Chapter 460 Negotiation
"What a bumper harvest... Why are you still here?"
"Excuse me, this is my territory."
Zhu Chongba leaned lazily against the throne, smiling and waving at the exclamation of Yin Zhi.
Yinzhi looked around and then remembered that they were still on the territory of the Lingbo Sect in Jiangnan. He had experienced so much in the game that he had forgotten this.
"Where is Mingzhu?"
Yinzhi subconsciously began to search, but did not see Mingzhu.
Soetu frowned slightly: "Did we enter in our true forms?"
He immediately realized the problem. If it was a consciousness entering as before, Mingzhu would have stayed behind to guard their bodies.
The others also realized what was happening, and Yinzhen asked, "How long have we been inside?"
Jinzhan went out to question his subordinates and quickly came back in: "One day and one night, the same as the game time. Also, Lord Mingzhu didn't leave, he just went back to the camp to watch the live broadcast, and should be here soon after receiving the news."
"live streaming?"
Yinzhi exclaimed in surprise, and Jinzhan nodded, "Yes, the entire faction battle was broadcast live by the game system, and all players could watch it."
"Ah..." Yinzhi wailed immediately. Although he couldn't remember what shameful thing he had done, he was sure he had.
Suddenly turning to look at Yinzhi, he asked, "Eighth Brother, you said the fire-breathing clay figure... will Father see it?"
Yinzhi pursed his lips. "Perhaps he's busy with official duties."
"It's possible, it's possible..." Yinzhi nodded haphazardly, but he couldn't convince himself at all, and couldn't help but look sullen.
Yinzhen patted his shoulder and earnestly advised, "Look on the bright side, elder brother, you don't need to ask again in front of Father Emperor."
"Fourth brother!"
Like a bolt from the blue, Suo'etu felt his "calm and collected" facade had been ripped off in front of the Crown Prince, leaving him completely disoriented. But to make amends, he wanted to prove his strength through peace talks; he wasn't just explosive, he was also genuinely calm and collected!
"Master Zhu, now that the game is over, what about the peace talks?"
As soon as Suo'etu spoke, Yinzhen and the others all looked at Zhu Chongba.
Zhu Chongba looked completely innocent: "But we're on the same side, why don't you join the Lingbo Cult?"
"You broke your promise!" Yinzhi glared at him angrily.
Zhu Chongba shook his head. "How can you say I went back on my word? I said that if you won, I could submit, but now it's at most a draw—"
"Does the Lingbo Sect want to start a war with the Qing Dynasty?" Yinzhen looked at him coldly.
"How could that be? The Lingbo Sect is the most peace-loving sect." Zhu Chongba suddenly stood up, as if he had thought of a good idea. "How about this, considering that we were teammates once, we can coexist peacefully. We can divide the north and south equally, and the Lingbo Sect will only take Jiangnan, how about that?"
"Impossible!" Soetu sternly refused. "Jiangnan is also part of the Qing Dynasty's territory. To want to seize Jiangnan is utterly wishful thinking!"
"Tsk," Zhu Chongba tidied his hair and sighed nonchalantly, "Why so serious? I have no intention of ruling Jiangnan. Who would want to do something so thankless?"
"Speaking of which, I've never seen an emperor before. He gets up earlier than the rooster and goes to bed later than the dog. He has so many things to deal with all day long. He must look very old."
"How dare you!"
Before Songgotu could even draw his sword, it was pushed back into its scabbard by the silk thread shot out by Zhu Chongba. If he hadn't remembered that they were indoors, he would have thrown the bomb.
"I've already been presumptuous many times, even if I'm not allowed to. Besides, I'm just telling the truth, just expressing my sincere feelings. I don't like doing this kind of arduous work."
That's really a sour grapes statement.
But Yinzhi and Yinzhen felt that what he said actually made a lot of sense, and for a moment they forgot about being angry.
In the end, it was Yinzhi who stepped forward and asked, "Then tell me clearly, what exactly do you want?"
“I still prefer communicating with Xiao Ba. It’s very simple,” Zhu Chongba said, stepping down from his seat. “I know your court has a Xiaomeng Pavilion, but it’s impossible for us Lingbo Sect members to join. If the court is willing to elevate the Lingbo Sect to the same level as the Xiaomeng Pavilion, then serving the Qing Dynasty is not out of the question.”
"Of course, this is conditional."
"What are the conditions?"
“It’s very simple. I don’t trust the imperial court because I don’t join Xiaomeng Pavilion, and the imperial court doesn’t trust me either. So I can accept having another leader, but I must appoint that leader.”
Zhu Chongba walked up to Yinzhi, smiled, bent down, and extended his hand to him: "Little Ba, are you willing to become this leader?"
Yinzhi did not answer, but looked at Yinzhen beside him.
Yinzhen pulled Yinsi closer to him, looking at Zhu Chongba with a cold face: "This is not something we can decide now."
Zhu Chongba stood up regretfully, raising an eyebrow: "You can communicate with the emperor at any time. I only have this one request: if we can talk, then we can talk. If we can't talk, then it's not a problem for the Lingbo Sect to work harder to divide and govern Jiangnan."
The threat was blatant, yet they couldn't ignore it. That's how negotiations work: the party that wants more and has more reservations is more easily controlled by the other party.
The negotiations were suspended, and the four prepared to return to their residence to communicate with Emperor Kangxi before making further decisions.
As they left the territory of the Lingbo Sect, they bumped into Mingzhu, who was rushing over.
Are you alright?
Mingzhu, panting, looked at the four people. The four shook their heads, their expressions somewhat solemn.
It wasn't that the players couldn't see the game content, but Mingzhu knew from the explanations given by the players in the area that they had successfully completed the game. However, seeing their current state, she quickly wondered, "Did the negotiations fail?"
"We'll talk about it when we get back."
Not wanting to explain himself on someone else's turf, Yinzhi grabbed Mingzhu and headed back.
Soon after arriving at the encampment, Yinzhi initiated an online meeting within the game system, with participants including Kangxi and several princes who remained behind, as well as several outstanding talents currently selected by Xiaomeng Pavilion. This included Zhang Tingyu and Hesheli Wanyi.
Mingzhu, who was listening in, couldn't see the screen, but he knew the requirements of the Lingbo Sect. He was surprised for a moment, watching the four princes and the other side having a heated exchange, while he could only hear half of it. His desire to enter the game grew stronger.
He felt a strong sense of crisis. Even Songgotu had become a player; if he didn't join in, he would eventually be marginalized from the political center. Falling behind Songgotu was absolutely unacceptable!
"I declare that I absolutely trust Xiao Ba, and there's no need to worry about his abilities. But why is Zhu Chongba so insistent on choosing Xiao Ba? Is there some kind of conspiracy?"
Emperor Kangxi raised this concern only after frantically layering armor on himself.
It wasn't that he was cowardly; it was mainly because he had witnessed how his other sons blindly protected Yinzhi. For the sake of family harmony, even an emperor had to be careful with his words.
“Um…” Everyone hesitated, but Yinzhi spoke up casually: “Little Eight is popular, isn’t he? Who in the palace doesn’t like Eighth Brother? It’s normal to have another Zhu Chongba.”
Is this normal?
The people at the meeting looked at Yinzhi's delicate face and thought about his overly good and sunny interpersonal relationships in the turbulent palace, and felt that it seemed quite normal.
"When soldiers come, we'll block them; when water comes, we'll dam it. No matter what they're thinking, we'll take them down first."
Yinreng made a bold decision. He trusted Yinsi and believed that his reborn brothers could protect him. Of course, Yinreng raised his eyes and inadvertently met Yinzhen's gaze. For certain purposes, it would be better for Yinsi to have more power.
Unaware of Yinreng's deeper meaning, but seeing his son's boldness, Kangxi was naturally not afraid and decisively said, "Alright! Then agree to their terms. However, the specific details..."
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