Start from Fulilian

the other side.

After several days of travel, Ivan finally returned to his loyal Suiye Territory.

Along the way, all the places affected by the demonic disaster were being rebuilt, and attracted by the tax-free policy, many people from other cities also began to flock here.

With a population, there is labor force. With labor force, we can focus on development. As long as the development is fast enough, most social contradictions can be suppressed.

Magic weaving machines began to become popular, powered by locally mined magic crystal ores, allowing factories to gradually replace traditional small workshops.

Some other assembly lines were also set up, and factories were continuously built, so the surplus labor force naturally had a good place to go. Although the remuneration was not much higher than that of farming, life was indeed getting better and better.

Meat, which was usually only bought to celebrate a good harvest, can now be eaten every now and then to satisfy cravings. Children can be sent to school for short-term education, and even if they graduate in three months at the worst, they can still learn some low-level magic such as pest control and preservation to meet the needs of all walks of life and never have to worry about food and clothing.

Overall, things are going well!

Aula wore a huge hat on his head that covered his horns. Although it looked extremely suspicious, since it was brought back by Ivan, everyone explained it as "different customs".

"So this is the prosperous side of human cities. So lively and crowded."

Aula looked around at the new things, like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden.

Last time, she was teleported directly to the basement of the castle by Ivan, so this was the first time she entered the city from the ground.

In the past, people had the impression that cities were specially engraved with defensive magic, protecting the fragile ordinary people inside like a turtle shell.

But now her cognition has changed. It is not just about blindly protecting, but more about creating conditions for the development of human beings themselves. After all, if people are in danger every day, how can there be such a lively scene full of vitality?

Thinking of this, she suddenly felt that she was one step closer to human thinking.

It's so itchy, I feel like I'm about to grow a brain.

Fulilian (Thousand Years of Past): Chapter 71: Volame, Want to Be Queen

The old king lay on the hospital bed, his cloudy eyes looking at his eldest son not far away. Although his face was not very clear, his eyes that were extremely eager for the throne were so dazzling in the dim candlelight.

If there weren't other ministers and priests around him, he would probably do something extremely rebellious, right?

"Oh..."

He really wanted to give his eldest son a few more words of advice, but now he felt as if his lungs were full of holes. Even if he tried his best, he could only make this meaningless hoarse sound.

That's it, that's it.

As long as he follows the strategy he left behind, no matter how incompetent he is, he will not be able to ruin such an advantageous situation.

"Father."

Prince Charles grabbed the bony hand, his eyes filled with tears, and began to act out the drama of a loving father and a filial son.

"After your arrest and imprisonment, those nobles have deeply reflected on their mistakes and are willing to contribute to the country again, so they are all released."

"Secondly, I am determined to increase spending on knight training to forge a group of loyal troops for the country, rather than a group of arrogant magicians who are obsessed with studying magic."

"Also, the war with the demons has almost reached the stage where we can negotiate. After all, we have the upper hand. I believe peace will come soon and there will be no need to continue fighting."

"Finally, there's Ivan, the lawless man on the border who disregards the royal authority. He's so reckless with only three cities under his control. He's truly despicable. When I take the throne, I'll definitely root out these parasites and make the kingdom great again!"

"No matter what, seventy cities versus three cities, the advantage is mine!"

"Cough, cough, cough!"

The old king was so angry that his eyes widened.

Okay, okay, you're in your rebellious phase, right? You're pretty good. You've cut into a large chunk of my limited time.

But even if he completely countered the strategy and ended up dying and his country destroyed, he could only blame it on his own greed. After all, judging from what the other party had done so far, the fake hero on the border was even more powerful than the real hero... Fortunately, the second prince would be responsible for continuing the family bloodline.

It’s a pity that he didn’t live to see the day when the demons were completely wiped out... The old king breathed his last with a look of regret on his face.

◇

"Humphrey, you did a great job. You lived up to my trust in you."

After arriving at the castle, Humphrey immediately came over from the city hall to pay a visit and gave a brief report on Ivan's work in the more than one month since he left.

Mainly in the school sector, the development is rapid and gratifying, and the training of basic government officials is in full swing.

"But there are two pieces of bad news, Lord Ivan. First, we don't have enough land to share under the military merit system. Second, a few days ago, a royal messenger arrived with the news that the old king has passed away and the new king, Charles, has ascended the throne."

From the royal capital to Suiye City, Ivan and his group traveled slowly and semi-traveled, which took about a week.

Almost as soon as they arrived in Suiye City, an expedited messenger followed, which meant that the old king fell ill and died not long after they left the capital.

Ivan still felt a little emotional. The birth, aging, sickness and death of ordinary people were like an insurmountable chasm that no one, no matter how talented or resourceful, could escape.

Although the old king had only met him once, the two of them had a good understanding of each other. After all, their goal was to defeat the demons.

Humphrey continued, "In his letter, the new king harshly criticized you for the massacre of nobles and demanded you return to the capital to apologize. He will then grant you a pardon and allow you to retain your noble title and treatment, making you a wealthy man. However, he will have to send someone to govern the three cities."

Ivan: “…”

No, the new king's brain is a little bit flawed. Does he think that he only occupied three cities because he only had the strength of three cities? He even took the initiative to apologize, which makes him look like a rich man. He really thinks he is Cao Shuang.

But it’s better this way. The other party has given us a reason to start a war, so we don’t have to find an excuse later.

"Humphrey, these two may be bad news individually, but together they become good news."

This short sentence contained a huge amount of information, which made Humphrey break out in a cold sweat.

"Lord Ivan, are you planning to...rebel?"

"Treason? Who is rebelling?"

Ivan looked Humphrey straight in the eye and said calmly, "I haven't lost yet. How can you accuse me of treason? This is called an uprising. Since ancient times, kings have always been those with strong armies and horses!"

"What do you mean by 'since ancient times'?... I've never heard of this phrase before. I know the new king's will makes you uncomfortable, but you can just ignore it and pretend you didn't hear it. I think this matter will eventually come to nothing if it's dragged on. There's really no need to start a rebellion..."

"Humphrey, I am the lord."

Ivan didn't wait for the other party to speak and quickly said the next sentence, "And I won't regret it later. Although the old king has been kind to me, how dare he, a newly appointed king, speak to me in that tone?"

"I don't think he looks like a king. He deserves death!"

But there is a difference between deciding to go to war and going to war immediately. Ivan asked the envoy to go back and tell the new king to send people to govern here, and he would go to the capital to apologize after the handover was completed.

Anyway, let's just delay it for now.

Ivan quickly used the teleportation array to contact Volame. The current version of the teleportation array was already capable of regular video conversations, so he didn't exchange any pleasantries and went straight to the point.

"Volamei, I am preparing to revolt. Hurry and bring a group of trustworthy magicians to my side. Once I conquer this world, I will make you queen."

"Haha, you're joking again, right? But this joke isn't funny."

"I'm not kidding, I'm serious."

Although the treatment of these magicians has plummeted since Charles became regent, and they have been sent to the front line to fight, the old king has set the tone for the attitude of the people of the country towards magic. Even if the development will be a little slower, it will still be a big step forward.

So Volame did not want any major changes to happen in the country.

She covered her forehead with her hands, having a severe headache.

"Ivan, is it really necessary to rebel?"

"It's not a rebellion, it's an uprising. Furthermore, I didn't initiate the civil war, but they forced me to. You know Charles' character well. He's arrogant and disrespectful to his elders. Rather than pinning your hopes on him, it's better to fight for it yourself."

Ivan said firmly, "Victory is earned through fighting, not by others' charity! Join the glorious uprising, Mr. Volame."

In the video, Volame's expression changed rapidly. He finally made up his mind and sighed softly, "You already call me teacher, what else can I say? I'm on this pirate ship."

"I love you. I'll try harder next time we meet."

"So you're the one who's the most disrespectful to your elders!!"

Volame is the only important person to Ivan outside the Suiye Territory. Once she arrives with a group of available people, he will be able to send troops without any worries after recuperating for a long time.

Just at this time, the noble sent by the new king to take over Ivan's governance arrived in Suiye City. He was a middle-aged man with a proud and arrogant attitude. He brought with him a dozen minor nobles, and there were about a hundred fully armed knights outside the castle.

When he saw Ivan, he immediately accused him condescendingly:

"Are you the convict who massacred the nobles in your territory? I heard you were forced to waive taxes for a year due to a lack of tax collectors. You've turned this perfectly healthy border into a shambles. His Highness Charles has asked me to take over your mess. You should hurry back to the capital and apologize."

"You're truly favored by the king, you. You committed such a serious crime, but the old king simply ignored the charges and established prisons across the country on the ridiculous pretext that demons possessed humans. Fortunately, His Highness Charles rectified the situation. However, even so, you were able to retain your noble title and treatment. Could it be that your relationship with the king..."

As he spoke, the middle-aged nobleman's eyes became even more disgusted, as if he had seen a troublemaker.

"..."

Ivan didn't even bother to refute him. Instead, he said to his henchmen, "Come here, drag these people away and chop them up... Wait, don't chop them up yet, just keep them under control."

In the moment they were surprised and stunned.

The Jinyiwei immediately pounced on him like wolves and tigers, quickly blocked his mouth, and then tied him up tightly with ropes, making it impossible for him to even scream. It can only be said that they were very professional.

"woo woo woo woo!"

The extremely obese middle-aged male nobleman's eyes were full of fear, and he was twisting and turning on the ground like a fat pig worm.

Did he discover that he was a demon who had taken over a human's body?

Impossible! This matter was so secretive, and I hadn't revealed any flaws. Even my tone and expression were perfectly mimicked. How could a mere human see through it?!

Fortunately, there are about a hundred elite knights outside the castle. If I don’t go out for a long time, they will definitely become suspicious and rush in to rescue me.

"Lord Ivan, the knights outside the castle have been dealt with." The legendary death-bringer Martina came to Ivan with a complicated expression and reported.

After leaving the Land of Swords and arriving in Suiye City, she soon realized that the quality of her meals was so bad that it was outrageous, and she felt extremely depressed during this period.

Then Ivan happened to meet her, and after learning about the girl's troubles, he told her that there would be a moment when her amazing cooking skills would be of use soon, and asked her to make a big pot of summer soup.

Then, the knights who had traveled thousands of miles from the royal capital under the scorching sun were caught. Even though they were elite warriors with various poison resistances, they could not resist the violent smell that directly destroyed their nerves.

It is not a deadly poison, but it is worse than a deadly poison.

Although she was very happy to be needed by Ivan and that she could realize the value of her cooking skills that she had practiced for many years, she did not want the dishes she cooked to become lethal dishes if possible.

After a few days and many interrogations, it was discovered that the new king had not specifically deployed any troops for war, probably because he truly believed that he had to give up resistance.

This can be a good start.

Ivan chose a sunny morning and gathered his troops, who stood in a black mass.

Through light and shadow magic and sound amplification magic, every soldier can see his face and hear his voice.

"My fellow soldiers, I regret to inform you that due to the new king's accusations, I will soon be stepping down as lord of the three border cities of Suiye, Vine City, and Gumu City."

Ivan's opening statement was a powerful blow, causing the originally quiet and orderly army to suddenly become chaotic.

Two minutes passed.

Seeing that Ivan looked like he was waiting for them to finish their discussion, everyone quickly returned to silence.

"The new king sent nobles to govern the three border cities. They are this group of people!"

A group of noble men who were tightly tied up and gagged appeared in the light and shadow illusion in the air.

"You may ask why I want to arrest these people? The reason is simple: because they make me angry!"

"Deniing my achievements and my efforts is actually indifferent to me, but the only thing he shouldn't deny is the military merit system I established and this year's tax exemption policy. They even want to implement the barbaric primary power in the territory."

"Soldiers, it is this group of insects that want to take away your glory, your fields, your food, and your happy life!"

"What do you think we should do?!"

No, I'm not, I didn't!! I never said anything like that——

The demon in the middle-aged noble's body wanted to protest, but he had long been deprived of the right to speak and could only watch helplessly as a large group of malicious eyes drowned him.

If you are always poor and the people around you are also poor, then poverty is bearable as long as you don't starve or freeze to death.

In the past, nobles were high and mighty, and plundering was their normal course. But after working with Ivan for so long, his concept of the nobility naturally changed.

What's more, they obtained houses, farmland, and money through the military merit system... and now they are asked to give them all up with their own hands?

Ah.

"Kill these insects!"

When the first soldier with his arms raised appeared, the whole army gradually became excited like a rapidly spreading plague.

"Kill them!"

"We swear to follow Master Ivan until death!!"

"We must not allow these bastards to replace Lord Ivan!"

"Lord Ivan, lead the brothers to attack the capital—"