C173 There Were Gains and Losses

Outside the Bael City, the empire's army finally had a few sporadic conflicts with the private army.

The trigger of the conflict was that the Empire's army had inadvertently caused a few small-scale disturbances to the Lower Race in front of them.

Such a direct result was that the two forces, which were originally peaceful, had no choice but to have a head-on clash.

Fortunately, everyone maintained this great restraint and did not make an irreparable mistake.

At the same time, the Empire garrisons at the border and the armies of the neighboring countries resumed a tense confrontation. The atmosphere was so strange that it was incomprehensible. As long as there was any movement in Bael City, it would cause great anxiety and uneasiness at the border.

The private army that was besieging Bael City once again started a large-scale siege. This time, they were serious. Because they were slowly advancing towards the city. Their target was not the church where Lee Xiang was, but Duke's Mansion. At the same time, it proved that they were no longer bluffing like before.

This series of actions seemed to indicate that Lee Xiang's next move would change. He changed from being reserved to being tough.

At the same time, a large number of the Empire's troops were slowly advancing towards Silo Province through the normal border transfer. At the same time, it also showed the Empire's determination to negotiate on conditions. Even if the Empire compromised, they would still have a bottom line.

Shaun was very depressed today. He had never thought that Lyman would block his path. This unconsciously gave him a strong sense of crisis. He knew very well that the two people inside thought that he had done something wrong.

Instinct told him that Lee Xiang and Lyman seemed to intentionally exclude him.

This was something he absolutely could not allow. Don't forget that he was the one who connected Lee Xiang and Lyman back then.

Under Shaun's strong protest, a priest from the church finally walked out slowly. However, Kohl was still firmly refused to enter. In the end, Kohl had no choice but to take advantage of the situation and return home in defeat.

Walking into the church, Shaun and helplessly discovered that Lee Xiang, Baron, was actually playing chess with Archbishop Lyman with interest. He originally thought that Lee Xiang should lock himself up somewhere and think hard about how to resolve the current situation. Who would have thought that he would be so free and unfettered?

That's right. With his current situation, wasn't he also playing chess? It was just that the game was bigger. And the people playing chess with him were all the strategists in the capital. Shaun smiled bitterly, then walked forward.

"Your Highness, you came at the right time. The archbishop knows nothing about chess. Why don't we play chess?" Lee Xiang smiled at Shaun who had walked in. He did not mention anything about what had happened outside the door.

Lyman smiled bitterly. "Count's requirements are too high. You have to know that I have just learned this chess game for less than four hours. How can I win over Count?"

At the end of his sentence, he quickly stood up and gave his position to Shaun.

Shaun did not refuse and sat down. However, he did not have the slightest intention of playing chess with him. Instead, he sighed slightly. "You are in such a great mood. Everyone outside is anxious. You actually acted as if nothing happened. . . "

"It is said that the world is like a new game of chess. Your Highness, you should understand it better than I do!" Lee Xiang smiled faintly and placed the last chess piece in his hand into the chessboard.

Shaun sighed to himself and then looked at Lee Xiang sincerely. "No matter what, he said. You did a great job this time, and now you are using all the changes in the situation. " You should know me best, Your Highness. "Lee Xiang shook his head. From the beginning to the end, I had been thinking about how to turn this game into a chess game. I had never thought of winning. The Goddess can testify for me on this point!"

Goddess? Shaun laughed. He was afraid that none of the people present, including Lyman, truly believed in the goddess. The absurd thing was that Lee Xiang had actually used the Goddess's name to swear an oath?

"If you really want to play chess, why do you need to do so many things?" Shaun sighed slightly. Although he had an agreement with Lee Xiang and the others, he was still the prince of the empire. At such a critical moment, if he still cared about personal gains and losses, perhaps even Lee Xiang would look down on him.

Lee Xiang didn't find Shaun's attitude strange at all. After all, he was still a prince.

"Your Highness seems to have forgotten what we said before. Send me up to the sky with good wind and strength! If the empire hadn't forced me to do this again and again, I wouldn't have ended up like this today. " Lee Xiang did not deny it.

