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44: Becoming a Tyrant

"Really?" Hua Jianli brightened up at Lan Zhi and Du Luo's words. He happily clasped his hands together. "Good, good. Little Qi will be cured, right?"

However, Du Luo did not answer. Hua Jianli embarrassedly rubbed his nose. Suddenly, he frowned. "Little Qi, can this Nangong Piaoran be trusted? As far as we know, he could very likely be spying on Zhi nation for Nanrong."

"He should be. Why do you say he is a spy for Nanrong?"

Hua Jianli seated himself, and slowly spoke. "Each nation has spies in Zhi nation, and when a new emperor appears, more spies are sent. This time, both East and West Zhi are establishing new monarchs at the same time. As a result, every country has sent more spies, like how Dongling dispatching Prince Dongfang Xi."

"Dongfang Xi came?" Ye Yin raised a brow.

Hua Jianli nodded. "Yes, he is in East Zhi. Yuanbo already sent people to watch him closely. According to our intel, Nanrong's spy is most likely the master of Xiaoyao, Nangong Piaoran, and as for Xili......"

"Yang Han?" Ye Yin gave Hua Jianli a questioning look.

"Perhaps, or perhaps not. The lord of Mangci rarely appears in public, so it is hard to spy on him. However, the relationship between him and the government Xili is not good, according to rumors. Mangci has eliminated many of Xili's governors. Moreover, the lord of Mangci is a wanted man in Xili."

Ye Yin raised a brow. "Yang Nan has an unordinary, supreme aura. Although his is supposedly a commoner, his bearing and actions are graceful, as if drilled into him from a young age. I suspect he is not only the lord of Mangci, but also the son of great nobility. How a great family's son could become the leader of an assassination organization, I do wonder."

After a moment's silence, Ye Yin continued. "There are too many things in the world that are not what what they seem. If you regard everything by what you see on the surface, you will be deceived. Brother Jian Li, send me to spy on Yang Han's habits, but careful to not let him notice. Assassins are more vigilant. You do not want him to feign and feed you false information. Alright, moving on, how is the emperor on the East side?"

"A lot has happened in East Zhi. All of your secretly transmitted government decrees have been carried out. The common populace has calmed down and sings Wen Yuanbo praises. He was able to carry out the government decrees quickly, unlike we, who have been unable to move a single step. East Zhi is now flourishing!"

Hearing Hua Jianli's sour tone, Ye Yin smiled and said, "If you handled it seriously, you wouldn't be too bad. The point of our brains is to think. Could it be that you simply quit the moment you run into difficulty?"

"You make it sounds so easy. How can you compare my side to Wen Yuanbo's? Most of his men are loyal people who have followed him from the start, talent aplenty, along with Shi Xia. Perhaps they have unsuccessful in some areas, but me? I only brought people who knew how to fight, a bunch of crude men. They are only capable of fighting, nothing else. Can I count on them? For now, I asked them to become county and city lords, but each and every one of them declined, saying that they were not that kind of person. Therefore, I forcibly ordered them to take up their posts, or else it would be the death penalty. There still were a few that refused to leave An city, but I can't actually kill them now, can I!"

Ye Yin lowered his head to hide his smile, thinking to himself, birds of a feather truly flock together. No wonder the position of Yue city lord had remained empty! He looked up at Hua Jianli, who had a dissatisfied expression. "Enough, stop complaining. Who told you only pick people similar to you! Didn't Wen Yuanbo allow you to pick your own men? Only you are to blame for not picking talented people"