It doesn't matter what the lord is.

Until the end, Yunye still couldn't think of a particularly good way to break the deadlock. She put the last piece of cake into her mouth in a daze, chewing mechanically, thinking about what she should say in the parliament hall to buy time. Suddenly, she heard Lid, who was sitting opposite her, asked:

"Yunye, if Yuxi City wants one of Black Steel City and Sword Forging City, do you think it will be difficult?"

Yunye swallowed the pastry in a hurry, pinched her thigh secretly, and forced herself to cheer up.

She didn't know why Reed chose to ask at this time, but since Reed asked, she had to express her position firmly:

"It's very difficult. Iron ore is an extremely important resource for any territory. Without enough iron, there is no capital to arm an army. Moreover, weapons and armor will wear out. Only by ensuring a long-term and stable supply of iron ore can the army have the ability to fight for a long time. Yunyang also does not produce much iron. The two iron mines in the west are resources that must be fought for. The Lord of Yunyang once said that they must not be lost no matter what."

Lid stared into Yunye's eyes and asked with a smile:

"What about you? Do you agree with what he said?"

"I……"

Yunye lowered her head and said nothing.

Lid took out a handkerchief and wiped his mouth. His voice was a little unclear during this period, but soon returned to normal:

"In my opinion, as long as the situation remains deadlocked, Lord Yunyang will most likely be willing to give me the Black Steel City on the west. You once said that there is no natural barrier between Black Steel City and Sword Forging City, so I can move eastward at any time if I take Black Steel City, but Lord Yunyang is also aware of this. So he will give me Black Steel City, and then give Li Yi 10,000 people to garrison Sword Forging City. He doesn't need a disgraced Yunyang prince, and he still has to give Li Yi a chance to mess with me again."

Perhaps she agreed with what Lid said in her heart, Yunye did not refute, but just asked:

"At that time, Lord City Lord, do you think that Yuxi City can create another miracle of defeating the enemy with fewer people?"

Reed stood up and Alayya beside him helped him put on his coat.

Lid said to Yunye:

"Yuxi City has never relied on any miracles to get to where we are today. If we had relied on such illusory things for our lives and property, we would have perished countless times."

Yunye had a bad feeling in her heart. She watched Lid preparing to leave. Suddenly she realized something and panicked. This question should not have been asked at the dinner table. Since she asked it, it meant that Lid had lost interest in continuing the negotiations in the parliament hall and was planning to end it.

Yunye spoke quickly, asking whatever came to her mind. There was no time for her to hesitate. She would rather guess a few answers than give up.

Lid always gave short and quick answers.

"Lord City Lord, do you know who is behind Prince Yunyang this time? Who is fueling this war?"

"Prince Huai and Prince Qiming. Only those two have the time to think about me."

"Then has Lord City Lord ever thought that once Black Steel City falls into the hands of Yuxi City, Lord Crown Prince can promise them more benefits and borrow more reinforcements from them?"

"I have thought about it, but there is no such thing as throwing away the food because of choking."

"First there was the war against the demons, and then there was the war with the prince. The wars were frequent and costly. Lord City Lord, do you not care about the manpower of Yuxi City? Will you not stop until it is all used up?"

"Yuxi City has always had a surplus of manpower, and our taxes are the lowest in the world. The extra soldiers do not need to be supported by the people. On the contrary, they can only feel at ease when Yuxi City is strong. We have been satisfying the wishes of the people."

"Even so—"

Yunye also stood up from her chair and said excitedly:

"Even so, we can still accumulate strength first. As long as we defeat the main force of Yunyang in the frontal battlefield in the future and force the lord of Yunyang to make you the crown prince, we can end the civil strife in Yunyang with the least sacrifice. Before that, there is no need to occupy Black Steel City by force!"

"It's necessary, Yunye."

When Yunye heard Reed calling her name, she suddenly woke up and realized that she had just lost her composure.

Reed didn't seem to care about her overly excited words and actions. He looked at her quietly, his voice neither sad nor happy:

"The general trend is irresistible. I don't have time to develop slowly. If I defeat the Yunyang lord head-on on the battlefield a year later, I will only inherit a ruined Yunyang. By then, the world will be in chaos. What can I use to fight for more things? Before that, I must get a lot and start planning in advance."

He Yue glanced at Lid. He could feel that Lid had said a little too much, but he did not stop his city lord and thought it was a good thing this way.

