It doesn't matter what the lord is.

I looked at Bai Huang with complicated eyes, and couldn't help but sigh that having a good father really allows you to do whatever you want.

Of course I would not complain to Bai Huang, so I praised her and continued:

"That's why Wumi didn't openly support you. Too many people are involved in this struggle, from the two princes to the city lords of various places, and in between are the ministers of the court. And the referee is the king. If you want to win, you must first save the king's face and never involve the king in this matter. And what about the king? He just wants to spend the New Year smoothly and not let people from other territories laugh at him. If Wumi stood on your side at the time, he might be regarded as a traitor by the king, which would ruin the whole thing."

Bai Huang asked curiously:

"But the king clearly scolded him and said he would clean up his mess himself."

I smiled and said:

"Yes, that makes it seem that the king is innocent and a kind man who cares about the country and the people. If the king is asked to investigate this matter, people will only admire the king's wisdom and bravery afterwards, and completely forget that the cause of the incident was actually the king's extravagance and debauchery."

Bai Huang sat back in his chair, sighed, and said:

"I didn't expect it to be so complicated. Oh well... I'm going to get a beating when I get home."

After being depressed for a while, Bai Huang immediately cheered up and said:

"But what you said makes sense. Either don't do it, or do it to the end. Giving up halfway is not my style, Bai Huang. You have also seen those people struggling in the wind and snow. In my opinion, why should they become victims of conspiracy? I can't accept it!"

This is what a white phoenix looks like.

Bai Huang patted my shoulders twice and said with admiration:

"But you are also capable! When we came here, I was the one explaining the power structure of the capital to you, but now you can analyze it clearly. So in your opinion, what is the key to solving this problem?"

I replied:

"Commander of the Imperial Guards."

Bai Huang looked at me, and I explained to her:

"If the king wants to know the news outside, he basically has to rely on this person. There are two parties in the court now. One is Tamros. You heard today that he was the one who arranged the distribution of the disaster relief funds. He and the people behind him, this money was most likely swallowed by them. The other party is Wu Mi and Jin Ling, a white-robed minister and a general of Tiance Mansion. The forces led by these two people want to investigate this matter. But in the end, the king sent the Jinyiwei to Tianyue Mountain. Whichever side the Jinyiwei commander stands on has absolute say."

Bai Huang said quickly:

"Then we should go find this person immediately and explain the situation to him!"

I laughed and shook my head:

"No, this is not our business. At the banquet today, you exposed the Tianyue Mountain incident, and I exposed the internal strife among the princes. The two of us have done enough. The overall situation is now in favor of Wu Mi and Jin Ling. If the two of them can't win, then they are really hopeless."

Bai Huang half sat on the chair, folded his arms, and asked me:

"So what are we doing now, just standing by and watching?"

"Heal your wounds! Can't you see that I'm covered in wounds? And think carefully, if you were Tamros, what would you do now?"

"I... must be like an ant on a hot pot, running around in circles, and I admire Master Bai Huang so much in my heart."

Looking at Bai Huang touching her face narcissistically, I really couldn't say anything.

"If Wumi and Jinling take action, it's impossible for Tamros to be completely defenseless. From their perspective, the most urgent task is to deal with these two people."

Bai Huang asked stupidly:

"Who is it, Wu Mi and that general of Tian Ce Mansion?"

I pointed at Bai Huang, then at myself, and said:

"It's us!"

Bai Huang tilted his head, looking confused.

I sighed:

"For them, if they want to turn the situation around, you and I are necessary. The person who tied the bell must untie it. If we jump out now and say that what happened today was told by Wu Mi and Jin Ling, and we have never seen the specific situation of Tianyue Mountain...what do you think His Majesty will think? He will think that Wu Mi and Jin Ling are dissatisfied with him, and these two people want to take this opportunity to warn him not to build the palace, and they also want to collude with his son to start a struggle in the court and take away his power. This is their trump card to turn defeat into victory, a king bomb, a sure kill."

Bai Huang widened his eyes.

In the silence, Alayya walked in and said:

"Master, there is someone outside the door asking to see you."

I glanced at Alaiya. Alaiya lowered her head and said calmly:

"That person claimed to be from the Tamros Mansion and wanted to invite the young master and Miss Bai Huang to come over, saying that he had something important to discuss."

45. Difficulties of Ministers

Bai Huang and I looked at each other, with excitement on his face, and he slapped his thigh:

"It's amazing!"

