Chapter 99 Fat Lamb to the Slaughter (2/2)
After exchanging opinions with the tactician behind him, Renaya clenched his teeth and said, ”The warhorses and crystal coins are no problem, but I can only promise one crystal mine for the time being. I'll try fighting for the other two mines when I return to the empire after the mission is successfully completed.”
With his authority in the military, trading twenty thousand warhorses wouldn't be a problem. And even though a million Purple Crystal Coins was not a small sum, he believed that the finance minister wouldn't give him too much trouble over it. The only issue was the three premium crystal mines. He had heard that the nobles within the country had already begun fighting over them due to the number of crystals they contained. Even his father was feeling the heat from the fights. Renaya was not confident that he could obtain all three of the crystal mines.
Even though twenty thousand warhorses, one crystal mine, and a million Purple Crystal Coins was not a small sum, Renaya was willing to pay any price to foil the plans of the Banto Empire, for the long term interests of his own nation.
Seeing Renaya readily promise one crystal mine, Harribell was incredibly excited despite her unchanging expression. According to reliable information, the three crystal mines contained a large number of crystals. One of those crystal mines contained more crystals than a dozen ordinary crystal mines. They were also easy to harvest. Gaining control of even one crystal mine was a windfall. They would definitely turn a huge profit.
”Thank you for your large gift, prince!” Harribell smiled then continued, ”If you could continue supporting us as you have been, we will not mind gathering a large number of warriors to exhaust the energies of the Banto soldiers over a long period of time. I would think that your empire would be glad to see another independent territory opposing the Banto Empire!”
Independent territory?
When Harribell said this, Renaya looked at Yang Ling, who was still lazily reclining in his chair. Renaya understood that Yang Ling had finally voiced his true request. Yang Ling had played him, and he felt as though he was trying to swallow something bitter.
A wily merchant, a wily merchant even more cunning than a fox!
Renaya's face turned a steel green as he looked at the smiling Yang Ling. As the Twelfth Prince of the Rossi Empire, he had bullied others ever since he was young. All his life, be it leading armies to battle or dealing with the internal politics of his kingdom, he had never once faced such a loss.
”Sir Yang, supporting you as an independent leader is not an issue, but there would be no warhorses, crystal mines, or crystal coins in that case!” Seeing the fuming Renaya, the tactician behind him quickly stepped out and cast a secret Soul Spell to help Renaya calm down quickly.
Goode smiled as he spoke from behind Yang Ling. ”Hehe, with our abilities, we will be able to establish control over Wissen Town even without your support. Somehow I doubt that you will want the independent Wissen Town to side with the Banto Empire, selling them large amounts of various resources at a cheap price!”
Goode's words struck right at Renaya's weakness!
It didn't matter if the Banto Empire directly controlled the resources in Terras Forest or received strategic resources indirectly through Yang Ling; it would be disadvantageous to the Rossi Empire either way.
Renaya understood that after receiving a large amount of resources, the Banto Empire would not only avert their financial crisis, but they could also strengthen their military significantly, obtaining the upper hand in their border skirmishes with the Rossi Empire. This outcome would be unacceptable to Renaya's father, who hoped to expand their territory.
Also, the Rossi Empire was now conducting a large scale invasion of the Apennine Plains to the north. If they were to enter a large scale conflict with the Banto Empire in the south, they would be stuck in a battle on both sides. That could be disastrous.
With time being tight and the worsening situation, Renaya had no choice but to accept once again. With the negotiations of his tactician, he finally got Yang Ling's promise to mobilize his troops immediately for the price of ten thousand Gaul Warhorses, one crystal mine near the Livenza border, five hundred thousand Purple Crystal Coins, and the Rossi Empire's support of Yang Ling as an independent leader.