"Oh, how so?"
Everyone couldn't help but be curious. Even if the coastline was lost, Great Ning might be in a bit of a mess, but it wouldn't fundamentally damage them in the short term.
Is there something fishy going on behind the Prime Minister's words?
Xun Yu chuckled and explained, " The Net sent word earlier that the Prince of Min has disguised himself and entered the Min River, secretly gathering some of his father's men and lying in wait."
As for the Prince of Shu, he brought some assets into the territory of the southern chieftains and allied with them, so he was bound to cause trouble in the future.
That's not all; those aristocratic families bought large quantities of potatoes, but the Emperor didn't receive a single one..."
Holy crap!
There was no need for further explanation; they already understood what was going on. This was the remnants of the Prince of Min and the Prince of Shu plotting something, which would naturally cause some turmoil.
However, since this attack wouldn't hit any vital points, Li Anlan probably wouldn't be afraid.
But what happened next was not so simple.
Once the powerful families acquire the potatoes, they will undoubtedly increase their strength significantly within a quarter of a year, potentially even threatening the imperial power.
These days, the requirements for recruiting soldiers are actually very simple: all you need is food to eat. As for any fancy reasons, they're completely unnecessary.
There's no such thing as fighting for one's country; it's all about survival.
As a result, the balance of power shifts, Li Anlan will soon be unable to suppress the powerful families, leading to chaos.
If the emperor wanted potatoes, his own lord would definitely not give them to him. So there were only two options: the emperor could either seize the potatoes that Xiliang was giving to the common people, or he could seize the potatoes from the powerful families.
If either of these two methods is used, Li Anlan's life will be in trouble, and he might even cause chaos in Great Ning.
At that time, attacking Great Ning would have been twice as effective with half the effort!
Lin Yi nodded and smiled, "Unless absolutely necessary, I will not attack Great Ning first. After all, Great Ning is actually of the same origin as us, so the longer it drags on, the more advantageous it will be for us!"
Why do I say that? Well, we need to look at the current profit chain in Xiliang.
Because of potatoes and sweet potatoes, the people of the north were basically all tied to the war machine of Xiliang, which was much more reliable than any clan or noble family.
The reason is simple: following Xiliang means you can have enough to eat.
Furthermore, the transfer of profits from marine fishing directly led several major northern families to submit, and due to the destruction of the Great Ning Navy, some families in Wuning Commandery also began to join the Xiliang.
It's very simple; it's about tying together interests.
Furthermore, there's the reputation of Xiliang, coupled with the potatoes I previously gifted to the people of various counties. These are all seeds that will illuminate the map of Xiliang.
In some places, we won't even need to fight; people will naturally come and submit.
This is momentum!
An inevitable trend!
So, while it may seem that Great Ning is Northern Barbarians, it is actually much easier. At least the obstacles from the common people are reduced by 70%. It just needs some time to develop.
On the other side, Ning Kun was looking around his room. The room's layout amazed him; he was practically dumbfounded.
He couldn't help but mutter, " Lin Yi is far too rich! He doesn't treat money like money; he treats it like a stone!"
Glass windows!
The floor is made of bluestone, and even the walls are made of bluestone.
That's not all; the window railings are made of high-quality steel pillars, and these things alone make this room incredibly expensive.
"Unbelievable! Even the capital of Great Ning is nothing special!"
"How does the Prince of Xiliang make money? Is fishing really that profitable? Why don't we try it too?"
"This money probably didn't come from fishing, since the palace was already under construction at that time. It must have been obtained from the kingdoms of the Western Regions."
"Wow, all the windows are made of glass. The Prince of Xiliang is simply extravagant."
Because Princess Qingfeng had gone to Princess Shenle's place, the room was currently occupied by Ning Kun's subordinates, who were all too frightened to speak.
This is what it means to be arrogant and domineering.
If I were to steal just one window, it would probably be enough to feed me for the rest of my life. This is simply outrageous!
Hearing their words, Ning Kun's face turned extremely ugly.
Because money means resources, and resources mean that Lin Yi's troop strength can be greatly increased, probably far exceeding the imagined two or three hundred thousand.
Even if Lin Yi were reckless and spent all his money on dilapidated houses, the Prince of Northern Liang wouldn't be that foolish.
Clearly, most of the money was spent on the military, which is probably how the seven legions came about. This is not good news.
He had men stand guard outside, then solemnly asked, "Wang Xiaoyi, what is your first impression of Lin Yi, the King of Xiliang?"
Arrogant!
domineering!
Unbridled and lawless!
From initially showing disrespect to later completely disregarding the princess, that was bad enough. But the real problem was that he showed absolutely no respect for the emperor, directly addressing him as "father-in-law" and even openly questioning the emperor.
This is incredibly audacious; even a great general like myself wouldn't dare to be so arrogant.
Wang Xiaoyi pulled out his temporary travel pass from his pocket and said in a deep voice, "General, just from this travel pass, I can see Lin Yi's ambition. If he had no ambition, he wouldn't need such a strict secrecy strategy. This was clearly created for Great Ning!"
This very travel permit blocked almost all of Great Ning's spies, forcing them to ultimately choose to sneak into Xiliang from other places.
Even though they managed to sneak in, they couldn't move an inch in Xiliang because they didn't have a travel permit.
They just experienced the specific reasons themselves.
Even with He Jin guide, they were still forced to obtain travel permits, which were required at many places along the way. This meant that without these permits, they would be unable to move an inch.
"This move is indeed not simple. No wonder the Great Ning Guard and the Shadow Guard were defeated. Who could possibly get in here!" Ning Kun couldn't help but shake his head. Lin Yi's travel permit was simply too deadly.
He had inquired and learned that this travel permit might even record some criminal evidence, as well as your place of origin. Once this thing is revealed, no one will be able to hide anything.
As Wang Xiaoyi said, Lin Yi was able to successfully block the news and prevent outsiders from knowing anything about it because of this travel permit.
He took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Be careful. Just remember what you see and don't act rashly. You saw Lin Yi's attitude today. If he gets any leverage over you, he won't hold back."
"It's said that Xiliang is guarded by the White Horse Volunteers and also has a City Guard Battalion, but we didn't see the White Horse Volunteers at all today. They were probably transferred away by Lin Yi!"
"There's some other mysterious army, but we haven't seen them today. We need to infiltrate and investigate!"