Chapter 383: Chapter 206: Aristocratic Families Submit _2
Translator: 549690339
So now, if Lu Yuan feels that the rewards given by the court are not enough and wants a little more, what’s there to be ashamed of?
After all, without him, the court would not only fail to protect the current eight prefectures, but it would also be a question of whether it would even exist.
With such great merit, is it too much to ask the court for a small Dongting County?
No, it is not excessive.
On the contrary, it is the court that, when faced with such a great contributor and a vassal with hundreds of thousands of troops, offers only half a county as a reward. Is this how they treat a beggar?
Yang Jing has dissatisfaction in his heart, and Lu Yuan has even more dissatisfaction!
So after responding to a sentence from above, seeing that Yang Jing seemed to want to say something back, he immediately said: “General Yang, is your purpose in coming here to quarrel with me on behalf of the court?
If so, then I have important matters to attend to and cannot entertain you. Please go back on your own and report to the court.
If not, then restrain your temper.
This is Dongting County, not Linhai County, not Jinling City, and no one will tolerate the temper of your court aristocratic families.”
Lu Yuan’s decisive and unfeeling words immediately choked Yang Jing, who had wanted to vent his anger through their friendship: “You…”
Realistically speaking, what kind of friendship does Lu Yuan have with him?
Back at the Inescapable Meeting, it was nothing more than a naked transaction.
The court gives a title of one of the top ten Grandmasters, and Lu Yuan provides assistance with his power of Inborn for the reward of half a county.
As for the secret of Breaking through Innate, even without the help Yang Jing provided, Lu Yuan’s accumulation would have been sufficient, at most two or three months slower, not a significant favor.
Moreover, to be honest, half a county in exchange for the combat power of an Inborn Grandmaster is not considered unreasonable.
This is also the reason why Grandmasters Jihui, Yan Wangqiu, and their generation agreed to the court’s terms.
But in addition to Lu Yuan’s Innate combat power, he has under his command a hundred thousand soldiers, two hundred thousand militia, and six fiefdoms!
According to the “Decree on Local Self-Recruitment of Militias to Resist Bandits” issued by the court, all these territories belong to those who reclaim lost lands and can be ruled by them.
Legally, they already belong to Lu Yuan.
Now that he is asked to give up the territories he already possesses, and move to the desolate Nine River Sword Sect, where birds don’t even defecate, and still desperately help the court repel the Zhou invaders, only then can he get half a county.
You tell me, who can accept such a thing?
Others may not agree, but Lu Yuan will not.
So, the current situation is to unite the Nanhai Sect and the Nine River Sword Sect, and put pressure on the court together.
Having analyzed all these points, Yang Jing’s desire to talk about favors with Lu Yuan was purely wishful thinking.
So when he realized this, although he was still in a hurry, he could only say, “So, what do you want? To directly turn against the court? Don’t you even want to talk to the court?”
Seeing that his tone had softened, Lu Yuan finally relaxed his expression and looked towards the left and right: “This is not a place for conversation. Let’s go into the camp first.”
Having said that, he led Yang Jing, along with several imperial deputy envoys, into the main tent to discuss business.
Upon arriving at the tent, the personal guards served good tea and went out with a knowing look.
Then, following Lu Yuan’s previous instructions, they immediately blocked off the area around the tent for ten meters, declaring it off-limits and allowing no one to approach.
Inside the camp, there were only four Inborn Grandmasters, Lu Yuan and the others, as well as Yang Jing and the two deputy envoys from the court.
Everyone took their seats and sipped their tea heavily, feeling emotionally settled as Lu Yuan finally said: “This time, Brother Yan, Brother Su, and I ask for three counties to establish our fiefdoms. We have chosen Dongting, Southsea, and Yulin.”
Having thought about it, Lu Yuan didn’t mention any twists and turns, and directly stated his own conditions.
“This is impossible!”
Hearing Lu Yuan’s conditions, the anger that Yang Jing had just suppressed suddenly flared up again, and he slammed the table with his hand: “The court now has only eight prefectures. How dare you ask for three of them all at once?
The court can at most give you half a county per person, and nothing beyond that is possible.”
For the court, if they give Lu Yuan and the others a county each, what will the White Phoenix Temple and Guanhai Villa think when they hear about this?
Wouldn’t they also want one county per family?
If it really comes to that, the court would have to give out five counties all at once, leaving only three in their hands.
And if that happens, would Da Yue, with just three counties left, still be called Da Yue?
So, from Yang Jing’s point of view, the demands of Lu Yuan and the others are simply delusional and unreasonable.
“I now hold a whole county, and the court wants to give me half a county, do they want to take away half a county from me?”
Seeing Yang Jing’s reaction, Lu Yuan was also quite angry and said: “If that’s the case, then fine, let the court give me half a county of Yuzhang. I will only ask for half a county, and have no complaints.”
Considering the wealth of Yuzhang Prefecture, even half a county would be richer in population and finances than the whole of Dongting.
So if the court were willing to give up this half-county as an exchange, Lu Yuan could accept it.
But can the court?
Yang Jing immediately shook his head: “Yuzhang is close to the Capital, and it is the gateway to the Capital. It cannot be given to someone else. General Lu, please stop with the wishful thinking.”