Finest Servant Chapter 620 (Patreon)

Chapter 620 Ambition of a Wolf

This truly was the most beautiful accident in the world! Yueya'er gazed at him gently, her face a mix of shyness and joy. Lin Wanrong remained silent within, silently turning his head away, avoiding her gaze.

“Wo Lao Gong—”

“Please, call me by my Great Hua name!”

“Lin San Wo Lao Gong—”

This was unbearable! He quickly took a deep breath, slowly turning around, and shook his head solemnly: “Great Khan, there is something I must remind you of! We are in the midst of negotiations, not discussing other matters. Please be serious!”

Yujia bit her lip, her eyes silently falling: “Do you really want to negotiate with me?”

“It’s not about what I want. This matter was initiated by your Turkic people!”

“Fine then,” Golden Blade Khan slammed the table angrily and stood up abruptly: “Great Khan will now give you his response! Mr. Lin, none of the four conditions you’ve listed are acceptable to me!”

“Are you certain?” Lin Wanrong asked with a cold smile.

Looking at his dark face, Yujia’s body trembled: “What if I am certain? Salmu, as the son of Bilge Khan, died for the grasslands, which was his glory! For the happiness of our people, Yujia would rather be shattered jade than a whole tile. I refuse to be threatened by you!”

Observing her frail trembling form, Lin Wanrong suddenly burst into a long laughter to the heavens: “What a statement—better to be shattered jade than a whole tile! Great Khan, such grand words may deceive the children of the Turks, but don’t bother mentioning them to me. I do not fall for such tricks! I can say without courtesy, if you had the courage to forsake Salmu, your father Bilge Khan would never have entrusted you with this weighty burden!”

“You—” Yujia turned deathly pale, her teeth clattering, her chest heaving rapidly. Even her fingers trembled.

Lin Wanrong, as if he did not see her gaze, stepped forward shaking his head, and laughed coldly: “But even if we step back ten thousand steps, if Salmu is truly sacrificed, will your people achieve happiness from it? Will the battles that need fighting cease, will the people who are fated to die survive? This is a ludicrous assumption, Miss Yujia. To deceive others is detestable, but to deceive oneself is both pitiable and tragic!”

His voice, cold as frost, effortlessly shattered her last shred of hope.

Golden Blade Khan, drained of strength, closed her eyes and slumped back into her chair: “You... you’ve precisely targeted my vulnerability!”

“Mutual understanding,” he said, shaking his head slightly, and then letting out a silent bitter laugh: “Perhaps now you should realize that my being alive is not your fortune.”

“Whether it’s my fortune is not for you to question!” Yujia snapped back fiercely, her head shooting up, her eyes flashing with a cold light: “Since that is the case, let us speak frankly! Your four conditions, each more harsh than the last, are unacceptable not just to me, but to all the Turkic people!”

“Not necessarily!” Lin Wanrong said leisurely: “As long as the Great Khan is willing to sit down and talk, there will always be a solution. I wonder if you are willing—”

He sat down slowly, his gaze fixed on Yueya'er, silent and without a smile, his depth making Yueya'er itch with frustration, wishing she could punch him right in the face.

“I will count to three, and if you are not seated by then, negotiations are off the table!” He spread his hands and smiled faintly: “One! Two! Three—”

“How dare you?!” Golden Blade Khan exclaimed indignantly, her face turning a furious red as she flipped the stool over and, astonishingly, sat down with her back to him.

Such a negotiation was rare in this world! He shook his head with a bitter smile, for in truth, this turn of events fell in line with his desires. Facing Yujia head-on, he had no confidence whether he could be resolute when the crucial moment came.

“We can discuss the four conditions one by one! Regarding the first point, does the Great Khan have any objections?!”

Compared to the other three, the first condition was nothing short of generous and merciful! Yujia snorted coldly, “I agree to a ceasefire! But to proclaim it to the world, that’s problematic! Moreover, can a mere piece of paper govern fifty years? I wonder if you are genuinely naive or just feigning ignorance?!”

“And how many years do you propose?!”

“At most thirty—” Yujia paused, suddenly slapping the armrest in anger, “There you go baiting me again! You sly trickster!”

Lin Wanrong sneered, “We’re all clear-sighted here! It's hard to say who’s deceiving whom!”

Yujia bit her lip stubbornly, sighing faintly, “A clever trickster!”

“The so-called proclamation is nothing but wordplay, which can be crafted most honorably. I refuse to believe you can’t draft such a statement.” Lin Wanrong waved dismissively, “Let’s be frank, the first point—does the Great Khan agree or not?”

Yueya'er shook her head firmly, “We will discuss all conditions in unison at the end. Your questioning now serves no purpose.”

This girl was astute, deliberately consolidating the four conditions to seek room for maneuver and to pressure her opponent into concessions.

Lin Wanrong did not call her out but simply said, “Then, the second condition—twenty years of tribute—”

Yujia stood up abruptly, turning to glare at him coldly, “One year at most!”

“Twenty years!”

“One year!” Yujia slammed her hand on the chair in anger!

Lin Wanrong slammed his hand onto the table, “I said twenty years! Not a year less!”

“Then you might as well kill me!” Yujia roared, her voice shaking the heavens, as she furiously kicked a chair next to her. It crashed onto the negotiating table, breaking apart, sending splinters flying. Both glared at each other with wide eyes, like two enraged lions, neither willing to give an inch.

Those outside heard the deafening crashes from within the long tent, as if it would lift the roof off. It sounded less like a negotiation and more like a brawl, but since neither commander had spoken, no one dared to enter.

“Don't try to intimidate me with killing; it's nothing to be proud of,” Lin Wanrong sighed softly.

“But I have already killed you once!” Yujia turned away, her eyes shimmering with tears, “Five years! That’s my limit!”

“Ten years! That’s also my limit!” Lin Wanrong’s expression remained composed, not leaving any room for rebuttal, “The third condition—south of Bayanhot—”

Gold Blade Khan slowly calmed her agitated emotions, her eyes as cold as ice, “You want me to cede territory? I advise you to stop dreaming. The steppe has always belonged to us, the Turkic people. Frankly, even if you took Bayanhot, do you really think you could hold it for long?!”

Though disdain and scorn were evident on her face, she spoke the truth.

"Whether I can keep it is my concern; the Great Khan need not worry!" Lin Wanrong said calmly. "I just want to remind you that you now have no choice."

Yujia's face was a tumult of sorrow and rage, her fists clenched tightly. "I also tell you, heartless one, if I were to cede land to you, Salmu and I would become sinners of the steppe, with no face to meet my people, to meet my father Khan. If it really comes to that, then it would be better for Salmu and I to die together!"

At this point, the conversation seemed to have reached a dead end, with no way out in sight. Lin Wanrong let out a long sigh. "Alright. I will compromise. Bayanhot need not separate from the Turks—"

Yujia paused, startled. "You... Are you serious?!"

He nodded gravely. "My word is my bond. Bayanhot will remain Turkic land. However, the Great Khan must agree to one condition—the lands to the south of Bayanhot, though still under your dominion, will be turned into a free trade zone between Great Hua and the Turks!"

"A free trade zone?" Golden Blade Khan exclaimed in surprise. "What do you mean?!"

"In this free trade zone, neither party is allowed to station troops, only civil servants to maintain order! I request the Great Khan to decree, allowing Great Hua merchants to invest and trade freely here, allowing the people of both nations to migrate, trade, marry, send mail, and sail freely, allowing the free spread of both cultures! In addition, Great Hua will send experts to teach poetry, music, ceremonies, farming, construction, and other fine skills from our land, and the Turks must teach us archery on horseback! Moreover, we will build numerous houses and towers in the trade area for the people of both nations to live in! As a return for the land provided by the Turks, the taxes collected in the free trade zone can be shared proportionally between our two nations!"

Yujia, a person of exceptional intelligence, turned deathly pale after hearing just a few sentences. She trembled all over, pointing at his nose and said, "A fine free trade zone indeed! You, you have the ambition of a wolf!"

Lin Wanrong shook his head in silence. "I do not understand what the Great Khan means! My suggestion is mutually beneficial: it does not require you to cede land and it will improve the lives of the Turks and mend the relations between our two countries. Where do you see a wolf's ambition?"

Yujia looked up to the heavens with a long sigh, filled with grief and indignation. "Now I understand. You made that request for land while putting on a compassionate face. Your so-called step back is nothing but a well-crafted plan. From the beginning, you never intended to occupy Bayanhot because you knew it was unattainable; you wanted this so-called free trade zone! All the nice talk of investment, trade, cultural exchange—you want us Turks to read poetry, farm the land, live in towers. Once we adapt to this comfortable life, who will long for the tents and horseback, the nomadic wanderings? With the influence of this trade zone, the entire steppe will never be at peace. More and more of our people will grow to like this way of life! Once we leave the horseback, the Turks will have abandoned their martial prowess, everything will fall apart without a fight!"

"And what you call the opening of borders, the intermarriage, the navigation rights—it's all to blend the Turks with Great Hua, to imprint upon each other, isn't it?" She voiced her realization with a certain grim acceptance. "Henceforth, this stretch of Bayanhot, spanning hundreds of miles, will become a natural buffer zone between Great Hua and the Turks. Our Turkish cavalry will no longer be able to charge forth! You seek to profit immensely and eliminate future threats. If this isn't wolfish ambition, then what is it?"

Yueya'er had hit the nail on the head—there was nothing more formidable in this world than cultural invasion! It far surpassed the significance of occupying a piece of land, by countless folds.

"Wolfish ambition?" Lin Wanrong gazed at Khan's grief-stricken cheeks and suddenly burst into loud laughter, shaking his head uncontrollably.

His laughter was wild, but his eyes were crystal clear, reflecting a beautiful image within. Yujia stared at him, bewildered, her heart suddenly wrenching, "Don't you dare laugh!"

Lin Wanrong glanced at her, and spoke leisurely, "Great Khan, you once told me that the Turks attacked Great Hua because heaven had been unfair, bestowing all the fertile lands to Great Hua. Thus, you needed to seize Great Hua's territories so your people could lead a happy life. Isn't that so?"

"So what if it is?" Yueya'er bit back.

"That's good to hear." Lin Wanrong replied with a cold smile. "I would like to ask you, have you ever considered what kind of life you and your tribespeople will lead if one day you truly conquer the lands of Great Hua? Will they continue to live on the steppes, riding horses, shooting arrows, dwelling in tents as before?!"

Yujia paused to consider this, and her complexion turned ashen.

"Scared to answer?!" He laughed angrily, "Let me tell you then. Once they pass the frontier, they will read poetry, till the land, and live in lofts, enjoying the comfortable life! The dreams you've chased for centuries, the so-called happy life you wish for your people—I can give it to you now without releasing a single arrow or slashing a single blade. Why then do you hesitate to accept it? Is slapping your own face fun?"

Golden Blade Khan was a mix of shame and fury, unable to refute. In a fit of rage, she kicked up the fragments of a wooden stool and hurled them fiercely at Lin Wanrong.

"Anger won't help you," Lin Wanrong said darkly, continuing slowly, "Don't say I didn't give you a chance! I've already made concessions, it's your choice whether to cede territory or establish a free trade zone!"

Both options were traps he had set; there was no real choice! Yujia looked up, her eyes shimmering with tears, "What if I choose neither?!"

He spoke softly, "Negotiations aside, even my patience has its limits! I hope the Great Khan understands!"

"Do you know how I feel right now?!" Yueya'er gazed at him silently, her complexion gradually turning pale, "Before, I used to dream of seeing you, of speaking to you in my dreams! But today, standing before you, I just wish I could die quickly! Only then, you wouldn't be able to bully me anymore!"