Summoning the Peak of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 2945 Liu Xiu: Need to pay more

Chapter 2941 Liu Xiu: Need to pay more

Although the Shu Han high-level officials did not think that the identities of the two women were fake, they still showed two completely different attitudes towards the purpose of the two women's visit.

The conservatives led by Zhang Song and Xu Shu believed that no risks should be taken, and felt that after the defeat in Yinan, Shu Han could no longer afford any major losses.

However, the radical faction led by Su Qin and Shen Yiji believed that in times of great contention, if one does not fight, one will die. If they do not try their best, after the Qin Dynasty destroys the Wei, Song and Ming kingdoms, Shu Han will have no chance to fight even if it wants to.

Liu Yu was a gambler with no lack of adventurous spirit. He was able to get to where he is today because he won the gamble he made in the past. Not only did he defeat his arch-enemy Liu Ji, but he also seized power. Now the opportunity to make a fortune through colonization was right in front of him, so even though there were risks, he still decided to give it a try.

"Ying Hao, if this is really a scam you set up, then I will accept the loss even if I have to bear it."

Liu Yu gritted his teeth and muttered to himself, then adopted the opinions of the radicals and summoned envoys from Wei and Japan into the hall.

At the same time, outside the main hall.

Just when the two women wanted to strike up a conversation with each other to find out more about each other, a voice came from inside the hall asking them to come in.

"Your Majesty has ordered that the envoys from Wei and Japan come to the throne."

Upon hearing this, Cao Ying and Luo Xian looked at each other and strode in at the same time.

After seeing the two women, Liu Yu was also a little surprised. Although he knew that the envoys from the two countries were both women, he did not expect that both of them were stunning beauties.

"Are Cao Cao and Japan trying to use a beauty trap on me?"

Liu Yu thought to himself, and at the same time was a little annoyed. After all, his reputation was originally very good, but because of the forced marriage to Lu Zhi, he was also branded as a lustful man and a bully of his widowed sister-in-law.

But the reason why Liu Yu married Lu Zhi was to appease Liu Ji's old subordinates, not because he was really lustful. You know, he was a Buddhist disciple.

However, Liu Yu had already gained the benefits, so naturally he would not care about some bad reputation.

  So what if I’m called lustful?

Except for a few, all the princes in the world were accused of being lustful. Wasn't Ying Hao the same?

"Humph, it's just a beauty trap, Cao Cao, you underestimate me too much."

Liu Yu thought in a somewhat unhappy mood, while the two women below saluted and said, "Wei Envoy Cao Ying (Emperor of Japan Luo Xian) pays homage to Your Majesty."

"No gift."

Liu Yu waved his hand, signaling the two women to stand up. He was too lazy to talk nonsense with them and asked them directly to state their purpose.

Afterwards, Luo Xian and Cao Ying reiterated the purpose of their mission in front of all the civil and military officials of Shu Han.

The Shu Han high-ranking officials already knew the purpose of the two women's visit, but after hearing what the parties involved said in person, including Liu Yu and Su Qin, they all had completely different feelings.

No one could have imagined that the total population of a mere four islands and one state was only three or four million, but the total military strength of the eight forces including Qin, Wei, Song, Ming, Wu and Japan was almost reaching nearly 800,000.

"My goodness, the situation in Yingzhou has become so chaotic. It is probably no less serious than the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the Central Plains during the period of the warlords."

This was not Liu Yu's idea alone, but most people would think so after knowing this. After all, the level of chaos in Yingzhou was indeed far beyond the tolerance of a single state.

In addition, Liu Yu only knew that there were many gold mines in Yingzhou, but he did not have a clear idea of ​​the exact number. Now he finally knew it.

Shu Han was also a major mining country, and now relied on gold mining to maintain its finances. However, Shu Han's gold mines were not only small in scale, but also difficult to mine. That was why Liu Yu mobilized 100,000 miners to dig a small gold mine. However, due to the limitations of mining technology, they basically could not dig any more in the later stages.

But Yingzhou is different. Not only are there a large number of gold and silver mines with high ore purity, but the mining difficulty is also low. The shallow ore alone is enough to be mined for hundreds of years.

It turns out that Yingzhou has so many gold and silver mines. No wonder Qin, Wei, Song, Ming and other countries were unwilling to give up Yingzhou. Instead, they fought for their lives on a small island. This is simply picking up money. Liu Yu thought excitedly.

"...If the Han Dynasty, as the Celestial Empire, is willing to send troops to support small countries like ours, Japan is willing to offer 10% of the profits from Iwami Silver Mine, and all your army's war gains will belong to your army." Luo Xian said in a deep voice.

Although Toyotomi Hideyoshi offered 30% of the profits, it was a negotiation and he never revealed his bottom price right at the beginning. If he aroused the greed of Shu Han, he would ask for a higher price and the result would be counterproductive.

When Liu Yu heard that the profit was only 10% and it was just a silver mine, he immediately showed displeasure on his face. He felt that Japan was looking down on him and treating him like a beggar, and only gave him 10% of the profit from a silver mine.

