With two earth-based rules mages here, opening the Xijiang Tunnel was not a problem at all. Master and disciple Dongfang Wang completed what they had to do in one morning.
As soon as Ding Kui saw off the two powerful men with level 8 combat power, he rushed to the headquarters of the Eighth Army without stopping, not because of the military reform, but because there were guests waiting for him there.
A thin, lanky old man with a long beard was sitting in the central tent of the Eighth Army Corps. When Ding Kui walked in, his eyes were involuntarily attracted to him.
"Haha, being famous is not as good as meeting, and meeting is worse than being famous. Mr. Wu is such a rare guest!" He greeted the old man as a junior.
The general who suppressed the rebellion with great dignity, but ordinary people cannot bear the courtesy of his juniors.
"It seems that General Ding has indeed been to Cao State." The old man stood up and returned the greeting.
"I have seen Mr. Wu's portrait before I went to Cao State. How many people in your country can be better than you?"
"There are countless people in Qi who are better than the old. General Ding's information is wrong."
It turned out that this old man was from the Qi State, and there was only one person with the surname Wu who deserved Ding Kui's treatment, and that was Wu Yi, the national master of the Qi State.
"You came from Qi State with only two followers. You are so low-key and pragmatic that even I can't compare to you." Ding Kui felt ashamed.
Indeed, it was not that simple for him to go to Lu and Cao. He was accompanied by six-level combatants. At least once, he went to his own country with Ao Yu for a secret operation. That was an adult dragon.
Some people say privately that he is the noblest person in Shaodian Kingdom who is the least aristocratic, which shows that his appearance is low-key enough.
"Haha, I owe my current status to you because of your love and care. How can I compare with the young marquis? Putting aside the family, the general's military achievements can also be made a marquis. It can't be compared, it can't be compared!"
"..."
The two of them greeted each other politely before taking their seats.
"What advice do you have from the Imperial Master who has come all the way?" Ding Kui stopped beating around the bush.
"The Tongbei Empire wants to exchange territory with our country and exchange Chuanfeng Lake for Diyan Lake." Wu Yi also kept his story short.
Ding Kui's expression changed slightly and he observed Wu Yi carefully for a while before asking: "Sir, don't you think it's funny?"
There has never been an exchange of territories on the Shenyuan Continent, but there has been one between nobles of the same country. If what Wu Yi said is true, it really has set a precedent.
The Northern Empire's desire to exchange territories with the Southern Kingdom is like a weasel paying New Year's greetings to a rooster, and there is no good heart in it.
Wu Yi stroked his long beard and said, "Prince Ji is very serious, not joking."
"That's just a joke, sir. Can we talk about the business after we finish talking?"
"Haha, General, do you mean that the Tongbei Empire is teasing our country?"
This old guy is really cautious.
Ding Kui said while slandering: "The information I got from you is this, will your country really consider it?"
"That depends on how much pressure each country puts on it."
Wu Yi's answer was unexpected, which meant that it was not impossible for Qi State to agree to the Tongbei Empire.
"Countries? Who else besides Cao and Meng?" Ding Kui's heart moved.
"You didn't deny that you had been to Cao State just now. You were indispensable in the battle of Duanshui County. I have reason to speculate on Shaodian State's intentions." Wu Yi sat upright and gave an official answer.
"Hahaha, no wonder you came to me directly instead of going to Zhenjing City. People who don't know better thought that your country wanted to intervene in the civil strife in your country."
The old man and the young man each have their own secrets and have been testing each other with words, neither of them willing to express their inner thoughts.
"Oh! The general is overly worried. Our country is not prepared to interfere in your country's internal affairs." Wu Yi heard Ding Kui's warning, "I came to you directly because I hope to establish a mutual trust mechanism between the two militaries."
"I mentioned earlier that our country is facing great external pressure, from Cao State, Meng State, Tongbei Empire and Guyuan Empire, and I am also worried that your country will have a foot in it."
Ding Kui finally understood the purpose of Qi State's imperial master's visit. No one was not interested in the exposure of the black crystal iron mine. They were worse than Shaodian State.
Ding Kui had already discussed the development of the situation in Diyan Lake with He Lianyu, and it was not difficult to understand what Wu Yi meant, so he said: "As long as the Northern Empire does not benefit, I don't think it will matter who the black crystal iron mine falls into."
It’s too big a problem.”
Snapped.
Wu Yi clapped his hands gently and said: "This is absolutely true! I didn't know how to convince you at first, but now it seems that I have overthought it. The general told the truth frankly, I admire you!"
"Even if Qi State completely owns the Diyan Lake mineral vein, it cannot use it to invade your country or Cao Meng. At most, it can win a few battles within a limited scope..."
He believed that Ding Kui was not telling lies. The key was that Shaodianguo was temporarily unable to look elsewhere and was able to put aside interests and see through the true nature. In fact, that was what happened.
"The imperial court will make every effort to suppress the rebellion. At least it will not use external troops until the civil strife is over. And I personally do not want your country to be defeated by the Cao and Meng coalition forces." Ding Kui had no time to beat around the bush.
This kind of diplomatic affairs is not his responsibility, but Wu Yixin cannot be an official of the Senate, so he must talk to him who holds the real power.
"Can you tell me what the reason is?"
"Who can guarantee that the winning side will not take advantage of our country? If they attack me, I will be attacked from both sides. I will suffer the most."
Ding Kui kept a secret and would not tell Wu Yi that he was still thinking about Black Crystal Iron.
"Yeah." Wu Yi nodded, "Cao Meng will indeed turn his back on others. They only have interests in their eyes. It's normal for you not to trust them."
There is no loophole in this reason.
He knew soldiers and military strategy, and could see the preparation status of the Eighth Army. The reason why he ran so far was to see with his own eyes what Ding Kui was doing.
The more intense the civil war in Shaodian became, the smaller the threat to Qi State. Ding Kui led his army to station on the edge of the Xijiang River, and it didn't look like he was going to divide his troops to go to Qi State.
"But your country is a threat to me. With the support of the Tongbei Empire, you have the energy to cause trouble for me." Ding Kui showed nervous eyes.
He did it deliberately, hoping that Wu Yi would underestimate him. Underestimating him would make him prone to making mistakes.
"The real purpose of me looking for you is to establish mutual trust between the two militaries. We can leave the back to each other and maintain this state at least until your civil strife ends."
Wu Yi still hasn't said a word, or before the external pressure from Qi State ends.
When there is no external pressure, Qi State does not need to hand over its back to Shaodian State.
Of course, you can't say anything that would undermine unity.
"Okay!" Ding Kui stood up excitedly, "So I don't dare to ask you for what I want! How can we establish this kind of mutual trust?"
This is a good thing. The Second Army is still in Shanyuan Prefecture to guard against Qi State. Once it is confirmed that Qi State will not attack, the military supplies stored in Shanyuan Prefecture can be deployed to Zhuangwang Prefecture, and even part of the troops can be allocated to support the front line.
"Each other's naval forces are dispatched to patrol the river defense, regularly report on the defense situation, and conduct joint naval drills from time to time..." Wu Yi came up with the prepared plans one by one.
"Come here, please invite Chief of Staff Jiang." To show his sincerity, Ding Kui specially called Jiang Zhi to accompany him.