Chapter 574: Tough Wu Yan and lonely Wang Li!

Chapter 574: Tough Wu Yan and lonely Wang Li!

Listening to Wei Bao's words, Wu Yan's fingers unconsciously rubbed the edge of the table, and his knuckles turned slightly white due to the force. Three hundred thousand dan of grain and ten thousand war horses, this condition was 30% higher than he expected. The light from the bronze lamp in the tent cast a swaying shadow on his face, making the wrinkles between his brows deeper.

"Father is right. This is indeed a tough battle." Wu Yan sat behind his desk, thinking to himself. His eyes fell on the silk map spread out on the table. The mountains, rivers, cities and passes outlined with ink lines on it seemed to tell the difficulty of this war.

He couldn't help but think of the oil lamp in the study of the Hengshan Palace that was about to go out the night before he left. The weak flame flickered in the wind, reflecting the tall and slightly tired figure of his father Wu Rui. His father, wearing a single coat, stood quietly in front of the map, his fingers heavily drawn across the border between Jiujiang County and Changsha County, as if there was an unbridgeable gap there.

"Yan'er, remember, every stone of grain we win at the negotiation table means one less soldier's blood will be shed on the battlefield." Wu Yan's father's voice echoed in his ears, and he knew the weight of these words.

At this moment, the neighing of war horses outside the government office sounded particularly harsh in the quiet night, as if the unrest of this chaotic world was protesting against him. Wu Yan caught a glimpse of the bulging veins on the back of Wang Li's hand holding the sword. This most dazzling general of the Qin Dynasty in the past now had to bargain with them in this remote place.

The silk map spread out on the table was stained with dark marks from sweat, which was a sign of Wu Yan's nervousness. He stared at the map, which showed the sphere of influence of the Gaoyao Southern Border Army spreading like a poisonous vine, and secretly groaned in his heart.

"Mr. Wu Yan, it is better to make a decision early."

Wang Li's voice was like a blunt knife scraping across bamboo slips, and every word was filled with suppressed anger. Wu Yan noticed the gilded and silver-inlaid sword at his waist - it was said to be a treasure bestowed by the First Emperor to Wang Jian, but now it was hanging on the body of a down-and-out general, and the cloud pattern on the scabbard was covered with a layer of gray and gloom.

At this moment, Wang Li, although he tried his best to restrain himself, could not hide his inner dissatisfaction and depression in his words. For him, this was undoubtedly a torment. After all, he was once a prominent figure, a third-generation military man with a good family background. His grandfather Wang Jian and father Wang Ben were both top figures in the Qin Empire and were well-known.

Wang Jian chose to retreat bravely, not because he was cowardly, but to preserve his entire family. You know, in the war of Qin's conquest of the six kingdoms, more than 80% of the battles were directly or indirectly related to Wang Jian. His achievements were so outstanding that if he continued to stay in the court, it would probably cause many problems.

First of all, how would others evaluate Wang Jian? His contributions were so great that if he continued to stay in the court, it would inevitably arouse jealousy and criticism from others. Moreover, for Ying Zheng, this was also a thorny issue. Once Wang Jian disagreed with others, Ying Zheng would be in a dilemma. If he did not follow Wang Jian's advice, he might be regarded as neglecting a meritorious official; but if he followed it, then who was the real master of the country, the Wang family or Ying Zheng?

This delicate balance of power could lead to serious consequences if not handled with care. Therefore, Wang Jian's decision to retreat while the tide was at its peak was a wise move, which not only saved his life and property, but also maintained the reputation and status of his family.

Moreover, the core of the centralized power model promoted by Ying Zheng was to highly concentrate power in the central government, and it was impossible to easily enfeoff princes. As a general with outstanding military achievements, Wang Jian naturally could not obtain such a status. If he continued to stay in the court, he would not only become an eyesore in the eyes of the emperor, but also might bring disaster upon himself.

Faced with such a situation, Wang Jian decisively chose to protect himself. He knew Qin Shihuang's methods and thoughts very well, and understood that it was better to retreat bravely to protect himself and his family than to risk his power. Qin Shihuang did not kill Wang Jian, but instead rewarded him greatly, showing his recognition of his past achievements.

At the same time, Qin Shihuang continued to use Wang Jian's son Wang Ben, and gave him the command of nearly 200,000 imperial guards. For a long time, Wang Ben was a senior official in the army, which was undoubtedly an affirmation and support for the Wang family. However, all this changed with the rise of Prince Gao.

Under the instigation of the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan, Prince Gao actually made a direct move to enfeoff the kings. This move almost destroyed the efforts of two or even three generations of the Wang family. Wang Jian had many descendants, and Wang Ben was not the only descendant of the Wang family. People related to Wang Jian, including his disciples, were implicated in this storm of power. According to incomplete statistics, as many as hundreds of people died in it. Because people with outstanding achievements can be remembered, there are Wang Ben, Wang Li,

This is why Wang Ben was so angry when Prince Gao made that decision. After all, the Wang family fought for the Qin Dynasty, fought in many battles, and went through decades of hardship to conquer most of the country. They have always been loyal to the Qin Dynasty. But as soon as Prince Gao came to power, he ruthlessly dismantled the Wang family's efforts and all their efforts were in vain.

This is difficult for anyone to accept. If Prince Gao had not finally realized his mistake in time and not only entrusted all the royal descendants to Wang Ben, but also expressed full trust and respect for him, Wang Ben would have left in anger and no longer served the Qin Dynasty.

As the third generation of the Wang family, Wang Li naturally has his own pride and self-esteem. He has heard about the glorious history of the Wang family since he was a child, and he knows the honor and responsibility of the family. However, at this time, he has to sit with those who were not qualified to sit on the same level with him when the Qin Dynasty still existed. What's worse is that he has become the weakest among this group of people. And all this happened in just a few years.

Wang Li actually looked down on Xiang Yu, Wei Bao, Wu Rui and others. It was only because he had no choice but to sit down with the other princes to discuss how to deal with Gao Yao.

"150,000 dan of grain and 20,000 war horses. This is my father's bottom line. If it cannot be achieved, let's just give up now."

After a long silence, Wu Yan finally spoke out his final request and bottom line. There was nothing he could do about it. The tug of war in this game was not only about dealing with the Southern Territory, but also about the follow-up of the King of Hengshan. Naturally, the conditions could not be lowered at will.