"This one is still my hostage for now." Huo Yuhao, worried that Zhang Lexuan's long-standing resentment towards Shrek Academy might cause her to fly into a rage and kill Xian Lin'er on the spot, couldn't help but remind her.
"Dean Xian, so you haven't escaped yet." Zhang Lexuan nodded with a blank expression. Back in the Shrek inner court, it was usually Dean Xian and Elder Lin who took the most care of her.
From within the otherworldly space, Xian Lin'er could see everything that was happening outside, including, of course, Zhang Lexuan's confession to Huo Yuhao.
Only a few Super Douluo of the highest generation, like the Dragon God Douluo Mu En and Elders Lin and Song, knew the truth about the tragic extermination of Zhang Lexuan's family. She just hadn't expected them to hide it to this extent.
"Lexuan, I..." Xian Lin'er wanted to offer some words of comfort, but when she thought of Zhang Lexuan's selfless dedication to the academy and all she had silently endured over the years, she couldn't help but feel a tightness in her chest.
"Let's save the reminiscing for later." Huo Yuhao had no say in this matter. Right now, deflecting the conflict was undoubtedly more effective than resolving it.
Both women nodded silently, and the atmosphere once again fell into a very awkward state.
"Lexuan, I dug up a national treasury earlier. It should contain several billion gold soul coins and treasures worth over ten billion." Huo Yuhao got straight to the point. "I think that should be enough to keep the People's Republic of Heavenly Soul running for a while."
Hearing this amount, Zhang Lexuan was also shocked and couldn't help but blurt out, "Which empire's treasury did you dig up? That much?"
"It's a secret." Huo Yuhao stroked his non-existent beard with a triumphant look.
"It should be the Star Luo Empire's. With your abilities, it wouldn't be difficult to break in." Xian Lin'er rolled her eyes at him. She had seen no small number of treasures engraved with the symbolic pattern of the Star Luo Empire up there.
"If it's managed well, maintaining the country's normal operations for a year should not be a problem." Zhang Lexuan breathed a sigh of relief. This sum of money from Huo Yuhao could be said to have largely solved the emerging nation's urgent crisis.
"The premise is that it's managed well." Huo Yuhao tapped the table with his finger and turned his head to look at Xian Lin'er. "Dean Xian, the position of Minister of Finance of this People's Republic of Heavenly Soul belongs to none other than you. I'll have to trouble you for this period. In any case, you were once the dean of Shrek's Soul Tool Department. You should be adept at managing assets."
"Alright." Xian Lin'er glanced at him, then showed a hesitant expression and asked, "Are you really planning to hand over assets worth tens of billions directly to me?"
"As the saying goes, don't use those you suspect, and don't suspect those you use." Huo Yuhao chuckled. "At this point, do I have any other choice?"
"Clearly, I could do it too..." Zhang Lexuan couldn't help but mutter under her breath.
"Ahem!" Huo Yuhao coughed awkwardly. "Lexuan, you have a more important task. Your reputation in the army is extremely high. I need you to temporarily put aside the military affairs of the People's Republic of Heavenly Soul and travel throughout the former Heavenly Soul Empire, spreading the ideology of a free, democratic government."
"Not only that." Xian Lin'er interjected. "Just talking without acting doesn't mean much. I suggest dividing the major generals currently in the Xie Long army, each leading a force to form warlord factions within the country."
Hearing her words, a thoughtful look appeared in Huo Yuhao's eyes. "Continue."
"You need to have them operate independently as new rebel forces, attracting investment from the former noble powers of the Heavenly Soul Empire, and retaining the wealth of the original Heavenly Soul Empire as much as possible." Xian Lin'er truly deserved her reputation as an old schemer who had been at Shrek for decades. She instantly showed Huo Yuhao a new possibility.
"These warlords will operate independently, feigning conflict, to make those nobles back them for the sake of future benefits. At the same time, the years of chaos, combined with your promotion of democratic ideas, will inevitably cause the people to rise up and support the democratic regime, thus achieving the fundamental goal of ideological liberation."
"Excellent. This way, we can indeed ensure to the greatest extent that the empire's wealth does not flow to other countries, and it can also trigger the resistance of the common people." Huo Yuhao's eyes lit up, and he felt more and more that putting Xian Lin'er in an important position was a wise move.
"The establishment of a democratic regime and its acceptance by the people of the world will not happen overnight. It requires a long period of precipitation. Lin'er's thinking is truly thorough!"
Huo Yuhao's use of "Lin'er" made her pretty face blush slightly, while Zhang Lexuan on the side showed a strange expression, her gaze shifting back and forth between the two, as if she had thought of a certain possibility.
"Let's talk business!" Xian Lin'er felt a bit unnatural under Zhang Lexuan's gaze. "The generals who break away from the Xie Long army, regardless of their loyalty, must first have considerable prestige. Regardless of whether they truly have plans to establish themselves as kings in the future, this situation of warlord conflict must be achieved, rather than a one-sided domination."
