Chapter 1 Naturally

Of course, such conditions and requirements would never compel Ye Tao to answer immediately. Especially since the current Ye Tao was very doubtful whether he was truly this crucial negotiating representative, whether he had the authority to answer. Thus, he made the most prudent decision: to report.

Although it was so far from Danyang, Dongping's extravagant construction of the Eagle Courier system was sufficient to handle this type of information transfer, which wasn't particularly time-sensitive. Even at the minimum, a round trip for a brief message would take five and a half days, but this speed already left countries like Chunnan, Beiliao, and Xiling far behind. Even though Chunnan was now an ally and its overt and covert actions to assist in establishing Eagle Stations had never ceased, Dongping absolutely did not intend to relinquish this unique and powerful advantage. Chunnan could indeed find ways to build its own Eagle Courier system; after all, Dongping was not the only place in the world with falconers. Dongping had learned this method from Yunzhou, and Yunzhou had learned it from the northern tribes, but now Dongping had advanced the construction of Eagle Stations to a considerable extent. Out of preferential treatment for its ally, Tan Xiaopei had once joked in a court meeting that, at most, Dongping would not interfere when Chunnan found a way to build its own Eagle Courier system. But Beiliao and Xiling, which had the same need, would not receive such treatment.

But what Ye Tao first received was not Tan Xiaopei's reply, but an order, issued when the Lianfei party finally arrived in Yuhang, appointing Ye Tao to conduct a series of negotiations with Chunnan. This was not a very formal appointment. In fact, in this era, diplomacy between countries had not yet developed to the point where a professional diplomatic department was needed to handle it. Generally, a high-ranking, sufficiently high-ranking, or suitable candidate was appointed, and then officials from the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, and other departments who were relatively familiar with the situation were sent to assist. In Dongping's political environment, the Intelligence Bureau and the Archives Bureau now had to be added. Tan Xiaopei had even prepared the entire negotiating team for Ye Tao. However, the "full authority" in the order made Ye Tao hesitate. This was truly a test of one's nerves and reason.

Ye Tao had considered how, after agreeing to Chunnan's conditions, he could fulfill the agreement with Chunnan without harming Dongping's military strength. The Dongping army could swagger into Xiling and achieve its goals with a series of much smaller attacks and powerful deterrent actions. Anyway, even if Dongping sent troops, the goal should be to contain. Obtaining actual war results such as land seemed very difficult due to Xiling's unique geographical environment and its still quite powerful strength. Or, it could concentrate its forces to annihilate a part of Xiling, or give Sun Boping, the Taizhou Governor who had now sided with Dongping, a chance to show his worth, so that Sun Boping could rise higher and faster... These were all options that could be listed—options that would not sacrifice too many Dongping soldiers.

But in any case, cooperating with Chunnan's strategy to attack Xiling would definitely affect the deployment against Beiliao in the next few years. The dynasty war to determine Beiliao in one fell swoop was like a bow being drawn wider and wider, already accumulating considerable power. Was he supposed to tell the archer at this time to wait a moment, to wait for him to change the target, or to wait for the archer next to him to finish shooting his target? Compared to the entire Beiliao, the appeal of Ze Province seemed less significant. The problem was that there were always people who wanted to seize all the benefits they could get their hands on without missing a single one. If there were no problems in the future when attacking Beiliao, it would be fine, but if problems arose, this would inevitably be brought up as "evidence" of wrongdoing. Similarly, if Chunnan succeeded in attacking Xiling, there probably wouldn't be any problems, but if Chunnan's counterattack failed this time, he didn't know how much he would be hated. Even the current fragile alliance between the two countries might be broken as a result. And Ye Tao understood very well that the reason Dongping could mobilize a large army to prepare for an attack on Liao was largely because it had Chunnan as an ally, allowing Dongping to recklessly withdraw military forces from the entire southern border without having to guard against attacks from Chunnan. If Chunnan did not succeed in attacking Xiling, then when Dongping attacked Beiliao, it would be hard to say whether they would stab them in the back.

After thinking about it, it seemed that every choice had its advantages and disadvantages, and seemed to have unpleasant aspects. Ye Tao rarely became somewhat anxious. After Lianfei had arrived in Yuhang, all kinds of banquets, garden parties, and other activities followed one after another. Although he knew that staying behind closed doors did not seem like the demeanor of an important Dongping official, no one could find Ye Tao's figure at any banquet.

The first to notice Ye Tao's strange emotions were none other than Dai Qiuyan and Tan Weishi. Although Feng Zi was also present during the talks, he was also considering the advantages and disadvantages of various options, in case Ye Tao asked for his opinion. This was his duty as Ye Tao's most important staff member. In addition, because Ye Tao did not participate in various banquets and social activities, Feng Zi, whose status and position were quite qualified, had to take his place. And Feng Zi, who was knowledgeable and had a good memory, was indeed the kind of model guest who could liven up the atmosphere in various occasions. In the midst of his busy schedule, Feng Zi did not pay much attention to Ye Tao's emotions.

"Brother-in-law, will you go out for a walk with me?" One afternoon, Tan Weishi suddenly asked.

"Oh? Where to?" Ye Tao answered absentmindedly.

Tan Weishi was prepared and said, "How about going to Liudi?" Liudi was the southern section of the two seawalls extending from the port of Yuhang to the north and south wings. It was more than two li long. A bluestone path was built on top of Liudi, and trees were planted on both sides of the road. Since Liudi was a good place to watch the sea view in Yuhang, after Liudi was completed, people continued to move stones to build simple tables and chairs under the shade of the trees. Later, several wealthy families in the vicinity simply joined together to widen the road on top of Liudi by another fold, and the tables and chairs under the shade of the trees were now mostly chiseled from stone, giving it a bit of a park atmosphere. Now that the weather was hot, the Liudi "Park" by the sea was a good place to escape the heat, and there were many hawkers and street performers there, which was very lively.

Ye Tao thought for a while and asked, "Are we going incognito?"

"Of course," Tan Weishi glanced at Ye Tao and said, "If we go with a carriage, what can we see? It's better to let the Chunnan Forbidden Army clear the place first. But it's not interesting to just look at the sea view, it's not like we haven't seen it before."

Tan Weishi, who had once traveled with Ye Tao to Yueya Island of the Seven Seas Trading Company and was entertained by the Seven Seas Trading Company to have a good time in the vicinity, was not very interested in things like sea views. Ye Tao smiled after hearing this and said, "Okay. Then let's get ready and leave. Where's Qiuyan? Isn't she going?"

Tan Weishi smiled and said, "Beauty Song invited your wife to have tea, and it seems that there are several women with very high status attending. I'm afraid they want Qiuyan to paint a portrait. It will probably be evening before she can come back, right?"

"Okay." Ye Tao shook his head gently. Perhaps this was a time deliberately chosen by Tan Weishi, perhaps this was the minimum level of scheming of a woman who had always grown up in the palace. However, this kind of scheming was probably something that Dai Qiuyan herself was willing to cooperate with.

However, no one was disappointed or regretted Tan Weishi's arrangement. Liudi was like a green boundary, separating the gray-brown coastal rock strata, the sea dikes piled up with bluish-gray rubble, the emerald green hills, and the farmland that began to spread out behind the hills. Walking slowly along Liudi, one could see the gentle ocean, as gentle as the country of Chunnan, which had a gentle name. The breeze was gentle, as if they were not facing the sea, but just an oversized lake. Of course, it would not always be like this, otherwise spending a lot of money to build a sea dike would be purely crazy. In another month or two, it would be frequently visited by turbulent scenes such as hurricanes and tsunamis, which were very different from the peace it was currently presenting. This contrast was also very similar to the style of a country like Chunnan.

In this era, things like camisoles were scenery inside the bedroom. And Ye Tao, walking along the seawall all the way, did not seem to have the mind to appreciate the various people coming and going. But Tan Weishi couldn't stand Ye Tao's increasingly faster pace and tugged at his sleeve.

"Brother-in-law, what are you worried about?" Tan Weishi, whose mind was becoming more and more exquisite, asked.

"Your father is giving me a problem again." Ye Tao blurted out.

"Hehe, is it something to discuss with Chunnan? I just heard about it. My father uses you without hesitation, my brother and I know that very well." Tan Weishi said with a smile.

Ye Tao sighed. He stopped and said slowly, "Chunnan wants to send troops to Xiling, and wants us to send troops to cooperate. If they can take four states of Xiling, they will hand over Ze Province to Dongping. From the effort paid and the rewards received, at least it can't be considered a bad deal. I have already written a memorial to report to His Majesty, asking His Majesty to decide. But... no matter what the decision is, it seems that I am needed to do this after all."

Tan Weishi shook her head and said, "Brother-in-law, I dragged you out to relax. Why are you thinking about this kind of thing?"

"Relax?" Ye Tao raised an eyebrow and said, "I didn't know you had so many things to worry about."

"Alas," Tan Weishi sighed, "In terms of thinking and sharpness, the scholars of Dongping now indeed have some foundation, so they won't make a fool of themselves, but when they really come to Yuhang, they know how deep the foundation of Chunnan's vaunted civil administration is. In the series of poetry gatherings and garden parties, it is certainly not easy to gain the upper hand, but if you want to be completely defeated once, you have to see the mood of the host. They are so 'understanding' and 'impeccable' that they are very considerate and will never give people the opportunity to become angry. I don't know where to vent a belly full of anger, it's really too uncomfortable."