Unlike the tense anticipation of Hao Zhou’s soldiers, Wen Yuesheng walked slowly, only accompanied by Zhang Yulin, exuding an air of leisure, far from the appearance of someone heading to a battlefield.

However, the more at ease she appeared, the more on edge the Hao Zhou generals became.

Over the course of the past three months, every battle that Wen Yuesheng had been involved in had ended in victory, allowing the generals of Hao Zhou to truly understand the strength of this Princess of Da Hui.

Behind her was the towering, muscular Zhang Yulin, and with every step he took, the heavy purple-gold hammers strapped to his body clashed with a loud sound.

But even the imposing Zhang Yulin could not compare to Wen Yuesheng’s presence.

She didn’t even carry a weapon, yet she had already made countless Hao Zhou generals feel a chill down their spines, their bodies taut with tension.

As she approached the peace talks tent, the generals of Hao Zhou had already surrounded Yu Shun, keeping him under tight guard. Many of them stood nervously, eyes trained on her.

“This scene…” Lu Qinghuai, standing not far away, squinted and remarked, “If someone didn’t know better, they might think the princess is here to kill Yu Shun, look at how tense they are.”

Lu Zhenguo furrowed his brows and, hearing this, coldly retorted, “Stop talking nonsense.”

Today’s peace talks involved a total of 600,000 soldiers.

One wrong move could lead to a brutal battle.

Although none of the generals had accompanied Wen Yuesheng, they were equally nervous.

Hao Zhou was the same.

The atmosphere along the entire frontier was tense.

Amid the deadlock, Wen Yue Sheng, accompanied by Zhang Yulin, reached the main tent.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she stood still, Yu Shun waved away the nearby generals.

The generals hesitated, but out of respect for Yu Shun’s strength, they reluctantly stepped back.

Only Chu Liehong and Tai Lan remained by Yu Shun’s side.

After dismissing his generals, Tai Lan had the area around them cleared, leaving only a few tables and chairs beneath the sparse main tent.

The conditions were simple, but Yu Shun still had a pot of lotus seed tea prepared for her.

He stepped forward, sat at the table, and lightly gestured, “Princess, please.”

Wen Yuesheng held a string of jade Buddha beads in her right hand, which Yan Ling had specially sourced for her after returning to the capital and had asked Yan Wei to deliver.

However, unlike before, she did not wear the beads on her wrist. Instead, she held them in her hand and, after sitting down, gently placed them on the table.

Clink.

The turquoise beads were particularly eye-catching against the black table.

Tai Lan, standing behind Yu Shun, felt his eyelids twitch involuntarily.

After the battle at Chui Xi Town, Ji Lan had been tragically killed.

It was said that before Wen Yue Sheng made her move that day, she had removed the Buddha beads from her wrist.

Now seeing her place the beads down again, how could they not be afraid?

Yu Shun’s gaze also fell on the beads, and after a long moment, he finally spoke softly, “Today, Hao Zhou, as a defeated nation, has come to seek peace with Da Hui.”

Upon hearing this, the surroundings fell into silence.

Not far away, Lu Zhenguo, Duke Zhongyong, and the others had their expressions shift slightly. The two exchanged a look, their eyes filled with complex emotions.

Before this, they had considered many possibilities, all centered around Hao Zhou’s motives for seeking peace.

Especially after the recent events in the capital, they had believed that Hao Zhou’s peace offering was merely a strategy to buy time, with the ultimate goal of stirring up internal strife in Da Hui, rather than truly seeking peace.

So, when they came today, they had prepared for battle.

But no one had expected Yu Shun to genuinely wish for peace.

Wen Yue Sheng raised her eyes and locked gazes with him, remaining silent at his words.

Yu Shun, seeing her dark, ink-like eyes, faltered for a moment, then spoke softly, “Hao Zhou wishes to sign a five-year treaty with the princess.”

“Within five years, neither side shall invade the other’s territory,” Yu Shun continued after a pause. “To show sincerity, every year for the next five years, Hao Zhou will pay Da Hui thirty thousand taels of silver.”

Thirty thousand taels was not a large sum, but Hao Zhou was not as prosperous as Da Hui.

Moreover, in the last twenty years, most of the peace negotiations had been prompted by Da Hui’s victory, and Hao Zhou had often been forced to pay war reparations.

So, under these circumstances, this offer was truly unprecedented.

Although everyone in the room knew that Hao Zhou’s submission was a result of the heavy blow it had suffered, and that it sought peace only to buy time for its soldiers to recuperate, they were more aware that the only reason they had won in the past was because of Wen Yuesheng.

She was a brilliant strategist and often caught the enemy off guard on the battlefield.

Given that Hao Zhou had previously been in a stronger position, they had not taken Da Hui seriously, which had allowed Da Hui to secure victories.

But if the war continued, Da Hui would inevitably become fatigued.

If Hao Zhou sent out its best troops, facing their elite forces would result in a brutal and bloody battle.

