Chapter 134: The Humiliating Peace Negotiations

"If we don't rescue him, he would rather waste away in the dungeon. He has all the time in the world, while we do not."

"But once we save him, we have no way to guarantee we can force him to open his mouth and reveal the truth, because there are still over ten thousand Qishan disciples at Qiwu Mountain, surrounded by the Northern Yan army with their blades drawn."

After Jiang Chen explained the current predicament, Han Yuyang’s brows furrowed, his face filled with resentment.

"This Zhao Shanhe is simply playing us for fools!"

Once Han Yuyang learned the truth that Zhao Shanhe was actually Ji Bei, he urged Jiang Chen to think twice before acting. He argued that they were in a completely passive position; not only would they be risking a great deal to save him, but there was no guarantee of any return afterward.

Such a deal was a deadly trap, and there was simply no need to entertain it.

Han Yuyang said, "I calculated every possibility, but never imagined that this Zhao Shanhe was a mole planted deep within Qishan. If he hadn't revealed his identity himself this time, we fools would have been deceived for who knows how long!"

"He murdered Marshal Duanmu right under our noses. I will definitely avenge this!"

Thinking of Ji Bei's actions, Han Yuyang clenched his fists tightly, wishing he could immediately exact revenge for Duanmu Hongtu.

"Vengeance is necessary, of course, but a gentleman need not rush. The most important thing right now is to clear your name and ease the imperial court's suspicion of Qishan."

Under Jiang Chen’s persuasion, Han Yuyang’s mood improved slightly.

He softened his tone and said, "I only received the news about the ten thousand Qishan brothers being besieged at Qiwu Mountain a few days ago. This Ji Bei is locked in a dungeon, yet his information is more up-to-date than ours. Therefore, his words cannot simply be dismissed as bluffing."

"Every Qishan life is precious; I cannot take the risk. But I don't understand—now that Ji Bei has fallen to this state, what power does he still have to influence the situation at Qiwu Mountain and use it as leverage against us?"

Jiang Chen pondered this question for a long time before answering: "I don't know either. I cannot see through this man at the moment, and without understanding him, I cannot make a reasonable inference."

"In short, we must deal with each move as it comes. We must proceed with caution and save the people first. I refuse to believe that with Ji Bei right under our noses, he can still pull off many more tricks."

Jiang Chen was determined to rescue the hostages first, and afterward, find a way to force Ji Bei to write a confession, admitting that he had been lurking in Qishan for years and had seized the opportunity to assassinate the commander-in-chief, Duanmu Hongtu, at the front lines.

With this confession in hand, even if they could not turn Ji Bei over to the court for sentencing, it would at least serve as strong evidence to tell the world that the Qishan Iron Cavalry had no intention of rebellion and that everything was the work of villains stirring up trouble behind the scenes!

Han Yuyang nodded. "If Ji Bei’s situation is directly tied to whether those Qishan brothers can walk out of Qiwu Mountain alive, then we have no other choice."

However, his hatred only grew with every passing moment. The cunning Ji Bei had actually thought to use the lives of over ten thousand Qishan men to secure his own wretched life!

That scoundrel; sooner or later, he would pay the price in blood!

Han Yuyang tapped his knuckles against the table. Reason told him that the priority was to ensure the safety of his brothers—those were ten thousand men, as close as kin.

Once the two had agreed on the plan, they decided to implement the rescue immediately. However, at that moment, Duanmu Qing returned from outside, bringing with her a piece of earth-shattering news that was enough to incense the entire Great Qian.

"The terms for the peace talks with Northern Yan have been released. There are eighteen in total, and every single one of them is enough to make your blood boil."

Duanmu Qing warned Jiang Chen and Han Yuyang in advance, hoping to prevent them from flipping the table in anger.

"Let me state the three most important ones first. The first is a demand that Great Qian cede the entire Jizhou Province, totaling six cities and twelve counties."

"The second is that from now on, Great Qian must pay an annual tribute to Northern Yan of five million taels of gold, eight million taels of silver, and twenty carts of other jewelry and treasures."

Hearing this, the flames of fury were already visible on Han Yuyang’s face, while Jiang Chen remained as calm as ever, as if he hadn't taken it to heart at all.

Duanmu Qing paused intentionally, observing their reactions before continuing with the third point, which was the most unacceptable to her and the one the Northern Yan people wanted most.

"The third: surrender the *Guma Collection* and the *Yanwu Cavalry Formation*, which Qishan is famous for, and pay an additional indemnity of two thousand superior warhorses."

As soon as she finished speaking, Han Yuyang slammed his fist onto the stone table, causing several cracks to spread across the hard slab. Before long, the entire table collapsed into a heap of rubble.

"These Northern Yan thieves! This isn't a peace talk; it's extortion!"

Han Yuyang’s voice was loud and powerful, scaring the servants of the Yu family waiting outside the courtyard, who turned pale and hurried forward to beg for mercy.

They knew these were distinguished guests of their master, and if they were offended, no one would be spared.

Jiang Chen said to the trembling servants, "Don't worry, the stone table was broken by accident. Just replace it with a new one later. You may leave now."

The servants breathed a sigh of relief. After they retreated, both Han Yuyang and Duanmu Qing wore ashen expressions.

Duanmu Qing, having learned this news earlier, should have already processed it, but influenced by Han Yuyang’s emotions, she felt her anger rising again.

Jiang Chen said, "These three points alone are enough to show the true purpose behind Northern Yan's peace talks. As for the other fifteen, there is no need to listen; it would only be more suffocating."

Han Yuyang sighed in frustration, "Since when did Great Qian become a weak nation to be slaughtered at will? Back then, our iron cavalry traversed the southern mountains and rivers, invincible; the enemy was terrified and fled at the mere sight of us!"

"Yet, in just a few decades, we have to endure the humiliation of being trampled by the enemy. What has happened to us!"

Jiang Chen patted Han Yuyang on the shoulder and comforted him, "Northern Yan is doing this to cut the ground from under us. If the Emperor of Great Qian truly agrees to these eighteen terms, Great Qian will be finished."

"From now on, Great Qian will have no national strength to compete with Northern Yan. Even if a ceasefire is bought through such humiliation, Northern Yan will attack whenever they please."

"However, as long as Great Qian still has men of spirit like you, this country will not perish."

Duanmu Qing felt encouraged by Jiang Chen’s words, and she suddenly thought of a question she had intended to ask him for a long time.

"Jiang Chen, what about you? You have the ability and the talent—don't you want to carve out a career for yourself?"