Chapter 19: Chapter 4
Guyunzhou is to the west of the Lin Kingdom, while Qingyouzhou is adjacent to it and to the south of the kingdom. Lin Feng and his party arrived at Qingyou City in a few days.
"Your Highness, the Fourth Prince." After Lin Feng and others entered the City Lord's Mansion, City Lord Li You had been the City Lord of Qingyou City for more than 40 years.
"Lord Li, this Qingyou City is a city in a state, why is it so deserted?"
"This. The Fourth Prince doesn't know that although Qingyou City is a city in a state, there is nowhere to go nearby, and it is not very convenient for peddlers. There are no special products, so naturally no one patronizes it."
"Forget it, this prince is tired from the journey, so I will go to the palace to rest first. Please lead the way, City Lord."
"Yes."
The Feng Palace was built when Lin Feng chose Qingyouzhou when he was a child. It has been completed at this time. It is located next to a small forest in Qingyou City, and a corner of the forest is even included in the palace. There is a master bedroom in the inner courtyard of the palace facing due north, and there is a large courtyard in front of the master bedroom. Ten separate bedrooms are located on the east and west sides for the princess or the prince to live in, and the outer courtyard can accommodate nearly fifty servants, and an army of about five hundred people can be stationed around the palace.
"Young Master, I feel that the city lord Li is a little strange today." After arranging the guards around in the evening, the three sat in the yard and chatted, and Lin Yun spoke first.
"Not only him, I feel that the whole city is weird." Lu Yi interrupted, "I stayed here for a few days when I went to Lincheng from the Elf Forest. At that time, I felt that elves or dwarves, or other aliens could be seen everywhere in the city. Now there is no one in most of the city, and even the blacksmith shops on the road are run by humans."
"Yes, I feel that I have seen more aliens in Lincheng than here." Lin Feng said thoughtfully. "Then Lord Li must have a secret, but he has been here for more than 40 years, and he will definitely not tell us for a while."
"Let's go and see how the government affairs in the city are handled tomorrow." "Then what is the current situation of the city guards and state guards."
"Then we have to find a way to make money. Wars are actually fought with gold coins. Whoever has money can fight better!"
Lin Feng talked about the plan here, and arranged for the two people, saying: "Yun'er, tomorrow you will come with me to see the government affairs in the city. Sister Lu Yi, please go back to the Elf Forest for me. They should know something."
"Yes, young master." "Okay, I haven't been back since I came out of adulthood." Both agreed.
The next morning, Lu Yi set out to return to the Elf Forest, and Lin Feng took Lin Yun to where the guards were on the side.
"Everyone, now here, the only ones I can trust are you. You will wander around the city in disguise these few days. Pay attention to any unusual places you see. Come back and tell me in the evening." Lin Feng called everyone together and made arrangements in a low voice.
After that, Lin Feng and Lin Yun came to the City Lord's Mansion. With the help of the five civil servants arranged by Link earlier, the two quickly got a simple understanding of Qingyou City. In recent years, there have been fewer and fewer merchants in Qingyou Prefecture, so that most locals have nowhere to go. Some people choose to go to Lincheng or other prosperous cities, and some people become bandits. Qingyou Prefecture is large and mainly composed of dense forests. It is even more difficult for Qingyou Prefecture soldiers, who already have few troops, to suppress bandits. They can only issue some bounty tasks and let some bounty hunters go to suppress bandits. Most of the financial expenditure is here.
After that, Lin Feng and his companions came to the place where the city guards were stationed. They found that in the afternoon, no one in the city guards was training. Some soldiers in the tents were playing chess, and some were sleeping. There was no one to manage them. The five military officers sent by Link were also missing.
Lin Feng frowned and went back to the palace. The guards came back one after another. The news they brought back made Lin Feng feel even more headache.
This Qingyou City looked like a poor and remote place, but all kinds of luxury consumption were paid for by someone. Someone once spent a lot of money to buy expensive jade, and a child's birthday banquet was held with hundreds of tables of guests, all of which were delicacies from the mountains and the sea.
Lin Feng knew that the people in the dark were watching him closely. If he made any abnormal move, the other party would attack him regardless of everything. The ability of the hundred guards around him was not enough to protect him.