Lid smiled, put his hands in his sleeves, and said to Yunye:

"When we were eating, I noticed that you seemed to be worried. The food on your plate was barely touched and had gone cold. If you don't mind, you can stay and finish your meal before leaving... Since we can't come to an agreement, you should return to Lingyun City in two days. Report your experience to Lord Yunyang exactly as it happened and see what his attitude is."

After saying that, Lidl pulled his coat tighter and walked out the door.

The high-ranking officials of Yuxi City turned around and followed their city lord to leave. Fang Shisan was at the end of the team, with Shuang pushing his wheelchair.

Only Yunye was left sitting dejectedly on the chair.

60. The world situation is all in my mind

Looking at Reed's leaving back, Yunye couldn't help but bury her head deeply, staring blankly at the table littered with cups and plates.

She knew she messed up.

Although she knew that the road ahead was full of difficulties and dangers before coming to Yuxi City, and had already given herself a shot of prevention, when this failure really came, Yunye still felt very uncomfortable. She felt as if her heart was being clenched by an invisible hand, kneading it again and again, causing her chest to ache every time she breathed.

To be fair, Lid did nothing wrong, and neither did the senior managers of Yuxi City. They just dared to gamble that Lord Yunyang would accept their conditions, so they insisted on being a little greedier and taking Black Steel City into their possession.

What made Yunye most painful was that she also believed that Lord Yunyang would eventually choose to compromise.

But that had nothing to do with her. For Yunye, this negotiation was the last chance to change her fate. She knew this very well and tried her best to get the best result, but she still lost in the end.

Who should be blamed for this?

Blame Lide and his Yuxi City? Iron ore brings huge profits. Once this industrial chain is in hand, it can create jobs for tens of thousands of poor families and change their fate. No one will let it go easily.

Blame Lord Yunyang? If the option of Black Steel City is added to the negotiation conditions, then any person sent here will probably be able to negotiate a deal, so why would Yunye be needed?

Blame Larte, Zi Pu and the others? If they hadn't shirked their responsibilities, Yun Ye wouldn't even be qualified to come to Yuxi City, and would have been detained in that mountain village forever.

Thinking about it this way, it seems that everything is bound to happen, it is all arranged by fate, and Yunye has done her best.

Everyone is told that "If one has done his best but failed to achieve his goal, he can have no regrets. Who can criticize him?" However, for most people, it is impossible to have no regrets. People are creatures struggling in the quagmire. A small mistake can lead to a great error. A small mistake can lead to an irreversible end. When the fate that cannot be defied falls upon oneself, who can really face it calmly?

Yunye closed her eyes. She knew that she should leave now, say goodbye to the higher-ups of Yuxi City in a dignified manner, and return to Lingyun City with the last bit of dignity. However, her hands and feet were out of control. Her mind was blank, but she was still unwilling to admit defeat.

Who would be willing to accept such an ending?

She was the only one who lost in this negotiation from beginning to end!

Yuxi City will get the iron mine, and the Lord of Yunyang will welcome back the prince. Only she, Yunye, will become a punching bag because she failed to reach an agreement within the bottom line. She will either die in the Lord's Mansion, or marry the butcher in the neighboring village who is more than twice her age with infinite reluctance, and endure even longer torture.

Never ending.

This is what she has to carry, this is the panic she has carried with her since she was born.

When she was a child, Yunye saw with her own eyes a girl in the village who did not want to get married. Her hands and feet were tied with ropes. She howled like a pig being slaughtered, and her mouth was stuffed with rags. She was forcibly thrown into the bridal chamber and was beaten to death for a whole month. Half a year later, she was pregnant with a big belly and had no light in her eyes. She was afraid of everyone and always hid in a dark corner.

At that time, Yunye wanted to escape. She was very scared and always worried that one day she would face the same situation. Especially after her doting grandparents passed away, her father married the widow of the village, who is now her stepmother. Since then, Yunye has been afraid of growing up and reaching the age of marriage. Every time she met her mother's evaluating eyes, she would unconsciously lower her head. This village that brought her countless joys in her childhood has become a cage that swallowed her in the dark.

Only by escaping from here may there be a glimmer of hope.

She had read about the lush reeds here and watched the dew condense into white or turn into frost, but now all of that has become a thing of the past.

When I go back again, what I see there is no longer the initial happiness of enjoying the autumn moon and spring breeze, but the disasters submerged by the secular world.

