The two sides confronted each other coldly, and the atmosphere was extremely depressing.

Niko Lugo and the others didn't care about the miscellaneous fish, they only locked their breath on Bao's personal guard Hu Shanrong, observing his every move.

Hu Shanrong unloaded his weapon before entering the door, at this time he was empty-handed, but he had no fear, his two clenched fists were comparable to a casserole, the green tendons jumped violently, and he could vaguely see the internal strength swelling and flowing in the green tendons, and his eyes were full of contempt, as if to say: I can kill you empty-handed.

The Far Eastern Dynasty and the Kingdom of Doguland have different power systems, and their warriors have a set of special ancient cultivation methods, forging muscles and bones outside, and practicing qi strength inside.

In the "Laurel War" in 486 of the Huoyao calendar, the warriors were the elite forces of the Far Eastern Dynasty, and they were the existence of the transcendent beings who could harden the kingdom on the battlefield, and it is said that there were also top warriors who mastered the light skills of climbing the clouds and shot down the dragons of the Regnome family from the sky.

Although Hu Shanrong in front of him is not the top martial artist of the Far Eastern Dynasty, he can become the head of the Gyeonggi Forbidden Army's sword arts, he is by no means an idle person, and he is definitely the best group in the Far Eastern Imperial Dynasty's forbidden army.

Using Dogulander's army as an analogy, this Hu Shanrong is the elite of the Wangcheng Garrison Legion, at least the strength of the 4th sequence, and it is possible that he has initially touched the threshold of the 5th sequence.

Niko, Lugo, Roman and others are on the same page, whether they can hold down a martial artist of this level, I'm afraid it's really hard to say.

The bosses of both sides didn't speak, just looked at each other coldly, the atmosphere became more and more tense, and the chest was like a boulder, which was breathless.

Just as the pressure was about to cross a certain tipping point, Chino's smile suddenly rang out, repeating what Po had said earlier: "Don't be nervous, it's just a joke." ”

The tense atmosphere suddenly relaxed, and Po's face was completely cold, and he immediately let out a hearty laugh, pretending to be afraid and covering his heart: "Archon Chino is really a person who knows how to humor, I'm almost scared to death by you~"

"Please come in, let's get down to business, we've been delaying for too long." Chino turned around and entered the door of the mansion and walked towards the conference room, followed by Po.

Ah Bao is gone, Hu Shanrong naturally doesn't need to spend here, he doesn't know what strange addiction he has, before entering the door, he casually broke a handful of branches, put the rhizome in his mouth and bit it, chewing twice from time to time.

Niko and Lugo glanced at each other, each seeing the helplessness in the other's eyes, and quickly followed the door.

...

Bao's identity is very unusual, if you just regard him as an ordinary giant businessman, it would be a big mistake.

No matter how big the business is, if there is no backstage, it is just a fattening lamb, and it is easy to be slaughtered everywhere.

In fact, after Ah Bao made his fortune, he had been secretly recruited by the Far Eastern Dynasty, nominally a foreign businessman, and secretly worked for the imperial court.

The Kingdom of Dogurand also tried to recruit Po at the beginning, and it was the "Right Hand of the King" Lanxian Hitch who was in charge of this matter, as for why Po did not choose Dogurland later, but chose the Far Eastern Dynasty, it was another unknown matter, and there was naturally a trade-off of his interests.

Ah Bao's base in the northern snow fields is rich in heavenly and earthly treasures, these precious medicinal materials are not only the cultivation necessities of the Far Eastern warriors, but also the alchemy potion raw materials of Doguland.

The northern snowy plains were monopolized by Bao, and Bao secretly submitted to the imperial court, which was a major strategic mistake for Doguland. If you don't do it well, you will be pinched by someone to pinch the lifeblood of related fields.

Fortunately, 27 years have passed since the "Laurel War", and the relationship between the Far Eastern Dynasty and Dogurand has slowly repaired, and the two countries no longer want to pinch each other, but have cooperated in many fields, so Bao has often been in and out of the kingdom, and is the guest of many ministers.

So this time, the reception specifications of Chino to Po are also extremely high.

In the living room of the Ruling Mansion, the floor has been covered with a pleasant red carpet, the long table carved from sandalwood is placed in the center, the solid wood seats with an atmospheric shape are placed on both sides of the long table, the other chairs are arranged in turn, and the silver tableware on the table is neatly arranged with almost obsessive-compulsive precision, refracting silver light under the bright candle flame, accompanied by the fragrance of the best black tea and desserts.

After the Jack the Ripper's invasion, Arya closes the dessert shop she has been running and becomes a pastry chef at the Consulate's mansion, where Chino pays her 100 silver months a month.

