When Ouyang Shuo walked into the living room, he saw an old man standing in front of a painting by Wang Xizhi.
Hearing the footsteps, the old man turned around.
"Old Chen!"
Ouyang Shuo strode forward and took the initiative to hold the old man's hand.
The person who came was the former Federation President.
After the disintegration of the Federation, this old man completely disappeared from the eyes of the world.
Although there were twists and turns in the cooperation between the two of them, and later they broke off the cooperation and no longer contacted each other, Ouyang Shuo had always been in awe of this wise old man.
Meeting like this, the old man was obviously very emotional, and for a moment, he didn't know how to address Ouyang Shuo.
Ouyang Shuo was very considerate, and took the initiative to lead Old Chen to a seat, and then let the maid serve tea. This was the second time the two of them had a face-to-face conversation, and the status of the two of them had been reversed.
Facing the modest and reserved Ouyang Shuo, Senior Chen couldn't bring himself to call him "little friend" anymore.
Not to mention, he came with a mission this time.
Old Chen came to be a lobbyist.
Faced with the siege of the Silver Hand, the Azure Emblem fell into the biggest crisis since its establishment. Their strength was too scattered, and they couldn't compete with a veteran force like the Silver Hand.
Previously, when the two camps urged them to join forces to check and balance the Great Xia, the Azure Emblem's attitude was actually more active. They knew that only by turning the conflict to the outside world could they obtain peace.
Unfortunately, the growth of the Great Xia was completely beyond their expectations.
The young and vigorous faction that had once subverted Old Chen's faction suffered a big setback, and their prestige in the Azure Emblem was declining day by day.
Old Chen's faction showed signs of rising again.
Unfortunately, Old Chen was already tired and was unwilling to intervene in the specific affairs of the Azure Emblem.
This visit to the Great Xia was really unable to withstand the organization's coaxing and pestering, and he couldn't bear to see the Azure Emblem really fall, so Old Chen put down his old face and came to the capital to be a lobbyist.
The first time he saw Ouyang Shuo, Old Chen's confidence dropped by a lot.
Compared to a few years ago, the man in front of him had become more modest, and there was not a trace of sharpness to be seen. However, the occasional flash of his eyes was deep and frightening.
Every raise of his hand, every movement was as smooth as flowing water, but it contained the power to topple mountains and overturn the seas.
For Ouyang Shuo, his youth was long gone.
At the age of thirty, he was at the most energetic and powerful period of his life. Along the way, all the difficulties and obstacles had turned into the dust of time and settled on his body.
At this moment, Ouyang Shuo was exuberant with vigor, yet extraordinarily calm; he was overbearing, yet had reason and evidence. He seemed gentle, but in reality, he was a very aggressive leader.
The civil and military officials feared him and respected him from the bottom of their hearts, regarding him as their leader.
Mu Lanyue, Gu Xiuwen, Sun Yannong, Cui Shousi, Zhou Haichen, Lin Yi, Shi Hu, Niu Da, and the other ministers of the empire regarded Ouyang Shuo as their teacher and considered themselves to be the disciple of the emperor.
Facing such a legendary man, even someone as worldly as Old Chen felt a little pressured.
There were many things that he couldn't say.
Ouyang Shuo was very calm. "Since Old Chen has come, I'm sure you have something to ask. If there's anything you want to say, there's no harm in saying it."
Old Man Chen nodded. He no longer had this kind of ability. "A world war has broken out, but Great Xia hasn't made any moves. Could it be that they're planning to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight?"
This was a test.
"Many people dream of sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight. What's wrong with that?" Ouyang Shuo didn't fall into the trap.
Old Chen followed up, "Sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight is indeed relaxing, but when one tiger is destroyed and the other is stronger, isn't Great Xia afraid of being hurt by the tiger?"
"Great Xia has an impenetrable defense, it can't be hurt."
Ouyang Shuo didn't budge. The atmosphere froze and the warmth just now disappeared without a trace.
Seeing this, Old Chen sighed in his heart. "Ouyang Shuo is no longer the Ouyang Shuo of the past." This emperor's will was all about the interests of Great Xia and it was impossible for him to be selfish.
The only thing that could move Ouyang Shuo was benefits.
"Can Great Xia intervene in the war in Europe?" Old Chen didn't beat around the bush.
"We are separated from Europe by the Persian Empire. There's no reason for us to participate in the war."
"You do!"
Old Chen's gaze was threatening, "Don't forget that Great Xia's Morocco Province was taken by the Silver Hand. Now, it's a province of the Spanish Empire. This is the best opportunity for Great Xia to recover our lost land. "
Ouyang Shuo smiled.
Seeing this, Old Chen shook his head helplessly.
Both of them were extremely intelligent people. Of course, they understood that the current Morocco Province was of little value to Great Xia. Even if they took it, it would be difficult to defend as an enclave.
Not to mention Europe, just in the African continent, the Morocco Province was facing the threat of the Egyptian Empire and West Africa.
Since Old Chen came personally, Ouyang Shuo still had to give him some face. He couldn't be stingy and revealed a little, "We will definitely take revenge for Morocco, but what we want is definitely not just a province."
Old Chen was shocked and asked, "Great Xia is preparing to make a move against the Spanish Empire?" If that was the case, then it could be considered as helping the Germanic Empire out of trouble.
Ouyang Shuo shook his head, "I want the whole of North Africa."
"…"
Old Chen was speechless.
North Africa was the territory of the Azure Emblem camp, the Egyptian Empire. Wasn't Great Xia taking advantage of the situation?
"Your request is too much, the Azure Emblem can't accept it."
Old Chen rejected.
Ouyang Shuo was very confident, "Giving up North Africa to protect the Germanic Empire, this deal is very worthwhile."
"What do you mean?"
"Once Great Xia takes over North Africa, the Arab Empire will naturally stop. The Caesar Empire and Great Xia have long been enemies. With the Caesar Empire's character, with only a sea separating them, how can they concentrate on the European battlefield? "
Old Chen's eyebrows moved, this meant that Great Xia would take on two opponents.
Ouyang Shuo continued, "If we give up North Africa, the Egyptian Empire can attack the Spanish Empire and get rid of another opponent. The Germanic Empire can fight one against three, they still have a chance of winning. "
"This is not enough!" Old Chen didn't agree.
Of course, without the Spanish Empire and the Caesar Empire, the situation of the Germanic Empire would be greatly improved. However, the Romanov Dynasty alone was enough to overwhelm the Germanic Dynasty.
"Great Xia can also come forward to restrain the Persian Empire, we still have a debt with Persia." Ouyang Shuo added another bargaining chip.
Old Chen was a little moved, but he was still not satisfied.
Seeing this, Ouyang Shuo revealed a trace of a playful smile, "Old Chen, I respect you, that's why I'm talking to you. In fact, Great Xia has millions of elites in East Africa, we can also take some things ourselves. "
"…"
Old Chen's heart sank to the bottom.
That's right, strictly speaking, not only were Great Xia and the Azure Emblem not allies, they were enemies. If Great Xia sent troops to Egypt at this time, wouldn't it be one disaster after another for the Azure Emblem?!
Only then did Old Chen realize that against Great Xia, he actually didn't have a single bargaining chip.
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