Doctor, I'm really strong!

To be fair, aside from his dragon-headed, human-bodied appearance resembling the Dragon King from Journey to the West, in other respects, this emperor truly fits the image of an ancient Chinese emperor.

Majestic, solemn, and unsmiling, his very presence exudes an aura of intimidation and oppression.

Unfortunately, none of these things mattered to him. On the one hand, modern Chinese people have little respect for emperors, and on the other hand, Liu Jiuli had enough power to be fearless in such situations.

He had planned everything before coming, and even in the worst-case scenario, he could still give Luda a chance. Now that he had the ancestor of the Yan Kingdom's royal family, it's no exaggeration to say that he could walk around the palace with impunity.

He had even begun to calculate how much the palace entrance fee should be after the liberation of Yan Kingdom.

After a moment of silence, the Yan Emperor spoke: "You are a citizen of the Yan Kingdom."

Liu Jiuli smiled and asked in return, "How do you know?"

Yan Huang said matter-of-factly, "You were born on this land."

Liu Jiuli laughed even more heartily: "Then, as the ruler of this land, what benefits can you give me?"

Other officials began to scoff. "They're asking for favors right off the bat. They have no manners or integrity whatsoever. They're so vulgar, so incredibly vulgar."

However, this didn't matter to Emperor Yan. The emperor was never afraid of you asking for benefits. Asking for benefits meant that you could talk, that you could make a deal, and politics is all about compromise and deals.

The Flame Emperor said, "What Ursus can give you, Yan Kingdom can give you as well."

Liu Jiuli: "If I said that from today onwards, Longmen will be surnamed Liu, would Your Majesty agree?"

Emperor Yan smiled slightly: "It's not that we can't discuss it."

From a centralized perspective, this is called enfeoffing kings and granting fiefdoms, a direct regression to the Zhou Dynasty. However, this is Terra, where natural disasters are an objective environmental factor, and the existence of mobile cities makes the power of local decentralization much stronger than that of countries on Earth. If it were the United States, the Lone Star Republic would probably be a hundred years old by now.

Therefore, the Yan Kingdom, which has the best centralized system on Terra, does not mean that it can achieve the same level as the Chinese dynasties on Earth. This kind of centralization is more of a quasi-centralized model, with local decentralization similar to the Jiedushi (military governors). However, it is the Jiedushi of the Tang Dynasty's heyday who did not have any thoughts of rebellion, but that does not mean that they would not bargain with the court.

As for places like Longmen, which are physically far from the core power of the imperial court, if Wei Yanwu doesn't bargain with the court, the court will worry that he might have some ulterior motives.

Nevertheless, the Yan Kingdom court still imposed various restrictions on mobile cities within its borders.

For example, each mobile city only has one or a few industries or agricultural sectors, and there is no possibility of independent existence. This increases the risk of mobile cities surviving alone, but it strengthens the centralization of the entire country. Except for those mobile cities on the border that are set up for special defense, the mobile cities inside Yan are relatively concentrated and have simple functions.

Take Longmen as an example. It is an important trading city with a developed economy, but it lacks heavy industry and its light industry is very limited. More than 75% of its goods need to be imported. Once such a city leaves the bustling trade routes, it will collapse in no time. You may think it is very carefree, but in reality, the rope has always been in the hands of the Yan Kingdom's court.

No matter how fast you fly, if you can escape my grasp, I'll admit defeat.

Therefore, handing over Longmen to Liu Jiuli for management is not an unacceptable thing, unless Liu Jiuli plans to build a complete industrial system in Longmen, which would require a considerable investment.

Wait a minute, hasn't Future Technology already started various constructions in Lungmen? How come the Yan Kingdom's court doesn't know?

Of course they know, and they know it in great detail. After all, those factories that have been built cannot be hidden. But with that small scale, and being labor-intensive light industries, they are nothing to Yan. As long as you don't send your land-based ships out of Longmen, the Yan court doesn't consider you a threat.

