"It has been more than a year since the Glorious Empire went to war with my Riga Empire. After the end of the war, many soldiers of the two countries were killed and wounded, and the loss of materials was incalculable. My great and wise King of the Riga Empire is merciful and generous, and he does not want to see any more unnecessary casualties. Therefore, I have sent this envoy to discuss the armistice with your country. ”

In the center of the chamber, a thin, short, slender man with a goatee and a goat-like appearance stood proudly, nostrils facing the sky, talking eloquently.

Grand Duke Mattesias glanced at Anthony, and saw that the young man had no intention of speaking, so he had to say: "I don't know how to talk about this armistice?" ”

Goatee didn't even look at the Grand Duke, and said to himself—his head was about to touch his waist, and he probably couldn't see it if he wanted to.

"Simple! General Dinuo, a world-famous general in our country, led the army to retreat and no longer attacked Huaishui Pass. The dispute between the two countries was thus written off, and the two countries coexisted peacefully and did not invade each other. Wouldn't it be better for the glorious empire to no longer have to worry about it, and worry about and be afraid of the rolling iron hooves of my empire's heroes all day long? ”

The Grand Duke listened patiently to what he had said, and could not help but laugh angrily.

I've seen shameless, but I've never seen such shameless.

Anthony snorted and said coldly: "According to what this lord said, you are stirring up trouble in our country, sedition, and personally sending troops to attack. Now that the war is unfavorable, you pat your ass and leave, my glorious empire should be grateful to Dade, grateful to the runny nose, and thank your merciful king for letting us live, is that so? ”

Anthony's tone was sarcastic, and his words were sharp, and the Grand Duke couldn't help but applaud secretly when he heard it.

But the goatee's skin was thicker than the city walls, and he was not ashamed or embarrassed, and replied unashamedly, "Exactly." ”

With a snap, Anthony slammed his hand on the table, shaking the teacups to the ground.

"Your king's kindness has been received, I don't think everyone has anything to talk about, let's see a high and low on the battlefield in the future!"

Grand Duke Mattesias hurriedly spoke: "Great general, slow down. The stakes are too high to be taken lightly, so let's see if we're taking a long-term view. ”

"What's the long term and the short term, doesn't the Duke see the attitude of the people, it's not really talking about things at all. In this case, why waste time, it is better to hurry up the training of the army and sweep away the Riga people outside the border as soon as possible. ”

Anthony was angry and dissatisfied.

The goatee's head was finally lowered, and his eyes sparkled.

"My Riga army is not a pig, a dog, a cow or a sheep, and it can be slaughtered by the general at will. General Dino, who led the army, is even more famous all over the world, and his achievements are brilliant. Grand Duke Mattesias had dealt with him for a year, and should have the most say in this. ”

The Duke was silent, not knowing if it was a tacit acquiescence.

Anthony was not convinced, snorted, very disdainful.

"The six famous generals of Riga, of course General Ben knows. Famous in the mainland, such a big name, the end is powerful. But I have one of my men named Frankie, and it's not that good. I don't know if he is indiscriminately filling the numbers, and he is not worthy of his name. Or is it that the so-called six famous generals of Riga are originally of this color, and their skills are pitiful? If there is a chance, General Ben really doesn't mind finding another one to verify the verification. ”

The goatee's beard was about to stand on end, and he snorted, "This messenger has come with a will for peace, but if your country thinks that we will be afraid of war and ask for peace, it is a big mistake. ”

Anthony stared,-for-tat.

"If you really want to make peace, you should show the sincerity you deserve. Fight if you want, leave if you want, what do you think is my glorious empire? If you are not afraid of war, will the soldiers under the command of this great general be afraid? ”

Seeing that the two of them were like fighting cocks, the more they talked, the more stiff they became, Grand Duke Mattesias's head was like a fight, but he had to persuade him.

"General, this messenger, don't be impatient, please calm down. Militaristic affairs cannot be child's play. Since your envoy came to our Huaishui Pass, it is probably not to provoke us and exacerbate the contradictions between the two countries. The general bears the great trust of His Majesty the King, and bears the future and destiny of the entire empire on his shoulders, and he must not act rashly. Why don't you sit down, take a sip of tea, dissipate your anger, and then talk slowly? ”

The Duke is easy to talk about, and after persuading this and that, he finally calmed down the angry two for the time being.

He reached out and wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said to the goatee with a slight reproach.

"Although our general is a little impatient, it is understandable. After all, according to what the noble envoy said, Duke Ben also found it difficult to accept. ”

Goatee picked up the teacup, took a sip, and asked leisurely, "What about the Grand Duke?" ”

Before Grand Duke Mattesias could speak, Anthony on the side preemptively spoke.

"Not to mention anything else, financial compensation must not be less. Because of the unreasonable invasion of the Riga Empire, the human and financial resources of our glorious empire have been lost innumerable, and this account must be settled. Well, according to the rough calculation of General Ben, at least the compensation is equivalent to the total income of our country for five years! ”

The goatee man didn't jump, but the eyebrows and mustache seemed to jump out.

"It's impossible!"

The Riga Empire sent him as an envoy, of course, he didn't expect that as just said, the two countries laughed at each other, and the previous entanglement and conflict were as if nothing had happened. And the Riga Empire took the initiative to ask for peace talks, which already had the upper hand.

