"yes, I do fly ......"

A heavy cavalryman wearing a fully covered helmet replied in a wry voice.

As he replied, he took off the tightly covered helmet.

"Your Majesty?! Why are you here?! ”

Raphael looked at Leon who suddenly appeared in shock.

"I just wanted to see with my own eyes what happened to the Cato people who migrated here, but I didn't expect to meet His Excellency Zakar......"

Leon wiped the sweat from his helmet: "Zakar, where is your camp?" You wouldn't mind treating me to dinner, would you? ”

Zakar was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "Your Majesty Leon? What guts...... You invited me to dinner, and you actually planned to eat at my camp? ”

As he spoke, he wiped the paint from his face, plucked the straw bundle he used for camouflage, and straightened his gear, as if trying to make himself look neat and tidy—the Cato warlord seemed to be quite decent.

"What, you're not happy? Then it's okay to go back to Changhe City with me, I must eat and drink well every day to feed you......"

Leon threw the helmet in his hand to Sigismund, spread his hands and stepped forward: "I like to eat roasted whole lamb, do your cooks know how to make it?" ”

Zakar had already cleaned up the blades of grass on his body, he took off the camouflage cloak full of dirt and threw it to the soldiers behind him, and also spread his hands to greet him: "Everyone on the grassland can make roast sheep, you are welcome to my house as a guest, Your Majesty Leon, you can eat as many roast sheep as you want...... But do you really dare to come to my house for dinner? ”

Li Ang looked at the burly strong man in front of him with a smile, rubbed his hands and nodded vigorously: "Since there is roast sheep to eat, what else is there to dare to...... Let's go, let's go. ”

A look of impatience.

Zakar was stunned again, and a little smile appeared on his fierce face: "According to the customs of the grassland, guests should be entertained with good food and drink when they come, so that guests can't go home before they can be entertained...... Aren't you afraid that you won't be able to go back to my house when you get to my house? ”

"Oh? And this good thing? Roast lamb to eat every day? ”

Li Ang was overjoyed: "Is there a beautiful woman warming the bed?" If I have everything, it doesn't matter if I don't go back......"

"Hahaha...... His Majesty Leon ......"

Zakar laughed and looked at Leon's gaze with deep appreciation: "You are really different from the king of the Raven Realm, I admire your courage...... If it were me, I would not have dared to go to your house for dinner. ”

"You're ready to occupy my house, and you still say you don't dare to eat my family's food? Zakar, you are dishonest......"

Leon shook his head and sighed.

"Occupy your house? You may be misunderstood, Your Majesty Leon......"

Zakar frowned imperceptibly.

"If you don't plan to occupy my house, then what are you sending so many people to my territory?"

Leon pursed his lips and asked, "Moreover, if Sigismund hadn't discovered your whereabouts, what were you going to do here?" ”

"Of course it's robbery...... You have such a big convoy to send it to the door, if I don't grab it, won't it be too much of a loss? ”

Zakar said confidently.

That's interesting......

sent an army of 2,000 to the territory of the kingdom of Neopande, but he kept hiding and did not plunder for most of the month;

But he himself personally led more than 100 people to do the business of roadblocks and robberies in this wilderness?

This level of lying is really not good.

"I've never seen a robbery and makeup like this."

Leon looked at the Gatu rider behind Zakar and pouted, "You obviously want to attack Lion Lake City...... Zakar, I'll just say you're dishonest, every word is a lie. Could it be that your achievements and reputation were all obtained by lying? ”

Zakar and his guards used camouflage to camouflage, which was certainly not for robbery, but mostly to investigate the military in person, like Leon.

While sending a large number of cavalry into the country, he moved his tribe to the east of Shihu City, and personally investigated the military situation - most of this was for the purpose of plotting Lion Lake City, or even all the towns in the Beibu Gulf.

Although he was smiling all the time, in fact, Li Ang's heart was a little heavy now.

Because Zakhar's behavior does not conform to the logic of a raider - Zakar is not here to rob money and food, he is to occupy and rule!

He was going to carry out a real conquest of the countries around the Gato steppe, not to grab a vote and leave as usual!

If nothing else, there are people in the kingdom of Neupander who are trading with Zakar......

