Chapter 207: Using drugs to obtain key evidence and using a balancing strategy to resolve disputes
So, the next step is to show the other party what you can do.

“General, both sides suffered losses in the war. In view of the situation of your tribe, we in the Great Zhou can give some money as compensation for the casualties of your tribe.”

“However, I also hope that the general can understand that this is not compensation. It is just our Celestial Empire’s way of expressing our sincerity out of pity for you.”

“If you still want to make other excessive demands, when someone else comes, they won’t be as easy to talk to as I am!”

“After all, my Great Zhou has millions of soldiers. It is not difficult to conquer a mere grassland tribe!”

Give a slap and a sweet date!
It has to be said that Chu Shizhao’s strategy of appeasement was just right.

Sure enough, as soon as he said this, the attitude of Deqi Dawa on the other side changed immediately.

“Since the Fourth Prince is so sincere, if I make any excessive demands, it would make me look ignorant.”

“However, the compensation cannot be too little, otherwise I will not be able to explain it to my soldiers.”

Seeing that the other party was so tactful, Chu Shizhao nodded slightly.

“General, rest assured. We in the Great Zhou are very generous to our friends. I will give you a satisfactory amount for the pension.”

“But I hope the general can make a decision as soon as possible and withdraw his troops and stop fighting.”

“If we delay too long, my father might change his mind given his temperament!”

Chu Shizhao calmly used the prestige of Emperor Yongjin to urge Dawa to make a decision.

It has to be said that during the entire negotiation process, Chu Shizhao’s control over dialogue skills, psychological state, and rhythm were just right.

From the beginning to the end, I firmly kept the initiative in my own hands.

Sure enough, under his coercion and inducement, after a while, Dawa gave an answer.

“Fourth Prince, I need to go back and discuss the conditions you mentioned with my brothers.”

“You have to understand me. This truce is no small matter!”

Hearing this, Chu Shizhao nodded slightly with sympathy.

“Of course, but I hope the general can give me an answer as soon as possible. After all, the longer it takes, the worse it will be for the people of both countries.”

“Okay, I’ll give you an answer as soon as possible. But you’d better not play any tricks, otherwise, I won’t let you go.”

After saying this, Dawa turned around and left with his personal soldiers.

Chu Shizhao looked at their departing backs and breathed a sigh of relief.

Ya turned back and looked at the confidants he brought with him.

“Do you think that Dawa will agree to my conditions?”

“Your Highness, judging from the attitude of Dawa, he is somewhat interested in our conditions.”

“However, this is related to the interests of their entire tribe. If he changes his mind, we will be in a passive position!”

The counselor at the side frowned and raised his concerns.

Chu Shizhao nodded.

“You’re right, I think so too.”

“So, we have to be prepared for both scenarios.”

“On the one hand, we are waiting for his reply, and on the other hand, we are strengthening the border defenses in case they suddenly change their minds.”

Chu Shizhao had led troops for many years and naturally understood that one should not put all his eggs in one basket.

Although he sincerely hoped that Dawa and the others would agree to his conditions, out of caution he had to be prepared to deal with emergencies.

On the way back, he had nothing to do, so he subconsciously began to review the results of this negotiation in his mind.

Although he did not achieve his goal directly this time, based on his observation, the other party was obviously tempted by the conditions he proposed.

Although Dawa did not agree on the spot, the hesitation and consideration of interests in his eyes showed that he was weighing the pros and cons in his heart.

I guess it won’t be long before the other party will take the initiative to send someone to have a second interview with me.

Just when he was lost in thought.

Suddenly, there was a burst of shouting and killing all around, instantly bringing him back to reality.

“Kill!”

The sudden change made Chu Shizhao, who was a little dazed, change his expression.

The next second, he reacted and immediately drew out his sword.

“There’s an assassin! Protect His Highness!”

With a loud shout, several confidants who followed closely behind him immediately blocked Chu Shizhao behind them.

The next second, the men in black who suddenly appeared on both sides of the road started fighting with their trusted guards.

These assassins were agile and deadly, and they were obviously well-trained.

Fortunately, Chu Shizhao himself possesses quite good martial arts skills.

He has experienced many hardships since he was young and has a certain foundation in riding, archery, and fighting.

Chu Shizhao’s figure flashed, and he waved the sword in his hand, and a cold light flashed for a moment.

