It has long been known to everyone that the envoys sued for peace and returned, and the existence of the celebration banquet was the final conclusion to this matter.
The last fear in people's hearts finally disappeared.
On this day, envoys from various city-states also paid homage to Tezozomoc, the lord of the valley, and delivered the royal orders to each city.
The blockade of various cities can be lifted.
Only checkpoints were set up on the main trade routes in the north.
This is done for safety reasons. If there are still people coming from Kema City, they will still be under strict supervision and will not be allowed to enter the city.
If you want to take away your relatives, you can, but someone must send a message to you.
At the same time, the trade routes between the valley and the north will also be completely cut off.
Because the message brought back by the mission has been clear.
In addition to the hundreds of thousands of people in Kema City, more than 300,000 people from various tribes in the North will also make the pilgrimage to Hexi.
The North will be deserted.
Perhaps in the future, people from the valley will continue to migrate and reproduce again.
But that is already an extremely distant future. At least in the past ten years, no one will be willing to set foot in the city of Kema, which has suffered divine punishment.
The word "balance" will gradually become taboo.
Even if the city-states must worship the Lord of Balance, the people in their hearts are more afraid of this true god than have any belief in worship.
Just do your best to save face.
at last.
There's another piece of news floating around -
"The eldest prince will succeed to the throne."
Tezozomoke could not go back on his word, so at last night's banquet, he solemnly announced that the succession of the king's power would take place after the overall situation in the valley was stabilized.
This was just as Loboda expected.
The threat of the Army of Judgment has not been completely eliminated, and Tzozomok will not easily release his power.
And even if he succeeds to the throne, he will be like a puppet.
Just look at the expressions of the two younger brothers when they heard about the succession to the throne.
When the old king announced his inheritance, the first reaction of the two men was neither congratulations nor jealousy.
They didn't even look at Loboda, but looked at each other, tit for tat...
In their eyes, the eldest prince's succession to the throne was just an excess.
The real battle for royal power will begin under their hands.
At noon.
After Dedege and Loboda had eaten, they took out the "Pinyin Alphabet" and began to practice the secrets of the law.
The laws of language are the foundation of the Great Way.
If you don’t understand the divine language, how can you practice other laws?
Dedege is now Loboda's teacher. He has mastered the spelling ability. He holds a book of "Bible of Balance" with phonetic notation, and can read it aloud with difficulty, but he does not know the meaning of the characters.
Literacy still needs a process.
However, when the practice was about to begin, Dedege was suddenly stunned and whispered: "Your Highness, we will set off late tomorrow night, why aren't you ready?"
Loboda smiled and said: "What are you preparing for? Packing your bags in a big way? Conveying the will of balance to my relatives?"
He looked around: "Every move we make will be reported to the king, so how can we be so unscrupulous?"
Dedege asked: "Then we will have to rush on the road?"
Loboda nodded: "My wife died young and I have five children, but now they are all married and established. The only ones closest to me are my two grandsons. They are not favored by their parents and live in my palace."
"Just take them with you when the time comes. I know the way of my judgment on the Aztecs; and in the country of Tepanicus, I can only do what I can."
"After all, even divine punishment cannot make the world wake up to see through this falsehood and willingly fall into it..."
"Who am I to wake up my family and relatives?"
"Only the two little grandsons are still mud on the ground."
Dedege was confused: "Mud on the ground?"
Loboda said: "They have not been shaped into cups or bowls yet! Then when the glory of balance shines, they will have infinite possibilities."
After that, Loboda saw Dedege lowering his eyebrows, and he laughed again: "Are you questioning yourself? Are you already like a cup?"
Seeing that he was exposed, Dedege didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and he didn't know how to answer.
Loboda added: "Even though you are already in the shape of a cup or bowl, our Lord has given you a new life. You are no longer enslaved by others, and you no longer have a master..."
"In other words, even if you are a cup or bowl, you can still decide what you want to put in it."
"Some people install sweet springs to quench the thirst of travelers;"
"Someone holds poison and kills others!"
"But like me, and like you once told me, your father..."
"We choose to use ourselves to contain the 'balanced fire oil' and spread it in all directions!"
"These days I was thinking why my lord didn't let the army of judgment go south. Later I understood..."
"He gave the world the power to make choices."
"This is the greatest grace He has given to the world!"
"You can do evil and you can do good."
"But you will bear the consequences!"
"It's not like this bad land today, where people have no right to choose! Slaves need to obey their master's orders, and masters need to obey the orders of someone more powerful than him."
