Chapter 546 Negotiation (V)

[six days ago]

[Kings' Castle]

"I'm still a little worried, Minister..." Ranko Boyle asked hesitantly, "If the rebels refuse to exchange prisoners, how can the negotiations continue?"

"It doesn't matter, the point has never been 'exchange', but 'sequence'," Cornelis looked at the quietly flowing Ten Arrows River, where legend has it that the ten tribes of the ancient Plato people broke their arrows and swore an oath.

"It has become clear," said Cornelius, "that the casualties suffered at the Battle of Dale were primarily those of Gesar Adonis and Skrull Meklen.

"These two people are natives of Palatine, but they are not politically inclined towards the blue-blood faction. If done correctly, they could have won... But it is too late to say this.

“All in all, for the native faction among the rebels, the Battle of Vale was a Pyrrhic victory that seriously changed the balance of power within the rebels.

“So they urgently need reliable Palatine officers like Claire Ronald to supplement their losses.

"And if nothing else happens, Winters Montagne should be more inclined to give priority to exchanging his Veneta compatriots.

"That's where you come in."

Cornelis turned around and looked at Ranko Boyle, "The rebels are never monolithic. Just like there are federal and local factions in the Grand Council of the Kings Castle, the rebels can also be divided into Venetian factions. Tower faction and local faction.

“The route fight, for the Rebels, is the elephant in the room.

“There is no need to rush to disturb the elephants, as that will be counterproductive. However, they must be made aware of the elephant’s presence.

“In summary, if the rebels are already aware that there are different factions within them, you need to guide them to further discover the conflicting interests of the factions.

"If the rebels don't think they have factionalism, you have to implant the concepts of Venetians and Nativists in their heads - that's your mission."

Ranko Boyle nodded thoughtfully. After pondering for a moment, he asked again: "But the rebels also have our people and the Plato people. If the rebels agree to the exchange, we will give priority to the exchange." who?"

"Didn't I tell you? Only the Platoans can win the battle of Plato," Cornelis replied without hesitation, "Do your best to induce the rebels to think that I want the federal officers more. Then, give priority to exchanging the people from Red Rose.”

——

[present moment]

[Maplestone City]

"Change?" Geza yelled, "Change! That old cunning guy in Cornelis sent this little cunning guy here just to delay time!"

Gesa slammed the report in his hand onto the table.

He stood in front of the table, pressed his hands on the table, looked down at the other three members of the Provisional Supreme Military Council with a sense of oppression, and said menacingly:

"See for yourself! The federal troops originally stationed in Baihua Fort, Peilan Fort, and Sanchahe City have all withdrawn to the King's Fort.

“Think about it, if Cornelis really brought a large number of reinforcements, how could they give up these peripheral strongholds?

"Without these peripheral strongholds, can the bastard tactics of the Lian Sheng guys still work? Why would they take the initiative to abandon the peripheral strongholds when they know it is a dead end?"

"I dare to bet the last half of my good face!" Geza Adonis pointed at his right face and said sternly, "Jason Cornelis's bullshit Southern Front is definitely just a showman!

"Four legions? If the kings' castle can gather even one legion, I will tear off half of my face and give it to him!"

“That’s why the old cunning guy sent this little cunning guy here, pretending to talk about exchanging prisoners and returning their families, but he was actually here to delay time!

"Right now! As we speak! The King's Castle is under construction! The fortifications are being repaired in full swing! It is becoming more and more difficult to fight day by day!"

Gesa slammed his fist on the table, gritted his teeth, and glared angrily, "[intense expletive]! This battle in the King's Castle can't be delayed any longer! No more!

"Every second we waste now will cost us another life to make up for it in the future!

"We must send troops immediately, now, immediately! Even if we can't defeat them in one go, we still have to interfere with the actions of the Lian Province guys! Put the Lian Province guys in the city! We can't let them dig dirt openly anymore!"

Gesa's expression even turned ferocious, and he punched the table again: "When they really fucking fix the bastard shell, it will be all fucking over!"

After the loud noise of fists hitting the table disappeared, the conference room fell into silence, and only the beastly breathing of Colonel Geisa could be heard.

"Calm down first, Colonel Gesar," Matthias Corwin said calmly, breaking the silence, "You also said that without the support of peripheral strongholds, no matter how strong a city is, it will only be an isolated city after all. And Fall is the inevitable fate of the lonely city, so as long as we fight steadily, the King's Castle will eventually belong to us..."

"Isolated city?" Colonel Gesa interrupted Matthias and asked aggressively, "Behind the Fortresses of the Kings is the Jinliu River! As long as the water of the Jinliu River does not dry up, and as long as the people of the United Provinces are still on the Jinliu River, the Princes' Fortresses will remain forever. It can’t be an isolated city! Have you forgotten how the old marshal guarded Guitu City?”

"The assistance that the United Provinces can provide is not endless, and it is impossible for the United Provinces to occupy the Ember River forever," Lieutenant Colonel Matthias responded calmly, "If Cornelius thinks he can reproduce The old marshal’s feat will only lead to a very ugly death.”

Immediately, Lieutenant Colonel Matthias changed the topic, "And, to be honest, I don't believe Ranko Boyle, and Jason Cornelius, whom Ranko Boyle claims to be the plenipotentiary representative of.

"Although he talks nicely now and promises the safety of the imprisoned officers and the safety of our family members and friends, who can guarantee that they will not jump over the wall in a hurry?"

