It doesn't matter what the lord is.

Regardless of whether Li Yi accepts it or not, one cruel fact will not change: Yuxi City is about to attack.

He couldn't understand why the situation suddenly reversed when he followed Yunyang's army to attack Yuxi City a few months ago. He hadn't even started to feel comfortable in his position as a lord, but he was facing the crisis of being laid off and having to find a new job. After thinking about it, he still didn't understand what the turning point of this war was. He always felt that he hadn't done anything wrong, but the situation was indeed getting worse day by day.

After the Eastern Frontier Army was "annihilated", Yuxi City once again entered a short dormant period. Although Fang Shisan and Li De looked relaxed, the Yunyang Frontier Army still put some pressure on them. The 5,000 people who were persuaded to surrender could not be directly incorporated into the Yuxi City army, otherwise there would be hatred and exclusion within the army, so Yuxi City could only draw out the reserve troops to fill the casualties caused by that battle. The Yunyang Frontier Army was pulled out for training alone, and together with other surrendered soldiers, they served as the city guards.

After burying Karpas in Yuxi City, Takis, the general of the southern border army, declared neutrality. He declared that he did not want to get involved in the internal struggle of Yunyang, and did not want to use the army he had trained so hard to use for internal consumption. So he would listen to whoever won, and before that, he planned to stay on the border with his own army and not be dispatched by anyone.

This statement may seem neutral, but in the current situation, it is basically equivalent to finding an excuse to surrender to Yuxi City. There are only a few armies that can fight. The eastern border troops have either died or fled, and the southern border troops have chosen to continue holding their breath. Then it is only a matter of time before Yuxi City takes Yunyang.

There is not much time left for Li Yi.

There are not many choices left for Li Yi.

When feeding Lord Yunyang medicine for the Nth time, Li Yi's hands suddenly froze. He hesitated for a moment and did not immediately put the medicine into his father's mouth, but fell into a brief thought.

When he heard that the Eastern Frontier Army was annihilated and Yuxi City was not hit, Li Yi was stunned for a long time. In his conception, if he did not provide supplies to the Eastern Frontier Army, the Eastern Frontier Army would have a hard time fighting, so Kalpas and Lid would both lose in the end. In this way, he could not only solve the problem of Yuxi City, but also find a reason to capture and kill Kalpas. It was a genius conception that killed two birds with one stone.

However, the final result was that Kalpas was killed in battle, the Eastern Frontier Army was disbanded, and the delicate balance existing in Yunyang was instantly broken. Li Yi's heart skipped a beat, and he realized that something was wrong. He racked his brains to find a way out of the situation these days, but he was too bald to think of a solution.

When he saw Lord Yunyang, Li Yi's hands began to tremble.

After all, Dad has seen big scenes.

If he wakes up, will he be able to calm the situation?

At least I can give myself a safety net, so that I won't lose so badly...

Li Yi knew very well that if there was no external influence, Li De would soon start attacking Lingyun City. No one could stop them, and it wouldn't be long before he would treat this lord's mansion as his own backyard. Li Yi had no more cards to play, but Lord Yunyang had lived for so long and had seen all kinds of storms, so he might still have a way...

Li Yi's hands were slightly trembling. The eldest son of Yunyang, who grew up with countless boasts and praises, couldn't imagine the feeling of falling from the sky. Even though his past life had many ups and downs, he was still moving upwards overall. From a son to a prince and then to a lord, his status became more and more noble, and more and more people flattered him. Suddenly asking him to hand over everything was like asking for his life.

But the problem is that now he has to choose.

What he did to Li De back then was now known to everyone. After Li De took over Lingyun City, it was impossible for him not to retaliate against him. The other way - to wake up Lord Yunyang, also made Li Yi extremely terrified. After all, Lord Yunyang was awake when the knife was stabbed. If he was allowed to wake up, he would definitely lose his current position...

Li Yi grabbed his hair in pain and sat in front of Lord Yunyang's bed, falling into long thought.

As time went by, Lord Yunyang showed signs of waking up.

