The peace negotiation between the two countries, in the eyes of the envoys from the other four countries, seemed like the barbarian tribes were constantly being oppressed by the heroine.
After going back and forth for two days, it finally came to an end, leaving everyone satisfied.
——This trip wasn’t in vain. Just seeing the barbarian tribe being relentlessly oppressed by the heroine, made it feel completely worth it!
This peace negotiation made the people of Dayan Kingdom so excited, it was like they were celebrating the New Year: Awesome! The Grand Princess!
The reason for this sensation was simple. The terms of the peace negotiation pushed the barbarian tribe to their absolute limits. Not only did they have to compensate with countless gold, silver, and warhorses, but they also had to pay to ransom all the captives.
As for Liu Fang, she spread out a price list for Tuoba Gangyou to see, with the prices clearly marked.
It almost made him spit blood!
The price varied at each level according to the rank and position. The cheapest was an ordinary soldier, who cost one gold each.
What did “one gold” mean? It meant ten taels of gold, not just one tael, because here, there were no gold ingots weighing just one tael; the smallest ones were ten taels.
Therefore, what Liu Fang once said to Crown Prince Murong Zhuo about “worth a thousand gold” was not one thousand taels of gold, but ten thousand taels.
Ten thousand taels of gold were enough to support one hundred soldiers in Liucheng for a whole year, covering their food, as well as the livelihoods of their families. It would also be enough to ensure that their salaries were paid on time. That’s what it means.
It was easy to imagine how much the barbarians would have to pay to ransom their captives.
It’s simply immeasurable!
But Liu Fang also said that she could accept installment payments. If the payment was delayed, she’d be more than happy to visit the barbarian tribe herself.
In short, Tuoba Gangyou was afraid of her and would rather spend money to avoid disaster than to really provoke Liu Fang.
Once the peace agreement was completed and the monarchs of the two countries stamped it with their national seals, it would officially take effect.
However, the barbarian tribe was located beyond the Western Border, so Liu Fang had to escort the barbarian delegation to the Western Border to affix the seal.
Originally, she was supposed to go to the capital of the barbarian tribe – Manjing.
But Tuoba Gangyou was really afraid that Liu Fang might seize the opportunity to lead an army to attack. So he sent a pigeon back, asking Tuoba Khan to send the national seal to the Western Border to wait for her there.
When the seal was affixed, they would directly take the captives back, without Liu Fang needing to make a special trip.
In response, Liu Fang just smiled and didn’t make things difficult for them.
By the time everything was settled and Liu Fang left the capital, it was only the seventh day since her arrival.
On the way back, Liu Fang took a lot of things with her. She took everything, all the rewards that Emperor Yanqing had given her, including furniture and decorations from her residence. She took anything that could be hauled away.
Seeing her leave in such a grand manner, as if she were moving out the entire residence, everyone who came to see her off was like: … (ー_ー)!!
Murong Zhuo was laughing so hard he almost had a stomach ache, and Murong Yue couldn’t help but laugh as well.
This Grand Princess was really unconventional!
Even Princess Zhaoyang of Zhen Kingdom widened her eyes, tugged her sixth brother’s arm and asked, “Is this heroine planning to take all these things to the Western Border?”
Prince Yang was also confused, “Probably?”
Liu Fang didn’t care at all. Along with her 3,000 soldiers, she hauled all these items, and accompanied by Bi Yan, headed back to the Western Border.
Also accompanying them were the barbarian delegation, as well as the delegations from Ling Kingdom, Zhen Kingdom, and Cheng Kingdom.
As for the Qu Kingdom delegation, they planned to stay for another two days.
Because she brought a lot of things, Liu Fang and her group traveled slowly. She was not in a hurry and would stop from time to time to enjoy the scenery.
This left everyone feeling quite perplexed.
Especially Tuoba Gangyou. He would occasionally sneak over to Tuoba Yaoheng and the others, constantly discussing what Liu Fang’s intentions might be with her actions.
Liu Fang did not stop them from doing this, and just let them be. After all, the barbarian envoy was down to only a little over 1,200 people now.
Among those who went missing, some were killed during the assassination attempt on Liu Fang, while others during the travel to the Western Border. They went through all kinds of troubles and ended up gone. No one bothered to find out whether they were alive or dead.
The Dayan Kingdom couldn’t have been more eager for the barbarians to be wiped out, and the other envoys had no intention of meddling in the matter.
As for Tuoba Gangyou and others, they had been frightened by Liu Fang so much that they no longer had the courage to complain. So, it was as if they didn’t even notice the loss of their people.
This was the barbarians. They looked fierce, but in reality they were just wimps. They had no sense of honor whatsoever.
Seven days later, when they arrived at the dividing line between the north and south, Liu Fang brought everyone to the dock.
The Cheng Kingdom Crown Prince, Jin Manshan walked alongside her, chatting and laughing. There were several large ships docked at the harbor.
Everyone suddenly realized. Oh, it turns out the Grand Princess sold all her rewards to Jin Manshan!
To be more precise, Liu Fang handed over all things she didn’t need to Jin Manshan. Asking him to take them overseas and sell them in exchange for the things she wanted.
Jin Manshan was also very happy about this. Emperor Yanqing was very generous. The rewards he gave to Liu Fang were all valuable items. If they were taken overseas, they would be treasures!
This was a big deal. The commission alone would earn him quite a bit, which was why he was so happy!
“Thank you for your trouble, Crown Prince of Cheng Kingdom”
Jin Manshan bowed to Liu Fang with a beaming smile and said, “Grand Princess, you’re too polite. This time, it’s actually me who should be thanking you.”
