My wife is an immortal black snake.

Page 257

When Yang Hao arrived at Kazdel's palace conference room once again, he noticed that Princess Theresa had lost weight.

Not only had she lost weight, but the dark circles under her eyes were also striking, even with light makeup. Therese next to her wasn't much better; she even brazenly sprawled on the table, seemingly taking a nap, taking advantage of the already intimate relationship between teacher and student.

"...Let me ask you something." Mr. Yang Hao tapped the table, then sat down in his familiar seat with a strange expression. "What...is going on here?"

Margarita and Lady Northumen were already standing behind him, performing their duties as guards. Meanwhile, Karina, under the protection of the Templars, was discussing a whole host of unpleasant political agreements with the mid-level administrators of Kazdel.

Considering that Princess Theresa and Therese should have similar configurations for their daily work, and considering that he had actually been quite comfortable lately, Yang Hao couldn't understand why these two sisters had become like this.

Faced with Mr. Yang Hao's curiosity, Princess Theresa simply smiled wryly and said that although Kazdel, with the help of the "Ursus Hospitality Tour Group," had indeed dealt a heavy blow to the root of the chaos, the problem was...

"...Correspondingly, other countries, seeing that Ursus wouldn't listen to reason, have shifted the pressure onto us. They've publicly stated that if Kazdel doesn't make a [representation], they will completely ban civilian trade with Kazdel and completely seal our borders..." Princess Theresa's expression turned rather strange at this point. "Some representatives are even in my court... well, you know. I don't really want to say the kind of place where they're in the middle of nowhere..."

"That kind of [Kazdel profanity] porpoise look—unable to compete with other males for mating time, then desperately digging a hole to relieve itself." Therese, her eyes bloodshot, looked up from her slumped position on the table and uttered a curse: "I really can't understand... but whatever, I never intended to understand..."

"...Your situation is similar to mine back then."

So this is ah.

Yang Hao recalled his feelings when he faced the Sherlock Holmes nightclub and the victory of the old Imperial Parliament. He felt genuine sympathy for the sisters' plight.

"Really? So how did you solve it back then, teacher?"

"You mean this? I killed them all."

"..."

His simple and easy-to-understand answer silenced the meeting room for a moment. After a while, the three attendees, who had been staring at each other, chuckled awkwardly and finally began today's agenda.

And at the same time...

The Yan Kingdom's "tourist group" and the Yan Kingdom's crown prince, who was asked by the emperor to attend and "meet his brother-in-law"...

They also arrived in Kazdel.

Chapter 195

Crown Prince Wei Su of Yan Kingdom did not originally intend to come.

With his aging father about to abdicate, he needed to focus his time on learning and practicing the art of imperial strategy, a skill he had dedicated his life to. He didn't really want to have to clean up his sister's mess and meet that "widower duke of the Ursus Empire" for political reasons.

But thinking about it carefully, what he meant was... think about it carefully...

"This duke's policies are so advanced..." Crown Prince Wei Su looked at the report in his hand about the "work-for-relief" program implemented in the Dukedom of Kosichè, and then glanced at the concise notes he had personally written. He marveled at the duke's foresight and thought that if this "tour" was considered a learning opportunity, it wouldn't be so bad. "He could be my policy mentor in the court! It's just a pity that this capable man has already set his sights on Ursus; there's basically no chance that my Great Yan can bring him under its wing."

Crown Prince Wei Su was neither a sycophantic courtier nor an incompetent puppet. Unlike his father, he was not outdated in his thinking, nor did he share the radical ambitions of the younger generation. He combined traditional ruling ideas with advanced governance policies, ultimately refining them into his own administrative philosophy and wisdom.

That is why he was entrusted with such high hopes. That is why Wei Su could see that although Duke Yang Hao might indeed be a person from Yan, it was almost impossible for him to side with Yan because of the ambassador's persuasion based on hometown sentiment.

(While I can understand my father's political thinking and the Grand Tutor's plans, what tricks do you intend to use to get such a loyal and devoted family man to leave Ursus and return to my Great Yan?)

