"I'm a businessman, and the most important thing in a businessman is friendship. Thomas beckoned the maid to serve hot tea to El, and said with a smile on his face: "Personally, I think that many times it is more meaningful for everyone to sit down and talk calmly than to fight and kill. ”

"I have the impression that friendship is supposed to be a two-way street. El picked up the teacup unhurriedly, looked Thomas in the eye and said, "I'm a rough man, so I don't like to go around the bend very much." In the vernacular of the brown hills, please draw a line. ”

"It is too humble for you to say that, knowing that your name of prowess has spread in this land, even if I have heard of it. Thomas coughed, a familiar business smile on his face, and whispered, "If you are able to bring Thea back, the beautiful Lady Annis promises to provide you with professional guide services, and as a friend of that lady, I will also provide you with safe and clean food and water." ”

"This good deal sounds...... El shrugged his shoulders indifferently, nodded and said, "I'll put her back when I get back to her tonight." That little girl is not very old, but she is unexpectedly very expected. ”

"Wow...... Your Excellency, your attitude really embarrass me. Thomas's face changed slightly, and he spread his hands and smiled bitterly: "I think you may not understand ......"

"There's nothing I don't understand, it's you're going around in circles, Mr. Thomas. El's face became serious, and his tone gradually turned cold: "Don't think I don't know anything about your situation, there is a guy who calls himself Blackbeard in my hand, and his cooperation is quite surprising. ”

"Oh my God, how dare you believe Blackbeard's nonsense?" Thomas stood up with an exaggerated look of surprise on his face and exclaimed, "Ask any man in this land, and he will tell you how cunning Blackbeard is! He was once the most powerful and cunning king of robbers, and he never trusted anyone, and no one dared to trust him. Every word that came out of his mouth was probably soaked in venom, and countless unlucky people have died over the years......"

"Don't worry about that, we have our own way of telling. El waved his hand and said, "If you are not going to get into the subject yet, I think this is the end of today's dinner, thank you for your hospitality." ”

"You're such an impatient person. Thomas shook his head with a wry smile, sat down again, put away the look of surprise on his face, and changed back to a commercial smile: "No small castle can be built in a day, I think you should be a little more patient and listen to another piece of advice." ”

"I'm sorry I have limited patience, so this will be our last topic of conversation tonight. With an impatient look on his face, El leaned back slightly, leaned back in his chair, and looked at Thomas.

"I once offered Blackbeard a bounty of 10,000 gold coins, and that was a long time ago, of course...... But I think that speaks volumes about my hatred for that old immortal. Thomas's eyes flickered twice, and he said quickly, "If you can leave Blackbeard to me, I can send my own armed caravan to protect you all the way to the edge of the brown hills." With my current status and status, almost all the big and small forces in this land will buy my face this time. ”

"Including Roger?" El asked bluntly.

"Including Roger! Thomas didn't flicker again this time, and finally admitted the existence of the ghost wolf Roger. He took a deep breath and said slowly, "Roger does want to make a move on you, but there is a personal grudge between me and Blackbeard that cannot be resolved. ”

"That sounds interesting. El was about to speak, when Lorana, who had been sitting beside him without speaking, suddenly said. She looked Thomas straight in the eye with a standard business smile on her face.

"Mr. Thomas, how about listening to the offer from our side?"

"May it be heard, beautiful lady. Thomas bowed slightly, but his heart chuckled. In the previous conversation, El had maintained an aggressive attitude, so that he almost ignored the girl who had felt something was wrong in the first place.

If she is the leader of the Isttalen in this negotiation, then she and the general have been arguing for a long time, isn't it tantamount to acting in a monkey show?

"Both Old Mr. Blackbeard and Miss Thea can be handed over to you, and we have only one requirement, and that is to be able to pass safely through the browned hills. As you said, sometimes fighting and killing doesn't solve problems, especially if we already know each other's strengths. ”

El leaned back in his chair, while Lorana's body leaned forward slightly, and the two tacitly exchanged the dominant voice. Seeing all the thoughts on Thomas's face, Lolana chuckled softly: "The ancient proverb says that two tigers must be injured when they fight, and we have no intention of changing the current situation in the brown soil hills, and everyone behind you is not like Whitebeard, taking all his wealth to fight to the death. The cost of war is not so easy for both of us......

