After entering the wooden shed, Xu Mu just sat down. Sihu, Ma Yi and others next to him quickly followed up with their personal guards.
For fear that the tea soup would be poisonous, Si Hu even picked it up and licked it a few times. He was beaten several times by the bow dog next to him before he hurriedly gave up.
Sitting down, Xu Mu did not speak immediately. He raised his head, looked at Zuo Shiren, and then at Ling Su next to him.
"Brother Xu, you're fine." Zuo Shiren licked his face and spoke hurriedly.
"Not very good." Xu Mu shook his head. He didn't mean to be unyielding when he was in advantage. His thoughts were actually the same as Dongfang Jing's. They looked down upon Dongling Renwang's reputation, but the people of Dongling were willing to serve as his flesh and blood soldiers.
Looking away from Zuo Shiren, Xu Mu looked at Ling Su coldly.
"This must be Yinlin."
"Exactly, Ling Su has met the King of Shu." Ling Su saluted with a pale face.
"No matter what, we had a friendship with the leader of the Zuo Alliance. He sat and talked to me, and I had no objection. But why do you, Lingsu, dare to sit in front of me."
Ling Su suppressed his anger, stood up, and retreated to Zuo Shiren's side.
Around Xu Mu, not only Dongfang Jing, but also people like Si Hu and Ma Yi showed expressions of relief.
"I dare to ask the King of Shu, is it possible that the power of the grain king in the world cannot have a place?" A general of Lingsu asked angrily from the side.
"Si Hu, kill." Xu Mu didn't even raise his eyes.
Si Hu, who heard the sound, directly drew out the long knife of the guard next to him, and hurled the interfering Lingsu family general to the ground with one blow.
Ling Su's mouth buzzed in shock, and Zuo Shiren next to him frowned and fell silent.
"I will talk to you about the Grain King matter later." Xu Mu turned his gaze sideways and looked at Zuo Shiren again.
"Leader Zuo, you can start the peace negotiations."
Zuo Shiren breathed out to calm down.
"Brother Xu, in the past two days, I always think of the time when I fought with Brother Xu to defeat the Demon Queen——"
"Leader Zuo, let's get down to business."
Zuo Shiren, who was interrupted, saw that he could not play the emotional card, so he had to grit his teeth and give up.
"Brother Xu, how about becoming a king and losing a bandit? Half of Cangzhou and the two states of Chuling... I will cede them all to Xishu."
When Zuo Shiren said this, his body was obviously shaking. In order to survive, this is tantamount to cutting his flesh. But as Ling Su said, if this level cannot be passed, Dongling will surely perish.
"In exchange, I hope... Brother Xu can allow the troops from Li Ducheng to return to Wuzhou."
Xu Mu smiled.
Dongfang Jing, who was next to him, also raised his head, his face expressionless.
There is no doubt that Zuo Shiren now knows that he cannot bear it anymore and wants to retreat to Wuzhou.
"The two states of Chuling and Xishu can be conquered by just one stretch of my hand. Leader Zuo, why do you think that the land of the two states that originally belonged to me can be exchanged for the 50,000 elites of the Shanyue Camp."
Anger welled up on Zuo Shiren's face.
"Leader Zuo, don't think about the matter of Li Ducheng. We are about to have a shortage of people to open up wasteland in Western Shu, so we asked them to take off their armor and do some work for the time being."
"As for whether you want to retreat to Wuzhou, it is not impossible. The garrison in Wuzhou can only retain 10,000 people. It cannot create a navy, and it cannot recruit more Yue people. In the future, Dongling will be a vassal of Xishu. Pay the annual tribute."
"Besides." Xu Mu paused.
"Leader Zuo needs to come forward to appease the people of the two states of Chu and Ling for me. As for the aristocratic families in these two states, they cannot follow you to Wu state. The crime of aiding the war will result in the confiscation of family assets and transfer to the national treasury——"
"This is too much!" Zuo Shiren stood up angrily.
Xu Mu's expression remained unchanged, he folded his hands and said coldly, "The road is behind, and there is a friendship. I won't stop you. But as long as you leave here, dare to go back to Wuzhou. From now on, Zuo Alliance leader and I are still immortal. Relentless enemies.”
Ling Su next to him, gritting his teeth and trembling his hands, persuaded Zuo Shiren to sit down again.
"Brother Xu, if I raise my arms, the people in the three states of Dongling will still hate Xishu. In addition, even if you kill me, Dongling will become unstable!"
"If it weren't for this, I wouldn't be sitting here." Xu Mu sneered.
"But if you don't obey, I, Xi Shu, will only be able to appease you for five to ten years, so that the people of Dongling can slowly return to their hearts."
"The king of Yuzhou is in the north, will he give you time? The two states of Chuling are rich, you can't recruit many people, and you won't even get much tax revenue." Zuo Shiren gasped, his voice obviously louder.
"Leader Zuo, I still don't feel at ease if I keep you." Xu Mu looked up, with murderous intent in his eyes. There is no doubt that Zuo Shiren is a time bomb. If it weren't for the surrender of the people of Dongling, he should have been killed long ago.
This time, after Zuo Shiren was shocked, he became upright again.
"I'll continue." Xu Mu continued in a cold voice, "After the vassaling, the Zuo leader's message of comfort must mention the benevolence and righteousness of Xishu, and you, the Zuo King of Dongling, have violated the law of heaven and are willing to retreat to Wuzhou and surrender to Chuling." The entire power of the two states will be given to Xi Shu."
A long time ago, the Marquis of Changyang taught him something. In this troubled world, the living people must respect their righteousness and honor. If it had not been for the traitor-killing prime minister recommended by the Marquis at the beginning, he would not have won the hearts of the people, and he would not have the glory of Xishu today.
Zuo Shiren closed his eyes in pain. This is equivalent to trying to survive with a broken arm.
"I, Xu Mu, hope that the leader of the Zuo Alliance can finally fight in an upright and fair manner. I have said for the second time that I will keep the leader of the Zuo Alliance, but I still feel uneasy." Xu Mu said with a smile.
Ling Su, who was next to him, put his hand on Zuo Shiren's shoulder to comfort him.
"How much is the annual tribute?" Zuo Shiren's voice trembled.
"The vassal's annual tribute is five hundred thousand taels per year. In addition, 30,000 young men and women need to be mobilized every year to open up wasteland in Western Shu. Remember what I said, there can be no navy, only a garrison of 10,000 people. Let me check If there is one more person, the army will immediately knock on the gate, and there will be no lies!"
"Brother Xu, don't give me any chance."
"I'm not a fool. Let's talk if we can agree. If we can't agree, let's continue fighting." Xu Mu raised his head and spoke concisely.
"Look outside, our coalition forces in Western Shu are already impatient."
As if in response to Xu Mu's words, not long after, bursts of roars rang out outside the wooden shed where the peace talks were held, shattering the sky.
It also shattered Zuo Shiren's last persistence.
…
