It doesn't matter what the lord is.

In a corner of the dilapidated house, someone threw a human arm into the pot with a sly smile on his face:

“Hehehe… don’t blame me… if I don’t kill you… everyone will starve to death…”

The hunter in the village sat on a rock, looking at the bow and arrow that had accompanied him for half his life, and wiped the dried tears from his face with his calloused hands:

"There are no more wild animals to hunt... The bird eggs have all been taken out. There won't be any more this year, or next year, and from now on, there will be nothing on this mountain..."

There were only a few people on the street, and the sound of banging on doors could be clearly heard.

Other territories, including the royal family of Yongtian Kingdom, ignored this.

Because this is too normal, there are too many territories outside Yunyang, including Tiancheng, that have developed to this point. The strategy of the White-robed Minister Wu Mi is that these broken territories should be divided up by those territories with higher rankings. No matter what the result is, the lives of the people will become better. However, this strategy has not been officially announced, and the border troops of Yunyang still have a certain deterrent power, so most of the territories are waiting for Yunyang to become more chaotic, so that they can first consume their internal energy and suffer a great loss.

Bai Feng was drinking tea while reading the report about Yunyang.

Half of his energy was focused on Yuxi City. After learning that Yuxi City had expanded its army to more than 50,000, he narrowed his eyes slightly, but did not say much. He read part of the report on Yunyang, but was not very interested. The rich environment and rich heritage of Yunhai determined that even if they had a few prodigal sons in power, it would take at least two or three generations to squander all the family property. Moreover, from the current situation, except for the genetic disease of hemophobia, the lords of Yunhai from generation to generation were capable.

The counselor beside Bai Feng, Old Man Hualong, stared at the report for a long time. When Bai Feng asked him what he was looking at, Old Man Hualong frowned and said hesitantly:

"It seems like something is missing... That's right, there is no sign of the rebels."

A look of shock suddenly appeared on the vigorous face of the old man Hualong, and there was deep confusion between his brows. He muttered to himself quickly:

"It shouldn't be... Logically speaking, they wouldn't miss such a good opportunity. Those people could have come out of the Great Wilderness Mountain, started to develop from here, supported the puppet regime to control Yunyang, and used this as a foundation for their future plans. But from the current report, there is no trace of them behind Yunyang. Why did this happen? What are they planning?"

Bai Feng placed the teacup in his hand on the table, thought for a moment, and said:

"The rebels' secret organizations are not very powerful. They mostly play their cards openly. As long as they stir up the anger of the people, they can create a wave that sweeps away everything. So it is not that our people have misjudged the situation. The rebels really intended to give up Yunyang from the beginning."

After reading the report, Elder Hualong placed a stack of documents on the table and shook his head:

"This is totally unreasonable..."

Bai Feng smiled and said:

"Many things don't make sense there. The rebels must have their reasons for abandoning Yunyang, so let's keep reading. According to our intelligence, Yuxi City allowed the Abyss Church to preach there some time ago. This is the first time this has happened since the founding of Yongtian Kingdom. Although it has not been made public on a large scale, once it gets out, it will inevitably cause the traditional temples to suppress it at all costs. The rebels... maybe they don't want to bring trouble upon themselves."

The old man Hualong sighed slightly. He felt that it was not the reason Bai Feng said, but he also couldn't figure out why the rebels gave up Yunyang. The rumored genius boy Huang Yan shouldn't make such a mistake. Looking at the history of the rebels, the leader who was said to have just turned 18 years old not long ago made many mistakes, but he was always right in the big decisions. This was the most terrifying thing about him.

Old Man Hualong felt that he was beginning to have a unclear understanding of the current situation in the world.

But one thing was clear to him.

If the rebels did not intend to interfere in Yunyang's affairs, the chaos in Yunyang would not last long.

40. For a better tomorrow

As time turns to midsummer, the heat waves on the ground become higher and higher.

In Yuxi City, He Yue sat in front of Li De without saying a word. This was the fourth time this scene had occurred in the past seven days.

