It doesn't matter what the lord is.

"No, Ms. Skadi. Compared to traditional martial arts, which only have destructive properties, magic does have many other uses. But from ancient times to the present, the most common use is still destruction. From super ancient magic to modern magic, this has never changed."

Skadi shook his head and said:

"I don't want to argue with you on this point... Human nature is also uncertain about good and evil, but in order to make this world less evil, we are more willing to promote its good side. The same is true for magic. If you win the war with magic, there will be countless territories in the future to dig out and exploit those with magical talents, and magic will become a tool for killing people."

The two sides were deadlocked, and Skadi suddenly asked:

"How many people do you plan to kill with this thing?"

Lid replied calmly:

“Maybe tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands.”

Skadi looked at Lid, and his aura began to become a little scary. But Lid raised his head, and the power of his soul overwhelmed Skadi's aura. He put his bandaged hand on the table and said to Skadi:

"Ms. Skadi, I was in the Sea of ​​Clouds, and I personally beat a man who had half a foot into the tenth level back to the mortal world. At that time, I discovered that the tenth level was actually just this level."

Skadi put away his aura and said to Lid:

"How many seal stones do you need? If I don't agree, will fewer people die?"

Lid was silent for a while, then said:

“…It’s the same thing actually.”

This statement is a double entendre.

In fact, Lid didn't need so many detonators. The reason why he told Skadi that the detonators were in short supply was because he wanted Skadi to help him make a batch of seal stones. In this way, people in other territories who were familiar with magic would associate the source of the explosion with magic, instead of treating it as a new weapon to guard against. Whether Skadi helped him make the seal stones or not actually made little difference. At most, it would detonate fewer explosives, and it would not have much impact on the final casualties.

Secondly, war always results in casualties. Regardless of whether Skadi and Lid stay out of the war, the total number of dead soldiers will not change much. The only difference is how many of the dead soldiers are from other territories and how many are from Yunyang itself.

Skadi sighed slightly and said:

"Your Yunyang magic workshop can only produce some crude seal stones, which have limited precision and are prone to accidental explosions. I still have about 300 of these seal stones in my workshop. I can give them to you intact, but you have to promise me one thing."

Lid took a sip of tea and said:

"please say."

Skadi looked him in the eyes and said:

"From now on, you will start saving people in all parts of Yongtian Kingdom. No matter what method you use, whether it's giving alms to the homeless along the way or setting up a hospital or welfare home, in short, you must save as many people as you kill. This is an exchange."

Reed laughed.

Laughing, he put down the teacup and said to Skadi:

"You will understand later. The number of people saved by Tiancheng alone is several times or even dozens of times more than what you said."

Skadi did not show any expression, but just said lightly:

"Then should I congratulate the Lord? From now on, I have one more territory, and I can search and exploit those talented people with magical talents without restraint?"

Lid put down his teacup and said frankly:

"Yes, I sincerely hope that there will be more intelligent people, more talented people, and more people who are not afraid of death among the people of Tiancheng. Even if I take a step back, I hope that there will be at least more people among them who can distinguish right from wrong, good from evil, and it would be best if one day they could kneel outside our Yunyang Lord's Mansion and sing a song of gratitude for me."

21. Start digging

Tiancheng Territory·Anning City.

There is a mountain outside Anning City, called Wanshi Mountain, which means "mountains and rivers for eternity". The lords of Tiancheng Territory are buried on this mountain. Although their descendants are inferior to the previous generation and have come up with a policy of governing by relying on brutal rule to enslave the people, Tiancheng Territory has indeed produced several generations of outstanding lords who worked hard to govern and accumulated a lot of wealth.

A son may not feel bad when he sells his grandfather's land, but the fact that there is land to sell also means that his ancestors were once wealthy.

