Li Xiao coughed dryly, then coughed again, "This, this old minister does not understand military affairs and does not know the hardships on the front lines, so I cannot say more."
Xiao Zhixing nodded with a smile, "Your Excellency is wise. The front lines are indeed tough. If we don't seize anything from the enemy, we won't even have enough to eat with the salary the court provides. How can we have the strength to fight?"
Huo Jindao cleared his throat and said, "I heard from my sixth son that you sell the cattle and sheep you bring back to merchants on the border to fund your military expenses. This method is indeed acceptable, but it is unbecoming of a great power."
Xiao Zhixing grinned, "Compared to the grandeur of a great power, the soldiers below prefer real money."
For three or four hundred years, there has been no successful case of annexation between countries on this continent. Even when wars break out, it's a back-and-forth struggle where neither side wins.
Nomadic peoples of the grasslands may still have some bandit genes, but their main idea is to seize territory or destroy everything.
The Central Plains states had absolutely no such bandit mentality. Oh, they had been entangled with the barbarians for almost four hundred years, but they had never completely broken out of the country, so there was nowhere to plunder.
Duke Li seemed to be deep in thought, "Using war to sustain war, operating covertly?"
Xiao Zhixing smiled, "Yes, we will continue to negotiate on the surface and try to gain the greatest benefit. If they want to talk slowly and drag it out, we don't need to urge them. Let them talk for as long as they want."
Secretly, she had already instructed the army of Xincheng to disperse into the grasslands, take turns becoming bandits, and plunder everything.
It remains to be seen how long the Northern Barbarians can hold out.
As long as they don't catch us in the act, it's just banditry, and it has nothing to do with us. We genuinely want a ceasefire.
Actually, she wanted to openly order someone to steal it, but well, that would definitely damage her reputation.
The imperial court advocated for a ceasefire, but on the surface, she still had to obey the court's orders.
She can do whatever she wants in secret, but this time she'll take the opportunity to help them change their minds and also show her own ideas, which can be considered a form of reporting.
Don't blame her for concealing the truth later. And if something unexpected happens in the future and she gets caught red-handed, we can all share the responsibility.
Zhao Yunqi concluded by saying, "We should try to secure as many benefits as possible in the negotiations. As for the front lines with the Southern Barbarians and the Northern Barbarians, we should act discreetly as the situation develops."
He couldn't bring himself to say the robbery, but everyone understood.
Xiao Zhixing cupped his hands in a smile, his eyes crinkling, and said, "Your Majesty is wise."
Zhao Yunqi nudged her, "So, you'll be the lead officer in this negotiation?"
Xiao Zhixing pouted, "Let the other adults go first and see what their attitude is. I'll go last."
After discussing our terms again, we demanded that the Northern Barbarians at least return Guixiong Pass and pay some compensation, and that the Southern Barbarians withdraw their troops from Jianan Pass and pay some compensation for their losses.
They decided that Huo Jindao and Duke Li would be in charge of negotiating with them first, and Xiao Zhixing would avoid going if possible.
She genuinely wasn't that patient with these kinds of verbal battles.
It was already noon when they returned to the Prince's residence. He briefly mentioned the results of their discussion to Xiao Yuanshan.
"Haha, using war to sustain war, what a wonderful idea! Hehe, actually your dad did that on a small scale before, and I've always wanted to do it too."
This idea was exactly what he wanted to hear. He was filled with emotion, lamenting that he could no longer fight on the battlefield and could not fight alongside his daughter. It was such a pity.
That evening, after the live stream was muted and quiet, Xiao Zhixing recalled Bai Feng, and the two flew to Jianan Pass.
She hadn't seen Feng Lizhen when she came to rescue Xiao Yuanshan last time, so she didn't notice anything unusual.
“We have recorded the places that the man in gray went. Their influence is spread all over the world and involves all walks of life. The person behind them is definitely not simple.”
Xiao Zhixing sat cross-legged on Bai Feng's back, the wind not blowing on his face at all. "The Luo family behind Shengjing is very small. I don't believe the results of the investigation so far. There are so many Luo families in the world. Sooner or later, we'll expose them."
The Emperor System has a military presence, and it will also have a business presence; she must find them one by one.
These people selected by the subsystem should not be underestimated.
If they aren't found and eliminated, even if she obtains the main system in the future, those people will still be a destabilizing factor.
She was even more worried that even if the main system eventually bound itself to her, it would still keep those subsystems as backups, which could lead to unforeseen circumstances.
"Huh, Bai Feng, your speed has improved?" You arrived at Jianan Pass in about an hour, reducing the time by more than half.
Bai Feng said happily, "We've improved along with you, hehe. I seem to have mastered the Phoenix Clan's spatial teleportation technique, but I'm not very familiar with it yet. I can only teleport two or three thousand meters each time."
She was very proud of herself, "And my current physical size has doubled, so I can increase my flight speed without teleporting."
"Black Tiger is no match for me!!"
The last sentence is the key point, isn't it? Xiao Zhixing chuckled.
The two arrived at Jianan Pass and floated high above the General's Mansion. The Dao Zhan technique was activated.
"Ding-dong, ding-dong...buzzing warning! Warning! System detected! Subsystem detected!"
186 was numb; it watched helplessly as yet another subsystem appeared.
Xiao Zhixing locked onto the target, scanned it, and then directly destroyed and reassembled it, mimicking the Emperor System.
A cool, aloof male electronic voice rang out, "Subsystem 172 has met the main system."
Xiao Zhixing ordered, "Continue to bind Feng Lizhen."
"Okay." This is still a relatively quiet subsystem.
Xiao Zhixing left a mark, then withdrew his consciousness and did nothing else.
He and Bai Feng rushed back to Shengjing.
"This Emperor System is truly speechless. By spreading its subsystems all over the world like this, isn't it completely exposing itself? Does it think the ancients are just paper figures?" Bai Feng complained.
Don't underestimate the ancients; there are many unusual things happening, and some intelligent people will eventually notice the existence of the system.
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