Despite Wen Yuesheng’s victories and her decimation of Hao Zhou’s generals, the overall military situation showed that Da Hui still lagged behind in terms of sheer numbers.

Yu Shun sought peace because of the heavy losses among his generals, such as the Borchi, Jin, and the Five Great Generals, and needed time to recover.

As for Da Hui, it was now up to them to decide whether they would launch a counteroffensive, or choose to settle temporarily with Hao Zhou, train their forces, and prepare for another battle in the future.

Duke Zhongyong looked at Yu Shun for a long while before speaking softly, “This emperor of Hao Zhou, his insights and courage are not to be underestimated.”

Lu Zhenguo, who knew Yu Shun better, paused for a moment and then added, “He is not one to be ashamed of defeat nor is he driven by temporary emotions. Yu Shun has never been a short-sighted man.”

Duke Zhongyong nodded slightly, adding, “Moreover, he is extremely proud.”

A brief peace, clearly, was aimed at allowing rest and recovery, preparing for a decisive battle with the Great Wei at a later time.

What Yu Shun wanted was a formal showdown after everything was fully prepared, with all conditions met.

He indeed had high aspirations, and judging by his demeanor, it seemed he did not believe Wen Yue was unbeatable. What was needed, in his view, was simply more preparation.

“If we agree to this, wouldn’t it be giving him a chance?” Lu Qinghuai frowned and asked.

Duke Zhongyong shook his head lightly. “It’s also giving the Great Wei a chance.”

If the battle continued, bloodshed and casualties would be inevitable.

Although they all believed that with Wen Yue leading the Great Wei, despite the difficulties, victory could still be achieved, how long it would take and how many soldiers would fall in the process were uncertain.

On the battlefield, sacrifice was inevitable.

But sacrifices before full strength was reached were avoidable.

Moreover, Wen Yuesheng had exceptional training capabilities.

There was one more crucial point…

Duke Zhongyong and Lu Zhenguo exchanged a look, their expressions deepening.

At present, multiple factions in the capital were moving, and especially with the emperor’s divided attitude, these were matters that had emerged while Wen Yuesheng was away from the capital.

If this battle were to drag on, the longer it lasted, the more opportunities it would give to the unscrupulous individuals in the capital.

By the time Wen Yuesheng achieved victory at the frontier, it was likely that others would steal the credit.

Whether the forces exhausted in the frontier could deal with the turmoil in the court was one thing; another was that Wen Yuesheng’s victories on the battlefield, the hard-won success of the soldiers, should not be taken away by others.

Or rather, they should not fall into the hands of incompetent and foolish individuals.

Otherwise, what difference would that make from once again putting the common people into peril?

To defeat Hao Zhou completely, internal strife must first be quelled.

Otherwise, it would be just like before: they would fight on the battlefield, while there were always people pulling at their heels from behind.

After a brief pause, Lu Tingyu said, “I fear this might just be Yu Shun’s ploy to draw us away.”

While they were discussing, Jiang Yan, who had been lying in a cart, completely ignored the hostile stares from the Hao Zhou soldiers and coldly said:

“In the short term, Hao Zhou does not have many generals left to use.”

“If they dare to tear up the agreement…” He sneered, his eyes filled with mockery even as he lay motionless. “There’s still me at the frontier.”

“And us,” Liu Yi beside him added without hesitation.

The frontier soldiers had certainly not been idle during this time.

Lu Tingyu remarked, “Yu Shun is indeed a clever man.”

With one letter for peace talks, he had tested the current state of the Great Wei court, and then used the information at hand to achieve his goal of rest and recuperation for his army.

A simpleton who only knows how to fight is not dangerous; a ruler who is both flexible and patient, who does not rashly attack and is good at using psychological tactics, is far harder to deal with.

While they were discussing, Wen Yuesheng still hadn’t spoken.

The longer she stayed silent, the more uneasy the Hao Zhou generals behind Yu Shun became.

In the prolonged silence, Yu Shun saw her slender, fair fingers lightly tapping on the table.

He raised his eyes and met her pitch-black gaze.

Her expression was cold, and without much emotion, she said, “I will agree to the peace talks.”

The generals behind Yu Shun let out a collective sigh of relief.

Only after facing this Great Wei princess did they truly feel the pressure from her, and they now understood the real reason Yu Shun had sought peace talks.

As things stood, unless Yu Shun personally led the troops into battle, there was no general in Hao Zhou who could match the person in front of them.

But before they could fully process this, Wen Yue added, “However, Hao Zhou must compensate the Great Wei with three million taels of silver.”

At these words, the room fell into silence.

Before they could react, Wen Yuesheng continued, “And it must be paid in full, at once.”

She raised her eyes and looked around. The border was densely packed with people, both inside and outside the lines.

Her expression remained neutral as she said, “The Hao Zhou army must retreat 100 miles from the border.”

At this, all the Hao Zhou generals changed their expressions.

Not only had the required silver doubled, but the demand for a 100-mile retreat was also a shock.