To be honest, Arya's skills are good, but she's not worth the price in terms of her cooking skills alone.

100 silver moons per month, 1200 a year, this is already a sky-high price, how many aristocratic families do not have this income, this kind of salary is opened, and countless top chefs are crying and shouting to come.

But as the saying goes, a thousand dollars are easy to get, but a confidant is hard to find - people who know their own hearts are hard to find, and so are people who understand their stomachs.

Is Aria's cooking worth the price? Chino doesn't care, if Arya can make a dessert that will delight him physically and mentally, then it's worth it.

And, perhaps a little possessive, Chino felt that only he could enjoy such delicious desserts, so Arya's job was not that of a "pastry chef in the ruling mansion", but a "personal pastry chef", who was only responsible for making desserts for Chino, and no one else could taste her craftsmanship, unless Chino offered it.

And now the desserts on the reception table are all made by Arya herself, which shows that Chino really gave Po enough face and pulled out his personal pastry chef to support the façade.

Arya had already set the plate and made tea, and when Chino and Po came in, she knew that the big man wanted to talk about things and that she shouldn't stay here anymore, so she bowed to Chino very obediently and prepared to leave.

"Oh~ Archon Chino, you are really beautiful in your house." Po intentionally or unintentionally stood on the route of Arya's departure, did not shy away from looking at her well-shaped figure, and said in a half-joking, half-serious tone, "This shouldn't be the captain of the guard, right?" If so, you'll have to remind me that I don't want to make any more jokes. ”

Arya was blocked by someone and couldn't get out, and Po's gaze was so frivolous, she didn't know what to do for a while, and she didn't dare to talk nonsense to the guests, so she could only stand in place with her head down.

Paladin reacted quickly, pretending to be friendly and reached out to put his arm around Po's shoulder, led him to his seat, and made a "please" gesture: "Come, please take a seat, and try the craft of the Archon's personal pastry chef." ”

Paladin's move not only relieved Arya's siege, but also did not refute Po's face, and also mentioned Alia's identity, which is nothing more than that.

Po was half-pushed and half-invited to sit in his seat by Paladin, and looked back at Arya from time to time halfway, sighing: "If I have such a beautiful pastry chef, I want her to feed me by hand every day, hahaha." ”

After Po sat down, he snapped his fingers at the beautiful woman accompanying him and motioned for the cigarette gun to be fetched.

The woman took out the cigarette gun from her bag and handed it to Bao.

"Archon Chino..."Po lit the cigarette peng, clicked and smoked, halfway through the cigarette before he was stunned, reached out to cover the cigarette gun, and said with wide eyes, "Sorry, I forgot to ask the master, don't mind if I smoke indoors?" ”

"As long as you don't stain the table and carpet." Chino sat in the main seat, his figure flickering in the candle flames, his voice as calm as stagnant water without waves.

Ah Bao grinned and showed his gold teeth, no longer polite, swallowed the clouds and smoked a cigarette, and said slowly: "Archon Chino, I really envy you for having such a good background. ”

Chino chuckled: "The family is in the middle of the road, and both parents are dead, which is also good?" ”

"Hmm~ Okay, it couldn't be better!" Ah Bao used his skills to keep spitting out a mouthful of smoke rings, and joked with a smile, "The middle of the family road gives you the motivation to bottom out and rebound." Both parents died, and since then there is no reliance and concern, and you can move forward without scruples. Isn't that good? ”

Ah Bao sighed when he said this, and the smoke in his lungs exhaled together, looking quite melancholy: "It's ashamed to say it, it's contemptible and talented, you are more than twice as old as you, and you are mixed around, and your achievements are not half as high as yours." ”

Chino seemed to have heard some kind of joke: "You are a giant businessman who is in charge of the northern snowfields and eats all the countries, but you are much richer than me." ”

"Oh no, no, no, no!" Ah Bao waved his hand vigorously, looking resistant and disgusted, "Money is the most useless thing in the world, and I have no interest in money." ”

Chino tasted the dessert made by Arya and asked nonchalantly, "So what are you interested in?" ”

Po picked up the teacup, but made a toast: "Respect." ”

Chino didn't cater to Ah Bao's movements, his eyes fell on the golden robe that was exposed on his inner lining, and said with a smile: "Mr. Ah Bao is the 'Three-clawed Golden Dragon' of the Far Eastern Dynasty, and anyone else dares to disrespect you?" ”

The golden robe that Ah Bao is wearing is not something else, it is the "three-clawed golden dragon robe" of the Far Eastern Dynasty!