Lieutenant Colonel Matthias said firmly: "So, I think we can talk to them first."

"Talking doesn't delay fighting! Fighting doesn't delay talking!" Gesa waved his hand irritably, "And let me tell you, the more we fight, the better it is to talk! The more we talk, the harder it is to fight! If you want to talk, then talk while fighting! Talk at the same time. Fight on the side!”

Lieutenant Colonel Matthias smiled helplessly and turned to look at Colonel Skull.

On the side, Colonel Scull, who had been stuck in a long examination, came to his senses, took some time to sort out the situation, and then calmly analyzed: "It makes sense to talk while fighting, and the more we fight, the better we talk.

“And I think returning the families is an above board ruse.

"Even if the King's Castle really does what Ranko Boyle promised, it will return the families of officers at all levels without any conditions. Going back and forth can buy them a lot of time."

"So, if we send troops now," Colonel Scull rubbed his chin and said shockingly, "maybe we can catch Jason Cornelius off guard."

But the next second, Colonel Skull added rigorously: "But we must also consider whether Jason Cornelis is deliberately inducing us to rush to attack the King's Castle. After all... In short, we still need to collect more intelligence."

Lieutenant Colonel Matthias Corwin burst into laughter. Seeing that he could not get support from Colonel Skull, he turned to look at Lieutenant Venetta sitting opposite, "What do you think? Captain Montagne?"

"Colonel Scull is right," Winters Montagne, who was also bowing his head in thought, replied ambiguously, "More information is needed to make an accurate judgment."

Winters went on to say: "However, compared to the information about the Kings' Fort, I think we need to pay more attention to the situation in Hongchuan - have the four legions of the 'Western Front' really set off? Or is it the Prince's Castle? Are you bluffing? What's Hongchuan's reaction?"

Winters looked at the three school officials expectantly: "You all have better information than I do. I wonder if you have..."

"Why do you care about that old ghost Arpad?" Geza glared.

"If the people of the United Provinces eliminate the Hongchuan military government, their next target will definitely be us," Winters replied sternly, "So we can't care less."

"We'll wait until they really kill that old ghost Arpad!" Gesa knocked on the table impatiently, "The top priority is to deal with the 'Southern Front' in front of us. There will be plenty of time to study things in the north!"

"Yes," Lieutenant Colonel Matthias supported him and said with a smile, "Don't worry about General Arpad. The Blue Bloods have been deeply involved in Jiangbei Province for many years and are not that easy to deal with. If the people of the United Provinces dare to underestimate Arpad, General, you might even suffer a big loss.

"Therefore, before the battle on the north bank can be decided, pacifying the south of Jinliu River is our first priority."

Upon hearing this, Colonel Skull nodded slowly, agreeing with Lieutenant Colonel Matthias's analysis - but he couldn't tell which sentence he approved of.

"Stop talking nonsense!" Colonel Gesa couldn't bear it anymore and slammed the table. "Let's vote! I really can't stand it anymore! Deploy troops and immediately send troops to the kings' castles. Who agrees?"

No one raised their hand.

Lieutenant Colonel Matthias coughed slightly, "I still suggest that we give priority to the development of Beilu Province. Does anyone have support?"

Still no one raised their hands.

"What do you two want to do?" Geza asked Skull and Winters angrily, "Are you colluding?"

"I think we still need more information..." Skull frowned.

"I support Colonel Skull." Winters' answer was extremely concise.

The first official vote of the Provisional Supreme Military Council of the New Plato Republic ended with an embarrassing result of 1 to 2 to 3.

If Colonel John Jessica had been present, he would have laughed wildly and made a mark in the history of the war.

But the attendees did not have as good a mentality as Colonel John Jessica.

So the meeting broke up unhappy.

——

[evening]

[Montagne House]

"Are you...really sure you want to do this?" Bud asked seriously, his eyes full of concern.

"Hey, don't bother him," Andre said unhappily as he poured the wine. "When did he change his mind about something he had made up his mind about?"

Andre raised his neck and poured the wine down his throat, wiped his mouth, and finally couldn't hold it back. He threw the glass angrily, "[expletive]!"

"It's okay," Winters patted Andre on the back and reassured, "This is actually the best solution - all problems are solved."

Andre groaned a few times.

"Senior," Winters looked at Senior Mason and asked sincerely, "What do you think?"

"Oh, don't ask me," Mason waved his hands repeatedly as if he had touched a red-hot iron plate, "It's okay if you think it's okay, I...I don't have any objections."

"I want your opinion," Winters insisted.

Mason looked troubled. He hesitated for a moment, bit his lip, and said with difficulty, "This...is indeed...the best way to solve the problem at present."

"When you say that," Winters exhaled, "I feel relieved."

After sending off his companions, Winters and Anna cleaned up the dishes together.

"What do you think?" Winters asked Anna softly, "Dear."

"You have made a decision, and you still ask me?" Anna pretended to be angry.

Winters grabbed Anna's hand, "I want to know what you think."

Anna hugged Winters, put her forehead against the latter's chest, and said softly, "Actually, I'm very happy."

"That's great," Winters smiled for the first time tonight.

The dim fire, the hot embrace, the heartbeat of the lover... If possible, Winters hopes to stay in this moment forever.

But the sudden knock on the door interrupted the two people's warm time.

"Sir," Charles' voice came from outside the door, "Colonel Gesar is here."

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