Chapter 447
Chapter 447
The young King of Wu had already prepared himself for humiliation. It was common knowledge that Ning Yuanxian was exceptionally vain, and his pride had been shattered by the recent defeat in the border battle. Now that the State of Yue had won a great victory and the King of Wu was in a position to plead with him, Ning Yuanxian would surely act as he pleased to restore his wounded pride.
Wu Qi had come to meet the King of Yue with the resolve of one who sleeps on firewood and tastes gall—prepared to endure any suffering for the sake of revenge. If Ning Yuanxian was truly so concerned with appearances and so full of vanity, the King of Wu decided he might as well be the one to satisfy him to the fullest.
‘A reigning monarch has come in person to negotiate. Surely, Ning Yuanxian, you won't be too greedy.’
The young King of Wu had made his decision. He was prepared to endure any humiliation that might follow. For instance, the people of Yue might surround them, watch, and jeer. Or the King of Yue might mock him directly. Perhaps he would even suffer the indignity of having to personally pour wine or tea for the King of Yue. Wu Qi would adopt the most humble posture, but he would not yield an inch in the negotiations. He could pay reparations, but not a cent over five hundred thousand gold coins. As for territory, he would not cede a single commandery. Wu Qi resolved that if Ning Yuanxian did not accept these terms, he would simply stay in the King of Yue's temporary palace and refuse to return to Wu.
‘If you don't agree to my terms, I won't leave, even if it takes months. I am the king of a nation. Surely you wouldn't dare to kick me out?’
However, upon entering the King of Yue's temporary palace, he realized that everything was different from what he had imagined. Despite the suddenness of his visit, King Ning Yuanxian of Yue held a formal reception ceremony, showing no intention of tormenting him in the slightest. An honor guard of a hundred soldiers and a dozen high-ranking court officials formed the welcoming party. King Ning Yuanxian himself came out to greet him, making it clear he had no intention of shaming him. Seeing this, the King of Wu was slightly taken aback, then hurried forward and bowed at the waist in a gesture of respect.
“Your humble servant, Wu Qi, greets the King of Yue.”
Before he could complete his bow, Ning Yuanxian immediately supported him, preventing him from stooping lower. Ning Yuanxian spoke.
“King of Wu, you mustn't do that. Though you are my junior in years, you are the monarch of a nation. It is only right that we treat each other as equals. How amusing, though. Your esteemed name is the same as my royal uncle's.”
The King of Wu's name was Wu Qi, while Ning Yuanxian's uncle was named Ning Qi. Wu Qi immediately bowed at the waist once more.
“Wu Qi greets you, Brother King.”
“Indeed. My younger brother has the dignified bearing of a young hero. Two days ago, I sent an envoy to invite you to visit our State of Yue. That you have arrived today, my royal brother, is an unexpected joy. I was just pondering which path I should take to welcome you.”
“Upon receiving my Brother King's invitation, I was filled with an unparalleled eagerness to meet you again. Thanks to your concern, my journey was entirely peaceful.”
What nonsense. When had Ning Yuanxian ever invited Wu Qi? Furthermore, listening to their conversation, one would think the King of Wu had traveled a thousand *li*, but in truth, the two kings were merely a few dozen *li* apart. (The kings of Wu and Yue had been in a standoff, having amassed their armies at the border, so of course they were close.) If an accident had occurred on such a short journey, wouldn't it mean the other party had deliberately arranged it?
“Brother King, the visitor is the guest. Please, enter first!”
The King of Wu took a step back and said.
“The King of Yue is my elder brother. Naturally, you should enter first.”
The two went back and forth, endlessly deferring to one another, until finally, the King of Yue took the King of Wu's arm and said.
“Since it has come to this, let us walk in together, hand in hand!”
And so, the two great kings entered the temporary palace.
***
Following this, the King of Yue hosted a welcome banquet for the King of Wu. The two discussed only poetry, songs, and literature, making no mention of state affairs. The King of Wu repeatedly praised Shen Lang's literary talents, while the King of Yue repeatedly disparaged him. It was like watching two family heads chattering. The head of Family A would desperately praise the son of Family B, saying, "Your son came first in the exam, he's so brilliant!" To which the head of Family B would desperately downplay his own son's achievements. "Not at all, he only scored a ninety-eight. I don't know where the other two points went. He's not that bright, really—must have the brains of a pig." In any case, both host and guest thoroughly enjoyed the banquet.
Afterward, the two parties moved to a different palace, not the one where the banquet was held, and changed into somber, though not formal court, attire. The official negotiations had now begun. The number of participants was very small. Ning Yuanxian had brought two men, and Wu Qi had also brought two. After a moment of silence, the King of Wu spoke.
“Brother King, what will it take for you to withdraw your troops from the border?”
Wu Qi cut straight to the chase.
“What can the King of Wu offer?”
“A public apology, an agreement that from this day forward, Yue shall be the elder brother and Wu the younger, and war reparations of two hundred thousand gold coins.”
Hearing this, Ning Yuanxian said nothing, but the Minister of Rites of Yue let out a cold sneer.
‘How absurd. What kind of terms are those? King of Wu, did you not send an army of thirty thousand to attack our Raging Tide City in an attempt to seize our Leizhou Archipelago? And you initiated the battle without a declaration of war. Not only that, you personally led thirty thousand troops south to the vicinity of Shangye City, posturing as if to wage a decisive battle against our State of Yue, forcing His Majesty to personally lead his soldiers here. This outcome is only due to the strength of Yue and the protection of the heavens; otherwise, we would have faced a fatal crisis.