Then he asked:

"So in your opinion, should we go see Tamros?"

I asked back:

"Do you want to see him?"

Bai Huang thought for a while and said:

"I kind of want to. I want to ask him why he did this. Are the lives of three hundred thousand people so worthless in their eyes?"

"Then go have a look."

I forced myself to stand up with my injured body, and my hand naturally wrapped around Alayya's shoulders, pressing my weight on her. Bai Huang said that he could go alone, and asked me to rest in the room. But I was not sure if Bai Huang could act alone. Tamros and his men did not dare to kill people at this critical moment, but there was no guarantee that a rookie like Bai Huang would be fooled by those cunning guys.

Tamros's arrangements were very thorough. Considering my injury, they did not choose a bumpy carriage, but sent a sedan chair to pick us up. Bai Huang and I took the sedan chair to Tamros's house, and the people who came out to welcome us were very generous, as if we were very important people.

The guards on both sides stood with their heads held high. Tamros himself stood at the door to greet us. He even arranged for eight people to carry a stretcher to carry me in, but when they saw that my injuries didn't seem that serious, they gave up.

"Welcome, both of you. My house hasn't been this lively for a long time."

Tamros smiled gently, and held his position in place. He did not use his official position to pressure us, but welcomed us like a host. Unfortunately, Bai Huang was not interested in this at all. He put his hands on his hips and said:

"Don't try to get close to me. If you have anything to say, just say it now!"

Tamros looked embarrassed for a moment, then he cupped his hands and said:

"Miss Bai Huang is really anxious. Come in and talk. There are several distinguished guests in the mansion tonight who would like to see you two."

"Dignified guest?"

Bai Huang was puzzled, but Tamros didn't explain much and turned back to the palace. Bai Huang and I chose to follow him. Along the way, Tamros briefly introduced the various gardens and buildings in his palace to us. Bai Huang and I both felt that they were ordinary and not luxurious. But after thinking about it carefully, with a king who is keen on building palaces next to him, the ministers probably didn't dare to decorate their homes too luxuriously, otherwise the king would think they were going against him.

The mansion is very big and has some flowers and plants planted on it, so it should be an elegant place.

When he reached the door of the reception room, Tamros stopped, coughed lightly, and said:

"Several people, the people are here."

A hoarse voice came from inside the house:

"Please invite both of them in."

Tamros responded and took Bai Huang and I into the house. Alayya and Heji were waiting at the door.

As soon as I stepped into the house, my first impression was that it was empty.

Unlike the tight security outside, there were only a few people scattered inside the room. The immediate feeling afterwards was a heavy pressure. Several people present looked familiar. At least six of the ten ministers and ten generals were here. Abai Le, the head of the civil officials, sat at the table and blew the tea in his cup slowly. Sitting opposite him was a man wearing a mask with only his eyes exposed.

The remaining civil and military officials looked at Bai Huang and me.

Tamros closed the door and said to Bai Huang and me with a smile:

"You two, I'm really sorry to disturb you at this late hour. But today's matter is a bit urgent, and I have to make it clear with you as soon as possible to avoid further misunderstandings and hurting the relationship. So, I invited you two here today, and basically everyone who should come is here. Let's speak frankly. If you have any problems, just talk about them. Kaiya, you should apologize to them first."

Only one person came to the city lord's side today, the squinty-eyed Kaia from the Huaiwang territory whom I had met before. I guess it was because Norn was still lying at home and couldn't come. Li Yi was a very stubborn person, and if I invited him, there would be a conflict between him and me, so I invited someone who was more sensible to come to entertain.

Kaiya looked normal, holding a folding fan in his hand, and said to me with a smile:

"I am so sorry, both of you. I will drink three glasses of wine as punishment to apologize to you two at the banquet later. Besides that, I will also give you two a gift."

Bai Huang sneered and said:

"Gift? Do you think I need your things?"

Kaia didn't say anything, just smiled with his eyes narrowed. Tamros tried to smooth things over:

"Ms. Bai Huang, we are very sincere today. We will not only give you gifts in private, but also give Yunhai gifts. We promise that you will be praised by the Lord of Yunhai after you return. Come on, present the gift list to Miss Bai Huang for review."

A maid came over carrying an exquisite tray, on which was a list filled with densely written terms.

Bai Huang picked it up, glanced at it, and frowned.

Tamros smiled and said:

"Miss Bai Huang, are you worried that we can't make the decision? Don't worry, the things in the national treasury and the agreement between our two families will be valid."