Li Yi knew this very well. His hand holding the pill was shaking constantly. Finally, at a certain moment, his hand loosened and the pill fell to the ground. The next moment, a nimble figure jumped out. A black cat came from nowhere, holding the pill in its mouth, and nimbly jumped onto the cabinet.

"You beast—"

Li Yi cursed and was about to rush forward to catch the black cat, but it was too late.

The black cat opened its mouth and swallowed the pill directly into its stomach.

Li Yi gnashed his teeth in anger, staring at the black cat that was drowsy after taking the medicine. When he was about to get another pill, he suddenly felt a terrifying pressure coming from behind like a tide. He turned around hastily and saw the tall figure of Lord Yunyang standing up, looking down at him coldly with a pair of blood-red eyes.

Li Yi's knees went weak and he was about to kneel down, but Lord Yunyang's hand was faster.

He swung his hand and slapped Li Yi's face, sending the son who had stabbed him in the back flying. Li Yi was so frightened that he had no time to resist. He spun and rushed into the wall, knocking down half of the wall. He fell among the rubble and kept coughing up blood. Lord Yunyang glanced at his shaking hands, ignored Li Yi's constant wailing, took a deep breath, and walked out.

Along the way, everyone in the lord's mansion knelt down in submission, not daring to breathe.

Lord Yunyang walked to his lord's seat, sat down, and asked only one question:

"Where are the border troops?"

The one who answered him was the Northern Frontier Army General Asilante who had hurried over. When he saw Lord Yunyang, he showed some joy on his face, knelt down hastily, and kowtowed:

"The eastern border army was defeated by Fang Shisan not long ago, and the southern border army is neutral and unwilling to participate in the war... I am currently in charge of the defense of Lingyun City. Yunyang is in chaos, and the princes are levying heavy taxes and raising troops to cause trouble. Yuxi City took the opportunity to swallow up nearly half of Yunyang's territory! I still ask you to take charge of the situation..."

Lord Yunyang listened silently, looked at him, and said calmly:

"You're fine."

Asilante kowtowed repeatedly.

Lord Yunyang's second words were spoken to those outside the Lord's Mansion. His tone was surprisingly calm:

"Next, you have three things to do. First, go and break the legs of my disappointing son, Li Yi, and lock him up in a dark room... Then, announce to all places in Yunyang that I want to depose the Crown Prince. Second, make all the princes in Yunyang give up their military power and send them to me. Those who do a good job will have a chance to become the next Crown Prince of Yunyang. Third, send a letter to Takis of the southern border army, saying that I am awake, and ask him to hurry up... and come here!"

50. A Soldier’s Duty

So the question is... Is the Prince of Yunyang willing to hand over his troops to the Lord of Yunyang?

The answer is: yes.

At least the eighth son of Yunyang, Li Ren, chose to do so. The reason was simple. He had the most people at his disposal, but he had no confidence in taking Yuxi City, and he could not afford to support so many soldiers. Rather than exhausting his ammunition and food, it would be better to hand over this hot potato directly.

His ambitions were shattered the moment Kalpas joined Li Yi's army.

He knew very well that there would be no good thing if he defected to Yuxi City now, but after Li Yi was confirmed to be deposed as the crown prince, he was the one with the best hope of becoming the crown prince among all the princes of Yunyang. In this case, he might as well take a gamble. As long as the Lord of Yunyang won the subsequent key battle, his status would definitely rise accordingly.

As for the other princes, their mentality was more complicated. Some of them had similar ideas to Li Ren, while others felt that when Yuxi City approached them for cooperation, they pretended to be a good kid without ambitions, but now suddenly showed their fangs and started to swallow up the nobles, which was a bit ugly. Others were frightened by Yuxi City's actions to liquidate the nobles. When they were judging, they would not take into account any complicated interpersonal relationships. If they made a mistake, they had to pay it back. If they really followed their method of liquidation, few of the Yunyang princes present would be able to escape.

Whether it's for saving lives or for greater ambitions, it doesn't matter.

Judging from the results, most of the Yunyang princes handed over their military power.