He Yue and Li De had discussed many times when Yuxi City would march east. From the perspective of Yuxi City's interests, waiting for Li Yi and the other princes to decide the winner and then reaping the benefits seemed to be the best option; but in the long run, the sooner Yunyang was unified, the sooner the people could escape from the sea of ​​suffering.

Li De was actually reluctant to discuss this issue with He Yue, because he and He Yue actually knew the answer. A good iron must be made strong. The time for Yuxi City to send troops was not in the hands of him and He Yue, but in the hands of Fang Shisan. When Fang Shisan thought he could go out and wipe out the forces that were rising and falling in Yunyang, Yuxi City would take action.

Until then, all we can do is wait.

The training of 50,000 people was not easy, and Fang Shisan gave a time limit of the end of this month to basically complete it. It was like forging a sword, Fang Shisan's training basically formed the army, and then the army needed to become stronger and stronger in the tempering of war.

Recruiting so many soldiers at once, a shortage of weapons and equipment is inevitable. Even if Liu Shi and his apprentices work day and night to manufacture them, they cannot fill such a big hole.

Lid proposed three solutions. The first was to give priority to training light infantry, the second was to continue to purchase weapons and equipment of good quality, and the third was to expand the forging division of Yuxi City. These three methods were implemented in parallel, which alleviated the problem of the shortage of weapons and equipment in the army to a certain extent. As for food and grass, the current stockpile was enough to last until the end of the year. With the batch of food that the demons would send in the fall, even if no new food was purchased, it would not be a problem to last until the middle of next year.

Because the production capacity of Yuxi City has been further improved, the annual production of anti-magic drugs is also increasing, and the land of the demon clan that can be reclaimed is gradually expanding. He Yue also sent people to contact She Tong and proposed to expand the demon clan farmland year by year. She Tong readily agreed and expressed the hope that Yuxi City would take over Yunyang as soon as possible, so that the content of the cooperation between the two sides will have a qualitative leap. By then, She Tong's strength is likely to surpass the King of the South Fengshan and become the second of the demon clan, and Lid will also obtain a large amount of food and grass in one go, which can greatly speed up the recuperation of Yunyang.

Everything was going according to plan. But for He Yue, the dead could not be resurrected.

No matter how quickly Yuxicheng put an end to the chaos in Yunyang, no matter how much they took out to appease the people, no matter how much support they would gain from the people in the future, it would not change the fact that countless people died in this war. What was worse was that Yuxicheng actually had the power to save them, but they just didn't use it.

This is really not a good thing for He Yue.

Lid took a sip of tea and said with a faint smile:

"Why are you so sad? How about I sing a song for you?"

He Yue held her cheek and said slowly:

"I was just thinking that my reforms were not implemented when I was in Tiancheng. So for all these years, I have always felt that if Lord Tiancheng had adopted my suggestions, perhaps no one would have died in such pain. After coming to Yuxi City, I have done my best, but now I still have to see with my own eyes that there are so many people I can't save, which makes me feel like a failure."

Lid handed the herbal tea in his hand to He Yue, not caring at all that He Yue continued to drink tea from the cup he had drunk from, and said leisurely:

"I gave the order to wait until Fang Shisan completes his training before deploying the troops. It has nothing to do with you."

He Yue raised her head and took a sip of tea. She felt a cool breeze that temporarily suppressed the boredom in her chest. Then she heard Lid's serious voice:

"In fact, you and I both know that those people outside need to be saved. If no one saves them, someone will die painfully every moment. Have they done anything wrong? At first glance, it seems not. So you think they are innocent, pitiful, and worthy of sympathy. But I still hold the same view that in such a world, doing nothing is the biggest mistake."

Lid looked out the window with a calm expression:

"In order to persuade them to come to Yuxi City, we sent out a large number of Anbu organizations, and the propaganda department of Shaoyu Camp was also fully mobilized, trying every means to lead them out of the sea of ​​suffering. For this reason, there were more than 800 names on the Anbu casualties list that Shuang gave me last month, and more than half of the propaganda department of Shaoyu Camp was killed or injured. Heyue, do you know what this means? They didn't have so many deaths during the war. We paid the highest price and gave the best benefits, just to beg them to come here-"

He Yue stared at the teacup in her hand, a somewhat sad smile revealed on her pretty face.

Lid put his hands on the table and said without any emotion:

"But most people are still unwilling to come. They know that coming to our place is a better choice, but they still choose to stay. You can call this simplicity, kindness, or honesty, but at this time, they must pay the price for their wrong choice."

He Yue said somewhat sadly:

"I know... I know. But, no one has ever taught them to think and seek change, right? The philosophy of all rulers throughout history is inseparable from 'people can be made to follow but not to know'. They have never been taught to 'know', so how can they make the right choice at this time?"

Lid got up and found a round fan from the cabinet beside him to fan himself. Although there were a lot of ice cubes in the room to cool it down, the summer in the south was still too hot. Coupled with the humidity, ice cubes alone could not solve the problem.

When he came back, he sat next to He Yue so that the wind he fanned could also reach He Yue.

Lid simply said:

"Then from now on, we just need to teach them."

More than two years ago, the people of Yuxi City were the same as other places, or even worse than other places. They were ignorant, stupid, and bullied the weak and feared the strong, which can be seen from the Fileta incident. But in more than two years, the atmosphere of Yuxi City has changed greatly. Now they think and discuss various issues independently, and some talented people even directly participate in the construction of Yuxi City.

The Valley of Evil, the Guild of Bravery, the Industrial Base, the Yuxi Academy... and the newly opened Church of the Abyss, all kinds of things that cannot be judged by secular eyes force the people of Yuxi City to learn to explore the essence of things on their own. The rise of science also gives them a theoretical basis for researching and solving problems.

Yunyang is very big, so it may be difficult to popularize these.

But Lid is confident, not because he thinks he is so powerful, but because he has already built the framework. Yunyang will become a better Yunyang, and for this, someone must sacrifice. Only the price of blood can awaken the people, and only pain can make them find a way out for the future.

Everything is for...a better tomorrow.

41. Outstanding

political.

economic.

culture.

military.

Public security.

Supervision.

diplomatic.

Yuxi City is storing all kinds of things and preparing for the future leisurely. It's not just Fang Shisan's army, there are many things that outsiders can't see. It's said that it's easy to conquer the world but difficult to rule it, but for Li De, if he can calculate all the things that may happen in the future, then the governance after the war will no longer be a headache.

To put it bluntly, Li De had told He Yue many times: Yuxi City cannot be the next Qianyuan City, nor can it be the next Dahuang Mountain. Qianyuan City's Fangyuan was for personal revenge, and Dahuang Mountain's Huangyan was for the people of the world to set off a storm that destroyed everything. But Yuxi City not only had to conquer Yunyang, but also led the people of Yunyang to embark on a brand new path, and be prepared to bring them a brighter future.

The first batch of students from the political and economic departments of Yuxi Academy have graduated. Students who graduated from the military department were promoted to the Shaoyu Camp and began to experience the hardships of war, while those who graduated from the political and economic department also began to go out to gain experience, learn about the ways of the world, observe local customs and practices, and practice behind other qualified officials. Once Yunyang is pacified, they will become the new leadership team, some of whom will stay in the central government and some will serve as local officials.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been busy since before the chaos in Yunyang, and has not stopped until now. Yunye personally went to lobby the eastern and southern border armies of Yunyang, and the other newly recruited members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also began to catch up on the diplomatic skills that Yunye taught them. When everything settles down, they will be sent to various territories to explain the development concept of Yuxi City and seek multilateral cooperation.

Although the Anbu suffered heavy casualties, they won the war of public opinion. Shuang, who had not rested for a long time, was finally able to calm down and prepare for a new round of Anbu recruitment. Fortunately, the core members of the Anbu were still there, and many of the new members of Yuxi City were willing to come to the Anbu for trial training. Most of them were alone, so they were unwilling to go to the battlefield and were more willing to try their luck in the Anbu.

