Chapter 416 Cao Caos Bargain (2/2)
Yet, Cao Cao regained his composure and bargained, ”How much can you give me for Jibei?”
”300,000 gold and 300,000 tons of provision.”
”…”
Cao Cao did not want to accept it right away as the price was not fair. Still, he had to since Tong could always ask him to give his cities away for free.
The only reason that stopped Tong from sending the decree to Cao Cao was the political backlash. Had he done so, the news would be leaked by spies and his men. Civilians around the country would have assumed that Cao Cao was no longer Tong's vessel, and a war between the two would be coming soon.
This would damage the public order and his development in border regions, such as Pingyuan, Ganling, Beihai, and Henei.
Before Tong could go against Cao Cao in public, he had to finish developing these regions first. Then, he could snowball against Cao Cao Army without being hindered by his kingdom's internal affair.
Cao Cao was aware of Tong's weaknesses, but he could not exploit it. His forces, too, were not ready to clash against a giant like Tong's half-a-million-man army.
To defeat Tong, Cao Cao needed more territories and talented personal.
Unfortunately, he had to sacrifice one for his growth.
”Deal.”
Cao Cao accepted the unfavorable terms.
Tong smiled. He scored another commandery without shedding a drop of blood, which was ideal for his unification conquest.
Still, he wanted to exploit Cao Cao right now as he was in his weakest state.
”I doubt that 300,000 gold and provision is enough to attack Sun Fang. Do you have anything else to sell? I'll give you a better price. For example, Puyang produces the same value of taxes and harvest, but I'll give you 400,000 gold and 400,000 tons of food for it.”
Listened to Tong's bait, Cao Cao was on the verge of snapping and punch Tong in the face.
He slowly exhaled, glaring at the emperor, ”No. But I have something else to sell. Do you buy information?”
Tong leaned back on his throne, not interested in information trade. Since he had many intelligence agents, he would eventually get all info on the land.
”Depends. What kind of information?”
Cao Cao gulped as he took risks telling Tong this information. In reality, Cao Cao wanted to keep it a secret.
”Imperial Seal.”
Two words silenced the hall.
The seal had been lost for years, which worried many Han loyalists. The intelligence agents reported that it was with Yuan Shu, but Tong could not take it since he had to create another war front, which was unfavorable to Tong.
Had he done so, Cao Cao would have acquired an opening. This cunning fox would have attacked his cities and found more weaknesses that Tong had.
Not all legions had elites! There were some newbies and trainees among them. Furthermore, not everyone was outfitted with steel gears since blacksmiths could not produce many knight armors and weapons within a short period. Some of them were still using bronze or iron gears.
These were the weakness that Tong concealed from all intelligence agencies. Until they were ready, they had to hide and train. But that was another story.
Now that Yuan Shu's forces were destroyed, they were looking for the seal's whereabouts.
Tong clicked his tongue. Although the Imperial Seal was insignificant to him, to others like Lu Zhi and Sima Fang, it represented the emperor's authority.
As the current emperor of the Han Dynasty, Tong needed that seal.
”How much?”
Cao Cao grinned, ”I want Jibei back.”
”In other words, you want 300,000 gold and 300,000 food for the Imperial Seal's whereabouts?”
”Your majesty is wise.”
”…”
Tong rolled his eyes and shook his head, ”No deal.”
All officers and Cao Cao were surprised, ”You don't want to seal back?”
”A piece of jade doesn't worth more than the lives of my soldiers! I won't shed single blood for that stupid seal!”
Military commanders in the throne room shed tears of gratitude while Xun Yu and Lu Zhi nodded in approval. Had Tong and Cao Cao fought for Jibei, there would have been at least 100,000 casualties.
”You are an unpredictable emperor, your majesty.”
”I believe I'm the opposite. I value my men over objects.”
”Very well, I have nothing else to bargain. I'll concede with selling Jibei.”
”Too bad. I want Puyang, too.”
”That's unfortunate.”
Cao Cao and Tong smiled at each other, but none of them hide their killing intent. Although Tong's warrior aura was more superior to Cao Cao's aura, the latter's mental strength was strong enough to withstand a four-winged demon's aura suppression.
.
.
.
Cao Ang visited Cao Cao after the meeting. They spent a day chatting, telling stories about their lives.
Cao Cao was happy that Tong did not mistreat his son. Still, a sign of brainwashing could be noticed in Cao Ang's speech.
His eldest son praised Ye's government system, which was free from private armies and the influence of all noble clans. All authority came from the perspective departments, which balanced the power between officials. Civilians got richer as Tong created more jobs for them. Idle farmers had something to do, including women.
Still, there was some dissatisfaction. Tong did not allow nobles to acquire lands for some reason. Te Langpu wanted Tong to sell properties to nobles and civilians, but Tong was against it since it might breed corruption and embezzlement. Until they unified the country, no one should possess any land.
Cao Cao took notes and left with caravans the day after, carrying boxes of gold. Wagons with provision also followed after them. However, Cao Ang remained in the city since he was still serving Tong as a hostage.
Cao Cao texted his men in his clan chat to evict from Jibei. Also, they had to take every soldier, gold, and supplies from the region, not leaving anything for Tong.
Tong also texted Zhao Yun to move from Pingyuan to Jibei with their legion. Also, he sent the new guys, Huang Wan and Hua Xin, to fill the vacant governor roles.
Hua Xin was transferred to Shangdang while Huang Wan was sent to replace Zhao Yun's role as a governor in Pingyuan.
Now, all commanderies under Tong's rule had a governor.