Bai Huang put the gift list back on the tray and said calmly:

"No need for that. Even if I have to be beaten up by my father, I have to seek justice for the three hundred thousand people out there. Otherwise, what's the difference between me and you cold-blooded bastards!"

Being pointed at and scolded, some of the civil and military officials could no longer bear it. They shouted "How dare you" and planned to stand up and confront Bai Huang.

Before Tamros could speak, the dim-eyed Abel put down the teacup in his hand and said self-deprecatingly:

"Well done, well done... cough, cough."

He was already old, and he stood up shakily, and pursed his lips at another civil official, saying:

"Let Miss Bai Huang review the court's expenditures over the past few years."

The civil official brought out a stack of files, and the guards brought a table and chairs so that Bai Huang and I could sit down and read. I had no interest in the files in front of me, so I turned my attention to the mysterious man sitting opposite Abai Le. I had seen his eyebrows and eyes, and I could guess that he should be one of the two princes.

Bai Huang flipped through the files, his expression becoming more and more solemn.

I took a look at it and saw that it was filled with account entries. Expenses were written in red, and income was written in black. You didn't need to look closely, just a quick glance would reveal that it was full of red.

Fiscal deficit.

Abai Le walked tremblingly to Bai Huang and me with his cane and said loudly:

"It's not that we don't want to save them. We want to save them too! Who wants this to happen to them? We should mend the fold before the sheep are lost! But we have no money. The court has no money! In recent years, we have fought fiercely against the foreign races in the north, east and south, as if we humans have become a superior race! But aren't the royal family supplying military pay and food? The lord has become stronger and more capable, but the tribute he should pay is getting less and less every year, and it is getting harder and harder to collect. The money spent is getting more and more, and the money collected is getting less and less. Who can continue to be in this family? No matter how clever a wife is, she will be afraid of having no rice to cook!"

Bai Huang's hand holding the file was shaking slightly.

Abai Le coughed, and the roar of his old age was simply heartbreaking.

46. ​​Defeat Them One by One

"Wumi and Jinling don't understand this principle. All they think about all day is upholding justice and supporting the country. Oh, let me tell you, what are they capable of? The king wants to build a palace, and they just submit a few petitions. Do they really dare to risk their lives to stop it? If they really dared, they would have done it long ago! They will only point their spearheads at people like us. If they drive us away and take the throne, what can they do? It's the same... all the same."

Abai Le slowly sat back at the table, blew the tea leaves in the cup, and took a sip of it to his dry lips.

Bai Huang put down the file and said:

"So where did the money go? The records in the files are unclear. Did 80,000 gold coins just go missing?"

Tamros said calmly:

"Eighty thousand gold coins, five thousand of them are divided among us. For the rest, ask the people in the court."

Abailo then said:

"We are also making up for the deficit... This year, the salaries of the officials in the court have been reduced by two to three months. The New Year is coming, and we can't let them go hungry... To tell you the truth, at least 10,000 of the 80,000 gold coins flowed into the Tiance Mansion, so don't think that Wu Mi, Jin Ling and others are good people."

Bai Huang swept the files off the table and asked loudly:

"Salaries? You guys still need salaries?! All of you are well-off, why do you have to use this money to pay salaries? You want to celebrate the New Year, but those people outside don't? Three hundred thousand people died, so what? In the end, human lives are not as important as your New Year?!"

Tamros pressed his hand down and said:

"Miss Bai Huang, don't get excited. We can't just look at the surface. Do you think 80,000 gold coins are enough for these people to settle down? Not enough. This money is only used for disaster relief. The subsequent investment will probably be even greater. If we want them to have fields to cultivate, houses to live in, and to have enough food and clothes, let alone 80,000 gold coins, even 800,000 will not be enough!"

The civil servant who just brought the file said:

"That's right. Miss Bai Huang, why don't you think about it carefully? What does each person need to buy extra for daily meals, winter clothes, firewood, housing, and land? Besides, even if we find them land, plough in spring, plant in summer, harvest in autumn, and store in winter, they won't be able to eat the food they grow until at least the autumn of next year. How will they survive before then? Where can we find so much food to feed so many people?"

Abai Le said with a dazed look:

"We can't not save them, but we can't save them all either. We can't save that many... some have to die so the rest can live."

"How many died? How many lived?"

Bai Huang asked.

Abel closed his eyes and replied:

"Half and half."