Bai Huang's patrol team also expanded, and the wealthy Comrade Xiao Huang personally paid for the best equipment for them, making them look majestic and handsome. However, Bai Huang also had her own things to worry about. If she moved up one step, she might become the [Chief of Police] of Yunyang. At that time, it would not be a small fight, it would be like the daughter of the Lord of Yunhai becoming a high-ranking official in Yunyang, which might break the tradition of Yunhai that never took sides.

There are only twenty-five cities under the jurisdiction of Yuxi City now, but the energy contained in it is inestimable.

In the subsequent plan of Yuxi City, the northern industrial base will be further divided into [Industrial Park], [Research Institute] and [Magic Society]. With the continuous expansion of the territory and the continuous growth of the army, the pressure of defending the city on Fileta is actually decreasing, so she will serve as the president of the Magic Society in addition to defending the city, focusing on the research of the Age of Gods magic.

These are all on the agenda, but everything must give way to war.

At the end of the month, Fang Shisan announced that the army training was completed.

The 1st Heavy Infantry Division was formed based on the Xuanjia Battalion, internally referred to as the "Xuanjia Division", with a total of 10,000 people.

The 1st Light Infantry Division and the 2nd Light Infantry Division, formed based on the Wangdong Battalion, were internally abbreviated as the "Wangdong 1st Division" and the "Wangdong 2nd Division", with 20,000 people each, totaling 40,000 people.

The Shenji Camp was expanded to about 3,000 people, and the original name was maintained; because many people from the Shaoyu Camp were sent to serve as officers in Xuanjia and Wangdong, and its own selection was relatively strict, it was eventually expanded to only about 1,500 people, but it still has quite a lot of functions.

The cavalry regiment is still in training. Chen Yu is training according to the idea of ​​light cavalry, because the southern region is hilly and the heavy cavalry has limited room to play. If Yu Xicheng has the opportunity to go north to the Central Plains in the future, she will teach the training ideas of heavy cavalry.

So now, these less than 60,000 people are all the troops that Yuxi City can mobilize.

It is said that Yunyang often has a "big scene" of hundreds of thousands of people. The army under Fang Shisan's command will inevitably make the people who have just joined Yuxi City feel a little unsure. After all, what everyone is facing now is no longer a battle to defend the city, but to go out to fight. It is still unknown how much splash an army of less than 60,000 people can make when thrown into the big pool of Yunyang.

But for Fang Shisan, she was sure that this number was enough, far exceeding the idea she had proposed to Reed back then.

Then let’s see the truth on the battlefield.

One morning before the sun rose, Reed stood behind Fang Shisan.

Fang Shisan, who was sitting in a wheelchair, reached out and held Lid's hand, with a faint smile on his face, and said gently:

"Then I'm off. When I come back, I'm going to listen to all the stories I've saved up during this period."

Lid held Fang Shisan's hand tightly with one hand, and with the other hand helped her comb her long hair that hung down her back, and replied:

"No problem. I will tell you a different story every night until you fall asleep. The summer evening breeze is very comfortable. We can find a secluded place to talk slowly. Of course, as usual, ghost stories are also indispensable. So you should try to finish the game early and come back early."

Fang Shisan sniffed and said with a smile:

"Yun Yang... When I was in Zhaochen before, I also rehearsed in my mind how to fight. But at that time, I didn't have many people, and the development... was not very smooth. I had a few dreams, dreaming that I had tens of thousands of people and could fight wherever I wanted, but I always woke up in the middle of the dream. At that time, I said that I wanted to be a general in Tiance Mansion. But it's so far away, Lide, that dream even I think is so far away... But now, everything seems to be suddenly within reach."

Reed gently hugged Fang Shisan from behind.

Fang Shisan raised his head, his eyes still closed, and spoke in a calm tone:

“So, I will do everything I can to win.”

Reed held her hand, and the two of them snuggled together with their fingers interlocked until the first ray of sunlight broke through the dawn.

