Chapter 926
Finding a Way to Protect Oneself
Tonggao was already completely infatuated with Lamu and regarded him as the person he trusted most.
He believed that such friendly cooperation between Yan Kingdom and Xingyun Kingdom would naturally be of great benefit to the development of Yan Kingdom.
He believed that under his rule, the Yan Kingdom would present a completely new look, and he also wanted to break some of the old rules set by the old king, so that the Yan Kingdom could usher in a new era.
A ruthless and extremely arrogant person like Tong Gao would naturally not listen to others' advice and would stubbornly act according to his own ideas.
During this period, the Yan Kingdom was already in turmoil, and the people were suffering greatly.
Even the ministers in the imperial court felt that the days were becoming increasingly difficult, and the harmonious atmosphere of the past had long since vanished.
Although these ministers were very dissatisfied with Tong Gao's actions and felt that things would inevitably go wrong if they continued in this way, none of them dared to offer any suggestions under the current circumstances.
Having learned from past mistakes, the ministers could only try their best to protect themselves.
This situation is undoubtedly the worst possible scenario, as the Yan Kingdom will gradually weaken without anyone realizing it.
Before the gate of Prince Kao Dong, there were people kneeling and weeping day and night.
"Your Highness, the new king's actions are far too outrageous. Could you please stand up for us and ask him to rescind his decree?"
"Your Highness, with the new king's current demands, we simply cannot live a normal life anymore."
"Your Highness, we really don't want to see the foundation laid by the old king damaged, but if Yan Kingdom continues like this, something bad will definitely happen."
……
These people tearfully accused Tonggao of all his misdeeds to Kaodong.
Crown Prince Kao Dong was kind-hearted by nature. After hearing this news, he finally could not bear it any longer and went to Tong Gao to demand an explanation.
"Your Majesty, I hope you can change this way of governing. As a monarch, you must not only have wisdom, but also benevolence. Please treat your people kindly."
Kao Dong felt that, after all, he was Tong Gao's older brother, and even if he used his position as the older brother to exert pressure, he should be able to get Tong Gao to listen to his advice.
Unexpectedly, Tong Gao was furious when he saw that Kao Dong was interfering with his governance.
He was extremely sensitive to these matters and believed that he was the most ideal ruler, and that it was none of anyone else's business to interfere.
"Get this straight, I am the ruler of Yan. If you interfere in state affairs again, I will lock you up."
Tonggao pushed Crown Prince Kaodong aside with utter disgust, his eyes filled with contempt, feeling that he had already done more than enough by not killing him.
Fortunately, the old king did not pass the throne to the crown prince, otherwise the crown prince would have only faced death, or he would have been turned into an idiot by his own scheme.
Tong Gao was furious that the crown prince, whom he considered useless, would dare to come out and lecture him.
"Little brother, what are you saying? I'm your older brother, how can you talk to me like that?"
"Although you are the ruler of Yan, the kinship between us brothers still exists. I hope you can listen to my advice and treat the people of Yan well."
Prince Kao Dong was surprised by Tong Gao's ruthlessness, so he continued to patiently communicate with him.
Hopefully, he won't be so stubborn and will listen to my advice. Ultimately, this is for the sake of the stability of the entire Yan Kingdom.
"Don't talk nonsense here. From now on, you can only address me as 'My Lord.' As for 'brother' and 'younger brother,' those are just common folk terms."
"Get out of here right now and never interfere in politics again, or don't blame me for turning ruthless."
Tong Gao's eyes revealed an extreme ferocity. If it weren't for the fact that Crown Prince Kao Dong was weak and easily bullied, he would have even wanted to kill him directly so that he wouldn't be threatened in his position.
"you……"
Kao Dong never dreamed that his own brother would be so cold-blooded and ruthless, completely disregarding him. He was heartbroken and couldn't help but run out of the palace.
He wanted to see for himself the lives of the people of Yan, who might truly be in dire straits.
The influence of a ruler on the people is immense. If the ruler is benevolent enough, the people will naturally live happy and peaceful lives.
However, Tonggao's current governance methods are extremely brutal, causing widespread resentment among the people and severely impacting all aspects of life.
It is conceivable that Yan Kingdom is now facing serious problems, but the exact situation remains to be seen.
Kao Dong decided to take this opportunity to walk outside the palace and see the various aspects of Yan Kingdom.
After having this idea, he started wandering around the streets.