Although these assassins were very skilled, they were still unable to capture Chu Shizhao in a short time.

Chu Shizhao knew clearly that these guys were obviously coming for him.

“They have clear goals and act decisively. There must be someone behind the scenes directing them.”

Chu Shizhao fended off the assassin’s attack while analyzing the situation calmly.

Although he has the ability to escape, if he does this, then all the confidants who followed him this time will probably die here.

“We can’t let our brothers sacrifice in vain. We must find a way.”

Chu Shizhao’s thoughts raced.

Instead of this, it would be better for me to stay here and hold these guys back.

Thinking of this, he immediately used all his strength and his swordsmanship became even more fierce.

Chu Shizhao’s figure was as fast as lightning, and his sword was flying. For a moment, he actually forced the surrounding assassins back a little.

“Hurry up and report back to the camp!”

Chu Shizhao shouted loudly, while opening a passage for his confidants to follow him.

Upon seeing this, the confidants knew that this was not the time to hesitate, and they all ran towards the camp.

When the assassins saw that Chu Shizhao’s confidants were trying to escape, they tried to divide their forces to stop them, but were held back by Chu Shizhao.

“Want to leave? It’s not that easy!”

Chu Shizhao roared, and his sword moves became more and more brutal.

……

Not long after, Zhang Gan, who learned that Chu Shizhao had been assassinated, arrived with reinforcements.

“kill!”

Following Zhang Gan’s order, the reinforcements rushed towards the assassins like tigers.

Although these assassins are extremely skilled, they are still somewhat inferior to the battle-hardened soldiers under Zhang Gan.

Plus the gap in the number of people between the two sides.

In a short while, all the assassins who participated in the assassination were captured by Chu Shizhao’s reinforcements, except for a few agile guys who escaped. After Chu Shizhao successfully returned to the camp, he immediately interrogated these assassins.

“Tell me, who sent you here?”

Chu Shizhao looked at the assassin in front of him with cold eyes.

“If you don’t say anything…”

However, before Chu Shizhao could finish his words, these guys in front of him bit open the poison sac hidden in their mouths, killing him beyond belief.

Looking at these dead assassins, Chu Shizhao frowned.

These people are well-trained and are all death warriors. If the mission fails, they will even commit suicide by taking poison. It is obvious that the forces behind them have been prepared.

It seems that someone doesn’t want him to be alive.

But if we let these guys hide in the dark, we never know when they will attack us again.

As the saying goes, a thief can only steal for a thousand days, but you can never guard against thieves for a thousand days.

He doesn’t want to live in fear every day.

Thinking of this, Chu Shizhao immediately clenched his fists.

In order for the subsequent peace talks to proceed smoothly, it seems necessary for him to eliminate these potential threats before these guys launch their next action.

Thinking of this, Chu Shizhao immediately dismissed his attendants and started to simulate and deduce.

[Chu Shizhao arranged for his confidants to secretly investigate Chu Shiren’s movements, focusing on clues related to the assassin. At the same time, he strengthened the guards of his own camp and arranged numerous traps and secret sentries.]

[Not long after, Zhang Gan sent a message that some suspicious people were found gathering in an inn near Chu Shizhao’s camp.]

[Fearing that too many people might disturb the target, Chu Shizhao finally decided to go and investigate in person at night. ]

[He searched the inn for a while and finally found some letters in the room where the suspicious person lived. The content of the letters clearly showed that the assassination was instigated by Chu Shiren.]

[After Chu Shizhao got the evidence, he was overjoyed. When he was about to leave, he was discovered by a suspicious person who had returned.]

[The two sides engaged in a fierce battle. Although Chu Shizhao successfully broke through, the letter was lost in the chaos.]

This time, I was too radical in my deduction. I sneaked into the enemy gathering place alone. Although I found evidence, I did not consider the issue of evacuation, which led to the loss of evidence.

Moreover, the operation was too hasty and no thorough preparation was made in advance.

Next time, it is important to pay attention to the confidentiality and planning of the operation and to ensure that the evidence can be obtained and preserved safely.

[Chu Shizhao first released some false information, pretending to be indifferent to the assassination, so that Chu Shiren would relax his vigilance. At the same time, he arranged for his confidant to contact a servant in Chu Shiren’s mansion, trying to get more information from him.]

