The meeting was almost at its end. A law was also passed allowing the time of forced labor for the tribal peoples of the three confederations who were forced to do hard labor due to their defeat in the war to be reduced after proper examination.
And this time, the tribes in the southern region who joined the 'Sun of the Sky' decided to divide the administrative districts and elect representatives next spring.
"It's over."
I got up from my seat and walked towards the government office with the 'fast-footed deer'.
* * *
Government office reception room. After several days of travel, the Cherokee people arrived in the 'very large' city and were chatting lightly in the reception room while waiting for the 'Sun in the Sky' Emperor.
"I feel nervous for no reason."
"The road is much better organized and better than the last time I came."
"The sun in the sky seems to change every day."
"How many people live in this city? It must be more than twenty thousand."
"I think it will be more. By the way, I'm jealous of the market because it seems like it has everything in the world."
Cherokee Chief Last Breath, sitting in the center of the group, remained silent as his people listened to their conversation.
But, inside, I was very surprised at the speed of development of 'Sun in the Sky'.
'… It's scary.'
Before negotiating with the 'Sun in the Sky', 'Last Breath' was overwhelmed by the size of the 'very large' city. At that moment, the door to the reception room opened and the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 'Wide Earth', came in.
"His Majesty the Emperor will be arriving soon. Everyone, please get ready."
* * *
As I entered the meeting room, the Cherokee chief and his men stood up, looking very nervous. I walked past the table with various fruits and nuts and sat down in the center.
It was as if I was the host of the meeting, with the Cherokee people on the right and the 'Sun in the Sky' people on the left in the center.
"It's been a while. Have a seat."
"Thank you, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
We had a light conversation in an awkward atmosphere for a while. Our side was mainly comprised of 'Splendid Sunset' and people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"I heard that you are at war with the three alliances. I hope you win the war.
Was that just a joke?
'Last Breath' spoke to me without really knowing anything.
'What can I do when I'm so ignorant of the situation around me?'
It seemed as if the tribes that had been hunting slaves for the Cherokee tribe had not even noticed that they had entered our 'Sun in the Sky'.
I reached into the plate of nuts and took a sunflower seed and put it in my mouth.
"The war with the three alliances ended with the victory of our 'Sun of the Sky'. We are currently handling the post-war process."
"… Yes. The war with the three alliances is over."
'Last Breath' and the Cherokee people all looked shocked and bewildered. I deliberately waited until their startled hearts calmed down and washed my rough mouths clean with blueberries.
'It's refreshing and good because it contains vitamin C.'
I took it easy because I knew what they were going to offer. The weapons of God and the buffalo. As expected, 'Last Breath', who had calmed down somewhat after hearing the shocking news of the war with the three alliances, carefully brought up the main topic while offering congratulations.
"We sincerely congratulate you on your victory. We, the Cherokee Nation, hope to maintain a good relationship with the 'Sun in the Sky' in the future."
"...."
"I came to the 'Sun of the Sky' in person because I wanted to trade more of the divine weapons and buffalo."
"Excuse me for interrupting you while we were talking."
I raised my hand to apologize and continued speaking.
"I think there's something we need to take care of first before we trade. Gorgeous sunset!"
"Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
The head of the administration, 'Splendid Sunset', who was directly to my left, answered vigorously and stepped forward.
"Cherokee Chief! Do you know that the Tutelo, Tuscarora, Croatan, and Saponi tribes have entered our 'Sun in the Sky'?"
'Last Breath' and the Cherokee people looked at each other in shock and shook their heads as they listened to her story.
"I'm sorry. I'm very confused because this is the first time I've heard of it. Did the tribe you mentioned just now enter the 'Sun in the Sky'?"
"Yes. The Tuscarora and Croatan tribes came first. Then…"
'Splendid Sunset' smiled kindly and described in detail the tribes that had entered the 'Sun of the Sky'.
"…okay."
I still had my fruit and nuts in my mouth and just watched my people negotiate. 'Splendid Sunset' hid behind her bright smile and skillfully cooked the Cherokee people.
"Many of our 'Sun in the Sky' people were taken captive by the Cherokee tribe."
"...."
The faces of the Cherokee people and the Last Breath changed from moment to moment as the story of the Glorious Sunset unfolded.
Moreover, he remained silent as if he had no idea that the negotiations would turn out this way at the beginning, and only continued to sigh heavily.
"I had planned to visit the Cherokee tribe because of this matter. So I respectfully ask you, Chief Cherokee, to return our 'Sun in the Sky' people who are living as slaves in the Cherokee tribe without any conditions."
'Splendid Sunset' particularly emphasized that the person was the 'sun in the sky'. And hidden within the polite request was a terrible threat.
'The Last Breath' and the Cherokee people also had to be careful about answering whether they knew about it.
"I'm sorry, but this is an unexpected situation and I would like you to give us a moment to discuss amongst ourselves."
'Splendid Sunset' readily accepted the offer at the wink I sent her. I knew the Cherokee people would come out like this anyway.
"As His Majesty the Emperor said earlier, the entire country is in a state of confusion due to the post-war situation. I will give you about two hours to discuss. I will wait for a good decision."
"thank you."
He left the meeting room, leaving only the Cherokee people behind. While exchanging meaningful glances with the 'splendid sunset', a deep sigh was heard in the visiting room.
"It'll be over soon. What a beautiful sunset! Negotiate appropriately so that the Cherokee tribe won't object even if you eat them."
"Understood. I will finish it well with an appropriate mix of carrots and sticks as instructed by His Majesty the Emperor."
* * *
"I had no idea that I would get stabbed in the back of the head by slave tribes like this."
"I think we should return the slaves we captured."
"We won the war against the three alliances, so how can we deal with the 'Sun of the Sky'?"
"That's right, Chief! There is no need to blush and create hostility with the 'Sun of the Sky'."
The atmosphere in the meeting room with the Cherokee people was the worst. With a complicated thought in his head, he slowly opened his mouth with a serious expression on his face as he said, "Last Breath."
"What will the dead slaves say to the 'Sun in the Sky'?"
"...."
The meeting room became quiet again. As the story in 'The Last Breath' goes, many of the slaves captured by the Cherokee tribe died.
Being hunted, not eating properly, getting sick, etc. There were several reasons for death.
"Chief! Since the 'Sun in the Sky' side didn't set any conditions, wouldn't it be better to tell the truth? Making excuses will only make the 'Sun in the Sky' angry."
"I think so too."
After hearing the opinions of the Cherokee people, 'Last Breath' sighed deeply and concluded.
"Okay. Bring the people from 'Sun of the Sky'."
"Yes, Chief!"
"You made a good decision, Chief!"
A two-hour meeting was a very short time for the Cherokee people.
* * *
"It's a shame that the people died, but there's nothing we can do about it now. We hope that you will keep your promise to return the people of 'The Sun in the Sky' without any problems."
"Yes, it may take some time, but we will send the 'Sun of the Sky' people within this year."
As the negotiations went well, the 'Last Breath' and Cherokee people in the meeting room showed expressions of relief.
But, that was only for a moment as the 'brilliant sunset' sent a warning with a cold gaze.
"If, in the future, I hear that the Cherokee tribe has our 'Sun of the Sky' people as slaves, I don't think I will be able to restrain His Majesty's wrath."
"...."
The Cherokee people who were looking at me quickly looked away as if they were afraid of me.
Phew!
I couldn't help but laugh at the unplanned remark about 'brilliant sunset'. From then on, slave negotiations proceeded at a rapid pace.
The head of the Department of Foreign Affairs, 'Wide Earth', wrote the document in a friendly atmosphere with the Cherokee tribe.
"So, let's hear why the Cherokee came to visit our 'Sun in the Sky'?"
'Last Breath' spoke carefully about the purpose of his visit, unlike before. I pretended like I couldn't make a decision easily and hesitated.
"The weapon of God and the buffalo…"
It was obvious that the political position of 'Last Breath' would become very unstable due to this slave negotiation.
'There's a lot to take in, so we can't just back out like this.'
I plan to chew, savor and make the most of every 'last breath' filled with greed.
"Very well. However, before we trade the divine weapon and the buffalo, there are two conditions."
"Um..I want to hear what the conditions are."
I said it was nothing special as I watched 'Last Breath', who had a slightly nervous expression.
"As for the weapons of the gods and the buffalo, I will trade them only for land, just like last time."
"Oh, yes. And?"
The 'Last Breath' and the Cherokee people did not look all that surprised when they visited the 'Sun in the Sky', as they had been thinking of trading the gods' weapons and buffalo for the land.
"Second, I would like to establish a few trading posts in Cherokee territory."
"Excuse me, may I ask what exactly a trading post is?
"The Exchange is literally a place to buy and sell things. However, it only sells things produced by our 'Sun in the Sky'."
"…okay."
'Last Breath' asked with a suspicious look in his eyes, lost in thought about the trading post.
"Can you only buy things with land at the exchange?"
"No. We can buy our 'Sun in the Sky' items mainly with food and leather."
"Last Breath," who had been pondering it until the very end, nodded and said, thinking that it was not a bad suggestion.
"Then I guess it wouldn't be a problem. Rather, you could buy things at the trading post without having to visit the 'Sun in the Sky' directly."
Other Cherokee tribesmen also reacted positively to the trading post.
'You took the bait.'
I was drawing a very big picture through the trading post. Information gathering and economic subjugation of the Cherokee tribe.
At that time, 'Last Breath' happily accepted my proposal after much thought.
"Okay, I'll set up a trading post."
"You made a good decision."
I immediately delegated everything regarding the trading post and the bronze weapons and buffaloes that I was going to trade this time to 'Splendid Sunset' and 'Wide Earth', the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
After a while, when all the negotiations were over, 'Last Breath' and the Cherokee people came out and greeted me with very satisfied looks on their faces.
"Congratulations again on your victory in war."
"Thank you. I hope we can meet again for better things in the future."
* * *
A day had passed since the Cherokee people had visited and left the 'very big' city. The whole city was already abuzz with the autumn festival.
Moreover, this fall festival also commemorated the victory in the war against the three alliances. In Naeseong, five hundred warriors were lined up by division and were just about ready to march through the city.
Bodyguard, buffalo cavalry, infantry, archers. I stood in front, fully armed and riding a buffalo, shouting loudly to the warriors who were standing there with their heads held high.
"Warriors! The people of the 'Sun of the Sky' are waiting for us. We will imprint our bravery on the people of the 'Sun of the Sky' as if we have won countless battles. Today is your day. Enjoy the victory of war to your heart's content! Let's go!"