Wu Lin looked into Tianhao's eyes and said seriously, "I am willing to help you become the supreme ruler of the entire world. It is my pleasure. ”

Tianhao laughed again: "Including dealing with the mob? You'd better think about it before saying that. In the eyes of many, they are the equivalent of messengers of the gods on earth. ”

Wu Lin also smiled: "You are the wisest king I have ever seen, and at the same time the most powerful and courageous king. ”

The smile on Tianhao's face was still there: "You get ready, let's set off early tomorrow morning!" I will arrange for someone to contact you. If you have a problem that you can't solve, you can ask them for help. ”

Wu Lin smiled and nodded.

He completely dispelled the concerns of the "betrayer". In the face of the great goal of "unifying the North", there is no concept of betrayal at all.

……

A few days later, the Tiger Clan's territory, the capital, Bloodclaw City.

Tiger King Yaoxian looked at the negotiation documents spread out on the table, and his face was extremely gloomy.

It is clearly written in black and white: the dragon clan and the tiger clan are bounded by Iron Jaw City, and the tiger clan will compensate the dragon clan for the loss of the dragon clan in this war, 3,000 tons of gold and 20,000 tons of silver.

Hu Yaozong stood about three meters away from the wooden table, maintaining a posture of arching his hands, worried, occasionally raising his head slightly in nervousness and fear, and glancing at the Tiger King, who had not made a sound for a long time.

After a few minutes, Hu Yaoxian finally broke the silence: "I sent you over to talk for so long, and you have reached such a result?" ”

Hu Yaozong was quite weak-hearted, and said in a low voice: "This is already the best armistice condition I can get. The dragons have a great appetite, and they will cede half of our territory when they open their mouths, and they will pay another 10,000 tons of gold and 100,000 tons of silver. I tried my best to persuade the Dragon Regent to reduce the compensation figure by two-thirds. ”

Hu Yao stared at the document first, to be precise, at the rather resilient and thick piece of paper. He brushed his fingertips across the paper, feeling a pleasantly smooth, not as rough as animal skin.

This is paper, the invention of the dragons.

Compared to traditional hides, this thing has so many advantages. The loss alone forced Hu Yao to choose paper and give up animal skins.

War changed many things, and the spread of paper was one of them.

Hu Yaoxian is a very proud person, although he has long known that the dragon people have made paper, but in his subconscious, he still refuses to admit and use new things from foreign races.

The letter sent by the messenger Libin surprised Hu Yaoxian, not the content itself, but the paper as a carrier of words.

In front of the ministers, it cannot be admitted that the Dragon Clan is stronger than the Tiger Clan.

But when a person is alone and meditates, he can't help but feel envy, jealousy and hatred in the depths of his heart.

Paper is not a difficult thing to do, the dragons have opened trading houses in many tiger cities, and as long as they are willing to spend money, they can provide enough goods.

No matter what the ethnic group, there is a need for enough animal skins to write official documents. With paper, you can save a lot of skin. This is a large number, which means that many civilians have leather robes to wear in winter, and they will not be frozen to death.

Hu Yaoxian admired the inventor of paper very much, but when he thought that the inventor was Tianhao, the regent of the dragon clan who was his enemy, he couldn't help but grab that man in front of him, peel the skin and tear the flesh, knock the bone and suck the marrow, and cut off the human head to make a bone bowl.

People are alive, and there are many.

Hu Yao was the king of the clan first, with power and money, and what he desperately needed now was fame. Especially outside of the Tiger Clan, it has a good reputation that is praised by more people in other tribes.

Virtuous, wise, steady, wise, brave, resolute, resolute......

As a king, many of his needs are different from those of civilians. Hu Yaoxian's dislike for Tianhao mainly stems from "this person's ability is stronger than mine", and it can even be said that he hates.

"The inventor of paper" is a resounding title, a dazzling crown.

Unfortunately, they don't belong to me.

"The terms of the armistice you won?" Hu Yao first put down the negotiation contract stamped with the seal of the regent of the Dragon Clan in his hand, stared at Hu Yaozong with cold eyes, and sneered: "Why, do you think I don't know anything? ”

It was almost dusk, and the rays of the setting sun cast large shadows on the interior of the main hall. A burst of fear instantly engulfed Hu Yaozong, and he suddenly realized that Hu Yaoxian, who had a fierce light in his eyes on the throne, was not just a "descendant of the family", but also the king of the tiger clan, who could decide his own life and death.

"I ...... I...... Already...... I tried my best......" Hu Yaozong's entire back was drenched in cold sweat, but he still wanted to fight for it, not so much hope, but a little luck mixed with anxiety.

"You think the entire legation is yours?" Hu Yaoxian said lightly: "Every word you have said and everything you have done in Bucks City, this king is clear. ”

The luck in Hu Yaozong's heart was extinguished like a candle by an irresistible wind. His thinking changed quickly, and he hurriedly changed his tone, and hurriedly followed Hu Yaoxian's words: "It's not my fault, really!" If it weren't for Wu Lin's insistence on asking for an interview with the Dragon Regent, things wouldn't have turned out the way they are...... It's him...... That's right, it was he who messed up everything, and it was he who agreed to the non-centrific demands of the dragons. ”

These words did not disperse for a long time, and Hu Yaoxian on the throne was silent for a long time.

Of course he knows the truth. As the king, Hu Yao first secretly planted people in the envoy group to spy on everyone. What happened in Bucks City that day, he had already learned from his cronies. To be sure, instead of "messing things up" as Hu Yaozong claimed, Wu Lin turned the tide and signed the armistice agreement by seeking the forgiveness of the dragons with a lower amount of compensation.

Standing on a fair standpoint, it is self-evident which is black and which is white.

But standing in the position of the "King of the Tiger Clan", Hu Yaoxian cannot be the same regardless of his thinking mode or the angle from which he looks at problems.

I am no longer the young man I was twenty years ago...... At that time, I was young and energetic, and I felt that the world would change because of me. If the Tiger Clan wants to be strong, it must carry out changes from the root and give more benefits to the lower class civilians. This is equivalent to a redistribution of social wealth, and it can also receive the broadest support and support from the people.

The cruel reality taught Hu Yao a lesson.

He never dreamed that the opposition from the aristocracy would be so strong, including the royal family around him. They refused to hand over the engulfed land, to report the population they had concealed, and to pay the annual food tax...... In some distant cities, the aristocracy even shouted the slogan of "city-state autonomy".

Wu Lin told Hu Yao not to worry, it was very easy to deal with these guys, as long as he followed the pre-made plan, sent an army, suppressed them with a strong and ruthless resolute attitude, and killed the stubborn ones in public. With a strong military backing, the Tiger Clan reform will be carried out without any discount.

The character of the superior determines whether the policies and regulations can be implemented.

On the two very different issues of fierce opposition and resolute repression, Hu Yao chose the former first. There were two reasons for this: one was because of the family affection from within the royal family, and the other was that he was suspicious of the support of the common people, believing that only through the nobility could he gain power and thus consolidate his power.

But not all aristocrats can be a worthy auxiliary force by their side.

The reason why Hu Yaozong was selected as the head of the envoy to Bucks City was because of the eloquence of this man who arranged the generations as his "clan uncle". In the past, there were many royal family banquets, and Hu Yaozong could always make his mother happy, and everyone up and down was happy. His stomach is full of all kinds of jokes, and he can talk non-stop in the face of all kinds of problems.

It's such a guy who almost messed up the entire negotiation plan.

In contrast, the former national master Wu Lin was different, if he hadn't stepped forward at that time and reached an agreement with the dragon regent, the consequences would have ...... It's unimaginable.

Hu Yaoxian didn't see the specific negotiation process, and the cronies he arranged couldn't enter the main hall of Buck City, let alone know about the secret agreement reached between Wu Lin and Tianhao.

But just by looking at the results, anyone will have the idea that "Wulin is doing a good job".

There are not many options in front of Hu Yaoxian.

Ironjaw has become the possession of the Dragons, who have gone on a rampant business there, forcibly removing most of the local population and giving a lot of benefits to those who remain, from food to clothing. Relying on this stupid practice of desperately throwing supplies at any cost (in Hu Yaoxian's opinion) to please the civilians, Ironjaw City turned to the dragons in such a short period of time that it was difficult to plant lurkers among those civilians.

Hu Yaoxian found this incomprehensible.

They are the real Tiger people, the people of this king!

Do you still have loyalty?

Aren't you afraid that the wrath of the tiger god will rain down on you?

Won't you be ashamed of the fact that you willingly betray your own people for the sake of a small steamed bun?

These questions are destined to have no answers, and the angry Hu Yaoxian can only calm down his emotions and face up to reality.

Negotiations are just a front, and war must be passed in order to regain what is rightfully theirs.

It took time to mobilize troops, and various defensive equipment, especially heavy ballistas, had to be set up along the Pantuo River.

However, as time passed and news from all sides gradually converged, Hu Yaoxian suddenly found that it was very small to defeat the dragon clan face-to-face, and he might even lose more.

They had muskets and cannons, and their weapons were far more advanced than the Tiger army.

The Tiger Clan can also build ships, but they don't have the technology to build large warships. Taking a step back, even if you can build a big ship, you can't win the dragon fleet through surface combat. This was a contest between artillery and catapults, and Hu Yaoxian, who had seen the power of the white southern artillery at Suolong Pass, did not think that the Tiger Clan warships that were launched in a hurry could be harder than rocks. What's more, the Navy is no better than the Army, and it takes at least several months from the beginning of training to the production of qualified sailors.

The royal family and the nobility were clamoring for war all day long. Their anger was far greater than that of Hu Yaoxian, after all, the land and population were plundered by foreigners, and all kinds of losses would be imposed on them in the end. Unfortunately, being loud doesn't mean you can win. Especially those nobles who are commanders and control military power, their strength and status are not equal, and few are often victorious generals who can really fight.

In this chaotic situation, the importance of witchcraft naturally emerged. Although Hu Yaoxian was very reluctant, he had to admit that looking at the entire Tiger Clan's royal court, the only person who really had the ability to help him, give advice from diplomatic, internal, military and other aspects and change the actual situation seemed to be Wu Lin.

"You are not allowed to touch the witchcraft." Hu Yao first sat in the shadows where the sun could not shine, and said to Hu Yaozong in an eerie and indifferent voice: "I know your thoughts, and I also know your next plans. But now it's not the same as it used to be, stop it, he's the king's man. ”

Hu Yaozong opened his mouth, his face full of astonishment.

Bringing down the witch forest is the purpose of the royal nobles. This man has become a thorn in the side of the aristocracy. On the one hand, it is to vent anger and revenge, and on the other hand, it is to get the position of "national teacher", so as to exert more influence on Tiger King Yaoxian, which is in line with the interests of the nobility.

"Your Majesty, you ...... It's better to think again. Hu Yaozong stepped forward, he spoke quickly, and with an obvious threat element: "Wu Lin is our enemy, and he is secretly colluding with the Dragon Clan this time, otherwise it would be impossible for the Dragon Clan to agree to such a greatly reduced compensation clause." There's definitely something wrong with that, I think ......."

"This king will appoint you as the commander of the vanguard army now, and lead the army to attack Ironjaw City." Hu Yaoxian interrupted him unceremoniously and sneered: "Uncle Clan, this king admits that what you said is right, I will give you a chance to show your ability." You should understand that in the final analysis, negotiations should be based on the actual war situation, and if you win the war, you will have the right to speak. Now it's your turn to help the king. ”

Hu Yaozong couldn't take it at all. His face turned pale, and he realized that Hu Yaoxian was not on his side. Now, Hu Yaozong could even feel that there was an other, hostile consciousness in the other party's body slowly flowing.

"Wulin is our people." Hu Yao first knew how to accept it when he saw it, and he sighed: "The current situation is very bad, with Wu Lin's ability, it can help us solve a lot of troubles." ”

Hu Yaozong understood his words, his eyes widened suddenly, and he asked with a short breath: "Your Majesty, do you want to reappoint him as a national teacher?" ”

"Or else?" Hu Yao stared at Hu Yaozong first, as if he was looking at an idiot who didn't understand anything: "Why don't you become this national teacher, and leave all the problems to you to deal with?" ”

Hu Yaozong clenched his fists tightly, and a huge humiliation rolled in his heart: "But...... But ......"

"Nothing." Now that the decision has been made, Hu Yaoxian will not procrastinate: "Draw up an edict, appoint Wu Lin as the national teacher, and be responsible for matters related to the truce with the dragon clan." ”

Hu Yaozong lowered his head in frustration, and although he was extremely reluctant, he was unable to reverse reality.