The generals in the tent withdrew one after another, and only Yan Chonghu, the general of Zhennan, was still sitting on the tiger skin chair and did not move.

"Chonghu, if you didn't say a word just now, you must have something to say. Long Chengtian took out a bottle of cold beer from the ice bucket beside him and opened the stopper, "You say it." ”

Yan Chonghu left the chair and knelt down on one knee, "Your Majesty has the liberty to suggest that your lord can abandon the original plan and make other arrangements." ”

Long Chengtian had just bitten the wine bottle and hadn't started drinking it, and as soon as he heard this, he stopped his movements, "The original plan was set by you, but the army has come to this day according to your plan." ”

"Things are changing, we are pressed for time, and we have to change randomly. Yan Chonghu's head hung lower. He was not tall, bald under the spiked iron helmet, with a few sparse beards on a square face, he was sick when he was young, his hair fell out, and the hair on his body was sparse.

Long Chengtian tilted his head and swallowed the beer in a big gulp. Yan Chonghu said: "At first, the subordinates were too optimistic about the time of the march, but they didn't expect it to take eight days to reach the big fence. According to the scouts, the purpose of Gray Scale is to fight a protracted war with us, and there are only 3,000 garrisons in the Great Fence, so he will not be ready to fight us to the death, so he brought his two sons to show up, just to lure our army deeper. Our army may be able to take the Great Barrier, but it will certainly have no hope of capturing Greyscale and his son alive. Therefore, this warrior has a false name, but it is not effective. ”

"False name. Didn't you want it in the first place?"

"My lord, we don't have a name, but we don't have much time. Yan Chonghu sweated like rain, so he had to keep wiping it with his hands, "Now according to our original plan, the lord must return to the royal capital as soon as possible to preside over the situation." It took our army five days to march here, but it would take about two days to retreat to the town of Wapian and march in a hurry. Withdraw early, and the adults will hopefully get enough time before the day of the dragon's face. The deeper we go, the less time we have left. ”

"You want our army to retreat without getting anything?"

"No, the subordinate will ask for your permission, and the subordinate will go to the Great Fence as an envoy of our army to negotiate with the Gray Scales, and when an agreement is reached, our army will not gain nothing, on the contrary, it will gain more than a strong attack. ”

Long Chengtian looked at his henchman and beloved general without saying a word, he went crazy. Going to the enemy's camp alone and negotiating with the capricious green-skinned man is no less than a meat bun beating a dog without returning. "How do you talk to him, and why does he have a deal with you?"

"What the Lord wants is the submission of the King of the Swamps, and what the King of the Swamps wants is nominally to eradicate the Three-Armed Demon Cult that confuses the public and destroys the serpent god's mission, but in fact he hopes for far more than that. The swamps are far more gentle and wise than the barbarians. If Greyscale wanted war and land, he would have done so many years ago when the defenses on the border of Nishizawa Province were weak. He knew his own strength well, and he knew that even if he took our town, he would not be able to hold on. What he needs is the approval of the royal court, and he may even want to take a half-official position, so that he can leave this barren land and go to a more fertile area to develop. Adults can satisfy him in both cases. ”

"You're taking an adventure. Bloodshed and death are always more convincing than negotiations between reality and fiction. ”

"It was the subordinate who planned the battle plan, and now it is creating obstacles for the adults, so this risk is also the subordinate should take the risk. Bloodshed and death can make people submit, but profit can make people willingly obey. The adults provide benefits, and the gray scales choose to obey. "A large piece of the animal skin under Yan Chonghu's head has been wet, and sweat has fallen, seeping into it, and there is silence.

"Are you going to make it?"

"Adults can continue with the original plan. ”

"Then you could die at the hands of Greyscale, or be his hostage. ”

"That's what the subordinates deserve. If a subordinate is captured, he should be honored with death, and he will not cause the slightest trouble to our army. ”

Long Chengtian threw the empty wine bottle onto the animal skin and broke it into several pieces, "The subordinates I want are not dead, if you die, it will be our trouble!"

"Adults want subordinates who dare to give advice and are good at admonishing, and adults must also follow advice, not those worthless suggestions. In this way, adults can truly rule the world, and to rule the world, the victory in the deep land is insignificant compared to the other. There was no fear in Yan Chonghu's tone. He didn't sweat out of fear.

Long Chengtian stared at his Zhennan general, a flame shining in his eyes. No one in the military pavilion dared to contradict him like this, even if Brother Wang was in front of him, he was polite enough. He let go of the throat guard, unfastened the buckle of his shoulder armor, and finally uttered only three words: "Go ahead." ”

Two hours later, still motionless, he sat in his tent when he heard a commotion outside it. There was the shouting of soldiers, the clashing of swords, the tapping of horses' hooves, leather and iron boots on wooden rafts, and the crisp jingle of rattles. The door of the cowhide tent was opened, and the first person to enter was Yan Chonghu, followed by a young man who only covered the vital parts with animal skins and leaves, he was dressed in brown skin, his face, shoulders, elbows and chest were painted in various colors and patterns, he had a wide face and a wide mouth that was slightly convex forward, his eyebrow bones were high, his nostrils were pierced with a pair of small red rings, and his face was beardless, looking like some kind of hybrid person. The crisp rattle came from him, his brown hair in long braids and bells, and huge rings with bells hanging from his earlobes, which shook with every step.

"My lord, my lord has fulfilled his mission and brought the son of Greyscale, the prince of the swamps, Geze. Yan Chonghu knelt down on one knee and motioned for Geze to follow suit.

The marsh prince did not do so, he bowed slightly, his brown hair hanging down his shoulders, and the jingle was incessant.

"Geze, the king of the swamps, the lord of the lizardmen, the ruler of the deep waters, and the son of the monitor lizard domesticator, Greyscale, has come to negotiate with the Boxers at the behest of my father, with a view to reaching an agreement that will satisfy both parties. "He speaks the lingua franca fluently, his words are clear and correct, and the words he uses are in line with the habits of the upper class of boxers, and he is elegant and not rude. It is difficult to tell that he is a swamp man just by his pronunciation, most of whom have a very small vocabulary of the lingua franca and have a very pronounced accent. Without special training, a swamper cannot reach this level.

Long Chengtian stared at him with interest for a while, and then stretched out his hand and signaled, "Please take a seat." ”

Geze did not sit down, he still stood. "Real swampers don't like to sit in soft chairs, we are born with strong feet to be able to stand long enough. ”

You're all four-legged monsters, except that you have two that look like hands. Long Chengtian glared at him coldly, the prince of the swamp people was barefoot, his feet were wide and flat, there were flippers between the toes of his five feet, and his knees were slightly bent, and he seemed to be unable to stand completely upright, but the muscles in his legs were bulging, and he did look very powerful.

"My lord, the conditions have been opened, and Gray Scales has basically agreed. But there are some details that the subordinates can't decide, and Gray Scale asks his son to discuss them in detail. ”

"My father agrees to become a subordinate of the Xianglong Kingdom, but he must receive a title from the Dragon King, and the Land of Shenze becomes a new province, and my father will be his governor. My father will pay annual tribute of wood, herbs, and hides, or other substances, in varying quantities and without fixation. However, it does not accept the expropriation of money, does not agree to the military service of the Boxers, does not accept the gods of the Boxers, and accepts but does not promote other customs of the Boxers, so as to maintain the original beliefs and traditions of the Swamp people and the lizardmen. If the Shogun can ensure that the above is reached, and does not trample on the agreement in the future, my father will swear to the snake god that he will be willing to submit to your kingdom and never invade the territory of the Boxers, and that my father will come to the aid of the King of the Boxers in the event of war. ”

That's the details. It's too much to ask for, too little to give. The green-skinned race is so cunning and deceitful. Get a title for nothing, be a big lord, and then pay almost nothing.

"I have heard your father's request, but there are some things that His Majesty the Dragon Monarch can adjudicate, and I am only the general of the military pavilion, so I cannot answer in lie. Prince Geiser, you can go north with our army to return to the court, and then meet your majesty, and then make all your requests. ”

"Geze can go to Dragon City, the capital of the boxers, but he doesn't want to go without any promises related to the agreement. "The swamp prince's sunken eye sockets were green eyes, and the whites of gray eyes turned slyly.

Although this person's words revealed inherent stubbornness, Gray Scale was actually ready to send protons, which Long Chengtian did not expect. It seems that the Marsh King's desire for peace is more urgent than he thought. Case......

"I am sure that your father will receive a title from His Majesty himself, and that the Land of the Deep Waters will not be required to pay gold, silver baht, or copper, and that you will retain your customs. But that's all, you still need to ask His Majesty the Dragon Monarch for other things. ”

That's enough. Geiser will go north with his army with confidence in the general's promise. Gaze grinned, showing his gray teeth, and smiled like a toad.

In this way, before the evening, the combat mission of the Deep Plain Land was announced. The general took his cronies, together with the gifts of Prince Geze and his cart, as well as a hundred guards, and left first, before leaving, Long Chengtian secretly found the local natives to check the identity of the prince, which was indeed not false.

Meng Yunhe, the general of Pingxi, was left behind, commanding an army of 20,000, and they would rest in place and withdraw from the camp tomorrow morning.

It's hard to come, it's easy to go. On the way back, there was no need to cut down trees to clear the road to investigate the reality, under the leadership of the indigenous guide, they stayed overnight, and walked out of this soft**, unfathomable swamp in two days, and returned to the tile town. The prince of the swamp people did not have any doubts, as if he completely trusted Long Chengtian, although he did not say much along the way, but he was not unhappy, every time he heard the fighters chatting and joking, he also bowed his head slightly, as if he was enjoying it.

In the town of Wapian to reorganize the army, rest for the night, in the early morning of the next day, Long Chengtian led the army. They have been more than a month away from the day of the army, and when he returns to the royal capital, there will be only a few days left before the day of Longyan. He was anxious, so he ordered a march in the rain.

This time, he personally led the army to the expedition, which was also part of the plan. He must bring this 100,000 army and all the generals in the military cabinet with him, but the rebellion of the gray scales will not be sooner or later, and at this time of the year, he will catch up with time. Xize Province entered the Giant Hammer Province, turned into Songwei Avenue, and passed through the Hundred Flowers Province along the road, and arrived at the Leaping Horse Town, one of the six towns of the Dragon. This distance is about 700 dragon steps, if you drag the army at full speed, it will take about a month, so when he marched to the Dieyang Mountain in the Giant Hammer Province, he pointed out all the cavalry, one step ahead, and the rest of the troops were led by Fang Jue and slowly marched forward. In this way, the march was much faster. When they entered the province of Baihua, it was the day of worship, and the towns they passed through were full of jubilation and festivities. When I arrived in Mulan Town, I suddenly encountered a storm, thunder and lightning, and had to stop and take shelter.

By the time the general returned to the royal capital in triumph, it was already the morning of the third day after the rainstorm.

After the heavy rain, the scorching sun ushered in a rare winter, and the sun burned the steel helmet and iron armor to the core. Long Chengtian passed through the town of Prancing Horse with his cavalry, and the dragon's walls were already in his field of vision.

But he did not see the warm welcome.

In the past, when he returned from a foreign battle, his elder brother Long Xingtian would personally set up a battle of hundreds of people outside the Dragon City to greet him. Of course, it is impossible for Long Xingtian to do this now, but he has returned in triumph, and there should not be such silence outside the dragon city. The army was only a few arrows away from the dragon city, and through the wind and sand, he could only see a few scattered figures outside the city gate, a canopy, and two flags.

While he fought the hard, rough-skinned lizardmen in the humid and hot ghost weather of Zedi, the people of the kingdom enjoyed the peace and tranquility he brought. He was drenched by the torrential rain as he set up his camp to rest on his tired way back to the city, and his leading cavalry lost thirty-seven horses and eighteen soldiers in the disaster. The soldiers were wounded, and they spent the last days of their lives under the power of the dragon. They are all his people. Part of his power. Part of the glory of his career.

But now the city he's fighting for is like this welcomes the hero's return.

As his horse came closer, he could see more clearly, the white canopy shielding the old man from the first scorching sun after the rainstorm, and the banner with the golden dragon tattoo fluttering high. All the people were clothed in white linen.

White canopy. White linen.

Xia Lao looked ten times older than he had ever seen, and the old man who could no longer straighten his waist seemed to be dried under the scorching sun at any time. His textured face resembles a dried orange peel, and his trademark goatee looks like a handful of withered weeds.

"General!" Xia Lao's throat that seemed to be about to die burst out of a wail, he staggered and stood unsteadily, if it wasn't for Zhuo Xuan and Yu Jian hurriedly holding him, he would have fallen.

For a moment, his mind went blank, was it the ecstasy of a dream coming true, or the regret of a loss? He did not let the horse stop, but grasped the reins with his left hand, raised the command flag with his right hand, and the trumpeter immediately blew the horn to stop.

"Yingtian, Chonghu, come with me. The two men beside him immediately drove their horses to follow. The army stopped two arrows from the city gates. He rode towards the city gate with two of his henchmen. No one had ever been able to stop the Great General's progress, maybe his brother Long Jun could, but that was before today.

The dragon god scorched the creatures of the earth with the scorching sun, just as he watered the earth with thunder, lightning, wind, and rain. Impermanent, changeable, but all equally cruel.

The dragon monarch died.

This happened on the 20th day of December in the 999th year of the Xianglong Era.