"It seems that you Japanese don't have any sincerity..."

Before Liu Yu finished speaking, Su Qin leaned close to his ear and whispered to him, "Your Majesty, Shijian Silver Mine is the largest silver mine in Yingzhou. Even if only 10% of the silver produced is produced, its value is higher than that of our small gold mine."

Su Qin actually didn't know the exact output of Iwami Silver Mine, but even if it was just an estimate, he could get a rough idea. After all, Iwami Silver Mine was a super large silver mine, while the gold mine in Shu was only a small one.

"What……"

Liu Yu was shocked when he heard this, but he couldn't lose his composure in front of the envoys of the two countries. He could only suppress his shock and continue to negotiate with them while communicating with Su Qin through secret language.

"Military Advisor, 10% is definitely not Japan's bottom line. Cooperate with me later, and we will force Japan to reveal its bottom price."

Under the combined torture of Liu Yu and Su Qin, how could the little girl Luo Xian bear it? She soon revealed her true colors. After that, no matter how Liu Yu forced her, she refused to back down, which made Liu Yu and Su Qin realize that this was the bottom line of Japan.

Thirty percent was enough to excite Liu Yu, but he still did not agree. Instead, he used the excuse of considering it, but actually discussed it with Su Qin.

After the meeting, Liu Yu couldn't wait to ask Su Qin: "Military Advisor, I didn't expect Japan to be so generous. It seems that I have to go to Yingzhou."

Su Qin's eyes flashed with a gleam of light, and he sneered, "Your Majesty, the Japanese used our great Han and Japanese as a breakthrough point, not the Chu State. It seems that there is a master behind the scenes to help them."

"Oh?"

“Your Majesty, Japan offered us 30% of the silver revenue to lure our army to the island. On the surface, it seems that we are taking advantage, but in fact, it is Japan that is making a big profit.

First of all, our army has no navy. If we want to go out to sea, we must rely on the navy of Chu. Chu and Han are iron allies. When Han sent troops to aid Japan, Chu had to follow suit even if it was unwilling. Secondly, Han had no access to the sea. No matter how many troops were sent to the island or how much territory was conquered, they were just rootless duckweed. So before we had access to the sea and a navy, all Han could get in Yingzhou was money.

Finally, the Han Dynasty, without a navy and access to the sea, poses no threat to the Japanese. In order to survive in the chaotic situation in Yingzhou, they must rely on the Japanese, obey their orders, and follow their lead. "

"hiss……"

After listening to Su Qin's analysis, Liu Yu took a deep breath. He had already felt something was wrong. Was the Japanese envoy from thousands of miles away coming to him just to give him money? As expected, the dark calculations behind the scenes frightened even him.

"It's a good price."

After figuring out the key, Liu Yu gritted his teeth and said, "The Japanese paid only 30% of the silver mountain's revenue, but not only did they gain two powerful countries as allies, they also made a powerful army obey their orders. The Japanese calculations are really smart."

You know, Liu Yu is a person who only wants to get a bargain and is unwilling to suffer a loss. He was originally very satisfied with the 30% profit and felt that he had made a profit. However, after learning that after Shu Han intervened, Japan would be able to gain so many benefits, he naturally would not feel that he had taken advantage. With an unbalanced mentality, he was naturally no longer satisfied with his previous gains.

Liu Yu now wants to get more, but he also knows that 30% is Japan's bottom line, and Luo Xian is just an envoy and cannot be the master of Japan at all.

It is not a good idea to continue the negotiations because there will definitely be disputes. The distance between the two countries is still too far, and communicating too frequently through carrier pigeons will increase the risk of being intercepted.

If the carrier pigeon flying to Yingzhou was intercepted by the Qin army, and the Qin army learned that the Han army was about to go to sea, and set up an ambush along the way in advance, then the army coming to aid Japan would be doomed.

Although Shu Han could not send too many troops out to sea in order to guard against the southern barbarians of the Han Dynasty, there were at least 20,000 or 30,000 troops. Any fewer would be ineffective. But even so, it was impossible to send 20,000 or 30,000 troops to die.

Liu Yu thought about it but could not think of any good solution, but he really did not want to give up this opportunity to colonize, so he could only ask for help from his strategist Su Qin.

But Su Qin was not omnipotent. After thinking for a while, he said, "Your Majesty, our Han Dynasty has no room for external expansion for the time being. If we want to obtain the financial resources to recover the war damage in the short term, we can only swallow this loss first.

Once we have fully recovered with the help of Yingzhou's financial resources, and after joining forces with Chu to destroy the Nanman and gain access to the sea, not only will all of Japan's schemes be wiped out, but the Han will also have a colony that can provide continuous funding."

Hearing Su Qin's words, Liu Yu sighed helplessly: "Alas, I never thought that there would be a day when I would be plotted against by the Japanese."

Afterwards, Liu Yu wrote a personal letter to Liu Xiu, explaining the reasons for his military expedition and inviting the State of Chu to participate in the colonization with him.

After finalizing the issue of Chu, Liu Yu ordered Zhang Hao, the younger brother of the late general Zhang Ren, who had performed brilliantly in the Battle of Yinan, to be the chief general and lead 30,000 Shu troops. On the surface, he was supporting the Chu army to attack Wu, but in fact he was going straight to Jingzhou to aid Japan.

On the other side, Liu Xiu, who had reaped great rewards since the attack on Wu, was now being blocked by Sun Ce in Jianye City.

As the capital of Wu, Jianye was undoubtedly a strong city. Liu Xiu thought that since he had won victory after victory and Wu army's morale was low, it should be an easy task for him to capture Jianye. However, he did not expect that with Sun Ce personally guarding the city, Wu army's morale was pulled back, and the Chu army was plunged into a tough battle.

Compared to Sun Quan, who could be easily controlled, his brother Sun Ce was undoubtedly much more difficult to deal with.

After half a month of siege, Liu Xiu tried every possible strategy including fire attack, digging, water diversion, and psychological warfare, but not only did he fail to capture Jianye, he also suffered heavy losses and wasted a lot of equipment and resources.

If the battle continues like this, Jianye might be captured, but the loss would be something Liu Xiu could not bear.

Liu Xiu also didn't want to use up all his main forces just for the city of Jianye, so he could only suspend the offensive and besiege the city first. After the battle in the rear was completely decided, he would solve the big problem of Jianye.

Liu Xiu, who was having a headache because of his great enemy Sun Ce, immediately became alert after receiving the message from Liu Yu. After all, he had been wanting to carry out overseas colonization for a long time.

Although the recent sale of prisoners of war and warships had made Chu a huge profit from the three Central Plains kingdoms and it no longer had to worry about the funds for the attack on Wu, the governance and development after the destruction of Wu would still require a lot of money.

For a monarch with outstanding abilities who wants to achieve something, money is never enough, and the only solution is to create more opportunities to make money.

Now that Liu Yu has taken the initiative to bring the opportunity to make money to his doorstep, how could Liu Xiu let it go? So he immediately summoned advisers such as Pang Tong, Kuai Liang, Kuai Yue, and Liao Li to discuss the matter.

The Chu State was not as divided as the Shu State. Not only did no one oppose it, but they all agreed to send troops to aid Japan and then colonize Yingzhou. However, there were differences over the conditions for sending troops.

Liu Yu was plotted against by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and was naturally very unhappy. Although he did not say it clearly in the letter, he still hinted to Liu Xiu vaguely that it was not that he wanted to borrow a boat to go out to sea, but that Japan offered too much and he could not refuse it at all. The implication was that Liu Xiu should also try to get some benefits.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi originally wanted to get something for free from the State of Chu through the State of Shu, but after being schemed by the narrow-minded Liu Yu, it became clear that it was impossible for him to get something for free.

Luo Xian, who was following the Shu army to the Jiangling Water Fort in Jingzhou, received a reply letter from Liu Xiu halfway. He learned that Liu Xiu was willing to provide warships for the Han army and transport the Han army to Yingzhou, but the Chu army would not participate in the war. Luo Xian was completely stunned.

Luo Xian originally thought the same as Toyotomi Hideyoshi, thinking that the great opportunity for colonization was right before their eyes and the Chu army would not miss it. However, Liu Xiu now told her that the Chu army was only responsible for transportation and would return after completing the task.

Thousands of kilometers, it’s a wasted trip, just transport it back?

Liu Xiu, are you sure you are not kidding?

Luo Xian naturally understood that Liu Xiu was not running a charity, he was using this to threaten Japan to negotiate terms, and it also made her understand that it was impossible for her junior brother to get something for free from the Chu State.

Luo Xian didn't dare to delay any longer, and immediately rushed to Jiangling Water Fort on horseback. After boarding a speedboat of the Chu army, he went downstream all the way to Jianye.

When Luo Xian arrived at Jianye, the attack and defense of Jianye was still going on. The Chu army seemed to be making a lot of noise, but they did not launch a strong attack. They just used catapults and crossbows to continuously consume the Wu army in Jianye city.

  Luo Xian naturally didn't care about these. After meeting Liu Xiu, she first flattered him and then praised Liu Ji for being righteous and for raising an army thousands of miles away. She seemed to be trying to morally blackmail him, but with Liu Xiu's political wisdom, how could he possibly fall for this?

Liu Xiu first cried bitterly to Luo Xian, saying how great the losses were incurred by Chu in its attack on Wu, and how they were unable to allocate troops before completely destroying Wu.

"I heard that Shu and Chu are the two countries that are protecting the Iron Alliance. They will rise together and fall together. Now, Your Majesty, do you want to watch your allies fight alone overseas?"

Hearing Luo Xian's words, Liu Xiu immediately said with a painful expression: "Miss, you misunderstood. Liu Yu is my flesh and blood, my brother. I don't want to sit idly by, but I really have no power, unless..."

"Unless what?"

Facing Luo Xian's questioning, Liu Xiu reluctantly said, "You have to pay more."

Luo Xian: “…”