The strongest devouring system in the Three Kingdoms

“Wenyou, is there really no other way? You know, the treasure in the caravan is what the Grand Tutor wants. If there is any loss, the Grand Tutor will take our lives, let alone give any to Chen Er,” Niu Fu said.

Li Ru smiled bitterly, "I didn't want it to be like this either, but what can I do now?"

"Yes, what other way is there?" Niu Fu lowered his head. Li Ru said, "Don't worry, once we get to Chang'an, I will take full responsibility for all of this."

“Wenyou”.

"Alright, enough said. Let's go see the general of the Youzhou army. I wonder who's leading the troops at Hangu Pass. The timing is really good!" Li Ru said.

A few minutes later, more than a dozen people emerged from the Xiliang army's position. Leading them were Li Runiu, Fu Fan, and Chou, and a junior officer carried a white flag toward Hangu Pass.

"My lord, the negotiators have arrived." Xu Rong said as he walked up to Chen Er, who was sitting on the steps of the city wall. To be honest, Xu Rong had never seen such a casual general before, sitting on the ground without any of the arrogance of a high-ranking person.

Upon hearing Xu Rong's voice, Chen Er opened his eyes and said to Xu Rong, "Open the door, let's go out and meet him!"

"Yes, my lord."

"Xu Rong, you have indeed betrayed the Grand Tutor." Upon seeing Xu Rong, who had followed them out and was completely at ease, Li Ru said to Xu Rong with an expression of certainty.

“Li Ru, Ding Yuan is nothing but a traitor to the country. How can you talk about betrayal? General Xu’s actions are simply an act of abandoning darkness for light. As for you, I can give you a chance. You can also abandon darkness for light. I can decide to give you one-tenth of the convoy behind you.” Chen Ermei let Xu Rong speak and stepped forward to reply to Li Ru.

"May I ask who the general is?" Xu Rong did not answer. Instead, a man dressed as a military officer stepped forward to speak. Out of basic politeness and because he needed something from the man, Li Ru asked, "Are you the commander of the Youzhou army, General?"

"I am Chen Er, the General of Chariots and Cavalry," Chen Er said casually. But these words immediately caused a stir among Li Ru and the others. It turned out that Chen Er had come in person. Niu Fu almost couldn't help but draw his sword.

Chen Er noticed Niu Fu's little tricks and said disdainfully, "I advise you to restrain yourselves. I have fought for many years and have seen all kinds of storms. Although I don't often engage in fighting, I am not afraid of anyone."

It wasn't that Chen Er was being arrogant; rather, his current strength was indeed formidable. At least, even Chen Qun, who was behind him, wouldn't dare claim he could completely defeat Chen Er. Niu Fu? What kind of trash was that?

"Hahaha." Li Ru shook his head slightly to tell everyone to be patient, while laughing loudly at Chen Er, "Of course, who in this empire doesn't know that the General of Chariots and Cavalry has a splendid military record and personally led a large army to defeat the Turkic army? He is truly a role model for us all."

"There's no need for such empty flattery," Chen Er interrupted Li Ru, saying, "You're a smart man too. Since you've taken the initiative to negotiate, you must have guessed my purpose. My demands are simple: 60/40! You get 40%, I get 60%, otherwise you can just wait for the Kwantung Allied Army to catch up."

"What?! You get 60% and we get 40%!" Before Li Ru could speak, Niu Fu jumped up. Chen Er's appetite was too big! He actually wanted 60%! Li Ru quickly stopped Niu Fu and said to Chen Er, "General, let's not beat around the bush. You must know how much this is. It's enough to build a million-strong army. General, you're being far too greedy. You should know that my Xiliang army has already ruined its reputation for this wealth. General Cao doesn't want to fight to the death with my Xiliang army, does he? That would benefit no one, right?"

"Alright, since you're the ones taking the blame, I can consider splitting it 50/50, is that alright?" Chen Er said, feigning reluctance.

“General, at most 20%, any more than that and we’ll have to resort to arms.” Li Ru said firmly, this was his bottom line. At the same time, Li Ru said to Chen Er, “I suppose there are no more than 5,000 people in Hangu Pass. Although you have the advantage of terrain and firearms, my Xiliang army has nearly 100,000 troops. You should think this through.”

Hearing Li Ru guess the troop strength in Hangu Pass, Chen Er wasn't surprised. After all, they were both experts; a surprise attack like this would definitely involve a small force. It was normal for Li Ru to guess that. However, Chen Er had his own trump cards.

"One hundred thousand?" Chen Er said with a smile. "I wonder what percentage Mr. Li can spare for the battle right now?"

"Even if our army is bound by civilians, we can still muster 50,000 troops for battle, a ten-to-one force ratio. I wonder if the general is confident in returning to Youzhou?"

"Ten to one?" Chen Er retorted. "Who told you that's all the troops I have?"

Chen Er turned and nodded to his personal guards behind him. One of the guards took out a red flag and waved it three times towards the northeast. Seeing Chen Er's actions, Li Ru's heart pounded with alarm. Oh no! Chen Er's reinforcements have already crossed the river! It's over! The main force of the Youzhou army is definitely not in the Shengchi area! It's in Jia County!

As the guards moved, soon, squads of Youzhou musketeers emerged from the woods to the east. Seeing this scene, Li Ru was already in despair.

He said to Chen Er, "General, a 50/50 split is absolutely impossible. I can decide to give you 35%! That's the most I can offer!"

“Thirty-and-a-half percent, that’s not impossible,” Chen Er said. Actually, his ideal plan was thirty percent, so this extra half percent was already quite good. Hearing Chen Er’s encouragement, Li Ru was excited; he just wanted Chen Er to agree. However, Chen Er’s next words immediately plunged Li Ru from heaven to hell. Chen Er said, “But I also want the people you’ve coerced!”

"How much do you want?" Li Ru frowned. He wasn't unwilling to give to the common people, but he was afraid that Chen Er would take the opportunity to make an exorbitant demand.

"I still only want 30%, but if you're willing to give me an extra 10%, I don't mind helping you hold off the Kwantung Allied Army from behind," Chen Er said.

Upon hearing Chen Er's words, Li Ru's mind immediately became active again. If Chen Er could help him get rid of the pursuers behind him, taking the people wouldn't be a big deal, since he already had the idea of ​​sacrificing a portion of the population to hold off the Guandong Allied Army.

“General, 40% could mean at least 500,000 people. Can your troops control so many? If not, I suggest you ask for less.” Li Ru subtly probed Chen Er’s intentions, while also trying to persuade him further, since population was a strategic resource.