Chapter 1025: You Decide
Chapter 1025: You Decide
September 25, 2017
If given the chance, Lu HaiKong would undoubtedly want to finish off Zhang Yan right away.
After all, he was certain that Zhang Yan had been deeply involved in this incident, and the Yellow Turban Saintess was merely a puppet in their hands.
However, this alone gave Lu HaiKong a perfectly valid reason to eliminate her.
But even with a valid reason, Lu HaiKong dared not act at this moment.
He truly feared the consequences!
Lu HaiKong's hesitation wasn't due to fearing Zhang Jiao, who might be backing Zhang Yan, nor was it concern over Zhang Yan's Heavenly Peace Scripture, or even his friendship with Ye Junru.
He did have some apprehension about Zhang Jiao, but that wasn't the primary reason.
The main issue was Lu HaiKong's worry that he might accidentally expand too rapidly and cause his own demise. This was a very real possibility, and the only thing that could bring about Lu HaiKong's downfall was his own fortune!
Not long ago, after firmly establishing control over the southern part of Bingzhou, Lu HaiKong's fortune soared. However, he didn't pay much attention to this at the time, as his fortune had always been suppressed by the Mystical Ancient Zither, and so he didn't take it too seriously.
It wasn't until recently, when Lu HaiKong conquered Dai Prefecture, that he felt something was amiss. The fortune that had been suppressed by the Mystical Ancient Zither began to surge into his body.
Within just a few days, the fortune that entered Lu HaiKong's body had reached a considerable level and seemed to be continuously rising.
This was a bit tragic, as Lu HaiKong never expected that the fortune, which had been effectively suppressed by the Mystical Ancient Zither, would still surge at this time, leaving him somewhat dazed.
In fact, this situation was quite normal, as fortune was a mysterious and complex matter.
Its growth was related to the expansion of territory, as well as Lu HaiKong himself and his subordinates.
When Lu HaiKong controlled the northern part of Bingzhou, his fortune was already formidable. Although the fortune in the northern part of Bingzhou could be easily suppressed by the Mystical Ancient Zither, Lu HaiKong quickly conquered and gained complete control over the southern part of Bingzhou, vigorously developing the economy. In just over half a year, the economy and livelihood of Bingzhou had significantly improved.
This alone caused Lu HaiKong's fortune to skyrocket. Additionally, Lu HaiKong had truly gained the system's recognition by subduing Xi Zhi Cai, which was no small feat. It was known that Xi Zhi Cai was a talent envied by the heavens, and subduing him brought Lu HaiKong an immense amount of fortune.
The combination of these two factors directly led to Lu HaiKong's fortune surpassing the suppression range of the Mystical Ancient Zither.
Admittedly, the Mystical Ancient Zither was indeed powerful, but this ancient zither did not truly recognize Lu HaiKong as its master, and its abilities were in a sealed state.
Furthermore, it was not a true Marquis artifact, and the method of suppressing fortune was different. Therefore, the amount of fortune it could suppress was limited. Originally, after Lu HaiKong gained control over the southern part of Bingzhou, the Mystical Ancient Zither's suppression of fortune had already become strenuous.
Under these circumstances, when Lu HaiKong conquered Dai Prefecture, the situation became slightly dire. A massive amount of fortune surged into Lu HaiKong's body, forcing him to confront the issue of fortune once again.
In this situation, before resolving the fortune issue, Lu HaiKong not only dared not expand his territory but also had to be extremely cautious about marrying Princess San. If he inadvertently caused a surge in fortune, Lu HaiKong might become the first man to explode upon marriage.
Aside from this reason, Zhang Jiao's existence was indeed another significant factor.
Who knew if Zhang Jiao would intervene when Lu HaiKong took action against Zhang Yan?
After some thought, Lu HaiKong decided to be more amicable and refrain from constant fighting and killing. Instead, he would focus on exploitation.
He would wait until he resolved the fortune issue and developed his territory further.
Of course, while he couldn't expand his territory at this time, he would not hold back when it came to exploitation. If Dong Zhuo's Army didn't provide Lu HaiKong with a satisfactory outcome, he would never rest until he got what he wanted.
Naturally, while considering exploiting others, Lu HaiKong also needed to think about acquiring a genuine Marquis artifact to permanently solve this fortune problem.
...
Sili Jia Bu, Chang'an!
On the tenth day after Lu HaiKong's army crushed Dong Zhuo's Army, his envoy arrived in Chang'an.
Despite knowing that the envoy's arrival meant nothing good and understanding their purpose, Dong Zhuo, Emperor's Tyrant, had no choice but to receive them with a certain degree of respect, as the situation was more powerful than he was.
After their overwhelming defeat in the previous battle, Lu Hai Kong's envoys now held the upper hand.
However, Dong Zhuo himself did not meet with the envoys. On one hand, he feared losing control and killing them, and on the other, these envoys were not qualified enough to warrant an audience with him.
Scholar Li was still recovering from his injuries, so the one who eventually received the envoys was Li Su, the same person who had gone to Bei Feng previously.
This was quite an interesting turn of events. For the second time, Li Su was handling diplomatic matters with Lu Hai Kong. The first time, he had gone to Bei Feng in a vulnerable position to ransom someone, and now, despite Lu Hai Kong's envoys coming to their territory, it was because of their defeat, and Li Su was still at a disadvantage.
For a moment, Li Su felt like he had become an expert in playing the role of a humble subordinate, albeit with some resentment. But he had no choice; they had to maintain this pretense. Li Su could only grit his teeth and continue the charade.
To his surprise, Lu Hai Kong's delegation was not as arrogant as he had anticipated. They were polite and calm, but the terms they presented were far from pleasant.
The delegation brought clear demands from Lu Hai Kong, and they were straightforward: three conditions that seemed simple, but when Li Su glanced at them, he nearly trembled and wanted to tear up the document.
Lu Hai Kong's demands were outrageous, exceeding his imagination.
However, Li Su maintained his composure and refrained from acting impulsively. Instead, he intended to negotiate with Lu Hai Kong's delegation, but they were unwilling to budge. With no other choice, Li Su could only bring their conditions to Dong Zhuo.
In the end, Dong Zhuo received the document and was shocked by its contents. His eyes widened, and his entire body trembled with rage.
Although he had mentally prepared for Lu Hai Kong's demands, the severity of their conditions caught him off guard.
Moreover, this was just the war reparations, completely unrelated to the ransom for the captives. If Dong Zhuo wanted to secure their release, he would have to negotiate separately.
Dong Zhuo was more straightforward than Li Su; he immediately tore up the document with the proposed conditions.
He had destroyed the document, but his anger remained, and it was not something that could be easily assuaged.
Not only could Dong Zhuo not vent his anger, but he also had to swallow his pride and turn back to resolve this issue peacefully.
Whether or not to pay the reparations was not the most critical issue; what mattered was bringing this matter to a close. At this point, Dong Zhuo's forces were too weak to continue fighting, so a peaceful resolution was the best outcome.
Even though Dong Zhuo desired a peaceful resolution, he was reluctant to pay such a hefty compensation.
"You're demanding money from me after your victory? Do you expect me to hand over a vast fortune just because your envoys say so? That's preposterous!"
However, Dong Zhuo dared not refuse outright. In this situation, he could only choose to stall.
He decided to buy some time, adopting a conciliatory stance. He would lift the economic embargo on Bingzhou and feign weakness, but paying reparations was out of the question, at least for the time being.
As Dong Zhuo played for time, Baron Yuan in Jizhou also received a message from Lu Hai Kong.
For days, Baron Yuan had been awaiting news from Lu Hai Kong.
Since Dong Zhuo's defeat, he knew that he wouldn't need to fight and that there was no point in doing so.
Therefore, when Lu Hai Kong's message arrived, Baron Yuan had already prepared himself for their demands.
However, upon reading the letter, Baron Yuan was taken aback. It contained only six words:
"You deal with it yourself!"
(End of Chapter)
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