It doesn't matter what the lord is.

Fan Qing looked at this scene, reached into his vest and scratched his belly, and said to the people around him:

"It's almost time to end. It's said that the Lingwu Lord has a pair of iconic phoenix eyes, and is a queen born to be indescribably noble. But this place is called Luofengpo, maybe this is her fate... Time is running out, do you have any final questions?"

A younger general saluted and asked:

"Teacher, I have a question. I have studied the case of the Cangzhou lords raising an army. They were also aggressive at the beginning, but later we held on and won. Why can't we do that this time?"

Fan Qing smiled and replied:

"It's very simple. When the Lord of Cangzhou started his rebellion, there were many internal conflicts. If he failed to quickly capture the capital, it would be easy for him to fall into chaos first. The difference is that this time the Lingwu Territory is united, but it is us who will soon be in chaos."

The young general asked doubtfully:

"chaos?"

Fan Qing made a gesture of wiping his neck:

"His Royal Highness the King of Chao is going to do something big... and Wumi can't stop him. Wumi is good in every way except that he is too loyal to the royal family. This matter has developed to the point where one of the King and the King of Chao must die. Wumi said that he would give us a stable rear area, but in fact he can't give it to us because he doesn't dare to kill the King of Chao."

Fan Qing's voice was filled with emotion:

"When King Chao ascends the throne, I will be a third-generation minister. How long can King Chao trust me? Even if he does, how much resources can I, an airborne veteran with a new army involved in many interests, get from the nobles? I can stand here now because Wumi handed over the military power to me, but what if one day Wumi can't save himself? In the end, there are only two options. Either I change the generals at the last minute and get defeated, or I disobey the order and fight to the death on the front line, and finally be dragged down by the pressure from the rear and die with hatred. Instead of this, it is better to choose a decent ending for myself from the beginning. This is the last thing I can do."

The young general lowered his hands, and the bearded middle-aged man beside him asked again:

"If that's the case, why do you want to come out? Even if the Yongtian Kingdom really changes its owner, no one will touch you. What's more, the current king is mean and ungrateful. He uses his own cleverness to manipulate his subjects. He is not a wise ruler."

Fan Qing was silent for a moment, then laughed again and replied:

"He has no favor towards me, but his father has. When I die and go to the underworld, his father will ask me why I didn't help his son, and I won't be able to answer. Moreover, that white-robed minister knelt at my doorstep for three whole days without eating or drinking. It makes me feel that even though the Eternal Heaven Kingdom is in ruins, there are still many people willing to run around for it, and even sacrifice their lives... so this battle is not completely hopeless."

Fan Qing looked at his confidants, smiled, and said gently:

"We are all mortal. We cannot escape it. Dynasties will eventually fall, and no country is immune. But we cannot just accept our fate. No matter what monster we face, we must constantly think of ways to defeat our opponents. Well, let's stop here. Climb down the mountain using these vines and float down the river at the foot of the mountain. There is still a chance of survival."

A beautiful lady with her hair tied up in men's clothing asked:

"Teacher, what will you do?"

Fan Qing found a stone to sit on, patted the dust off his gray vest, and replied:

"I won't leave. You see, many kids who were kept in the dark died here because of my scheme. I have to go down with them and give them an explanation."

The confidants tried to persuade him several times, but Fan Qing remained unmoved, so the confidants finally had to leave on their own.

Fan Qing sat quietly on the stone until a gust of wind blew, the heat approached, and a red flame was reflected on the ground in front of him.

He raised his head and stared quietly at the raging fire coming towards him. His thin and frail body was instantly swallowed by the flames.

……

High in the sky, after Lord Lingwu finally broke free from the surging sword energy, he saw a sea of ​​fire before him.

There were ghosts howling everywhere.

Xige had disappeared, leaving only a half-broken hairpin on the ground.

Lingwu Lord was not seriously injured. She protected herself with golden flames and withstood Sig's full-strength attack. However, her black hair was a little disheveled and her veil slipped from her nose to her rosy lips. She looked coldly at the raging fire that seemed to burn the entire Luofeng Mountain. Almost half of Lingwu's soldiers were killed here. The remaining people huddled together in the fire, relying on the protection of the military formation to barely hold on, but people fell down every minute and every second.

If she continues like this, this might really become a hurdle that she cannot overcome in her life.