Want to cause trouble? Do you think you can outmaneuver the land-based naval fleet of the strongest empire in the Eastern Continent?

It's no exaggeration to say that the current Yanhuang are as confident as MacArthur, driving a tank and facing a veteran, when faced with Liu Jiuli's demands. "Dare to try and I'll kill you."

However, Yan Huang underestimated Liu Jiuli's shamelessness.

He's just here to get benefits. Anyway, the Wei people said he can fleece the Yan Emperor's court as he pleases, and they'll even help him out, like giving Liu Jiuli a new identity to help him fleece even more. In short, don't talk about benevolence and morality with feudal trash. Treat them like leeks, and don't be polite when it's time to cut them down.

Could Liu Jiuli tolerate them? No way, he decisively got on the lawnmower.

Nowadays, everything is mechanized, and even harvesting leeks requires efficiency.

Then, under the astonished gaze of the Yan Emperor, Liu Jiuli produced a long scroll of lists.

It really was a long roll of list, which, when unfolded, was a full three meters long.

The other officials were dumbfounded. "Are you here to take advantage of the wealthy?"

Even the Yan Emperor had never seen such a scene. After all, those who had made great achievements in the Yan Kingdom would always be roundabout and persistent in asking for benefits, wanting both face and substance. But Liu Jiuli was different. He didn't care about face at all. He just wanted benefits, the more the better. He had even made a list for him. The Yan Kingdom was so powerful and influential. He couldn't very well go back on his word in front of so many people.

This act of plucking geese as they passed by truly astonished the officials present. The historians nearby were dumbfounded. How would you write this in official history? People who didn't know the situation would think that the Emperor of Yan was too naive and had been taken advantage of for no reason.

Fortunately, the Grand Tutor of the Ministry of Rites stepped forward and patted the historian on the shoulder, indicating that the matter should be let go and everyone should pretend they didn't see it. Historical documents are the face of the court and cannot be disgraced so casually.

As for the list provided by Liu Jiuli...

There were many items, and they were very valuable, but after Yan Huang saw them, he generously offered to give them all to him.

Because Liu Jiuli only wants money and luxury goods. He doesn't have weapons, equipment, or industrial products. He's here purely to enjoy life. Although he acted very casually just now, his taste is anything but casual.

In reality, Liu Jiuli had no idea about taste; it was all a list given to him by the people of Wei. These things could be sold for money later, right? The nobles of the Ursus Empire especially liked them, and in Liu Jiuli's eyes, they were all adorable suckers.

Would you dare sell something given to you by the emperor?

What's there to be afraid of? If you have a problem with me, come and hit me.

As for the ownership of Longmen, Liu Jiuli had no intention of giving himself another title. He wasn't there to unite Yan and Ursus, so there was no need for him to follow Su Qin's example. If the Ursus Empire really went to war with Yan, out of the most basic sense of being a descendant of the Yellow Emperor, Liu Jiuli would definitely sabotage the whole thing, making the Ursus Empire's deployment time equal to India's.

What, you don't know what Indian time is?

Simply put, it means waiting for half an hour, then delaying for half a month, and even the laws established upon the founding of the nation can be delayed until the 21st century without being implemented. This is Indian time, highlighting the tactic of delaying.

"Your Majesty, my brothers and sisters all have their own residences. Shouldn't you arrange something for mine? Like, the kind where the government reimburses the expenses?"

Emperor Yan had a clear understanding of Liu Jiuli's shamelessness and retorted, "Your brothers and sisters are all meritorious officials who have made great contributions to the Yan Kingdom."

The implication is that you shouldn't expect everything you've accomplished; you need to prove your worth first.

Liu Jiuli nodded, then changed the subject: "I am now a viscount in the Ursus Empire, which is equivalent to driving a nail into a hostile neighboring country. This is worth much more than ordinary military merit, right?"

The officials standing nearby wanted nothing more than to slap him. "You can explain your trip to the Ursus Empire to enjoy a life of luxury as an undercover operation. With your eloquence, why don't you work at the Academy of Letters? You could talk the dead back to life."

Yan Huang stared at Liu Jiuli expressionlessly. Clearly, he thought this reason was just a fool's excuse, and his face seemed to say, "Don't go too far. There's a limit to insulting someone's intelligence."

“This won’t do.” Liu Jiuli pinched his chin and thought for a moment, then dropped a bombshell: “I destroyed Kiev, the capital of the Ursus Empire, which directly caused the most prosperous region of the Ursus Empire to fall into a food crisis. Now it has no leisure to expand outwards. This is a great achievement, isn’t it?”

Upon hearing this, the room fell silent. Then, the Grand Tutor of the Ministry of Rites stepped forward and asked, "Was Kiev really destroyed by you alone?"

Liu Jiuli then smiled and turned his head to the side: "Who knows? Maybe there are too many scoundrels in that place, making it easy to get struck by lightning."

His nonchalant attitude, on the contrary, made others suspicious.

With the power of a giant beast, destroying a mobile city would not be difficult, but Liu Jiuli is not a giant beast. He is just one of the twelve...thirteen clones of the Sui Beast. There is no reason why other Sui Beasts cannot do this. He can do it with ease.

There's definitely something fishy going on here!

Even if there's something fishy going on, it's still a force capable of destroying a nation. For many small countries, it would be a natural disaster that wipes out their entire families, and its deterrent power surpasses any weapon currently used by any country.

Yanhuang's expression instantly turned serious. Only then did he understand why his ancestors had instructed him to treat them with respect.

It was obvious that the ancestor had known about this for a long time, which is why he instructed him to try every means to win over Liu Jiuli, so that he would at least not become an enemy.

For truly powerful individuals, even if they don't express their opinion, a neutral stance is extremely valuable.

With that in mind, Emperor Yan no longer hesitated and asked directly, "What kind of residence do you want?"

Section 180: The Times, Moving Forward

(I've been quite busy lately, but I'll try my best to update. Thank you all for your support. So, could you leave some comments? (?ω?))

Liu Jiuli gained a lot from his trip to Yan Kingdom.

It's no exaggeration to say that he brought back a year's worth of revenue for Longmen. These luxury items are very valuable on the auction market. Although the Red Guards are not short of money, getting something for free is much more appealing.

Of course, Emperor Yan couldn't let Liu Jiuli get away with it for free; the two sides exchanged some benefits, but...

Liu Jiuli can choose not to comply.

Just like the "Soviet-German Non-Aggression Toilet Paper," its value lies in the fact that at a crucial historical juncture, it can be powerfully torn to shreds, slapped in the other party's face, and said with a smile, "You're such a cute idiot."

Having taken care of everything he needed to do, Liu Jiuli still had something to discuss with Wei Renmin before leaving.

"Jie, she is a good child."

"So you did know her, and how did she die?"

Wei Renmin smiled and shook his head: "She did it for her ideals and left behind a spark of hope. Although she sacrificed herself, she has no regrets."

Liu Jiuli nodded, not asking any further questions; knowing this much was enough.

However, Wei Renmin said, "Before leaving Yan, you'd better travel around, see the scenery, and meet the people. You might be surprised by what you find."

After saying this, the Wei people gave Liu Jiuli a map with several places marked on it.

Liu Jiuli nodded; the implication was quite obvious.

The sparks left behind by Jie, or rather, by idealists.

September has arrived, which should be the time when autumn and winter transition into each other. However, in Ursus, life is practically over once September has passed. Otherwise, how could this vast northern country struggle to survive? They have to hibernate for more than half of the year. How can life be good? There's no way to carry out any construction.

At this time of year, people in the Ursus Empire would begin hoarding supplies and weapons. After all, hoarding food but not guns would turn them into someone else's granary. In the face of desperate living conditions, the law of the jungle was the only rule. After a winter, it was common for several families in a village to be inexplicably wiped out, even in mobile cities.

But this winter, Steelgrad (formerly Chernobog), Kharkiv, Yansk, and a host of other Far Eastern cities in the Ursus Empire are filled with an atmosphere of happiness.

The abundance of supplies made market prices very affordable. Even in cities not under the control of the Red Guards, the local people could eat well. Those in dire straits received assistance from factories with advanced technology. After training, some of these workers would stay in the local area, while others would go to work in cities under the Red Guards' control. By organizing them, they were guaranteed not to starve.

Of course, things are not as simple as just not starving. Future Technology has now effectively monopolized almost the entire economic system of the Far East, with a business line even larger than Samsung's, making it a true capital behemoth.

In order to control this behemoth, Liu Jiuli personally managed everything about Future Technology, and all the Red Guard cadres went through this process. Those who could resist the temptation were sent to the countryside for further training, while those who couldn't were sent to small departments as staff officers with no real power. This served as a talent filter.

If this behemoth shows signs of getting out of control, Liu Jiuli will not hesitate to carry out a massive purge to solve the problem, as evidenced by the fact that the Red Guards are in charge of military control over all key nodes of future technology.

This is a sharp blade protecting future technology, but it is also a steel needle piercing the joints of a beast. As long as Liu Jiuli moves his finger, he can instantly disintegrate the entire future technology on a physical level.

However, outsiders couldn't see the problem at all. In their eyes, both the future technology and the Red Guards belonged to Liu Jiuli. No matter how he arranged them, it was just a matter of transferring power from one hand to the other. But Reiwa Talulah knew that Liu Jiuli wasn't playing a game of clapping his hands. Instead, he was truly prepared to perform a self-destructive act when necessary.

Perhaps that will happen someday in the future, but it's not necessary now.

But one thing is certain: the traditional economic system of the Far East is completely destroyed.

Although life in the Far East of the Ursus Empire was difficult, it had its own set of survival logic. Without external intervention, this logic could function normally. However, now a powerful external force has launched a devastating attack, relying on its massive productivity to directly destroy the local traditional economy.

Numerous small villages and self-sufficient farmers went bankrupt, traditional farm owners could not survive, and a large number of serfs were forced to gain their freedom and become indentured laborers in the cities. They were then absorbed by future technologies and transformed into entirely new working groups.

The difference in this model is that the Red Guards and Future Technology are not trying to create a price scissors effect, but rather to completely transform the local economy into an industrialized model. In this process, labor is the most scarce resource. Especially when Liu Jiuli is determined to follow the path of light and heavy industry development and the main planned economy model, unemployment will not exist unless you don't want to work. Even if you go to the assembly line, you have to leave work on time after eight hours.

Overtime? Only capable people can work overtime; that's the treatment for high-end talent. If you want to work overtime, you'd better get into a top-tier university first.

Because the workers themselves were respected, the factory's working model underwent a dramatic transformation. The Ursus people, now freed from serfdom, responded to the Red Guards with boundless enthusiasm, and all of this could be transformed into productivity.

The result was that the harder these people worked, the faster the local traditional economy collapsed, more and more farmers became workers, workers entered factories, factories were organized, and then controlled and infiltrated by the Red Guards. Future Technology incorporated those industries into its fold, and even those that appeared independent had Future Technology's shares in them.

In the Far East, one simply cannot survive without future technology, and the Red Guards provide both military and educational support for this technology.

However, the entire Far East region has a population of less than 20 million. At the Red Guards' rate of development, the local labor force will soon be completely absorbed. If they want to advance further, they will either have to go south or west.

The west is the developed region of the Ursus Empire, with a concentrated population. More than 80 percent of the Ursus Empire's population of over 100 million resides in the west.

Needless to say, heading south to Yan Kingdom, a populous country with a total population of over 600 million, is the place Liu Jiuli covets the most.