It doesn't matter what the lord is.

Xi Que used her sleeve to wipe his tears until her sleeve was soaked. Fang Yuan held Xi Que's hand, looked at her, and said in a trembling voice:

"I will make you the Lord's wife... From today on, you are the mistress of Zhaochen."

The magpie opened his mouth and nodded.

Fang Yuan fell on the chair, feeling a little weak for a moment.

He closed his eyes, called the butler of the lord's mansion over, and gave an order.

"Bring back my father's body, chop it into pieces and throw it into the pigsty. Find someone with a similar appearance and build, put it in the coffin and bury it. Arrest all my brothers and sisters who are still in the city, and don't let them commit suicide."

The housekeeper's body trembled violently, but he still went out to do his work obediently.

Fang Yuan raised his head, looked at the ceiling above his head, smelled the fragrance of elixir in the room, and smiled coldly.

He seemed to be mumbling to himself:

"Finally it's my turn...Finally it's my turn...This time, I'm going to sit here. I want you to live a life worse than death. I want you to experience all the pain I went through back then! I want you to live on your knees, I want you to stretch out your hands to beg, I want you to go hungry and have no clothes to cover your body. Mom, did you see that? I won, I won!!"

His voice echoed in the room filled with alchemy furnaces, with only the magpie listening silently.

The victorious army was burning, killing and looting without restraint. Fang Yuan had been brainwashing them for a long time, making them feel that they and Zhao Chen were two different forces. They were Fang Yuan's soldiers, robbing the money and people of the Lord of Zhao Chen, and there was no conflict. The flames of war were further burning in the city. In a place that Fang Yuan could not see or want to see, could not control or want to control, the world was like hell.

Yunyang, He Yue held the information about the north, sighed heavily, and remembered what Lid had said to him:

"When prosperity occurs, the people suffer; when it dies, the people suffer."

He Yue held his head, put the documents aside, and called his right-hand assistant Feilin.

Feilin walked into the council hall with a stern face. Finding that he was the only one there, he realized that He Yue had something important to discuss with him.

As expected, He Yue said to him at the beginning:

"After the examination, I should have transferred you back to Yunyang Central to work beside me. But now there is a position outside, and I am not sure if anyone else can take it except you. So I came to discuss with you today to see if you have any idea of ​​being transferred. If so, I will give you this responsibility; if you want to take a break for a while, that's fine, I will ask someone else."

Filin replied calmly:

"With you at the center, there aren't many things that need reform. This place isn't suitable for me, and I want to get out and do something sooner rather than later."

He Yue nodded, did not speak for the time being, and just signed a document silently.

Feilin waited for a while, and when he saw He Yue raise his head again, he asked:

"I wonder where you plan to send me and what to do?"

He Yue rolled up a letter of appointment, handed it to him, and replied with a smile:

"Go to Zhaochen Territory and serve as the chief minister of internal affairs."

Even though Filin had a cold face for years, he couldn't help but widen his eyes when he heard this.

He Yue waved her hand and said to him:

"You go down. Also, please ask Fang Shisan to come over."

30. Few things in the world become beautiful dreams

King's capital.

The first snow in the north had already fallen. A thin layer of ice had formed on the Yanming Lake in the palace, and the pavilion in the middle of the lake was covered with snow. The white-robed minister Wu Mi sat in the pavilion, leaning against a sturdy pillar, smiling at the girl in front of him. The girl had drunk some wine, her face was a little ruddy, her hair was combed back, and her breath was filled with soft white mist.

"Lied made the right choice by recruiting you."

Wumi said with a smile.

The girl, Yunye, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Yunyang, also smiled back and said to Wumi:

"My grandfather once told me that one's destiny is unpredictable. The more talented one is, the more things one can do; the more things one can do, the easier it is to get in touch with more people; it is possible to ascend to heaven or fall into hell in a moment. Lord Lide gave me this opportunity, and I will work hard to repay his kindness. In this respect, I am the same type of person as you."

Wu Mi held the rhino horn cup, and a snowflake fell into the sake in the cup.

He took a sip and said to Yunye:

"You are right about the grace of recognition. In fact, from the perspective of the general situation, the Yongtian Kingdom is indeed old and can no longer suppress the local tyrants. Xiqin, Nanchu, Lingwu, Yunhai... there are more and more territories that can threaten the rule of the royal family, but even so, generations of white-robed ministers still come to the capital like moths to a flame, and few of them can have a good end. A man's heart is as hard as iron until death, and he tries to mend the cracks in the sky with his own hands. Everyone's fate is similar. If we really follow the general trend of the world and give up our position to those big territories, what are we fighting for, and what are you fighting for?"

Yunye smiled and said:

"Yunyang only wants to protect himself. We don't have the ability of the master."

Wu Mi looked at Yun Ye and said calmly:

"You don't. But your lord does."

Yunye was stunned for a moment and didn't respond.

Wu Mi did not continue to speak. He drank the wine in the glass and said calmly:

"Two years ago, three hundred thousand people died in Tianyue Mountain alone. Last year, seventy thousand people froze to death on the land actually controlled by the royal family. This year, the number will probably drop below ten thousand, and that's my limit. Because I'm a repairman, and there are too many holes in the roof of my house to repair them all, so I can only wait for it to rain, and then I'll repair the leaking parts, and leave the non-leaking parts as they are for now. You're different, you have the ability to tear down the house and build a new one."

Yunye played with the wine glass in her hand and said to Wumi:

“Repairs are often more difficult than starting over.”

Wu Mi smiled and said to her:

"It's not easy. It's not difficult to start over, and it's not difficult to follow the rules. The hard part is to walk a path that no one has walked before. I'm meeting you at the pavilion in the middle of the lake today. Do you know why?"

Yunye was silent for a while and replied:

"Use us to restrain Yunhai."

Wu Mi did not deny it, which was considered as tacitly acknowledging this.

Yunye poured another glass of wine into the cup and continued:

"So, you also want to understand our current strength and adjust the future strategy according to our strength. Because West Qin and South Chu are mutually restrained, the royal family and Lingwu are mutually restrained, South Vietnam and the rebels are mutually restrained, and Wanze also has to deal with the offensive of the demons. The only thing is that Yunhai has developed too fast in recent years. Once the dispute over the crown prince is over, they will sweep across the Central Plains at a very fast speed. You hope we can block them in front."

A strong wind blew across the center of the lake, and snow fell from the pavilion.

Wumi looked at the frozen lake and asked:

"So, what's your answer?"

Yunye put down the wine glass and replied:

"Yunyang now has 120,000 troops."

Wumi shook her head:

"not enough."

"Our Anbu organization has been able to infiltrate the sea of ​​clouds."

"not enough."

"We have sufficient food and fodder, and Yunyang Guard has recruited many new experts. There are people in the Brave Guild and the Evil Valley who are willing to work for us."

"It's still not enough."

Yunye followed his gaze and saw the dry branches by the lake swaying in the wind.

Wu Mi said to Yun Ye:

"Lid is in the sea of ​​clouds now."

Yunye also did not deny it, which was considered as tacitly acknowledging this.

Umi added:

"The fact that he dared to go to Yunhai is the reason why I came to see you today. Lid has the courage to do this, which means Yunyang is confident that it can hold its own against Yunhai in a head-on confrontation. Your lord trusts you and regards you as his backing. But at the moment, it seems that your strength on paper is far from enough."

Yunye answered frankly:

"Perhaps it is as you said."

Yunye paused and added expressionlessly:

“…But things will soon be different.”

Wu Mi retracted his gaze and squinted at her. Yun Ye, who had drunk, was not afraid at all and also looked back at Wu Mi. The two looked at each other for a moment, and Wu Mi seemed to realize something. He stood up suddenly and shouted in a low voice:

"You are so bold! How dare you make such a move? Do you think our royal family is a soft persimmon that can be bullied by anyone?!"