After arriving in the countryside, Kao Dong discovered that the lives of ordinary people were indeed extremely difficult.
Tonggao's rule made the people's lives significantly less prosperous than before, and the number of refugees increased.
Prince Kao Dong was kind-hearted and naturally couldn't bear to see the suffering of the common people, so he did what he could to help.
For example, providing relief to disaster victims and helping people start small businesses to improve their lives.
But Kao Dong knew better than anyone that this was only a temporary solution. His abilities were ultimately limited, and if the entire Yan Kingdom continued to develop in this way, the people would fall into a state of misery.
He was extremely troubled and felt that he could not let Yan Kingdom continue like this.
But he had no power to save the Yan Kingdom from its dire straits. After much thought, he suddenly thought of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
When the old king was alive, the relationship with the Great Zhou Dynasty was very close, and the two countries developed normally, which helped Yan Kingdom to move forward in all aspects.
Back then, prosperity was everywhere, but now everything has changed, which makes Kao Dong feel particularly bad.
Soon, Kao Dong arrived at the Great Zhou Dynasty and met Yang Xia and Sun Zhengming.
"Your Highness, we never expected to see you in our Great Zhou Dynasty." Yang Xia and Sun Zhengming were overjoyed to see Crown Prince Kao Dong.
Kao Dong shook his head repeatedly and sighed incessantly; he was extremely agitated at the moment.
"I came here this time for matters concerning the Yan Kingdom. I never expected that my younger brother, Tonggao, would become increasingly willful in his actions, and his barbaric way of governing has caused widespread resentment among the people."
“He spends all his time drinking with that Ram and even lets Ram get involved in the affairs of Yan Kingdom. I went to persuade him to stop, but he ruthlessly drove me out.”
Kao Dong sadly recounted Tong Gao's actions to Yang Xia.
"I never expected the new ruler to be like this. The people of Yan are suffering as a result."
After hearing Kao Dong's words, Yang Xia was utterly disappointed in Tong Gao. It seemed that the current situation in Yan Kingdom was even worse than he had imagined.
Moreover, from what Kao Dong just said, we already know that Tong Gao and Lamu are very close.
If I'm not mistaken, Ram was behind all of this. He certainly hoped Tonggao's actions would be as outrageous as possible, as that would be most beneficial to their Nebula Kingdom. If things continued this way, Ram would definitely join forces with the Yan Kingdom to deal with the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Although the Great Zhou Dynasty currently possesses the most advanced weaponry, it cannot withstand the combined might of the two powerful nations, Yan and Xingyun.
The gap is too large in terms of both the number of people and the number of weapons. He can't guarantee that the Great Zhou Dynasty will not suffer losses.
Yang Xia frowned deeply, sensing that the situation was becoming increasingly serious. If they didn't find a way to change the current situation, the Great Zhou Dynasty would also face a severe threat.
"Yang Xia, things have developed to this point, don't you plan to take any action?"
Sun Zhengming spoke to Yang Xia with a hidden meaning. Of course, in front of Kao Dong, they did not bring up the topic of replacing him.
After all, this topic is too sensitive, and it's impossible to reveal it easily before making a final decision.
"Let me think about it some more. But of course we can't just sit here and wait to die. We have to find a way to change the current chaotic state of Yan Kingdom and not let Tonggao continue to mess things up like this."
“Now that Ram is deliberately standing behind Tonggao, he will naturally give him some bad advice. This matter has become very serious, and I cannot ignore it.”
Yang Xia immediately expressed his determination. He would take action right away, but he needed to carefully consider the specifics of how to do it.
"Yang Xia, that's right. I believe you'll always find a way."
"I am willing to cooperate fully. I am willing to sacrifice my life to change the current situation in Yan Kingdom."
Upon hearing that Yang Xia was preparing to make a move, Sun Zhengming was filled with excitement and quickly expressed his determination.
"Yang Xia, the old king trusted you greatly when he was alive. I believe that only you can change the current situation of Yan Kingdom."
Crown Prince Kao Dong also trusted Yang Xia implicitly, his eyes filled with expectation. Neither of them wanted to see Yan Kingdom in its current state.
"Don't worry, I definitely won't let you down. We can't let Yan Kingdom continue like this no matter what."
Seeing the eager anticipation in their eyes, Yang Xia reassured them.
"Yang Xia, could I stay in the Great Zhou Dynasty for the time being? I really don't want to go back to the Yan Kingdom's palace. It feels so oppressive there."
