Chapter 296 Chapter 266 Bad intentions

It was the first time that this disciple of Lan Hai voluntarily mentioned the matter of Daxue Mountain, which moved Du Wei's heart.However, looking at Philip's appearance, he seemed to be calm, and he didn't seem to be hiding anything inside. Maybe... Although Lan Hai is from Daxue Mountain, ordinary disciples like Philip really don't know? Du Wei thought for a moment, then said, "What do you mean?" "Prairie people have always regarded Daxue Mountain as the supreme existence. Under the will of the Witch King, even their Prairie King dare not disobey." Philip said slowly: "I see that the envoys who accompanied this Hanmoye this time , it seems that there are no people from Daxueshan. Your Excellency...have you forgotten the confession about Daxueshan written by the female assassin we captured?"

Of course, Philip knew about the assassination of Ai Lu in the Watt Fortress of the Northwest Army, and the capture of Du Wei who sneaked into Du Wei's garrison at night. Later, Ai Lu was captured by Du Wei and returned to Loulan City, and was imprisoned in the dungeon of the Duke's Mansion. Under Du Wei's "forced", she wrote the confession.As Du Wei's chief staff member, Philip has also seen these things. When Philip mentioned this, Du Wei's heart moved. The two looked at each other for a while, and couldn't help smiling. ... Speaking of the Daxue Mountain above the grassland, it is indeed a mysterious existence.On the prairie, wizards trained by Daxue Mountain are respected by all prairie people.And the Great Snow Mountain is to the grassland, just like the temple is to the Roland Empire.However, in terms of lofty status and prestige, it is far better than the status of the temple in the Roland Empire.

At least, in the Roland Empire, the imperial power can still compete with the temple.The power of the empire is still firmly in the hands of the royal family and the center of the empire.But on the grassland, the majesty of the Daxue Mountain is far above the King of the Grassland! The statement written by the female assassin Ai Lu is indeed detailed enough.On the Daxue Mountain, the Witch King is naturally the highest.The succession of each Witch King must be designated by the previous Witch King to be valid.Passed down from generation to generation, without exception. Even the current Witch King Bai Hechou.Because Du Wei found the suicide note of the previous Witch King in the underground labyrinth of Gilliat City, he knew that Bai Heshou had seized the throne by force, but it was clearly written in Ai Lu's confession.Bai Hechou's majesty is extremely high on the Daxue Mountain, and his position is also very stable.

It's just because, in Ai Lu's confession, there is no concealment of Bai Hechou's means of ascending to the throne, and it also shows that Bai Hechou defeated his teacher and became the Witch King to ascend to the throne.Originally, this kind of rebellious behavior would never be recognized.It's just puzzling that after being defeated by his apprentice, Gu Lanxiu, the former witch king, finally chose to leave the snow mountain and disappeared.Although Gu Lanxiu was defeated, before leaving, he also left a will, openly acknowledging his traitor as the new witch king! Such a move must be said to be very strange.It was precisely because of this that Bai Hechou's own strength was extraordinary, and even though he was rebellious, he was still recognized by the previous Witch King, which made him secure his position as the Witch King.

On the Daxue Mountain, there are many strange rules, which were written one by one in Ai Lu's confession, but this female assassin relied on what she said she knew, so it seemed messy to write wherever she thought of.But even so, the rules on the Daxue Mountain, in Du Wei's view, shocked him very much! On the Daxue Mountain, the most mysterious thing is naturally the witchcraft of the Daxue Mountain.Is it unusual to be able to compete faintly with the magic of the empire?As written in Ai Lu's confession, on the Daxue Mountain, the wizards of the past dynasties have studied witchcraft, but they have completely different habits from the magicians of the empire: they value communication very much!

For example, the "Sharing Spirit" that Du Wei founded in the imperial capital just last year called for the "spirit of sharing", has already existed on the Daxue Mountain! On the Daxue Mountain, there is a clear division of labor.The overall organizational system is divided into "three rooms".The lowest level is "Entering the World". There are about 200 wizards on Daxue Mountain, and most of them belong to this "Entering the World". Going down the mountain, wandering back and forth on the grassland, spreading the belief on the grassland, staying in various tribes, regardless of the size of the tribe, they are all treated equally, while spreading the faith, they will also help the passing tribes to cure diseases, and teach some backward tribes how to take care of livestock , and even mediate disputes between some tribes.

