Rebirth of The Deer and the Cauldron, Wei Xiaobao Becomes a God

Prince Kang had sharp eyes and as soon as he saw Wei Xiaobao, he immediately walked forward with a smile on his face and hugged Wei Xiaobao tightly with open arms.

He said loudly and excitedly: "Oh my, Brother Wei, I am so happy to see you again!"

Wei Xiaobao was also not polite. He greeted him with a smile and joked, "Prince Kang, I haven't seen you for many years. You are still so strong and your demeanor is still the same as before! But by the way, do you still patronize the Eight Great Alleys often now?"

Hearing this, Prince Kang smiled heartily and replied, "Brother Wei is not here, so it's really meaningless for me to go alone!"

"No way, brother, I'm not here, but Xiaohong and Xiaolu are here, don't you want to help your brother to express his condolences?"

After Wei Xiaobao finished speaking, the two looked at each other, recalled the friendship they had in the trenches back then, and burst into laughter at the same time.

However, at this moment, a sly look flashed across Wei Xiaobao's eyes, and he was thinking secretly in his heart: Looking at this scene, it seems that Prince Kang is still unaware of the fact that I have successfully wiped out the Hai Gang!

Even Emperor Kangxi was keeping a close eye on the 36 million taels of stolen silver in his hands, but Prince Kang probably didn't know about it yet.

I wonder if this prince would still be able to laugh so happily and unscrupulously like he does now if he knew all the truth?

Just as Wei Xiaobao's mind was full of thoughts, Soetu, who had been standing aside in silence like a statue, suddenly, as if by magic, his originally serious and rigid face was instantly filled with a warm smile.

He walked up to me with brisk and steady steps, and said in an extremely friendly and amiable tone: "Brother Wei, we are really destined to meet. I didn't expect to meet again so soon!"

Hearing Soetu's words, Wei Xiaobao was also beaming with joy, and hurriedly walked up to him, opened his arms and gave him a big hug.

He responded loudly, "Oh my, Master Suo, it's only been a few months since we last met, but it feels like we've been apart for years. I miss you so much!"

The two of them chatted with each other as if no one was around, and they were as close as old friends who hadn't seen each other for many years.

Yao Qisheng, who was standing not far away, saw all of this. Seeing Wei Xiaobao chatting and laughing with his former master Prince Kang and the powerful Prime Minister Suo, he couldn't help but groan in his heart.

No wonder no matter how hard he tried before, he couldn't beat this seemingly insignificant Wei Xiaobao.

Look at their relationship. Prince Kang was the Marshal of Jinxia's rebellion suppression and had a large army under his command, but he only surrounded the Jinxia rebels under Wei Xiaobao's name but did not suppress them. Now the two of them act so intimate and friendly.

Look at Soetu again, the prime minister of the time, he also has a fondness for Wei Xiaobao. The closeness between them is just like that of brothers wearing the same pants, indistinguishable from each other.

It seems that what Emperor Kangxi said about himself being stubborn and not good at handling complex interpersonal relationships was indeed true.

Wei Xiaobao had no idea what Yao Qisheng was thinking. If he knew, he would have generously given Yao Qisheng a famous saying that was widely circulated in the officialdom:

"Officialdom is a drama. Whether you succeed or fail depends entirely on your acting skills!"

Before long, personnel from both sides sat down at the negotiation table.

The representatives from the Qing court this time were a powerful lineup, including Prince Kang, Left Prime Minister Soetu, as well as Minister of Works Chen Yanyu, Minister of War Hao Yu, Left Vice Minister of Revenue Tian Fengji, Left Vice Minister of Rites Long Keduo, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Admiral of the Beijing-Tianjin Navy Shi Lang, Commander-in-Chief of the Firearm Battalion Dai Zi, Minister of the Ministry of Rites Nan Huairen, Admiral of the Jiangnan Land and Water Force Li Chengdong, General of the Chongming Navy Mu Yanye, and many other powerful figures.

The team representing the Tiandi Federation in this negotiation should not be underestimated. Its leaders are Sun Xiucai, Minister of Government Affairs, Qiu Daoji, Minister of Military and Industry, Wu Sanniang, Minister of State-owned Assets, Shangwu, Deputy Commander of the Tiandi Army, Yao Qisheng, Governor of Dongzhou Island and others.

After Wei Xiaobao looked around at the people present, he found that Yang Lin and Mao Shiba were not there. He couldn't help but feel curious, so he quickly asked Sun Xiucai:

"Minister Sun, I wonder where Commander-in-Chief Yang and Commander Mao are right now? Why aren't they here to attend this important negotiation meeting?"

"They are training the surrendered soldiers in Tainan Prefecture. They were notified of your return last night and are expected to arrive this afternoon," replied Mr. Sun.

"Okay, let's officially start the negotiation now!" Wei Xiaobao ordered seriously.

At this time, Sun Xiucai stood up, bowed slightly, and spoke first:

"Your Excellency the Grand Commander, Your Highness Prince Kang, and all the envoys and friends from the Qing Empire, hello!

In the past two months, the negotiations on the alliance treaty between the Qing Empire and the Tiandi Federation have been progressing at a rapid pace.

All of this is carried out under the alliance principles of equality, respect, trust and mutual benefit.

After more than a dozen rounds of arduous consultations and negotiations, a preliminary draft alliance plan was finally drawn up.

Now, please allow me to explain to you in detail the specific contents of this plan.

First, the Qing Empire will formally establish an alliance with the Tiandi Federation in terms of military and economic development, and this alliance is not a temporary need but a long-term strategic decision.

Second, no matter which country encounters aggression or military attack from a third country in the military field, both sides should work together, share the same hatred of the enemy, join hands to fight against foreign enemies, and overcome difficulties together.

Third, the two countries should achieve mutual exchange of resources in the economic and trade fields. Not only that, the exchange of personnel should also remain unimpeded.

To this end, the two sides decided not to establish restrictive measures such as customs, checkpoints and maritime bans.

At the same time, for traded goods, only 5% (i.e. 1% out of 20) of commercial tax needs to be paid in specific trading areas of the country under its jurisdiction.

Fourth, the two countries decided to disclose their mineral resource information to each other. The Qing Empire will supply precious mineral raw materials such as iron, manganese, zinc, etc. to the Tiandi Federation, and will also provide vital kerosene (i.e., petroleum) and other resources.

In return, the Tiandi Federation will provide the Qing Empire with resources such as silver and copper.

These minerals between the two parties can be traded at market prices, or they can choose to jointly develop them to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.