end of days

In the temporary military tent, Tuoba Hongxi glanced at the treaty drafted and handed over by the other party, and immediately became furious.Kneading the thin piece of paper into a ball, Tuoba Hongxi stared at Zhuo Ran fiercely, his eyes tearing open.

"I don't know what your Excellency wants to do? Although I, Xidi, can be regarded as a rich country and a strong country, this dry treaty is really not something we can bear. If you are so insincere, I, Xi Tuoba Hongxi, am not afraid of a war." It is half true and half false, the compensation figure listed by Zhuo Ran is indeed extremely impressive, but it will not drain the entire Tuoba royal family, but the request to limit the number of troops is really too much, which is of course the main reason for angering Tuoba Hongxi .

As an emperor, if others restricted his military power, it would be tantamount to handing over half of the imperial power that he held tightly in his hands. Tuoba Hongxi had already stained his hands with the blood of his relatives for the sake of the throne, so how could he let Zhuo Ran challenge his authority.

"With the indemnity, yearly tribute, and political participation, Mr. Zhuo wants to be Xidi's behind-the-scenes emperor? In this case, it's better to have a decisive battle on the battlefield. The winner will be king." Luo Ming saw that the emperor was already Losing sense of proportion, he took the ball of paper that was crumpled by Tuoba Hongxi, swept it hastily, and his expression froze.

Zhuo Ran smiled slightly, and there seemed to be a flash of light in his eyes, but there was no trace in a blink of an eye.

"Where is that, the prince is joking, if we really want the Xidi throne, why do we need to discuss it, just let the old general Pei attack the city and walk into your Xidi palace gate, why waste any more time! ?” The tone of understatement became more and more unfathomable, and suddenly, Luo Ming had nothing to say.

"Since it is a negotiation, there is naturally room for revision of these treaties." Zhuo Ran was quite generous, and after leaving a word, he smiled and looked at Xidi and his officials.

Luo Ming's expression was a little stiff. The other party's words seemed to be polite when it came to this, but in fact he threw a hot potato to his side. How to propose a suitable contract that would make his side no longer so passive? At this moment It is particularly urgent. Of course, the other party is always in the active position, and the height of the station is different, so the things to consider are naturally different.

"Your Majesty, in your opinion, what should we do?" Although Luo Ming and Tuoba Hongxi had a good personal relationship, they didn't dare to presume anything. Of course, these things should be based on the monarch's opinion.

"..." Tuoba Hongxi didn't speak, obviously because of the remaining anger.

"Your Majesty must not be impulsive at this time, and the country should be the most important thing." Seeing that Tuoba Hongxi ignored him, Luo Ming couldn't help but smile bitterly. Meeting such an emotional master naturally caused a lot of trouble.

Fortunately, although Tuoba Hongxi was angry, he still knew the priorities. Taking a deep breath, he finally calmed down gradually.

After a little discussion, Luo Ming and Tuoba Hongxi calmed down a lot. They said it was a discussion, but in fact they just changed a few numbers in the treaty, but the general direction did not change. After all, Tuoba Hong Xi didn't dare to stir up Zhuo Ran's fire again.Through their previous understanding, they naturally know that Zhuo Ran is a Jianghu person. Although he is suppressing himself now and looks like a general or prime minister, the biggest problem of Jianghu people is impulsiveness. Tuoba Hongxi does not dare to challenge Zhuo Ran's bottom line. Too many, I'm afraid the man in front of him will renew his fighting spirit regardless of the overall situation of the country.

The loss of another battle is no longer what the remaining army in front of us can bear.

The so-called negotiation is no different from buying and selling. It is all asking for a high price and paying back the money on the spot, constantly "confronting" and "backing off", and finally reaching a result that satisfies both parties.Luo Ming was originally a master of the middle, but he had no choice but to hold too light chips. What he held was Zhuoran's pity for the common people and his unwillingness to fight again, but he didn't dare to bet too much "money", because once he lost, Xidi is bound to be lost forever.

"I don't know what King Tuoba thinks?" Seeing the hesitation in the other party's eyes, Zhuo Ran couldn't help asking, it seemed that it was his words that finally made Tuoba Hongxi make a decision.

"We can offer all the silver as ordered, or even more than what you originally set, but for the annual tribute, I think it is better to convert it into cash. In addition, I hope that you can pay attention to the restrictions on our Xidi army. Think about it again, what do you guys think?"

"Don't you guys think it's too much folded at once!" Ling Yang who was at the side couldn't help but interrupted when he heard the words, but Zhuo Ran stretched out his hand to stop him.

After pondering for a while, Zhuo Ran said: "What Lord Tuoba said is not impossible, everything is negotiable, and Zhuo is not a person who will go all the way to death, but I just don't know where Lord Tuoba wants to go. How about repaying these two?"

"How about adding a little more to the compensation?" Tuoba Hongxi wrote a number with a wave of his hand, and Ling Yang couldn't help but snort when he saw it.

"So this is the sincerity of the Lord Xidi!?" Ling Yang couldn't help laughing.

"I didn't expect such a big country to be so petty." His knuckles lightly tapped the table, Zhuo Ran fixed his eyes on Tuoba Hongxi, making him feel guilty for a while.

"This is indeed quite a large amount. If the treasury spends so much silver taels at once, what should the people do if some natural or man-made disaster occurs..." Of course, Luo Ming knew where Zhuo Ran's culprit was, and he looked embarrassed at this moment After saying these words, his eyes never leave Zhuoran's expression, obviously paying attention to the other party's thoughts all the time.

But I didn't expect Zhuo Ran to just smile when he heard the words, "It seems that the people of your country are not in my turn to care, but if your majesty and the son really can't think about it, I can show you a way."

"We don't have to give up the annual tribute. You can even take a step back and expand the army yourself, but the compensation must be increased. If it doesn't work for one year, it will be two years, and if it doesn't work for two years, it will be four years, until all the money is paid off." After finishing talking, he compared a number and said, "As for the number, I don't think it's too much."

"Besides, we need you, Tuoba Hongxi, to stop thinking about me during your lifetime." Putting away the original casualness, Ling Yang added in a serious tone. When these words came out, Tuoba Hongxi's face froze again. He was already tired of dealing with the attacks, and he didn't know what to do. He could only look at Luo Ming with inquiring eyes, but everything was in the hands of others, so what could Luo Ming do.

Zhuo Ran was more sober than he imagined, he knew how to defend his weakness and deal a fatal blow to the enemy, so they would no longer have any reason to object.Although they all knew that after signing this paper, Xidi would be suppressed all the time, but there was only one road ahead.

In desperation, Luo Ming could only look at Tuoba Hongxi and nodded.

Seeing this, Zhuo Ran couldn't help but smile, what he originally wanted was not Xidi's surrender and control, those things were just empty talk to him, and with Tuoba Hongxi as a person, breaking the contract at any time is a very normal thing, so Zhuo Ran At the beginning, he directly bypassed those imaginary things, and set his ultimate goal on Xidi's treasury.

Tuoba Hongxi is vicious but arrogant, the dignity of being a king is extremely important to him, Zhuoran has calculated this point, and then drew up the initial contract, and then as a matter of course - Tuoba Hongxi strongly opposed it.

The next thing is much simpler. It seems unintentional but undeniable to propose an astronomical amount of compensation. The purpose is to restrain Xidi's national power year after year and make it unable to covet the territory of other countries.

Of course Tuoba Hongxi would choose to pay compensation, because he couldn't let go of his attachment to power.As for whether the ruler of Xidi, who is not well evaluated by the wind, will go back on his word at that time, Zhuo Ran is not worried. He does not think that Xidi, who is empty in the treasury, has the strength to break the contract.

Under the step-by-step planning, things went smoothly as expected.

Once the two parties have reached a consensus, the conclusion of the contract is a matter of course.Therefore, in just a short while, the contract on the table has been drawn up and only waits for both parties to sign and seal it.

"I didn't expect that this expedition would have such a result..." At the end, Tuoba Hongxi, who had been domineering for half his life, couldn't help feeling a little bit emotional, but in the end he could only look at the contract in front of him with a complicated face, and signed himself helplessly. Luo Ming handed over his name to be stamped on the Xidi Imperial Seal.

The thick jade seal left the soft cloth, and the scarlet pattern was particularly eye-catching on the white silk surface. Seeing this, Zhuo Ran finally relaxed his long-stretched nerves.

He has always been tired of power struggles, but this time it is inevitable. Zhuo Ran is naturally conflicted and a little uneasy, and it is inevitable that he will be a little nervous. Even when he confronted Tuoba Hongxi and others seemingly calmly just now, his palms It was a cold sweat, and only at this moment could he breathe a sigh of relief.

With a slight smile, Zhuo Ran took the big seal from Ling Yang's hand, and with a little force, he left a similar red mark on the peace agreement.

The peace treaty was kept separately by the two countries. Tuoba Hongxi looked at the wet tissue paper in his hand, and couldn't help but sneer: "Everyone's goal has been achieved, I wonder if you can retreat and let me go back to the country!? In addition, old general Pei surrounded me It's time to evacuate the army outside the capital of Xidi."

"Hahaha, Lord Tuoba is serious. Once the contract is concluded, Mr. Zhuo and I will naturally let you all leave safely. As for Old General Pei, I'm afraid he will be in your country for a while." Ling Yang caressed Knuckles, politely but not allowed to refute Tuoba Hongxi's hidden anger words.

"You!" Obviously, Ling Yang's frivolous attitude angered Tuoba Hongxi again.

"The sincerity of Lord Tuoba these days is not enough for us to return home and wait for the good news from your country. I believe you should be able to understand our intentions." Pei Ju's army is naturally the biggest guarantee for Xidi's compensation How could Zhuo Ran and others easily let him withdraw his troops as a bargaining chip? With Tuoba Hongxi's disposition, if no one was watching him, he might think of something else in a blink of an eye.

"..." The other party looked at himself thoroughly, Tuoba Hongxi was naturally speechless, he could only walk away from the table, and when he reached the door of the tent, he couldn't help but snorted again.

"Luo Ming, let's go!" Unwilling, but his fate is in the hands of others, Tuoba Hongxi at this moment is probably more depressed than anyone else.

Luo Ming glanced at everyone present, couldn't help but shook his head and sighed, then hurriedly followed. The impatient Tuoba Hongxi always did things regardless of the consequences. Luo Ming was worried that he would make some irreversible mistakes again, so he could only keep going. Follow the emperor's side to try to ease his anger.

The officials of Xidi left in an instant, and only Zhuoran and the others were left in the big tent. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the other party's back disappearing from sight.

"After dragging on for such a long time, I finally got a result today. It's really satisfying!"

"That's right, after months of fighting, even though we were exhausted, we finally paid off. This victory will make life clear!" Ling Yang's eyes were relaxed like never before. The day was spent easily, and it was finally a big deal to go down first, "What else do you plan to do next?"

"You point out some people to support Old General Pei, and you can command the rest to return to the court." There are only a small number of guards in the capital, which is really worrying, and the first snow in the desert is estimated to be in the near future. Afterwards, the winter on the plug will come, and if the army is not reorganized in time, they may not be able to return smoothly due to heavy snow blocking the mountains.

"What about you?" Zhuo Ran didn't seem to intend to go back with them.

"Me?" Zhuo Ran was taken aback for a moment when he heard the words, and then the corners of his mouth raised slightly, "——Naturally go to Shuoshui Town!"