The Feng Shui of Wanshi Mountain is good. It can be said that it is the mountain with the best Feng Shui in Tiancheng. Although the Feng Shui theory is illusory, it does not prevent believers from spending a lot of effort to build a mausoleum here. Now, Juanbai is standing at the entrance of the mausoleum. The people who are leading the way ask him if he wants to go in. Juanbai does not answer, but does not take any further action.

The mausoleum is full of evergreen trees, so it doesn't look bleak even in winter.

In the solemn environment, Selaginella took off her headband, wrapped it around her right hand, and spoke to the cemetery that stretched for thousands of miles:

"Anyway, thank you all for your hard work in Tiancheng."

He paused and then said:

"From now on, this place belongs to our Yunyang territory."

The treasures collected by the Tiancheng lords of all generations were in the millions, and half of them were in the mausoleum. The treasury was just a small amount of money. The Tiancheng lords had huge expenses and had long been unable to make ends meet. How could they expect to save any good things in the treasury? But it was different here. Even if the Tiancheng lords were short of money, they couldn't dig up their own ancestral tombs.

On the contrary, he must have prepared a large amount of gold, silver and jewelry to be buried with him in his tomb after his death.

Unfortunately, he probably won't be able to use it anymore. Not only will he not be able to use it, but the treasures buried underground will also be taken out. Instead of letting the money rot, it would be better to use it to pay for the sins they committed against the people of Tiancheng.

Selaginella was a reasonable man. Before digging up other people's ancestral graves, he would greet their ancestors cordially. He believed that the lords of Tiancheng were also reasonable. If his descendants made mistakes, they would naturally pay the price. Their descendants could not afford this price, so they had to pay it themselves.

In Lid's words, this is called recovering stolen money anytime and anywhere.

At this time, another soldier came over, and Selaginella tied the headband back on and began to walk down the mountain while listening to the report:

"Lord Tiancheng's mansion has been conquered. Lord Tiancheng died, but his two sons survived and are expected to be taken back to Yunyang for trial. We have issued severance pay to the people who invaded the mansion so that they can return to their hometowns. The small leaders who once led them to resist the army have also been identified. It's up to you to decide how to deal with them."

Selaginella said to the messenger:

"They are a group of ruthless people who can change the world upside down. It's just that they were born in the wrong place and went in the wrong direction. We will soon recruit a group of soldiers from Tiancheng. We can test their opinions in advance. If any of them are willing to stay, we will still protect their wealth and glory."

The soldier continued:

"Yes. There is another problem. We learned from those people that there is a force behind them. Their actions are not entirely spontaneous. Someone is directing them from behind."

Selaginella asked:

"Lord Tiancheng?"

The soldier shook his head and said:

"No... they don't know who the other party is either."

Selaginella was silent for a while, then said to the messenger:

"Report this news to the Lord intactly, and at the same time assign some personnel to contact the Anbu organization to investigate those who contacted them."

The soldier saluted and said:

"Yes!"

When Juanbai returned to Anning City, Yunyang's Shenji Battalion and Shaoyu Battalion had already arrived. The battalion commander of the Shenji Battalion did not come, so Juanbai met with the battalion commander of the Shaoyu Battalion, Mingqian. Mingqian was still growing up, and compared to the first time he met Juanbai, he was obviously taller now, and the muscle lines on his body were more and more clear.

"Get ready to dig a hole."

Ming Qian went straight to the point and said:

"The Lord sent us here to assist. We will be responsible for evacuating the people nearby and spreading as much false information as possible to ensure that the plan can proceed smoothly. General Juanbai, General Fang Shisan asked me to remind you that the fewer people who know about this plan, the better."

Selaginella said:

"Don't worry. If anything goes wrong, I'll come to you with my head."

Ming Qian smiled and shook hands with Juanbai, saying:

"The Shenji Camp will participate in the whole process this time, but General Fang Shisan will not come. She said that you are capable of handling the affairs here, and she will personally lead people to fight a few battles to make those suspicious territories fall into the trap. Otherwise, if it is too easy, I am afraid they will also be suspicious."