Although that's what he thought, if he really had the chance to directly persuade this capable person to return to Great Yan, Wei Su would definitely do it—his personal affections in his leisure time and his impartial and selfless dedication to the country's interests in his work were not mutually exclusive. As a married man with a happy family of two sons and a daughter, Wei Su understood the pain Duke Yang Hao felt after his wife was murdered by his own sister. But as the future emperor, he understood even more that such a capable person, if he couldn't keep him under his control, at the very least, couldn't be allowed to become an enemy of Great Yan.

Therefore, Wei Su couldn't understand the tricks of the Grand Preceptor and his father, but he looked forward to their results. Wei Su respected Duke Yang Hao's political views, but he also understood that "respect" had different meanings in different contexts. He hoped that Yang Hao would become his future mentor in the court and respected him accordingly, which did not conflict with his current respect for a capable foreigner.

He was a man of contradictions, yet he combined them into his wisdom—the only problem was...

...

Even the Crown Prince of Yan, the Emperor of Yan, and the Grand Preceptor of Yan—none of them realized that Yang Hao and Kosiché had "accidentally" tricked Princess Wei Qing and then made her take the blame...

If they discover that the "accident" back then was actually caused by Yang Hao, and that it was a deception by Ursus...

...The scene was truly breathtaking. It was a diplomatic issue that couldn't be simply dismissed as a matter of "Yan Kingdom's fury."

Monica, watching the distinguished figure through the mirror, was sweating profusely... While observing the room's layout and the sugary desserts on the table, she thought to herself, "This matter has become so urgent that if Lady Koschie were just an ordinary duchess, she might already be [silently murdered and dismembered] by our people back home to solidify the affair, so that Lord Yang Hao can marry Princess Wei Qing..."

(We absolutely cannot let the Yan people find out about that... Lord Yang Hao, have you thought about how to explain Miss Green's "resurrection"?) Head Maid Monica shuddered, thinking that if this matter wasn't handled properly, the Yan and Wu kingdoms might truly become mortal enemies...

She left, shivering. And it was after her departure that Crown Prince Wei Su regretfully put down the report in his hand: for this superficial report ended there. It simply outlined Duke Yang Hao's governing philosophy and his achievements, but completely ignored the most important aspect: the process.

"Sigh! Come to think of it, it makes sense. Our Great Yan has been closed off for over a decade... so its penetration into neighboring countries is low." Crown Prince Wei Su murmured to himself, "And that gentleman is like a gem... the more you wash away the dust, the more dazzling his brilliance shines... What a pity, what a pity! This might be a talent that our Great Yan may never be able to control in the future."

He sighed heavily, put all the reports back in their original places and arranged them into two stacks, then sat down in a chair, closed his eyes to rest, and waited for the moment when the landship had completely sailed to the edge of Kazdel city.

... .....

Meanwhile, having reached an agreement with the Kazdel sisters regarding the next steps, Mr. Yang Hao, whom he hadn't done in a long time, held an unlit cigar between his fingers, his eyes, like Therese's, bloodshot.

“I knew you were having a tough time…” he said. “But I didn’t expect you to be having such a tough time now… I mean, to the point where even some Sarkaz don’t support you anymore.”

As the saying goes, humans are the intelligent beings that ultimately formed nations, but they are also the most prone to producing traitors.

Kazdel is now facing a more serious problem of public opinion than Yang Hao faced back then: back then, he only had to completely side with the Hercules Nightclub, which was openly opposing the Ursus Empire.

Now, in Kazdel, Therese and Theresia face an even more insidious enemy.

They may indeed be loyal to Kazdel, but they foolishly believe that "taking a little money and sending a photo to the other party doesn't count as damaging the country."

They may indeed be incredibly loyal to their country and people, but they naively believe that Kazdel is the best in the world, and can even beat Ursus next door!

They may indeed be incredibly patriotic, but their methods of patriotism are terribly wrong—if personally cutting Kazdel into dozens of pieces and sending them to other countries to preserve the nation can be considered "patriotism," then...

all in all--

"...I used to think that traitors were the most disgusting internal enemies I had ever faced. But now it seems that traitors are nothing compared to idiots."

Traitor, you deserved to be beaten up.

The idiots in my own country are just...

...

That's puzzling.

So when Therese looked at her teacher with pleading eyes, when Princess Theresa expressed her willingness to give more to gain her help... this duke, who believed that any matter could be resolved through political means, felt his stomach begin to ache again.

Therefore, Mr. Yang Hao was also caught off guard. He even forgot for a moment that he was supposed to meet his brother-in-law that afternoon.

Chapter 196

Governing the people is an art, a job, and a responsibility.

The rulers do their utmost to seek the well-being of the people. In turn, the people, living happy lives, make the country stronger—this is Mr. Yang Hao's understanding of the excellent and beautiful relationship between the people and the rulers. In fact, he is also developing in this direction through his ability of the "Puppet Stage," and there are increasingly positive signs.

but--

How do we deal with these idiots?

This is... a physically demanding job. This is a job that Yang Hao doesn't even know how to describe.

Although everyone knows that it's normal for a country with millions of people to have a few idiots.

But it's hard for everyone to accept the reality that "an idiot is right next to me"—especially when that idiot is affecting their normal life.

Therefore, the key to the governance problem facing Princess Theresa and Theresis lies within Kazdel, which they govern... those fools who are almost beyond their control, yet loyal to Kazdel...

These Sarkaz people are either extremely hostile to outsiders (including the Ursus), or have no concept of national borders (they'll take photos of military bases for you if you pay them), or simply want to ensure Kazdel's eternal existence by paving the way for other countries... But they are also genuinely loyal to Kazdel. If this isn't handled properly, Theresa won't have to be the Demon Lord here anymore. It would be more practical for her sister to turn Kazdel into a giant corporation.

So, what should we do?

The Demon King and her sister looked at the Duke of Ursus with pleading eyes, while the Duke of Ursus, under the watchful eyes of two bats, one old and one young, chewed on a cigar but hesitated to light it.

Mr. Yang Hao was also having a headache! These kinds of problems had always been mitigated by the abilities of the [Puppet Stage], so in a sense, Mr. Yang Hao lacked experience in dealing with those idiots on his own...

But after much thought, Mr. Yang Hao understood that the world needed a Lich King. The best way to prevent these dung beetles from wandering the streets was to set up a cesspool for them and let them make a ruckus in it.

Simply put, it's about giving these guys the right to establish their own political platforms, express their opinions, act as public intellectuals, sympathizers, or even just spout nonsense on some kind of public platform. It's like providing them with a public toilet, letting them swim around happily in it, and then just ignoring them.

After all, directly managing these guys is too troublesome... Let them rant and rave, let them build to their heart's content, and while we focus on developing our technology, isn't that enough? Who knows, maybe they'll see how wonderful the outside world has become and have a sudden change of heart and repent?

Just like back in Yang Hao's hometown, there was that cuckold enthusiast who, after being "cuckolded," became a pure love god. If they see something better and repent, then letting them occupy their places and do their thing is actually acceptable...

"Roughly speaking... this can only be dealt with over several years." Yang Hao rubbed his eyes. "And it requires extremely advanced information technology to help me... We currently have no way to deal with those people, understand?"

"Information technology? I think I understand... The reason for processing it over several years?"

"You have higher priority tasks to complete right now. So, for these annoying guys who don't have a huge impact... dragging it out for a few years is fine. It just means the security budget will need to be higher during this time. And then there's the cultural, public opinion, and educational aspects..."

“I understand all of this, but what about the people now…”

"Now is also an opportunity. If someone really turns against you because of professionals from other countries, you can openly declare them guilty and bring them back for 're-education'. I can only suggest that you work hard during this period, after all, the real trouble for us Ursus tourists is just helping you deal with that group of 'foreign professionals'... Speaking of which, have you still not found anyone from Yan Country among the Anti-Demon Faction?"

"No. We found many people from other countries, but not from Yan Kingdom..."

"Alright then..." Yang Hao sighed, resting his chin on his hand. Then he turned around, nodded slightly to Margarita to indicate that he would help later, and said that he would figure something out.

After finishing their discussions on the topics of "professionals" and "foolish masses," they began to talk about the main event of the day—the handover of the twenty mobile cities.

Yang Hao wanted Kazdel to accept 20 mobile cities directly, while Therese and Theresia wanted to accept 5 cities first, and then 5 cities at a time.

