He thought that he just needed to reach an agreement with Xerxes first.
It shouldn't be difficult to get the King's Heart in exchange for such a great favor of letting him go!
Sure enough, before he could even open his mouth, Xerxes patted his chest and promised to give him any treasure.
This "anyone" of course includes Persia's kingly heart.
In this way, the thing that was out of reach was suddenly right in front of him.
As for exchanging territory, Xia Zhe didn't understand Xerxes's implication at all. In fact, even if he understood, it would not be very attractive to Xia Zhe who was planning to leave eventually.
Of course, just because Xia Zhe didn’t understand doesn’t mean that no one in the Greek coalition camp understood.
Antigonus and Hector, who were quite politically astute, immediately understood Xerxes's difficulties.
The two men looked at each other, stepped out at the same time, and answered for the king.
"Since both sides are willing to negotiate a truce, why don't the two kings find a sheltered place and sit down to talk! Shouting in the two armies is really not a suitable way to negotiate!" said Hector.
Signing a humiliating treaty, and then sitting down to talk slowly?
After hearing Hector's words, many people showed confused expressions on their faces.
Xia Zhe and Xerxes, on the other hand, both thought the proposal was excellent and immediately seconded it. Neither of them wanted their proposal to be heard by too many people.
Seeing that both kings agreed, everyone naturally didn't say anything more.
Soon, a temporary tent was set up in front of the two armies.
Xia Zhe and Xerxes, each with a few followers, went in and sat down to talk.
Xia Zhe brought Lillian, Antigonus and Hector.
Since it was a humiliating treaty, the Greeks did not play their cards first, but let Xerxes propose the specific chips himself.
Having already entered an independent area and only brought a few of his most loyal guards, Xerxes certainly would not pretend any longer.
In order to save his life, he generously expressed his great sincerity.
On the one hand, they were willing to provide compensation of one hundred gold coins for each Greek killed in battle.
On the other hand, they are also willing to exchange territory.
Xerxes, who was defeated and in urgent need of survival, certainly did not dare to ask the Greeks to give up their own territory in exchange for Persian land.
So, he was actually playing a word game.
Xerxes first assumed that the lands of the Asia Minor Peninsula that Persia had seized from various Greek city-states in the previous thirty years should all belong to Greece.
Now, he was willing to exchange the land on the eastern coast of the southern Mediterranean that originally belonged to Persia, provided that Greece had already "paid" for these lands.
Simply put, a large area of land on the southern coast of the Mediterranean, including the Canaan region, was ceded to Greece.
This hilarious word game made Antigonus and Hector laugh.
They both secretly admired the king for his foresight! He had calculated that Xerxes would be powerful but weak.
The Greek side suffered relatively few casualties in the Greco-Persian War, but the number of soldiers killed on the front lines exceeded millions.
What's more, the compensation Xerxes mentioned did not just include soldiers, but all Greeks.
Because of the invasion of the Persian army, how many Greek people were displaced and died in the chaos of war?
If Persia is willing to join in, it will be a huge sum of money!
It's much more valuable than any jewelry! It's an astronomical figure!
What’s even more exaggerated is the area of the ceded land!
The Mediterranean Sea is a vast expanse of water much larger than the Aegean Sea. The land on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea is larger than the entirety of Greece!
In order to go back, Xerxes really tried his best and was willing to cede such a large area to Greece.
If Greece sent troops to rob, it would probably not be able to seize so much even if it took a hundred years!
Both of them felt that the king would definitely agree and sign the agreement immediately to prevent the Persians from reneging.
"Is that all? These are not what I want!"
After hearing Xerxes' plan, Xia Zhe frowned and answered with dissatisfaction.
Xia Zhe certainly knew how big the eastern coast of the Mediterranean was.
However, territory is not what he really wants!
What's more, that location is so close to Egypt and is being attacked by Caesar.
Now passing this hot potato to Greece is clearly diverting trouble away!
As for paying money based on the number of deaths, Xia Zhe thought Xerxes was talking nonsense!
Xia Zhe had no idea of the full picture of the Greco-Persian War.
He was just judging from his own perspective. From the moment he organized the fleet to land in Byzantium, few people died on the Greek side.
In the first landing battle, the Persian pontoon bridge was easily destroyed.
After landing, the army marched southward. The Greek troops that besieged Troy also collapsed without a fight and fled on their own initiative.
After the two battles, the number of Greek casualties would not exceed 10,000.
As for the two rounds of counterattacks organized by Seleucus and Xerxes themselves, they were eliminated by Archimedes' high-tech weapons and there was not much hand-to-hand combat!
The Greek side suffered even less casualties than in the previous two offensive campaigns!
Xia Zhe thought, with so few people dead, how much could be compensated if each person was compensated with 100 gold coins?
Just now, before the two armies, Xerxes had clearly promised to provide treasures and beauties. Why, after entering the tent, did he stop mentioning those two key points?
Aren’t you trying to play a trick on me?
If it weren't for Xerxes's kingly heart, Xia Zhe would have slammed the table and accused Xerxes of not keeping his word!
What?
King Stoby actually looked down upon these conditions!
Seeing Xia Zhe so excited, almost turning hostile on the spot, Xerxes, Antigonus, Hector and others were all shocked.
Xerxes, in particular, felt that the hope that had just been ignited suddenly became slim again.
"May I ask, Your Majesty, what do you think is wrong? We can discuss everything! We can discuss everything!"
In desperation, Xerxes had to speak tentatively, hoping that King Stobi could give some hints.
Antigonus and Hector were relieved to hear the Persian king speak so humbly.
The two men originally thought that Xerxes had expressed all his sincerity, and if they did not agree, the matter would be a fight to the death!
But seeing that Xerxes remained calm and acted as if they were still open to discussion, both men understood that the king's judgment was correct.
Obviously, Greece could have asked for more from Xerxes.
"I don't care what you give me, but it must include a round blue stone. It should be about a hundred kilometers southwest of Persepolis! If you don't know, I can send my maid to get it for you! And I don't want Canaan! Just give me the eastern half of Asia Minor, and I'll be happy to do it!"
Without any intention of beating around the bush, Xia Zhe spoke directly and pointed out what he really wanted.
However, in order to avoid causing too much suspicion, he did not explicitly say the four words "Heart of the King", but changed it to a green round stone.
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