It doesn't matter what the lord is.

The common people suddenly felt a little sad. Seeing the fire in the palace, many people wiped their tears with their sleeves and knelt down devoutly to beg for forgiveness from the gods. On the second floor, which they could not see, Lid looked out the window and smiled gently.

As he laughed, his eyes turned cold.

21. Manage business

In the end, Lid did not punish the priests who were rampant in the capital, because the traditional temple has always been a force that no one wants to provoke. Although Lid wanted to weaken their influence, this was not something that could be done overnight.

After a long period of domestication, the people have a very persistent belief in the temple, and this belief will not be affected even by poverty or death.

And change is even more impossible to achieve by just a few words.

But Lid has already thought of a way to punish them, and when Yunyang really takes over

Lid will consider getting rid of these troublesome blood suckers

The insects were cleared.

After handing over the hidden chess piece that Yunyang had laid in advance to Honglian, Lid took a last look at the slightly desolate royal capital and shook his head slightly. Not long after, Honglian announced that the royal family would respond to Yunyang's plan, give up the war, and carry out reforms.

Naturally, there will be countless people who stand up to oppose, but Honglian has a knife in his hand, so he can slowly control the direction of the situation. The rest is just a matter of time.

At this time, Reed was already sitting in the carriage back to Yunhai.

In Lid's opinion, among the remaining forces, the first one to be persuaded is the royal family. Because no matter how broken the royal family is, it is a banner of the Eternal Heaven Kingdom. If this banner does not fall, the remaining people will only choose to wait and see instead of joining. On the contrary, if the royal family gives in, then the rest of the things will be much easier.

This matter went relatively smoothly because the royal family had already shown signs of falling apart.

If it were the royal family where King Chao and Wu Mi were still alive, there was no way they would agree to Lid's request so easily.

Although Wumi loves his country and his people, he is a thorough royalist and will not directly conflict with the royal power. He did not care when King Chao killed his father to succeed him, and when King Chao was under house arrest, Wumi did not push Honglian to the throne. This shows that he has always been loyal to the royal family, or in other words, he is loyal to the system of royal power transfer.

The King of Chao is extremely greedy for power and will never give up his position easily.

If these two were here, Lid might change his approach: he would secretly support the rebels to attack the capital and purge those high-ranking princes and ministers. If the rebels alone couldn't do it, Lid wouldn't mind dragging the Lingwu lord into the water and tricking him to come south to attract attention. In short, he would use other people's hands to kill people until the royal family obeyed.

But now that Wumi was killed by King Chao, and King Chao died at the hands of Honglian, the situation was much more favorable to him. After eliminating the diehards, no one in the royal family would stand up to stop him from doing anything.

So Lid turned his attention back to Yunhai. According to Yunyang's original plan, they would eventually have a war with Yunhai. After the war, there would be no more opponents for Yunyang in the southwest of Yongtian Kingdom. Yunyang could safely develop to the northeast and sweep across the entire Yongtian Kingdom.

This war was already in the planning stage, but it has now been temporarily stopped.

Reed decided to give Bai Feng a chance, so he took a carriage to Yunhai alone.

To be fair, Bai Feng naturally did not want to miss this excellent assassination opportunity, but when the news of the royal family's purge of the emperor's court reached Yunhai, Bai Feng gave up the idea of ​​assassinating Li De. He finally realized that unless he sent out the army to besiege Li De, there was no one in the world who could threaten this guy.

And what would happen if Lide was killed? Yunyang bordered Yunhai directly. Heyue and Fang Shisan could attack Yunhai with the power of their entire territory at any time, which Yunhai could never bear. Rather than betting his hopes on something illusory, Bai Feng preferred to seize the immediate benefits - this character made him seem indecisive many times, but when it came to matters concerning the survival of his territory, Bai Feng would not make any big mistakes.

He received Lid with the highest courtesy.

Li De also gave him face, attended the banquet, and talked and laughed with him. After the guests and hosts were happy and all the counselors of Yunhai had left, Li De met Bai Feng and Hualong alone and mentioned the purpose of his visit:

"As you two can see, Yunyang has the ability to unify Yongtian Kingdom, at least for now. However, we don't know when the dragons will come again, and the giants and demons are not reliable. In order to help humans defeat external dangers, I am willing to give up some of my power and interests and share them with you. I wonder what you think."

Bai Feng looked at the old man Hualong, who coughed lightly and said:

"It is undeniable that Yunyang showed considerable strength in the Shenghe War. However, there is no fixed rule for strength and weakness in ancient times, and many territories went from prosperity to decline in a short time. Yunyang is now in its heyday, but it is still not easy to annex the territories of various families..."