Liu Fang smiled and instructed Chen Fang to take people to move all the things onto the ship.
Except for the items she couldn’t sell, Liu Fang sold everything she could. She only kept a few things she might need in the future, such as a very spacious carriage.
This was made new for her by Emperor Yanqing later after he found out that her carriage had been damaged.
Liu Fang accepted it with great composure.
Bi Yan’s heart bled as she watched the boxes of jewelry being loaded onto the ship.
She had already asked Liu Fang whether she wanted to keep one or two boxes of jewelry for the sake of appearance.
Liu Fang shook her head and said, “Probably, it’s going to be a long time before I get a chance to go to the capital.”
If she didn’t go to the capital, she wouldn’t need these flashy, useless things. If she did go to the capital, she would be able to get even better ones.
Therefore, it was more important to sell these items and exchange them for what she needed at the moment to strengthen Liucheng’s power.
With enough people, the items were quickly moved.
Liu Fang and Jin Manshan bowed to each other and then left with their people.
…………
This time, the Zhen Kingdom delegation was going to take the boat back with Jin Manshan and his group.
In fact, the two countries were not that far apart..
Princess Zhaoyang looked at the three large ships behind them and said to Prince Yang, “Sixth brother, the Grand Princess is so kind!”
Prince Yang smiled and said, “Yes, indeed!”
This heroine was truly a person of great character. She was willing to part with everything, not leaving a single item, all for the sake of strengthening Liucheng’s power!
Princess Zhaoyang’s eyes suddenly turned red, and she said, “Sixth brother, I’ve just realized what I want to do in the future.”
Prince Yang raised an eyebrow and looked at her, “Oh? What do you want to do?”
Princess Zhaoyang said: “I want to go to Western Border. I want to serve the Grand Princess and follow her for the rest of my life!”
Prince Yang was surprised. He looked at his delicate younger sister and said, “You have to think it over carefully. Western Border is very desolate, with little to eat or drink. It’s either unbearably hot or freezing cold the whole year round. Are you really sure you want to go?”
Princess Zhaoyang nodded and said seriously, “Yes, I want to go!”
Prince Yang was truly stunned this time. “Eighth sister, you’re not joking, are you?”
Princess Zhaoyang nodded seriously and said, “I’m not joking. I’m serious. When we return, I’ll talk to Eldest Brother, and then I will go to the Western Border to find the Grand Princess.”
Prince Yang: (⊙o⊙)!
He wouldn’t be beaten to death by his Eldest Brother when he got back, would he?
Heaven!
He rubbed his forehead and sighed deeply: Now I’m done for, I’ve dug my own grave!
What kind of monster was this heroine? Why did everyone go crazy when they saw her?
Princess Zhaoyang ignored her Sixth Brother’s sighs and complaints. She just stared fixedly in the direction of the Western Border, silently thinking to herself: Wait for me, I will definitely go!
…………
After that, Liu Fang accelerated their pace and headed towards the Western Border. Ten days later, they arrived in Western Border and returned to Liucheng.
The entire city’s soldiers and civilians were welcoming Liu Fang’s return!
Tuoba Gangyou was eager to affix the peace agreement and urged Liu Fang to leave quickly.
Liu Fang smiled, said a few words to the civilians and soldiers who came to welcome her, then she led them to the border between the two countries to take care of the remaining matters.
It was not until the seal of Tuoba Khan was affixed to the peace agreement that the treaty between the two countries was officially established.
Tuoba Gangyou immediately said to Liu Fang: “Grand Princess, shouldn’t we let the Third Prince and the others return now?”
Liu Fang smiled and nodded, “Uhn, alright.”
She waved her hand, signaling for everyone to step back, allowing Tuoba Yaoheng and the other two to return to the barbarian delegation.
However, Tuoba Yaoheng did not move, nor did Tuoba Gangzheng and Tuoba Yaocheng.
Liu Fang raised an eyebrow and looked at Tuoba Yaoheng, “What’s the matter? Does the Third Prince have something else to do?”
Tuoba Yaoheng said: “Grand Princess seems to have forgotten something.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“The poison on us. Grand princess seems to have forgotten to provide the antidote.”
Tuoba Gangyou was shocked: “What? She poisoned you?”
Liu Fang paid no attention to Tuoba Gangyou’s shouting and calmly said to Tuoba Yaoheng, “Third Prince, rest assured. The poison in your bodies has been cured. After all, your country’s first ransom from your country was to free you all.”
The value of these three people certainly could not be compared that of ordinary soldiers, so Tuoba Khan was very generous.
——Even if he wasn’t generous, it wouldn’t work. Liu Fang could be indifferent to others, but for these three, she must see the ransom first before she was willing to release them.
So now, seeing that the money and horses sent by the Barbarian tribe were all in order, Liu Fang naturally wouldn’t make things difficult for them.
As for the poisoning and the antidote, well, as long as she wanted to, no one here could stop her.
Tuoba Yaoheng’s pupils contracted and he stared at her intently, as if he wanted to engrave her image into his heart!
“Liu Fang, I will always remember you.”
Liu Fang gave a faint smile and didn’t respond.
Things were already a complete mess, so let them say some harsh words and vent a little. Otherwise, it was easy to suffocate from keeping it all in.
Seeing her indifferent expression, Tuoba Yaoheng felt a wave of frustration in his heart. With a cold face, he walked towards the barbarian envoy, accompanied by Tuoba Gangzheng and Tuoba Yaohong.
Before leaving, he turned his back to Liu Fang and said, “This time, I lost. Next time, I won’t.”
Liu Fang’s smile grew a little bigger: If I could defeat you once, I could defeat you countless times!
