It doesn't matter what the lord is.

When I stood up, I said to the silent soldiers' families:

"That's the explanation, is that okay?"

No one spoke, but some people cried. As the city lord, I knelt down to pay tribute, which was equivalent to a disguised sincere apology. What else could they say? While the hatred was slightly reduced, the pain of losing a loved one surged into my heart again, and I couldn't control my tears. I have seen this kind of scene many times. People who take revenge with their own hands often end up crying. This is the same reason why people can't feel the pain of a wound when they are nervous.

I said calmly:

"He Yue will give you an explanation about the pension and some subsequent privileges. From my perspective, I can only tell you that their death was not meaningless. When they attacked Jiangxing City, did they only think about taking this city? I guess they were so desperate to make Yuxi City stronger and to make everyone of you live a better life. So what I did and what they thought were nothing more than different paths to the same destination. I promise you that the three cities that we retreat will bring us greater benefits. One day, people will remember their names and their contributions; one day, you can hold your chests high and be proud of them."

I sighed and said:

"But this time, it is me as the city lord who is sorry for them. As long as I am alive, I will take good care of their families as an atonement. This kneeling is an apology to them and also to you. As for whether you accept it or still hate me, I don't care. As long as you don't follow some people with ulterior motives to stir up trouble during the most turbulent time in Yuxi City, no matter how you scold me, openly or secretly, I will consider you innocent. Alaiya, I'm leaving."

Having said that, he walked out of the mourning hall without looking back.

The moment the door of the mourning hall was opened, the cold wind caused the flames of dozens of white candles to flicker.

Alaia said softly:

"Is that all right, Master?"

I laughed and patted her on the shoulder:

"That's good. There will be people to help us with what we can't do. Let's go back, Alaiya. I haven't been back to Yuxi City for a long time. I miss home a little bit."

36. The grudge is not over yet

The Lead Group returned to Yuxi City, taking away a large number of people, food and supplies.

First of all, the army. After learning that Fang Lita would take over as the city lord again and Fang Shisan would follow Lid back to Yuxi City, about one-third of the army chose to leave with Fang Shisan. Over the years, Fang Shisan's influence in the army has always been at a very high level. He is clear about rewards and punishments, good at using people, rarely makes mistakes, and never makes unnecessary sacrifices. For many soldiers, Fang Shisan can be said to be a perfect commander, and they have become accustomed to following Fang Shisan.

Especially after Fang Lita lost five cities in one go after the previous defeat, this humiliation was vivid in the minds of every soldier, and they had almost no trust in Fang Lita. If it weren't for the fact that Yuxi City did not belong to Zhaochen, most of the soldiers would probably choose to leave with Fang Shisan.

Of the remaining two-thirds, more than half chose to leave Tianxing City. Although they did not follow Fang Shisan, they did not stay in Tianxing City either. They just packed their bags and left quietly. It can be said that there were very few troops left for Fang Lita, and it was not easy for him to command these soldiers who were extremely hostile to him.

Let’s talk about population.

It was no secret that Fang Lita had beaten the people to vent his anger. Everyone in Tianxing City sneered at Fang Lita's name. Fang Lita's bad reputation spread not only in the army, but also among the people at a faster speed. He was ambitious but incompetent, favored flatterers and kept away from the wise, and even tried to hinder his sister who was only concerned about him. Would there really be any good results if he followed such a city lord?

Even the people of Yuxi City, which belonged to the Lide Group, spontaneously left for Tianxing City, which seemed to have better conditions at the time. Now Fang Lita was in a state of chaos, and the people who wanted to leave were naturally countless. Fang Lita had not yet officially regained the position of city lord. Tianxing City, Jiangxing City and Lixing City were actually under the control of Lide. He could only watch his people being "tricked" by Lide and lined up in a long line with their families to go to Yuxi City.

This also makes up for the disadvantage of Yuxi City, which is vast and sparsely populated.

Let's talk about money and food. Fang Lita was indeed unlucky. If he had not chosen to break up with Fang Shisan at that time, and relied on Fang Shisan to continue to defend the city with his army, he could have spent at least half a month. But what was the result? After Fang Lita beat Fang Shisan out of the house, Li De went to the city lord's mansion alone, captured the defenseless Fang Lita, and tricked him into opening the city gate as a hostage. This resulted in the city's accumulated food being unused.

Nalid was like a robber. Although he returned the three cities, he also transported the grain away and distributed the remaining grain to the people in the city. As a result, the people were very grateful to him and were more willing to follow him back to Yuxi City.

What is going on? !

Is there anyone worse than someone who takes other people's food and cheats them?

At least Fang Lita has never seen it.

What made Fang Lita further understand the dangers of the world was that before he could even get comfortable as the Lord of the Three Cities, Fang Yuan had already arrived at the gates of the city. The sun was shining brightly that day, and the chubby Fang Yuan managed to look ridiculous in his gleaming armor, but Fang Lita really couldn't laugh, and could only watch Fang Yuan smiling at him a second ago:

"Brother, long time no see."

The next second, his expression suddenly changed and he said coldly:

"Siege the city."

Without the reliable Fang Shisan, his former invincible army, food supplies, and the support of the people, one can imagine how frustrated Fang Lita was in fighting this battle. In less than a week, Tianxing City was breached and Fang Lita was taken prisoner.

In the prison, Fang Lita, who was tied up, looked at Fang Yuan, who was smiling and walking slowly with a whip and a candle. He looked at the trembling fat on his body and the harmless smiling face. For the first time, he felt a chill in his bones. He suddenly recalled what Lid had told him and said quickly:

"Lid! Lid said you can't kill me!"

Fang Yuan was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said:

"You still want to fool me? I don't even know who he is. He returned the three cities to you and even acted as your guarantor. Do you really think he is your silly sister who only pampers and spoils you?"

Fang Lita was almost crying, kneeling on the ground and making promises. Fang Yuan's smile gradually disappeared from his face, and he asked:

"Did he really say that?"

Fang Lita was thinking about how to make Fang Yuan believe him, so he dared not hide anything and almost blurted out:

"Really! But he said that I could only say that if I couldn't bear the beatings anymore... He said that if I became a prisoner and couldn't bear the beatings anymore, I could report his name and be spared from death. It's true! I beg you to believe me this time...!!"

Fang Yuan showed his harmless smile again, raised the whip, and beat Fang Lita until his skin was torn.

Fang Lita kept wailing and shouting:

"You can't kill me, you can't kill me..."

Fangyuan smiled and said:

"He said that it would only work if you couldn't bear the beating any more and then told me his name. I see you're full of life, aren't you? Remember, Fang Lita? When you were little, you were daddy's favorite child, so you drew pig heads all over the walls of my bedroom, threw the schoolbag my mother gave me into the pigpen, and put the stinky backpack on my head, and I couldn't resist. Daddy even touched your head and praised you for being able to draw at such a young age... Do I remember correctly?"

Fang Lita was trembling all over.

Fang Yuan stopped smiling, his small eyes filled with coldness. He whipped Fang Lita until all his teeth fell out, and said without mercy:

"Now, it's your turn to experience what it feels like to be a pig."

Fang Yuan seemed to be very weak physically, and was already out of breath after just two whips. He threw away the whip and said to the slender girl following behind him:

"Magpie, you have seen my Thirteenth Sister before, right? Make Fang Lita look like my Thirteenth Sister."

Fang Yuan walked out, but after thinking for a moment, he turned back and said:

"Forget it. If he beats me too hard, I won't be able to explain it to Lid. Just cripple one of his legs and one of his eyes. This time, I'll be merciful and let him still see and limp."

After saying that, Fang Yuan walked out of the prison, completely ignoring the pig-slaughtering cries behind him.

After a while, the girl named Xi Que walked out of the prison while moving her wrists, and joined Fang Yuan who was waiting for her outside. The two walked side by side on the road, and Xi Que held the fat Fang Yuan's hand. She was 80% beautiful, and could be considered a beauty. She had an elegant and calm temperament, and if you looked closely, you could also feel the sharpness that was deliberately restrained. Her black hair was tied into a high ponytail, and she was probably a little taller than Fang Yuan.

The magpie asked gently:

"Is it okay? Fang Lita is Fang Shisan's sister after all, and Fang Shisan is working under Li De now. Will Li De have a grudge against you because of this?"

Fang Yuan smiled. In front of Xi Que, he was calm and confident, and spoke with full confidence:

"Don't worry. It was because he himself was not convenient to teach Fang Lita a lesson that he asked me to do it. I was wondering why he agreed to return the three cities to Fang Lita so easily. It turned out that he had calculated that I would come to take them. He indirectly gave these three cities to me, and I played the bad guy for him. No one suffered any loss."

The magpie whispered:

"Your men's affairs are really troublesome. Can't he do it himself? From what you said, he seems very strong."

Fang Yuan raised his head, looked at the gray sky, and said:

"It's hard for an incorruptible judge to settle family disputes. In fact, Thirteenth Sister and Li De are of the same kind. On the way to Yunhai, I once tried to test Li De, hoping to join hands with him to divide Yunyang, but he refused. Brothers quarrel within the walls, and they must defend themselves from external insults. Even if the Lord of Yunyang treats him badly, Li De will not be happy if I slap the Lord of Yunyang in the face. The same is true for Thirteenth Sister. No matter how bad her brother is, he is still her brother. If Li De really beats Fang Lita for Thirteenth Sister, Thirteenth Sister will not be grateful, but will most likely be angry. Using me to take revenge on Fang Lita is the best way."

The magpie asked again:

"Then why did he want to save Fang Lita's life? Wouldn't it be better for us to kill Fang Lita?"

Fang Yuan shook his head and said:

"It's Lid's ability to know when to relax and when to attack. If we really kill Fang Lita, Thirteenth Sister will probably live in pain for the rest of her life. Beat Fang Lita half to death and send him back. Then I will say that Fang Lita and I have a grudge and I wanted to chop him to pieces, but I spared his life for Lid's sake. This means that Lid saved Fang Lita, and Thirteenth Sister will owe Lid another favor."

The magpie thought for a while and said:

"Then why don't we keep Fang Lita as a hostage? If nothing unexpected happens, we will have a conflict with Lid sooner or later, and Fang Lita will become a very important bargaining chip at that time."

The smile on Fang Yuan's face gradually disappeared. Perhaps the expression without a smile was his true appearance.

Fang Yuan replied:

"Yes. But it's not necessary. Now we are rebelling, targeting my father, Lord Zhaochen, and the main battlefield should be in the north. Lide also wants to conquer Yunyang, so it's best for us to fight our own battles. Our interests are not in conflict, and we can form an alliance at any time. If both sides are unhappy because of this, it will be more trouble than it's worth. Xi Que, you don't understand, he calculated this, so he dared to throw Fang Li Tower here for us to deal with."

The magpie lowered its head and remained silent.

Fang Yuan suddenly asked:

"Do you think I'm cold-blooded? Li De and Thirteenth Sister are both the type who 'defend themselves against external insults'. Only I have won over Li De, an outsider, to fight against my brother and sister. Strictly speaking, I am Zhaochen's sinner."

The magpie hugged Fang Yuan's chubby arms and said:

"No matter what you do, I support you. Isn't that what we have agreed to?"

Fang Yuan sighed and said:

"I, Fang Yuan, don't have Li De's ability, but I don't want to end up like Thirteenth Sister. Be it mean-spirited, unscrupulous, or treacherous, let them say whatever they want. I, Fang Yuan, just want to climb up, climb to the highest point, to a height where no one dares to bully me anymore."

He squinted his eyes and said self-deprecatingly:

"I'm not as good as my Thirteenth Sister. When she was little, she was despised because she was blind and lame, but later she became famous for her military talent, loved and admired. Countless people wanted to recruit her. She had already proved her worth. But what about me? I, Fang Yuan, have been smarter than my brothers and sisters since I was young, but because of my fat body and pig face, I was despised and could only work as a runner and businessman. I finally made some money, but I'm being coveted by others. My dear relatives now wish they could peel off my flesh and sell it for money. If I'm not vicious, how can I survive in this world? How can I... protect you?"

Having said this, Fang Yuan looked somewhat lonely.

The magpie rested its head on his shoulder and stood quietly with him on the deserted street.

The chubby boy and the slim girl seem to be a completely incompatible combination, but at this moment there seems to be no sense of incongruity.

---------------------------

Many friends asked about adding more chapters, and many friends complained about the black and white inserts. I will reply to them all here:

Because I'm quite busy this month, I haven't set up an extra update system, but there will be extra updates and monthly ticket draws in November.

It has been on the shelves for more than a week. Thank you very much for your support. Including comments, complaints, monthly tickets, rewards, etc. As a benefit for readers, I have contacted the artist, and some important characters will be specially designed with more exquisite character designs. The artist was introduced to me by Xueyan. He is quite experienced and the quality is quite good. The character designs will probably be released soon. Although this part is at my own expense, it is definitely inseparable from your support. Thank you again for your support and encouragement, and I hope you will support me more in the future!

1. Disharmony arises when the top military and political leaders take office

The Mansion of the Lord of Yuxi City.

After returning to Yuxi City, I once again felt the warmth of home: I ate meat on a plate, wore silk and satin, slept on a velvet quilt, drove a BMW, and was surrounded by beauties. I lived a fulfilling life.

It would be nice if that were the case.

After returning to Yuxi City from Tianxing City, not long after stepping into the house, as soon as the door of the City Lord's Mansion was closed, the excited voice resounded in every corner of the hall:

"Li De, I'm going to say this today. I, He Yue, have been unlucky for eight lifetimes by following you!"

With a smile on my face, I approached He Yue and said with a flattering smile:

"Oh my, isn't this my chief internal affairs adviser? What's wrong? Why is he so ill-tempered? He always feels uncomfortable for a few days every month?"

He Yue pointed at me with a trembling hand and said loudly:

"Do you know that I spent almost all my money to help Fangyuan attack Tianxing City? Our tax revenue was not high to begin with, so we could not collect much food! This time, I spent all my money to buy all the food. In addition, our army is far from enough. We also spent money to recruit mercenaries from Yunhai. You know what mercenaries are? They eat our food, take our military pay, several times our pension, and they also charge extra processing fees! Just because of your order to attack, I have been working hard at home for so long, and now you tell me that the three cities we conquered were given away in one go?"

Of course I know that He Yue contributed the most in the battle against Tianxing City. Although it is the dream of many people to be in charge of both military and political affairs, the prerequisite is that there are many capable people under your command. Otherwise, if you do everything yourself, it will become two burdens from one burden. Just look at Fang Shisan who was so tired that he vomited blood and you will know the consequences.

I was in the wrong about this matter, so I humbly accepted whatever he said and said sincerely:

"Yes, yes, blame me, blame me."

Unexpectedly, He Yue was really angry this time, waving his arms exaggeratedly, with no intention of calming down:

"I don't blame you! I blame her, Fang Shisan! Do you understand? We didn't exchange three cities for Fang Shisan, but Fang Shisan gave away our three cities after he tacitly joined us! Does she consider herself a member of Yuxi City? Get out of the way, I want to go in and ask her!"

Seeing the usually calm and composed He Yue acting like a punching bag, I couldn't help but want to laugh, but I still said:

"Forget it. I just came back to Yuxi City, so I'll take a rest first. We can talk about anything later."

He Yue glanced at me and said:

"You're still on her side? Are you really obsessed with her?"

I was thinking of a reason to explain, when suddenly I heard the door creak open behind me. I turned around and saw Tiara pushing Fang Shisan out slowly, with his hands on his legs, looking calm.

By the way, when the people of Tianxing City moved to Yuxi City, Tiara also came with them. Even though Fang Shisan's former maid had been driven away once, she still chose to return to her side, and Fang Shisan did not ask for a new maid, saying that Tiara could take good care of her alone.

But now is obviously not the time to care about this. Fang Shisan still closed his eyes, raised his head, and said to He Yue:

"Don't embarrass me, Lord City Lord. I made the request. In return, I will immediately take over the war on the eastern front and capture the five cities controlled by Li Neng. Is that okay?"

He Yue snorted and said:

"I'm making things difficult for him? It's obvious that he's making things difficult for me! You don't need food and fodder to attack the city in the east? You don't need military pay? You don't need weapons and equipment? You don't need money to gather information? Now I'm penniless, where can I get the money to help? Yes, we brought back a lot of things from Tianxing City this time, but I'll tell you first, it can only last for two months at most. If we can't break the city within two months, we can only withdraw and rest."

Fang Shisan still closed his eyes and said calmly:

"I see."

"Also, I'm telling you the truth, Fang Shisan. As long as I, He Yue, am in Yuxi City, I will give you everything I owe you. I will do my job impartially and I won't make you unhappy. But don't expect me to be nice to you. I don't care whether Li De spoils you or pampers you, but I hate those guys who don't respect the fruits of others' labor."

He Yue waved his sleeves and walked away angrily.

I stood there, feeling bad for helping anyone, so I comforted Fang Shisan with a few words:

"He Yue is in charge of internal affairs, which is hard work. This time she also has to take on the military command. I guess she hasn't had much rest during this period. She is in a state of excitement and has a lot of temper. But she knows the importance of things and won't make things difficult for you with food and fodder, so don't worry."