Lid waved his hand, interrupted him expressionlessly, and said coldly:

"It took me only seven days to conquer Shenghe from Yunyang. In my opinion, Yunhai will only take a little more time to prepare, and it will take at most a month to conquer. It's not an easy task, but it's not that difficult either."

The old man Hualong looked unhappy, while Bai Feng coughed twice and said with a wry smile: "Our Yunhai is not that weak."

Lid said softly:

"Yunhai is not that weak, but Yunyang is stronger now. Do you understand this? There is no fixed rule for the strong and weak in ancient times. I should be the one to say this. It takes an opportunity for a territory to go from prosperity to decline. Now Yunyang is impeccable, but Yunhai has all kinds of contradictions. It will be a waste to continue to hold on. You know this better than me."

Bai Feng coughed twice again, but this time he didn't refute anything.

Elder Hualong said at the right time:

"I heard that the current emperor also agreed with your system. Where do you plan to place the royal family in the future?" Lid replied with a smile:

"I will give them some real power, but it is more symbolic. It is impossible for Yongtian Kingdom to step out of the royal society immediately.

So although the royal flag fell,

But they cannot be thrown away casually, they must be carefully collected. This will reassure the people and make them believe that once the new order collapses, the royal family can always come forward to clean up the mess, so that they will not lose all their ways. "

Bai Feng sat opposite Lid and asked cautiously:

"Then what should I, Yun Hai, do in your plan?" Lid replied:

"Of course, do what you are good at."

Bai Feng and Old Man Hualong looked at each other and frowned. Lid said slowly:

"Since Yunhai started out as a business, it has both experience and accumulation in business. If the new order is established, I can allow you to manage the business of the entire Yongtian Kingdom. Although most of the work is execution, you still have the power to decide many things - as long as you can compete with other forces within the new rules of the game."

22. Sticks and Dates

Reed had already thought about the arrangements for the sea of ​​clouds in advance.

In addition to the nobles, merchants have always been another wealthy group in this land. And because there is no restriction on emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce, and there is no law prohibiting merchants from marrying nobles, the relationship between merchants and nobles has always been ambiguous. The only difference from the nobles is that merchants are not eligible for hereditary power, so their wealth is more mobile and less susceptible to control.

Although there is no such thing as capital finance now, the speculative nature of capital has always existed. When Yunyang's enterprises absorb foreign investment, many nobles in the territory will come to give money at the risk of supporting the enemy, but once the country changes dynasties, many business tycoons will often choose to disappear for a period of time for safety considerations.

After all, the rebels accounted for a large proportion of the new power structure, and the rebels had always been at odds with the nobles and merchants. The rebels' food and military pay were basically snatched from the nobles and merchants, so even if Bend issued various decrees to ensure the operation of business, most merchants would choose to wait and see - they had a deep-rooted fear of the rebels.

However, Yunyang's business is not prosperous enough at present and cannot independently support the business operation of the entire Yongtian Kingdom. A buffer period is needed, which requires the prestige that Yunhai has accumulated in business over the past hundreds of years. Elder Hualong cleared his throat and asked:

"You mean, to turn Yunhai from a territory into a simple business department?" Lid nodded.

"You can understand that."

Bai Feng lowered his head and said nothing. After a moment, he said to Lid:

"Let's talk openly, Lid. Yunyang is indeed very strong now, but even when the Lingwu Lord went south, those territories that knew they were inferior to her never surrendered without a fight. What's the reason? Because we have lived here for generations, and we regard this land under our feet as our home. Who would give up their home to their neighbors?"

Lid nodded and said:

"What you said does make sense. And I believe that even if you agree, the nobles of Yunhai will not agree." Bai Feng looked at Lid. He didn't quite understand why Lid changed his tone.

The old man beside him, Hualong, suddenly felt his hair stand on end, and looked at Lide intently. Lide picked up the tea on the table, took a sip slowly, and then said:

"So, I gave the order before I came here, and Yunyang's army has already headed south. You just mentioned Lingwu Territory, right? Actually, I think that woman's approach is very meaningful for reference. First, defeat the other side, and then force them to surrender. In this way, the opposition voices within your territory will be much smaller..."

Lid smiled gently and said to Bai Feng:

"Do you remember what I said to you when we met last time in Yunhai? 'You should thank me', Bai Feng, and you should thank me this time too. I know that even if you want to solve the problem peacefully, those old antiques in your territory will not agree, so I'll just help you. It is expected that in a few days, our army will be able to reach the Never-Sleeping City."

Lid's voice was very calm, as if he was talking about an insignificant matter. Perhaps to him, this was indeed an insignificant matter.

Bai Feng stood up suddenly and slammed the table. Perhaps because of his anger, his breathing was unstable and he coughed twice. Blood dripped from his fingers onto the table and into the teacup. The old man Hualong beside him also asked angrily:

"Li De, what do you want? We agreed that you would fight Sheng He and we would fight Zhao Xin. Now Zhao Xin is given to you, and I, Yun Hai, didn't say anything. But you are pushing it even further. Do you really think that I, Yun Hai, don't dare to fight you to the death?"

Lid put the teacup on the table and nodded: "Yes, I really think so."

Bai Feng and Old Man Hualong were angry, but Li De said seriously:

"In my opinion, the weakest of the remaining forces is Yunhai. Yunhai prospers because of business and trade, but only you know how much of this prosperity truly belongs to Yunhai. Once you fall into a disadvantageous position of collapse, those big chaebols will definitely not be on the same side with you."

Bai Feng and Old Man Hualong remained silent.

Lid leaned back in his chair and said with a smile:

"I heard that when the Lingwu Lord went south, he conquered many territories in succession. Some territories surrendered when their outer defenses were breached, some territories lost resistance after losing one-third of their territory, and some territories had to surrender after losing half of their territory. But no matter which territory it was, at most they would start to hastily seek peace talks after losing half of their territory, because if they continued to fight, they would no longer be able to negotiate the price of surrender. I am very curious, which one Yunhai will be among them.

Bai Feng narrowed his eyes and looked at Lid coldly, and Lid did not look away.

Just like last time, Bai Feng still couldn't kill him this time. He couldn't kill Li De when he reached the ninth level, and now it's even more impossible to do it at the tenth level. This kind of annoyance and anger accumulated in Bai Feng's heart. Although he clenched his teeth and said nothing, it can be seen from his eyes that he has accumulated too much dissatisfaction with Li De.

Just at this moment, Lid yawned, as if he remembered something, and said to him:

"But speaking of which, if you are willing to join us, in addition to promising to let the bloodline of Lord Yunhai take charge of the business, I can also do you a favor." Perhaps Bai Feng also wanted to ease the increasingly tense situation. After listening to what Lid said, Bai Feng also narrowed his eyes and smiled, and asked: "I wonder what kind of favor it is?"

Lid raised his index finger and said calmly: "I can help you cure your hemorrhage."

Bai Feng suddenly opened his eyes, and the old man beside him, Hualong, was also shocked. After a long while, Bai Feng smiled softly and said:

"Impossible. Yunhai has been recruiting doctors from all over the world for hundreds of years, but there has been no progress at all." Lid said with a smile:

"But I can. I advise you to think about it for a while. Bai Ye has left Yunhai and it is impossible for him to come back. The position of the Lord of Yunhai is yours, but even if I don't attack Yunhai, how long do you think you can live? Even if you start to have children desperately now, when you die, the oldest child will not be less than ten years old. Who can you hand over Yunhai to? In the end, it will all be in vain. What will change?"

Bai Feng exhaled and closed his eyes, obviously lost in thought. Compared to the threat that Lid just said, this was the real pain in his heart.

Since he was young, some people called him "a handsome young man in a turbid world", but for so many years, only Bai Feng himself knew the pain of being covered in blood and chilling to the bone. He thought he would have to endure this pain until he was buried in the Yunhai family's mausoleum, but he didn't expect that Lid had found a solution and used it as a bargaining chip to solve it.

"Let me think."

Bai Feng held his forehead, sat down quietly, took a deep breath and said: "Let me think about it..."

23. Lord Wanze

Bai Feng didn't think about it for too long.

After all, he didn't have much time to think, with internal and external troubles, and his own health was not much better. For Bai Feng, the only thing he couldn't let go of was his desire to conquer the world: for this idea, he turned against Bai Ye and drifted away from Bai Huang. His tired body dragged his heavy wishes and desperately moved forward, all for the sake of a breath in his chest.

He once said to Li De that one-third of the world would be divided into you and me in the future, which shows the pride in Bai Feng's heart.

But things went against their wishes. Both Bai Feng and the old man Hualong had misjudged Li De. Yuxi City developed too fast, so fast that Yunhai had no time to respond, and it had already become a disaster in the north. And the growing Yunyang was actually sucking the blood of Yunhai territory. Commerce, capital, population, and celebrities all flowed from Yunhai to Yunyang. As one grew, the other grew, and Yunhai seemed increasingly powerless in the world of great strife.

Just like what Lide had said to him the last time he came. Yunhai never had the chance to kill Lide. Yunhai didn't even have a person at the tenth level at that time, so how could he kill Lide? So whenever he recalled every step he had taken in the past, Bai Feng didn't have any regrets in his heart, but only depression.

He boasted of his talent and had a good reputation in the world early on. Heroes and heroes from all walks of life came to him.

It seems that the vast world allows him to roam freely, so

His vision and ambition also touched every corner of the world. It was a pity that Yunhai's hundreds of years of foundation could not compare to Lid and the group of unknown people under his command. How desolate this feeling was.

Now, Bai Feng has to face a choice.

His elder brother was at the tenth level and was guarding Yunyang; his younger sister was also in Yunyang and was looking forward to the end of the war every day. As for Bai Feng himself, as Lid said, his body was suffering from hemophobia, and his heart was also facing great anxiety and boredom, which were constantly snatching his last vitality.

If you lower your head you can live under the roof, but if you grit your teeth you have to continue to endure such torture.

Bai Feng's obsession did not last long, because he soon received news that the front line had been lost. Under the fierce attack of Yunyang, the border soldiers of Yunhai resisted tenaciously, but still lost. The major chaebols in the territory came to him one after another, asking Bai Feng to give them an explanation.

In desperation, Bai Feng summoned Li De again and agreed to Li De's request.

From now on, Yunhai will be like the royal family, no longer the owner of a territory, but just a force in the center of power. Its business will spread all over the world, and everyone will be in a high position, but they will no longer have their own fiefdoms, and no longer have a foundation that can be inherited from generation to generation. The chaebols of Yunhai are very satisfied with this. After all, what they care about is money and the business in their hands. Who is the boss is not so important in their eyes.

After the contract was signed, Bai Feng heaved a sigh of relief and said to Lid: "This way, our fight has come to an end."

Lid nodded, his expression was calm. Bai Feng couldn't help but ask:

"You won, shouldn't you feel happy?" Lid smiled and said to him:

"Yes, it's natural to be happy. However, I won't be too happy. The road ahead is still very dangerous." Lid put away the agreement and said to Bai Feng:

"Have you been to the battlefield in the north? If not, I recommend you to go there. People who are born into a life of luxury often have a kind of arrogance of superiors, even if they say they understand the people's feelings. Many calculations in this world are meaningless in my eyes. If you see the flying dragons parked on the gun-like mountain, and see the dark cloud-like dragons wantonly killing my fellow human beings, you will understand that the victory or defeat between us has been meaningless since a long time ago.

Bai Feng remained silent.

Lid sighed and continued:

"I know that you have been making friends with heroes for a long time, but you have to understand one thing. Even if the heroes of the world are born in the grass and have tragic life experiences, they are different from ordinary people. They are talented, knowledgeable, skilled in martial arts, and confident. They cannot represent those who live at the bottom. So I suggest you go to the north to see what it means to have no eggs left intact when the nest is overturned. Then you will understand why I am so eager to come here, and why I have to accompany you even though I have the ability to hold the world firmly.

Drink tea and chat. "

Reed took one last look at Bai Feng, then stood up and left.

Regarding the cold blood disease, he will fulfill his promise, because he needs Bai Feng to help him win the hearts of the wealthy businessmen in Yunhai.

If Bai Feng can transform from a "nobleman" into a more mature leader, Reed doesn't mind giving him more power - that way Reed himself can do less and gain more benefits.

After leaving the sea of ​​clouds, Lid went to Wanze territory.

To be honest, Lide hesitated for a while before whether to go to Wanze or Lingwu first. But after hesitating, he felt that although he had met Yu Qingzhao once, it would be much more difficult to merge the Lingwu territory than to convince the Lord of Wanze. Because from his understanding of the Lord of Lingwu, that woman would never be willing to be inferior to others. Lide could only try to solve other territories first, and then force her with the general trend.

After arriving at Wanze Territory, Lord Wanze also welcomed him with the highest standards.

At the border, Lid met Lord Wanze for the first time: he was a middle-aged man with heroic spirit, the end of his beard curled up slightly, his sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes exuded a sense of majesty, and his long hair added a bit of elegance to him. He looked like a wise general who was both civil and military, and Lid thought the first sentence he said was very smart.

He says:

"When the demons invaded, it was thanks to Yunyang that we received support. Everyone in Wanze Territory is grateful for this. He did not use Wanze's son Xihe as the opening, because from a father's perspective, if Xihe did not mix with Lide,

He would not be captured by the dragons.

I replied to Xihe, but the whole matter is still a little unclear. In this case, it is better to just mention Yunyang's achievements.