Chapter 421 Do you want some?
"Yes, I can fly..."
A heavily armored cavalryman wearing a full-face helmet answered in a muffled voice.
While answering, he took off the helmet that was covering his face tightly.
"Your Majesty?! Why are you here?!"
Raphael was horrified when he saw Leon suddenly appearing.
"I originally just wanted to see with my own eyes what the Jatu people who migrated here were like. I never expected to meet Mr. Zakar..."
Li Ang wiped the sweat from his helmet and said, "Zakal, where is your camp? Do you mind treating me to dinner?"
Zakar was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said, "Your Majesty Leon? You are so brave... You invited me to dinner, but you are planning to eat at my camp?"
As he spoke, he wiped the paint off his face, pulled out the bundle of grass used for camouflage, and adjusted his equipment, apparently trying to make himself look neater - this Jatu warlord seemed to be quite particular about respectability.
"Why, you don't want to? Then you can come back to Changhe City with me. I will definitely provide you with good food and drink every day..."
Li Ang threw the helmet in his hand to Sigismund, spread his hands and walked forward: "I like to eat roasted whole lamb, can your chef make it?"
Zakar had already cleaned the grass and leaves off his body. He took off his camouflage cape covered with dirt and threw it to the soldier behind him. He also spread his hands to welcome him: "Everyone on the grassland can make roasted lamb. You are welcome to visit my home, Your Majesty Leon. You can eat as much roasted lamb as you want... But do you really dare to come to my house for dinner?"
Li Ang looked at the burly man in front of him with a smile, rubbed his hands and nodded vigorously: "Since there is roasted lamb to eat, what is there to be afraid of... Let's go, let's go quickly."
A look of impatience.
Zakar was stunned again, and a smile appeared on his tough face: "According to the customs of the grassland, when guests come, we should treat them with good food and drink. It is considered a good treat if the guests cannot go home...Aren't you afraid that you will never be able to go back home after you come to my house?"
"Oh? There's such a good thing? We can eat roasted lamb every day?"
Li Ang was overjoyed: "Is there any beauty to warm my bed? If there is everything, then it doesn't matter whether I go back or not..."
"Hahahaha... Your Majesty Leon..."
Zakar laughed loudly, looking at Leon with deep admiration: "You are really different from the King of Stern Crow Territory. I admire your courage... If it were me, I would definitely not dare to go to your house for dinner."
"You're ready to take over my house, and you still say you don't dare to eat my food? Zakar, you're not honest..."
Li Ang shook his head and sighed.
"Occupy your house? You may have some misunderstandings, Your Majesty Leon..."
Zakar frowned slightly.
"If you don't intend to occupy my home, then why did you send so many troops into my territory?"
Leon pouted and asked, "Besides, if Sigismund hadn't discovered your whereabouts, what were you planning to do in ambush here?"
"Of course it's robbery... If I don't rob you, wouldn't it be a big loss if I don't rob you with such a large convoy?"
Zakar said confidently.
How interesting...
He sent two thousand troops into the territory of the new Pende Kingdom, but they remained in hiding, not plundering for most of the month;
But he himself was leading more than a hundred people to engage in highway robbery in this remote area?
This level of lying is really bad.
"I've never seen someone wear makeup like this to rob someone."
Li Ang looked at the Jatu rider behind Zakar and curled his lips: "You obviously want to attack Lion Lake City... Zakar, I said you are dishonest, every word you say is a lie. Could it be that all your achievements and reputation were earned by lying?"
Zakar and the guards around him were disguised in camouflage, which was certainly not for robbery. Most likely, like Leon, they came out to investigate military intelligence in person.
While sending a large number of cavalry into the country, he moved his tribe to the east of Lion Lake City and personally investigated military intelligence - this was mostly for the purpose of plotting against Lion Lake City, or even all the towns in Beibu Gulf.
Although he had a smile on his face, Li Ang actually felt a little heavy in his heart.
Because Zakar's behavior does not conform to the logic of a robber - Zakar is not trying to rob money and food, he is trying to occupy and rule!
He was going to carry out a real conquest of the countries surrounding the Jatu Grassland, rather than just grabbing a few votes and leaving as usual!
If nothing unexpected happens, someone in the New Pende Kingdom is doing business with Zakar...
After all, no one has ever been able to find such a large army - thousands of horses. If there were no traitor helping them hide and providing horse feed, how could their whereabouts be completely undetected?
So Leon would take the initiative to expose himself here. He wanted Zakar to focus his attention on himself.
"Okay, I admit that I was planning to take a look at the armaments of Lion Lake City... I was indeed planning to attack Lion Lake City. However, Your Majesty Leon, why are you here dressed like this?"
Zakar also pouted and pointed at Li Ang.
Le Ang is now dressed like an ordinary cavalryman, even his weapons are standard equipment. After he put on the helmet, even Raphael didn't recognize him.
Li Ang sighed and pointed at the carriage behind him: "I came here to see the situation of your tribe with my own eyes and to give you some gifts in person. Zakar, I am different from you. I am an honest person..."
"Give me a present?"
Zakar looked at the carriages, then at Leon, his face full of disbelief.
"Of course! I have never liked fighting. I only like making friends... The gifts I brought are all the most scarce and precious commodities on the grassland!"
Leon waved his hand, and Sigismund beside him cooperated by lifting the tarpaulin on a carriage.
This carriage was loaded with exquisite lead utensils and spices - this load of stuff came from Bacchus. Emperor Marius set a very high commodity tax on lead kettles. Due to their low cost-performance ratio, only nobles in Bacchus would buy these things, so most of them became unsaleable inventory.
Various lead pots and lead wine glasses sparkled with dazzling silver light in the sun. A rich fragrance spread as the tarpaulin was lifted. All the Jatu people behind Zakar took a breath subconsciously.
"hiss……"
Zakar's eyes widened, and he took a deep breath. "These are all valuable things...are you really giving them to me?"
"Of course, otherwise why would I bring them to this remote place?"
Li Ang gestured to the carriage behind him and said, "Zakal, these dozens of carts of goodies are all for you."
"Why?"
Zakar frowned, his face full of confusion.
"I've said before, I don't like fighting, I only like making friends... I will go to your house with gifts and have a good talk with you about our friendship. I hope you can treat me well, just like you treat your friends."
Li Ang turned around and picked up a small glass from another carriage and threw it to Zakar: "Friendship is as hard to come by as glass, and it is also as easy to break as glass. You have to catch it..."
Zakar took the glass with both hands, took a look at it, put the glass carefully into his arms, and took a deep breath.
Then, he spread his hands and bowed: "Your Majesty, thank you for your generosity. I sincerely invite you to visit my tent."
…
At night, a large bonfire more than one meter tall was lit in the Jatu camp.
Hundreds of people gathered around the bonfire, dancing the horse dance of the Jatu tribe.
There are dozens of large grills on the periphery, and even more on the periphery are many hanging pots. The delicious aroma of mutton soup and the fishy smell of roasted mutton permeate the entire camp.
Many Jatu girls shuttled among the crowd, serving delicious meat soup to Leon's soldiers.
Those Jatu warriors who were originally extremely vicious had now taken off their armor, and were bare-chested, carrying wine bags and looking for people to drink with.
If the Jatu are not enemies, then they are indeed warm and forthright in entertaining their friends.
Although they did not speak the same language, they would still drink with the soldiers while arm wrestling with wooden cups and smiling. When they got drunk, they would pull others out to wrestle. Even if they got bruised on the head, they would not get angry. Instead, they would laugh and pat their opponents on the shoulders and give them a thumbs up.
Li Ang did not participate in these activities. He did not even drink the wine. Although his wounds had basically healed, he did not want to drink the wine poured from the lead pot...
"Your Majesty Leon, what do you want to talk to me about?"
Zakar didn't drink either, and didn't persuade Leon to drink - he knew they both needed to stay sober.
Like Leon, he each held a small knife to cut the mutton, and Zakar even gave the mutton head to Leon - this was a courtesy to show respect, and was indeed the way to entertain distinguished guests.
"When it comes to business, you should know that I am a businessman."
Li Ang gestured to the carriages parked outside and said, "You need salt, metal utensils, cloth and silk, as well as medicine and spices. Does the spiced meat taste good?"
Of course, mutton tastes much better when the fishy smell is covered up.
