After discussing for a while, King Xichen left first.

After the Prince of Xichen left, Jiang Yuye looked at the eldest prince, Zhu Yunren, and asked, "The Prince of Nanling asked me a question that I couldn't answer at the time. Now I want to ask you about it."

"What's the problem?" Zhu Yunren asked.

Jiang Yuye took a deep breath and said, "King Nanling asked me, if you become the new emperor of the Hongtian Empire, are you able to manage this country well and lead the empire to prosperity?"

Zhu Yunren's expression changed slightly, and a look of surprise appeared in his eyes.

But he did not answer immediately. Instead, he pondered for a moment and then asked, "Did the Prince of Nanling say anything else?"

Jiang Yuye sighed and said, "The Prince of Nanling mentioned the Golden Jade Token."

Zhu Yunren's face showed an expression of "I knew it."

Then, Zhu Yunren said self-deprecatingly, "Yu Ye, you once said that I am not suitable to be an emperor."

"Yes, I did say that, but it was just something I said in anger," Jiang Yuye said.

Jiang Yuye was much older than Zhu Yunren, and in her eyes, Zhu Yunren was a junior.

So when Jiang Yuye saw Zhu Yunren indulging in poetry and prose a few years ago, she gave him a lecture, admonishing him that as the eldest prince of the Hongtian Empire, he should not lose his ambition through frivolous pursuits, but should use his mind on the right path.

When Zhu Yunren retorted, Jiang Yuye, in a fit of anger, said that he was not suitable to be emperor.

Zhu Yunren smiled and said, "But after careful consideration, I realized that I am not suitable to be an emperor. I just want to live a peaceful and undisturbed life and do what I am interested in."

"Yunren, you can't just say things like that. You need to think this through," Jiang Yuye said seriously, frowning.

“I’ve thought it through,” Zhu Yunren said.

“Alright, since this is your choice, I support you. I will convey your message to the Prince of Nanling, and I think he will know what to do next,” Jiang Yuye said.

Half a month has passed.

The civil war in the Hongtian Empire intensified, with 600,000 troops from the western and northern borders fighting against 300,000 rebels from the eastern border for days on end, leaving corpses everywhere on the battlefield.

In many places within the Hongtian Empire, the people are already living in misery.

And so, from some unknown time, this rumor was born and spread rapidly:

Head to the southern border!

There is currently no war in the Southern Territory!

That is a peaceful place!

Moreover, the Southern Territory has always been recruiting refugees; once you go to the Southern Territory, you can live a life where you don't have to worry about food and clothing!

As a result, refugees from the eastern, western, and northern borders of the Hongtian Empire began to migrate madly towards the southern border, and the southern border accepted them all, causing the population of the southern border to grow at an alarming rate.

These rumors were naturally spread by Ye Feng.

He did this to attract refugees and increase the population of the southern region.

Population means labor force; population means prosperity and strength!

Night Wind certainly understood such a simple truth.

"Is this really okay? The North and West are fighting the East, and instead of helping them, we're sucking their blood from behind. I feel like we're being a bit heartless," Zijing said while cracking sunflower seeds.

Night Breeze chuckled and said, "They don't even care, why are you so concerned?"

Before Zijing could say anything more, Yefeng continued, "If the administrators of the Eastern, Western, and Northern territories do not want to lose too many people, they should take concrete actions to improve the living conditions and quality of life of the commoners and serfs in their territories and attract them to stay there."

"But did they do that? No, so this shows that they didn't care about the loss of population at all. Maybe they were too busy fighting to pay attention, or maybe they just didn't notice it. But whatever the reason, it was a foolish thing to do."

Hearing Ye Feng say this, Zi Jing nodded thoughtfully.

The population of Silla City has now surged to 200,000.

Meanwhile, the size of the legion was also expanding rapidly.

The number of infantry corpsmen increased to 50,000, and the number of artillery corpsmen increased to 20,000.

The number of steel warships in the steel fleet increased to one hundred, and the total number of naval personnel reached ten thousand.

Moreover, these numbers are still increasing.

With its current fighting strength, Silla City is already capable of sweeping across the entire Hongtian Empire.

But Ye Feng didn't act immediately; he had a feeling that something big was about to happen.

And so a month passed by without us even realizing it.

Eastern Ming City, in the eastern border region of the Hongtian Empire.

A mysterious woman appeared before the Second Prince, Zhu Yunfeng.

She wore a long black dress, and countless bright red tentacles extended from beneath it, writhing and emanating a terrifying aura.

This terrifying sight did not frighten the Second Prince Zhu Yunfeng, because it was not the first time he had met this woman.

"How dare you show your face in front of me?" Zhu Yunfeng said coldly, and suddenly drew his long sword and held it to Dongfang Yu's neck.

Elder of the Spirit of Flesh and Blood, Dongfang Yu said with a smile, "I advise you to give me enough respect, otherwise I will make you regret it for the rest of your life."

"Then I advise you not to be too presumptuous. Standing before you is His Highness the Prince of our Hongtian Empire. In the near future, he will become the new emperor of our empire!" Prince Gao Fan of Dongxiang strode over, carrying a broadsword.

Gao Fan exuded a powerful aura of true energy, revealing his extraordinary realm.

Dongfang Yu glanced at Gao Fan with apprehension, but then regained her composure and said, "I'm just here to remind you that our cooperation is coming to an end."

"So?" Zhu Yunfeng questioned.

"Now it's time for you to pay your dues," Dongfang Yu said again.

"Compensation? Ha, why should I..."

Before Zhu Yunfeng could finish speaking, he suddenly felt a sharp pain all over his body.

The next moment he discovered that his body was undergoing a terrifying change.

His skin turned bright red and scales appeared; his nails began to grow rapidly; his teeth became sharp; and several sharp tails appeared behind him.

In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a terrifying monster!

It is the Red-tailed Beast!

But it's not exactly the same as the real Red-tailed Beast!

It wasn't just Zhu Yunfeng who underwent this change; even Gao Fan did!

However, Gao Fan, being a transcendent expert, had much stronger resistance than Zhu Yunfeng, so the changes in his body were slower.

Slowing down won't change anything; sooner or later he'll become a terrifying monster like Zhu Yunfeng!

"What...what's going on..."

Gao Fan glared angrily at Dongfang Yu, knowing it must have been Dongfang Yu's doing.