Yunye filled his glass with wine and said with a smile:

"Sir, calm down. Since you want us to control Yunhai, you can't want the horse to run without giving it grass to eat. You also know that we in Yunyang are very poor and have nothing. We don't have rich land, we don't have centuries of accumulation, we don't have a unique position, and we don't have a reputation that people will bow down to as soon as we speak. We don't have anything else, but we are brave."

Wu Mi took a deep breath, sat back in his seat, and drank the wine in his glass.

He said to Yunye:

"You want to play the role of ruling from behind the scenes, but other territories may not agree to that."

Yunye replied:

"So, it depends on when you play the card that stirs up the world. If the timing is right, they won't have time to do anything. In troubled times, strength comes first. We in Yunyang can't beat Yunhai for now, but we still have the ability to make other territories around us shut up."

Yunye poked her chest near her heart with a confident smile on her face:

"I can assure you that this will be the best investment you make this year."

Wu Mi closed his eyes and thought carefully. After a while, he said:

"Okay...but I have one condition."

Yunye raised her eyebrows and said nothing.

Wu Mi took a sip of the wine in the glass and said in the snow:

“You must treat their people as you would your own people.”

Yunye's expression became stern, and she replied seriously:

"Please rest assured, sir."

Wu Mi heaved a long sigh of relief, clinked glasses with Yun Ye, and said with emotion:

"Raising a tiger brings trouble, and it's hard to get rid of its tail. I've understood these principles from the beginning. When your lord first came to the capital, I realized that Yunyang needs to be managed, otherwise there will be problems. But it's still too fast... Unknowingly, you have developed to the point where you can come to the capital to negotiate with me face to face and force me to make some decisions I don't want to make. But let's leave it this way this time, at least you are still nice to the people, and it doesn't seem like a show."

Yunye felt a little sad. She could hear Wu Mi's helplessness, which was very similar to her helplessness when she worked under Li Yi. For this high and mighty white-robed minister, all the territories in the world that were better to the people could be called good territories, which was already the lowest standard.

Yunye raised her head and drank the wine in the glass, and a little bit of sadness melted in the wine.

She smiled and wished Wu Mi all the best and the royal family prosperity.

31. The Movement of the Ocean Tribe

Yunhai.

Before going to bed that night, Lid asked Bai Huang to go out for a walk.

The streets of Yunhai were still bustling at night. As the weather turned cooler, the snacks sold on the street changed from various cold drinks to delicious foods such as brown sugar taro balls, sugar-fried chestnuts, and ginger milk, which could warm people's stomachs. Bai Huang was not short of money, and he was greedy, so he bought a lot of food and ate it while walking.

Lid helped her carry the bag, walked beside her, and said casually:

"I don't think I've seen much of your other brothers and sisters this time?"

Bai Huang replied:

"Some of them have gone on public travels early to avoid suspicion. Some are hiding in the dark and trying to stir up trouble, and they will definitely not show up at this time. People in the Yunhai family have been in contact with the children of businessmen the most since we were young. Occasionally, we have friends who can play together, but we don't know when they will move away. My father once said that people become cold and indifferent after seeing too many separations, so my brothers and sisters are very good at protecting themselves."

Reed nodded.

Bai Huang took a bite of fried milk and said to Lid:

"But now it seems that all the clues have been cut off again... How can I meet my elder brother? I feel that he should be not far from the city that never sleeps, but I don't know where he is. I thought that the letter was written by him, but I still found nothing after tracing it to the inn. What should we do now?"

Reed looked at the lights in the distance, put his hands in his sleeves and replied:

"Stay in the inn for now. We can't say that we have no clues at all, but the information we have can't piece together a complete picture. When you go back, give me a list of the relationships between your brothers and sisters, and I'll think of a solution."

Bai Huang nodded, packed up the remaining snacks and said to Lid:

"Take these back to Irene. By the way, I think I haven't asked you yet, what do you think of this girl, Irene?"

Reed asked back:

"What do you mean?"

Bai Huang smiled and patted Lid's shoulder, saying:

"That's this year's Yunhai Oiran! As her senior, don't you have any comments?"

Reed shook his head: