It doesn't matter what the lord is.

Although the number of people is about the same, Tiancheng does not have as much arable land as Yunyang. If Tiancheng is taken over, the excess population can be moved to Yunyang, and then some factories and farms can be built in Tiancheng.

Fang Shisan was slightly stunned when he heard the number reported by He Yue.

One million and seven hundred thousand people died in five years, and this was without a single large-scale war. This shows how chaotic Tiancheng was. On average, one out of every two people was silently "consumed" to satisfy the pleasures of the nobles, and the ordinary people seemed to be no different from the cattle and sheep in the pasture.

Bai Huang slammed the table in anger and said angrily:

"Almost half of them are dead, and the royal family doesn't care? After all, they are the people of Yongtian Kingdom. Are they really going to watch them being slaughtered and annihilated?"

He Yue put his hand on his forehead and replied helplessly:

"The royal family can't control it... This is the end of the feudal system."

Bai Huang clenched his fists suddenly.

He Yue glanced at her and turned to ask Li De if he had anything to add.

Lid didn't say much, he just stood up, looked around at the people present, and said with a smile:

"In the past year, we have conquered Yunyang, made allies, and qualified to compete for supremacy. From now on, we will also face a more complicated situation."

He paused and continued:

"To be fair, if the world was a little better, with more people who could be good, we wouldn't have to work so hard. As long as we take care of our own little piece of land, we can live happily for the rest of our lives. But the problem is that this world doesn't give good people a chance to survive. Many people are clearly doing the right thing, but all they get is loneliness and pain."

Reed paused again.

He raised his head, looked at the gray sky, and then looked at the people present.

His tone was relaxed, with an innate confidence:

"So we can either be changed by the world, or we can start over again. Unfortunately, we all think that Yunyang is on the right path now, and we don't want to become the same as them. In this case, we should not regard ourselves as a territory of Yongtian Kingdom, but make Yongtian Kingdom our Yunyang's. Meeting adjourned."

After saying that, Reed stood up and went back to the room, and Alayya followed him out.

The others also returned to their posts, and after a short rest, Yunyang's war machine began to rumble again.

After returning to the room, Lide wrote a letter to Xiaohei. At the Potian meeting, they agreed that Lide would provide steel and hand it over to the forgers of Xiqin and Nanchu for forging. Now Lide plans to increase the supply of steel and ask them to help forge some ordinary military equipment to make up for the shortage of weapons and equipment.

At the same time, Lid also sent a letter to Lingwu Lord. Although he didn't know whether the woman cared about the current situation of Chocolate, Lid decided to give her a brief report. At the same time, Lid also asked Lingwu Lord if there were any equipment that had been eliminated and temporarily idle, and Yunyang could consider purchasing a batch.

You certainly can't get the best weapons and equipment by buying them, but the equipment eliminated by Lingwu is definitely more than enough to fight Tiancheng.

After the two letters were sent, Lid breathed a sigh of relief, looked at the time and saw that he still had plenty of time today, so he started teaching chocolate arithmetic problems.

11. Set off again to the sea of ​​clouds

What Lid didn't expect was that the first weapons delivered did not come from Nanchu or Lingwu, but still from Yunhai.

Bai Huang still wrote a letter to his brother in private, asking for five thousand pieces of weapons and armor.

She didn't tell Reed what the price of doing so was, but just smiled and boasted about how awesome she was. As a result, Reed pressed her hands against the wall without saying a word.

Lid looked into her eyes and asked in a low voice after a long while:

"Do you know what you're doing?"

The smile on Bai Huang's face gradually disappeared.

She showed a somewhat guilty expression, looked away, and said to Lid:

"I know. My brother was also very angry. He told me that if I continued like this, I wouldn't be able to go back. But... I don't know why I did this. Maybe I just wanted to test whether they still cared about me as their sister."

Bai Huang looked into Lid's eyes, laughed again, reached out and patted his shoulder, and said:

"It's okay, just accept it. I'm not doing this just for you, I know that."

Lid released his hand that was pressing down on Bai Huang and asked:

"Is Yunhai's situation serious?"

Bai Huang was silent for a while, then replied:

"My eldest brother has reached the tenth level. He killed 27 important followers of my second brother all by himself. Maybe he can't go back... I don't know what I should do. Maybe my second brother is right. I should just stay out of it and stay alone. Anyway, if I go back, Yunhaiwei will throw me out directly, and I won't be able to see my two brothers at all."

Reed stood beside Bai Huang, and a drizzle began to fall outside the window.

Neither man spoke.

I still remember that when Bai Huang had just come to Yunyang, he also asked Li De whether Yunhai's battle for the crown prince would end well. At that time, Li De told Bai Huang that if you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight. The world of adults is always cruel, and it will always end with a life-and-death struggle.

Bai Huang might be aware of this deep down in his heart, but it would be hard for anyone to bear the consequences.

If it were someone else, they would have considered how Yunyang would treat Yunhai after it welcomed its new owner. But Lid thought of how Bai Huang had protected him like a big sister in the capital, and how she later sold all her jewelry to help Yuxi City through the difficult times. Before heading north, she even wrote a letter to Bai Ye asking him to take care of her...

Lid placed his hand gently on Bai Huang's head, rubbed it casually, and asked:

"Your eldest brother and your second brother, who do you want to be the Prince of Yunhai?"

Bai Huang answered without hesitation:

"My second brother. He's smart and has a lot of followers. He's always been the best choice."

Lid asked again:

"So, how do you hope the battle for the crown prince in Yunhai will end?"

Bai Huang thought about it this time, and his tone was a little lonely:

"I just hope they can all live well..."

Lid nodded, removed his hand from Bai Huang's head, and said lightly:

"Then pack up and I'll go to Yunhai with you."

He spoke calmly, and his tone sounded like he was announcing what to eat for lunch today. But this short sentence sounded like thunder in Bai Huang's ears. She suddenly raised her head, looked at Lid in disbelief, and said in a lost voice:

"Are you crazy?"

Lid looked at her, and before he could say anything, Bai Huang spoke quickly:

"We just had a meeting a few days ago. There are so many things to do in Yunyang now. Do you want to leave now? What's more, things are different now than before. My brother let you go before because you were not a threat to Yunhai. Now if you dare to go to Yunhai, they will definitely attack you. There are many people around my brother who want to kill you."

Lid put his hands in his sleeves and said to Bai Huang:

"Maybe. But if I don't go, one of them will die. You will be sad, right? Although there are many sad things in life, I hope that since you came to Yunyang happily, you can live a carefree life every day here."

Bai Huang gently kicked Lid and said:

"You sound like my dad."

Reed patted her on the back:

"Actually I don't mind you calling me dad."

Bai Huang laughed and cursed:

"Get lost, I'd be better off being your mother!"

Then, during the joke, Lid suddenly said without hesitation:

"It's settled. I'll say hello to He Yue and leave for Yunhai next week."

Bai Huang lowered his hands, without any more pretentious politeness, and said solemnly:

"thank you."

Lidd responded:

"You have done a lot for Yunyang. It is fair for me to do something for you this time. I cannot guarantee that both of your brothers will survive in the end, because I do not know what interests are involved in this battle for the crown prince. I can only ensure that you will not regret it in the future as much as possible."

Bai Huang nodded slightly to show his agreement.

Reed had considered the situation in Yunhai many times before.

In order to resolve the crisis of the dispute over the position of the crown prince, we must first find out why Bai Ye, who had been silent for many years, suddenly decided to fight for this position. If this issue can be figured out, the situation in Yunhai will be much clearer. On the contrary, if this matter remains a mystery, then the whole thing will be out of reach.

At least for now, Bai Ye and Bai Feng both want the position of the crown prince, but there can only be one of them. If neither of them is willing to back down, then one of them will definitely ascend the throne by stepping on the corpse of the other. Bai Huang said that he hopes his second brother Bai Feng will take the throne, so the key to the whole incident is to find a way to persuade Bai Ye to back down.

It is necessary to go to Yunhai to collect information, and even ask the person involved in person, before we can make more progress.

That night, Li De asked He Yue to have dinner at Zhenweilou. He Yue was smiling happily, but the first thing she asked after sitting at the table was whether something happened to Li De.

Lid said very frankly that he was going to Yunhai, and He Yue's wine glass fell to the ground on the spot.

After a moment, she changed the wine glass, poured herself a glass of wine, and said to Lid:

"You want to interfere in Yunhai's fight for the crown prince?"

Reed nodded.

He Yue took a deep breath and replied:

"I disagree. The sea of ​​clouds is too close to us. Now is not the time to confront it head-on."

He Yue rarely showed a tough attitude.

Lid smiled and stretched out his hand, rubbed her bitter little face, pinched it, and then said:

"I know. So, I need you to help me do something while I'm gone."

12. Writing a letter is like asking for trouble

This meal lasted until almost midnight.

Since Li De didn't leave, the owner of Zhenweilou, Sha Yan, naturally didn't dare to close the restaurant and waited outside until very late. Of course, this kind of waiting itself was sweet, just like waiting for his girlfriend to finish school at the school gate. After all, Li De came to his place to eat to give him face. Even if Li De ate here for three consecutive days and three nights, he would only be happy and not sad.

By midnight, He Yue was a little drunk, and Lid helped him down from upstairs.

He Yue put an arm on his shoulders and muttered drunkenly:

"You have many thoughts and ideas... I am your subordinate... I just need to do what you say..."

Reed himself had drunk a little too much. He put his arm around He Yue's waist, and the two walked side by side on the empty street.

He Yue said intermittently:

"I know that every time you go out, it's for Yunyang's good, and you always have a way to deal with those dangers. But I'm still worried... because if you make a mistake once, you won't be able to come back..."

He Yue's warm breath smelled of sweet wine, and her soft and weak body seemed to melt into the night.

He Yue bit her rosy lips, put some strength on the arm that was on Lid's neck, leaned close to his ear, and whispered:

"But, I often wonder, what kind of efforts should I make, and to what extent should I go, so that you don't have to worry anymore, and I can keep you by my side..."

After saying that, He Yue lowered her head, leaned on Lid's shoulder and fell asleep.

As for what the two of them talked about in the tavern's box today, only they two knew.

The next day, Lid convened a general meeting and announced that he would go to Yunhai for a while, and that the affairs in the territory would still be handled according to the previous rules. Naturally, others raised many objections to Lid's decision, after all, it was too risky to go to Yunhai now.

Everyone knows that Yunhai wants to rule the Central Plains, and Yunyang is the mountain that blocks Yunhai's north. Yunhai will either be crushed by the mountain or flatten the hill. General Takis is still guarding the southern part of Yunyang with 40,000 elite Yunyang soldiers, but Lid's move is tantamount to running out and giving away his life at the beginning.

However, at the meeting, He Yue agreed with Li De's approach and helped him share a lot of pressure.

The Prime Minister of the Interior supported Lid's opinion, so the others didn't say much.

Bai Huang looked a little guilty and promised Li De that he would cover him when they went to Yunhai this time. If anyone wanted to hurt him, they would have to step over his body first.

Bai Huang's bodyguard Heji only gave Li De a few symbolic words of advice, and then stopped overstepping his authority. His mission was to protect Bai Huang's safety, and Bai Huang should not encounter any major problems when she returns to Yunhai. Whether Li De would die in Yunhai, to be honest, had nothing to do with him. He would not harm Li De, but he also had no obligation to protect Li De.

At the end of the meeting, Lid clapped his hands with a smile:

"I know everyone is worried about my safety. When I'm not around, I hope everyone will stick to their posts. If Yunyang is weak, even if I stay in the iron wall and copper wall every day, I will inevitably be caught in the jar; on the contrary, if our Yunyang is strong, even if I roam around the world, no territory will dare to attack me."

He stood up, looked at everyone, and said calmly:

"I have the confidence to go to Yunhai. You are my confidence."

Everyone stood up and watched Reed leave.

This time, Lide still planned to take Alaya with him. Alaya's current realm was the eighth level of perfection, and it was still difficult for her to reach the ninth level. Although it was dangerous to go to the sea of ​​clouds, it was also an opportunity. Of course, what was more important was that Alaya insisted on going with Lide.

"I am the young master's sword."

Alaiya helped Lid pack his luggage while saying:

"Master, you don't have to care about my feelings. I don't feel tired and I don't need to rest. I just want to stay by your side and protect your safety. No matter where you want to go in the future, whether it's the capital, Lingwu, Nanchu or Yunhai, as long as I can be of use, I hope I can accompany you."

Alayya put her hand on the hilt of the sword at her waist and said solemnly.

Lide could hear the subtext in her words. It was indeed Lide's inconsiderateness not to take her with him on this trip to Nanchu. Everyone in the lord's mansion had their own jobs and dreams, but Alaiya's job was to be Lide's guard and maid. Lide would actually feel sad if he didn't take her with him.

Lid crossed his arms and said with a smile: