Zhang Hong followed Cole back to the banquet hall in a daze. Cole returned to the crowd with a relaxed look on his face. Zhang Hong hid in a corner of the banquet hall, with his hands on the table, covering his face, trying his best to calm his chaotic thoughts.
In the end, he had to accept the two teleportation items and put them in his storage ring. Although Zhang Hong was not good at strategy, he knew that the other party had already held his life in his hands. Cole's persuasion was just to make him cooperate. After all, if he cooperated well, the possibility of success would be much greater, and the other party would get more benefits in the later stage. If the other party ignored his interests and forced him, he could only give in.
Zhang Hong was sure that once the killing of Hong Lifeng was confirmed, he would be finished. Even if he had a thousand reasons, he could not justify it. He might become the first Chinese to be sentenced in another world. Maybe he would not die, but he could not escape the prison.
Even if no solid evidence is found in the end, as long as he is suspected by everyone, he will become a person who is not trusted, and his political life will wither away before it even begins.
He thought about it carefully. Unless he sacrificed himself and jumped out to expose the conspiracy, he would have no choice but to do what the other party asked. However, the word "sacrifice oneself" had never appeared in his dictionary. Even if he exposed all this, would it be good for him? Not at all. With this in mind, the choice he could make was obvious.
Cole was right. As long as we were well prepared, no one would find out. As for the truth, there would be no evidence.
When the army attacked, most of the casualties were local people who had joined the guard and soldiers from the kingdom who were already on duty at Heimu Pass. The school could afford such losses and it would not cause any major damage.
Zhang Hong was just a bystander. He could even pretend to fight and use magic to save a few people? Maybe he could get the imperial people to cooperate and turn the tide to stop a pursuing army? He had a chance to be a hero again, which was a great asset. The more Zhang Hong thought about it, the more excited he became.
Zhang Hong glanced at Xiao Chen who was talking to Count John. For some reason, the two of them had changed from the tense attitude in the afternoon and seemed to be talking with great interest. Zhang Hong even heard them laugh together several times. This made him very irritated. Xiao Chen and his mistress Luo Ling had always been one of the people he hated the most. They had been doing all kinds of risky and stupid things, but they always came back safe and sound. Not only was their strength rising steadily, but their status in the committee was also getting higher and higher.
These two people are particularly good at self-righteously looking at him from a moral high ground. They have never had a good attitude towards him. Zhang Hong is still upset about Luo Ling's disgusting attitude towards him at the first group meeting.
Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to take Xiao Chen with him to die in the upcoming attack? It's a pity that Luo Ling is not here, but if Xiao Chen dies, she won't be able to bear it either, so it seems like a good ending
Thinking of this, Zhang Hong suddenly felt his heartbeat quicken, and there was an uncontrollable sense of restlessness all over his body, as if... this matter made him a little excited
——————
Xiao Chen's conversation with Earl John at the dinner unexpectedly yielded some results. He successfully shifted the focus of the negotiations from whether the Chinese could allow the imperial army to pass through to another aspect: whether the imperial army could withdraw. The two sides of the negotiation on the second day had a lot of discussions based on this point.
Xiao Chen put forward a convincing point of view. Unlike the Kingdom of Iberia, China has no old grudges with the Empire and no covetousness of the Empire's territory. At present, with the Chinese military strength and ruling ability, digesting the territory from Blackwood Pass in the north to Green Forest City in the south, Suero in the east, and Dwarf Valley in the west is already the limit. It will take a lot of time to recover a large number of villages and towns in this territory and consolidate their rule.
Therefore, the Empire does not need to be on guard against the Chinese as it was on guard against the Kingdom of Iberia. Xiao Chen suggested that the two sides could sign a non-aggression treaty, with China promising not to send more troops to Heimuguan or attack the Empire's southwestern territory in exchange for the Empire withdrawing its troops and reducing the army in the camp near Heimuguan to about 5,000 people.
In this way, the Empire can deploy more than 30,000 troops to the Zhinan Fort battlefield on the eastern front. This will directly change the current stalemate strategic situation on the eastern front. If the Empire gives up the idea of invading the western part of the kingdom, it may be possible to achieve results in the eastern part of the kingdom.
On the contrary, if the two sides continue to stalemate here, the daily consumption of supplies for more than 40,000 troops will be a huge burden. If the empire really attacks the city, the losses will be even more difficult to predict. Not withdrawing the troops will do more harm than good to the empire.
Even Earl John had to admit that what Xiao Chen said made sense.
Earl John already had a deeper understanding of the Chinese's strength in Heimu Pass, because on the afternoon of the next day, he and his entourage watched a pneumatic gun shooting exercise by the Heimu Pass Guards. Although Shi Hao only arranged four 80mm pneumatic guns and eight mortars to participate in the exercise and did not let him see the power of the 10mm pneumatic guns, the four 80mm pneumatic guns still left a deep enough impression on him.
Sparks covered the area two kilometers in front of Heimu Pass from far to near, while the mortars took into account the blind spots under the city wall.
This kind of power that combines modern weapons and magic has never appeared on the stage of this continent, which left a very deep impression on Earl John. Shi Hao even allowed him to use the image crystal to record part of the scene and bring it back to the emperor and ministers to watch, so that they can have a clear understanding of the true strength of the Chinese.
So on the third day, Earl John gave up the idea of continuing the negotiations and said he was ready to leave Heimu Pass, go back to explain the situation here to His Majesty the Emperor, and report to him the suggestions put forward by Xiao Chen.
When leaving Heimuguan, Earl John said to Xiao Chen: "Sir Xiao Chen, I must admit that you are a very persuasive and persuasive person. Regardless of the outcome of this negotiation, I hope to be your friend. His Majesty Emperor Alfred will certainly be happy to communicate with someone as knowledgeable and opinionated as you. I hope to see you in the Empire next time."
Xiao Chen performed a wizard's salute and said, "Sir John, we hope to resolve the dispute through dialogue rather than war. I hope you can convey our intention to pursue peace to His Majesty Emperor Alfred." (To be continued)