Selaginella smiled and said:

"As expected... I haven't seen you for a few days. Has the Shao Yu Camp been expanded? It seems that you have a lot more people than before."

It was very busy outside Anning City now, with many young boys and girls aged fifteen or sixteen helping the lonely elderly people in the city to move outside. With the killing of the Tiancheng lord, the looting of the Tiancheng treasury, and the rapid construction of various disaster relief tents, the desperate and lonely beastly aura of the Tiancheng people also dissipated a lot. For them, completing revenge with their own hands was more important than anything else, and the emptiness and loneliness after revenge allowed them to recover some of their sanity in a short period of time, as if they had entered the sage time.

In this situation, most people would not have any evil thoughts when facing some cheerful teenagers.

Of course, it would be useless even if they had one, because the people in Shao Yuying have also undergone professional combat training, and ordinary people really can't beat them.

Ming Qian looked at the busy people and replied:

"Yes, we have expanded the enrollment. As you know, no one is better than us at publicity... In addition, the results of the Shao Yu Camp last year were good, so many people are willing to come to our camp. Of course, you will probably enroll more people in the future."

Ming Qian's eyes fell on the people of Tiancheng who were wearing tattered clothes and drinking porridge with their hands.

Zhaochen had an "honorary lord", so the original structure was retained, but all key positions were filled with people from Yunyang. But Tiancheng didn't need to do that, the royal family had already named Tiancheng, which meant that whoever took over this land could just remove the name "Tiancheng" and take everything into their pockets.

There was no need for Tiancheng to form its own army. On the contrary, considering that the people of Tiancheng were very "unruly", the people of Tiancheng would be dispersed and inserted into various armies in the first few years of joining the army.

Yunyang's army is an elite force, and some new recruits who have just passed the passing line will most likely be assigned to Juanbai. After all, Zhaochen itself also needs enough soldiers to hold the fort.

Selaginella pinched the stiff shoulders and said with a half sigh and half joy:

"Ah... I guess I'll be busy later."

22. Prepare for Negotiation

Shortly after Yunyang conquered Anning City, the Huaiwang Territory announced the reconvening of the "Support Tiancheng" meeting, and publicly condemned Lide for many crimes including "abusing the people of Tiancheng" and "killing the lord of Tiancheng", and demanded that Yunyang must immediately withdraw from the "ill-gotten" Tiancheng territory and resolve the issue through negotiations.

On the same day, Yunyang announced an initial grant of 100,000 gold coins to help Tiancheng rebuild from the ruins.

When cartloads of grain, timber, sand, gravel and cement were transported to Tiancheng, Lid also arrived there and gave a short speech:

"I know that each of you has gone through all kinds of things to barely survive in this fucked-up world. Now, the haze has dissipated and the snow has melted, but what you have to face is not a bright future, but a more cruel reality. How to survive, how to change your current situation, and even whether it is necessary to continue working hard, you have to think about far more questions than the people of other territories."

Lidd paused and continued:

"In my eyes, you are part of the human race and our compatriots, just like the people of Yunyang and other territories of Yongtian Kingdom. Back then, we in Yunyang were willing to accept you despite taking huge risks, and now we are still willing to believe in you again. Because I think you are a great group of people - in a world like this, just being born and just being alive is already a great thing. You have been trying your best to survive, and we will do our best to respond to your wishes."

Lid raised a finger and said loudly:

"I only ask of you one thing, live! Live in this land where there is no more oppression! Yunyang will not treat you as our slaves, nor will we treat you as children who need to be taken care of! You have suffered, and we lend you resources to rebuild your homeland. What you will become after that is entirely up to you. Whether you become a human or a dog is entirely up to you!"

Reed, who was wearing a loose robe, left after saying this. He still had a lot to do.

As he said, Yunyang would not invest too many resources in Tiancheng. On the one hand, it was because Yunyang itself was still in the development stage and far from saturation; on the other hand, it was because he did not believe that the people of Tiancheng would have any intention of returning the favor. Feeding them too much would cause unnecessary troubles, so he would first temper their tempers.

One hundred thousand gold coins can buy 340 million kilograms of rice at the current price, which seems like a terrifying number. But in fact, each person consumes more than one kilogram of rice every day. Even if it is mixed with other wild vegetables to make porridge, at least half a kilogram is needed to barely fill the stomach. Tiancheng currently has about two million residents, and more than three-quarters of the people need to receive relief food to survive, which means that at least one and a half million people need Yunyang to feed them. These people eat 750,000 kilograms of rice every day, and 100,000 gold coins can only last for more than a year if they are exchanged for food.

In fact, it is impossible to use all the money to buy rice. A considerable part of it will be used to buy other necessities. In addition, half a pound of rice is not enough for one person during the busy farming season. In the end, it would be good if the 100,000 gold coins could last for half a year.

As for the warning from Prince Huai's territory, Lid just listened to it for fun and actually ignored it.

When the eighth envoy from the Huaiwang Territory came to Yunyang to urge him to attend the meeting, Lide finally got up from the bed slowly, called the merchant who had been sent to the Huaiwang Territory to deliver the message last time, and asked:

"Are you going to Huaiwang Territory for any business recently?"

The businessman was completely confused, but he still answered:

"My Lord, yes. I usually do business with Qiuxiang Pavilion in the Huaiwang territory, and I will go there tomorrow. It's the end of the year now, so I will collect the balance and discuss next year's orders..."

Lid smiled and patted his shoulder:

"Okay. Last time I asked you to pass on a message for me, you did a good job. This time, I'd like you to tell them for me, too. It's a total of 16 words: 'Not very capable, but a lot of trouble. Beat them if you want, forget it if you don't want.' Do you remember it?"

The businessman repeated it several times in his mind and said seriously:

"Remember, just wait for my good news."

Reed smiled and thought to himself that if they didn't explode after hearing this, it would be strange, how could there be any good news?

He yawned and slept for a while. In the middle of the morning, he slowly got up and asked Alayya to help him change his clothes. Then he met the eight envoys from the Huaiwang territory alone and said with a refreshed look:

"Everyone, please go back. Our Yunyang envoy will set off for the Huaiwang territory tomorrow. This time, he will fully represent my opinions and have a cordial and friendly meeting with the Huaiwang Lord. I believe that with the concerted efforts of various territories, we will be able to give the people of Tiancheng a better tomorrow. Yunyang is willing to join hands with you to create a world where no one gets hurt."

The eight men had been left out by Lid for almost half a month, and now they finally got the news. Their eyes were moist for a moment. The leading envoy held Lid's hand tightly and said sincerely:

"If the negotiations are successful this time, you, the Lord, will take the credit!"

Lid waved his hand:

"You're welcome. I'll treat you all to lunch at noon to see you off!"

The eight envoys from the Huaiwang Territory said in unison:

"Thank you Lord Lord!"

Lid had a meal with these old men, and then sent them back to the territory of King Huai.

He met Fang Shisan in the afternoon. Fang Shisan was sitting in a wheelchair, and her maid Tiara was helping her read a military book.

Seeing Lid, Tira put down the book and called Lid's name, and Fang Shisan also turned his head that way.

Lid smiled and said:

"I heard that a new dessert shop just opened in Lingyun City, and I wanted to take you there to try it before you went to war. Why did you suddenly start reviewing military books before leaving?"

Fang Shisan smiled and replied:

"It can't be said that I'm cramming... I didn't fully understand many parts of the military books written by Fan Qing before. Isn't he fighting the Lingwu Lord now? If I understand his deployment of troops and combine it with the military books he wrote at that time, I will gradually understand the true beauty of these formations."

She paused and said to Lid: