I am the villain in the book

When Chu Xianping and Li Zimu arrived at the state office, Liang Zhen and Du Chang had already arrived. They were currently talking to Wei Changtian.

Han Zhao was leading troops against the enemy at the Mountain God Temple, while Wei Zhaohai had already returned to the capital, making it impossible for them to "attend the meeting."

"Brother Chu, hurry!"

Seeing the two enter, Wei Changtian immediately turned his head, his face full of smiles, and said:

"News just came from the capital that Yan Huaiqing took the initiative to find the envoy of the Zhan Shi Fu, wanting to talk to us!"

"Six days! Yan Huaiqing finally couldn't bear it anymore!"

"Fortunately, you were able to hold your breath, otherwise, we would have been at a disadvantage in terms of momentum."

"."

It could be seen that Wei Changtian had been waiting for this news for a long time.

After the "Xianchi Raid" ended and the two armies faced each other, he had originally planned to take the initiative to send someone to contact Yan Huaiqing.

However, Chu Xianping stopped him, saying that whoever took the initiative in this negotiation would be at a disadvantage, and told Wei Changtian to wait. Within ten days, Yan Huaiqing would inevitably be unable to hold back and take the initiative to come to him.

Now that the result came on the sixth day, it was clear that Yan Huaiqing also couldn't see the situation clearly.

"Young Master, what exactly did Yan Huaiqing say?"

Walking quickly to a closer position, Chu Xianping calmly asked, "When will we talk? Where will we talk?"

"The time for the talk has not yet been determined."

Wei Changtian curled his lips: "But he said he wants to talk in the Zishan Hall."

The Zishan Hall is the main hall that guards the teleportation array of the Seventh Demon Land.

Da Ning and Da Jue are too far apart, and it is difficult for both sides to choose a "third party" location for negotiations, so there are only two possible locations.

Either the Zishan Hall or the Mountain God Temple.

Obviously, both sides want to set the negotiation location on their own side, because in this way, their own safety can at least be guaranteed.

"In my opinion, we must not give in on this matter."

Beside him, Liang Zhen frowned and said, "If we really go to the Zishan Hall, we may fall into Yan Huaiqing's trap."

"Besides, since he couldn't help but propose peace talks first, then we should be more tough."

"Just tell him directly that if we don't talk in the Mountain God Temple, then we won't talk at all, and see if he will back down."

"If he doesn't give in, then we'll fight! Are we afraid of him?"

"."

In Liang Zhen's view, going to the Zishan Hall was undoubtedly a compromise. Since they had already taken the initiative, there was no reason to show weakness.

This was also the idea of Du Chang and Wei Changtian.

However-

"General Liang, my opinion is different from yours."

Chu Xianping surprisingly shook his head: "I think we should talk in the Zishan Hall instead."

"Ah? Why is that?"

For a time, the three of Wei Changtian were a little confused, not knowing what strange thought process Chu Xianping had.

The latter didn't play coy and quickly explained:

"Young Master, General Liang, Brother Du."

"Black gunpowder is indeed powerful, but now we only have a little over a thousand barrels that were recently sent, and it will be difficult to show its power as it did six nights ago."

"So if this battle really starts, even if we win in the end, it will definitely be a pyrrhic victory."

"Moreover, Xin Feng in the west may not be able to defend Qian and Hui. If Xin Feng is lost at that time, and the iron cavalry of the two countries directly faces the hinterland of Da Ning, how many soldiers can we still produce?"

"These 500,000 people are our last resort, and we must not suffer too much loss."

"Therefore, ending this war through peace talks is the best result for us."

Speaking of this, Chu Xianping paused and sighed softly.

"Alas, in fact, based on the current situation, we are the ones who need to stop the war more."

"It's just that Yan Huaiqing doesn't know the details of the black gunpowder now, and he is flustered, so we have seized the initiative."

"But this doesn't mean that we can really press him step by step."

"We should be firm when we should be firm, and relaxed when we should be relaxed. Only in this way will we not ruin the overall plan of the negotiation."

"Moreover, going to the Zishan Hall to talk is not entirely a bad thing. From a certain point of view, it is more beneficial to us."

"More beneficial?"

Hearing this, Du Chang was a little puzzled: "Brother Chu, where is the benefit?"

"General Du, everyone knows that whether it is the Zishan Hall or the Mountain God Temple, they are both the other party's territory, and there may be ambushes hidden in them."

"But if we don't care about this at all and agree to Yan Huaiqing in one go, what do you think he will think?"

"He will-"

Du Chang was also a smart person. Hearing this, he immediately understood what Li Zimu meant.

"He will think that we don't care whether he has set a trap!"

"That's right, that's it."

Li Zimu nodded slightly: "If we go to the appointment happily, it will appear that we are confident and not afraid of his conspiracies and tricks."

"In this way, although there will be a slight risk, it will be a great deterrent to Yan Huaiqing, and it will also help this negotiation to achieve the results we want."

"So my idea is the same as Young Master Chu, and I think we should talk in the Zishan Hall."

"."

Soon, Li Zimu finished speaking.

Chu Xianping didn't add anything, indicating that what she said was exactly what he thought.

In this way, the discussion hall fell into a brief silence, with only the crackling sound of the candlelight faintly audible.

After the two explained this, such a small matter as the "negotiation location" became more meaningful, which made the three of Wei Changtian change their initial thoughts.

"Well, that makes sense."

After thinking for a while while stroking his chin, Wei Changtian had already made a decision.

"Then send a reply to Yan Huaiqing like this, telling him that the time and place are up to him, but we have limited patience, so if he wants to talk, he'd better make a decision quickly."

"Brother Chu, isn't this what you said...firm when you should be firm, and relaxed when you should be relaxed?"

"Young Master is wise."

Chu Xianping lowered his head and cupped his hands, flattering him while also indicating that there was no problem with Wei Changtian's reply.

"Okay, then I'll have the Zhan Shi Fu immediately send a message to..."

Wei Changtian suddenly stopped halfway through his words and actually came up with an "inference from one instance."

"Brother Chu, do you think it would be better to reply to Yan Huaiqing tomorrow morning? This way, it can show that we don't care too much about this peace talk."

"That...Young Master, there is no need to do anything extra."

Chu Xianping explained in a slightly embarrassed voice: "Replying tomorrow morning will only make it seem that we have been considering it all night, which instead shows that we value it very much..."

"Cough! That's true."

Wei Changtian's old face turned red, and he didn't "act smart" anymore, and quickly finalized the matter.

After discussing the main business, everyone talked about other things for a while, and then "dismissed the meeting" and went back to sleep.

Wei Changtian was going back to the small courtyard where Liang Qin and Yang Liushi lived, Du Chang was going back to the Tiangou Army, and Liang Zhen, Chu Xianping, and Li Zimu were returning to the Shu Army camp together in a carriage.

On the swaying carriage, Liang Zhen looked at Chu Xianping and Li Zimu sitting opposite him, recalling what the two had just said, and felt quite emotional in his heart for a while.

"Young Master Chu, Miss Li."

"Why are you both so smart? Compared to you, I, this rough man, am simply ashamed of myself."

"Thinking about it this way, if the two of you have a child, what kind of mind would it have...cough, I'm just talking nonsense casually, don't take it to heart."

"Miss Li, I'm really sorry..."

Looking at Li Zimu's blushing face, Liang Zhen quickly apologized repeatedly.

However, the next moment, his expression became a little strange.

"Young Master Chu-"

"Why are you blushing too? ? ?"