Negotiation Deadlock
“Shishiang, have you made contact with their envoy?” suddenly asked the Queen, after the other lords left.
Shishiang, who deliberately stayed behind, answered, “Yes, Your Majesty. As I cannot determine whether he is sincere or not, I have not allowed him to meet you yet. In addition, you have not asked the lords for their opinion on negotiations. It seems that you want to ask for reinforcements.”
The Queen didn’t deny or confirm. From her perspective, the war had become one with little value to be gained, yet she didn’t want to give up. Her advantage that came about through a surprise attack was gone, and she didn’t have enough soldiers to launch another attack on the North, not to mention her uncertainty towards the outcome. Howbeit, losing her first war was a lethal blow to her dignity as Queen as it increased the likelihood of the fief lords complaining and revolting. The dilemma created an impasse for herself.
If she could receive assistance from the other nation she had in mind, she might be able to win. She knew that nation was powerful. If two powerful nations were to duke it out, the outcome would be unpredictable, but the question was, “would they agree?” If they refused, then her negotiations with Sisi’s side would fall through.
“What do I do?” wondered the Queen. “In that case, I’d like to hear your opinion, Shishiang.”
Shishiang bowed his head: “Your Majesty, in my opinion, our negotiations are very likely to work out, though the lords may not be too happy about it. I can already tell how developed their culture is and the possibility of an invasion. We should not be worried about an enemy who cannot cross the sea. We should be most worried about the lords. Once we have peace talks, more business will come through. The conservative and complacent lords will gradually lose power. They, in fact, may revolt. Before that does happen, you must be cautious.”
“So, you think I should have peace talks with them? My father passed the nation on to me. If I lose our land without any accomplishments, what sort of Queen would I be?”
Shishiang was a lord, not a Queen. From her perspective, ruling was the top priority. As a female ruler, she was subjected to plenty of denunciation. If she embarrassed herself with a defeat, people would lose faith in her. In turn, nobody would acknowledge her rule.
Shishiang added, “You must understand that we have no other choice at this point. Whether we ask for reinforcements or peace, we only have one option. If we seek peace, we will not receive reinforcements. If we seek reinforcements, it will be a clear indication that we intend to continue fighting, thereby ending peace talks. You cannot try to win on both fronts. Attempting to will result in you losing twice.”
The Queen didn’t answer this time. Shishiang couldn’t see her reaction on the other side of the veil. However, if he thought about it, he could see a scrunched up face.
“Understood, I shall mull it. That said, have they named any requests? Do they want us to compensate them monetarily or give them land?”
“Your Majesty, we have not reached that step as of yet. At the moment, we are still debating who needs to bear the consequences of the war. I am in no rush. The enemy cannot cross the sea; we have time to fight back. In saying that, if you really wish to have peace talks, I will absolutely stand with you. Our land needs to change. Our traditions have started to clash with our present. We should opt for the most effective and powerful instead of clinging to our traditions.”
“Uhm,” responded the Queen.
Shishiang was aware that he didn’t need to do anything else there for he already did what he could. All that was left was for the Queen to make up her mind. Shishiang wasn’t against a woman holding power, but her decision would determine whether or not she was a dutiful monarch. If she was, then she would choose the most correct option. He eventually rose and left the room.
***
I thought I was seeing things or transmigrated again when I opened my door. There were trees that were trees from all accounts outside. The ocean was still the ocean I knew. Judging from the scene in front of me, though, I surmised that Sisi reformed her navy overnight, and it was an even bigger and more formidable fleet than its predecessor.
The fact that a dozen imposing wooden ships lined up by the ocean were visible illustrated how large Sisi’s battleships were. If I was on the shore, I could probably see a colony of ants-worth of soldiers boarding the ships. Of course, they’d be planning to bring their blood and gunpowder over to the continent I was on.
“This looks as though Sisi is foregoing peace talks. This is bad for me.”
The last thing Sisi should’ve done during peace talks was to mobilise her military, yet she gave the impression that she was going on the offensive. The only reason they were willing to talk was because of me. Since Sisi mobilised her navy, I resembled an exposed liar. The people on the continent could very well kill me in a fit of rage. The important question, nonetheless, was, “Is that really Sisi’s military?”
I had strong suspicions about the ships that popped up out of nowhere. The only place Sisi could construct ships at was the South. Construction of more ships was put on hold during the war, so there were only a few shoddy ships. I doubted magic could click warships into existence. Therefore, I reasoned they were either mercenaries or… a pile of timber.
“Is Sisi trying to launch an attack or help me out with whatever she has there?”
Shishiang was fearless because he was confident we couldn’t reach the continent. He had no way of verifying that, however. The warships looked intimidating from where I was, but I couldn’t discern if they were the real deal or not. Sisi didn’t have a navy, and I wasn’t convinced a mercenary could afford such humongous warships. I leaned towards it being Sisi’s way of assisting me.
“Leah, pack our luggage. We need to be ready to leave at any moment. By the way, block the door. We might be in more danger here on out.”
Leah, hurriedly putting on her socks, didn’t know my reasons. Nonetheless, she trusted me one hundred percent.
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