So in the following time, Lin Feng either played in the city or stayed in the palace every day.
During this period, Lin Feng slowly learned some secrets in the city. Almost all the big families in the city were in collusion with Liang Zhen, the general of Qingyouzhou. The family members were arranged to join the state guards to eat military pay. Anyone who broke the law was punished instead of the law. Under the leadership of Liang Zhen, the officials were corrupt and sold official positions. Liang Zhen even privately made military weapons and recruited private soldiers. The Lord of Li City had never colluded with him for many years, and now he has become a commander without any power.
A month later, Lin Feng felt that there was less and less surveillance on him. Slowly, he started his own plan. He asked the guards to communicate more with the people and slowly instilled ideas such as resistance, protest, and march into their minds. Soon, an organization called the People's Opinion Party was formed. More and more oppressed people joined in. Although it could not help their lives for the time being, it gave them a good belief and gave them psychological support.
At this time, Lin Yun had reached the level of a swordsman after practicing the "Green Wife's Heart Method", and Lin Feng was now at the Golden Core stage, equivalent to the level of a magician, and could use the moves in the "Green Emperor's Heart Method".
"Lin Feng!" One morning, a female voice suddenly called Lin Feng at the door of the palace. After Lin Feng opened the door, Lu Yi, who was wearing a black cloak with only her face exposed, stood at the door, followed by twenty people, all wearing black cloaks.
"Come in, come in!" Lin Feng hurriedly asked them all to come in. "What happened?"
"The princess is missing!" Lu Yi said, "After I went back, I told her about the situation outside. I didn't expect the princess to come out to see after hearing it. The queen didn't agree, and I didn't expect the princess to run out alone that night."
"We sent people to search around, but we didn't see any trace of the princess. I had to ask you for help." Lu Yi became more and more panicked as she spoke, holding Lin Feng's hand tightly.
"It's okay, I will definitely find a way. What are the characteristics of your princess?"
"The princess just turned 20 this year, but the elves of the elven royal family are all blonde, which is more obvious."
"Okay, I'll ask them to find out." After Lin Feng finished his instructions, he looked at Lu Yi, who also had blonde hair, with a puzzled look on his face.
Lu Yi touched her hair and said, "My mother and the queen are sisters, and the princess is my sister."
"These are warriors of my elves, and they all have the strength of wizards. If you need any help, just let me know."
"Your Highness! After our investigation, we found that the annual large-scale auction will be held in Youchun Tower in three days, which will attract wealthy merchants from all over the continent to Qingyou City. According to the practice of previous years, if there are any rare goods, they will be exhibited at the auction."
"Well, there is no other clue for the time being, let's go and have a look in three days."
In the following time, everyone thought day and night in the palace, but they still couldn't come up with a very appropriate method. If there is a real auction, they are afraid that they can't compete with those wealthy merchants with the money in their hands.
In the morning of the third day, an unexpected guest came to the door of the palace.
"Your Highness the Fourth Prince."
"Lord Li! What is Lord Li doing?"
"Your Highness, please go in and discuss."
"Okay!"
"Recently, I heard that there is an organization called the People's Opinion Party among the people. I guess it is the work of Your Highness."
"I didn't expect Lord Li to be so sharp-eyed and sharp-eared. I wonder what the situation is in Qingyou Province?"
Lord Li suddenly stood up, knelt in front of Lin Feng and said, "I am not doing my job well. Please forgive me, Fourth Prince." "This Qingyou Province and Qingyou City have long been gone. It is under our control!"
Lin Feng helped Lord Li up and said, "This matter must have been going on for a long time. Lord, please sit down and talk slowly."
"Okay, forty years ago, when I first took office here, Qingyou City was still peaceful and harmonious, and it also had exchanges with the two major allies. However, since twenty years ago, many bandits suddenly appeared near Qingyou Prefecture. After careful investigation of family trees, lists of practitioners, etc., I found that most of the bandit leaders were not from Qingyou Prefecture."
