Data Wasteland

a few days later...

A large farm between Dongwang Fort and White Tiger City.

Ever since the desert army invaded the Principality of Tezera and pulled the battle line to one of the bridgeheads of Ice Blue City, East Look Fort, this place has been deserted.

The original cattle shed was smashed into several large holes by shells, and the facilities inside were in disarray. Through the broken glass windows, you can see the burned and collapsed barn.

But today, this war-torn farm has a new lease on life. The largest longhouse has been properly repaired. The windows destroyed by the explosion were replaced with new glass, and white gauze curtains were hung on both sides.

The hole in the roof was also filled with large pieces of wood. Although it still looks patchy, at least it is no longer leaking wind or rain.

A road was cleared from the longhouse to the gate, temporary turf was paved on both sides, and flowerpots were placed. All kinds of flowers were in full bloom, colorful, and a red carpet was laid in the middle. Scarlet velvet was spread all the way to the gate.

And inside the longhouse, there is another scene. A dining table more than ten meters long is placed in the middle of the house, covered with a clean white tablecloth, filled with a variety of delicacies, silver tableware and goblets shining brightly under the candlelight.

Several elegant old servants and a group of young and beautiful maids were busy, repeatedly adjusting the arrangement of tableware and chairs.

This is an invitation to the two warring countries by Earl Mark, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom of Ambergris, and Minister of Finance, Jed Eisen.

For diplomatic occasions, the distance and position between seats and tableware must be meticulous and perfect, so as to reflect the sincerity of the inviting party.

At this time, in an open space a few kilometers away, two luxury convoys converged.

On one side is the yellow desert flag and on the other is the cyan mountain flag.

Enclosed by two luxury off-road buses, a team of desert cavalry, and a team of mountain guards, diplomats from the two countries met.

"Good morning, Your Excellency Prince Yuande, may your desert journey always meet an oasis."

Wearing gemstone rings in his hands, a middle-aged desert noble with a white cloth wrapped around his head and colorful feathers in his head, he touched his chest with his hands and greeted him.

"Thank you for your greetings, Prince Sebastian, may you never lose your way in the mountains and forests."

Dressed elegantly and in a light blue robe, the Qing country nobleman bent over seventy degrees and bowed his hands in return.

As allies who advance and retreat together, before accepting the invitation of the Red Country, they must first meet and reach some consensus.

"I didn't expect that rogue mercenary to be unable to hold on so soon." Prince Sebastian said straight to the point.

"I'm also a little surprised. I've heard this person's speech. Although the style is not high, even a bit vulgar, I have to admit that the other party still has two brushes." Prince Yuande said with a nod.

In most cases, the first party to initiate peace talks is often the party that is in the predatory position.

Because we can't persist, we need to solve the problem through peace talks. Otherwise, wouldn't it be good to call back? Especially for a country that is being invaded.

"Has your country received any reliable news about this?" Prince Sebastian asked tentatively.

"There is a lot of news, but most of the sources are not reliable." Prince Yuande asked seemingly casually, "Your country has carried out a thousand-year plan to avenge its shame, and intelligence personnel are all over Longxi River. There should be some A lot of useful news, right?"

The diplomatic game started quietly, and neither side was willing to share their intelligence unless the other side could provide intelligence of equal value or benefits.

After a short thought, Prince Sebastian decided to start a conversation, "I heard that there was a quarrel between the commanders of the Northern and Southern Allied Forces at the meeting, and they almost got into a fight."

"You mean Lacey and Bai Yefenghua?" Prince Yuande said, "I heard it was at the highest military meeting of the alliance, and Chen Erliu didn't attend that day."

"It is said that they had conflicts before." Prince Sebastian said.

</p>

"Is it because of the ownership of the Great East Court?" Prince Yuande seemed to be asking, but he was actually supplementing the other half of the news.

"That's right, the rogue mercenary promised a piece of cake to the two princesses." Prince Sebastian said.

"It's obviously not a secret." Prince Yuande said that the news was too old, and their Qingguo intelligence department had already grasped it. He looked at the black watch and reminded, "We don't have much time left, Prince Sebastian."

"The night before yesterday, Bai Ye Fenghua secretly summoned more than a dozen senior military officers from the southern department. Our people failed to get in, so we don't know the details." Prince Sebastian finally gave some useful news.

"Coincidentally, our intelligence personnel also got a piece of news." Prince Yuande said, "Princess Red Dragon called the backbone of the Northern Army and organized a secret meeting. It was also the night before yesterday."

Prince Sebastian frowned, looking thoughtful. After a while, he slowly murmured, "It seems..."

"The internal conflicts in the Red Country can no longer be suppressed, so the rogue mercenaries are eager to negotiate with us."

"Hmm..." Prince Yuande nodded his head slightly, also looking thoughtful.

The two sides were silent for a while before returning to the original matter.

"I think it is necessary for us to reiterate the agreement we negotiated before." Prince Sebastian said. Prince Yuande made a "please" gesture, the latter coughed, put on a serious expression, and said in a deep voice:

"First, fight against the red country together."

"Second, during the war, temporarily put aside the border disputes between the two countries, and maintain mutual friendship and mutual assistance."

"Third, an armistice agreement with the Red Country must not be reached alone."

Prince Yuande nodded in agreement, "The agreement between this country and your country is still valid."

Prince Sebastian was just about to extend his hand to express a happy cooperation, but unexpectedly, the other party changed the subject.

"However..." Prince Yuande murmured, "Your country has won a huge victory in the war, not only regaining the holy city, but also pushing the front line to the Principality of Nice."

"Your country's territory has increased significantly, but its own country's territory has not increased by a single cent, so..."

"Can your country think about it, don't let herdsmen graze sheep at the foot of the sacred mountain, and destroy the local ecology."

Prince Sebastian frowned slightly, "Our territory has indeed increased, but it has also paid a huge price."

"Countless people in the desert fell at the foot of the walls of the holy city, and could never return to the embrace of the grassland."

"One more desert legend fell here."

"This is the result of our countless blood and sacrifices, and you..." Prince Sebastian looked at each other, "You just participated in the war, and you didn't pay a big price."

The subtext of Prince Sebastian is that our growing territory was won back with both hands, at a huge price, as it should be, and it is not a bargaining chip.

<p> "The Shenshan Empire has also made great efforts and sacrifices, and..." Prince Yuande paused, and said in a more serious voice, "I don't think Personal recklessness counts as sacrifice."

He was implying that Ashidoluo was greedy for meritorious deeds and fell into the encirclement to die. Such a reckless and stupid behavior cannot be regarded as a military price, and its essence is to expose the scars of the Sha Kingdom.

Sure enough, after hearing this, Prince Sebastian's face turned blue, he clenched his fists, glared angrily, and couldn't say a word for a while.

After a while, Prince Sebastian seemed to think of something, the haze on his face was swept away, and he even smiled, "I heard..."

"Your Seventh Princess of Qing Kingdom seems to have a deep friendship with that rogue mercenary..." He bit the last few words very hard.

Prince Yuande's face darkened instantly. However, he still maintained his rationality, forcibly suppressed his anger, waved his hands, and tried to play it lightly, "The lace news of tabloids and magazines are all for traffic, so we must not take it seriously."

"But how did I hear that the Seventh Princess of the Qing Kingdom and the Prime Minister of the Red Kingdom met in New Edo?"

"There are still pictures of them playing games together, Prince Yuande, do you want to..." Prince Sebastian said while reaching into his clothes, as if he wanted to take something out, "Verify with your own eyes?"

"No, no, no, no need..." Prince Yuande hurriedly raised his hands to decline, and pressed the opponent's hand back. You should never look at things that you shouldn't look at. Even if he is a prince, he can't participate in everything.

Sometimes not knowing is the safest thing to do.

"I think we still need to reiterate our position. During the war, temporarily put aside disputes and unanimously speak out."

"That's right, I think we should let go of our inherent prejudices, help each other, and achieve each other."

"Yes, we should stop hurting each other and defend against foreign enemies together."

"collaboration!"

The two sides quickly reached a consensus and shook hands to make peace.