The Lord of Yunyang did not accept all of them. Because of the forced conscription, many old, weak, sick and disabled people were mixed in the armies of the princes. The Lord of Yunyang kicked all of them out, and then screened the remaining people, picking out the young and capable ones and training them carefully, and finally the number of troops was set at about 200,000.

There are still more than 40,000 troops left in the northern border and about 80,000 in the southern border.

After receiving the letter from Lord Yunyang, Takis sighed and said to Yunye, who was sitting in the guest of honor seat:

"Let's go back to Yuxi City, little sister. Lord Yunyang has woken up, and the battle has to continue. I also have to pack up and go to Lingyun City to take orders."

Among the three generals of the Northeast and South Border Army, Takis should be the youngest. He looks about 35 years old. He is a bearded uncle who closes one eye when he speaks. His tone is gentle and a little helpless. He waved the letter in his hand to Yunye and planned to order the soldiers to send her away.

The sudden change left everyone present a little confused, but Yunye still looked calm.

She happened to have drunk a little wine today, so she lifted her hair, looked at Takis intently, and asked:

"General, do you intend to be as loyal to Yunyang as Kalpas was?"

Takis did not answer. Yunye narrowed her eyes and continued:

"General, Yuxi City will not blame you for going back on your word, but I'm afraid that Lord Yunyang will no longer trust you. This time, they are calling you over, most likely to deprive you of your military power. The Southern Frontier Army is your hard work, do you really not care?"

Takis laughed loudly, and the people around him put on his battle robe. He said to Yunye:

"As a human being, you should always have your own persistence. Of course, I care about what you said. But before that, I am first and foremost a general of Yunyang, and I must obey the orders of the Lord of Yunyang. While the Lord is in a coma, I can use this as an excuse to keep my troops in place; but now that he has called me over, I have to go and see the mountains of swords and the seas of fire."

Takis put on his helmet, patted Yunye on the shoulder, and said:

"Don't worry, I will use the border security as an excuse to leave some troops here. Lord Yunyang won't touch me at this time, and he doesn't have many people to use. As for the future fight, it depends on your ability. I still have high hopes for you."

After Takis finished speaking, he called the soldiers behind him and told them to pack up and go to Lingyun City. Yunye put the wine glass back on the table and stood up to say goodbye. The soldiers beside her were a little embarrassed for a moment. After all, they had been talking harmoniously not long ago and seemed to be about to reach a follow-up cooperation. Now they suddenly became hostile. No one expected that the banquet would end in this way.

Yunye put on her coat, looked at the sky above her head, and got on the carriage back to Yuxi City.

Takis has made up his mind to leave. This is no longer a problem that can be solved through diplomacy. The rest of the matter can be left to Fang Shisan. Yunye still trusts the army of Yuxi City, which is also a solid backing for her diplomatic maneuvers. The situation in Yunyang is already very clear. It won't be long before the final decisive battle breaks out. This father-son game will soon come to an end.

It's been two years.

Two years have passed since Lid left Lingyun City, and Yunyang is experiencing another hot summer.

Lid was sitting in a room filled with ice cubes, eating ice watermelon. On the table was a research report from the Anbu organization. Fang Shisan was sitting in a wheelchair, also holding half a watermelon in her hand. Tira was carefully helping her wipe the juice off her lips. While reading the report, Lid said to Fang Shisan in a vague voice:

"My father is quite capable, and he is really good at integrating resources. An army of 200,000 can definitely exert a certain combat effectiveness in his hands, not to mention that the two border troops together have at least 70,000 to 80,000 people. On our side, even if we put all the reserves in, the total number of soldiers will hardly exceed 100,000. Do you have any way to deal with the three-fold difference in troop strength?"

Fang Shisan placed his hands on his legs and answered gently:

"Both delaying and fighting are fine. Delaying is a more stable approach. The people on our side are gradually becoming more stable, the reserve is more sufficient, and the protection of the territory is also increasing. Although Lord Yunyang has more troops, they can hardly afford such a large number of troops. As long as we defend our defenses and delay for a few months, Lord Yunyang will inevitably fall into chaos."

