Crown Prince of the Empire, I quit!

"A lot, but most of them won't support you."

The old man seemed to have known Hua Yuanzheng's thoughts for a long time. Although he said this, he also pulled out a list from his sleeve.

"This is a list I found through various channels. I hope it will be helpful to you."

"If you are willing to cooperate, my troops will arrive from the border area between the Western Regions and the Shenmu Kingdom in three days. I hope you can make good arrangements."

"Of course, it's okay if you don't want to. You just need to give me some protection outside the northern border after my troops arrive. I will also give you the three million taels of silver that I originally gave to Yelang every year."

"Even if the deal doesn't go through, we're still friends. If you need anything, feel free to let us know."

The old man gave two options.

Hua Yuanzheng has three days to make up his mind.

Once he nodded, it meant that he and Hua Yunhong were completely apart.

"I see."

He felt very irritable. The pressure of so many important things was all on him, making him breathless.

Everyone was trying to instigate a fight between him and Hua Yunhong, hoping to gain benefits from it.

But neither Hua Yuanzheng nor Hua Yunhong actually wanted to have a real fight.

Only those who participate in the war will suffer real losses.

"Your Highness, the Emperor of Daqian sent someone to deliver a letter."

"at this time?"

Hua Yuanzheng raised his head, and many years flashed through his mind.

He hasn't contacted Qin Ming for some time.

After all, he was just an outsider. He fled back to the north and Hua Yunhong ascended the throne.

Logically speaking, the whole incident should have nothing to do with Qin Ming.

At this time, he still came to contact me.

Are you going to continue interfering in the affairs of the Shenmu Kingdom?

"What did this guy say?"

"He said that if you disband 30% of your troops, it would guarantee that Hua Yunhong wouldn't attack you."

"Disband 30% of the troops?"

When Hua Yuanzheng heard this number, he was so angry that he laughed.

"Ignore it."

Hua Yuanzheng didn't want to waste any time on such an unreasonable request.

He still has a lot to do.

"Yes."

The guard turned and started to leave the room.

Looking at the list in his hand, Hua Yuanzheng suddenly had an idea.

"and many more!"

"What's the matter, Your Highness?"

"Write a letter to Qin Ming and tell him I'm willing to lay off 30% of the troops!"

"What!?"

He agreed to the layoffs before anyone even came knocking on his door. If this news gets out, I guess no one will believe it.

But Hua Yuanzheng really did it.

"Call the general."

Hua Yuanzheng has several right-hand men around him.

The person he called military advisor was named Xu Huan.

When he first came here and became a local lord more than ten years ago, he recruited talents through various channels.

Xu Huan was one of the talents he found.

Over the years, it helped him a lot in marching, fighting, and rectifying internal affairs.

He trusted Xu Huan so much that when he led his troops to Shenmu City, he even let Xu Huan replace him and take charge of Qingluo City.

"Your Highness."

Soon, a man dressed in Suqing scholar's attire came up to Hua Yuanzheng and saluted respectfully.

"Something happened today..."

Hua Yuanzheng informed Xu Huan of the deal between himself and the Snow Country.

After hearing these words, Xu Huan frowned slightly.

"Your Highness, there aren't many places outside the northern border where 50,000 troops can hide unnoticed."

"Once we're discovered, we'll lose both fame and fortune."

Xu Huan is right.

No matter what, Hua Yuanzheng is the royal family of Shenmu Kingdom.

If he started to betray his own people because of internal strife, he would definitely not be well regarded in later history books.

I'm afraid that being infamous for thousands of years is the least of my worries.

Fifty thousand people is not a small number.

Even if the other party obeys orders, someone still has to take care of their eating, drinking, defecating and urinating.

The allocation of food, clothing and other daily necessities is a huge project and it is impossible to keep it secret from being discovered.

"It seems that I thought it was too simple. Do you have any good ideas?"

Difficulties need people to solve them.

Xu Huan had already seen that Hua Yuanzheng wanted to cooperate with the Snow Country.

The reason I was called here today was not to discuss the risks, but how to implement it.

"If you want to disband your troops, you can hide your own troops outside the pass along with them without being discovered. Only a powerful force can do this."

After pondering for a moment, Xu Huan spoke and expressed his thoughts.

"Who?"

"Tongbao Pavilion."

"They... can indeed do it."

Tongbao Pavilion has a high market penetration in the entire Shenmu Kingdom.

If they took action, they would probably be able to easily transport food, weapons and armor to the northern border.

This way it is difficult to be discovered.

But this will also lead to a small problem, that is, they are likely to be controlled by Tongbao Pavilion.

Let’s see how Hua Yuanzheng makes the choice.

At this moment, Hua Yuanzheng also thought of a lot.

After sighing slowly, Hua Yuanzheng asked him:

"If I ask for help from Tongbao Pavilion, I will have to let Qin Ming know about the Snow Country. He has already interfered in too many court affairs. I don't want to have any further contact with him."

"No, Your Highness, Qin Ming is our greatest supporter."

Hearing this, Xu Huan suddenly shook his head.

"Why does the military advisor say that?"

"As long as Fang Yuanjian and I are still here, Hua Yunhong's orders will not be accepted by anyone. Qin Ming will not let you be captured by Hua Yunhong."

"Since we have played a role, it is only natural to ask Qin Ming for some benefits."

Xu Huan had a clear judgment of the situation.

They are now Qin Ming's helpers, not enemies.

You definitely cannot distance yourself from each other, but instead you need to get as close to each other as possible.

However, Hua Yuanzheng knew Qin Ming's methods. Compared with Daqian, even though he was a prince in charge of the Shenmu Kingdom, the gap was as big as heaven and earth.

To work with Qin Ming is like trying to get the skin of a tiger.

"Your Highness, you just met the Emperor in Shenmu City. Does he want you to stay away from Daqian or befriend Daqian?"

"As long as we do things that the enemy fears, we will not fall."

After a long silence, Hua Yuanzheng finally nodded.

"This matter is not something I can decide alone. Inform the former emperor of the Snow Country and go to the Western Regions with the people from Tongbao Pavilion in a few days to discuss it."

"Heading to the Western Regions?"

Seeing this, Xu Huan on the side was a little surprised.

He knew what it meant to go to the Western Regions.

Hua Yuanzheng went to the Western Regions in person just to meet Qin Ming.

"Since we are going to do it, we must do it to the best of our ability. I have not met Qin Ming yet, so I will go there in person this time to discuss how to deal with it in the future."

"I'll go with you."

"No need. We still need manpower here. Go find the people from the local Tongbao Pavilion first and ask them to notify Qin Ming."

"Yes!"

Tongbao Pavilions are everywhere in the Shenmu Kingdom.

Even in the north, many areas of Tongbao Pavilion have been taken over by Chu Ying.

Every Tongbao Pavilion, regardless of its size, was equipped with a telegraph.

This will allow information to circulate quickly between different places.

It can also help them produce and sell newspapers.

As the largest city in the north, Qingluo City naturally has a Tongbao Pavilion store.