If our State of Yue had lost the battle, would you not, King of Wu, have opened your mouth wide like a lion, pressing us to recognize the Leizhou Archipelago as belonging to Wu and demanding we cede at least five commanderies of our territory? Yet now that Wu has lost, you offer a mere two hundred thousand gold coins in reparations? Truly preposterous. Where in the world is there such a one-sided deal? Dream on!’
The Minister of Rites of Yue wanted to laugh out loud and tear into him, but Ning Yuanxian raised a hand to stop him.
“You can have the border troops withdrawn without paying reparations or ceding territory.”
The King of Wu was startled and asked.
“Then what is it that my Brother King desires?”
“An alliance. From now on, the states of Wu and Yue will be brotherly nations. Not as elder and younger, but as equal brothers. That is the alliance I want.”
The King of Wu was astonished and bewildered. He could never have imagined such an outcome. But soon, he understood Ning Yuanxian's intentions. For the State of Yue, the greatest enemy right now was not Wu, but Chu. Having been defeated in two battles, Wu posed no threat to Yue for the time being. In contrast, the State of Chu was still powerful and imposing. The current situation made it easy for Wu and Chu to form an alliance against Yue, and Ning Yuanxian wanted to preemptively block such a possibility. He did not want territory or reparations from the King of Wu; he wanted an alliance, and it didn't even need to be entirely sincere.
“King of Wu, I know that you and your father view the tragedy of Yanzhou as a great humiliation. I know you think of nothing but reclaiming those nine commanderies, that not a day passes when you do not think of revenge. My wise younger brother, there is no need to endure such hardship. Why don't our two houses unite and launch a preemptive strike against the State of Chu to take back those nine commanderies from them?”
Ning Yuanxian then produced a map, pointed to the territory of the State of Chu, and continued.
“If there are nine commanderies in Chu's territory that my younger brother desires, please circle them on this map.”
As he spoke, Ning Yuanxian's aura was so immense it seemed to pierce the heavens, as if he had already defeated Chu and was dividing its lands on the spot. The King of Wu fell silent. He knew, of course, that this talk of an alliance was a fiction, a political statement. The idea of Wu and Yue carving up Chu was even more ridiculous.
For the State of Yue, the most important task now was to quell the rebellion in the Nanguo states, properly govern Tianxi Province, and rest and stabilize the nation. Yue needed a stable external environment; this was a time for strategic withdrawal, not expansion. However, the King of Yue's proposal offered a possibility: a joint campaign of Wu and Yue against Chu. Of course, that goal was still distant, and the agreement might be reversed or encounter setbacks along the way, but it could at least be a good start for the two nations.
In this moment of advantage, the King of Yue was adopting a very noble attitude, seemingly trying to display the art of subduing the enemy without fighting. Just as the King of Yue desired a stable external environment, did the King of Wu not want the same? The King of Wu had suffered a great failure and needed to manage the aftermath. The court of Wu was in a transitional period of power, with the old and new factions shifting. The defeat in this battle could cause some instability in his position. Had Wu won the battle, everything might have gone his way, but they had lost. It would take a long time for the King of Wu to restore his supreme authority. Thus, the King of Wu appeared lost in thought for a moment, but then he immediately extended his hand and accepted the King of Yue's proposal.
“Brother King, from this day forward, the states of Wu and Yue are allied nations, like brothers.”
Ning Yuanxian grasped Wu Qi's hand and said.
“From this day forward, the states of Wu and Yue shall watch over and aid one another!”
The two great kings made their decision with astonishing speed and soon were co-signing the written pact. Of course, when the King of Wu saw the cover of the document, he cursed inwardly, ‘You bastard.’ Because this pact had a public face and a hidden one.
The public part of the pact was simply that the states of Wu and Yue had formed an alliance as brotherly nations. The hidden part was such that the pact might as well have been called the "Secret Pact of Wu and Yue to Attack Chu." The King of Wu was certain that although it was called a secret pact, its contents would spread throughout the world less than a month after being signed.
‘Sigh, just sign it.’
The King of Wu felt a moment of regret but signed the so-called "Secret Pact of Wu and Yue to Attack Chu." This kind of masterful maneuvering had occurred many times in the real world. For example, during World War II, did not Germany and the Soviet Union also sign a secret pact, only to end up fighting each other to the death?
The next day.
The states of Wu and Yue built a platform on the border. Before all their civil and military officials and tens of thousands of troops, the two kings signed the 《Wu-Yue Alliance》 and officially announced it to the world. The states of Wu and Yue had formally entered into an alliance. The news sent shockwaves across the lands. It was too unexpected, too sudden.
‘Just a short while ago, you two were fighting like mortal enemies, ready to kill each other. Now you're in cahoots? Isn't this change of heart a bit too fast?’
The envoy from the State of Chu heard the news of the alliance declaration before even reaching the State of Yue and nearly coughed up blood. Half of the diplomatic mission turned back to Chu to ask for the King of Chu's instructions, while the other half continued toward Yue. But the road ahead for this delegation was bleak. Ning Yuanxian had moved too quickly. Originally, Chu had intended to form an alliance with Wu to deliver a sharp diplomatic blow to Yue. Who would have thought Ning Yuanxian would strike first? It brought to mind the saying: what cannot be won on the battlefield cannot be won at the negotiating table. Now, the State of Chu was in a troublesome situation.