Cook was very upset and looked at the soldiers struggling in the canyon with sadness. In order to protect him, his personal soldiers also lost one-third of their troops. Most of the soldiers were trapped in the canyon and could not move.
"Kill!"
The shouts of killing came from the hillside. The leading general waved a huge two-handed sword and rushed down the gentle slope. Cook was deeply regretful. He blamed himself for underestimating the enemy and not sending enough scouts to investigate the surrounding environment. The eager march finally brought him bitter fruit.
This cavalry slammed into their team fiercely. House waved his two-handed sword, and everything in front of him was split in half. Whether it was weapons or people and horses, they would die if they touched them. The soldiers around were scared to death. They had never seen such a brave man.
"Those who surrender will not be killed."
The people behind House kept shouting loudly. It echoed with the voices in the canyon, forming a huge echo. The soldiers who were basically waiting to die in the canyon immediately raised their weapons to surrender.
Cook now didn't care about the soldiers behind him. He only had one idea, to escape. He didn't know how many troops the other side had ambushed in the valley. He had completely put his promise to His Majesty behind his head. His only thought was to escape.
House's bravery and constant pursuit made Cook flee in panic. House chased for about a mile before stopping to collect the surrendered soldiers.
Cook kept fleeing with the scattered soldiers and the guards, and he couldn't tell where they came from.
"Kill!"
Another team of soldiers came out and killed the fleeing Cook. Cook felt that his heart was about to break. The grievance was indescribable. It seemed that he really couldn't escape this time. He had been known since he came out, and he had been counted from the beginning.
"Sir, run." The guards next to him kept urging Cook's horse.
"You run, it's time for me to be loyal to the country." Cook drew his sword and rushed to the team that intercepted them.
"Sir." The guards could only follow closely behind, and the two sides collided.
The Reis Empire obviously had the advantage in both mind and body, and now they were full of energy. Harry was lying in ambush at this place according to Cage's order, but he didn't expect that this group of deserters would really pass by here and kill them by surprise. The scattered soldiers who lost their leader could only think of surrendering to escape. They were just soldiers, and their lives were more important. Surrendering at least had the hope of survival.
Two guards dragged Cook to the direction of the imperial capital, and some guards stayed behind to cover the rear. Although the Reis Empire had an advantage in physical strength, it was still somewhat lacking in strength and could not withstand the impact of the guards who were stronger. Finally, a gap was broken and they escaped. But Harry didn't care. Cage's order did not let them wipe out the enemy completely. If they escaped, they escaped. The most important thing was that their strength could not be lost too much. After chasing for a while, they gathered the surrendered soldiers and returned to the army.
"What should I do? What should I do now?" Ace sat limply on the throne. In just seven days, he turned into a little old man with all his hair turned white. I just received the news that Cook was ambushed. Less than 10,000 people escaped, and most of them were captured. That was a full 100,000-man army, and they were gone just like that. Ace is very scared now. What if the other side kills us?
"Your Majesty, I am guilty, please give me a death." Cook, who fled back in a hurry, knelt on the ground with tears streaming down his face.
"Will it be over if you die?" Ace cursed angrily.
"Your Majesty, I think we should negotiate. In this situation, we can no longer send more troops, and several surrounding countries are also ready to move." Slis is still mature and steady.
"Negotiation, how to negotiate?"
"Go and talk to the king of the Reis Empire. I think they have no strength to continue the attack, so they have been staying in Kiev Rus to rest and do a good job of defense. It is to send a signal for us to surrender. If we don't go again, they will definitely fight to the imperial capital to negotiate with us. At that time, the surrounding countries will definitely not miss this opportunity." Slis is worthy of being the prime minister. He still thinks that he is capable of looking at problems.
"Slis, I'll leave this to you." Es felt weak all over and couldn't stand up. He misjudged the situation at the beginning. If the negotiations had been carried out earlier, the results would definitely be much better now.
"Your Majesty, I must explain that because of Lord Cook's failure, the bargaining chips for negotiations have been reduced a lot, so this time we must pay a lot of gold coins. After all, we now have nearly 100,000 captives in the hands of the other party. They will definitely take advantage of this to ask for a sky-high price. This time we will definitely pay a huge price."
"How much will it cost?" Es really had no interest in discussing this matter.
"It is estimated to be 200 million gold coins."
"What?" This is nearly two years of annual income for the empire, a considerable amount. If this money is paid, I am afraid that the people of the empire will be disappointed with the empire, and the impact will even threaten his rule.
"Your Majesty, there is no other way. Calculating based on 10 gold coins per soldier, at least one million gold coins are needed. In addition to food, they will definitely ask for a large amount of gold coins before they give up. Moreover, our country must also admit the invasion of them, and this compensation is indispensable. I am afraid the amount is not small, so I boldly estimated this number." Slys paused, watching Ace's face slightly relieved, and then continued, "I understand that their commander-in-chief in the east is the seventh prince of the Reis Empire. He has never been valued by Reis XII. This time he was also placed in the logistics army, but I didn't expect him to be so powerful. I guess Reis XII can't control him. This seventh prince must be dissatisfied with Reis XII. I analyzed that the idea of attacking our country must not be Reis XII's decision, but must be the seventh prince's private decision. Reis XII must be annoyed by this. Therefore, I think I can sow discord between them."
"Oh, tell me." Ace felt that as long as the seventh prince's heart disease was removed, everything else would be easy.
"I guess the Seventh Prince must want to get some benefits from our country. Before the negotiation, I went to see the Seventh Prince and gave him a large amount of gold coins. He will definitely withdraw his troops and will probably return our soldiers. Then I went to negotiate with the Reis Empire. During the negotiation, I pretended to be scared and expressed considerable dissatisfaction and helplessness with the invasion of the other party. I believe that Reis XII will definitely think that it is the unreasonable behavior of His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince that has caused worse relations between the two countries and damaged the interests of both sides. As long as we lower our posture and express regret and apology for this attack, Reis XII will definitely be more suspicious of the Seventh Prince and will definitely transfer the Seventh Prince back to the imperial capital as soon as possible to maintain his control over the army. At that time, we will have time to develop and lay the foundation for future revenge." Slis said with a sinister look.
Ace now understood Slis's idea. If he had done this earlier, he would not be so passive. Now he has paid more. It seems that this is the only way to deal with it. First solve the big problem of the Seventh Prince. It doesn't matter if he spends some gold coins. The most important thing is to drive him away and make his northwest safe.
"Slis, I give you the right to do this. Knu, prepare 200 million gold coins first to assist Slis in doing this." Es ordered.
"Yes, Your Majesty." A fat man responded. This is their finance minister.
"Slis, how do you think this money will be allocated better?" Es still wanted to ask about the specific plan, after all, this is a very large amount of money.
"This is how the old minister arranged it. It will cost about 150 million gold coins from the Eastern Grand Commander. It is best to buy back all the soldiers of the empire. Pay 30 million gold coins to Reis XII in public, and spend 20 million gold coins to open up relevant relationships." Slis analyzed for Es.
Es thought about it. The most important thing now is that the seven princes withdraw their troops. This is of great significance and very important. Recovering the northwest region and restoring the rule there, only by ensuring their own territory and people can they retain the capital for revenge. Slis only gave an approximate figure. It doesn't have to be a lot. Otherwise, it will take several years for the domestic fiscal deficit to ease. More importantly, there are so many families of dead soldiers who need to be compensated, which will also cost a lot of gold coins. Let's solve the main problem first.
The next morning, the prime minister and his 100-member negotiation team set out from the imperial capital.