More than a hundred sorcerers who entered the world walked around the grassland all the year round, and all the people on the grassland worshiped him when they saw it.And the world's strict order, all wizards who walk down the mountain are not allowed to receive a gold or silver reward from any prairie herdsmen or tribal chiefs.Wherever they go, no matter whether they are chiefs or ordinary herdsmen, they are treated equally, regardless of high or low.And these worldly wizards, in addition to possessing good witchcraft, must also know medical skills, astronomy, geography and arithmetic, etc., and often even teach nomadic tribes how to judge the coming of the rainy season according to the weather, how to chase aquatic plants and migrate, etc. Wait……

The only point is that wizards who have entered the world must not interfere with the politics on the grassland!Whether it is a change of throne or a foreign war.A worldly wizard must not stretch out a finger to interfere with these major events, let nature take its course. When Du Wei knew Lan Hai's identity, he immediately and unavoidably linked Lan Hai with this "worldly" group of wizards!Lan Hai is indeed a learned scholar, who seems to be proficient in astronomy, geography, arithmetic, and medicine.Most likely, Lan Hai was also a "worldly" wizard on the snow mountain back then!

In fact, Du Wei guessed well.Lan Hai was indeed born in this mortal world, and was once the leader of the mortal world. On top of entering the world, there is also a "collection room".Du Wei was even more surprised by the description of the "Jingjing Room"! There are about 70 or 80 wizards in the "Jijing Room". These wizards have been on the snow-capped mountains all year round, and most of them have never gone down the mountain in their entire lives!According to the description in the confession, in Du Wei's view, these people are almost a fixed "research organization"!They are responsible for researching the research results of wizards of past dynasties on the grassland. In Ai Lu's words, these people seem to be some lunatics, or some idiots.Except for daily research, I don't care about anything.

In addition, there is a "coordination room" above the snow mountain, which is mainly responsible for training wizards.Every year, those wizards who "enter the world" who walk on the grassland will choose to pick out some children who have seen exceptionally good aptitude and send them to the mountain.The "coordinating room" is responsible for accepting these children, selecting those with particularly outstanding qualifications, and training them as wizards.In addition to training new wizards, the coordinating room is also mainly responsible for things on the snow mountain, and in terms of status, it is hidden above the other two.It's just that the number of people in this room is the least.All the year round, there are only about ten or twenty people.But in terms of strength, it is the strongest one on the snow mountain.Most of the wizards in the room are white robes.

The classification of wizards on the snow-capped mountains is not as complicated as the magicians of the empire.There are only two kinds of white clothes and commoners.Generally speaking, ordinary wizards are clothed in common clothes, and they don't have much requirements on the color of their clothes. Some wear black and some wear gray.And often the strength has reached a certain level, and after getting the approval of the Witch King, wearing white clothes is the symbol of a high-level wizard. Above these three rooms, the Witch King is the supreme existence.However, this existence is also extremely mysterious.According to Ai Lu's confession, although she is Bai Hechou's disciple, she actually doesn't see Bai Hechou several times a year.It's just that most of them study in the "coordination room".Bai Hechou would appear for about a dozen days a year, and at most, it would only last for a month, and he would personally train his disciples. The rest of the time, he would hide himself on the highest snow peak above the snow-capped mountains and cultivate quietly.The Witch King is not allowed to summon him, and no one is allowed to disturb him. People on the prairie regard the snow-capped mountains as gods, and there are often prairie kings who send people to worship at the foot of the mountain.Often, for some difficult and important matters, the Prairie King would personally come to the mountain to seek instructions from the Witch King.The Witch King is also absolutely invisible, at most one wizard will be sent to the mountain with the Scarlet Skull flag to convey the will. If the Witch King was on the mountain, and he had to tell the Prairie King to do something important, he would also send someone to the royal court with the bloody skull flag. According to Ai Lu's description, although Bai Hechou is a witch king, it seems that he has never been in a snow mountain. Du Wei and Philip looked at each other and smiled, Du Wei shook his head and said, "You don't want to pretend to be a snow mountain wizard to deceive the prince of the grassland, do you?" Philip also laughed and said, "It's not my fault. Judging from the confession, the contact between the snow mountain wizard and the prairie royal court is almost a one-way connection. Going to the snow mountain to verify, there is no flaw. However, if we want to pretend to be a wizard to deceive Hanmoye, we have no candidate here. I don’t know if that female assassin will be obedient. If she is not willing, then don’t do it It’s okay, so as not to expose the flaws, but to give people a handle.” "That female assassin..." Du Wei thought for a while, "She should be obedient." ... Afterwards, the negotiations on the second day went on much more pleasantly.Du Wei has secretly reached a deal with Hanmoye, suggesting that his side can persuade the imperial capital to abolish the troops stationed on the grassland.It's just that this guy, Hanmoye, still insists on the terms of the compensation. "My lord duke, I think some lions in your country have opened their mouths! 80,000 war horses? In the first contract you drafted before, you only wrote 30,000 horses!! Even 30,000 is absolutely not acceptable. ! Not to mention 80,000!!" Du Wei immediately retorted: "But Lord Hamuye, in the previous clauses, there is no such thing as our empire's withdrawal! We have made concessions, so can't you pay more?" "80,000... is too much!" Hanmoye shook his head again and again: "Although there are many horses on our grassland, war horses are not ordinary horses after all, and it may not be possible to pick out a war horse among five horses. Come on!! I think, the number of cattle and sheep is acceptable, but the number of war horses is absolutely unacceptable!" Du Wei's face darkened, and he shook his head immediately: "Absolutely not! What are ordinary cattle and sheep worth! A high-quality sword in our empire can be exchanged for two sheep on the grassland! Ordinary cattle and sheep, what do I want? usefulness?" Han Muye sneered twice: "Your Excellency...Since the two sides have peace talks, they will be brothers and friends in the future. Your country has asked for so many war horses. Is it because you are preparing for war!" Du Wei also counterattacked and shouted: "Then, who are you storing so many war horses for?" The two sides argued like this for a whole morning, and finally set the number of horses at "30,000". Seeing that Han Muye finally agreed to the terms, Du Wei didn't know whether he was happy or heavy in his heart! The prairie people can easily lose 30,000 horses... so how big is their potential?It is said that a large tribe on their grassland has tens of thousands of control strings!A larger tribe can mobilize no less than 100,000 iron cavalry with just one order! ! So, the Prairie King, who owns the entire grassland, once the war is mobilized, how many cavalry can they mobilize? ! Later, when talking about other compensations, Han Muye offered to compensate 10,000 cattle and sheep. Du Wei immediately sneered and said that the value of war horses is much higher than that of cattle and sheep. Do you still care about it?Or do grassland people think that cattle and sheep are more valuable than war horses? After talking for a long time, 20,000 cattle and sheep were finally finalized.Du Wei asked for an additional 10,000 pieces of high-quality cowhide. Hanmoye thought about it and agreed.Of course, these 10,000 pieces of high-quality cowhide were not for the empire, but for Du Wei himself. Hanmuye is very familiar with the official customs of the Roland Empire, and it would be strange if the other party didn't ask for benefits.Seeing that Du Wei took the initiative to ask for a private gift, he was relieved instead. Ten thousand pieces of high-quality cowhide are really nothing to grassland people.Even Hamuyya himself can afford it. But in the end, the two sides were deadlocked on two issues. Du Wei asked for 5,000 slaves, but Hanmuye refused to agree, because the population of the grassland was not large.Every young and middle-aged man is extremely precious, even if he is a slave, he will not give it up easily.Because of the habit on the grassland, once a war started, the king of