"So you're saying that the Lower Race riot in the Silo Province, and even the incidents in the other provinces have something to do with you?" Shaun's eyes were full of vigor. "Including the secret cooperation of the Moose Empire!"

"I admit that I have an agreement with the Moose Empire, but the prerequisite is that I did not betray the interests of the empire!" Lee Xiang nodded without hesitation, "As for the rebellion of the Lower Race, it was entirely their own initiative. This has nothing to do with me!"

Shaun's expression changed slightly. "How is this possible? According to the information we received, the Lower Race outside was not their own initiative. It was organized and disciplined to do these things? You're not telling me that it really has nothing to do with you, are you? "

This time, it was Lee Xiang's turn to be moved. Could it be that someone was secretly helping him? Or was there someone with a different purpose? Secretly helping him could be understood. However, it was almost impossible to say that there was a different purpose. Because he was the only one who benefited from the whole incident, what could other people's organization benefit from? Lee Xiang instantly concluded that there was someone helping him in the dark.

"Then treat it as me!" Lee Xiang's lips curved into a very bad smile, because he suddenly thought of another person who had not shown up for a long time and promised to give him a surprise. If he did not guess wrong, he did not help in this matter.

Shaun smiled bitterly and shook his head. He did not feel strange about Lee Xiang's sudden change.

"Then, you should explain the relationship between you and Moose Empire, right?" Shaun nodded. "Actually, you should know. The empire can indulge you in many things now, but there is only one exception. You cannot mix with any neighboring countries, once that happens, it will be a violation of the Empire's greatest taboo. . . This is also why the Empire will send troops to this place continuously. "

How could Lee Xiang not know? This was just a temporary measure.

"Your Highness means. . . " Lee Xiang immediately guessed that Shaun might bring him some good news today.

"Didn't you want to play chess? It is very simple. You just need to make some concessions and let the empire have a reasonable way to go. Everything else can be discussed. " Shaun took a deep breath and said word by word.

No one would have thought that the chaotic Silo Province would suddenly disappear in the blink of an eye. It was not an exaggeration to describe this incident as bizarre.

Just as the private army was about to attack the Bael City and advance to the Duke's Mansion, they suddenly turned back and set up camp less than one mile away from the Bael City.

The soldiers of the empire and the private army of the Duke's Mansion who were stationed twenty miles away from the city suddenly withdrew without any symptoms. They returned to where they should be.

The situation suddenly turned 180 degrees. It had almost reached a point where it could not be stopped, but it suddenly turned around. Just like that, it ended without any danger.

But no one knew how many trades and secrets were hidden behind this. Everyone only knew that Count, Lee Xiang, who had been imprisoned in the church for five days, finally walked out of the church with the Third Prince, Shaun, holding hands. They had stayed in the church for four days.

The Empire's army, which had originally occupied Bael City, suddenly retreated without any symptoms.

This caused all the countries in the Osman Continent who were prepared to watch the Empire laugh at them to feel dispirited.

In Sophie Prefecture, Lee Xiang was comfortably lying in his study. Under the escort of his cavalry, the Prime Minister of the Empire, including Count Link and his wife, were escorted out of Silo Province.

Lee Xiang could not guarantee their safety in Silo Province.

The only exception was the Third Prince of the empire, Shaun.

He had left the name of Shaun behind because he had made great contributions to the empire, because he had successfully resolved the crisis of the empire.

So he stayed behind to solve some problems that still needed to be discussed. In addition, the empire had unexpectedly left Fourth Prince and Barut behind. The excuse that the Empire wanted him to stay behind was worth considering. They wanted to help Shaun deal with some unfinished problems.

"It ended just like that?" Sophie gently pinched Lee Xiang's shoulder. Her pretty face revealed undisguised worry. For the five days that Lee Xiang was under house arrest, she was almost exhausted. The turbulent tide had unexpectedly ended without any blade lights or sword shadows. It made her feel like it was a dream.