“We are severely understaffed. Especially since we can't recall the explorers who went to the [Wasteland] to work, we don't have enough manpower to completely maintain order in 20 mobile cities in a short period of time. We need to take it one step at a time,” Theresa sighed. “And this is also beneficial for our initial construction... We also need to plan the distribution of the mobile cities after they are pieced together…”

"I see. I thought you had already reserved enough people to build mobile cities? Although those mobile cities are well-equipped, they basically don't need to be built."

"But it will take us quite a while to investigate all the urban areas and bring every street and alley under our control! Teacher, please don't treat us like the powerful Ursus..."

"Ha ha ha ha..."

This was indeed Yang Hao's miscalculation: he thought that although Kazdel's military forces were concentrated on external mercenaries or internal defenses, they should still have enough manpower to take over the mobile city? It turned out that they didn't have enough people, and there was really nothing they could do about it.

After all, it's a city. Even if the number of places to inspect and plan in a city is small, the manpower required is astronomical. Considering the current chaos and instability in Kazdel... it's better to take it one step at a time.

But then again...

Am I being stuck in Kazdel for longer and longer?

Mr. Yang Hao pondered this question thoughtfully.

Chapter 197

Margarita was carefully observing Yang Hao's work.

Although she had done the same thing the last time she came, this time Margarita was clearly observing with a different mindset!

She wanted to be able to help Yang Hao in the future, to help him more, not just because he could only occasionally ask her for help due to her unique abilities. She hoped that in the future, no matter what kind of work it was, she could be of assistance!

and...

For some reason, the increasingly strong scent of Yang Hao emanating from her teacher lately made Margarita wary. Even the most innocent child would find it strange and suspicious if their closest relative seemed to be stealing their favorite milk popsicles all the time, right? Margarita wasn't that level yet! So she became alert early on, although she didn't use her [prophecy] ability, but...

She had decided that if the teacher were to "teach" Yang Hao again, she would secretly follow them to see clearly! To see what the teacher and Yang Hao were doing that would cause such a disturbance... those body parts that even close friends shouldn't touch, were covered with his lingering scent.

But then again...

(Has the teacher become more and more beautiful lately?) Margarita silently and discreetly observed Ms. Northon's profile beside her. Her complexion was indeed becoming increasingly rosy and beautiful; she wondered if something good had happened recently... (And... she couldn't understand...)

But most importantly -

Margarita really couldn't understand... what Yang Hao was discussing with those two Sarkaz people?

Although she tried very hard to understand... she still couldn't understand it.

Why must we accept five seats at a time instead of all at once?

Why should people need a period of time to settle down and be subject to supervision after they have settled in mobile cities?

Why are those two Sarkaz, who are clearly the rulers of Kazdel, now asking Yang Hao for advice?

Why did Ms. Therese act so rudely, taking advantage of her relationship with Yang Hao?

...The problems of the dirty adult world are still too early for Margarita, this little bat!

But it's okay! Margarita believed that if she tried hard, she should be able to adapt quickly... right?

She felt somewhat frustrated about it.

Meanwhile, after a serious conversation with Theresa and Theresia for quite some time, Mr. Yang Hao suddenly realized a very important problem...

"Let me ask you this: what are your plans for dealing with that so-called 'Court of Kings'?" He nodded to Theresis, then turned to Theresia and said, "This is a problem. You must understand one thing: while a democratic council has its advantages, if you have the ability to make your civilization and country the best through dictatorship, then dictatorship is not necessarily a bad thing—especially considering that you are long-lived Sarkaz people who are much older than me."

"...Regarding this..." Theresa paused for a moment, then shook her head. "I still prefer to continue our parliamentary system. After all... Mr. Yang Hao, our situation here is different from yours. And I don't want a dictatorship."

“I know you have very visionary ideals, but Your Highness Theresa, I sincerely remind you: if you don’t have a strong enough fist, then it will only be your side that is subject to peace.”

"...I understand. But...please give me some time to think about it."

Regardless of the country or political system, in the end, the collective called "parliament," representing the interests of the old guard, will pose a serious threat to a country that is reforming and developing: hindering progress, transferring assets abroad due to losses, and even, in the worst cases, instigating a civil war. These stubborn vested interests, formed by past ideologies and resources, were once Yang Hao's troublesome enemies.