But what else could she do? Yunye was really unwilling to give up. She wanted to kneel down and beg for mercy, but in the end, she just smiled bitterly, reached for the wine on the table, raised her head, and gulped it down.

In an instant, the world became quiet.

Why do people like to drown their sorrows in alcohol? Because when drunk, the feeling of pain will be infinitely weakened, replaced by endless happiness. The whole body is light, the sky and the earth are constantly spinning, and there is a buzzing sound in the ears.

The strong liquor goes down the throat, turns into a ball of hot steam that flows into the internal organs and flows through the limbs and bones along with the blood.

The courage hiding in the corner quietly emerges again.

Yunye exhaled a breath of alcohol, leaned back in the chair, and stared at the ceiling quietly.

She just felt that she had never been so clear-headed as she was now, and all kinds of thoughts flooded out like a tide.

In a trance, Yunye seemed to see the kind grandfather stretching out his wrinkled hand, stroking her forehead, and saying gently:

"Yunye, you have been smarter than others since you were young, and you will definitely have a bright future. Grandpa has never been to school, but he knows the importance of studying, and knows that people should listen more, watch more, think more, and persist more. What Grandpa can teach you are just some old-fashioned principles. What kind of person you want to be is up to you to decide. You have to be responsible for your own choices."

Yunye doesn’t know what she wants to become.

She also didn't know what kind of person she would become.

But she knew that this moment was the time for her to show everything she had gained from her sixteen years of continuous thinking.

The map of Yongtian Kingdom emerged in her mind, and one territory after another slowly lit up on it, converging into a torrent of history.

Yuxi City is the westernmost, closest to the source, and currently the darkest area.

Yunye opened her eyes, and the timid aura she once had was swept away, replaced by the spirit of "the breeze and the bright moon are in my arms, and the four seas are united to fight against the enemy." When her vision jumped out of Yunyang Territory and Yuxi City, and jumped out of this chaotic farce, and looked back at the situation in front of her, what she saw was instantly different.

Just as Reed stepped out of the door, a shout suddenly came from behind him:

"Wait a moment!"

Yunye supported herself on the table with one hand, and with the other hand she pushed her hair behind her forehead, then slowly stood up.

This time, for the first time, she will muster up the courage to point out the general situation of the world as a young girl from a remote village.

This time, she will use the identity of an unknown little person to convince these Yuxi City executives who she thinks are already the smartest ones.

Is it difficult? Yes, but that’s what makes it a challenge.

What is the highlight of your life? Mine is now!

Yunye brushed her sleeves. Her drunken voice sounded more mature than before:

"If the Lord City Lord wants to take the lead in the alliance meeting in the near future, he should not fight for such insignificant interests now."

When he heard the word "alliance", Lid finally turned around and looked at Yunye with a look that was different from any previous time.

There was an obvious look of surprise between Shuang's eyebrows, and even He Yue and Fang Shisan seemed a little surprised.

Lid smiled and said to Yunye:

"Let's go to the council chamber to talk somewhere else."

61. Only eternal interests

"You ministers should know that the so-called hustle and bustle of the world is all for profit. From now on, Yunye will no longer bring up any topics that are not related to profit. I will only start from the current situation in the world and the role played by Yuxi City in it, and analyze how to end this negotiation so that Yuxi City can get the most."

At the negotiation table, everyone from Yuxi City was still sitting in their original places. Opposite Lid, Yunye removed the chair beside her and stood there, looking around at everyone while talking:

"Eternal Heaven Kingdom has been established for hundreds of years, and the thirty-six territories have changed several times. However, the royal family was powerful in the past, and the situation was under their control. The change of power in the territory was just a trivial matter in their eyes. One hundred and twenty years ago, Lord Shenghe went south and occupied eighteen cities in Tiancheng territory. However, because a woman from Tiancheng married the king, he had to return all the occupied cities. At that time, the royal family's Dragon Armor Army was still invincible in the world. The increase or decrease of any territory must be approved by the royal family, and the king still had absolute control over the country."

"Afterwards, Yongtian Kingdom had been established for too long, and it had several generations of mediocre rulers. The expedition to the east decades ago, which involved all the country's strength, caused heavy casualties to the Dragon Armor Army. Until the Cangzhou lord rebelled, although it was barely suppressed by the royal family, it also made the whole world see the weakness of the royal family. If the royal family was like a flying dragon hovering over Yongtian Kingdom, then now this dragon is lying in the mud with wounds all over its body. The world has no master, and many heroes have emerged. For example, among the few powerful families now, there are Western Qin, Southern Chu, Lingwu, Yunhai and other forces."

