Wang Yang's expression grew solemn:
"Although I belong to the Langya Wang clan, I still can't speak without restraint. What I've said already is the limit, so please don't make things difficult for me. In truth, whether it is him doesn't matter. I simply want to remind you that the man proposing this campaign and the man who eventually commands it may well be one and the same. I call such people 'ambitious schemers'-people who stop at nothing to satisfy their ambitions. Letting someone like that have his way would be no good for either the Han or the barbarians."
The Young Chieftain fell silent for a while, then said:
"Brother, I can take your reasoning to heart, but the others might not. Our entire tribe knows the Duke of Liu's son is worth three thousand brocade robes and three thousand crimson padded jackets. After waiting eagerly all this time, how could we possibly release him without getting anything? Even if I wanted to let him go, I couldn't! We barbarians think simply and don't beat around the bush. We caught someone, you give us the ransom, then we release him, and neither side owes the other anything. Even if you tell them now that such and such will happen if they don't release him, they won't listen. Once Agu gets stubborn, how could he pay attention to all that? He might kill Liu Cheng outright in a fit of rage, then howl about going Yatutucha at you..."
Stab, my ass!
Still trying that routine on me...
Still, it was tolerable. He had shown a fair sense of restraint; at least he had not said what they might do to the envoy in a fit of rage. Had he said that, Wang Yang would have had to adopt a different