Frontier Army Warrior

They could see things clearly. As cultivators, they weren't stupid. When facing a cultivator who was clearly a level higher than themselves, the only way was to leave quickly before the other party could make a move.

They were all skirting the rules of the reclusive sects; if one side turned a blind eye, everyone could get by.

However, for lower-level cultivators, the best course of action is to go as far away as possible when facing an opponent.

Hojo Nobunari was at a loss. If this duel continued, it would cost them a lot of money in the process of negotiating the Taisho Peace Treaty.

He strode into the arena and, as he passed the pirate referee, gestured for him to stop the match immediately.

The fight was intense, and the referee immediately raised his hands.

"The match is tied; the competition is temporarily suspended."

Despite knowing Lin Feng's extraordinary abilities, they still acted erratically, completely dominating the procedures and rules of the entire competition and even the peace talks.

The two martial artists fighting in the arena were also eager to stop, neither able to gain the upper hand, and were gritting their teeth and fighting desperately.

Suddenly, they heard the order to stop the fight. It was like hearing celestial music. They all stepped back, panting heavily.

Hojo Nobunari smiled and said, "Gentlemen, the martial arts competition has been held three times. My Taiga and Taisho each won one match, and the third match ended in a draw. In order to protect the lives of the participants, with the permission of General Tokugawa, this competition will end here. As for peace talks, we should strive to achieve the most beneficial goals for both sides in a harmonious atmosphere. I wonder if Prime Minister Miao agrees?"

Miao Changfeng was holding his breath, hoping that Lin Feng could win the entire game and save Dazheng hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

The duel was abruptly abruptly stopped, and as he was still in a daze, he heard Hojo Nobunari's question and didn't react for a moment.

Feng Li was a civil official who couldn't see the trend of the martial arts contest clearly. Seeing that both sides were struggling, he couldn't judge the outcome and naturally dared not say anything.

Lin Feng then slammed the wine cup in his hand onto the low table.

"Why can you just decide to compete and stop whenever you want? Are you afraid of dying? What about our written agreement? Is it no longer valid? Does having our signatures and fingerprints mean we can just ignore it?"

Just as Hojo Nobunari was about to explain, he heard the middle-aged general beside him slam his hand on the low table and shout loudly.

“I, Dahe, have always valued promises. Who’s afraid of death? You can compare to me.”

Lin Feng glanced at him disdainfully.

"You dare to compete with me? If I can't kill you in one move, I'll admit defeat."

"Bastard, bastard..."

The middle-aged general jumped up and reached for his sword.

Hojo Nobunari turned around, grabbed him, and gave him a sharp look, signaling him to shut up.

"Prime Minister Miao, what do you have to say?"

Seeing that Lin Feng did not agree to stop the fight, Miao Changfeng immediately raised his voice and said.

"Since a written agreement has already been signed, how can one go back on their word so easily? I believe it is not advisable to stop."

Hojo Nobunari glanced at Tokugawa Iehira.

"How about this? Our Tokugawa general believes that peace is the best policy for both sides. The Taiho Dynasty can make appropriate concessions and allow your Taisho Dynasty to reduce the amount of silver to 200,000 taels and the amount of grain to 250,000 catties. This would be a win-win situation for both sides and would also save us from the death and injury of our warriors and the resulting heavy losses."

This condition still exceeded the bottom line set by the Emperor Taisho, so Miao Changfeng naturally could not agree to it.

"Our Great Zheng Dynasty cannot accept this condition. It was originally a mutually beneficial agreement between our two sides. How can we be forced to make such a huge sacrifice on our own?"

Hojo Nobunari fell silent; he couldn't concede any further, nor did he have the authority to do so.

Tokugawa Iehira chuckled: "Prime Minister Miao, in that case, why don't I take the initiative to reduce the grain by another 50,000 catties, while keeping all other conditions unchanged? This is the biggest concession my Great He Dynasty can make, otherwise, it will be difficult to explain to anyone."

Miao Changfeng hesitated. Given the current situation, the pirates had already retreated to his bottom line. If he stopped negotiating at this point, even if he returned to the imperial court, it would be barely justifiable.

"this..."

He didn't continue speaking, but simply turned to look at Lin Feng.

Lin Feng sat cross-legged in front of a low table, holding a chopstick in his hand, poking at the leftover food in the plate.

He had eaten and drunk his fill.

"General Tokugawa, to be honest, our Taisho Dynasty is marrying our princess to Oga. Let's not talk about whether you have any betrothal gifts or not. As for the dowry, there is only 10,000 taels of silver and 10,000 catties of grain, which are on their way to Fuan Prefecture. That's all."

Hojo Nobunari frowned and said, "The gap between you two is too big; this is not the attitude for peace talks."

"If we want to talk, we'll negotiate on an equal footing, with us providing the dowry and you providing the bride price. If you don't want to talk, then we'll just have to keep fighting."

Lin Feng said calmly.

He had driven the other party into a corner, not only failing to gain any advantage from Dazheng, but also forcing them to part with a large sum of money as a dowry for the princess's marriage.

Hojo Nobunari shook his head vigorously: "General, if that's the case, there's really nothing for us to discuss. I hope..."

Lin Feng raised his hand to interrupt him: "There is no room for negotiation. Just say yes or no."

Miao Changfeng was also overwhelmed by his forceful attitude. The conditions proposed by Lin Feng were indeed too different from those of the Emperor Taizheng, and the pirates would certainly not agree to them.

Continuing to insist on this approach will definitely lead to a failure to reach an agreement.

Then, the task assigned to him by the emperor will also be impossible to complete.

The atmosphere in the hall was oppressive; no one spoke.

This kind of atmosphere is precisely a test of each other's psychological resilience.

Everyone was on edge, and the longer it went on, the tighter the tension became.

Finally, Feng Li could no longer bear it and spoke nervously.

"Regarding the amount of dowry, my Taisho can still make some adjustments. I hope you will pay attention to the current war situation so that you can make the most advantageous decision."

His meaning was clear: he was reminding the pirates that their current situation was extremely unfavorable, and that if they did not unite with the Taisho government, the situation would become even more critical.

Hojo Nobunari immediately laughed and seized the opportunity to capture Fengli.

"Of course, of course, we will study it carefully and propose appropriate conditions. I believe that Prime Minister Miao is also sincere in promoting this peace talk."

Miao Changfeng flicked his sleeves and said, "It's getting late, and I'm tired."

Tokugawa Iehira nodded with a smile: "Then we will respectfully escort Prime Minister Miao back to his post station to rest."

After a dinner party, the negotiations were back to square one.

But at least Lin Feng lowered the base price of Taisho to the minimum, which pleased Miao Changfeng. Even if the pirates increased their demands further, he estimated they wouldn't go too far.

Under such circumstances, he was likely to have preserved the bottom line set by the emperor.

Although it was past the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), Miao Changfeng was still very excited and summoned Feng Li and Lin Feng to his residence.

"Muchuan, you have set the baseline for our Great Zheng. I estimate that they will not be able to add many conditions on the basis of tomorrow's peace talks. In my opinion, 100,000 taels of silver plus 100,000 catties of grain will be enough to win this negotiation."

Lin Feng remained silent, knowing that Miao Changfeng was giving him a heads-up: if the pirates didn't make any outrageous demands during tomorrow's negotiations, Mu Chuan shouldn't say anything more.

The peace talks were successfully completed. The Taisho government provided funds, supplies, and personnel in order to resolve the war situation as soon as possible.

Miao Changfeng also hoped that Mu Chuan would stop worrying about the money and grain and focus on the bigger picture.

Lin Feng could only nod faintly and remain silent.