After all, no one has ever been able to find such a large army - thousands of horses, if there is no inner ghost to help them hide and provide horse feed, how can they not find their whereabouts at all?

So Leon will take the initiative to expose himself here, and he wants Zakar to focus on himself.

"Well, I'll admit, I was going to take a look at the armaments of Lion Lake City...... I was indeed ready to attack Lion Lake City. But, Your Majesty Leon, what are you here dressed like this for? ”

Zakar also pouted and pointed at Leon.

Leon is now dressed like an ordinary cavalryman, and even his weapons are standard equipment, and even Raphael didn't recognize him after putting on his helmet.

Leon sighed and pointed to the carriage behind him: "I'm here to see the situation of your clan with my own eyes, and to personally send you some gifts." Zakar, I'm not like you, I'm a sincere person......"

"Give me a gift?"

Zakar looked at the carriages, and then at Leon, his face full of disbelief.

"Of course! I've never liked to fight, I just like to make friends...... The gifts I brought were all the rarest and most precious commodities on the prairie! ”

Leon waved his hand, and Sigismund, who was next to him, cooperated in lifting the tarpaulin on a carriage.

The carriage was filled with fine lead utensils and spices - this cart came from Bacchus, who imposed a very high commodity tax on the lead pots, which were so low cost for money that only the nobles would buy them in Bacchus, so most of them became unsalable.

All kinds of lead jugs and lead wine glasses shimmered in the sunlight, and the rich fragrance also diffused as the tarpaulin was lifted, and all the Gatu people behind Zakar subconsciously took a breath.

"Hiss......"

Zakar's eyes widened, and he took a deep breath obviously: "These are all valuable goodies...... Was it really given to me? ”

"Of course, what else am I going to do with them in the wilderness?"

Leon stretched out his hand and gestured to the carriage behind him: "Zakar, these dozens of carts of good things are all for you." ”

"Why?"

Zakar frowned, his face full of doubt.

"As I said, I don't like to fight, I just like to make friends...... I will come to your house with gifts, talk to you about our friendship, and hope that you will also entertain me with good food and drink in the same way as you entertain friends. ”

Leon turned around and picked up a small glass from the other carriage and threw it to Zakar: "Friendship is as hard-won as glass, and it is as easy to break as glass, you have to catch ......"

Zakar took the glass with both hands, took it in his hand and looked at it, carefully tugged the cup into his arms, and took a deep breath.

Then, he spread out his hands and bowed: "Your Majesty, thank you for your generosity and sincere invitation to come to my tent. ”

……

At night, the camp of the Gatu lit a large bonfire more than one man high.

Hundreds of people gathered around the bonfire and danced the horsesteps of the Gatu tribe.

There are dozens of large grills on the periphery, and many hanging pots on the periphery, and the fresh aroma of mutton soup and the fishy smell of roast mutton permeate the entire camp at the same time.

Many Gato girls weaved through the crowd to bring delicious broth to Leon's soldiers.

Those originally fierce Cato warriors had also taken off their armor at this time, and they were shirtless and carrying wine bags around looking for someone to drink.

If the Cato were not enemies, they were indeed warm and straightforward in their hospitality to their friends.

Despite the language barrier, they would still hold wooden cups and grin and wrestle with the soldiers to drink, and when they were drunk, they would pull people out to wrestle, and they would not get angry when they were smashed all over their heads, but would laugh and pat their opponents on the shoulders and give them a thumbs up.

Leon didn't participate in these activities, he didn't even drink alcohol, and although the wounds on his body had basically healed, he didn't want to drink the wine that had been poured out of the lead jug......

"Your Majesty Leon, what do you want to talk to me about?"

Zakar didn't drink either, and he didn't persuade Leon to drink—he knew they both needed to stay sober.

Like Leon, he cut the lamb with a knife, and Zakar gave Leon the head of the lamb - a courtesy of respect, and indeed a way of entertaining distinguished guests.

"When it comes to business, you should know that I'm a businessman."

Leon gestured to the carriages parked on the periphery: "You need salt, you need metal utensils, you need cloth and silk, you need medicine and spices—spiced meat tastes good, doesn't it?" ”

The mutton, which covers the fishy smell, is of course much tastier.

"We really need these...... But how is this deal negotiated? These things are expensive, we don't have much money......"

Zakar asked, nodding.

These things are indeed lacking in the grasslands, and these things are the necessities of life.

"But you have sheep—I need them, especially these delicious goats. Zakar, I can open a mutual trade zone in Fletcher, whatever you need, you can exchange sheep for it, and we can negotiate a fair price together. ”

Leon looked at Zakar very seriously and said, "In this way, you don't have to let the already small number of warriors come out to rob with their lives, you can concentrate on dealing with Juda or other warlords who disobey you." And I can also reduce the expenditure on border protection and put more energy into the construction of the interior - we all have interests, and we can all reduce losses, there is no need to fight all day long, you can really slowly build your country in the grassland. ”

"Your Majesty Leon, do you really not mind if I establish a country in the grassland?"

Zakar also sat upright and asked very seriously.

"Why should I mind? I don't intend to live in the steppe for long, I'm not interested in this place, I'm not a conqueror—as I said, I'm a businessman, and I only do what is good for me and my people. It is not in my interest to fight with you, because I have to sacrifice countless people and gain little. ”

Leon said very truthfully: "No matter what you do, you always have to measure the input and output, right?" ”

"You're right...... But I've already invested a lot, and if I quit at this time, my previous investment will be gone......"

Zakar nodded and sighed.

"Aren't these gifts I brought enough to make up for the cost of your previous troops? How many men have you sent into my territory? Two thousand? ”

As he spoke, Leon pulled out a paper bag from his bosom, cut a black-brown paste from the inside, and smeared it on the freshly cut leg of lamb.

"Two thousand, four thousand horses...... The value of these valuable gifts, of course, far exceeds what they consumed during this time. But, Your Majesty Leon, the harvest they can bring me is far from comparable to these gifts. ”

Zakar kept staring at Leon's movements, and finally couldn't help but ask, "What are you wiping this?" Spices? ”

"Oh, this is Fushou ointment...... Made with a rare and precious herb, it not only relieves pain and cough, but also combs the stomach and intestines, treats constipation and diarrhea, very good stuff - would you like to have some? ”

Leon handed the paper bag to Zakar: "I've had a lot of injuries before, and it hurts at night. And eating too much meat is either constipation or diarrhea, which can be solved with this...... I brought you a whole car. ”

Zakar took the paper bag and sniffed it: "Fushou ointment? Very good medicine indeed......"

He also followed Leon's example, and cut a little bit and smeared it on the mutton.

"Do you still think that your troop will bring you far more than I have given you?"

Leon looked at Zakar and smiled, "You can't defeat Long River City, even Lion Lake City, you don't expect it - since I'm here, you should understand that you can't capture any important town." As for the rest of the towns and villages, what if you beat them? Can it be kept? To put it mildly, without the steppe and cavalry, the Gatu defending the city seemed to me to be no different from the civilians......"

Zakar silently ate the piece of meat, frowning and thinking for a moment.

Afterwards, he asked Li Ang with some doubts: "How do you know that I want to capture Changhe City?" Where did you get the news? You've planted a spy on me? ”

"Hah...... Zakar, you told me yourself. ”

Li Ang shook his head and smiled: "You said it yourself in the afternoon, you are going to attack Lion Lake City, I know that is the truth. A big attack on Lion Lake City means that I have to pull the troops of Long River City out to the rescue, so the 2,000 cavalry you hide in Kewen Village will have a chance to steal Long River City—am I right? ”

"How do you know they're in Kwyn Village?!"

Zakar was genuinely surprised.

"Hahaha, I guessed casually, but I didn't expect to really guess ......"

Leon burst out laughing.

In fact, he was not sure of Zakar's tactics, and he didn't know where Zakar hid the 2,000 cavalry, so he was really guessing.

Of course, this speculation is not foolish, after all, Zakhar's purpose is mostly to have a certain important town, and the city is closer to the grassland, and has recently been under construction - attacking before the walls of the city are completed has of course become Zakar's first choice.

And the village of Kwen is also based on the destination of the city of Long River - only the no-man's Kewen and the no-man's land near it can hide a large army from being discovered.

Since he guessed these, then who Zakar's inner should be, Leon could also guess.

(End of chapter)