Lee Xiang gently caressed Sophie's slightly thin face. He sighed slightly and said gently, "It has been hard on you these few days!"

Sophie firmly shook her head and held Lee Xiang's hand with a backhand. "You are Sophie's man now. I will not allow anything to happen to you. "

Lee Xiang smiled. He had to admit that women were actually much stronger than men.

"Yes, Yun Chang's wine is ready. I will have a very important guest later. Maybe two. "

"It has been prepared for a long time!" Sophie rolled her eyes at Lee Xiang and then sighed. She leaned on Lee Xiang's shoulder. "I'm a little worried. . . "

"Why?" Lee Xiang casually put his arm around Sophie's shoulder. In fact, he was also very worried, but this kind of worry could not be expressed. Otherwise, it would cause great concern for his subordinates.

"The compromise the Empire has made to you this time seems to be too great. Don't you feel it at all?" Sophie raised her head and reminded him in a low voice.

Of course Li Yao had already noticed this point. The compromise of the Empire was indeed a bit big. But don't forget that his compromise was also quite shocking. Moreover, it was a step for the Empire. The most important thing was that Shaun was continuously inserting needles and threads inside. Therefore, he had to give Shaun face. Because this directly affected Shaun's future.

In these four days, everyone thought that he and Shaun were hiding in the church to negotiate. In fact, apart from negotiating, they were also discussing how to turn this disaster into an opportunity. It not only saved the empire's face, but also Lee Xiang and Shaun, including Lyman. The three of them benefited from it.

The process was indeed very arduous, because it was really difficult for the three of them to reap all the benefits.

The final version was that the empire gave Silo Province a high degree of autonomy. Even the garrison of the empire had to be controlled by Lee Xiang. In other words, In the future, no matter who the garrison of the empire was, Yes. Without his orders, the army of the Empire would not be able to make any changes on its own. Including the position of the highest commander of the garrison. Furthermore, there must be a limit to the number of people. This was actually a way of restraining each other.

However, Lee Xiang had also paid a huge price for this. First of all, he had to get rid of the two hundred thousand private army that he had just built. This was the bottom line of the empire. If he didn't get rid of everything else, there was no need to talk about it. Under Lee Xiang's final bargaining, the number of people in private army was set at sixty thousand. In addition, he could have fifty thousand soldiers who could maintain the law and order of the entire province.

Secondly, the private army that attacked the army of the empire. They must be punished. Lee Xiang nodded in agreement. The reason was very simple. Because the so-called punishment was also decided by him, so it was just a verbal promise. It was only because it involved the face of the empire. He had no choice but to nod his head.

The third and most important point. He had to cut off all relations with the neighboring countries. Although Lee Xiang openly denied that he had some private dealings with the neighboring countries, the empire insisted. For this reason, the empire would even specially set up a monitoring department in Bael City in the future. Lee Xiang finally nodded in agreement on this point.

Of course, at the end of the negotiation, it also specifically mentioned the reason why they could reach an agreement. It was due to the great mediation of Lyman, the archbishop of the church. Such an action also raised Lyman's fame to the peak, and even faintly showed signs of surpassing Dewey in their faction. For a time, he had become another celebrity in the Holy See after Paul.

As the saying goes, if there is gain, there will be loss. No matter what, In this contest, Lee Xiang could finally make the Empire compromise. This was a very impressive thing in itself. The most important thing was that this time, he had completely conquered the entire Silo Province. He had gathered them all around him. This was his biggest gain, and it was destined to benefit him for the rest of his life.

Of course, he had to thank the empire for its cooperation.

It was worth mentioning that Duke Ronton had taken this opportunity to hint to the empire that he wanted to join the Imperial Capital. However, the empire had yet to give a clear answer.

"Don't worry too much!" Lee Xiang gently patted Sophie's shoulder. "Everything is under my control!"

Sophie sighed slightly. She then nodded. "I hope so!"

The two of them stood up and hugged each other. Just as they stood up, a maid's voice was heard.

"Sir, your friend is here!"

Lee Xiang's heart shook. The person he had been waiting for had finally come.