[After some effort, the confidant learned from the servants that Chu Shiren hid the evidence of the assassination in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city.]

[After Chu Shizhao learned the news, he led a team of agile subordinates, disguised as ordinary people, and quietly went to the warehouse on the outskirts of the city. ]

[After arriving at the warehouse, they successfully found the evidence. However, on the way back, they encountered an ambush arranged by Chu Shiren.]

[Chu Shizhao and his men fought hard, but the ambush troops were numerous and well-trained.]

[At the critical moment, one of Chu Shizhao’s men died in order to protect the evidence.]

[Although Chu Shizhao successfully broke through and brought back evidence, he lost a confidant. ]

Chu Shizhao frowned. Although he had successfully obtained the evidence this time, the process was too dangerous and one of his men was sacrificed.

The problem was that they were not prepared enough for these assassins and did not expect him to ambush them on his way back.

Next time, we must predict the opponent’s possible counterattacks in advance and strengthen the escort forces along the way.

[On the one hand, Chu Shizhao continued to spread false information to confuse Chu Shiren, and on the other hand, he secretly sent someone to contact the innkeeper and bribed him to put drugs in the tea of ​​those guys. ]

[The innkeeper couldn’t resist the temptation of money and agreed to cooperate with Chu Shizhao’s action.]

[The assassin, unaware that his actions had been exposed, drank the tea sent by the innkeeper and fell into a coma.]

[Chu Shizhao led his men and brought all the people and evidence back to the camp.]

[Because this operation was very secretive, Chu Shiren, who was far away in the capital, did not realize that it was Chu Shizhao who did it.]

Chu Shizhao was naturally very satisfied with the results of this deduction.

He simply bribed the innkeeper with a small amount of money, and successfully obtained evidence without exposing himself.

However, Chu Shizhao also realized that although he now had the evidence, if it were made public, it might cause other changes.

You know, he is now at the border. Who knows if Chu Shiren will become desperate and attack the people around him after he finds out that he has evidence of his murdering his brother.

Anyway, the other party doesn’t know what I am doing now.

Instead of exposing your own identity, it is better to keep these letters and take them out at the critical moment. They may play an unexpected role.

In the following days, Chu Shizhao waited for news from Chu Dawa while strengthening his own precautions and surveillance of Chu Shiren.

A few days later, Dawa sent someone to bring a message to Chu Shizhao, asking him to meet again.

Chu Shizhao, along with his advisers and guards, came to the agreed tent again.

Dawa had been waiting in the tent for a long time, his face looking somewhat gloomy.

“Chu Shizhao, I have discussed with my brothers, and we can accept most of your conditions.”

“But there is one condition that you, the Great Zhou, must agree to.”

Said Dawa.

Chu Shizhao frowned slightly: “General, please speak.”

Dawa looked at Chu Shizhao with a serious expression and spoke in a deep voice.

“After that, when the trade market is built, we will have absolute control over it.”

“All transactions go through our hands and taxes are distributed by us.”

The other party just finished speaking.

Chu Shizhao’s brows suddenly furrowed.

How could he not see through Dawa’s little thoughts?

If he agreed to the other party’s condition, the trade market he had built with great difficulty would be completely controlled by the other party.

This will be of no benefit to either him or the Great Zhou.

“So, this condition must not be agreed to under any circumstances!

Thinking of this, Chu Shizhao immediately pretended to be very embarrassed.

“General, this condition may be a bit difficult.”

“The purpose of the trade market is to promote exchanges and cooperation between the two countries. If your tribe completely controls it, it would not be fair.”

“If there is another one, I will have a hard time explaining to my father and the others when I return.”

Upon hearing this, Dawa’s face darkened.

“If that’s the case, then there’s nothing to talk about?”

“The Fourth Prince may have forgotten that our tribe’s army is still at the border. If you don’t agree, our tribe can launch an attack on the villages and towns around you at any time.”

After the other party said this, Chu Shizhao couldn’t help but clench his fists.

This guy is not good enough to be soft, he is going to use hard tactics!
It seems that I have been too nice to others before, and I really think I am a soft persimmon!

If it were based on Chu Shizhao’s previous temper, he would have flipped the table and turned hostile on the spot.

(End of this chapter)