Battle Royale of the Sinners

"Alliance? Huh, do you understand your position right now? I'm now an emperor while you are still a subject of the Han Dynasty. You can't tell me that I can't mobilize my men to enter your region since the entire country belongs to me."

Tong took an aggressive stance against Cao Cao and Pu Jing. If pushes came to shove, he would fight to the death.

'I'm not afraid of your bluff. You're the one that should bow to me, pushovers!'

The emperor's killing intent engulfed the throne room. An oppressing aura of an elite general petrified Cao Cao and Pu Jing's legs. As for Tong's subjects, their mind was affected by the stray bullets even though they were not Tong's targets.

All officers kowtowed and trembled in fear. Aside from Xun Yu, Zhao Yun, and Taishi Ci, no one dared to look at Tong's face.

Cao Cao stared at Tong in awe and astonishment. In his mind, he reevaluated Tong from a capable general to a dominating champion like Lu Bu.

However, Pu Jing snapped out of his trance first. As a former KGB elite agent, a little pressure like this was a joke.

Pu Jing walked in front of Cao Cao, protecting him from the direct mental attack. He raised both hands above his head, gesturing that he came in peace.

"My apologies for the lack of explanation. My boss picked the wrong words. Also, please do not use that shotgun behind you. As you can see, I'm unarmed."

"…"

Tong was surprised that Pu Jing had noticed his hidden shotgun from afar even though he only touched it. His frown deepened as he focused his killing intent on Pu Jing.

Instead of getting intimidated, Pu Jing raised his eyebrows and sighed.

"Stop that. All hostile intent is bad for negotiation, especially when you're dealing with an elite politician. They won't flinch because of something like this."

Seeing the indifferent Pu Jing, Tong dispersed his aura.

"State your business, comrade premier."

"Hmm. I see that you're still green in the politician world. First lesson for a newbie, be civil even if you're standing before your nemesis. I lost count how many times I had the urge to punch Clinton, Trump, or Obama in the face when I met them, but I always held back."

"…"

"Second lesson, you should not flaunt your authority. I know why you did that, and I admit that it's Mengde's fault. Still, you shouldn't declare your hostility in the open. If you want someone dead, do it behind their back and don't get caught. Don't assassinate Mengde and me though. As I said before, we've come in peace."

"…"

Tong's face twitched as he could not read Pu Jing. This former premier was too relaxed!

"And the last lesson for today, your security and your intelligence agency still have a lot of rooms for improvement. Not detecting me until we have strolled into the palace is bad."

Pu Jing pulled out a scroll and passed it to Xun Yu. It was a detail about their proposal.

"My point is, we're here to request your protection at the cost of our territories and our services."

Xun Yu's eyes brightened. From Pu Jing's brief words, it sounded like they were surrendering to Tong.

Cao Cao's eyes fluctuated when Pu Jing finished his words. Although he did not like it, he managed to hide his dissatisfaction.

Tong doubted if he was not dreaming. It was too easy for Cao Cao and Pu Jing to surrender when they were expanding their influence in frantic this year.

Tong probed, "What will I get, and what do you want in return?"

"We will tribute you taxes, harvests, and workers. However, we hope that you can issue a royal decree for us. The details are in the scroll I have given to your retainer."

Xun Yu passed the scroll to Tong.

In the scroll, Cao Cao demanded an official title as a Marquis of Wei. In exchange, all of their territories would pay taxes and submit their authorities to Tong. All of their borders would open to his forces, and Cao Cao's subordinates would follow Tong's command without a condition.

However, Cao Cao did not state the ratio about his tribute, tax shares, or a delivery schedule.

Tong gazed at Pu Jing while the scroll was still in his hands, "The offer is vague. I can't find a clear tax rate, delivery dates, military details, or even any detail about your territories. Are you sure this is how you deal with other countries, comrade premier?"

"I'll be frank. We are in the middle of stabilizing our region. We do not have the right estimation for the income taxes or the likes until the central plain is under our control. However, I can guarantee 1,000,000 tons of provision and 50,000 gold as a minimum annual tribute from our seven commanderies."

"Aren't that too few? Don't you know that my Julu alone can produce fifteen times the amount of that in a year?"

"I'm sorry. My previous offer is 20% of our total income. We need to rest for our expenses and maintenance."

Tong leaned back to his chair, pondering if this was a good deal.

Bestowing Cao Cao with a marquis title equaled giving a ferocious tiger a pair of wings. Cao Cao would use this authority to recruit soldiers, reinforcing his economy, and gathering talented officers.

However, if Tong looked at this deal from a different point of view, he lost nothing. Giving a title to other warlords would ease the tension between their borders. Trade routes would open, and their cities would get the boon from the peaceful policy. Moreover, Tong would get taxes from Cao Cao every year without having to spend a dime or manpower.

