The Duke of Cao returned covered in glory, and the King of Ji was exceedingly delighted. Yet every prominent minister in court knew perfectly well that it did not amount to a damn thing.
What truly mattered were the three commanderies and the indemnity of a hundred million taels. As for treaty ports, caravan passage, and extraterritoriality, the court grandees considered them of little consequence.
Even sending the Crown Prince or Princess as hostages could be swallowed with gritted teeth, so long as a proper, respectable pretext was concocted. After all, the King of Ji was still in the prime of his life; if need be, he could produce an endless stream of progeny.
Thus, after bestowing a few rewards upon the Duke of Cao, the King of Ji began searching for a new envoy.
The moment the discussion opened, Sun Chao'en immediately stepped forward from the ranks and declared in a ringing voice, "The Minister of War possesses immense prestige and selfless devotion to the realm! If his esteemed self takes the field, success is assured!"
A shiver ran down the Minister of War's spine. Glaring viciously at Sun Chao'en, he gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, this old subject has recently been plagued by ailments, to the point that merely standing is a grueling ordeal. I had intended to request permission to retire to my hometown in the coming days, so I am truly unfit to shoulder such a grave duty. I beg Your Majesty to look into the matter!"
The King of Ji asked with apparent concern, "Your complexion looks quite well, dear minister. Do you truly wish to retire to your hometown?"
The Minister of War steeled himself and said, "This subject does indeed possess this wish, and begs Your Majesty's gracious consent!"
The King of Ji sighed and said, "Granted."
The assembled courtiers were stunned; none had expected the King of Ji would not offer even a token polite refusal. The Minister of War was equally taken aback. Only after a beat did he kneel to offer thanks for the royal grace, then returned to his place in line, maintaining complete silence.
Sun Chao'en's gaze swept over the ministers once more, sending waves of dread through the assembly. At that moment, the Duke of Wei stepped boldly forward and said, "Such a momentous mission can fall to none other than Minister Sun!"
With one person taking the lead, the other ministers who felt their own heads on the line instantly found their guiding light. They chimed in one after another, praising Sun Chao'en as a virtuous minister seldom seen through the ages and peerless across a millennium, insisting the great task of peace negotiations could belong to no one else.
Sun Chao'en declined vehemently, but against such an overwhelming tide of sentiment, he could only resign himself to it: "I am willing to ease Your Majesty's burdens!"
Greatly pleased, the King of Ji kicked Sun Chao'en off to Qingming, urging him to go and return swiftly. During the days Sun Chao'en was absent, Cai Miao's allure was halved.
When Sun Chao'en arrived before the walls of Guantun City, the person sent to receive him was merely a commandant. Not only did Wei Yuan not show himself, but not a single cultivator from the Palace of Grand Beginning made an appearance either.
Many in the delegation secretly gloated, eagerly waiting to see Sun Chao'en make a fool of himself. Sun Chao'en's reputation in court was thoroughly abysmal at present, a quintessential model of a treacherous official, and every righteous soul yearned to watch him suffer a spectacular fall.
For this round of negotiations, Qingming dispatched Wang Hu. Wang Hu spent the entire session looking indolent and bored. No matter how eloquently the Ji officials argued their points, he offered only a single reply: "No."
Thus, the first day of negotiations ended in failure, having achieved nothing.
Only after night fell did Wei Yuan pay a visit to Sun Chao'en's quarters. Meeting once again, both men were filled with emotion.
Wei Yuan examined Sun Chao'en's physical condition carefully, then said, "You carry heavy resentment and malevolent qi right now, along with no small amount of negative karma. Such is the consequence of being condemned by a thousand pointing fingers."
Sun Chao'en asked, "Will it affect my cultivation?"
Wei Yuan pondered for a moment, then said, "Originally, given your natural talent, forming a heart-image world was virtually impossible, so it wouldn't have affected you—that was your upper limit, after all. But times have changed. I have found many methods and obtained abundant resources to gradually improve everyone's dharma body and constitutional bone, so Scenery Command is no longer out of reach. With hope of a breakthrough, your current state will not do. Later on, I'll plan things out properly for you and strive to turn it into karmic luck blessing your person."
Sun Chao'en was naturally both shocked and overjoyed, his voice trembling slightly as he asked, "I still have hope of a breakthrough?"
"Naturally. As long as you are blessed with karmic luck, over time your constitutional bone will naturally be transformed. Moreover, through Qingming's Splendor of the Many Realms, it can assist you in perfecting your heart-image world."
Sun Chao'en let out a long sigh. "Yet being blessed with karmic luck—how easily said!"
"It does not matter. Once affairs in the State of Ji are settled, if you no longer wish to serve in officialdom, you can come to Qingming to govern a city. As long as you govern properly and earn the love of the common people, attaining a blessing of karmic luck is not difficult."
Sun Chao'en considered this for a moment, then shook his head. "A blessing of karmic luck is so precious, and many fellow disciples from the Palace of Grand Beginning have fought alongside you to this day. The posts of city lord are limited—how could I be qualified to occupy one?"
Wei Yuan smiled. "This is merely the beginning. In the future, we will have many people and many cities. Not only will the seat of city lord not be scarce, there will even be a surplus."
As the two were speaking, a gray-robed young man suddenly appeared in the room. It was none other than Cangwu. Seating himself leisurely, he said, "You two certainly seem to be having a lively chat."
Wei Yuan was not surprised in the least. Even face-to-face with an immortal, he remained seated without budging and said, "Minister Sun was preparing to sell out the interests of the State of Ji, and returning the favor, I was about to offer Minister Sun ample benefits by way of a bribe."
Cangwu frowned slightly. "Why are you not afraid of me at all?"
Wei Yuan said calmly, "Senior has merely sent down a projected avatar, possessing at most the strength of mid-stage Scenery Command. What is there for me to fear? I imagine Senior would not risk your true self. Since Senior has come, you naturally come to negotiate terms."
Cangwu nodded slightly and said slowly, "As expected of someone who caught that lord's eye. That is right, I have come this time precisely to negotiate terms with you."
Sun Chao'en looked at Cangwu, then at Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan remarked, "This senior is the immortal currently backing your State of Ji. We have fought several battles in the past. Oh—though I don't know Senior's name."
"My name is Cangwu."
Sun Chao'en rose and bowed. "Greetings, Immortal Lord Cangwu."
Cangwu waved a hand. "Spare the pleasantries. I care nothing for your colluding with Wei Yuan; besides, those who don't collude do an even worse job than you."
Cangwu turned to Wei Yuan and said, "I need you to withdraw completely from Guantun County and the two neighboring counties. As compensation, I will grant you a meteorite core, which can serve as the foundation of a grotto-heaven."
Wei Yuan smiled faintly. "An otherworldly star core? That is quite a generous offer. However, Senior has seen for yourself that Guantun County and the surrounding regions have already been developed into a state of extreme prosperity. That is not something ten or twenty million taels of immortal silver can make up for."
Cangwu knitted his brows. "Then what do you want?"
Wei Yuan said, "Very simple. I know that Senior and the one behind you wish to cull the population. Under the Heavenly Dao today, the karmic backlash born of wholesale slaughter carries hidden dangers and complications, even if methods exist to handle it. So the population Senior wishes to cull might as well be given to me. Thirty to fifty million is something I can still take in."
Cangwu's brows furrowed deeper. "That simple? There is no need to cull so many right now. Thirty million is out of the question; twenty million at most."
"Fifty million!"
"There is no room for bargaining. Only twenty million."
"If it is only twenty million, you must add the star core. If you give me thirty million people, I will forgo the star core."
Cangwu said, "You already possess the Sun and Moon Grotto-Heaven. If you add an otherworldly great star, the sun, moon, and star will form a complete whole. From then on, your path of Dao would be unobstructed, like adding wings to a tiger! Can you truly give up such a momentous treasure for a mere ten million mortals?"
Without a second thought, Wei Yuan answered immediately, "I can give it up."
Cangwu took a deep, lingering look at Wei Yuan, then said, "...Deal."
In the spring of the fifth year of Hongjing, Sun Chao'en concluded a secret treaty with Wei Yuan and returned triumphantly to the capital. This treaty was named the Treaty of Guantun, under which Wei Yuan would withdraw from all occupied territory of the State of Ji, equivalent to ceding the three counties including Guantun, while also paying an indemnity of one million taels of immortal silver.
At the same time, they signed the Qing-Ji Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation, encompassing provisions such as opening trade routes, treaty ports, and extraterritoriality—clauses that ordinary folk found nothing amiss with upon reading.
These were the treaties on the surface. The secret pact contained only a single clause: within three months, thirty million mortals were to be relocated into the domain of the Mountain Folk.
Chapter 1072