At that moment, Lord Lingwu somehow remembered the scene at the bottom of the sea last year.

At that time, Li De smiled and said to her, "I will bring my people to you, can you fulfill their wishes? Just to say that He Yue wants peace in the world, you can't give it, you will never give it."

His tone was firm, as if he had seen the near future. For the first time, the Lingwu lord refuted with some unwillingness to admit defeat, saying that I could make Lingwu from a population of 10,000 to a place where it could compete with the royal family, and that I could open up a vast space from the uninhabited outskirts of the Great Wall, and naturally I could make this country stronger.

Could it be that fate had already determined that her hundreds of years of hard work would eventually come to naught, and she would have to continue waiting in that bitter cold place where the sun never sets? Could it be that there really was a destiny that was against her, that no matter how hard she tried to pursue something, she still couldn't get it?

Why!

Lingwu Lord suddenly opened his eyes wide, raised his hand, and the golden flame turned into a roaring tornado, and began to roar and move between heaven and earth. Her long skirt fluttered in the wind, and the majesty of the emperor once again enveloped the entire Luofeng Mountain.

At first, ordinary flames were still spreading with the wind, but gradually began to gather towards the golden tornado. The entire tornado was like a dragon sucking water, slowly draining the flames in the forest.

There were stains of bright red blood on the veil at the corners of Lord Lingwu's lips.

For the royal family and Fan Qing, attacking Luofeng Mountain with fire might be a good strategy.

But they forgot one thing -

The phoenix will not die in the fire, the phoenix will be reborn in the flames.

36. I want to go to Xiqin

To be honest, when Reed learned that Lord Lingwu passed through Luofeng Mountain and led his troops to continue approaching the royal capital, he was not that surprised.

Although Luofeng Mountain sounds like a place that is very unlucky for her, Lid, who has had close contact with Lingwu Lord, has reason to believe that Lingwu Lord's hegemony will not stop in such a place. Looking at Lingwu Lord's past life, you can find that luck has always been on her side. Whether it is reincarnation, golden flames or various life-saving trump cards, you can see that she is actually very favored by heaven.

Apart from the fact that she was cheated by Ji Yingtian, her life has been taking off like a cheat, a perfect revenge heroine. If it weren't for the conflict of interest, Lid would have fast-forwarded to the time when she was the queen ruling the world and had countless male favorites.

A hundred years of hard work to sharpen a sword, and with one sword, one can kill all the people in the world. Which territory is not living under the pressure of the Lingwu Lord? The strong territories still have the strength to resist, while the weak territories can only tremble in fear. When Yunye represented Yuxi City to fight for the anti-Lingwu alliance, there were quite a few territories that expressed their intention to participate. Anyone with a little bit of intelligence would not underestimate Lingwu, after all, this is the deterrent power accumulated over hundreds of years.

Lid read the report on the Battle of Luofeng Mountain in its entirety and calculated silently in his mind. The Lingwu Iron Cavalry paid nearly half of their lives to pass Luofeng Mountain, but after Luofeng Mountain, there might be nothing that could stop them. It was already a plain there, and the royal family lacked cavalry. The Lingwu Lord could come and go as he pleased there, and he was so comfortable that he could slowly play with the royal family like a cat playing with a mouse.

Of course, the prerequisite is that Xi Qin does not interfere.

If the army of Xi Qin went north to support the royal family, the Lord of Lingwu would probably be in trouble. With that woman's character, it was impossible for her to give up such a good opportunity just because someone stopped her. Moreover, too many people died in Luofeng Mountain, and she would not be willing to retreat to Lingwu.

At that time, we will have to see whether the Lingwu cavalry is the best in the world, or the Western Qin Wuzu is the most arrogant.

Of course, these have nothing to do with Yunyang for the time being.

Lid wanted to know when he could send the chocolate back. According to the agreed time, the chocolate should have been back to Lingwu by now, but the Lingwu Lord was not at home, and Lid was worried about sending the chocolate back alone. The child was getting smarter and smarter. At first, he was stupid from the inside out. Now, he looks stupid, but he is smart inside. His eyes are full of agility. He rides the little slime to run outside every now and then.

Lid didn't forbid it either. After all, children can't be kept at home all the time.

Soon after the news that the Lingwu lord had crossed Luofeng Mountain reached Yunyang, another explosive piece of information shocked the world: Ji Gaoyue, the 48th king of Yongtian Kingdom, died of a chronic disease, and passed the throne to his son Ji Chaosheng, the former king. With powerful lords approaching the capital and the old king passing away, the people of the capital had a very hard time this year. They had just put on festive red clothes to enjoy the lanterns and visit the temple fair, but were immediately notified to stop all entertainment activities, and every family wore mourning clothes to express their condolences.

People are in a state of panic all day long.

At a tea party for Yunyang's top management, He Yue talked about this while peeling an orange:

"The capital was almost in chaos, but Wu Mi finally suppressed it. On behalf of the King of Chao, he promulgated various policies to benefit the people, issued a general amnesty, and announced that the Western Qin army would arrive soon. With a multi-pronged approach, the situation was finally stabilized... The King of Chao respected him as his master, and now Wu Mi is indeed a high-ranking official."

After peeling the orange, she broke it in half, ate half herself, and gave the other half to Reed beside her.

Lid also took it calmly, and said while eating:

"After the New Year, Yunyang's work will continue to be handed over to you. Yunhai has sent someone to discuss with us. For the next target, we choose Shenghe and they choose Zhaoxin. We will give each of them one evenly."

Bai Huang, who had not paid much attention to current political topics recently, said in surprise:

"Are we going to fight Shenghe? I remember Shenghe seemed quite strong. It doesn't belong to the poor and weak territory designated by the royal family."

Fang Shisan said seriously:

"We now say that they are a poor and weak territory, and they are a poor and weak territory... The opinions of the royal family are no longer important. We took down Tiancheng through reasonable means, but they want to steal our achievements outside the battlefield. If we attack them now, they will have to bear the consequences."

Fang Shisan narrowed his eyes, but his voice remained gentle.

Although things on the front line were very busy, she was still willing to take time to return to Lingyun City to celebrate the New Year with everyone. For Fang Shisan, such time was very precious. Things on the battlefield were complicated and changeable. She didn't know if she would encounter any accidents in a war, or if she would have to use the same method as Fan Qing one day to fight for Yunyang's last chance of survival. So when everyone gathered together, Fang Shisan would always sit quietly with a quiet and warm smile.

Fileta waited until everyone had finished speaking before asking softly:

"Master, are you leaving again after the New Year?"

Lid smiled and replied:

"Yeah, a lot of things have happened recently, so I still want to go out and take a look."

He Yue was probably used to it, so he asked briefly but unhappily:

"Where?"

Reed shook his head:

"I don't know yet. I just have a vague feeling that something is wrong. Someone is behind the people of Tiancheng, the Dragon Clan is not sure what to do, the Dog King suddenly died, and the Prince of Xiqin was inexplicably imprisoned... The recent events seem to be scattered and unrelated, but I always feel that someone might be planning something behind the scenes. The situation is turbulent, the world is in turmoil, and many forces are beginning to stir. We can't just limit our horizons to the western border, otherwise I'm worried that something will go wrong."

Alaya looked at Lid, and Lid also looked at Alaya and said with a smile:

"Alayya is going with me this time, and the others will stay at their own posts. As I said before, you are my backers, and the capital for me to go out and have fun. So you must live well and run Yunyang better."

Frost, who had unveiled her face, asked:

"Does the Lord have a preliminary plan? I can arrange some Anbu personnel in advance to help the Lord gather information, and I can also take care of the Lord when necessary."

Lid peeled an orange himself and said as he ate it:

"No need. The current situation alone is enough to give you headaches. Besides, you can't interfere with where I'm going this time."

Lidd paused and continued:

"I plan to go to Xi Qin and meet with the prince of Xi Qin, Ying Bai. A prince would not be locked up for no reason, especially since the Xi Qin family is so big and powerful. The lord of Xi Qin would not send out such a dangerous signal. I am worried that maybe he found out something that he shouldn't, so I plan to find a way to meet him."

He Yue said nothing, but just looked at Lid's hand silently.

His right hand has not recovered yet and is still wrapped in bandages. Even when he was peeling the orange just now, he was mostly using his left hand.

Reed noticed his gaze, took out his hand and shook it, then said with a smile:

"It doesn't matter, it's just one hand. In my heart, you are my right and left hands."

Yunye sprayed a mouthful of wine on her chest and almost choked.

For the first time, she felt that Reed's ability in speaking cheesy love words was actually just as good as hers.

37. Holiday for Two

Tiancheng territory, Ansheng City.

"Once you leave this time, I don't know when you will come back."

On the dilapidated street, He Yue and Li De walked side by side.

In fact, the two of them rarely appeared in places other than the Lord's Mansion at the same time. Li De could go out and have fun, but He Yue had to stay at home to deal with documents to ensure the smooth operation of Yunyang. However, this time He Yue specially used up all the vacation time she had saved up before. She first stayed up late to clear up the backlog of documents, and then took the initiative to ask Li De to go to Tiancheng with her.

"I want to show you this place, where I once lived."

He Yue's embroidered shoes stepped on a pile of broken tiles. She picked up a piece of porcelain from the ground, blew off the sand on it, and played with it gently in her hands. Lid looked around the streets on both sides. Nine out of ten houses were empty. Even if Yunyang took over Tiancheng and Giant Infrastructure Group had begun repair work, the house could be rebuilt one day, but people could not be resurrected.

In the distance, a dirty child poked his head out from behind the wall, but when he noticed that Reed was looking at him, he immediately shrank back.

Lid smiled softly, took out a sesame pancake that he had intended to use as dry food, and made a gesture to pass it over. The child seemed very excited, and he took a careful step out from behind the wall, swallowed his saliva, and ran away without any warning the next moment.

This reminded Lid of the stray cats he fed in the past. Many of them behaved in the same way. They wanted to come forward to eat, but were afraid of being caught, so they chose to retreat silently with an empty stomach after wandering around.

He Yue said calmly beside him:

"He probably won't come...the children who would have come are no longer here."

Li De broke the cake in his hand into two halves, threw one half over, held the other half in his mouth, patted the cake crumbs on his hands, and turned away with He Yue. The child was frightened by the cake thrown over at first, and his figure quickly shrank into the corner. When Li De and He Yue were completely far away, a small hand stretched out from behind the wall, quickly grabbed the half of the pancake, and shrank back again.

Lid said to He Yue:

"When you see the scenery and the people here, you can probably imagine what kind of pain they have endured. They and you, everyone has a hard life."

He Yue sighed slightly, her tone sounding somewhat depressed and sad:

"You know, Lid, I have been studying the situation of Tiancheng for a long time. The longer I study, the more I fall into a strange circle. Whether human nature is good or evil, even I can't figure it out... When Lord Tiancheng died, I didn't feel the joy of revenge. Perhaps it was because I realized that the situation of Tiancheng was not created by a few people. Its original sin was the majority of people's complicity and indifference."

He Yue's figure looked a little thin.

She looked at the collapsed walls, the dusty haystacks, and the well rope that looked like it would soon break. At first, she showed a look of regret, but soon she seemed to realize something, calmed down, smiled, and said to Lid:

"Why are you talking about this? I finally got to spend some time on vacation with you, but you're making it feel like work. Let's talk about something else. It's a rare opportunity to relax. I'll take you to see my childhood home... I remember it was..."

He Yue said as she looked around. But she had been away from here for several years, and things were no longer the same, so she couldn't find the specific direction for a while. Li De noticed that there was smoke coming out of a family's yard, so he followed He Yue and walked in that direction.

The dilapidated house no longer had the concept of "door". He Yue knocked twice on a broken piece of wood, and suddenly there was a burst of chattering and ping-pong sounds in the yard. He Yue was worried about what happened in the yard, so he took a step inside and saw a family sitting in front of the boiler. One of the middle-aged men looked panicked when he saw He Yue, and reached out to cover the iron pot where porridge was being cooked. The surging steam instantly burned his palm.

“We ourselves are not enough…”

The man opened his mouth, his voice hoarse like a roaring beast:

"Get out! This is our last ration! My children need to eat and survive this New Year..."

He Yue was shocked by his aura. Seeing that He Yue did not move, the man immediately picked up a half-broken wooden stick from the side and strode forward aggressively.

The next moment, Lid took the initiative to move forward half a body, stretched out his hand to stop the man, and said:

"What's so good about snatching a pot of broken porridge? Look at the clothes we are wearing. Do we look like people who would eat such food?"

After being scolded, the man did not get angry. Instead, he stopped and looked at Li De and He Yue seriously.