Frontier Army Warrior

Chapter 1307 The Knife and the Fish

At the same time, a messenger was sent back to the city to report to General Tokugawa Iehira, the Taisho peace negotiating official, and Prime Minister Miao Changfeng of the Taisho Dynasty, that they had already traveled halfway and would arrive at Fuan Prefecture City by 1-3 PM tomorrow.

When camping at night, the pirate groups were very disciplined, with each side occupying their own area and neither disturbing the other.

Nothing happened that night, and the group continued their journey early the next morning.

At the hour of Wei (1-3 PM), the Taisho peace negotiation team successfully arrived at the city of Fuan Prefecture.

Lin Feng saw from afar that the city gate opened, the drawbridge was lowered, and two rows of soldiers stood neatly on both sides of the city gate. Their sharp and bright weapons gleamed in the sunlight, and even from a distance, they could be seen as a dazzling patch of light.

The thousand-strong pirate squad that led the way immediately parted to the left and right when they arrived at the drawbridge, making way for the passage in the middle, and silently watched the Taisho war cavalry.

When the eight hundred cavalrymen arrived at the drawbridge, a group of pirate generals poured out of the city gate, surrounding a man in his forties. He was short, had a mustache, and wore pirate uniforms. He sat casually on his warhorse with a smile on his face.

Hojo Nobumasa stood beside Lin Feng, introducing Miao Changfeng.

"Your Excellency, this gentleman before you is the leader of my Yamato Squad, General Tokugawa Iehira, and also a daimyo under the Emperor of my Yamato Dynasty."

His meaning was clear: by introducing so many positions, he intended to show that Tokugawa Iehira's status was equal to that of Prime Minister Miao Changfeng.

The Taiga army attaches great importance to this peace talk.

Several people accompanied Miao Changfeng as they rode their horses across the suspension bridge and reined in their warhorses about three or five zhang away from Tokugawa Iehira.

Miao Changfeng cupped his hands and smiled, "Thank you for your trouble, General Tokugawa. Miao Changfeng, the Prime Minister of the Taisho Dynasty, is very polite."

Tokugawa Iehira laughed heartily: "I apologize for the lateness of your welcome. Prime Minister Miao must be tired from your journey. Please rest in the castle."

Immediately, Tokugawa Iehira turned his horse around and led Miao Changfeng and the others into the city.

Just as the eight hundred cavalrymen behind Lin Feng were about to follow him into the city, the soldiers standing on both sides of the city gate suddenly moved in the middle, blocking their way.

Hojo Nobunari quickly smiled at Lin Feng.

"I'm sorry, General Mu, there are rules in the city that armed cavalry cannot enter. This rule also applies to our Dahe army. Please understand."

Damn it, this smiling tiger is waiting here to trick me.

With only a few people entering the city, aren't they easy targets for manipulation?

"Lord Hojo, may I allow the Prime Minister's personal guard to enter the city?"

Seeing Hojo Nobunari hesitate, Lin Feng quickly added.

"There aren't many people, how about twenty?"

Hojo thought for a moment, then raised his fist: "It can only be less than ten people. The rule cannot be broken. I'm afraid it's the same in your Taisho era, isn't it?"

Lin Feng nodded and smiled, "Of course, ten people will do."

He only wanted to show Miao Changfeng that he had tried his best, but unfortunately, Miao Changfeng had his own rules.

Lin Feng turned around and beckoned Qiao Jushan and Miao Changfeng's eight bodyguards to follow him into the city, while Ye Liangcai was in charge of leading the remaining cavalry to set up camp outside the city.

As the group rode into the city, they all felt like lambs entering a wolf's den.

The city gates slowly closed, and Lin Feng rode his horse through the city streets, discovering that there were armed pirate soldiers everywhere.

Isn't there a set rule here?

It turns out that the rules were specifically designed for their peace negotiation team.

It's too late to say anything now. Even if they wanted to leave, it was impossible. Miao Changfeng and Feng Li had already been surrounded by a group of pirate officers, leaving his eight bodyguards outside.

What was originally a harmonious relationship has now turned into a power struggle between the butcher and the fish.

Tokugawa Iehira's plan was simple. It wasn't that he didn't want to negotiate, but he wanted to create a power imbalance to force Miao Changfeng to agree to his terms for the peace talks.

In such a situation of overwhelming disparity in strength, any negotiation would lose its fairness.

The group arrived at the post station in Fu'an City. This post station had also been used during the reign of Emperor Dazong, but it had been slightly modified, with tables and chairs removed and replaced with tatami mats.

Tokugawa Iehira then took his leave, arranged a date for negotiations, and departed with a group of officers.

Lin Feng discovered that the area outside the post station was already filled with pirate soldiers, and many pirates dressed as warriors were loitering outside the post station walls.

Miao Changfeng's eight personal guards were also kept outside the door, far away from the house where they lived.

They were essentially under house arrest in the inn, and probably couldn't even go out to see the world if they wanted to.

Based on Lin Feng's judgment, there was no need to worry about their safety. As long as they obediently agreed to Tokugawa Iehira's conditions, they would naturally be allowed to leave.

If Miao Changfeng insists on not agreeing to their excessive demands, then when Princess Dazheng arrives, the initial silver and grain will also be transported over.

But they won't let you leave, what can you do?

Clearly, Miao Changfeng and Feng Li had long realized the seriousness of the problem, but they were also helpless.

The three people sat cross-legged on the tatami mats, and a woman brought them tea with small, quick steps.

The three of them exchanged glances, all wearing wry smiles.

At this point, Miao Changfeng had no choice but to tell Lin Feng the truth; there was no longer any need to hide it.

"Kikawa, under these circumstances, how can we uphold Taisho's bottom line in negotiations?"

Lin Feng picked up the teacup and took a small sip.

"My lord, what is the bottom line of our Great Zheng Dynasty?"

"Alas, the princess is marrying, and the gifts include 100,000 taels of silver and 200,000 catties of grain."

Lin Feng shook his head: "Apart from the princess's marriage, the rest would probably double in price."

Feng Li immediately widened his eyes.

"What? Have they gone mad?"

Lin Feng said helplessly, "If you had told me earlier, things might have turned out differently."

Miao Changfeng shrugged: "Even if you had said so earlier, what difference would it have made?"

Lin Feng smiled: "My lord, look at yesterday's situation. I killed one of their generals, but it did not affect the negotiation process. It can be seen how much they are eager to negotiate with our Great Zheng."

Feng Li looked at Lin Feng with a puzzled expression.

"Lord Mu, you mean..."

"What I mean is, even if we had turned around and left yesterday, they would have chased after us demanding peace talks."

"How could that be?"

Feng Li shook his head vigorously, trying to dispel this absurd claim with his actions.

Seeing that Miao Changfeng was in a daze, Lin Feng continued to provoke him.

"Negotiation should be based on equality between the two sides. With this kind of negotiation, we are already at a complete disadvantage. Do you have any other choice but to agree to all their conditions?"

Miao Changfeng regained his senses.

"Kikawa, how can we achieve the equality you're talking about?"

"Prime Minister, it's too late to talk about this now. We might as well wait for them to make their terms and save ourselves the trouble."

Feng Li sneered: "If it were you, how would you stand up to the pirates?"

Lin Feng waved his hand: "On the battlefield, it's just a matter of a few words. If we can't reach an agreement, let's continue fighting. Who's afraid of who?"

"But how could the pirates possibly agree to this?"

"Lord Feng, you can think about it from a different perspective. The pirates are even more eager to negotiate than we are to do so."

After Lin Feng finished speaking, he focused on drinking his tea and stopped looking at him.

Silence fell over the room. Neither Miao Changfeng nor Feng Li were fools; in fact, they were quite clever.

They simply didn't have direct contact with the pirates, and unlike Lin Feng, they didn't have a thorough understanding of them.

Therefore, after being enlightened, he gradually understood Lin Feng's meaning and clearly realized how terribly wrong the Emperor's decision was.