It doesn't matter what the lord is.

Would he really go alone, starting from the nearest territory, and attack them one by one, until he could defeat thirty-five of them?

Let’s not talk about whether you can win or not. This is not a 1v1 solo game. If you don’t have helpers around you, attacking one territory will lead to the counterattack of four or five territories. How can you still play?

Then Yunye continued:

"So in my opinion, the most important thing for Yuxi City now is to form an alliance. And the current situation in the world happens to be on the side of Yuxi City. Powerful territories are desperately trying to grab potential resources, and weak territories must unite to protect themselves. Let me ask you, who in the world today doesn't know that Xiqin and Nanchu will eventually fight? Who doesn't know that Lingwu and the royal family have been enemies for generations? Who doesn't know that Yunhai has been quietly accumulating family property for many years, and who doesn't know that the flags of the righteous army will one day fill the poor land of Yongtian Kingdom? But most territories can only sit back and watch the situation in the world come, or eat and wait for death, or prepare for war with the determination to die, or become vassals of large territories. At this time, someone needs to stand up and unite those territories that do not have the power to fight against the strong, but are unwilling to be inferior to others——"

Yunye looked at Lid, seeing his thoughtful face, smiled and said:

"This is the alliance."

62. This is an urgent need

"Diplomatic relations come first, and war is secondary. Yuxi City has already demonstrated its overwhelming military strength. After showing the sword to others, there is no need to show it off every now and then. It is more intimidating when hidden in the sheath. The gains and losses of a city have little impact on the current city lord, but if you can form your own power, the benefits will be thousands of times that of a city."

At this point, Yunye finally put forward her own point of view:

"At this stage, Yuxi City has been rooted in this land and cannot be shaken. The strength it has demonstrated cannot be underestimated by anyone. But if you want to use it to command various territories, it is far from enough. Yuxi City plays a more organizational and balancing role in the alliance, because Yuxi City has not yet risen to the level of a territory, and there are no deep-rooted interests or conflicts with many territories outside. Most territories still have no relationship with Yuxi City, which is where there is a lot of room for improvement."

"Take Yunyang as an example. Yunyang has existed since the founding of Yongtian Kingdom. It has friends and enemies. There are bound to be various conflicts of interest in the alliance. If Yunyang takes the lead, it will inevitably fall into a dilemma in the future. Using the leading power to favor its old friends and leaving the dirty work to its enemies, the so-called alliance will eventually end in disharmony. But Yuxi City will not do that. It is best for Yuxi City to coordinate the affairs of all parties."

"But even in terms of organization and balance, Yuxi City is still lacking something. First of all, it needs influence. It is not enough to just capture Prince Yunyang. Yuxi City needs to achieve greater results. Not to mention convincing the people of the world, at least let those lords think that Yuxi City is capable of doing this job. Secondly, it needs to establish its own envoys and have sharp-tongued people who can explain the benefits and disadvantages to them. Finally, there is the issue of reputation, which is why Yunye advises you not to use Prince Yunyang as a threat to seize Black Steel City."

Yunye's mouth was a little dry as she spoke, and she kept licking her dry lips with her tongue.

Reed took the initiative to step forward, but instead of pouring her tea, he placed a bottle of wine on the table in front of her.

Yunye took it and drank without hesitation. She drank half the bottle in one breath and burped. However, her eyes became clearer and she spoke fluently:

"Although the city lord has always presented himself as a dandy, the impression given by Yuxi City is somewhat different from that of the city lord himself. In the past year, Yuxi City has fought against the feud of Zhaochen in the north and defended against the invasion of the demons in the west, and has made considerable achievements. Lord Yunyang and the prince stabbed us in the back several times, and although they found excuses, they have already lost the hearts of the people. In comparison, although Yuxi City's reputation may not be outstanding, it is already considered good in Yongtian Kingdom, where every family has some dirty deeds. However, you all know that reputation is something that is difficult to change once it is formed, so during the period when Yuxi City is gradually becoming famous, every step cannot be wrong."

"The capture of Prince Yunyang proves the ability of Yuxi City, but using Prince Yunyang as a threat to expand on a large scale will inevitably give people the impression of greed. Moreover, iron is a resource that makes people jealous, and jealousy can instantly burn away the sympathy accumulated before. Lord City Lord, think about it, the reputation accumulated by Yuxi City is largely due to the reputation ruined by Yunyang. The eldest brother has repeatedly embarrassed his younger brother regardless of the greater good, and the father has been partial to him several times, which is the main reason for the criticism. If the first thing the Lord City Lord does after capturing his brother is to retaliate and drain all his value, completely ignoring the possibility that Yunyang may fall into chaos, then in the eyes of the people of the world, how is he different from his own father and brother?"

Yunye held the bottle of wine, looked directly into Lid's deep eyes, and withstood the huge pressure from the upper echelons of Yuxi City. She said loudly:

"Back then, Yuxi City could disregard its reputation, and the city lord could disregard his reputation, but now the world is in such a state that if we want to have a meeting, we must leave an impression of being a white lotus in front of the world! Moreover, Yuxi City is connected to the Sea of ​​Clouds in the south. Even if the trade route to Yunyang is cut off in the future, ironware can still be fully supplied from the Sea of ​​Clouds. What's the rush for a mere iron mine? For a little bit of profit, giving others a reason to criticize us in the future meeting, isn't it a loss?"

Yunye drank the wine in the glass, and felt that countless words were rushing up to her mind like crazy. The world was spinning in front of her eyes, but her mind was extremely clear.

It's okay to be aggressive with her words, she knows the person on the other end will listen:

"Not only that, even the relationship between the Huaiwang territory and the Qiming territory must be reconsidered. The Huaiwang prince is shrewd and strong, while the Qiming prince is ambitious. We can start from this to alienate the two, unite one to attack the other, and the external hatred will also no longer exist. Where there is profit, there is nothing that cannot be let go. In the future, when Yuxi City becomes stronger, what's the harm in losing all the alliances, agreements, reputations, and worldly criticisms? But now we have to endure it! In the current Yuxi City, if you want everything, you will lose everything. Black Steel City can be conquered by Yuxi City, but it must not be taken without a fight by threatening the prince. That's all I have to say. Please consider it carefully, Lord City Lord and the ministers."

After saying that, Yunye leaned on the back of the chair with one hand and looked at the people sitting there.

She was so drunk that she could hardly recognize who was who.

This is good. She can treat those people as ordinary people and deal with whoever comes. There will be no pressure at all.

After a moment of silence, Lid stood up, clapped his hands and said with a smile:

"interesting."

He looked at the drunk Yunye and said:

"But Yunye, you are actually exchanging the future for the present. This is not a bad idea, but it involves a question of feasibility. Yuxi City currently does not have its own envoys, so organizing the alliance is naturally difficult and risky. It may not be effective even if you make a lot of efforts. It is also questionable how much reputation blessing you can gain by giving up the interests of Black Steel City. In comparison, the benefits of iron ore are the most direct."

Yunye closed her eyes. This time she pondered for a while, opened her eyes, and said to Lid:

"But I don't think the city lord will choose this."

Reed said "Oh" and looked at Yunye curiously.

Yunye said slowly:

"Even though I have read countless materials about the City Lord, I still cannot guess what the City Lord is thinking. But one thing I know very well is that the City Lord has given power to the ministers present here, and I believe that no one present here is willing to listen to orders from someone other than the City Lord in the future, and no one is willing to serve others. Therefore, Yuxi City will not be able to stay under someone else's command for long, unless one of the City Lord or the ministers completely changes."

Yunye looked at the people present with bright eyes and said:

"After a brief contact, I think it is better for Yuxi City to maintain the status quo. I hope that day will never come."

The senior officials of Yuxi City looked at each other and smiled.

Lid nodded, then raised his voice a little and said to Yunye seriously:

"Okay! As you said, Yuxi City can give up the iron ore in Black Steel City and not take over Sword Forging City and other cities. We can even take a step back and leave Blast Furnace City to Lord Yunyang. But now, Yuxi City has other requests for Yunyang, so I want to add a new condition."

Yunye's heart also suddenly ached.

She raced through her mind what Reed might want.

Inheritance rights?

army?

Money and food?

population?

A righteous reputation?

Apologies from father and brother?

Yunye was a little confused about Lid's thoughts, but she knew very well that after giving up Black Steel City and even Blast Furnace City, what Lid wanted must be something extremely important. Lord Yunyang might not be able to afford it, and might not give it.

If she doesn't give it to her, she will still have to go back to that small mountain village, and all her current high spirits will be just a dream.

Even though the wine made her brave, Yunye still swallowed her saliva and asked slowly:

"I wonder what the city lord wants?"

Lid smiled and answered word by word:

"I want you."

63. The Last Loyalty

Yunye only felt her head buzzing.

He sobered up instantly.

She pointed at herself and asked Reed doubtfully:

"Want... me?"

Li De smiled and nodded. Just as he was about to speak, he saw the senior executives of Yuxi City looking at him with complicated eyes. He looked at Yun Ye again. Yun Ye was covering her chest with one hand and taking a step back subtly. After a long silence, He Yue spoke first and whispered to Li De:

"Pornographic?"

"I didn't, okay? That doesn't sound like what I meant."

Lid coughed, turned back to Yunye and said:

"We hope that you can stay in Yuxi City and take charge of Yuxi City's diplomatic affairs. The salary and benefits will be favorable, and we will do our best to meet your needs. At the next meeting, you will sit with us to realize the blueprint you just drew."

The surprise on Yunye's face had faded, and the hand covering her chest had also moved down, but she still couldn't believe it. She just smiled bitterly and replied:

"Lord City Lord, don't make such a joke... I'm just a little village girl from a remote village. If Lord City Lord really doesn't want to accept Yunye's conditions, just let me go back to Lingyun City."

Lid sighed, not knowing whether Yunye could see his expression clearly when she was drunk, but he still restrained his smile and said seriously:

"I'm not kidding you."