The soft light shone on the neatly lined army. They did not yet possess the murderous spirit that comes from long experience on the battlefield, but like the rising sun, they contained infinite possibilities. Everyone stood straight, the black army formation was neat and uniform, and they would rush to their own battlefield like sharp swords drawn from their sheaths at Fang Shisan's command.

On this morning when the sun had just risen, the chaos in Yunyang continued as usual.

Every family has its own problems, but every family is also trying hard to deal with their own problems.

The princes of Yunyang were still feeling smug about having gained tens of thousands of soldiers today, while Li Yi was still busy in Lingyun City.

Everything looked exactly the same as before, as if this was just another ordinary day.

Except for the incident that happened in the east of Yuxi City.

42. The world has suffered from Yunyang for a long time

The area of ​​Yunyang currently bordering Lide is the territory of the Ninth Prince Lizhi, who is also a prince who has stationed over 100,000 troops.

Before the uprising of the princes, the total number of Yunyang's army was less than 200,000. At that time, the people had a lot of taxes to provide for the army. Although most of them were embezzled, the burden that the army brought to the people was obvious.

Nowadays, a young master of Yunyang has tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of soldiers under his command. This is almost a complete practice of exhausting the resources. The most basic thing about stationing troops is to consider the production relationship. Can the people engaged in production in the rear feed so many soldiers on the front line? If not, the army cannot be completely separated from production, that is, they have to farm while serving in the army. This is actually a very serious blow to the training efficiency of the army.

Not to mention that the Yunyang princes don't even think about production now, because they have never been exposed to these things since they were born. Everyone's idea is simple: integrate all the forces, eat up other people, and take away their resources until they become the lord of Yunyang. As for what happens after becoming the lord, it's not too late to talk about it later.

When most people think this way, even if someone stays awake, it will be useless. Without special training methods, stable rear support, and natural protection in a remote corner, the other Yunyang princes do not actually have the unique conditions that Li De has. All they can do is to engage in an arms race at all costs and use numbers to overwhelm the people around them.

And now, Yuxi City will tell them that the number of soldiers they are proud of will become insignificant from today on.

Fang Shisan did not pile up all the troops together, but chose to divide them up. It seemed that the number of people on the other side, which was only half of the number, became even smaller. After a moment of hesitation, Li Zhi chose to go out of the city to meet the enemy without hesitation. He didn't know why the general on the other side did this, but he knew that this was the best time to swallow up the army of Yuxi City. He had 150,000 people in his hands, 100,000 to fight and 50,000 to defend the city. This battle looked easy.

He has coveted Yuxi City for a long time, and this is his closest chance.

By swallowing up the army of Yuxi City, Lizhi can travel all the way west and take all of his brother's property into his own stomach. This is an irresistible temptation.

Then, the deafening shouts came, and the 100,000 rabble mustered up their last bit of courage to fight their way out of the city, and then they were defeated in the battle in the wilderness. The whole process did not even last for an incense stick of time. Sitting high on the top of the city, Li Zhi watched in disbelief as the army he had desperately gathered rushed to the other side like a tide, and also collapsed as quickly as the tide was smashed on the reef.

The scene that seemed incredible was actually quite normal in Fang Shisan's expectations. The reason was actually very simple. The soldiers under Li Zhi had no idea of ​​fighting at all. They just wanted to run. The way to survive in front of a lion was not to outrun the lion, but to outrun the people around them. They had to make sure that they could run faster than the people around them, so that they could escape from this scene.

They knew very well that they would run away, and they also knew that the people around them would run away. After all, everyone knew how Li Zhi had forcibly captured them, and no one would be loyal to such a young man. Since everyone would run away, the people around them were no longer their companions, but their potential competitors. As long as they ran one step ahead of them, they could let them cover the rear.

Therefore, this kind of army can still fight when the weak ones are fighting each other, but when they encounter tough opponents and see no hope of winning, they will not hesitate to betray their companions around them and scramble to save their own lives.