Are you crazy? Trying to trick him into military service? He's the number one dragon on the fro

Even Luo Yang, who was standing to the side, looked over in surprise after hearing these words, not understanding whether the two had a grudge or were friends deliberately trying to lower the price and intimidate each other.

Lu Xiao stepped forward, his entire being exuding a sharp edge:

"Do you still remember how your son conspired with the Lin family's daughter to trick me into taking his place in the army?"

puff-

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Lindong knelt down on the ground, but denied knowing anything about it.

"I hope you will know, Commander, that I am usually busy with business and have neglected to discipline my son. I was unaware that you and my son had such a past!"

"Please rest assured, Commander, when my son returns home to visit his family, I will certainly teach him a lesson!"

Lu Xiao immediately asked in confusion:

"Wang An isn't home? Where did you send him?"

"My lord, my son joined the army around the same time as you, but he was assigned to the Black Stone outpost northeast of our county. Otherwise, he would certainly have had the honor of working with you!"

Wang Lindong told the whole story about where his son had gone.

Although he was unwilling, firstly, the White Wolf Outpost and the Black Stone Outpost were far apart and they didn't usually have much contact, and secondly, he knew about what Lu Xiao was talking about.

But he's gambling.

The reason for bringing up the old matter again was simply to give Lu Xiao a warning, making it easier to lower prices in future business dealings.

After all, if the other party really had evidence of that matter, they would probably have gone to the Wang family to demand an explanation long ago, instead of only speaking up now.

Sure enough, he made the right bet.

Lu Xiao let him kneel for a while, then waved his hand and said:

"Get up. I'm telling you this not to make things difficult for you, but precisely because of this, we won't ruin our relationship when we're discussing business."

"You just said you wanted to buy warhorses from our outpost, are you planning to sell them to the south?"

"Yes, sir!"

He nodded, his smile unchanged:

"But as far as I know, you merchants can sell warhorses for as much as thirty or even fifty or sixty taels of silver with just one transaction. The further south you go, the higher the price, and the more you earn."

"You think you can buy a warhorse from me for ten taels of silver? Isn't that too cheap?"

Wang Lindong quickly explained:

"Sir, I can indeed make money this way, but not as much as you might imagine."

"After purchasing the warhorses, the common people need to prepare the best fodder for them and feed them carefully; this is part of the cost."

"If we're lucky, we can sell them all before we even leave Yuyang County."

"Although this saves money on food and fodder, it doesn't fetch a high price. I'm just making a meager living."

"Sell them far away..."

He recounted in detail the process of reselling his horses, explaining how difficult it was.

But after saying all that, there's only one purpose—

Lower the price!

Lu Xiao knew his thoughts and thought they were normal, but reciprocity was a principle he adhered to.

The Wang family almost ruined him; if he didn't repay them properly, it would be a waste of this opportunity that came knocking on his door.

"Wang Lindong, I'm not some detached person from worldly affairs. I know you've been traveling around and it's been very hard, but ten taels of silver for a warhorse is still too low."

"How about this, try to sell your warhorses as far away as possible, and I'll only charge you twenty-five taels per horse. What do you think?"

"This...this..."

Upon hearing this, Wang Lindong broke out in a cold sweat. He was unwilling to agree from the bottom of his heart, but he was afraid that Lu Xiao would use the past to make things difficult for him.

After much deliberation, he gritted his teeth and decided to take the plunge:

"Does Commander Lu really think that we, as petty officials, are easy to bully?"

"If you insist on the price of twenty-five taels per bolt today, I will not serve you!"

"If you don't believe me, go and ask around; who in the entire Changyang County dares to offer more than ten taels!"

After saying that, he prepared to turn and leave.

Suddenly, Wang Lindong heard the sound of gongs and drums coming from not far behind him.

Lu Xiao and Luo Yang looked up at the same time and saw Zhou Daxing leading several old soldiers, beating gongs and drums, respectfully welcoming a young man with a fair complexion and no beard.

Upon meeting, before Zhou Daxing could explain, the young man cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards the capital and said in a shrill voice:

"My master, Wang Tong, comes from Hengdu, summoned by His Majesty!"

"Which one of you is Lu Xiao?"

thump!

As soon as he finished speaking, Luo Yang knelt down on one knee, bowed his head, and clasped his hands in a fist salute:

"This humble general, Luo Yang, pays his respects to the angel!"

"Lu Xiao, Hundred-Commander of White Wolf Outpost, pays respects to the angel!"

Seeing this, Wang Tong waved his hand, signaling the two to stand up, indicating that there was no need for such a grand gesture.

"Just call me Eunuch Wang!"

"Commander Lu, His Majesty heard from the great victory at White Wolf Mountain that you were loyal, brave and skilled in battle, and personally led your troops to kill the elite of the Sijin Shuji and the Black Sand Chuo tribe. He was very pleased and has summoned you to the capital for an audience."

"Pack your things and arrange everything at the White Wolf outpost as soon as possible. Once you're sure there are no problems, head straight to the capital."

Lu Xiao quickly bowed in gratitude:

"This humble general, Lu Xiao, kowtows in gratitude to His Majesty for His divine grace!"

After saying this, he received a signal from Wang Tong, and hurriedly stood up, smiling as he slipped a silver ingot into Wang Tong's sleeve.

"Eunuch Wang has come from afar and must be tired from the journey. I have nothing to offer you but a few cups of tea."

"Um……"

Wang Tong gave him an approving look, coughed a few times, and then said:

"Commander Lu, since you are so willing, let me remind you one more thing: once you enter the capital, just listen to the Emperor's teachings, observe more, listen more, and speak less."

"Thank you, sir!"

Lu Xiao thanked him again and wanted to invite him to the county town to welcome him, but Wang Tong said that he had to rush back to the capital to report and could not stay any longer.

After saying that, he left in a hurry.

Luo Yang breathed a sigh of relief and said with envy in his eyes:

"Brother Xiao, you have gained direct access to the Emperor through this battle. It seems your meteoric rise to power is just around the corner. I congratulate you in advance."

"Brother Luo, you're too kind. His Majesty simply wants to see me."

Lu Xiao smiled modestly.

He saw Wang Lindong still kneeling beside him, trembling as if terrified, and couldn't help but laugh:

"Wang Lindong, the angel has left, what are you still pretending for?"

"My lord, just now... just now I was being presumptuous!"

Wang Lindong raised his head, revealing a smile that looked more like a grimace.

His trembling wasn't due to fear of the angel's appearance—after all, the other party was of noble status and wouldn't bother with a stranger like him—but rather because he regretted speaking so bluntly and offending Lu Xiao once again.

That was a personal summons from the Emperor himself; most ordinary people in the Great Zhou Dynasty would never encounter such a thing in their entire lives.

He offended Lu Xiao; wasn't he just courting death?

So, after much deliberation, Wang Lindong decided to reluctantly accept it.

"Let's proceed with the transaction at the price proposed by Lord Hyakuju."

"I've changed my mind."

This time, however, it was Lu Xiao's turn to be unwilling:

"Thinking about it carefully, twenty-five taels for a warhorse is indeed quite expensive, but those warhorses were captured by our brothers at the cost of their lives. Selling them cheaply would be unfair to their hard work."

"How about this, each warhorse will cost twenty taels? What do you think?"