"We really need these... but how can we negotiate this deal? These things are very expensive, and we don't have much money..."
Zakar asked, nodding.
These things are indeed lacking on the grassland, and they are all necessities of life.
"But you have sheep - I need sheep, especially goats like this that are delicious. Zakar, I can open a mutual trade zone in Fletcher. If you need anything, you can exchange it for sheep. We can negotiate a fair price together."
Li Ang looked at Zakar seriously and said, "In this way, you don't have to send your few soldiers out to rob people, and you can focus on dealing with Zhuda or other warlords who don't obey you. And I can also reduce the expenditure on border defense and invest more energy in the construction of the interior - we all have interests, and we can reduce losses. There is no need to fight to the death all day long, and you can really build your country slowly in the grassland."
"Your Majesty Li Ang, do you really not mind if I establish a country in the grassland?"
Zakar also sat upright and asked very seriously.
"Why should I mind? I don't plan to live in the grassland for a long time. I have no interest in this place. I am not a conqueror. I have said that I am a businessman. I only do things that are beneficial to me and my people. It is not in my interest to fight with you because I have to sacrifice countless people but get little benefit."
Li Ang said very honestly: "No matter what you do, you always have to weigh the input and output, right?"
"You're right ... But I've already invested a lot. If I withdraw now, all my previous investment will be gone..."
Zakar nodded and sighed.
"Aren't these gifts I brought enough to make up for the expenses of your previous military expedition? How many people did you send to my territory? Two thousand?"
As Li Ang spoke, he took out a paper bag from his arms, cut a little bit of dark brown paste from it, and smeared it on the freshly cut lamb leg.
"Two thousand men, four thousand horses... The value of these precious gifts is of course far more than what they have consumed during this period of time. However, Your Majesty Leon, the gains they can bring to me are far beyond what these gifts can compare to."
Zakar kept watching Li Ang's movements and finally couldn't help asking, "What are you applying? Seasoning?"
"Oh, this is Fushou ointment... It's made from a rare and precious medicinal material. It can not only relieve pain and cough, but also regulate the stomach and intestines and treat constipation and diarrhea. It's a very good thing - do you want some?"
Li Ang handed the paper bag to Zakar: "I have been , and I feel pain at night. And eating too much meat will either cause constipation or diarrhea, which can be solved with this... I brought you a whole cart."
Zakar took the paper bag and smelled it: "Fushou Cream? It is indeed a very good medicine..."
He also followed Li Ang's example and cut a little bit and spread it on the mutton.
"So, do you still think that the benefits your troop can bring you will far exceed the gifts I bring you?"
Li Ang looked at Zakar and smiled. "You can't take down Changhe City, and don't even count on taking down Shihu City. Since I'm here, you should know that you can't capture any important town. As for other towns and villages, what if you take them down? Can you defend them? To be frank, without grasslands and cavalry, the Jatu people defending the city are no different from civilians in my opinion..."
Zakar ate the piece of meat silently and thought for a while with a frown.
Then, he asked Li Ang with some confusion: "How do you know that I want to capture Changhe City? Where did you get the information? Did you plant a spy next to me?"
"Ha... Zakar, you told me yourself."
Li Ang shook his head and smiled, "You said it yourself this afternoon that you were going to attack Lion Lake City. I know that's the truth. A large-scale attack on Lion Lake City means that I have to pull out the troops from Changhe City to rescue them. Then the two thousand cavalry you hid in Kwen Village will have a chance to steal Changhe City - am I right?"
"How do you know they're in Kerwin Village?!"
Zakar was really surprised this time.
"Hahaha, I just guessed it randomly, but I didn't expect to get it right..."
Leon laughed.
In fact, he was not sure about Zakar's tactics, nor did he know where Zakar hid the two thousand cavalry. He was just guessing.
Of course, this guess is not blind. After all, Zakar's target is most likely a certain important town, and Changhe City is closer to the grassland and has been undergoing large-scale construction recently. Attacking before the city wall of Changhe City is completed is of course Zakar's first choice.
As for Kwen Village, it was also guessed based on the destination of Changhe City - only the sparsely populated Kwen and the uninhabited area nearby could hide a large army without being discovered.
Since he guessed all these, Li Ang could also guess who Zakar's accomplice was.
