Qiu Peng paused here, held up three fingers, and continued:
"Firstly, Great Xia, Beehive, and Wushuang are willing to respect Long Mountain as the ruler of Longyou, as before. The annual tribute from the three families will be paid as usual;
Secondly, the Great Xia families will not cooperate with Zhaoyang in any form;
Lastly, Great Xia is willing to designate the entire Wushuang Realm as a neutral zone, to be co-managed with Long Mountain, allowing Long Mountain personnel to travel freely in the future.
If Long Mountain agrees to these three terms, Great Xia can execute them immediately!"
As Qiu Peng stated the three conditions, the expressions of Li Xuanling and the seven people below changed instantly, especially the last remark that Great Xia would immediately execute the conditions once Long Mountain agreed, which notably stirred everyone’s reactions.
Perhaps sensing the tension wasn’t sufficient, Qiu Peng added: "I have some information about Hanqiong Camp, which should greatly aid Long Mountain. As a gesture of goodwill from Great Xia, we are giving it directly to Long Mountain..."
After a pause, Qiu Peng continued: "On April 11, Wushuang and Hanqiong joined forces to destroy Yanglu Camp. Wushuang sent 800 people, Hanqiong 1000. Wu Xiong, Wu Ying, Han Jiuli, and Wu Lin are currently stationed at Yangyuan Peak."
Li Xuandu stood up immediately, and the reactions of the other six were just as intense.
All seven turned their heads to look at their superior, only to find Li Xuanling’s gaze fixed steadily on Qiu Peng, clearly deep in thought.
While Qiu Peng was on his diplomatic mission to Long Mountain’s camp, at the Wushuang Giant Stone Camp.
After arranging the migration plan for the Wushuang personnel, Xia Chuan was with Luo Yuan and a group of Cold Resistance Level individuals, observing the surroundings of Wushuang while engaging in light conversation.
The smile on his face made it clear that he was in good spirits at the moment.
"Master, respecting Long Mountain as the ruler of Longyou and continuing the annual tribute; promising not to cooperate with Zhaoyang in any form to oppose Long Mountain—these two conditions are indeed good, but Long Mountain isn’t foolish. Why would they trust Great Xia?"
Recalling the words Xia Chuan had said to Qiu Peng before the mission, Luo Yuan finally couldn’t help but ask.
"Did I ever say they should trust us?"
Xia Chuan’s rhetorical question left everyone baffled.
Among the eight people beside Luo Yuan, only Peng Bo’s expression became slightly thoughtful, clearly guessing Xia Chuan’s intent.
"Showing weakness, these three conditions are all about showing weakness to Long Mountain!"
Xia Chuan slightly turned his head to see that it was Hong Guang who spoke, and his eyes immediately showed a touch of appreciation as he nodded slightly.
Some people seemed to have faintly understood something, showing a look of sudden realization, but more of them still looked at Xia Chuan with bewilderment, clearly waiting for his explanation.
"What do you think Long Mountain would feel about Great Xia after hearing these three conditions, especially the last one where I had Qiu Peng give them the information about Hanqiong Camp for free? How would they feel after hearing it?"
The three conditions were: continuing to respect Long Mountain as the ruler of Longyou with uninterrupted annual tribute; a promise not to cooperate with Zhaoyang; and designating Wushuang as a neutral area for joint management with Long Mountain.
This appeared to be offering things humbly, and the offerings weren’t insignificant.
Combining it with the last piece of information, revealing how Wushuang and Hanqiong each sent a certain number of people to attack Yanglu, was informing Long Mountain that Hanqiong currently had few guards. On the other hand, it also made clear to Long Mountain that Great Xia was able to capture Wushuang simply because there were few people left at home.
How would Long Mountain feel hearing this?
Of course, they would think Great Xia is very weak, and the only reason they conquered the Beehive and Wushuang was due to a combination of luck and coincidences. Even with three families, they are still afraid of Long Mountain, which is why they came up with these three conditions.
"A Great Xia willing to sacrifice so much for Long Mountain and actively showing weakness is not something Long Mountain would exert great effort on, at least not at this stage. Their main enemy has always been Hou Hu.
Moreover, after conceding some rights of Wushuang, there’s nothing left for Long Mountain to act upon. Forcing confrontation against us would only push us to Hou Hu’s side. As long as the person in charge on their end isn’t foolish, they won’t refuse."
"Master, is Wushuang really that important?"
Zhao Hu turned to look at the giant stone array wall of Wushuang, his expression puzzled.
Among the three conditions just mentioned, he always thought the one about Wushuang was the least important, but now it seemed from Xia Chuan’s words that it was actually the most crucial.
"It’s certainly important. Yucheng has already been captured by Li Xuantiang. If nothing unexpected happens, they might currently be attacking Yanglu or have already taken it down. When people from these two camps want to head north and join Long Mountain’s army, passing through the Wushuang Realm is the fastest and most convenient."
As Zhu Yuan finished speaking, Zhao Hu immediately picked up a broken twig and drew a few lines in the snow, and upon seeing them, everyone suddenly understood.
Wushuang is centrally located in Longyou, with a mountain range obstructing direct passage to Zhaoyang in the north. However, the northwest part borders White Abyss, where Long Mountain’s army is currently stationed; directly south is Yanglu; southwest is Yucheng; directly west is first Song Yuan, then Changning; and the east is Hanqiong.
In other words, not only Yucheng, Yanglu, but even if large forces from Song Yuan and Changning were dispatched here, traveling through Wushuang would still be the fastest and most convenient route.
"And that’s not all. Haven’t any of you looked carefully at the Longyou map?"
Seeing that the group seemed not truly to realize the strategic importance of Wushuang’s location, Peng Bo couldn’t help but interject.