After figuring out the bottom line of the negotiation on the Eastern Empire, Qin Dong asked Charlie Cao to inform Priests that negotiations could be conducted, and the time for negotiation was determined after communication and consultation between the two sides.

The time for the negotiations was set for two days later, and the venue was set for the large conference hall of the Senate, which had been vacated, and all the municipal officials and subordinate support led by Charlie Cao moved to the city hall to deal with administrative affairs.

After discussing with Priests, Charlie Cao came to report to Qin Dong: "The king, the lower officials have finished discussing with the consul of the Eastern Empire, Priests, and plan to negotiate in the Senate at nine o'clock in the morning after tomorrow, I wonder if the king still needs to instruct the lower officials?" ”

"Oh, Lao Cao, come, come and sit!" Qin Dong got up and greeted.

"King Xie!" Charlie Cao politely sat on Qin Dong's subordinate seat.

Qin Dong motioned to the secretary to bring two cups of tea, and then explained: "That's the case, Lao Cao, we have already learned the bottom line of the negotiations on the Eastern Empire through a special channel, and they also know that it is unrealistic to want us to withdraw our troops, so the greatest hope is to maintain the current situation, if it really can't be done, we will cede the area east of Scutari and Negrita in the Greek provinces to us, and if it doesn't work, it will be the same as ten years ago, in addition to the above conditions, and give us another 6,000 pounds of gold every year, This is their final bottom line, and the areas east of the Strait and west and south of Scutari and Negrita in the Greek provinces will not cede in any way, otherwise they would rather fight us to the death with the strength of the whole country. So when you negotiate, try to open your mouth as much as possible, and they can bargain. But we must get them to come to an agreement with us on their negotiating floor."

Charlie Cao nodded again and again when he heard this, and after Qin Dong finished speaking, he was puzzled: "King, there is something that the lower officials don't understand. Why did the Eastern Romans keep their borders along the Strait and around Scutari and Negrita in Greece? They are reluctant to cede the territory east of the Strait to us, and this subordinate can understand, because once we have a foothold in the area east of the Strait, there is a great danger to their fortifications, but their bottom line is the Greek Scutari and Negrita, and this subordinate is a little confused, where these two places are. Is there anything special? ”

"Absolutely!" Qin Dong stood up and walked to the bookshelf, took down a huge roll of sheepskin, untied the rope that bound it, and then opened the large sheepskin that sewed several pieces of sheepskin together and threw it on the floor, it turned out to be a huge map. This is a map of the territory of the Eastern Empire in recent years.

"You see, Scutari and Negrita are one in the south and the other in the north, and the area west of these two places is a plain. There is almost no danger to be had. But the two places could be connected, and the east-west passage was so long and narrow that a fortress could be built thirty miles west of these two places to stop our army from advancing westward and then southward to seize more Greek land. From here, the southern part of Greece, especially the vast area near the Mediterranean, was very rich, and the Eastern Empire was reluctant to abandon it to us, while the terrain in Scutari and the east of Negrita was difficult and extremely inaccessible, and the population living here was small. The standard of living is low and the output is minimal. They belong to the barren land, so they are not rare! ”

Charlie Cao looked at the map carefully, studied it for a while and nodded: "Yes, this area is indeed complex terrain, the population is small, most of it is mountainous, it makes sense that they are willing to cede this area to us, but have you noticed it, the king, in fact, this area is very conducive to defense, if they build strong fortifications in several key places, it will be very difficult for our army to attack the hinterland of Greece, after all, our army has the strongest combat effectiveness of cavalry, and is good at cavalry combat, Although the king has also been vigorously developing infantry in recent years, relatively speaking, the combat effectiveness and role of infantry are still much worse than that of cavalry. If I were Leo, I would definitely not give up this complex area lightly! ”

Qin Dong shook his head and smiled: "It's a pity that you are not Leo, even if you are Leo, in the current situation, are you sure that you must resolutely keep this area?" That is, Bian Ao is the most powerful person in the Eastern Empire, but now in this situation, he can't help but have the final say, he doesn't want to cede this land, and he has to ask the king if he agrees! Lao Cao, you must be clear, now our country is in good shape, and the interior is relatively stable, but the Eastern Empire is not, according to the information we have obtained, there have been barbarian rebellions everywhere in the Eastern Empire in recent years, and the situation is extremely unfavorable to the Eastern Empire, coupled with the fact that the Persians often cause trouble and harass on the eastern border, the Eastern Empire is already exhausted, we can drag it, but they can't afford it."