the grassland would issue an order to let those slaves join the army, and once they made military exploits, they would be free.Therefore, those slaves were often extremely brave in combat, and the combat effectiveness of the "slave cavalry" on the grasslands also made the imperial army very afraid. Count Villa, who was participating in the negotiation together, was very puzzled by Du Wei's insistence on asking for slaves.I found an opportunity in the middle, took Du Wei outside, and asked privately: "My lord, our empire has no shortage of people. Five thousand slaves are just a small number. There is no need to argue about such a small number. .” Du Wei smiled. Of course he doesn't care about thousands of slaves.Calculated at the price of the empire, the value of five thousand slaves is only a few hundred gold coins. It's just that what he values ​​are the slaves of the prairie people!Grassland slaves are different from Nanyang slaves!The slaves in Nanyang were only able to do some labor work.But the slaves on the grassland are good at raising horses and grazing!More importantly, these people are all good at riding! "Count Villa...I want these five thousand slaves for myself." Du Wei smiled and said, "As for the usefulness, I can't say it." Villa glanced at Du Wei with some doubts, thinking that the duke was weird. He was already extremely rich, but why did he care so much for a mere few thousand slaves. Count Villa also had the intention of ending this negotiation as soon as possible.After thinking about it, I quietly talked to Hanmoye while everyone was eating at noon.It explained Du Wei's thoughts. This Hanmoye was also a little tired of going on like this. After hearing this, he immediately said: "It turns out that the Duke is an important person... If this is the case, it is another matter. How about this, there is no need to write about the slave." It's above the contract. Although my own tribe is small in scale, there are still some slaves. It's just a figure of 5,000, and it's not easy to raise at the moment... Well, I personally donated 2,000 slaves to the Duke as a gift. It's me, Hanmoye, who makes friends with the Duke!" As soon as Villa and Du Wei talked about it, Du Wei pretended to evade "this is so embarrassing", but he signed it straightforwardly. Earl Villa has always deliberately made friends with Du Wei, and he will naturally not let this opportunity pass by.He also smiled at Du Wei and said, "My lord wants so many slaves. Could it be that some city is going to be built recently? Well, there are some slaves in my family. If my lord doesn't mind, I will write back tomorrow and ask people to come back immediately." Send two thousand people to the northwest." Du Wei thought to himself: What I want are grassland slaves.If it was a Nanyang slave, why would I want so many!Just because I hold a future king of Nanyang in my hand, a slave of Nanyang, am I still missing? Then he smiled and said, "Uncle Villa doesn't know, I plan to build a ranch here to raise war horses and livestock, so ordinary slaves are useless." Villa listened and pondered for a moment: "It turns out that what you lack is the horse herders in the grassland. It's just that we haven't fought against the grasslands for many years, and there are very few grassland slaves in the domestic market. In this way, I will go back and find some. It’s a lot, but three or five hundred people can still get together.” "Thank you so much!" Du Wei was not polite, and responded with one gulp. After that, Philip couldn't help but asked Du Wei in private: "My lord...why do we need so many prairie slaves? These guys are very savage and not easy to tame... Besides, the northwest is desolate, and we need to build a huge ranch , and it's not easy." "I didn't ask for it for myself!" Du Wei smiled and shook his head: "Well, you heard what Qaeda said, when I stormed Gilliat last time, I released a grassland prisoner of war, that guy is Saladin! That guy has some skills, ambition and means, and royal blood. I let him go back, thinking that this guy will not be safe on the grassland sooner or later. Sending such a person back is like planting a seed of fire on the grassland The only problem is, that guy is alone now, and he has no influence. I'm afraid he won't be able to make much of a big deal in the short term... The few thousand grassland slaves I want are going to be given to him... Then, let's treat it as a gift He's gone...hehe!" Philip suddenly realized, and then smiled secretly. The negotiations in the afternoon went smoothly at the beginning, after all, the main conditions were negotiated.Hanmoye didn't force anything more. What the prairie people desire the most is naturally the metal of the empire.There are no mines on the grasslands, and the most lacking thing is iron.However, the empire strictly prohibits any ironware from being sold to the grasslands. This is the iron law of the empire.Hanmoye also didn't make up his mind on this issue, and he also understood that even if he proposed a ban on the empire's opening of iron tools, the other party would absolutely not agree. Only at the end, on top of the writing of the letter of credence, Han Muye offered his final compliments. Du Wei asked the prairie people's credentials to make a solemn apology, and asked the prairie people to assume the position of "seeking peace".This is difficult for the proud and rebellious prairie people to accept. You can give cattle and sheep, and you might as well give some war horses.But "summoning", Han Muye refused to agree.Although it was just a name, Han Muye refused to let go. Du Wei was annoyed, all he did was unwilling to bear the charge of "traitorous".If he "asked for peace", he might not wait for three days, and the news would spread back, and his reputation would be scolded in the imperial capital! What's more, Du Wei's Desa Province is the biggest victim of this incident.If the grassland people don't apologize, do they have to apologize themselves? ! But it seems that this is the bottom line in Hanmoye's mind.Compensation can be given, but if you bow your head and admit your mistake, you will never agree. Du Wei didn't say much, just stood up, and exchanged a glance with Philip, which meant: It seems that we still have to use that trick! Seeing that Du Wei walked away with a displeased face, Villa had no choice but to smile bitterly and said to Han Muye: "Okay, since it's getting late, everyone may wish to think about the remaining matters and talk about them tomorrow. All right." ... That night, Du Wei dismissed the guards around the dungeon, and came to the dungeon alone, when he opened the door and entered.Inside, Ai Lu was hugging her knees, sitting in a corner with her head bowed, in a daze. Since the last "molest", Du Wei has not seen her for several days.Ai Lu is trapped here alone, and the pain in her heart is naturally beyond words. That... that terrible Tulip Duke, that day... actually... But every time I think of what Du Wei did to me that day, I should hate him, but Ai Lu finds out in horror that no matter what, there is no trace of hatred in her heart!On the contrary, there seemed to be some expectation in my heart. And sitting alone, I can't help but think of the trembling smile on Du Wei's face, and those eyes... He... the way he smiles, and his eyes, are so pretty... When she thought of Du Wei stripping herself almost naked that day, "treating" herself like that, and then suddenly getting up and leaving, Ailu's heart was filled with a complicated feeling, besides a little bit of shyness and anticipation , as if there was still a trace of shame and anger—of course, this trace of shame and anger was far from hatred for the enemy.Instead, I faintly felt: That damned guy, at such a time, how could he just leave like that!Could it be that in his eyes, I am so unattractive! Sitting alone in this prison cell, the past few days really felt like years, my mind was full of turmoil, distracting thoughts, indistinct, but Du Wei's face was always full of unstoppable thoughts.The more Ai Lu thinks about it, the more afraid she becomes, and the more she thinks about it, the more she looks forward to it... Finally, when she heard the sound of the door opening, her heart trembled: him!he came? Looking up expectantly, looking at the person coming, I couldn't help but be surprised! The person who walked into the room was dressed in a white robe, clearly the costume of a wizard on the snow mountain!Under the tall cloak, although the face could not be seen clearly, there was a string of black beads hanging on the other party's neck, which was clearly the attire of a wizard! ! Shocked in her heart, her first thought was: Could it be that someone from the snow mountain came to rescue her?The teacher valued himself so much that he actually sent a wizard in white? But then, I heard the "Wizard in White" smile lightly, there was a hint of cunning and malice in that voice, it was the laughter that I had been thinking about these days. Shocked, Ai Lu couldn't help being crazy. Du Wei laughed, lifted his cloak and hat casually, revealed his face, and looked at the female prisoner in front of him: "Look, do I look like a wizard on Daxue Mountain?" "You...how come you are dressed like a wizard?" Eleu asked hesitantly. "Hmph." Du Wei said lightly, "When I was in Gilliat, I personally killed a wizard in white clothes. I remember that was how he was dressed at that time. Well, although I remember it very well, I'm not sure yet. Help me see, is there any flaw?" Ai Lu was stunned, and forgot to question Du Wei's intention of pretending to be a wizard, but when she saw Du Wei, her heart seemed to fly to Du Wei's body, her mind was at a loss, how could she think about it? What?Involuntarily, he obeyed Du Wei's words, glanced at him, and said in a low voice, "Well... the robe should be shorter, and the others... are gone." Du Wei nodded in satisfaction, casually took out a dagger from his pocket, cut off the hem of the robe, took out a bundle from the storage ring, and threw it to Ai from a distance. Lu smiled and said, "Okay, there are your clothes inside, put them on quickly, and accompany me to do something later." clothes, clothes? Ai Lu blankly took the burden thrown by Du Wei, opened it, and found that there was also a wizard's robe inside, but it was not white, but black. "You...what do you want to do? Why do you..." Ai Lu asked tremblingly. Du Wei didn't answer, looked at himself up and down again, and sighed: "Alas, there are still some flaws. Although the wizard's robes are similar in style to the magician's robes of our Roland Empire, the texture of the material is different after all. I vaguely remember that the white-clothed wizard I killed that day, although his robe was white, it didn't seem to be an ordinary fabric. When I touched it, it felt slippery and soft, but it was very strong. I don't know what kind of fabric it is. It's just that in a hurry, I can only get this one casually, just hoping that the other party won't notice it in the middle of the night... Hmph, although he has always been honorable, he didn't dare to come up and touch a white-clothed man. A wizard's robe." "You...what are you going to do?" Although Ai Lu has been fascinated by Du Wei these days, after all, Du Wei's charming eyes can win the heart of a girl, but Ai Lu is still from Daxue Mountain after all. , faintly felt Du Wei's bad intentions, and couldn't help asking. Du Wei smiled slightly, walked a few steps closer, and said something in Ai Lu's ear. After hearing Ai Lu's expression, she changed color and said, "You... I will never do such a thing! I will not betray you. Daxueshan! You...you kill me!" "It's the line 'Kill me' again." Du Wei whistled deliberately, and then stretched out his hand to pinch Ai Lu's chin. I don't know why, my body softened, but I didn't even have the slightest thought of dodging in my heart. Pinching the female prisoner's chin, Du Wei leaned closer, stared into her eyes, and whispered with a smile: "Don't worry, you will definitely do it!" In front of the charming eyes, Ai Lu was frightened by Du Wei's gaze, the clarity in her eyes disappeared bit by bit, and finally she couldn't help murmuring: "I...I...I..." "You what?" Du Wei's voice seemed to have pierced into Ai Lu's heart. "I'll do it..." Ai Lu's voice seemed to be dreaming, "I'll do whatever you want me to do..."