Yunye asked back:

"But why? Just because of what I just said?"

"Not entirely."

Lid spread out one hand, stared into her eyes, and said:

"Before this negotiation, you were already on our inspection list, and your performance today made us look at you with a higher regard. We were not in a hurry to take Black Steel City. As long as Yuxi City continues to expand eastward, those dead things without legs will be ours sooner or later. In comparison, your value is far higher than an iron mine."

Yunye opened her mouth. She, who had been eloquent just now, suddenly didn't know how to react.

These were totally beyond her expectations, and at this moment she was more shocked than ever before.

No, why in this world would there be someone who would suddenly include the person he is negotiating with in the negotiation conditions? ?

Could it be a conspiracy? First they wanted to take me over secretly, and then send me back to Yunyang as a spy to gain greater benefits for Yuxi City? But I was just an insignificant little character in the envoy group, and the bottom line for this negotiation had been set long ago. What was the point of doing this?

Seeing that Yunye didn't say anything, Lid explained the reason to her:

"In our original expectation, if we captured Lineng and negotiated with Lord Yunyang, Lord Yunyang would have to stop all the tricks he was doing behind the scenes if he wanted to rescue him. So Liyi would definitely write to Kaia and Norn to request a suspension of cooperation, which would buy us more time to prepare. But we didn't expect that the day we released Lineng, Liyi came to our doorstep with 5,000 elite troops."

"So we realized that something must have gone wrong. So while we were fighting with Li Yi, the Anbu organization in Yuxi City sent all its elite troops to sneak into Lingyun City to gather intelligence. We learned that this was the work of Li Yi's messenger group."

At this point, Lid looked at Yunye with a hint of appreciation:

"However, we have already known the details of Li Yi's envoys. Those girls are first-rate at sleeping with others, engaging in palace fighting in Li Yi's backyard, and being jealous and harming the virtuous. The only thing is that they have almost no ability to persuade others. Kaiya and Norn are not two impatient monkeys. There is no reason for them to be dazzled by Li Yi's envoys. There must be other reasons. So we paid a lot of money to bribe a girl in the envoys who did not want to reveal her name. We found out that it was you who stood up to save the situation in times of crisis, but it's a pity that you don't even remember it. At that time, I was thinking, how great it would be if you could come to my Yuxi City."

Yunye stared at Lid in a daze.

After a moment, his eyes suddenly turned red.

Lid asked her with a smile:

"What? Are you scared? You just boasted that you can't fulfill it?"

Yunye smiled, but her tears did not fall. She said calmly:

"I'd like another bottle of wine."

So Reed really gave her another bottle.

Yunye took a sip of wine, wiped the corners of her mouth, and said to Lid:

“When I speak, I sometimes have a local accent.”

Lidd replied:

"It doesn't matter."

Yunye took another sip of wine and said:

"I don't know how to dress myself, I can only braid my hair, and I have never seen the world."

Lid still answered:

"It doesn't matter."

"I can only say a lot of things after I've drunk, and I habitually keep my head down when walking on the street, for fear of meeting other people's eyes."

"It doesn't matter."

"I have so many brothers and sisters, relatives and friends everywhere. It's as troublesome as it can be."

"It doesn't matter."

"Except for my grandparents, no one has ever taught me the skills of debate. In terms of qualifications, identity, and age, I am not good enough to convince others."

"It doesn't matter."

"I--"

Before Yunye finished speaking, Lid slapped the table heavily and said:

"I told you, it's okay!"

He Yue looked at Li De with complicated eyes again, but this time Li De simply ignored her.

Yunye was stunned for a moment, swallowed her saliva, and asked:

"I, I want to ask how much money I can get per month..."

"...Oh, you should have said so earlier."

Lid touched his nose awkwardly and looked at He Yue. He Yue smiled and said to Yun Ye:

"Yuxi City can still afford a monthly salary of ten gold coins. In addition, all expenses used in diplomatic activities will also be reimbursed by Yuxi City."

"Ten--ten--ten gold coins--"

Yunye repeated the number like a tape recorder and didn't come back to her senses for a long time. He Yue explained to her:

"Since Lid intends to entrust Yuxi City's diplomacy to you, you will have a hard time in the future. You will need to travel most of the time, and the expenses will certainly be high. You will need to buy some things at the beginning, which will cost money. In addition, I heard from the Anbu that you still need to earn money to support your younger brothers and sisters. This money should be enough to solve your immediate needs. Don't worry about it. Yuxi City can afford this money, and it will even pay more in the future."

Yunye bit her lips until they turned pale.

She took a few deep breaths, but did not agree immediately. Instead, she said seriously to everyone in Yuxi City:

"I am grateful to you all for your appreciation of me. But now, I am an envoy under the Crown Prince. If I agree to your requests on my own initiative, it would be tantamount to treason. Although I really want my brothers and sisters to stop suffering, my grandparents taught me that even if I love money, I must get it in a proper way. So at least for now, I will not make any promises to the Lord of the City and the ministers."

The senior executives of Yuxi City looked thoughtful. Only Lid still smiled and asked Yunye: