Chapter 117

While Guan Huan and Zhou Rui returned to wash up and chat with Liu Yong and the others, Ye Tao was writing a secret letter. Without Feng Zi by his side, he had to take care of such desk work himself. Although Tan Weixin had been idle recently, and she could handle these things after her health improved, she usually did things that consumed a lot of mental energy. After seeing Tan Weixin manually calculate various complex data and integrate various information to plan for the future of Yunzhou, Zhenzhou, and Dongping, Ye Tao still hoped that Tan Weixin could take this time out to rest.

Almost an hour later, Liu Yong, Guan Huan, Zhou Rui, and Jin Ze, who were hiding in the side room drinking, finally waited for Ye Tao. The document reporting the situation to Tan Xiaopei had been written and handed to the intelligence bureau's communication officer, who was waiting. Seeing Guan Huan and Zhou Rui return and drink with such enthusiasm, Ye Tao joined in. Naturally, the accidental encounter with the Xiling nation's ruler that day was the best appetizer.

"What kind of person is that Xiling nation's ruler?" It wasn't just Zhou Rui who asked the question; everyone had this doubt. Xiling's strength had never declined. The reason it had suffered setbacks recently was mainly because Dongping had risen too quickly. With Ye Tao, Dongping surpassed Xiling in military technology by decades. With Tan Weixin, Dongping had directly jumped into the ranks of advanced economies. Although many regulations and handling methods seemed inefficient and slow, it was a set of rules that could be used continuously as calculation technology improved until the economic situation of the world developed to a point that Tan Weixin could not predict.

Xiling had always been regarded as Dongping's biggest hypothetical enemy, and it still was. Although core members of the Dongping court such as Tan Xiaopei, Ye Tao, Chi Xianping, and Huang Xuping had gradually shifted the biggest hypothetical enemy to Chunnan, Chunnan, which was currently an ally of Dongping, was not such an imminent threat. Although Xiling's million-strong army had suffered two major defeats in Zhenzhou and the Southern Pass, the scale of the army had not decreased rapidly. A significant point was that most of the lost troops were private soldiers of various aristocratic families and clans. These families were even more willing than the Xiling nation's ruler to invest in building the army, especially in maintaining its size. However, Xiling was gradually realizing that as Dongping had developed military technology to an unbelievable level for this time and space, relying on low state subsidies and family funding to maintain a large army might just be preparing a large number of cannon fodder for its old rival, Dongping.

From the fall of Zhenzhou, Xiling had actually begun to make changes in this area. The original numbers of the various units that were eliminated in Zhenzhou were no longer rebuilt. The funds originally invested in Zhenzhou every year were all diverted to the Taizhou and Zhongzhou areas to establish elite troops directly under the court. Dao Ming Sect was now rebuilding the Northern Route of the Guardian Army in Zhongzhou, which was recognized. However, the Xiling nation's ruler had actually hinted to Sun Boping that if his son-in-law wanted to establish the Guardian Army of the Thunder Sound Demon Sect, he would allow it. In the Southern Route, as the battle of the Southern Pass gradually came to an end, the reorganization and merger of the remaining troops were also carried out drastically. Although Xiling lost hundreds of thousands of troops, after reorganization and consolidation, coupled with the inevitable learning of Dongping's advanced military technology and command philosophy, Xiling's military strength would actually improve considerably in the next five to ten years. Xiling's military equipment manufacturing technology and design capabilities were indeed inferior to Dongping's, which had the Ye Family Workshop, but they were not too far behind. The quality of steel produced by Xiling's major steel mills was not inferior to Yungang's steel, which used the latest technology, and was even better than the steel produced in Liyang, Dongping.

While Xiling was adjusting and developing militarily, its political strategy tended towards low taxes. The Xiling nation's ruler had reduced the royal family's expenses to a very low limit. Unlike Dongping, the Xiling royal family did not have its own industry and was completely supported by the national treasury. If the royal family spent less, the national treasury would be more abundant. However, few royal families in this time and space would do this.

Ye Tao was only summoned by the princess that day. When the royal family's expenses were drastically reduced, these people who were usually pampered did not complain. Perhaps they were afraid to ask the Xiling nation's ruler, who had always been known for his iron fist, to increase their monthly allowance. The princess was very polite, and several aristocratic children who had been to Yuanyuan Garden before were also present. If it was just a chat, most of the time that day was quite pleasant. However, no one expected that the Xiling nation's ruler, who had been extremely busy recently, would actually come at this time.

Although the Xiling nation's ruler had an iron fist, he also had some of Tan Xiaopei's style towards his daughter and her friends. Although he couldn't be called loving, he was not strict. However, this may just be because this third princess had always been the least worrying of his many children. The Xiling nation's ruler only sat there for a short while. When he learned that the third princess wanted to ask Ye Tao for the recipe for mixing tea, he also drank a cup with interest. Ye Tao did not bring anything when he entered the palace. The tea and other ingredients were prepared by the palace, so he naturally did not worry about poisoning or other problems. The Xiling nation's ruler praised the taste of the tea but gently criticized the third princess for asking others for secret recipes, which was inappropriate. Subsequently, he allowed the third princess to go to Yuanyuan Garden after reporting to the chief steward of the inner palace, or to summon Ye Tao again to prepare tea. Then, he left.

The Xiling nation's ruler was most interested in the fact that this "Lu Zhen" was not afraid of him at all, neither because of his identity nor because of his dignified and slightly fierce expression. Faced with the direct questions from the Xiling nation's ruler, Ye Tao secretly groaned. This was not a question of fear or not. He had met the rulers of Dongping, Xiling, and Chunnan. He was also a powerful figure in his own right, and he was used to dealing with people of this magnitude. It was not easy to be afraid again, but how could he explain this?

At that time, Ye Tao had a feeling of divine inspiration. He almost blurted out, "Generosity means being close to people's hearts, while strictness means having deep hopes. This is true for superiors to subordinates, rulers to subjects, officials to soldiers, parents to children, and rulers to the people. Although Your Majesty has a reputation for strictness, he rarely does things according to his own wishes and beyond the laws of the court. The common people are diligent and conscientious and have not overstepped the line. What they can feel is Your Majesty's great love for the country and the people. I don't know why I must be afraid?"

The aristocratic children present broke out in cold sweat. The third princess had spent a lot of time with the Xiling nation's ruler. Although she knew that her father would definitely like this "Lu Zhen's" straightforward attitude, she was also a little nervous. The Xiling nation's ruler was not angry at all. The various affairs he had been handling recently were somewhat unpleasant. But this young man he met today was a bit interesting. He didn't know who Lu Zhen was. He had just entered the palace where the third princess was and asked who was present today. A personal secretary briefly mentioned Lu Zhen, saying that he was a descendant of an aristocratic family who had fled from Zhenzhou and opened a teahouse to make a living.

It could be seen that the Xiling nation's ruler had a good impression of "Lu Zhen's" words. Ye Tao's casual words were a very well-placed flattery. The Xiling nation's ruler actually smiled slightly after hearing it and said, "Why don't you sell your shop, exchange the recipe for something substantial, and come to court to be an official? With your temperament, if you really have practical talents, you can stand out in the current situation."

Everyone heard the Xiling nation's ruler's obvious intention to recruit him and couldn't help but envy "Lu Zhen" from the bottom of their hearts. The Xiling court was now selecting talents in an unconventional manner. Regardless of whether they were originally vendors or descendants of aristocratic families, as long as they could do things well, do the right things, and not be corrupt or pervert the law, other places might not know, but in Anqing, promotions were definitely fast. The main reason was that Xiling lacked people who could do things. Being directly recruited by the Xiling nation's ruler, if Lu Zhen really obtained an official position, the rank would definitely not be too low or the power too small.

What was even more unexpected was that Lu Zhen did not kowtow to thank the ruler for his grace but respectfully said that he would seriously consider it…

The Xiling nation's ruler only sat for a while, talked to the young people present, and left after drinking a cup of tea. But Ye Tao broke out in a sweat during this short period. At that time, he didn't have figures like Liu Yong, Jin Ze, and Guan Huan by his side, but with Ye Tao's vision, he could see that the two people beside the Xiling nation's ruler were top experts. If they disagreed, he could not escape. If he was imprisoned, would Liu Yong and Jin Ze come to Anqing to rob the prison? Who knew, they were originally just here to play.

The final result was naturally very good. Ye Tao retreated unscathed and became one with the aristocratic children. The third princess also said that she would come to Yuanyuan Garden to play in a few days, and Ye Tao suggested going on an outing. Unexpectedly, this suggestion made the aristocratic children very happy. The atmosphere in Anqing was extremely tense because of so many major events, and it was a bit inconvenient for everyone to go out. Going on an outing outside the city, because the third princess would definitely bring enough guards and imperial troops, plus the servants and guards around them, was expected to be no problem. They immediately put forward several plans and prepared to go to the royal hunting ground to play together. Hearing this, Ye Tao could no longer smile. Wasn't that royal hunting ground the place where his second senior brother had unearthed a large number of treasures? There were still many arrangements for his own people there. Not to mention anything else, just being able to go deep into the underground palace could hide him for a good period of time, and then he could leave calmly after the situation calmed down.

"If that doesn't work, at least we can find an opportunity to kidnap her. If we kidnap the third princess, we won't have to worry about running far. Even if we go directly to Xuanshan Pass and return to Dongping, there probably won't be any problems," Jin Ze said with a smile.

Ye Tao nodded and said, "But going back won't be fun. Let's try to arrange it so that no one is involved. Especially, we can't let those long-term arrangements be damaged."