Although Lid and others had some knowledge of this history, it was just a feeling when they heard Yunye tell it.

Yunye had a confident smile on her face from beginning to end. Although she was drunk and had trouble pronouncing some of her words, her aura was enough to convince the audience - at least it made everyone listen to her story attentively.

She raised her index finger and commented calmly:

"Lingwu is a tiger, sitting in the north and looking south; Xiqin is a fierce elephant, with a destructive power under its calmness; Nanchu is a hyena, no one can stop it when it rushes forward; Yunhai is a grizzly bear, seemingly honest and simple, but actually looking down on the mountains and forests. In addition, there is a poisonous snake in the current Yongtian Kingdom, which is the rebel army entrenched in the south. It has been suppressed for a long time and has spread all over the country."

At this point, Yunye deliberately kept the topic a secret and asked:

"Have you, my Lords, discovered anything in common among them?"

He Yue replied:

"There are many commonalities, I don't know which one you are talking about."

Throwing this question back again.

Yunye's drunken cheeks were slightly flushed. She exhaled and said:

"In my opinion, the most important point is that they are not simply a territory or an army, but a force. Lingwu Territory took the initiative to reveal the results of the last northern expedition, just to show off its power and get more territories to stand on its side. Xi Qin and Nan Chu have been in opposition for many years, and each has a large number of followers, especially the territories that support Nan Chu. Yunhai Territory has never made enemies with anyone, but has made friends with territories all over the world. The interest chain dominated by merchants spreads throughout the Yongtian Kingdom, and it has a unique advantage in this regard. Even the righteous army led by Huang Yan in the south represents the poorest people in Yongtian Kingdom. Although no territory dares to support Huang Yan, each territory is bound to have some homeless people who choose to join -"

Yunye paused, stared into Lid's eyes, put away her smile, and said seriously:

"All of the people mentioned above have their own followers and their own forces, but Yuxi City does not have that."

Reed nodded, there was no problem with what she said.

As the fourth son driven out by the Lord of Yunyang, Lide's impression in the hearts of the people is basically fixed at the stage of a dandy son. Prejudices are easy to form but difficult to erase, especially in the early stage when Yuxi City insisted on a strategy of keeping a low profile and could not make any big moves.

Fang Yuan and Zhao Chen's family were originally allies, but during the trip to the capital, Fang Yuan chose to stand on the side of King Xi and personally participated in the dragon invasion, causing great unpleasantness with Li De. Although they did not fall out, their relationship was definitely not very good.

In fact, he had signed a treaty of friendship and mutual assistance with Bai Feng of the Yunhai family. Bai Feng brought a large amount of iron materials and finished armor to Yuxi City, and Lid also handed over the business of elixirs and distilled liquor to Bai Feng. But these were completely confidential, so it was normal that Yun Ye didn't know. Moreover, Lid was very sure that he and Bai Feng would definitely part ways one day, but he didn't know when that day would come.

Seeing Lid nod, Yunye continued:

"It has only been a year since the city lord came to Yuxi City, but Yuxi City has already grown stronger. This shows the extraordinary qualities of the city lord and the ministers. Now, in the battle of Rivet City, we have defeated a powerful army several times larger than ours and captured Prince Yunyang. The territory under the rule of the city lord is even more vigorous. When I came here by car, everyone I met praised you all and had great expectations for Yuxi City."

Yunye changed the subject and said:

"But the world is so big that it is impossible to fight for it inch by inch. Yuxi City does not have that many soldiers, and as the city lord said, there is not that much time. I don't know how long the white-robed minister in the capital can control the situation, but at most one to two years, the situation of the entire Yongtian Kingdom will inevitably change. If there is no strong support, how can Yuxi City compete with those old territories?"

Reed did not speak, and the senior officials of Yuxi City present did not respond.

This problem is indeed what they have been struggling with recently. To put it simply, no matter whether it is Xi Qin, Nan Chu, Lingwu, or the royal family, Yunhai, or the righteous army, there are countless younger brothers standing behind them, and they can call on their brothers to join them at any time when fighting. But Yuxi City does not have it. Even if it focuses on development and takes over Yunyang, it is still just a weak individual business, and it is still a bit difficult to fight with those big brothers who form gangs.