It doesn't matter what the lord is.

The deer didn't expect that he could hear it, so he shrank his neck.

The young man did not pursue the matter. He looked at the thick snow on both sides of the road, rubbed his hands, and said:

“Next year will also be a good harvest.”

The little deer said deliberately:

"We are freezing to death, how can we expect a good harvest?"

The young man stopped and turned around and said:

"You don't understand. Snow means a good harvest. The heavier the snow, the better the harvest next year. Look at this thick snow. Not only will it not freeze the crops below, but it will also keep out the cold outside. It's much warmer inside the snow pit than outside. Next year, when the snow melts into water, it will serve as irrigation."

The little deer snorted and said:

"Yes, yes, you are the only one who understands. He has become a noble official, but he still works in the fields like an old farmer. How can you not understand?"

The young man was not angry, but smiled and said:

"Agricultural harm is the root of hunger; female workers' injuries are the source of cold. Farmers and textile women are the cornerstones of national stability, and farming is naturally the top priority. Although it is absolutely wrong to regard agriculture as the only cornerstone, it is undeniable that once farmers have no land to cultivate, the country will not be far from destruction."

The little deer looked back and said dejectedly:

"I can't argue with you."

The young man lowered his hands and asked:

"How's the matter I asked you to investigate last time?"

The little deer suddenly became energetic and chattered:

"A few days ago, Lingwu suddenly received a batch of iron materials, and they announced that they were going to replace the armor of the cavalry. But I always feel that there is something fishy about it. However, we can't get our hands into Lingwu either. That woman is too powerful, and the hidden guards have too many and too complicated spies. Our people can't get in at all."

The young man stroked his smooth chin and thought for a while, then said:

"Wasn't it just replaced a year ago? What the hell is she planning?"

The deer said:

"I'll find someone to get the wind. Compared to this, sir, didn't you say that you plan to gather thirty-six city lords to the capital for a New Year's celebration next year? I'm almost racking my brains over this list, and I don't know what you mean, sir, and I have no idea how to decide."

The young man said:

"That's easy. Just call over whoever you think has the potential to inherit the position of lord."

The little deer said strangely:

"Every lord basically has his own designated successor. Do you still need me to choose one?"

The young man said gently:

"Those in power are confused. Look at the farmland on both sides of the road. Do you think there will be no wheat frozen to death next year? Many fragile creatures will not survive the winter... Some princes can ascend to the throne smoothly, while others are destined to lose to the city lords who have already been granted fiefs. The policy of reducing the power of the princes is to make them divided and fight among themselves. If every household can smoothly complete the power transition, the Yongtian Kingdom will not be far from destruction."

The young man who said this had a bit of cruelty in his eyes. The strong wind blew up his sleeves. He turned sideways and said:

"The first step is to let them strife among themselves, thus weakening their strength. The second step is to throw bones to them, let them bite each other, and sow the seeds of hatred. But the most important step is the third step... The era of great strife is coming, and no one can stop it. With the general trend, human power is like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Before that day comes, we must confirm who is our ally and who is an ungrateful wolf that can never be fed."

The deer said:

"Sir, this mess is really too bad. I think we can do it if we can, and run away if we can't. We have no relatives or friends with the royal family, so why should we help them take back power?"

The young man laughed and said somewhat dejectedly:

"I am a commoner..."

The little deer said hurriedly:

"Sir, please stop nagging me. It's just a favor. I've heard so many of them that my ears are callused. Oh, by the way, Princess Lana told me to ask you to bring someone to the capital to play during the New Year."

The young man looked up and asked:

"Who?"

The little deer scratched his head and thought for a long time before saying:

"Oh, that's the one who was kicked out by Lord Yunyang last time. The Lord of Yuxi City is called Lide."

1. One city becomes five cities

Although there is no snow in Yuxi City in winter, the damp and cold air is even more unbearable.

This winter is a nightmare for many people, especially for those who moved from Tianxing City, Jiangxing City and Lixing City. In order to survive this difficult winter, they have to sell the land they were allocated in exchange for some food and firewood. But this also means that when the spring comes next year, they will lose their means of livelihood.

People sigh every day.

"It would be better if I hadn't come to Yuxi City."

"Master Fang Shisan doesn't care about us anymore..."

"What are we going to do in the future? Are we going to starve to death here?"

He Yue had no better solution to the change in public opinion. However, he still took some measures as much as possible, such as providing low-cost medical care, issuing minimum relief food, etc., but these could not fundamentally solve the problem. One night, he once held my hand and sat in the City Lord's Mansion, telling me a permanent solution.

When conscription is needed, people without land to farm will naturally choose to sign up. Then they will be given the most basic weapons and armor and made to serve as the death squads in front of the army. In other words, they are deliberately sent to die. This group of people will naturally relieve the pressure inside Yuxi City.

He Yue had a gloomy face when he said this, without a smile on his face.

I thought about it for a long time, but I still refused him. I told him that even if he wanted to do it, I had to do it myself, and he couldn't take the blame for everything. Otherwise, He Yue's prestige, which he had accumulated with great difficulty, would plummet, and the situation in Yuxi City would be in chaos again. But He Yue didn't agree to let me be the bad guy, so the matter was delayed.

Just as He Yue was sitting at her desk, twisting her hair with a pen, at a loss as to what to do, news came from the front line.

Fang Shisan won the battle.

Fang Shisan took over the five cities of the Li Neng fiefdom, except for the main city [Rivet City]. Although Fang Shisan failed to fulfill her original promise to conquer all of Li Neng's fiefdom within two months, it also solved He Yue's urgent need. This is not just the income from the four cities. There are large amounts of uninhabited land outside the cities, which can completely solve the population and land conflict problem that Yuxi City is currently facing.

At the end of December in the year 332, the four cities of [Demon Suppression], [Iron Wall], [Lieyang] and [Apocalypse] were incorporated into the Yuxi City.

He Yue was so happy that day that she drank a lot of wine, and she pulled me to chat that night. She praised Fang Shisan and said that I had found a great treasure by bringing her back to Yuxi City. She almost said that she was the best strategist in the world. But when Fang Shisan led his army back to the city, He Yue acted unfriendly again, saying "I have done a good job of making up for my mistakes" and walked away. She walked a few steps, turned around, and added "I was not nice before, I am sorry".

I actually quite understand He Yue.

He didn't intend to have a good relationship with Fang Shisan because he was too good at dealing with people.

Although I don't interfere in military and political affairs now, it is not a good thing for the top military and political leaders to be too close to each other in He Yue's opinion. So she chose to avoid suspicion and maintained a lukewarm relationship with Fang Shisan. On the one hand, this can dispel my concerns, and on the other hand, these two people will inevitably have conflicts in official matters in the future. If they are too close in private, they will not be able to save face.

Fang Shisan sat in a wheelchair with his eyes closed, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, smiling sweetly.

Seeing this, the maid Tira, who was pushing the wheelchair, immediately winked at me, and then obediently went about her business. I walked behind Fang Shisan, helped her push the wheelchair, and took her around the City Lord's Mansion.

Fang Shisan said:

"I'm back. This time it wasn't very smooth. I had thought of taking Rivet City as well. Unexpectedly, your father... Lord Yunyang personally brought people here, saying he was here to visit his son, and it was obvious that he was backing him up. Fortunately, he wasn't that shameless, and he was too embarrassed to personally take the other four cities I took for his son, so he just assumed they belonged to us."

I saw that Fang Shisan had a faint sense of fatigue on her face, and I knew that she hadn't slept well recently, so I smiled and said:

"That one is not a big deal. We only had Yuxi City before, but now we have five times the happiness. This winter is enough for us. Take a good rest when you come back. You have worked hard during this period."

Fang Shisan lifted his hair and said softly:

"It's not that hard... In fact, on the front line, I worried many times that I couldn't win. Because this winter is our best chance. If we give them a chance to breathe, the pressure we will face next spring will be much greater than it is now."

Fang Shisan said this while rubbing his red, frozen hands.

I pushed the car into a sheltered corridor, walked up to Fang Shisan, squatted down, and held one of her hands in my palm. I blew on her to warm her up. At the same time, I asked:

"I heard that you chose to continue attacking Rivet City even though you knew there were assassins."

Fang Shisan lowered his head and replied:

"I know this is dangerous, but..."

I held her hand and said:

"But at that time, you frowned, and a plan came to your mind. You decided to take an unconventional approach and take a good gamble. After all, if you win, you will make a lot of money, and if you lose, it can be regarded as repaying my kindness to you. At that time, you rushed forward with a righteous mentality, with a righteous spirit piercing the sun. Your whole body seemed to be glowing, and you rushed towards Rivet City like a saint, scaring them so much that they threw down their weapons and armor—"

Fang Shisan smiled with a hint of embarrassment and argued:

"It's not that exaggerated."

I rubbed her head:

"Anyway, it's a spirit of not caring about life or death. Thirteen, you are no longer alone. He Yue is far more reliable than you think. Even if you retreated at that time, or if you lost this time, no one would blame you. You should also learn to cause trouble to others occasionally, just like me."

Fang Shisan let me touch his head and said unwillingly:

"Then you can accompany me in the next battle. Just sit beside me, serve me tea and water, and read me documents. Otherwise, when I make you the first deputy general of Tiance Mansion, no one will believe you."

I laughed:

"Well... I can do more than just serving tea and water. I can also give you a bath, wash your feet, comb your hair, and so on. How about we practice it tonight? You've been out for so long, I guess you haven't washed yourself properly. Well... You must have about two kilograms of dust on your body after being out for so long."

Fang Shisan blushed and reached out to pat me, but failed. I handed her my hand, and Fang Shisan held my fingers with one hand and patted my palm gently with the other hand, then hummed with satisfaction and said:

"You're the dirty one."

2. A disobedient child will naturally...

That night, I was happily planning to go find Fang Shisan to fulfill my promise, only to find that Tira had already finished bathing her. Fang Shisan was really a little tired, and she lay down on the bed as soon as it got dark, wrapped in the quilt and sleeping soundly. I sat by Fang Shisan's bed for a while, brushed the hair around her lips, held her hand for a while, and then returned to my room.

Soon after entering the door, a thin rope hung from the beam.

Shiloh was still sliding down upside down, hovering at the same height as my sight. She was still dressed in night clothes, but this time I helped to sew the clothes, which could be said to be the top fashion brand in 2003, windproof and warm, very practical. Shiloh grabbed the rope, turned around nimbly, put her feet on the ground, and said concisely:

"Change the dressing."

I nodded and took off my coat. Fortunately, the charcoal in the house was burning vigorously, so I didn't feel cold even with my bare chest.

Once he took off his outer clothes, the bandages wrapped around his body were revealed.

Shiloh's hand trembled, and a short knife appeared in her palm. She deftly cut the bandages and untied them one by one. I looked down, and the wound on my back was invisible, but the wound on my chest had begun to scab over. Although it was a little hideous, the most dangerous period had passed.

The most dangerous time was when I just returned to Yuxi City. At that time, the dragon blood poison used by King Pingdeng was still rushing around in my body. The wounds cut by King Qinguang and King Chujiang on my body could circle the earth twice. Excessive blood loss was only one aspect. The most important thing was that those two bastards had killed me completely. My flesh, meridians and bones were all shattered by the internal energy. After I came back, the wounds could not heal naturally, and the blood kept flowing as if it was free.

But after all, I have lived one more life than others, so I won’t panic too much when facing such a situation.

Xi Luo and I performed what was probably the first suture operation in this world. We didn't use herbs, but needles and thread to suture the wound to stop the bleeding, and then we went to recuperate. The result was naturally good. As the saying goes, a disaster lasts for a thousand years. Although I fell into a long period of weakness, since a set of skills didn't kill me, I can still recover slowly.

Shiloh removed the old medicine residue from my body, and then took out the pounded herbs to help me apply them. The wound on my chest was almost healed, and Shiloh didn't waste the herbs there, and applied most of them on my back.

While wrapping the bandage, Shiloh gently stroked the blood scab on the wound on my chest with her little hands.

"Will it hurt?"

Shiloh asked in a low voice.

I nodded deliberately and said:

"It hurts."

Then Shiloh lay on my chest and blew gently on the wound that had stopped bleeding. His soft breath fell on my chest, which was a little itchy but also a little comfortable. After a while, Shiloh looked at me from bottom to top and asked:

"Do you feel better?"

I stopped teasing her, nodded seriously, and said:

"much better."

Shiloh helped me put on my pajamas. I asked:

"Isn't that woman named Shuang coming to Yuxi City? Let her come to see me later. Where are you living recently?"

Shiloh replied:

"Changqing helped us arrange accommodation. But to keep it a secret, he didn't let me tell anyone else."

I scratched her nose deliberately and said:

"Neither can I?"

Shiloh thought for a while, then leaned over to my ear and whispered an address. I memorized it and said with a smile:

"Come to think of it, there's something I've always wanted to do. But I didn't do it because my injury wasn't fully healed. Now that I feel like I've almost recovered, it's time to vent my anger. Come, Shiloh, sit next to me."

Shiloh shook his head in alarm.

I smiled harmlessly at her, waved, and said:

"Come here."

"No."

"Come, come, come and sit for a while. I won't eat you."

"No."