But in terms of overall national strength, the Riga Empire is stronger than the Brilliant Empire, which is also an extremely heavy weight, so this matter still needs to be discussed. As for how to talk about it, it is nothing more than asking for a sky-high price, and paying back the money on the ground. The goatee was old at this, and naturally he threw out a whimsical proposal as soon as he came up, waiting for an inch to back down.

It's just that the young general on the other side is young and impatient, and his temper and patience don't seem to be very good. In a few words, the negotiations almost broke down and collapsed. Fortunately, Grand Duke Mattesias was in the middle of the circle, otherwise the goatee wouldn't know how to go back.

At this time, the Grand Duke also frowned, but asked the goatee, "What does the envoy mean?" ”

The goatee groaned.

The current situation in the Riga Empire, he knew in his heart. He agreed to the total income of a country for five years, and if he was not bombarded to the ground by His Majesty the Enraged King when he returned, it would be unless the sun rose in the west.

But how to reply also made him very nerve-wracking.

Negotiating opponents like the Grand Duke have met a lot with goatees. Everyone is an old fox with a knife in his smile, nothing more than a slow grinding. But a young man like Anthony only acted impulsively and ignored the overall situation of the country, which gave him a headache.

Goatee thought to himself, but Anthony waited impatiently.

"General Ben, I don't think you Riga Empire have any sincerity in peace talks at all. In that case, we still see the real chapter on the battlefield. When you're all knocked down, let's see what kind of attitude you have with your goatee! ”

It seems that Anthony has indeed run out of patience and has begun to attack him personally.

Grand Duke Mattesias was also impatient, but it was for Anthony.

"General Anthony, although you command a large army and hold great power, whether the two countries are at war or such a major event still needs to be reported to His Majesty the King, and wait for His Majesty to decide. To rashly provoke a dispute is irresponsible to the Empire and to the warriors. Please also ask the general to think twice. ”

Anthony was stunned, and his face sank.

"In that case, what else do you need me to do here? Your Excellency the Duke, you can just talk to this noble envoy, this general is young and has short qualifications, so he will not be in the way here, and he will not be with him! ”

As soon as he finished speaking, Anthony got up and walked out.

As soon as he reached the door, he suddenly stood still, did not look back, but a cold voice came.

"I don't care what you end up negotiating, whether there is compensation or not, but there is one thing that I make clear here: if the Riga Empire really wants to negotiate peace, first move the camp where you are stationed back ten miles. If this is not possible, it will prove that you have ulterior motives, and that the peace talks are only a cover, and I will certainly express my grave opposition to His Majesty the King. I think in His Majesty's heart, the word 'Anthony' still carries a little bit of weight. ”

Anthony just left, and Grand Duke Mattosias raised his hand to keep it, but finally gave up.

He turned his head and smiled modestly at the goatee.

"I'm sorry, the general is young and vigorous, and please make a large number of envoys, don't be surprised. However, there is some truth in what he said. Since it is a peace talk, the army is pressing the border, and the soldiers are coming to the city, no matter how you say it, it is not a friendly attitude. As for the terms of the peace talks, both the Duke and the envoy knew what was going on, and they would not be angry and blamed. But if you don't show a minimum of sincerity, it will be difficult for this Duke to do it! ”

Goatee remained silent, but nodded slightly.

He knew that what Grand Duke Matthes Yas said was true, and with the unexpected factor of Anthony, the negotiations would slowly tug through as before, and I was afraid that things would change. But if he throws his bottom line like this, the loss of the Riga Empire will be decided, which is definitely not what he wants.

The Grand Duke also knew that he was embarrassed, and did not rush to press.

"Otherwise, we will arrive here first today, and the envoy can go back and discuss with General Dino and come up with a mutually acceptable plan, so that I can report to His Majesty the King for instructions."

Sending away the goatee, Grand Duke Mattosias turned back, and soon returned to the room where Anthony and Arina had just been.

As soon as he entered the door, he saw Anthony sitting side by side with Her Royal Highness the Princess, talking and laughing in a low voice.

At this time, Anthony's face was gentle and calm, with a smile on the corner of his mouth, where was the irritable look that he had just been fighting with the envoy of the Riga Empire.

The Grand Duke held out his hand at him, laughing.

"Sure enough, you are capable of everything, I can't imagine that you kid is so good at acting. If it hadn't been agreed in advance, my old man would have almost deceived you with your superb acting skills just now. ”

Anthony looked back at him, and couldn't help but smile: "It doesn't matter if you can fool the Duke or not, the most important thing is to be able to fool the goatee, and ......"

Anthony tilted his head to look out, "...... It's General Dino outside. ”

The Grand Duke also walked over to him and sat down, the smile on his face narrowed.

"General Dino's great fame, I'm afraid it's not so easy to deceive. You kid did a good job just now, but will you go a little too far? is far from the impression you usually give people, but it is far away, and the other party will inevitably not be suspicious. ”

Anthony still smiled: "How can it be, young and crazy, and have made a lot of contributions, isn't this a performance that I should have at my age?" The impression you mentioned, they hadn't been in contact with me before, everything was heard about, and where they did it accurately. Maybe this is more in line with their expectations. ”

The Grand Duke looked sideways and thought about it, it really made sense.

"Okay, you kid has a lot of ideas, you can do whatever you say, my old man won't bother with this."

The three of them looked at each other and smiled, tacitly understanding each other.