The Lord of Yunyang was not a god. The other princes of Yunyang were tyrannical and tyrannical, and were unable to maintain such a large army. The Lord of Yunyang was the same. It was just that because of the streamlining of the army and his personal prestige, the collapse would be postponed for a few months.

Fang Shisan closed his eyes and continued:

"But if we do this, half of Yunyang will probably be completely destroyed. If we continue to drag it out, the people's strength will be overdrawn to a point where it will be difficult to recover. So I prefer to fight with the Lord of Yunyang on the front battlefield, for the people of Yunyang and for our future."

Lid threw the watermelon rind into the trash can with a beautiful three-pointer gesture and asked:

"What are the chances of winning?"

Fang Shisan closed his eyes and was silent for a while. He seemed to have simply calculated it in his mind, and then gave his answer:

"More than 70%."

Lid nodded and smiled:

"Then do it. It's all in. If you win, you'll make a fortune. If you lose, you'll have to go to the sea to make money. Since you want to pursue excitement, then go all the way."

51. The Response of Eternal Heaven

Lord Yunyang and Yuxi City both chose to temporarily cease fire.

Yuxi City needs to consolidate the territory it has already acquired and also start to convert the reserve troops into regular troops. Lord Yunyang needs to train the foolish army created by his sons to give them the most basic combat capabilities. For at least ten days or half a month, neither side will take the next step on the battlefield.

The calm before the storm is the beginning of a bigger feast.

The difference is that the Lord of Yunyang has bet all his future on the army, while Yuxi City, which is more well prepared, has already started the all-round war that they are good at. Public opinion, economy, diplomacy, infiltration, blasting... There are countless ways to block the opponent outside the battlefield. Fang Shisan is training the army day and night, and the Anbu, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs are also not idle, and have begun a series of intensive arrangements.

First, they publicized Yunyang's tyranny on a large scale, and compared it with Yuxi City's new policies. They made the people of Yunyang understand a basic truth, that is, if Yuxi City won, their good days would come, but if Yunyang won, it would only be a continuation of their suffering. The city was tightly controlled by the lord of Yunyang, so Yuxi City started with the towns and villages, and sent a large number of people to infiltrate the countryside to carry out propaganda.

Again, before the Yunyang army was defeated, the people would not really riot, they did not have the courage. But beating the downtrodden dog was a skill that everyone was born with, once the Yunyang lord lost on the battlefield, what awaited him would be an avalanche-like scene, and there would be no possibility of a comeback.

Yunye also started a new round of diplomatic work. She began to travel around the surrounding territories to win over future allies. In her description, Yuxi City was just a group of people who were oppressed and wanted to rebel. They had no ambitions. In the future, when the world was in chaos, Yuxi City could become a helper for others and do business with many territories at the same time like Yunhai.

As for blank checks, Yuxicheng is used to writing them.

Anyway, if something goes wrong, they will just push the blame onto Lid, and if asked, it's just that their boss is shameless. All the blame behind Lid can circle around Yongtian Kingdom twice, so this one isn't a big deal.

It is worth mentioning that this time when Yunye went to Zhaochen, she did not look for Lord Zhaochen, but met Fang Yuan who was fighting on the front line.

Fang Yuan still had a smiling face, and asked Yun Ye if Li De asked her to come. After getting an affirmative answer, he was happy for a long time, and kept telling Xi Que beside him, "Look, the boss really thinks I can be the Lord of Zhaochen." The fat white man smiled like a silly boy, and after signing some treaties with Yun Ye, he gave Yun Ye a few jade pendants as gifts, and smiled and said that they would be allies in the future.

Yunye smiled without leaking a single drop of water, but after leaving, she looked at the piles of corpses outside from the carriage, with a slightly complicated expression. The entire Zhaochen has now become a hell, people in Fangyuan have been dying, and the people of the Lord of Zhaochen have been dying too. There are too many dead and there is no money to bury them, and the place is filled with the stench of rotting corpses.

Zhaochen and Yunyang were originally two similar situations, but they have developed into completely different situations now.

Yunye suddenly remembered that Lid once told her that Fang Yuan would win the battle, but that was all.

At that time, Yunye didn’t quite understand the meaning of this sentence, but now she slowly understands it.

The father-son situation in Yunyang has now become a topic of conversation that people all over the world enjoy after dinner.

There were quite a few lords who didn't get along with Lord Yunyang, and everyone was just there to watch the fun. Whether Lord Yunyang won or lost, they were already satisfied. After all, it was embarrassing enough for Lord Yunyang to be forced to this extent by his own son. The guys who were watching the fun didn't expect Yuxi City to win against Lord Yunyang who was going all out, nor did they think Yuxi City could govern such a large area of ​​Yunyang. The people in Yuxi City were too young, and they were just a bunch of impatient kids in the eyes of the old foxes.

In the eyes of big men, governing a big country is like cooking a small fish, which cannot be rushed.

On the royal side, the king was furious after learning what Lid had done, and ordered Wumi to immediately order the Yunyang lord to clean up the mess, but Wumi rarely agreed to the king's request. The feudal system of Yongtian Kingdom was originally a helpless move, and the reduction of feudal lords was proposed to deal with the feudal system. The core idea of ​​reducing feudal lords is to cause internal struggles between the territories, so as to quickly consume the strength of the territories and let the royal family return to the center of power.

If the royal family helps the lord to suppress the rebellion, then no one in the territories will dare to rebel in the future. This loophole cannot be opened now. Wu Mi knows this, and all the ministers know it, so they must find a reason to persuade the king to come down. Anyway, the battle in Yunyang is almost over. As long as this period of time passes, it will be too late for the king to do anything he wants.

The little princess Lana nervously pulled Wu Mi's sleeve and asked him about Yun Yang's situation again and again.

Wumi always smiled and bowed to Lana, telling her:

"Don't worry, whichever side Your Highness wants to win will win."

Lana lay by the window, thinking that it would be great if Lid won. At that time, she would go to her father and ask him to fulfill his promise. The king would definitely not agree, but Lana thought that she could pack up her things, sneak away with a small package on her back, and sneak to Yuxi City. Anyway, the king would not be able to control her by then. After she and Lid were married, she would go back and inform the king. By then, even if the king did not agree, he would have to endure it. This was called a done deal.

Lana was very happy thinking about this. She held her cheeks and swung her two little feet back and forth.

In Xiqin and Nanchu, Xiaohei and Xiaobai both received reports about Yunyang. The secret organizations of these two families were not vegetarians. In their eyes, Yunyang was almost transparent and there was no privacy.

Xiao Hei, Xiao Bai and the royal family had completely opposite reactions. They hoped that Li De would win. They had become friends in the capital, and they were all members of [Po Tian] in private. This organization has not yet been fully deployed. After Li De takes over Yunyang, they can drag Li De to do something together. As for whether Yuxi City will threaten the existence of Xi Qin and Nan Chu in the future... Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai don't have to think about such a question for the time being, because in fact, even if Li De takes over Yunyang, he is not in the same echelon as them for the time being.

As for the Lingwu Lord, he didn't care what happened to Yunyang at all.

The Anbu organization had submitted several reports, but she was too lazy to read them. As the woman who knew Lid best, she had already tacitly agreed that Lid would become the next Lord of Yunyang when she let him go. Otherwise, she would not have negotiated with Lid about the custody of Chocolate. In her eyes, Lid could only die in her hands, and no one else could kill him.

At night, Chocolate grabbed the collar of Lingwu Lord, blinked at her, and asked after a long pause:

"Mom...when can I go play with Daddy?"

The Lingwu Lord didn't want to answer, but after being stared at by Chocolate's sparkling eyes for a long time, he answered reluctantly:

"Soon."

52. New life

That night, Lid had another dream about the reincarnated goddess.

The goddess in the dream still looked hazy, wearing a pure white hood, with only pink lips showing, and said to Lid with a smile:

"Finally you took this path. Even though it's a little late, it's not too late."

In the dream, Lid waved his hand and answered straightforwardly: