You are already cultivating immortality, who would fight with you alone?

At this moment, the atmosphere in the Prime Minister's Mansion in Daliang, Northern Frontier, was solemn.

Fang Qing sat upright in the central hall, quietly listening to several Jinyiwei describing in detail the recent public grievances in the capital.

After they finished speaking, Fang Qing nodded slightly and said sternly: "The public grievances must be suppressed first, and we must not allow them to incite public opinion and cause disasters."

If we allow even the slightest dissenting voice to spread unchecked, it will surely spread like wildfire in the future.

Once the public resentment boils over like boiling water, it will inevitably trigger a series of unpredictable chain reactions within the capital.

A Jinyiwei raised his head slightly, carefully looked at Fang Qing's expression, and asked tentatively: "Prime Minister Fang, in my humble opinion, you might as well do them a little favor and send them away to appease the people... What do you think?"

Fang Qing's movements suddenly stopped, and he slowly removed the hand covering his eyes. His eyes shot towards the Jinyiwei like lightning, and he raised his eyebrows and asked, "Comfort?"

Immediately, his tone turned harsh, and he angrily shouted: "I ordered you to suppress the people's grievances, but you are talking about appeasement?!"

This sudden rebuke stunned the Jinyiwei instantly, and he said in bewilderment: "If it is not appeased, then... then how to suppress it?"

Fang Qing sneered and shouted, "Shut them up! Isn't this what you Jinyiwei are best at?!"

When these words came out, the two Jinyiwei couldn't help but gasp and looked at each other with astonishment in their eyes.

Fang Qing has always been promoting "benevolent governance" and has repeatedly opposed the Jinyiwei's torture and ruthless handling of cases.

Today, I wanted to please Fang Qing, but I ended up flattering the wrong person.

Who could have expected that Fang Qing's approach to this matter would be even more extreme than theirs.

"Prime Minister Fang! If you really act this way, I'm afraid it will backfire..." The Jinyiwei was unwilling and wanted to remonstrate again, but was interrupted by Fang Qing.

Fang Qing took a deep breath, suppressed his irritability, and said patiently, "Well, I'll tell you two a story, listen carefully."

The two looked at each other and quickly responded in unison: "We are all ears."

Fang Qing nodded slightly, his eyes drifting upwards, as if lost in memories, and slowly said: "Once upon a time, there was a scholar who raised a donkey. One night, the scholar was reading by lamplight, and the donkey kept screaming in the yard, disturbing the scholar's concentration. So the scholar got up and went to the yard to check what was going on."

"When he got closer, he realized that there was a thorn stuck in the donkey's buttocks, and it was neighing in pain."

At this point, Fang Qing paused for a moment, glanced at the two of them, and asked, "Guess what the scholar did?"

A Jinyiwei tentatively answered: "Did the scholar pull out the thorn?"

Fang Qing shook his head slightly, a meaningful smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and said: "He took out a rope and tied up the donkey's mouth."

“What? Is this scholar confused? He has problems but doesn’t solve them. He only knows…” Another Jinyiwei just said this and suddenly shut his mouth as if he realized something.

Because he suddenly realized that what Fang Qing was doing at this moment was exactly the same as that scholar.

"Do you think that scholar is stupid?" Fang Qing asked with a smile.

The two Jinyiwei smiled awkwardly and waved their hands hurriedly to deny it.

Fang Qing also smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes. He then asked, "Even a fool knows that if you pull out the thorn, the donkey will stop braying. How could a scholar who is well-read in poetry and books not know this?"

"Have you ever thought that the scholar might have other considerations?"

"What are your considerations?" The Jinyiwei looked curious and couldn't understand why the scholar would act this way.

Fang Qing just shook his head slowly, his expression somewhat unpredictable: "I don't know either."

"But I know very well that the scholar is by no means a fool. He must have his reasons for doing so. And I made this decision after careful consideration. I have to do so for my own reasons!"

Fang Qing's eyes became stern, and his expression became serious. He said in a deep voice: "I might as well tell you frankly that the rebels outside are ready to make a move. Daliang is facing external and internal troubles. How can we have the leisure to care about the lives of those common people?"

"Not only that, in order to cope with the upcoming war, I need to increase taxes and collect money as quickly as possible to enrich the national treasury so that we can be prepared for any eventuality!"

"Further tax increase?" The two Jinyiwei were dumbfounded when they heard Fang Qing's words.

Now the people in the capital are boiling with resentment and the situation is already precarious. If the taxes are increased further, it would be like adding fuel to the fire and chaos would probably break out in an instant.

"Prime Minister Fang, this is absolutely not possible! If you really do this, it may lead to a disaster where the officials force the people to rebel!" A Jinyiwei looked worried and gave urgent advice.

Fang Qing frowned, took a deep breath, and a trace of disdain flashed in his eyes. He snorted coldly: "A bunch of mud legs, even if they rebel, how much trouble can they stir up?"

He narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he was thinking, or as if he was trying to instill his own ideas into the two men: "War is fought for money and food. Think about it, can these unorganized rabble raise enough money to rebel?"

"Throughout history, have we ever seen so-called uprisings by the people without the instigation of powerful people? These struggles under the banner of uprisings are, in essence, nothing more than a game between powerful people. The people are nothing more than cannon fodder pushed onto the battlefield, and they are just an excuse to justify their actions."

Fang Qing slowly stood up, walked with his hands behind his back, his expression becoming increasingly stern: "They think they are fighting for themselves, but they don't know that no one cares about their lives. Even if the person they admire ascends the throne, how can he really care about these insignificant people?"

"The foundation of a country's survival is not its people, but the existence of the country itself. If the country is about to collapse and can't even afford to pay the soldiers, do you think that just a few empty words or some small favors in the past can convince them to join the army and defend the country?"

Fang Qing slammed the table, a ruthless look flashed in his eyes, and he said sternly: "They won't be persuaded! If you want to prolong the life of the country, you can't treat them as human beings, but as nutrients for the country's growth!"

"Countries and people are interdependent, and each takes what it needs!"

"In prosperous times, we can show them more kindness and allow them to recuperate, reproduce and contribute to the prosperity of Daliang. But now we are in troubled times, so we have to take extraordinary measures and kill the goose that lays the golden eggs! As long as Daliang can survive and get through this crisis, we can then show them kindness and comfort them, and everything will be settled."

A Jinyiwei was worried when he heard Fang Qing's resolute words. He couldn't help but ask cautiously, "Prime Minister Fang, if we act this way and still fail to quell the people's grievances, what will we do?"

Fang Qing narrowed his eyes slightly, and cast his gaze towards the towering Juxian Tower outside the window. He seemed to be looking at someone, or thinking about the general situation in the world. He slowly said, "It will calm down..."

"These common people have very simple minds. When life is going well, they will sing praises to those in power; once life becomes difficult, they will complain."

"If even food and clothing become a problem, they will rise up. As for who sits on the throne, whether the country is called Daliang, Daqian, or Datang, it is insignificant to them."

"All they care about is whether they can live a happy life. Therefore, talking about friendship with them is like talking to a cow. The only way to control them is to use force!"

"If we win, it will only take us 30 years to regain their support. Even if we lose, the new rulers will only let them live a stable life for a while. When the new dynasty's national strength declines and faces internal and external troubles, they will still follow our old path."

"What's the point of this cycle of rebellion and the constant change of government?"

"The ones who can truly dominate the situation are always the powerful class! As long as they can stabilize the powerful in the court, what's the harm in squeezing out those untouchables? Even if some of them starve to death, what's there to be afraid of?"

"How can the person who can decide the fate of Daliang be a country bumpkin?"

After he finished speaking, a gust of cold wind whistled past, making the window frames creak, as if they were also trembling at these cold and heartless words.

When the Jinyiwei heard this, he was startled and lowered his head subconsciously, not daring to look directly into Fang Qing's cold eyes.

After receiving Fang Qing's order, the two of them walked out of the Prime Minister's Mansion on thin ice.

The biting cold wind blew like a knife, and the stone lions in front of the Prime Minister's Mansion looked even more ferocious in the dim sky.

The two men stood at the door, both silent and with serious expressions.

After a long time, they slowly turned their heads and their eyes met.

"I seem to understand why Mr. Liu gave up this world..." A Jinyiwei couldn't help but speak in a low voice, his voice was torn into pieces by the wind.

"Be careful with your words!!!" The expression of another Jinyiwei suddenly changed. He looked around like a frightened bird. After confirming that there was no one nearby, he breathed a sigh of relief, but beads of sweat had already appeared on his forehead.

"What are you afraid of?!" Instead of stopping talking, the Jinyiwei became confident and clenched his fists excitedly.

His face was full of resentment. "In the past, Mr. Liu always advised us to live for ourselves. I believe he has seen through this absurd world. How could he blame us for such a small matter?"

"But now we are working for Prime Minister Fang, so we have to be on guard!"

"..."

The two fell into silence again, their feet moving unconsciously, and before they knew it, they arrived in front of a slightly old mansion.

The surrounding streets were deserted, with only the sound of the wind whistling in my ears.

The two men looked at each other, and in tacit understanding, they slowly drew out the long swords at their waists. The blades flashed a cold light in the dim light.

Before entering the house, one of them stopped in front of the door, turned to look at his companion, and asked: "Do you still remember what Mr. Liu said?"

The other person paused, turned his head slowly, and looked puzzled: "Which sentence?"

“Heroism.”

The man was slightly startled, and after thinking for a moment, he said uncertainly: "Even if you have seen through the dark side of this world... you can still love life?"

He nodded gently, with a complex emotion flashing in his eyes: "No wonder Liu Gong called this kind of person a hero... Facing Fang Xiang's cold order, I almost despaired of this world, but thinking about the heroism Liu Gong talked about, I realized the value of sticking to my heart. Just now, my heart almost got confused."

The other person also sighed heavily and said in a low voice: "It's better to work with Mr. Liu... At least he won't let us do something against our will!"

After saying this, he frowned, his eyes full of helplessness and struggle.

Then, he slowly put his face close to the crack in the door and peered inside. A trace of pity flashed in his eyes, and he said regretfully: "It's just that the words were a bit harsh... Alas! It's a pity for this family."

After confirming that there was no one in the courtyard, he swallowed, his forehead covered with sweat. With slightly trembling hands, he inserted the long knife through the crack of the door and tried to gently hook the bolt.

Every movement was done cautiously, as if afraid of making any sound.

With a slight "click" sound, the bolt was finally successfully hooked.

The door slowly opened, making a slight creaking sound, which was particularly harsh in the quiet atmosphere.

The two of them walked in slowly and lightly, then quickly turned around and gently re-bolted the door behind them.

…………

The night was as dark as ink, slowly staining the entire sky. The biting cold wind whistled and swirled on the top of the cliff, as if it wanted to drag everything in the world into its ravages.

Liu Yi and Diwu Shuya stood side by side on the top of the cliff, overlooking the National Defense Army that was as mighty as a black torrent in the distance. The soldiers' armors were flashing coldly in the dim moonlight, and the marching footsteps were like dull war drums, beating the silence under the night.

Diwu Shuya frowned slightly, looking a little uncomfortable. He moved aside unnoticeably, then approached Liu Yi and said in a low voice, "If we had known that you would invite him here, why would we come here?"

The person he was referring to was Wuji who came with Liu Yi.

"Even if there were a million national defense troops, it would only take a moment for him. If Yun Tian hadn't asked for the national destiny to come to the battlefield during the Holy Land War, the outcome would be unknown!"

Although he tried his best to lower his voice, in front of Wuji, it was as clear as a whisper in his ear.

Wuji slowly opened his eyes, and his gaze seemed real. Although he did not look at Fifth Uncle Ya, the cold tone alone was enough to make Fifth Uncle Ya tremble with fear.

"What? I came here to observe, but you, Shuya, have any complaints?" Wuji's voice was icy cold, as if it was wrapped in frost on this cold night.

Seeing this, Liu Yi hurried forward to smooth things over: "Master is only here to observe and will not interfere. The main purpose of this operation is to train them."

Just when everyone's attention was focused on the National Defense Army, Wuji's expression suddenly became stern, and his eagle-like sharp eyes suddenly shot to the side, and he shouted at the empty air like a thunder: "Now that you have come this far, why are you hiding your head and showing your tail?!"

Liu Yi's whole body trembled, his heart suddenly shrank, and he looked in the direction Wuji pointed.

I saw that in that place where there was originally nothing, there was a slight ripple in the space, and then a figure slowly emerged.

When he saw the person's face clearly, Liu Yi's heart skipped a beat and he subconsciously turned to look at his fifth uncle.

The face of Fifth Uncle Ya turned pale as paper in an instant, and his lips trembled slightly, as if he had encountered something extremely terrible.

He slowly raised his hands and covered his face tightly. His body trembled slightly, but he remained silent, as if this was the only way to hide himself.

"Junior Nalan Yumo, nice to meet Senior Wuji." The figure bowed gracefully. Although the voice was soft, it was clearly audible in the silent night sky.

The person who came was Nalan Yumo, the current Holy Lord of the Holy Land of Hundred Flowers.

The battle for the holy land was extremely brutal. The Hundred Flowers Holy Land suffered countless casualties in that catastrophe and was severely damaged.

Even the Mahayana Saint Lord unfortunately fell at the hands of Liu Yuntian.

Although the Holy Land of Hundred Flowers has been able to maintain itself with the secret support of Liu Yuntian, it can now only barely rank among the first-class forces and is struggling to survive in this turbulent world.

Wuji narrowed his eyes slightly, and a cold light flashed in his eyes, like two sharp blades.

He snorted coldly, his face full of disdain, his sarcastic words stinging like ice: "Oh? Isn't this the Holy Lord of Hundred Flowers? I remember that you got to the top by betraying your master?"

"Oh, by the way... Lin Ying was fooled around by Liu Yuntian. I remember that you also contributed to this, right?"