"I don't want to see the current situation facing Yan Kingdom; I'm afraid I won't be able to handle it."
Crown Prince Kao Dong also wanted to stay in the Great Zhou Dynasty and work with Yang Xia to change the current situation in the Yan Kingdom.
"Of course!" Yang Xia readily agreed.
And so, Yang Xia arranged for Kao Dong to settle down temporarily in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Both Sun Zhengming and Kao Dong are now deeply disappointed with the state of Yan.
Tonggao's brutal rule brought endless suffering to the people of Yan. They all hoped to change this situation as soon as possible, but they also knew that they were powerless to do so.
Perhaps the only option is to stay in the Great Zhou Dynasty, wait for the right opportunity, and work with Yang Xia to find a way to resolve this predicament.
"Yang Xia, we are now placing all our hopes on you. We hope you will come up with a solution as soon as possible to reverse the current situation in Yan Kingdom."
"Yes, Yang Xia, what should we do to change the current situation in Yan Kingdom? The people are living such a miserable life."
Sun Zhengming and Kao Dong looked at Yang Xia with anticipation, but their hearts were heavy. Yan Kingdom was, after all, their homeland, and they simply could not accept the reality before them.
"Tonggao is now stubborn and no matter whether you try to persuade him gently or forcefully, you can't change his mind."
"It seems that we have reached the point of breaking with our Great Zhou Dynasty, but we are getting closer and closer to Lamu. The best way now is perhaps to find a way to create a rift between Tonggao and Lamu, so that we may have a new opportunity."
Yang Xia understood their anxiety, so he patiently analyzed the current situation with them, saying that apart from the method he had suggested, there was probably no better idea.
"Your idea sounds good, but it might not be so easy to implement. Tonggao is now completely bewitched by Lamu and trusts him implicitly."
"That's right. Tonggao actually allowed Ram to participate in national politics and even placed people from Xingyun Kingdom into the high-level management team. It will probably be difficult for them to turn against each other."
Sun Zhengming and Kao Dong then shared their thoughts, both agreeing that this was easier said than done.
Ram was a cunning and treacherous man who used various tricks to make Tonggao completely subservient.
Now that Yan Kingdom is almost under Ram's control, it would be much more difficult to sow discord between the two of them.
"Nothing is impossible for a willing heart. You don't need to worry about this; I'll figure out a way."
Yang Xia calmly told the two that he definitely had a way, and Sun Zhengming and Kao Dong nodded trustingly.
The reason they were willing to stay in the Great Zhou Dynasty was because they believed that Yang Xia had such abilities.
The two settled down in the Great Zhou Dynasty with peace of mind, waiting for Yang Xia to successfully implement the plan and hoping that the situation in Yan Kingdom would truly improve.
With this direction in mind, Yang Xia began to lay out his plans.
The people of the Claw Kingdom also heard about the change of ruler in the Yan Kingdom, especially Cahill and Liu Zhixiu, who thoroughly investigated the matter.
After some investigation, Cahill and Yoo Ji-soo were grinning from ear to ear.
The Yan Kingdom has not only changed its ruler, but its new ruler, Tonggao, is currently in a very close relationship with Ram.
"It's like heaven is helping us! Ram is ambitious, and we know better than anyone what he's up to."
Cahill couldn't help but burst into laughter, feeling that such an opportunity was truly rare.
"Yes, Ram will definitely try to control Yan Kingdom and then join forces to attack the Great Zhou Dynasty. I didn't expect that before we could even make a move, someone had already become impatient."
Yoo Ji-soo nodded thoughtfully; they all felt that the current situation was extremely rare.
"Then let's put our plan to attack the Great Zhou Dynasty on hold for now and see what Ramu's attitude is. Maybe we can sit back and watch the tigers fight, and then reap the benefits."
Cahill immediately made this momentous decision: their plan to attack the Great Zhou Dynasty was temporarily shelved.
"How do you plan to discuss this with King Aza?"
Liu Zhixiu looked at Cahill with some worry. After all, launching an attack on the Great Zhou Dynasty was their plan, and now that it was being stopped so suddenly, King Aza would definitely become suspicious.
"You don't need to worry about that, I have my own way of handling it."
Cahill smiled mysteriously, feeling that there was no need to worry about the King of Aza.
That person was so foolish; he had long been manipulated by me. It was just a convenient excuse. (End of Chapter)