The boss of a foreign organization called the police, claiming that he was defrauded by me

"I wonder how you'll explain this to Yoo Ji-soo when you get back. I wonder what kind of expression he'll have if he finds out about this."

Meng Yin and Meng Yu were overjoyed as they looked at the unloaded supplies.

After Liu Zhixiu's subordinates fled back, they hurriedly reported the matter to Liu Zhixiu the next morning.

"What...you were discovered by Yang Xia's men while exchanging grain? What a coincidence!"

"Why didn't they show up sooner, but waited until you unloaded the supplies? It seems there is indeed an inexplicable reason behind this."

"I never expected that Yang Xia would be so cunning. It seems that we have fallen into his trap again. Perhaps someone has been watching us closely ever since we left."

“Our every move was actually under his control, otherwise such a coincidence would not have happened. I simply cannot believe it.”

When Liu Zhixiu said these words, his face turned pale with anger. He clenched his fists and cursed Yang Xia through gritted teeth.

He wanted nothing more than to devour Yang Xia alive, but he could only vent his anger here. When he actually faced Yang Xia, he felt helpless.

Liu Zhixiu sighed helplessly. He knew that everything that had happened today must have been within Yang Xia's plan.

All their actions were probably under close surveillance, otherwise they wouldn't have arrived so promptly.

Upon learning of this, the ministers were all filled with fear and were at a loss for what to do.

"My lord... what should we do now? The people of Yan have already seen through our scheme."

"If we're not mistaken, we might not even get a single grain of food. How can we solve our current predicament? You should think of a solution as soon as possible."

"If this continues, it will sooner or later incite public anger, and our situation will only become more and more difficult."

Liu Zhixiu felt extremely annoyed by the ministers' urging.

He glared angrily at the ministers, but knew that this was not the time to lose his temper. The ministers were also thinking of the Red Cake Kingdom, so he was at a loss for what to do.

At this moment, he must calm down, think carefully, and see how to deal with the situation next.

Liu Zhixiu took a deep breath and looked at the ministers with a helpless expression, saying, "We have fallen into Yang Xia's trap. Otherwise, how could there be so many soldiers lurking in the shadows in such a remote port?"

"Don't you all find this matter rather suspicious? This is clearly a trap set by Yang Xia for us, waiting for us to walk into it."

"It seems he is indeed more skilled. We didn't expect him to do this. If we had known, we should have been prepared."

Liu Zhixiu said these words helplessly, but it was too late to make amends. They had lost both the supplies and the food they had hoped for.

After listening to Liu Zhixiu's words, the ministers once again offered their advice, hoping that Liu Zhixiu would adopt their suggestions.

After all, we have reached a critical moment. If we do not come up with a solution soon, we may plunge them into an abyss of no return.

"Your Majesty... I implore you to prioritize the safety of the people of Red Cake Kingdom and find a solution to this problem as soon as possible."

"If you want to get the food, you must meet with Yang Xia in person. Whatever his demands, as long as the Red Cake Kingdom can meet them for now, let's agree."

"Only in this way will they sign a grain exchange agreement with us, and only then can we secure grain for the common people and solve their food and clothing problems."

Liu Zhixiu felt helpless as she listened to the ministers' advice.

He took a deep breath and had no choice but to follow the advice of the crowd, once again setting aside his arrogance.

After a brief preparation, he set off again for the Yan Kingdom Palace, intending to renegotiate the trade with Yang Xia.

He had finally made up his mind, but he was indeed a little uneasy.

However, to Liu Zhixiu's surprise, despite his thorough preparations, when he arrived at the Yan Kingdom's palace...

He was quite surprised to see Yang Xia, but at that moment, a strange figure appeared in front of him.

"My lord... I'm so sorry, but the King is not in the palace today, so I'm afraid you won't be able to see him."

"Perhaps you should visit another day, and we will inform His Majesty then, as today is indeed not a good time."

Upon hearing this reply, Liu Zhixiu froze on the spot, her face turning extremely pale.

"What... Yang Xia isn't here? Isn't this a joke? He's the monarch of Yan Kingdom, where could he be at this time?" Liu Zhixiu angrily questioned.

He had finally put aside his arrogance and pride, and finally arrived at this place, but he never expected it to end like this.

Liu Zhixiu could no longer bear it and completely exploded.

Yoo Ji-soo's face was full of anger, and she could no longer suppress her resentment, teetering on the brink of collapse.

He asked, both helpless and angry, "What exactly do you want? What's the point of this harassment?"

"This is clearly just a perfunctory excuse. We have pleaded repeatedly, so what exactly do you want us to do?"

Liu Zhixiu was so angry that she became incoherent and appeared extremely anxious.

However, no one around him paid any attention to him; everyone was doing their own thing, leaving Yoo Ji-soo feeling helpless.

He shouted at the officials of Yan Kingdom: "Why...why are you targeting Hongbing Kingdom at every turn? Are you just going to sit idly by and watch the people of Hongbing Kingdom perish in the famine?"

"Does Yan Kingdom really intend to stand by and watch us die? Our Red Cake Kingdom has already made concessions."

Yoo Ji-soo never expected things to escalate to this point, and the predicament he was facing filled him with despair.

Just then, Liu Zhixiu suddenly remembered Yu Meiren, knowing that Yu Meiren was kind-hearted.

If we were to seek help from Yu Meiren now, there might be a turning point, and we might even be able to achieve our wish.

Thinking of this, Liu Zhixiu immediately changed her mind, gave up visiting Yang Xia, and instead sought to see Yu Meiren.

When Yu Meiren saw Liu Zhixiu, she was greatly surprised and puzzled by his visit.

"It's you... How did you come here? What brings you here?" Yu Meiren asked curiously.

Liu Zhixiu hesitated slightly. Before coming here, he had already prepared himself emotionally and made ample preparations.

When Yu Meiren asked him a question, a look of sorrow immediately appeared on his face.

"Yu Meiren... I'm truly desperate, I've reached a dead end. Please, you must save the Red Cake Kingdom," Liu Zhixiu said sorrowfully.

Yu Meiren was puzzled by these words, but seeing Liu Zhixiu's expression, she couldn't help but feel pity.

"Don't rush, explain things clearly. Your rambling is really hard for me to understand," Yu Meiren asked sincerely.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Liu Zhixiu immediately burst into tears, crying miserably.

“Yu Meiren…you don’t know this, I came to see Yang Xia on behalf of the people of Red Cake Kingdom, but he avoided seeing me, and we could not reach an agreement.”

"Due to the persistent drought, the Red Cake Kingdom is facing a severe food shortage, and its people are living in dire straits. We earnestly request the Yan Kingdom to provide assistance." "I originally intended to exchange copper and iron ore resources for food from the Yan Kingdom to alleviate our urgent crisis, but progress has been very slow."

Liu Zhixiu recounted the plight of the people of Hongbing Kingdom to Yu Meiren, and the kind-hearted Yu Meiren felt deep sympathy upon hearing it.

She had never imagined that the people of Red Cake Kingdom were in such a miserable state; this was the scene she could least bear to see.

Yu Meiren pondered the matter carefully, recalling Liu Zhixiu's earlier words, and quickly stepped forward to comfort her:
"My lord... please don't be sad. I will definitely help you with this matter and will never let the people of Red Cake Kingdom go hungry."

"The Yan Kingdom has recently enjoyed favorable weather and abundant harvests, and its grain reserves are quite plentiful. I will go to see the King now and persuade him to provide aid to the Red Cake Kingdom."

"Hopefully he can sign a food exchange agreement with the Red Cake Kingdom as soon as possible. Just wait for good news and don't worry about this matter anymore."

Yu Meiren readily agreed to Liu Zhixiu's request. Liu Zhixiu was deeply moved upon hearing this.

He calmed himself down slightly, quickly walked up to Yu Meiren, and adopted a grateful posture.

"Yu Meiren... I am so grateful to you. I really had no other choice but to come and bother you."

“I know you are kind-hearted and will definitely help the people of Red Cake Kingdom. They are all innocent, and as the leader of Red Cake Kingdom, it is my duty to think of them.”

"We cannot stand by and watch them starve. We hope you can help us. On behalf of all the people of Red Cake Kingdom, I thank you and we will always remember your kindness."

Liu Zhixiu expressed a lot of gratitude, but secretly he was overjoyed, knowing that he had achieved his goal.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Yu Meiren, he returned to the inn with peace of mind and waited for news from her side.

Liu Zhixiu knew Yu Meiren quite well and knew that she could influence Yang Xia's decisions. If Yu Meiren were to intercede on Yang Xia's behalf, the matter might actually succeed.

This tactic proved highly effective, finally giving him a glimmer of hope...

Meanwhile, Yang Xia had already secretly transported the collected iron and copper ore to the back mountain.

He then assigned personnel to carry out the smelting separately. Yang Xia closely monitored all of this, paying particular attention to the smelting of iron and copper ore.

Therefore, he dared not slack off in the slightest and would not allow any mistakes to occur at this time.

Yang Xia went to visit Su Qin to learn about the recent progress of iron and copper ore smelting.

Su Qin solemnly reported to Yang Xia: "Your Majesty, please rest assured... the smelting of iron and copper ore has been proceeding in an orderly manner according to plan."

"The most crucial thing right now is to acquire more iron and copper resources; that's the top priority."

Yang Xia listened to Su Qin's report and slowly nodded, understanding the deeper meaning in his words.

But Yang Xia was not in a hurry about this matter, and seemed to be in a state of complete confidence.

The iron and copper ore raw materials obtained today have begun to form the foundation for the tower defense cannon.

Yang Xia was very pleased to see the current progress.

Yang Xia is quite satisfied with the current situation. If this pace continues, he believes the expected goal will be achieved soon.

Yang Xia praised Su Qin, "Very good... It seems our wish is about to be fulfilled. As long as we can obtain sufficient iron and copper resources, the project progress can be doubled."

"We will soon see the results we are looking forward to. I hope everything goes smoothly from here on out. That foolish Yoo Ji-soo must be feeling very uneasy right now."

A meaningful smile appeared on Yang Xia's face. Su Qin observed Yang Xia's expression and understood that he had already made a plan.

Yang Xia looked at the foundation taking shape with delight, but the iron and copper resources were about to be depleted.

The joy he had just felt vanished instantly, and Yang Xia couldn't help but feel a little helpless.

Su Qin had already noticed the change in Yang Xia's emotions. He quietly approached Yang Xia and solemnly reminded him:
"Your Majesty... what are your plans regarding the Red Cake Kingdom's desire to sign a grain exchange agreement?"

“I understand that you have your own plans, but right now we really need iron and copper resources, and I’m worried that we might miss a good opportunity.”

"If we do not sign a food exchange agreement with the Red Cake Country soon, our project will likely be temporarily halted, which will have a significant impact on us. We urge you to reconsider."

Yang Xia nodded slowly after hearing Su Qin's reminder.

He then fell into deep thought again, planning his next move.

He hoped to expedite the agreement between the Red Cake Kingdom and the Yan Kingdom, so as to achieve his demands as soon as possible.

Just then, Su Qi quietly came up behind Yang Xia and reported in a low voice: "Your Majesty... Consort Yu requests an audience, saying she has important matters to discuss and has been waiting outside for a long time."

Upon hearing that it was Yu Meiren who had come, Yang Xia did not think much of it and immediately turned around and walked outside.

Upon seeing Yu Meiren, Yang Xia asked happily, "Why are you here? Let's talk about this when we get back to the palace."

Yu Meiren nodded to Yang Xia, but her mood didn't seem very high.

Yang Xia didn't pay any attention. As soon as he entered the palace, he noticed a bowl of coarse bran porridge on the table.

This piqued his curiosity, and he frowned, turning to ask Yu Meiren:

"What is this...? Why is there a bowl of coarse porridge here? Does it have any special meaning?"

At this moment, Yang Xia had no idea that Yu Meiren had already met Liu Zhixiu and even agreed to his request.

When Yu Meiren heard the question, she hesitated slightly, but finally mustered up her courage.

She looked sadly at the coarse porridge on the table and sighed helplessly, "Your Majesty... what's wrong with coarse porridge? Although it's hard to swallow, at least it can fill your stomach, so it's a good thing."

"Your Majesty...would you like to try some? Perhaps it tastes alright, and you can experience the hardships of the common people. This was specially prepared for you."

Upon hearing these words, Yang Xia immediately understood Yu Meiren's intention and instantly grasped the cause and effect.

It turned out that Yu Meiren was subtly reminding him. Yang Xia couldn't help but smile wryly.

He looked helplessly at Yu Meiren, not knowing what to say, and could only shake his head, thinking to himself: "Liu Zhixiu... so you've already been here."

"You really know how to seize every opportunity. It seems you've made a lot of progress."

Yu Meiren observed the change in Yang Xia's expression and, after much deliberation, decided to bring the matter to light.

After all, she had already agreed to Liu Zhixiu's request, and the other party was anxiously awaiting her reply. Even for the sake of the people of Hongbing Kingdom, Yu Meiren wanted to try again.

She knew very well that when Yang Xia saw that bowl of coarse porridge, he should have already understood the reason.

She simply didn't say it directly. Yu Meiren, unwilling to hide it any longer, slowly walked up to Yang Xia and asked with a puzzled expression:

"Your Majesty...why are you unwilling to sign a grain exchange agreement with the Red Cake Kingdom? I heard they have already made concessions." (End of Chapter)