Although it was only planned to give Ling Yang and Cheng Guorong three days, these three days eventually became a holiday for the entire Qinghe ruling class.

After all, for the others, no matter what happened, it was impossible for Ling Yang and Cheng Guorong to take the lead in such matters, so they all asked for leave.

Well, in the end, out of consideration for his reputation, the Earl of Qinghe gave everyone three days off on the pretext of defeating Cambodia. After all, if the people of Qinghe knew that the reason for the holiday was that these high-ranking officials were going to find their wives, it would really damage Qinghe's reputation.

Of course, except Lin Hai, he doesn't take a vacation.

Lin Hai's reason to the outside world was, "Everyone is on vacation, so who will do the work? I am the only one who has to bear all the responsibilities."

Internally, everyone knew it well, because Shi Zhen'er felt that there was no need for Lin Hai to accompany them to choose a wife.

However, Lin Hai still couldn't understand why these people were so interested in those palace maids.

So Lin Hai threw this question to Bai Ang, who came from Xiangyun to express his loyalty.

Yes, Lord Bai Angbai, who was loyal to the Daliang Empire, surrendered.

This was completely beyond Lin Hai's expectations.

Lin Hai had always had the impression that Bai Ang was an old bureaucrat who was stubborn and inflexible. He didn't expect that he would betray even faster than Gao Bin, which really surprised Lin Hai.

It just so happened that everyone else was not there, and Lin Hai really didn't want to deal with government affairs. It didn't matter if he dealt with them three days later, so he could just pack them up and throw them to Ling Yang. So Lin Hai made a special trip to meet Bai Ang at this time.

Facing Bai Ang, who was kneeling and trembling on the ground, Lin Hai asked seriously, "Master Bai, you must have had a hard time on your journey."

Bai Ang knew something was wrong when he heard this, so he kowtowed deeply and said, "I, the guilty official Bai Ang, kowtow to the lord. I was blind and disrespectful to the lord in the past, and I truly deserve death."

To be honest, these few words are not something that a group of rookies like Ling Yang can say.

Lin Hai was silently thinking about Bai Ang's words.

A guilty official, well, it means that this old guy still wants to be an official, which is reasonable. After all, if he had no pursuit of a career in politics, he would not surrender.

Lord, well, that's a very fitting word. He didn't call Lin Hai "Qinghe Bo", the title of the Great Liang Empire, nor did he rashly call Lin Hai "Your Majesty". He was very sensible and followed Lin Hai's footsteps.

As for any possible conflicts between the two parties, they simply brushed it off as "rude".

It looked like he kowtowed very hard, but Lin Hai knew that he could never punish Bai Ang for being "disrespectful". After all, Bai Ang was just a colleague of Lin Hai at the time, and his rank was higher than Lin Hai's. There had to be a basis for his "disrespect".

Thinking of this, Lin Hai couldn't help but applaud and said, "Master Bai, you are truly shrewd and calculating. Oh no, it should be said that you are cunning and cunning. You were sent by the emperor to contain and monitor me, and you just let it go with such a light sentence?"

Bai Ang, kneeling on the ground, was speechless. He thought to himself, "What else can I do if I don't let it go like this? The emperor has caused so much trouble in Xiangyun and Xichuan. You can't just kill them all."

As if hearing Bai Ang's thoughts, Lin Hai smiled and said, "The southwest is entirely under my control now. I only have Xin Yuetu by my side. Unfortunately, he has few soldiers and generals, and with the Chen Dynasty army at his side, he poses no threat to me. As for the rest, I already control all the fortresses facing the outside world in Xichuan. No matter who it is, as long as they don't attack with the whole country, I am not afraid. So even if I filter out all of you, it won't be difficult."

"My lord, I have something to say, but I don't know whether I should say it or not."

Since Lin Hai has said this much, it would be inappropriate for Bai Ang not to respond.

"If it's not appropriate to talk about it, then don't talk about it."

Lin Hai did not give Bai Ang any room to perform.

He knew very well that what Bai Ang wanted to talk about was nothing more than stability, people's hearts and so on. In fact, these were the routines commonly used by ancient strategists. Lin Hai was tired of such routines when he read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms as a child.

As for the other method, it is nothing more than painting a rosy picture for the leader, saying that as long as you have me, you can do this and that. Lin Hai used this method frequently when he was at work, and it can't be considered a new trick.

Bai Ang didn't expect that he came here fully prepared, but he didn't use any of his moves. This was very dangerous.

After all, even if Lin Hai did not become emperor, he could be regarded as the uncrowned king of this land.

Kings, in general, can be unreasonable. Even if Lin Hai killed Bai Ang with one knife, then he was killed and there was nothing he couldn't defeat.

Bai Ang believed that no one would come to seek justice for him.

In order to appease Lin Hai, the emperor of the empire would even praise Lin Hai for his good killing, and at the same time put all the mistakes made by the imperial center during this period on his head. In this way, he could give an explanation to both his superiors and subordinates, and it could be said that he had made full use of Bai Ang.

"Bai Ang, I want to know why you decided to surrender."

Lin Hai asked curiously, "I've read your resume, and I don't think you're someone who'll give in easily, so I didn't even send anyone to persuade you to surrender. It's up to you whether you resign and leave, or stay in your governor's mansion and become a fourth governor who won't fight, surrender, or die. But you came here on your own initiative. Can you tell me why?"

Bai Ang raised his head, a wry smile on his face, and said, "My Lord, Lord Qinghe, Lord Lin Hailin, could you please not be so cruel?

For the empire, Xiangyun used to be barely considered as its territory, so I, the governor of Xiangyun, came here to contain you and interfere with your affairs. But now, even a blind man can see that the entire southwest no longer belongs to the empire. For you, this is naturally a good thing, but for me, it is a loss of territory and a capital crime.

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