"Of course, there's never a free lunch, and we know that these two captives aren't enough to discourage you. But I think most of the robbers gather for nothing more than money. If we could, we would be willing to pay a toll to protect the lives of the refugees in our ranks. ”

Lorana's offer made Thomas ponder. As a big businessman who has been in black and white for many years, he can see what tricks these two people are playing, which is nothing more than a combination of sticks and sweet dates. It's old-fashioned, but it's practical at all times. If it weren't for El's previous deliberate provocation to Roger, if Lolana first said the conditions that she was willing to cut the meat, she would inevitably be despised by him.

The biggest disadvantage of the aborigines of the brown soil and hills is that they are afraid of the soft and the hard. If you expect to be able to exchange half of your food for forgiveness, they will simply kill you and take all the food. If you eat the food in your hand first, and then see who dares to come and grab it, you will pounce on it and take a bite, and you will soon become a leader.

Paying tolls is actually equivalent to a compromise in disguise, but this condition is put forward when the armed forces of the other side have the advantage, and they have the qualifications to negotiate. Under El's threat, Thomas had to carefully consider Lorana's conditions.

If the subjective emotional factor is removed, the conditions offered by Lolana are an acceptable option for both sides in the current stalemate. The bandits targeted the exiles because they were confused by the sheer number of refugees, thinking that there would be a lot of money to be made in it, but when they found out that it was an armed hedgehog, they became in a dilemma.

For the exiles of Istalen, the extraneous things such as gold and silver treasures were the least important. It is not these robbers that the Ixtalons are fleeing from, but the plague behind them. If the robbers could be appeased by spending money, the representatives of the exiles' council would not have much of an opinion.

The only problem is the price of the road. There is obviously a considerable gap between the psychological price of the Istalon and the expectations of the robbers. However, this kind of thing is always to ask for a lot of money to pay on the spot, and for a businessman like Thomas, it is the area he is best at and familiar with, and it is not a trouble at all.

Lolana's conditions are only a preliminary idea, and the two sides need to go back to coordinate the interests of all parties, come up with a set price, and then proceed to the next step of negotiations. Naturally, this kind of big thing cannot be accomplished overnight, and it is obviously impossible to get an answer tonight. So El and Lolana playfully asked to leave.

After the two men left, Thomas returned to the table, picked up his teacup and remained silent. The curtain in the kitchen suddenly opened, and the poisonous widow with plump breasts and fat buttocks walked out, lying on Thomas's back as softly as if she had no bones, and laughed coquettishly: "These two little guys are really interesting, the young people nowadays really can't be underestimated, we old bones have to take it easy." ”

"What do you think of that girl's proposal?" asked Thomas, hesitantly.

"Even Blackbeard can be planted in his hands, and the fighting power of those Istalon people can be imagined. It's right that the two of us are cooperating with Roger, but there is no need to compromise our own capital. The poisonous widow did not answer Thomas's question directly, but the meaning of her words was very obvious.

Thomas nodded, already having an idea in mind. He reached out and touched the poisonous widow's snow-white chest, and said with a smile: "Let's talk to Roger first, and then see what price they can give." It's not easy for everyone these days, but it's better to make money in harmony. ”

"What price are you going to give them?"

On the way back, El whispered to Lorana. The cooperation between the two people before was indeed rehearsed in advance, but El knew almost nothing about the conditions offered by Lolana.

"I'm not going to give them any price. Lolana grinned.

"But didn't you just say ......" Hearing Lorana say this, El was even more puzzled. In his opinion, the conditions offered by the eldest lady are indeed a choice acceptable to both parties at present. As for the price, Tiana's side shouldn't be too harsh.

"Roger doesn't necessarily want the price. Lolana hid in the shadows behind El, revealing only half of her face under the hood, and the corners of her mouth were slightly raised: "The robbers only need money, but Roger wants to be on the throne, but what he needs is prestige." This condition will inevitably lead to a conflict of interest on the other side, and we just need to wait and see what happens. (Go to read OM) (Jiangsu Net)