The Far Eastern Dynasty is different from Doguland, there are not so many families with their own "sequences", and the titles and ratings of the courtiers in the Far East are all uniformly canonized by the imperial court, distinguished by the color of their clothes and dragon claws, from low to high: bronze dragon, silver dragon, one-clawed golden dragon, two-clawed golden dragon, three-clawed golden dragon, four-clawed golden dragon, and five-clawed golden dragon.

In addition to the difference in names, the two countries also have different ways of rating titles.

The "sequence" of the kingdom of Doguland is a very simple symbol of strength, only force is respect, the strong are high, and the weak are low.

You're a lowly slave, but if you're as strong as Denisha, you're Sequence 7.

You're the supreme king, but you don't have any supernatural powers, and you won't even get the title of Sequence 1.

The Far Eastern Dynasty was different from Dogurlander in that their titles were given to both military and civil officials, and both "merit" and "strength" could be used as a rating criterion.

Therefore, there is a very peculiar phenomenon in the Far Eastern Dynasty, among the "three-clawed golden dragons" corresponding to the "5th sequence", some are indeed powerful warriors or onmyoji, but some are powerless ministers, and there are also a few who have both.

Although Ah Bao has practiced internal skills, he only practices Yiqing by himself, and his strength is at most a third-rate martial artist, and his "three-clawed golden dragon robe" is not obtained by force, but by merit.

As for the merit, it is to establish an industrial chain that covers the sky with one hand in the northern snow field, as well as a steady stream of natural treasures.

The status of the "Three-clawed Golden Dragon" in the imperial court is second only to the True Dragon Heavenly Son wearing the "Five-clawed Golden Dragon Robe", and the "Four-clawed Golden Dragon", including the Heavenly Hang, the Earth Hearing, the Prison Law, the Pawn, the Soldiers and Horses, and the leaders of the Six Divisions of Yin and Yang.

In Dogurand, this Po's status is equivalent to that of the "Provincial Archon", the same level as Chino, and it is no wonder that Chino asks "Who else dares to disrespect you?" ”

Po smiled mysteriously, and the gold tooth in his mouth also shone under the candlelight: "Archon Chino, let me tell you a story." You know, my honor is not innate, I'm a self-made man – my self-made man is not like those of the aristocracy. ”

"The children of the aristocracy are self-made, they have no worries about food and clothing, no worries, no sick father to treat, no frail mother to support, and no younger brothers and sisters to feed."

"Many of them eat too much fish and meat, and the mansion is too comfortable, and they feel that this kind of life is not exciting at all, so they casually asked their parents for a large amount of start-up capital, and ran out to work hard, wanting to experience the suffering of the world."

"Success, merit is theirs, everyone is around touting. If you fail, you will just leave it alone and go home to inherit hundreds of millions of family businesses. It's like a game where you don't care if you win or lose~"

"And people from the bottom like us, if we start from scratch, it is desperate in the real sense, there is no way back, it is to gamble everything, including our lives, to gamble desperately, to win a chance to become a master."

Po said this, holding the cigarette gun with his jeweled fingers, taking a hard puff of the cigarette and slowly exhaling the smoke: "There is one thing you may not know. I was born in the Far Eastern Dynasty, and my ancestors were lowly - lowly people are like your slaves of Dogurland. ”

"I was born in a lowly background, I can't participate in the imperial examination, I can't be an official, I can't marry ordinary people, I can only engage in lowly work, and I am an out-and-out inferior person."

Hearing this, others may not have a concept in their minds, but Paladin is already numb in the scalp.

As the steward of the caravans of the Consulate, Paladin knew how difficult it was to run a business.

Everyone said that the battlefield was dangerous, but in Paladin's view, business warfare was even better.

Business war is a kind of war without gunpowder, fight for origin, fight for funds, fight for the background, the solidification of the upper and lower classes is extremely serious, the big fish eat the small fish, the small fish eat the shrimp, the mainstream market has long been monopolized by the consortium of the big family, ordinary businessmen want to share the soup, there are generally only two results - kneel down as a dog, or evaporate.

Paladin is very lucky, he has Chino's support both openly and secretly, as long as he does not threaten the core interests of the consortium, how can the bigwigs of all parties give face, turn a blind eye, allow him to come in and get a piece of the pie, and even give him favors, so as to befriend Chino behind him.

With such unique conditions, Paladin's caravans often encountered commercial crises, and several times they narrowly escaped, and now they feel afraid when they think about it.

And this Ah Bao is actually from a cheap background!

With no start-up capital, no social background, no family background, and no nobles to rely on, Ah Bao actually grew into a giant businessman who covered the sky in the northern snowfield, and even stepped into the temple and put on the "three-clawed golden dragon robe"!

It's hard to imagine what he's been through for more than 20 years...