Dedege subconsciously said: "But in equilibrium, the people also need to listen to the orders of the gods..."
Loboda smiled and said: "Do slaves become slaves willingly?"
"But I know that balanced people are willing to listen to His precepts."
“Because only by obeying His ways can we have a happy life!”
"Dedege, you must know that oppression, control and teaching and guidance are two different things."
The words end here.
Dedege was shocked and couldn't help but said: "Your Highness, you are a wise man, a wise man comparable to teachers and divine envoys!"
"Praise my Lord, praise the balance!"
Loboda also praised and asked: "Then have you thought about what you are going to hold?"
"I haven't thought about it yet..." Dedege hesitated, but his eyes were firm, "But I know, I will definitely find it!"
What was supposed to be Dedege's teaching of mysteries to Loboda has now turned into Loboda's enlightenment to Dedege.
The eldest prince has been immersed in academics for decades, and his vision and thinking are naturally not something that this slave son can look down upon.
Therefore, the closer the great prince gets to the realm of true knowledge, the more clearly he understands how precious the path of balanced joy is.
Only then can you be willing to give up everything and accept this journey of judgment.
This is the grace bestowed by our Lord. It is his own choice and no one is forcing him to do so.
At night.
The two of them were hungry and asked the waiter to prepare a sumptuous dinner.
Loboda joked: "When I reach equilibrium, no one will serve me! Hahaha... It seems that I need to work harder if I want to wash away the sins in my heart."
Dedege said: "In equilibrium, no one would want to be served by others! Because everyone knows that the food obtained by one's own labor is the most delicious!"
"You're right..."
But at this moment, there were bursts of roars and roars from the distance, interrupting the conversation and laughter between the two.
Loboda frowned and called the waiter: "Who is howling?"
The waiter said: "It's Prince Seventeen! He is venting his anger! Not long after you left with the envoy, something big happened in the palace..."
"His Royal Highness Mendaya disappeared, and the old king was furious because of this!"
Upon hearing this, Loboda was stunned. After a moment, he asked quickly: "Tiers has found the mission, checked out thieves, and even blocked all the main roads. Mondaya has not been found yet?"
The waiter looked outside and suddenly lowered his voice and said: "Your Highness, there are rumors that Princess Mendaya eloped with a slave and fled to Klang!"
"Because the slave is a citizen from the hill city and was once enslaved in the Yuan Lin official's residence. The Yuan Lin official and his family were all sentenced to death earlier."
"You also know that the hill city has long surrendered to the balance."
Loboda looked at Dedege.
Dedege shook his head violently: "Impossible. If a new person arrives in Kema, detailed records will be kept and health regulations will be enforced! The teacher and I will be responsible for this."
"Although I don't know what a princess looks like, my teacher and I know the aristocratic temperament and style very well!"
"After the trial in Kema City, no nobleman dared to step into Kema."
Loboda frowned: "There is no such person in my mission. How could I ignore Mondaya? What's more, Tiers has searched for it personally for a long time!"
The waiter smiled bitterly: "I dare not explore the specific matter, but the old king has a decree, and this matter must be kept secret!"
Loboda understood it immediately.
Not to mention the princess and her slaves escaping, just surrender and balance, and the people will not know about it.
Now it is kept secret, and when it can no longer be concealed or no one can be found, a funeral will be held and death will be pronounced.
Even if Mundaya appears again in the future, he will be wiped out.
The royal family cannot be shamed.
The heirs of the royal family have no choice.
"Oh, let's go down." Loboda took a bitter sip of wine and waved the waiter away.
After the man left, he sighed quietly: "You're right, I can't stay in this bad land for another day!"
The next day.
Everything is business as usual.
Although Dedege knew that late at night was coming and was about to set off, he did not say a word about it all day long, relying entirely on Loboda's arrangements.
Even at night, he returned to his room and fell asleep quietly.
But under his closed eyes, he felt restless in his heart.
When the prince escapes, things are not that simple.
But he didn't know the plan, he only had trepidation.
Until late at night.
He seemed to have fallen asleep on the bed, but in fact his whole body was trembling slightly, as if there were hundreds of ants biting and gnawing at him.
finally……
"Woo!"
"Bang!"
There were sounds of groaning and falling to the ground, coming from outside the house.
Dedege's eyes suddenly opened, and at this moment, his door was pushed open, and Loboda's low voice came: "Quick, no need to change, leave now!"
Hearing the familiar voice, he almost jumped out of bed.
He had been completing his mental construction for the entire day, but now, listening to instructions and his body and mind instincts had completely replaced his thinking and reaction.
Wearing only his pajamas and gown, he came to the door.
Loboda was seen dressed in the same way, breathing heavily, and holding a blood-stained dagger in his hand.
Blood was dripping from under the dagger.
Soon it became completely unstained and reflected a frightening cold light.
Dedege recognized that this was a divine weapon given by our Lord, and it was the standard equipment of the army of judgment.
But I didn't expect that the teacher would actually give it to His Highness the Prince.
Looking outside the door again, the two waiters had fallen into a pool of blood, making no sound.
"Your Highness, Your Highness, did you kill them?"
Loboda breathed steadily, and while dragging him away, he smiled and said: "I am already old, but when I was still young and strong, I also opened up territory for the kingdom!"
"Although my third brother has military power, even if he fights against me now, he may not be able to survive!"
Dedege trembled: "I'm not talking about this, I'm talking about...you, you have committed another crime!!"
Although Dedege used to be Tugo's bodyguard, he had never killed anyone; what's more, he has now surrendered to Balance.
Seeing his mood swings, Loboda also stopped, turned around and said seriously: "Dedege, have you forgotten what I said to you yesterday?"
"Wha, what?"
"If I were a cup, what would I hold?"
Dedege said: "Balanced kerosene."
"Yes! I, your father, and all the fire bearers, if we want to contain the fire oil and ignite the balanced fire, we will be burned by the flames, broken and annihilated at every turn!"
"I have committed a crime, but it is also a crime that I am willing to bear!"
"People can do good and they can do evil!"
"Our Lord gives the world the opportunity to choose, then I will be willing to bear the consequences of good or evil!"
"because……"
"Although I don't know what my future will be like! Will it be a balanced lamp, or will it be broken into tiles..."
"But I know that the balanced future is infinitely bright!"
"I am not afraid of good or evil, and I am not afraid of the consequences..."
"I'm not afraid of leaving a stigma!!"
"The fire bearer only delivers the fire of balance, only for balance!"
Dedege's eyes widened: "Is this what the teacher means?"
"No, this is what I mean. Everyone is different. For example, I choose to be included in the equilibrium, but my relatives turn a blind eye to the equilibrium!"
"So, if I am a fire bearer, I don't have to care about the will of other fire bearers..."
"Because our paths to judgment are different! Only the ultimate goal is the same."
Speaking of which.
Loboda surveyed the environment and then slapped Dedege hard on the shoulder, "There is no time! You want to discuss it with me, wait until we leave the palace and capital... Let's go!"
Dedege suddenly woke up and realized again that the two of them were still in a critical situation.
The two set out again.
Rush towards the palace in the distance.
On the way, Loboda stabbed several more waiters to death, and finally found his two grandsons.
"You carry this fat boy and leave the thin one to me."
The two tied the child to their bodies with sheets.
Dedege asked: "Won't they be awakened?"
Loboda's old face looked gloomy, "Today's dinner, I added herbs to their soup! It's enough to sleep for a day and a night!"
"you……"
"I know, I know, I have committed a crime, but I am willing to bear the consequences! Keep walking!"
They took their two children to the palace wall, pushed aside the weeds, and saw a gap that had existed for a long time.
Loboda said: "This is the secret passage I used to escape from the palace when I was a child. In addition to me, there are also my two younger brothers who died young... The second and third highnesses who succeeded the prince did not know this place."
They untied the child, pushed it out of the hole, and then climbed out.
And outside the wall, there are responders.
At this time, the elderly Loboda was panting from exhaustion. He handed the child over to his trusted aides and followed their lead to the secret passage out of the city.
Everything went well.
But the danger here is only known to Dedege.
When they walked through the long tunnel and arrived outside the city, and breathed in the cool air of the wilderness, everyone was truly relieved.
The trusted waiter said: "Your Highness, our people have been stationed and waiting at Duoduo River!"
"Where do we go next?"
Loboda said with a playful smile: "What do you think?"
The confidant said: "I know His Highness' intention is to surrender and be balanced! That must be to go to Na Kema City! We have already made an oath to follow your footsteps to the death!"
Loboda shook his head: "It's true to surrender to Balance, but you guessed wrong where to go! Let's go, first to the 'Duoduo River'!"
Dedege has been watching.
He gradually felt at ease because he had understood what Loboda meant.
Even these cronies of the dead soldiers didn't know that they were going to Lake City in the end.
Even if something happened in the palace behind him, Tezozomok would never think of their destination!
The city in the lake has long been forgotten by everyone!
But that is the only pure land where the fire of balance sways in the darkness of the bad land of the valley.