Frontier Army Warrior

Chapter 1311 Martial Arts Competition

Before Lin Feng could answer, Feng Li became displeased.

"Wait a minute. First of all, their statuses are not equal. Secondly, this martial arts competition is not well-deserved. Furthermore, martial arts sparring can easily lead to injuries. General Mu is irreplaceable among the officials in our Dazheng peace talks, so he is not suitable to participate in the competition."

Ito Nakaya was speechless and could only return to his seat.

Hojo Nobunari glanced at Tokugawa Iehira and smiled.

"Since our two armies are facing off, it is natural to prioritize martial prowess. Today's peace talks can certainly resolve the dispute through martial arts. General Tokugawa once said that those in the army with high martial arts skills can be given important positions, which is enough to show the importance he attaches to the martial arts skills of his soldiers."

He glanced at Lin Feng, who was eating and drinking.

"I'd like to wager martial arts to determine the terms between the two sides?"

Feng Li turned to look at Miao Changfeng, and seeing that the Prime Minister had no expression, he nodded.

"Tell me, how exactly do you intend to wager martial arts?"

"Alright, all of you military officers and guards present may enter the arena for a duel. If you win a duel, you may reduce the number of any one of your officers or guards by any amount of the conditions we have set."

"Of course, we'll start with 20,000 taels of silver. If we win two matches, the amount can be doubled; if we win three, it will double again."

Feng Li frowned and said, "If I understand correctly, if we win one game, we can reduce the amount by 20,000 taels of silver; if we win two games, we can reduce it by 40,000; if we win three games, we can reduce it by 80,000... and so on."

"Yes, if we win the fourth match, we can reduce the amount of silver by 160,000 taels."

Upon hearing this, Feng Li was intrigued.

He knew how powerful Lin Feng was. There were also eight expert guards from the Prime Minister outside, and what's more, the big guy Lin Feng brought was obviously extremely powerful.

He turned to look at Miao Changfeng after receiving the gift.

Miao Changfeng had already been pondering this in his mind. He not only had confidence in Lin Feng, but also in his eight personal guards.

Those were all experts he recruited in the martial arts world, each one a powerful figure who could command the winds and rains of the martial arts world.

If we can win three to five matches, we can sign a cooperation agreement within the limits set by the Emperor, and the mission will be successfully completed.

However, Miao Changfeng's main concern was not winning or losing, but whether the pirates' words actually held true.

The consequences of refusing the duel.

If he insists on his bottom line and refuses to sign the agreement according to Tokugawa Iehira's conditions, the pirates probably won't let him leave.

Even if he signed the document, he wouldn't be able to explain it to the Emperor, and going back would be a dead end.

This is a dilemma, and it seems like there's no solution.

The martial arts contest was a lifesaver, which tempted Miao Changfeng.

Lin Feng felt that this was a trap specifically designed to target him.

He killed Heng Wuche himself, and then beheaded four pirate warriors at the post station.

No one could swallow this insult, let alone the ruthless pirates, who would surely seek an opportunity to deal with him.

A public fight is definitely out of the question; a martial arts contest is the perfect excuse.

In order to force himself to take action, he came up with this temptation.

As Lin Feng was pondering, he heard Miao Changfeng speak.

"Kikawa, what do you think of this?"

Lin Feng shook his head: "Clearly they have no sincerity in the peace talks. They've treated this important matter of peace talks as a child's play. What kind of integrity do they have left?"

Hojo Nobunari smiled and said, “Our sincerity is as clear as the sun and moon. In our Yamato Dynasty, martial arts and combat skills occupy a very important position, and General Tokugawa is a famously honest man in Yamato Kyoto. Even the Emperor has praised him personally.”

At this moment, Tokugawa Iehira spoke up: "If Prime Minister Miao can accept our terms, this matter will naturally be dropped. If he cannot accept them, a duel is the only way to resolve the dispute between the two sides."

Hojo Nobunari then advised, "We can sign a written agreement, agreeing to the bet and not going back on our word."

Lin Feng asked, "What if we lose a match?"

Hojo Nobunari smiled: "Naturally, the stakes will be the same, but I'll increase it by 20,000 taels of silver."

Lin Feng sneered inwardly. Anyway, the pirates would never lose no matter what they did. Even if they lost, it would be the Taisho government's silver and grain, which had nothing to do with them.

But Lin Feng didn't care. It wasn't his money or supplies, so Dazheng could send them however he wanted. His only goal was to keep both sides fighting, or even make the fighting more intense.

"I have no problem with it, as long as the Prime Minister thinks it's appropriate."

Miao Changfeng was also a big shot in the martial arts world, so he naturally liked this kind of game where you risk your life. Besides having great confidence in Lin Feng, he also had another reason: the cultivator he had hired through connections at a high price was on his way.

"Alright, let's take this gamble and try our luck with the fate of the Taisho Dynasty."

Miao Changfeng, full of heroic spirit, finished his drink in one gulp.

Hojo Nobunari clapped his hands in delight.

"That's right. What we're negotiating is about—the hard conditions."

Lin Feng felt that this guy was talking too much, but Tokugawa Iehira remained very quiet, letting Hojo Nobunari dance around in the banquet hall.

Since both parties agreed, the form of the duel and the stakes were quickly put in writing, requiring both parties to sign and affix their seals to the agreement.

Lin Feng ignored them and just focused on picking out the best food and stuffing it into his mouth.

Hojo Nobunari was busy running around, and even brought the written agreement to Lin Feng's low table.

"General Mu, please sign this."

Lin Feng looked surprised: "Me? Sign what?"

Hojo Nobunari grinned wickedly: "Hehe, General Mu, have you read this document carefully? There is a possibility of accidents during the duel, so the participants need to sign it. In the event of any injury or death, neither party will be held responsible."

"This isn't a martial arts contest, it's a battle to the death!"

"When two armies clash, countless people die or are wounded every day. Since the stakes are so high, individual lives are insignificant in the face of the nation's fate."

Lin Feng touched his cheek, realizing that he still had to risk his life for the fate of the Great Zheng Dynasty.

Things have come to this point, there's no way to refuse to sign.

Of course, Lin Feng didn't take this matter seriously at all. Even if you sign a hundred times, in the end it still comes down to who has the bigger fist.

They were trapped in a pirate's den, their lives entirely at the pirates' mercy. Even if they won the duel, if the pirates turned their backs and denied it, it would all be for nothing.

Lin Feng casually signed the document with the name "Mu Chuan".

He glanced at the contents of the document and sneered inwardly.

Both Miao Changfeng and Feng Li signed the document, which implicitly fulfilled several conditions demanded by the pirates.

The pit is clearly dug, yet it forces you to jump in.

There are a total of five matches. If the righteous side wins all of them, not only will they not have to pay any more money, but they will also be able to get a lot of money back from the grand prize.

One more point was specified in the competition rules.

As long as you feel you can still compete, you can challenge any opponent until you can no longer stand up.

This rule reveals a bloody and murderous intent.

This is a battle to the death.

It forces participants to fight with all their might for their own lives, even if they are not fighting for the interests of their own country.

Lin Feng discovered that, besides himself, the other participants in the Dazheng Party's martial arts competition also included Lin Da's name, which was Qiao Jushan.

In Lin Feng's mind, Qiao Jushan's abilities had reached the level of a third-generation disciple of a hidden sect. If no cultivators appeared among the pirates' martial arts contestants, then Qiao Jushan would not be in any danger.