"The bandits burned, killed and looted everywhere, especially those of foreign races, and never let them go. , gradually, more than a hundred cases of foreigners disappearing occurred, making the foreigners in the city panic. I had no choice but to send my cousin to serve as the general of Qingyouzhou, Li Li, to lead troops to eliminate the bandits. "
"I never thought that the army failed to eliminate the bandits, but my cousin died at his hands. After I found out about the accident, I immediately went to investigate and found that except for my cousin, all his personal soldiers and generals he promoted were killed."
"It was too late for me to find out that something was wrong. Liang Zhen sent people to capture my wife and children, forced me to promote people according to their instructions, and took away all my power. "Fortunately, some knowledgeable people in the society know about this. They are secretly accumulating strength, hoping that with me as the leader, they can one day restore the blue sky of Youzhou." "In recent days, they said that His Highness is investigating the Youchun Tower and seems to be interested in dealing with Liang Zhen and others, so I came here today to discuss with His Highness." After listening, Lin Feng said, "Okay! Then you do this and that today, and take down Liang Zhen tonight no matter what." "Yes!" In the evening, Lin Feng brought Lin Yun and Lu Yi to Youchun Tower. Lu Yi wore a cute lamb headdress on her head, which just covered her elf ears. Lin Yun wore a rabbit headdress to look more coordinated. "Dear guests, please show your invitation." The doorman at the door stopped Lin Feng and the other two. Lin Feng said nothing, pushed the doorman away and said, "I am the King of Qingyou, the whole Qingyou is my territory, what invitation do I need!"
The doorman hurriedly stepped forward to stop Lin Feng again.
"Looking for death!" Lin Feng slowly gathered water elements in his hands, showing the strength of a high-level mage. There should be few high-level mages on this continent at the age of only eight.
"Your Highness the Fourth Prince, calm down." A man came out from the corner, about 40 years old, with the strength of a swordsman. "Quickly retreat!" He shouted at the doorman.
"General Liang is not in the army, why is he here?" Lin Feng said without moving his feet.
"This Youchunlou auction is a grand event in my Qingyouzhou. In order to ensure safety, I will lead some soldiers to maintain order here."
"Haha, that's perfect." Lin Feng said and walked in.
After seeing Lin Feng enter, Liang Zhen hurriedly walked aside and told the deputy general beside him, "Gather all the dark army and take him down tonight!"
The whole city was in turmoil. Everyone felt the tense atmosphere and hid at home, not daring to go out. However, the lights in Youchun Tower were still bright at this time.
"The long sword is carefully made by the dwarf master, made of fine steel mixed with a little mithril. The long sword is extremely sharp and can absorb magic damage. There is also a gem hole in the center, which can be inlaid with magic crystals of various attributes to enhance the ability of the long sword. It is indeed a must-have weapon for warriors. This sword has just been produced and has not been in the hands of others, so there is no wear and tear."
"The starting price is 100 gold coins, and each increase in price is not less than 10 gold coins."
The annual expenditure of an ordinary family on the mainland is only about 1 gold coin. Even if Lin Feng is the fourth prince and is deeply appreciated by the emperor, his annual pocket money is only 100 gold coins. The starting price of the first auction item was as high as 100 gold coins, which really surprised Lin Feng.
"150 gold coins!"
"180 gold coins!"
"230 gold coins!"
"Bang!" With the sound of a hammer, the long sword was bought by a mercenary-like man.
"The second auction item is a jade carving from the Winged People. As we all know, the Winged People have a strong talent for wind magic, and the things they carve are lifelike, but the Winged People are particularly fond of wood carvings. With the seller's hard work and communication, the first jade carving completed by the Winged People master in three years came out."
"The starting price is 300 gold coins, and each bid must not be less than 50 gold coins."
I didn't expect that a jade carving that was just a decoration would have a starting price three times higher than the long sword.
"500 gold coins!"
"600 gold coins!"
...
"850 gold coins!"
"Bang!" The jade carving was bought by a young man dressed in rich clothes.
"The previous items were provided by our Youchun Tower, and the next items will be provided by the guests. We are only responsible for selling them on your behalf!"
The next items became ordinary, mostly high-level magic crystals or some weapons and staffs.
"Originally, the auction tonight was going to end here, but for everyone's enjoyment, I, Youchunlou, have specially prepared an extremely rare item for auction!"
"The starting price is 5,000 gold coins, and there is no limit on the bid increase. So what is it!"
Several staff members pushed out a large cage from behind the stage, and inside it was a woman with pointed ears and blonde hair. She was the elf princess that Lin Feng and others were looking for.
"Elf royal family, we are fortunate to have captured an elf royal family member at the edge of the elf forest, with the strength of a great magician. Now we have controlled her mind with drugs, and the man who gets her virginity will get her heart. Let's go crazy for it!"
Lin Feng looked at Lin Yun and Lu Yi in surprise.
"However, since there is no slavery in the country's laws, the guests who bid away the items need to find a way to deal with them by themselves, and I, Youchunlou, will not be responsible."
"8,000 gold coins!"
"20,000 gold coins!" Lin Feng shouted.
"20,000 gold coins for the first time!"
"20,000 gold coins for the second time!"
"25,000 gold coins!" Another voice sounded from the side.
"30,000!" Lin Feng shouted immediately.
"Hmph, who can't do that? See if you can afford it!" The man said aside, not daring to bid.
Although the auctioneer was very professional, he also asked carefully at this time, "Can this guest go first?"
Lin Feng interrupted him, "I am the fourth prince of the Lin Kingdom, King Qingyou, Lin Feng. The entire Qingyou Province belongs to me. Do you think I have money?"
"This."
"Don't you want to do it anymore? Is the auction over?"
The auctioneer shouted helplessly, "30,000 gold coins for the first time, the second time, and the third time." "Bang." The hammer in his hand hit the auction board.
"Your Highness, can you pay the gold coins?" the auctioneer said softly.
"Delivery is bullshit! I need to inspect the goods first. What can you do if you just find a woman with dyed hair and earmuffs to fool me? You don't care after I pay the money!"
In public, they were helpless about Prince Lin Feng's identity. In desperation, the auctioneer had to lead Lin Feng to the cage.
Lin Feng grabbed the elf princess's face and shook it left and right, and pulled her ears. He leaned close to look at her pointed ears and whispered, "Hold me tight, Lu Yi let me save you!"
The elf princess suddenly looked up at Lin Feng in surprise. "Swish, swish, swish, swish!"
Several wind sounds were heard in the air, and all the crystal lamps in the sky were extinguished. Lin Feng hugged the elf princess and rushed to the door. Lin Yun and Lu Yi also rushed to the door at the same time.
Liang Zhen's voice came: "Haha, Your Highness the Fourth Prince, although I don't know what tricks you are playing, but today, you will be left here." Hundreds of well-equipped and well-trained soldiers at the door surrounded Youchun Tower tightly inside and out.
Liang Zhen said as he drew out a heavy sword, and the blue-green fighting spirit hovered on the sword. "The Fourth Prince was a genius at the age of eight and reached the level of a high-level mage. His personal guard is sixteen years old this year. I don't think he will be stronger than me!"
"Although I don't know who the other one is, a magician should be enough to deal with him." As he said that, a mage in a brown robe walked out beside him. "Then how can Your Highness the Fourth Prince escape from here with the princess whose strength is sealed?"
"Haha, you can't win in two duels! The remaining army? Let them try!" Lin Feng said as he slowly rose into the air holding the princess.
Lin Yun drew out her own sword, and the blue fighting spirit followed the long sword to hit Liang Zhen. "You are also a swordsman." Liang Zhen exclaimed, picked up the heavy sword with both hands and fought with Lin Yun.
"Tornado!" Lu Yi operated with both hands, and a tornado instantly appeared beside the brown-robed wizard. "Earth shield!" The wizard waved his hand, and the brown soil formed a shield wall to block the tornado outside, "Earth spikes!" The ground under Lu Yi's feet shook.
"Float!" Lu Yi's body gradually floated into the air, "Wind Blade!" Two simplest wind blades flew towards the wizard, and at the same time Lu Yi's hands were in the shape of a bow, and a light golden bow shadow appeared in her hands, and the green light arrow was aimed at the wizard.
"Earth shield!" The mage blocked the wind blade with an earth shield, and also blocked his sight. "Gravity spell!" He released multiple gravity spells to try to make Lu Yi fall back to the ground. "Swish!" The long green arrow pierced his throat.
"Haha, the Lin family's secret sword is really extraordinary." Liang Zhen dodged Lin Yun's attack with a lazy donkey roll, and waved his hand, "Let's fight shoulder to shoulder." The soldiers walked forward in unison.
"Do it, don't give us a chance!" At this time, the mage next to him was killed, and Liang Zhen panicked and said hurriedly.
"I'm temporarily exhausted, I need to rest for a while." Lu Yi said after landing.
"Kill!" Some people came out from the alleys around, and their strength was strong and weak, uneven, but they soon entangled Liang Zhen's large army.
Lin Feng held the Elf Princess in his arms, while Lin Yun beside him carried Lu Yi on her back. The chaotic army could not resist them at all, but Liang Zhen followed them closely with more than a hundred personal soldiers.
"Liang Zhen, as the general of Qingyou Prefecture, is in charge of all the troops in Qingyou Prefecture. Now he does not manage his troops strictly, but recruits private soldiers and plots rebellion. This crime should be punished. Now the Qingyou City government is corrupt and accepting bribes, so the fourth prince will enforce the law on your behalf!"
Lin Feng took Liang Zhen around to the Qingyou City Square. The Lord of Liyou City stood in the center of the square and spoke loudly to the people in the square.
"If you want to accuse someone, you can always find a pretext! Now you are forcing the people to rebel. Come on, follow me to kill this dog king!" Liang Zhen reacted quickly and shouted to his subordinates.
"Those who lay down their weapons and surrender will not be killed!" Lin Feng floated in the air, his hands surrounded by wind and water elements respectively, showing the strength of the mage. Ten magic powers were injected into his left and right hands respectively, which were ten elf mages.
Seeing that no one responded, "You have done many evil things, so all of you will die! Blizzard!" Lin Feng put his hands together, and used all his strength to perform Feng Shui mixed magic to eliminate Liang Zhen and his men, leaving only Liang Zhen with a breath left.
"Catch him!" Li You ordered the few yamen runners under his command to tie up Liang Zhen.
"Hahaha, with your little strength, there are still people from the five major families in the city, how long do you think you can sit still! I want you to ask me out of the prison!" Liang Zhen was still shouting.
"Heh, have you seen my guards today?"
The five major families have thrived in Qingyou City for hundreds of years. In recent years, under the corruption led by Liang Zhen, each of them has raised hundreds of private soldiers. However, after Liang Zhen was removed from office, under the identity of Prince Lin Feng, the major families chose to protect themselves.
"Your five major families have been under the rule of my Lin Kingdom for hundreds of years. How do you think we should solve this time?" The patriarchs of the five major families were brought to the palace.
"We were forced by Liang Zhen to go along with him. The Wu family was killed because they didn't go along with Liang Zhen. We just want to survive!"
"Considering that you were forced, I won't touch your family at all. But if you hand over 80% of your property, you will still be a big family in Qingyou City. I will also bring you wealth and glory."
"Isn't 80% too much?"
"If you think it's too much, you can give 10%. I have read your records. After going along with Liang Zhen, your property is ten times more than before. Now you only need 80%. What's wrong with you?"
"I dare not. I will report to my king after I go back and liquidate the assets."
After everyone left, they were still whispering to each other at the door.
"Lin Feng!" As soon as Lin Feng entered the inner courtyard, he heard Lu Yi's voice.
"What's wrong!"
Lu Yi grabbed Lin Feng's hands with both hands, "Princess, she." Lin Feng saw that the elf princess was hot all over and talking nonsense. When she saw Lin Feng coming, she immediately rushed over and hugged him.
"It's okay, it's okay." Lin Feng grabbed the elf princess' wrist with one hand, and the spiritual energy entered her body. He found that a cold energy was running around in her body.
Lin Feng controlled the spiritual energy and absorbed that energy into his body, and the princess gradually calmed down.
"Okay, I'm going to rest first. The princess should be fine, take good care of her."
"Okay." Lu Yi said and carried the unconscious princess into her room.