Chapter 117 The Terms

Ten o'clock the next morning, on the banks of the Arumas River.

As agreed, General Modamon sent his chief of staff and several accompanying officers. Santos also sent his chief of staff, along with Fei Pingsheng and others, to meet again in the previous camp to discuss the specific details of the peace talks.

The atmosphere inside the tent was much better than yesterday. Modamon's chief of staff, with his arms crossed, glanced at the crowd and slowly said, "Now that everyone is here, let's begin."

"Alright."

The meeting officially began. The representatives from both sides sat upright, and Modamon's chief of staff took out the prepared terms with a very serious expression, stating them one by one: "In order to achieve mutually beneficial cooperation, our side proposes three requirements in total. First, the Xinlai region supports the old Mexican government and is willing to accept the leadership of Chief Santos. However, we must have absolute autonomy, including military, administrative, and ethnic cultural sovereignty in the Xinlai region. We support the Santos government on major political orders, but we will also have our own established system for local administrative orders. If the two sides have different opinions on administrative orders, they must be resolved through consultation, and our opinions must be fully respected."

This first term was already astonishing, but the expressions of Santos' people didn't change much.

The other side's chief of staff took a sip of water and continued, "Second, since our troops are willing to accept the leadership of the highest levels, the troops' military expenses should be issued by the official military headquarters. The specific amount will be determined through negotiation between the two parties. Third, in upholding the cooperative stance with the Chinese region, the Xinlai region has independent autonomous negotiation rights, and as the second representative of the old Mexican region, enjoys the same cooperative rights as the Santos government."

After speaking, the other side picked up the water glass and drank again.

The faces of the officers on the old Mexican official army side gradually became serious, and they whispered among themselves.

Fei Pingsheng listened from the sidelines, remaining silent throughout. After hearing these three proposals, he wasn't just speechless, he even felt that Modamon's side was indulging in wishful thinking.

If these three terms were realized, it wouldn't just be a simple matter of one region having two different administrative systems. Not only would they not pay tribute, but they would even turn around and suck Santos' blood.

This kind of thing was even more outrageous than the feudal lords like Wu Sangui, the Prince Who Pacified the West. It was completely a country within a country! It couldn't be described as simply greedy for General Modamon; he wanted to be the emperor of this country within a country!

But precisely because the other side put forward such absurd and outrageous proposals, Fei Pingsheng knew that if Santos could agree to such requests, it would mean that Modamon would no longer rebel.

However, from the perspective of a ruler, such conditions that would divide the regime were absolutely unacceptable.

Old Fei only muttered to himself in his heart, not saying it out loud, and continued to remain silent.

The official army side also quickly finished discussing, and Santos' chief of staff looked at the other side and solemnly said, "We have fully understood your conditions. Now we must return and report to Chief Santos. However, our side can promise that we will give a final answer to the proposal no later than this afternoon."

The other side nodded and stood up, saying, "Okay, I hope we can start cooperating."

The two sides stood up and shook hands, then left the neutral area and returned to their respective places.

...

Around twelve noon, the chief of staff returned to Santos' office and explained the situation.

After listening, Santos sat at his desk, deep in thought.

The chief of staff spoke first, saying bluntly, "Chief, these conditions are almost impossible to accept. As you know, we are a coalition country. Besides Modamon, this old fox, there are also large and small warlord forces. If we grant them this special right, other warlords are likely to follow suit. Wouldn't our hard-won country fall apart?"

Santos remained sitting there, silent.

The chief of staff paused, looked at Santos' expression, and continued, "Once this happens, who will we collect taxes from? How many troops will obey our orders? We will become a nominal puppet government and lose our due ruling power. Therefore, this proposal should not be accepted, especially in the current environment. Once we open this door, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

Santos propped his chin, pondered for a long time, and said, "Like this, this afternoon when you go back, you first agree to their conditions."

"Chief!" The chief of staff was very surprised.

"Listen to me," Santos waved his hand, interrupting the chief of staff, and continued, "However, one point is non-negotiable. You reply to the other side like this: First, we can accept your conditions. However, the issue of independent sovereignty must wait until after the war before it can be announced to the public. It is absolutely impossible now. We must stabilize the other troops first, so we must ensure the confidentiality of the negotiations. At the same time, with the help of the Chinese region some time ago, we purchased 80 million worth of military supplies from Panama City, which are currently stockpiled in our 72nd Brigade. I can give them to General Modamon as a gift for this negotiation, and tell the other side that this is our sincerity in the negotiations."

"Yes..."

After listening, the chief of staff thought for a long time, and finally nodded, leaving the office.

...

Half an hour later, the headquarters of the Western Expeditionary Army.

Zhao Weihu, Wang Dingyuan, and Fei Pingsheng were sitting in the office, waiting for news.

After a while, the door of the office was pushed open, and an intelligence officer stepped in, saluted everyone, and said, "Report, Santos has agreed."

Zhao Weihu was a little surprised: "Agreed?!"

Wang Dingyuan, who was sitting next to him, grinned: "Our little commander has finally seen the light."

...

On an unknown small island, Plastic Surgery Face sat in the camp, took out two photos, handed them to Yuan Biao sitting opposite, and instructed, "The general offensive is the night after tomorrow. These are photos of the main assassination targets and our inside agents. Take a look, and burn the photos after you memorize them."

Yuan Biao took the photos, glanced at them, and nodded slowly: "I understand, go ahead, I'll prepare."

"Okay."

Plastic Surgery Face didn't say anything, got up, lifted the curtain, and walked out.

"Di Di!"

While Yuan Biao was looking at the photos, the laptop on the table next to him suddenly beeped twice.

Yuan Biao walked over, opened his private social software, and found that it was a message from Xiao Yan. He hurriedly clicked it open and saw a photo of her wearing sexy lingerie, exposing her thighs.

Yuan Biao was dumbfounded at the time, and couldn't help scratching his crotch, his fingers trembling a little, and for a moment he didn't know what to reply.

"Di Di!"

Xiao Yan sent another message: "Are you there?"

At this moment, a ripple suddenly appeared in Yuan Biao's dark heart.