Chapter 646: Transaction and Price

There were guards with leather armor on alert around the National Teacher's camp, but the sandbar today was crowded beyond belief, and the area outside the alert circle was full of people. He Lingchuan squeezing into the crowd was the best cover.

Afterwards, Li Qingge came.

She was wearing a fiery red cloak today, with a white velvet collar, lips like fire, and a coral hairpin on her black cloud bun.

Such a graceful beauty, yet she walked with an overbearing pace.

Nian Zanli was also in a purple-blue brocade robe, walking with big strides.

The two were a zhang apart, both indifferent to each other.

The guards entered the tent to report the intention.

Not long after, a person walked out of the tent, with a white jade crown, frost-red clothes, long eyebrows and phoenix eyes, and a tall and straight posture.

As soon as he appeared, the autumn wind blowing through the forest seemed to slow down.

The surrounding crowd was in a commotion: "National Teacher! Frost Leaf National Teacher has come out!"

Beijia was rich in the four seas and strong for a time, but there were only four National Teachers. In the eyes of most commoners, the National Teachers who managed the primordial power of Beijia lived in seclusion, mysterious and noble, and they were only lucky enough to see them at the Grass Sea Grand Gathering.

He Lingchuan also stared at this person.

This was the famous Frost Leaf National Teacher, the backing behind Xi Yunhe? His age was second only to the Qingyang National Teacher, but the Frost Leaf National Teacher looked younger, only about twenty-five or twenty-six, handsome and elegant, like a jade tree.

He Lingchuan still remembered that he was a monster, just looking like a human. Great demons generally lived longer than practitioners, so it was not surprising that the Frost Leaf National Teacher looked young.

What kind of monster was "Du Su" exactly, and why could his appearance be exactly the same as a human? The Frost Leaf National Teacher spoke, his voice like jade chimes striking: "General Nian, have you been well?"

Hearing him say this, Nian Zanli hadn't seen the Frost Leaf National Teacher for a long time.

He Lingchuan's eyes flickered as he listened. It seemed that in the past two months, Nian Zanli had been eating the other party's closed-door policy, and the Frost Leaf National Teacher didn't even want to meet him.

Nian Zanli stood still and bowed: "National Teacher, are you well!"

Li Qingge also bowed gracefully to the Frost Leaf National Teacher: "Li Qingge of Songyang Mansion, greets the Frost Leaf National Teacher."

"You are the Master of Songyang Mansion?" The Frost Leaf National Teacher gave a "hmm," looked at the two, and seemed to realize something.

Li Qingge parted her red lips lightly: "I am presumptuous to ask for a meeting; I want to ask the National Teacher to be a witness."

Nian Zanli added: "And to distinguish the true from the false."

The Frost Leaf National Teacher smiled: "Witness? I think you want me to be a guarantor." He turned and pointed to the camp: "Come in."

His attitude made it clear that he knew exactly what the two were talking about. Nian Zanli felt much more at ease when he saw this.

When the Frost Leaf National Teacher turned around, he glanced at the crowd.

His eyes were like frost and knives, so bright that people didn't dare to look at them, but his expression was smiling yet not smiling. He Lingchuan always felt that he had locked onto himself all of a sudden.

The two made brief eye contact, then looked away.

The Frost Leaf National Teacher turned and strode into the tent. He Lingchuan, however, gave a bitter smile—

The Frost Leaf National Teacher's look at him was meaningful, as if there were two points of approval? This was really... sigh.

Nian Zanli and Li Qingge also followed in.

He Lingchuan channeled his true qi to his ears, trying to hear a word or two in the clamor.

However, there was silence in the tent.

Apparently, a barrier had been opened inside.

He Lingchuan turned to look at Old Dan, whose wavering eyes betrayed the anxiety in his heart.

"Nineteen can succeed." He Lingchuan patted Old Dan on the shoulder, "No need to worry."

Only a quarter of an hour later, the tent curtain was lifted, and Li Qingge and Nian Zanli walked out one after another.

The gloom between Nian Zanli's brows was gone; he let out a long breath to the sky, and his steps were much lighter than before.

Li Qingge's beautiful eyes were even brighter, her lips slightly raised, and her demeanor was moving.

He Lingchuan understood as soon as he saw it: the transaction was successful, and she finally got what she wanted.

Li Qingge's eyes swept across the crowd and saw him at a glance. However, in public, it was not easy to communicate, so she smiled intentionally or unintentionally and turned to walk towards her carriage.

The little squirrel on He Lingchuan's shoulder slipped away.

He stood on the spot for a moment, and seeing that the Frost Leaf National Teacher didn't come out, he turned and left.

Li Qingge's carriage was parked halfway up the mountain, not close to the Songyang Mansion's service point.

She couldn't produce a title in Lingxu City; she was mainly a merchant, and secondly a sect master, so she wouldn't sit in the front row of the sandbar.

Although there were people all around, it was at least not as conspicuous as on the sandbar, and there was forest cover.

When He Lingchuan passed by, she already had visitors, and both sides were talking happily.

He didn't stop, walked away from the side, and lined up to buy a multigrain pancake at a small vendor ten zhang away.

The Grass Sea was usually vast, with more birds than people, but today it was full of Lingxu City citizens, and business opportunities were infinite; how could small businessmen bear not to come?

There were four or five pancake stalls here, and only this one had a long line; needless to say, it must be delicious.

He Lingchuan queued for the time it takes to burn a stick of incense before he finally got the chance to choose between adding meat or an egg. At this moment, he was, of course, extravagant enough to want both.

After one taste, he knew that the soul of this pancake was in the sauce, which was divided into sweet and sour and hot and sour. The sour juice was made by fermenting wild fruits on the tree, which had a unique flavor, and then mixed with some strange seasonings, it became the shop's unique secret recipe.

However, the sauce was light green. He Lingchuan looked at it for a long time, thinking that he shouldn't get a stomachache after eating it.

He had only taken two bites when the squirrel Xiao Qiao jumped from some big tree onto his shoulder and pointed at the vendor on the side: "This one!"

This one sold dried fruits.

He Lingchuan bought half a jin of strange-flavored broad beans for it, and the squirrel said while crunching: "The Songyang Mansion Master wants me to tell you that things are settled there; she got the bamboo tube back and verified it correctly."

He Lingchuan let out a breath, not knowing whether he was relieved or uncomfortable from the spiciness.

Exchanging the token for the bamboo tube, this operation seemed smooth and simple on the surface, and it was completed in only a quarter of an hour in the Frost Leaf National Teacher's tent.

In fact, how much behind-the-scenes work had He Lingchuan done? If it were easy, why couldn't Li Qingge handle it herself?

Nian Zanli was suspicious and distrustful; without the Frost Leaf National Teacher's strong guarantee, how could he hand over the bamboo tube? "Was the token handed over to the other party?"

"Hmm, exchanged. With the Frost Leaf National Teacher guaranteeing in the middle, the other party didn't bargain much. And the Frost Leaf National Teacher also told the other party that the token can only be used by him."

He Lingchuan understood; the military token he borrowed was limited to Nian Zanli himself. The Baling Nation only recognized him; only Nian Zanli himself could mobilize those tens of thousands of troops.

"It should be so." Borrowing troops was not borrowing salt; how could it be done casually?

"The Frost Leaf National Teacher also asked the Lord to pass a word to you, telling you to get things done as soon as possible."

He Lingchuan nodded.

The Frost Leaf National Teacher kept his word, taking out tens of thousands of foreign troops in exchange for Li Qingge's life-saving treasure. This was a big move, showing his thirst to overthrow the Qingyang National Teacher.

Now, it was He Lingchuan's turn to fulfill his promise.

The Frost Leaf National Teacher's patience was limited and wouldn't let him drag it out endlessly.

He Lingchuan said to the squirrel: "Go and pass the word to the Songyang Mansion Master again; since the bamboo tube is in hand, start the next step of the action as soon as possible."

The squirrel jumped onto a high branch and ran away in a flash.

This forest was a place where it could come and go freely.

Originally, Li Qingge was always fearful when facing Nian Zanli, fearing that he would crush the Gu insect.

Now that the bamboo tube was in hand, her life was safe, and she could naturally let go and do it.

Nian Zanli had already obtained the Frost Leaf National Teacher's token; He Lingchuan had to ensure that he couldn't borrow troops, otherwise, the Yuan Nation would face disaster.

Currently, one of their major advantages was that Nian Zanli's troops were all left in Xunzhou, with only some personal guards following him.

This was Lingxu City; strictly speaking, Nian Zanli and He Lingchuan were both strangers in a strange land, without any home-field advantage.

He was even doing worse here than He Lingchuan.

This was one of the situations He Lingchuan could utilize.

Nian Zanli strode back to his tent, his face glowing.

Several aides saw his expression and bowed one after another: "Congratulations to the General for successfully borrowing troops!"

Nian Zanli laughed loudly: "Congratulations too early; wait until I get He Chunhua's head, then it won't be too late to celebrate!"

Only one aide had a worried expression and couldn't laugh.

Others saw it and said: "Lu Huansheng, what are you dissatisfied with?"

Nian Zanli stopped smiling and looked over.

Lu Huansheng immediately said: "It is a great thing for the General to borrow elite troops; the foolish ruler of the Yuan Nation is immoral and unworthy of his position! It's just, it's just..."

He looked at the crowd, and his voice lowered: "The conditions set by the Frost Leaf National Teacher are too harsh. Annual tribute of 200,000 taels of silver, 100,000 bolts of silk, 300 jin of profound crystal ore, and 300 fine horses from the northwest grassland every year."

Speaking of this, the smiles on everyone's faces silently faded. The Frost Leaf National Teacher guaranteed the Songyang Mansion's affairs and wanted to collect enough benefits himself! He had determined that Nian Zanli had to borrow troops.

"I have calculated it; this annual tribute is close to half a percent of the Yuan Nation's normal annual income!" Lu Huansheng counted with his fingers. "Especially since the Yuan Nation has too few pastures and can produce too few fine horses, yet so many have to be sent out every year. Even the Qingyang National Teacher's asking price wasn't this high!"

The last sentence made Nian Zanli's face sink.

He had sent gifts to the Qingyang National Teacher until he was almost bankrupt, only to exchange for her opportunity to lobby the Emperor, but it ended in failure! The Frost Leaf National Teacher opened his mouth like a lion in the letter; Nian Zanli also felt a tightness in his chest when he first saw it.

But he was the one who could get things done.

An aide saw his expression and immediately took over: "The war is urgent, everything else comes later. How can there be no cost to borrow troops? Not to mention that these conditions are not only the Frost Leaf National Teacher's, but also include the Baling people's."

They borrowed troops from the Baling people through the hands of the Frost Leaf National Teacher, so both sides had to be taken care of.

Lu Huansheng shook his head: "The Frost Leaf National Teacher and the Baling people want benefits; when Beijia finds out, will Beijia also come to share a piece of the pie?"

This sheep of the Yuan Nation was so thin; could it withstand three families taking turns to pluck it? Nian Zanli said coldly: "Do you mean that I should return the troops and not fight this war?"

Lu Huansheng hesitated: "Zhao Pan has already been transferred to the northwest by the foolish ruler to confront the Grand General. I still hold my own view; with our Xunzhou army, it is no problem to take Xia Prefecture before next spring. After resting for half a year, we can march south after the autumn harvest, pointing directly at the Yuan capital, which is not impossible!"

It's the last day of April, asking for monthly tickets~ The first 7 days of May are double periods, if you have tickets, please throw them in the seven days, thank you all!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 647 =====