Still, Cao Cao and Pu Jing could break free from Tong's control at any time once they grew strong enough.

As Tong was in deep thought, Pu Jing read Tong's facial expression and could guess what Tong was thinking. He coughed, "Your majesty, you should read a bit further into that scroll. We hid a classified intel in there. That's the proof of our sincerity."

Tong stared into Pu Jing's eyes and paused for a minute. He glanced around the room, looking for any potential spies who might be listening to their conversation.

Then, he rolled the scroll in his hands to the end.

At the end of the scroll, small letters were there as Pu Jing had said.

[Yuan Shu has the Imperial Seal.]

[Cao Cao's next target is Yuan Shao.]

Tong had to glance at Pu Jing again to confirm what he read.

"Bad move, Premier. After you achieved your goal, your next target is obviously me. You are buying times from me, so you can strengthen yourselves."

"Don't be pessimistic and base everything on your assumption, your majesty. Why do we have to risk our lives here if we truly want to be your enemy in the future? I'll repeat it, we're sincere, and we want peace."

Tong groaned. He guessed that Pu Jing and Cao Cao would eventually betray him once Cao Cao obtained Xu Province from Yuan Shao. He wanted to kill Cao Cao and Pu Jing right here and now, but Tong might die if Pu Jing used a soul explosion, just like Jiang Man.

As Tong learned from past mistakes, he decided to be more patient.

"Fine. Cao Mengde, Putin, kneel and receive my mandate!"

Everyone in the hall knelt. Cao Cao and Pu Jing were also on their knees, receiving Tong's command ceremony.

"I'll give you two commands. One, Cao Cao will be the Marquis of Wei, and he will be in charge of Yan, Yu, and Xu Province. Xuchang, Runan, Chenliu, Puyang, Qiao, Jibei, Xiapi, Xiaopei, Pengcheng, and Langya will be under your responsibility. If any incident occurs within these territories, Cao Cao and Pu Jing will be held responsible for the matter."

Cao Cao bowed. However, he frowned and clicked his tongue.

He only demanded the title, but he did not imagine that Tong would have specified his territories. By entrusting Xu Province to Cao Cao, Tong declared that Cao Cao was the owner of Yuan Shao's land in the open.

Though it gave Cao Cao a righteous reason to invade Xiapi and other cities, this emperor's mandate would irk Yuan Shao, and he would be wary of Cao Cao in the future.

In other words, this discord tactic forced Cao Cao to be at odd with Yuan Shao. Also, it would interfere with Guo Jia's swift overtaking plan.

Tong continued. He had a faint smile on his face, "Cao Cao, I heard that you have talented sons, right?"

Cao Cao had a chill running down his spine, "Y-Yes."

"I heard about your eldest son, Cao Ang. It's a waste to let him grow up in a battlefield, and he deserves a proper education. While you are pacifying the territories, Cao Ang is going to live in Ye City and learn the way of my rules. That's my second mandate!"

Cao Cao was on the verge of screaming at Tong. This edict dictated that Cao Ang would become a hostage. Should Cao Cao betray Tong in the future, he had to give up his eldest son's life.

Cao Mengde glanced at Pu Jing as he dissatisfied with this negotiation.

"I'm sorry, my lord. We're not in the position to deny an emperor's edict."

"I'll remember this, Putin. If Tong kills my son, I'll kill you."

"I know."

.

The meeting and negotiation ended without bloodshed.

Cao Cao gained his authority as he had hoped, but he would lose a portion of his tax income. Also, Cao Ang had to be transferred to Ye City and lived his life as a hostage.

On the other hand, Tong did not lose much in this deal. He might lose a reason to attack Cao Cao as he had just bestowed him the title and higher noble status, but Tong obtained times to improve his territories.

As for Cao Ang, Tong saw it as a potential double agent. With a bit of Lu Zhi's education and brainwashing, the teenage Cao Ang could become a thorn to Cao Cao in the future.

After the meeting, Xun Yu, Jia Xu, and Friday reprimanded Tong in the clan chat for being lenient and reckless. However, Xun You, Ju Shou, and Liu Ye approved of this move.

.

January, 189 A.D.

Cao Cao and Pu Jing returned to their home with a piece of good news and bad news.

The transfer order reached Xuchang within the same month. The 15-year-old Cao Ang left the city to Ye with dejected expression, knowing that his fate was sealed.

Cheng Yu and other officers could only comfort them with kind words before he departed.

In Qiao City, Cao Cao sent a letter to his friend, plotting his own move to get back on Tong.

Cao Cao's eyes did not hide his grudge and his anger when he watched the departing messenger.

"Since you interest in my family, I'll give you another gift. I'll make you regret messing with my family!"