Qin Dong's words made Charlie Cao wake up, yes, now the Xiongnu are strong, the Eastern Rome is weak, and some things are not what Leo can do as he wants, if Leo resolutely disagrees to cede this area, then good, then continue to fight, the terrain in this area is complicated, the Huns with cavalry as the main and infantry as the auxiliary can not fight this area first, and first forcibly cross the strait to attack the Asia Minor Peninsula, which is a greater loss for the Eastern Empire, the Xiongnu Empire can afford to drag it, and the Eastern Empire is now facing many difficulties, I can't afford to fight at all, once there is a full-scale war with the Xiongnu Empire, just civil strife can make the Eastern Empire ruin, Leo and the high-ranking people of the Eastern Empire are not fools, of course they know how to choose, just like the bald leaders of later generations said "If you go outside, you must first settle inside".

After thinking it through, Charlie Cao knew how to force the Eastern Empire to make concessions, he nodded and said, "Great King, the lower officials understand, I know what to do to fight for the greatest interests!" ”

Qin Dong patted Charlie Cao on the shoulder and said: "Also, Lao Cao, this king still wants to tell you the truth, you just know this matter yourself, our army is almost here to fight, and there is no extra strength to continue to attack, so this king is not ready to fight with the Eastern Empire again, after this negotiation is over, this king will start to solve Urgan and Sambus in the west and southwest, if they surrender, this king can also accept them and leave them a place in the royal court, but if they hold on, That king will not be polite to them, there is no force in the empire that is not controlled by the royal court, this is the bottom line! Now that you know this, you have to be aware of it when negotiating, and don't force them to jump off the wall in speculation! ”

"Okay, my lord, the lower officials understand!"

Two days later, the negotiation delegation of the Xiongnu Empire headed by the right national teacher Cao Charlie and the Eastern Roman Empire led by the consul Priests met at 8:30 in the morning in Constantine's Square at the gate of the Senate in Constantinople.

At nine o'clock, the negotiations officially began.

At the signal of Priests, Claude stood up with a stack of parchment scrolls with dense writing on them to read out the terms of the Eastern Roman Empire on behalf of the Eastern Roman Empire negotiating delegation.

"Your Excellency the Right National Division of the Xiongnu Empire: Your army's unprovoked invasion of our territory is an extremely rude and shameless act, and on behalf of His Excellency Priests, I put forward the following conditions to Your Excellency: First, your army must unconditionally withdraw from the Grace region and Constantinople within one month. Secondly, your country has caused incalculable damage to our country in the course of its invasion of our territory, and you must compensate us for the loss of our property in the amount of 100,000 pounds of gold. Thirdly, your country must unconditionally release the captive nobles, officials and soldiers of our country. Fourth, your country must donate 50,000 high-quality war horses to our country as war reparation! Fifth, the Great Shan Yu and the regent of your country must clearly issue an edict declaring that the territory of our country will not be violated for thirty years! That's what we're trying to do! ”

Claude sat down after reading his terms, but he didn't notice that the scene was silent, except for Charlie Cao, the other officials of the Hun Empire delegation had angry expressions, especially the fierce Hun warriors standing around, all of them held the hilt of their swords and glared angrily at the members of the Eastern Roman Empire delegation.

The atmosphere was very tense, and Priests could even feel that the Hun warriors standing around him were likely to rush up at any time and draw their sabers to chop themselves into meat sauce, his vest was drenched with sweat in a short time, and several other members of the delegation were even more unbearable, and they shivered one by one.

In this tense atmosphere, Charlie Cao laughed: "Hahaha, Your Excellency Archon, don't you think that these conditions you put forward are a bit fanciful? Can I still put forward conditions if I lose? The national division has never heard of this kind of logic! Negotiation is what you want to talk about, okay, since you want to talk, then talk, until now, we are the victorious side, if you want to continue to talk, then the side that puts forward the conditions can only be our side, you can choose to accept, you can also choose to refuse, and then the armies of both sides continue to fight, of course, if you think that the conditions we put forward are a bit harsh, you can bargain, we can also negotiate, but if you want to put forward conditions, then sorry, The national division does not have the time to grind your teeth here with you, come here, read out our conditions, and let His Excellency the Archon listen! ”

"Yes, National Teacher!" A Hun official next to him stood up and took out a stack of parchment and read: "Our conditions are: First, the Eastern Roman Empire must cede the Greek provinces to our country. Second, the Eastern Roman Empire had to cede to us the area of the peninsula of Asia Minor, from Candela to the west of Izmit. Thirdly, the Eastern Roman Empire must recognize the provinces of Thrace and Constantinople as our inherent territory henceforth, and the sovereignty of the provinces of Greece, Thrace, Constantinople, and the area west of Candela on the Asia Minor Peninsula to the west of Izmit shall all belong to the Hun Empire. Fourth, the Eastern Roman Empire had to pay 10,000 pounds of gold to the Hun Empire every year. Fifth, my country's Da Shan Yu heard that your Emperor Leo I also has a little daughter Ari Angel, this year is seventeen years old, my country's Da Dan Yu admires the beauty of Princess Ali Angel very much, and wants to marry her as a Yan, your country must agree to marry Princess Ari Angel to our Da Shan Yu, the above are our conditions! (To be continued......)