woli injured my son.”

Now General Xu had nothing to say.

The person was captured by the Prince Jing’s heir. What more could be said?

After the Northern Qi envoy returned and conveyed Prince Jing’s demands, Wuye flew into a rage.

“That old dog really dares to demand the moon!”

“General, then we—”

Wuye sneered coldly: “It’s nothing more than asking an exorbitant price and haggling. Go again and say we’re willing to offer two hundred warhorses.”

His psychological price point was three hundred horses.

The Northern Qi envoy soon went again.

“Two hundred horses?” Prince Jing slammed the table. “Who are you insulting? Does our Great Zhou lack these few warhorses? Go back and tell Wuye to prepare six hundred warhorses. Not one less will do.”

General Xu, who hadn’t said a word, was shouting wildly in his heart: I don’t mind being insulted—come insult me quickly!

The Northern Qi envoy flung his sleeves: “This is impossible!”

“How can this envoy be so impatient?” Prince Jing shook his head with an expression that suggested he found the Northern Qi envoy inadequate. “Just go back and deliver the message.”

When Wuye received the envoy’s message, he was so angry he kicked over a small stool. After cursing in a torrent of words, he ground his teeth: “Four hundred horses, not one more!”

“Four hundred horses?” When Prince Jing once again received the Northern Qi envoy, he gestured with his fingers to make a seven. “Seven hundred horses.”

The Northern Qi envoy was already numb. Upon hearing this number, he turned and walked away.

“Wait a moment.” Prince Jing called out to stop him, giving quiet instructions to his subordinate.

Before long, the subordinate hurried back carrying a small wooden box.

Prince Jing smiled at the Northern Qi envoy: “Envoy, take this with you.”

The Northern Qi envoy looked at the small wooden box that had been pressed into his hands, puzzled: Could it be a benefit for him, wanting him to persuade General Wuye to agree?

Impossible—he wasn’t someone who would betray his country for a small benefit!

“The envoy can open it and look.” Prince Jing smiled.

The Northern Qi envoy opened the box with some hesitation and curiosity. His hand shook and he nearly threw the box away.

In the small wooden box, white cloth served as padding, and on it was unmistakably a bloody finger. From the wound, it had clearly just been chopped off.

“This… this is—”

“A finger.” Prince Jing looked at the Northern Qi envoy with a somewhat strange expression, as if he couldn’t understand how this person could be so stupid. “Go back and tell Wuye that if he doesn’t agree, there’s no need to negotiate. This prince doesn’t have the leisure time to haggle like some petty merchant.”

After the Northern Qi envoy left, General Xu was nearly crying from heartache: “Your Highness, four hundred horses is quite a lot!”

“Old Xu, be more ambitious. Four hundred warhorses—who are you trying to slight?”

Prince Jing patted General Xu’s shoulder and lifted his foot to leave.

Slight me—I’m willing to be slighted!

General Xu reached out toward Prince Jing’s departing back.

Prince Jing went to see Qi Shuo.

These past few days, under the pretext of recuperating from injuries, the only ones who could see Qi Shuo were Prince Jing and the military doctors.

Prince Jing waved his hand, dismissing the guard attending to his son. His confident expression was replaced by hesitation: “The Northern Qi envoy came again today. Shuo’er, do you think that old turtle Wuye will really be willing to part with seven hundred warhorses?”

Qi Shuo smiled slightly: “If it were your son, would Father be willing?”

“Of course.”

No matter how precious warhorses were, how could they compare to his son?

Prince Jing actually wasn’t without confidence. It was just that after dragging things out to this point, he felt somewhat anxious about gains and losses. After his heart settled, he began worrying about his son again: “After Wuye agrees, Shuo’er, you’ll have to take risks…”

“Father can rest assured. Wuye won’t easily become suspicious. After all, ‘Woli’ is someone he finally managed to exchange back from us after negotiating time and again.”

This was the subtle nature of human psychology. Things obtained or people rescued after great effort were rarely questioned.

At this time, the Northern Qi envoy had already brought back the message, along with the finger contained in the wooden box.

“That old dog!” Wuye smashed a teacup and kicked over a stool. After a thorough venting, his face iron-blue, he said: “Go tell that old dog I agree. If he dares harm even one hair on Woli’s head again, then we’ll both perish together!”

The envoy was uncertain for a moment: “General, are we really giving them… seven hundred warhorses?”

As he spoke this number, the envoy’s voice trembled somewhat.

Wuye also felt humiliated and roared: “Isn’t this the message you brought back?”

Envoy: “…” Three trips, from five hundred horses rising to seven hundred horses—what is this about?

Got it—the one being insulted isn’t anyone else, it’s him!

The Northern Qi envoy, whose spirit had suffered severe devastation, once again stood before Prince Jing and General Xu, enduring his humiliation to bring the news that Wuye had agreed.

General Xu couldn’t help but let out a cry, drawing the Northern Qi envoy’s shocked gaze.

Prince Jing lifted his foot: “General Xu, my apologies—I accidentally stepped on you.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” General Xu cast a grateful look toward Prince Jing.

He hadn’t expected that hearing the news of Wuye agreeing to exchange someone for seven hundred warhorses would excite him this much. After all, the initial demand was only five hundred! How could the Qi people be so cheap?

After the Northern Qi envoy left, General Xu directly embraced Prince Jing: “Your Highness is truly brilliant and mighty!”

Prince Jing kept a straight face as he pushed General Xu away.

He didn’t feel particularly happy, after all, the one being exchanged away was his son!