Huo Yuhao nodded. He had just been worried that if these generals who left the Xie Long army were to genuinely have rebellious thoughts, the losses would outweigh the gains. He hadn't expected Xian Lin'er to actually plan to have them fight each other.
"After this, a situation of warlord partitioning will inevitably form within the former Heavenly Soul Empire. The new democratic regime will have the Body Sect and you as its backers. As long as you and the Body Sect do not fall, this regime will not be easily destroyed, and the democratic thinking of the Heavenly Soul people will be liberated in the shortest possible time." Speaking of this, Xian Lin'er looked at Huo Yuhao seriously. "This is the solution to the internal threat."
"Then, the external threat should be referring to the neighboring Dou Spirit Empire and the Sun Moon Empire, which has always been eyeing the original Douluo Continent." Huo Yuhao naturally knew what she wanted to say and picked up the conversation.
"Correct. The strongest country on the continent now is undoubtedly the Sun Moon Empire brought by the continental collision. Their ambition to unify the continent is obvious, so the internal and external threats of the Heavenly Soul Empire are actually not equal." Xian Lin'er's eyes were grave. The external threat was far greater than the internal one. This was something that couldn't be helped.
"And the chaos within the Heavenly Soul territory can make the Sun Moon Empire lower its guard. On the contrary, they will even provide funds to facilitate this chaotic situation and turn their spearhead towards the neighboring Star Luo Empire." Speaking of this, Xian Lin'er clapped her hands. "A chaotic country is the most vulnerable. It doesn't matter even if we let the Sun Moon Empire infiltrate the Heavenly Soul Empire's territory on a large scale."
As Zhang Lexuan listened, a trace of worry couldn't help but appear on her pretty face. "But, in that case, the people of the Heavenly Soul Empire will inevitably be displaced and live in misery."
"Those who achieve great things do not sweat the small stuff. A far-sighted regime absolutely cannot be merciful in this regard." Huo Yuhao couldn't help but sigh. Zhang Lexuan was just too soft-hearted, which was why he had handed this kind of strategic planning over to Xian Lin'er to complete.
"The people's self-awakening of their thoughts is far more important than their life security. What Huo Yuhao is doing is a revolution, and a revolution is destined to involve bloodshed." Xian Lin'er knew that their few words might cause rivers of blood, but the current humans were so dull they could be said to be beyond hope. If their slave mentality was not resolved from the root, the feudal imperial system could never be eliminated from the Douluo Continent.
"The Dean has a brilliant view." Huo Yuhao, to avoid misunderstanding, used this title again. "I will introduce you to Xie Long later. I may not be able to bring peace and joy to the current people of the continent, but at the very least, I must return a peaceful and prosperous age to their descendants."
"There's no time to delay. Lexuan, the ideological liberation of the people will depend on you and those revolutionary pioneers." Huo Yuhao was the type to take immediate action, and he gave the order on the spot.
"Alright." Zhang Lexuan's eyes were complicated. Perhaps this was her character's weakness. Although she had once killed many noble forces in Heaven Dou City for the sake of revenge, what she was about to do now would truly cause rivers of blood.
The two watched Zhang Lexuan leave. Xian Lin'er couldn't help but look at Huo Yuhao. "Will this be too cruel to Lexuan?"
"From a personal perspective, I also hope she remains that gentle and virtuous senior sister. But since I've decided to do this, the people around me have no choice but to transform quickly." Huo Yuhao's eyes dimmed. "Including Fatty, Wu Feng, and the others."
"Since we have to live in this world, we have no choice but to do some things that we feel are meaningful."
Seeing him like this, Xian Lin'er couldn't help but burst out laughing. "You really look a bit like a Demon King now."
"A Demon King?" Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment, then burst out laughing. "That's right, I am the Demon King, Demon King Huo Yuhao! I detest this world ruled by the god-blessed princes, nobles, and soul masters. Perhaps redrawing the order of this continent is the meaning of my arrival in this world!"
Xian Lin'er suddenly felt that the Huo Yuhao before her seemed to have completed some kind of transformation. Combined with his high-spirited appearance, he had a magical charm that could make one fall for him.
She suddenly gave Huo Yuhao a quick peck on the cheek and teased, "What Demon King??"
Huo Yuhao was stunned for a moment. But the things he had to do had long since surpassed what someone his age could do.
He couldn't help but wrap his arm around Xian Lin'er's waist, pulling her onto his lap, and said with a wicked smile, "Then if I hold a hundred-year-old lady like this, does that count as a young sprout eating an old cow?"
Being mocked by Huo Yuhao for being old, Xian Lin'er instantly gnashed her teeth in hatred. "You're the old one, you little old man! This old lady will bite you to death right now!"
"Come on, if you bite me, I'll bite you back. Let's hurt each other..."