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"What?!"
Emperor Xue Ye suddenly sat up straight from his dragon throne, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief, and then he said:
"Beiyuan Province? That's absolutely impossible! Beiyuan Province has vast plains and is the most important granary in the Tiandou Empire besides Soto City. The annual grain output can supply one-third of the empire's population!
If you go through Beiyuan Province, you will cut off the Tiandou Empire's food supply, which is worse than killing me!"
Xue Ye stood up excitedly and roared at Liu Tianfeng:
"I can agree to any other request, but not Beiyuan Province! You're forcing me to a desperate situation!"
Liu Tianfeng was not moved at all and said coldly:
"A fight to the death? Your Majesty, do you think the current Tiandou Empire has the capital to fight to the death with us?"
The pressure of the Titled Douluo erupted instantly from Liu Tianfeng, and he said to Xue Ye:
"Beiyuan Province borders the Barak Kingdom, making it easy for us to govern. Furthermore, over the years, the Tiandou Empire's control over Beiyuan Province has become increasingly lax, and grain production has been declining year by year. Only by handing it over to our Barak Kingdom can its greatest value be realized. And, Your Majesty, rest assured that we in the Barak Kingdom will not let anyone in our country go hungry."
Liu Tianfeng paused, his tone threatening:
"If Your Majesty disagrees, then we will have to reconsider whether we should allow the Tiandou Empire to maintain its current 'stability'. After all, without Beiyuan Province, the Tiandou Empire would only be struggling; but without Your Majesty, the Tiandou Empire would truly be in chaos."
Xue Ye looked at Liu Tianfeng's cold eyes, then looked at Dugu Bo, Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo who were silent but full of aura, and the last trace of struggle in her heart disappeared.
Xue Ye knew that he had no room for refusal - although Beiyuan Province was important, compared to his own life and the temporary stability of the Tiandou Empire, he could only give it up with great reluctance.
Xue Ye sat back on the dragon throne weakly, his voice full of fatigue:
"Okay... I promise you that I will transfer Beiyuan Province to the Kingdom of Barak. I will issue an order requiring the officials of Beiyuan Province to cooperate with the handover and will not interfere."
When Liu Tianfeng and the other three heard this, a hint of satisfaction flashed in their eyes.
This demand for compensation not only vented the anger of Xue Tianxing and his companions, but also secured huge benefits for their respective forces - especially the Kingdom of Barak. After obtaining the Beiyuan Province, it will not only be able to control more food resources, but also further expand its territory, and its strength will be greatly enhanced.
"Since His Majesty has agreed, we will not stay any longer."
Liu Tianfeng bowed to Xue Ye and continued:
"I hope Your Majesty can fulfill his promise as soon as possible. Otherwise, we will come to 'visit' Your Majesty again."
After saying this, the four of them left the imperial study without stopping, leaving Emperor Xue Ye alone. He slumped on the dragon throne, gazing at the empty hall, his eyes filled with despair and unwillingness. After this battle, the Tiandou Empire not only lost a large number of spirit bones and industrial privileges, but also lost the important Beiyuan Province. Its strength was greatly damaged, and the road ahead would only be more difficult.
Emperor Xue Ye slumped on the dragon throne, his mind replaying the recent negotiation with the four Titled Douluo. Although Dugu Bo's taking away two soul bones caused great pain to the national treasury, it was only a short-term loss.
However, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect restored its industrial privileges and gave priority to favorable policies, which meant that the Tiandou Empire's purse would slowly tilt towards the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. If this continued for a long time, the empire's finances would gradually be emptied and it would lose control of the economy.
What worried him the most was the Beiyuan Province that the Barak Kingdom had obtained.
Xue Ye knew very well that food was the foundation of a country. At present, the two major food centers of the Tiandou Empire - Soto City had long been controlled by Barak, and the Beiyuan Province was also transferred to it. It was equivalent to that the food lifeline of the entire Tiandou Empire fell into the hands of the Barak Kingdom.
Although Liu Tianfeng promised not to let the people of Tiandou starve, Xue Ye knew clearly in his heart: this was just a temporary measure.
The current Barak Kingdom, with the support of the Beiyuan Province, has expanded its territory, sufficient food, and with the emergence of young talents such as Xue Tianxing, it has long had the strength to compete with the Tiandou Empire.
But Barak is still holding back - they need time to digest the new territory and wait for Xue Tianxing and his group of young people to grow up.
When that day comes, the Barak Kingdom will have grown stronger and have the confidence to fight against the Spirit Hall and the Xingluo Empire. That will be the time for them to replace the Tiandou Empire.
"By then, if the food supply is cut off and the army can't even gather enough food and fodder, how can the Tiandou Empire resist?"
The more Xue Ye thought about it, the more panicked he became, and his body couldn't help but tremble slightly.
The Tiandou Empire, which has been passed down for hundreds of years, not only did not become stronger in his hands, but instead declined step by step. Now even its lifeline is in the hands of others, and it seems to be only one step away from destruction.
But he clearly saw the ending, but he didn't have a single way to change it - the threat of the four Titled Douluo was still before him, Barak's development was unstoppable, and the Spirit Hall was watching covetously. He, the emperor, was more like a puppet sitting on the edge of a volcano.
Just when Xue Ye was immersed in despair, the sound of light footsteps was heard outside the hall door.
A middle-aged man in purple court robes and with a fawning face walked in cautiously.
He is Wang Kun, Xue Ye's trusted minister. In terms of ability, he is not ranked high in the court, but when it comes to speaking sweet words and guessing the emperor's intentions, no one can match him.
Wang Kun was originally a villain who liked to take advantage of opportunities. He got promoted by Xue Ye by flattery.
Xue Ye knew better than anyone that this was an absolute traitor.
But he insisted on supporting Wang Kun and giving him real power - just to let Wang Kun fight against those capable and ambitious ministers in the court.
Only by allowing the two factions to check and balance each other and the court, those ministers will not unite and threaten the imperial power.
After all, in Xue Ye's opinion, although treacherous ministers may cause trouble, they are easy to control; but once loyal ministers work together, they are the most terrifying.
Therefore, whenever there was a major decision or crisis, Xue Ye never let Wang Kun participate - he was just a tool to balance the court. If matters that really concerned the development of the empire were handed over to such a person, it would only make the situation worse.
But no one expected that it was this "lack of use" that allowed Wang Kun to escape the disaster just now - those killed by the four Titled Douluo were all ministers who participated in the affairs of the secret guards or held important positions. Wang Kun, an "idle" treacherous minister, was not included in the liquidation list.
When Wang Kun walked into the hall, he saw corpses scattered all over the ground at a glance - those ministers who had been at odds with him and suppressed him at every turn were now cold corpses.
A surge of ecstasy suddenly surged in his heart, and he had to suppress his laughter - without these people, no one in the court could compete with him for power. From now on, he would be the most trusted minister around Xue Ye. Wouldn't power and wealth be easy for him?