Feeling the cold feeling of snowflakes as big as goose feathers falling on their faces, Gao Yuan and Bader looked at each other, and everyone seemed to understand what happened.

Looking at Gao Yuan's slightly sad eyes, Bilbo's heart skipped a beat, and he stood up in a flash, not even noticing that the grilled fish he was holding fell to the ground.

As shocked as he was, Gandalf was sitting next to him. The gem on the staff in his hand was constantly flashing with light and darkness, showing that his mood was not as calm as his appearance.

Everyone hurried to the tent where Thorin Oakenshield was, and saw a group of dwarves standing in front of the tent with heavy hearts, just as Kili and Dain opened the curtain and came out.

The scene before them finally confirmed the suspicions of Bard and others - the king is dead!

Bard dismissed the residents of Long Lake Town who had gathered in front of the camp. Gao Yuan, Bilbo and others, led by Kili, entered the camp to say their final farewells to Thorin Oakenshield.

In the tent, Thorin Oakenshield seemed to be asleep, lying so quietly on the bed. Everyone who entered the tent kept silent in a tacit agreement, for fear of disturbing the king's sleep.

After paying homage to Thorin Oakenshield's remains, Gao Yuan hugged his dwarf friends outside the tent. The dwarves sang a final elegy for Thorin in front of the tent.

When all this was over, Qili found Gao Yuan who was about to return to the camp, and he pulled Gao Yuan to a hidden corner in the river valley city.

He seemed to have something he wanted to discuss with Gao Yuan.

"Thorin was very peaceful when he left. He left in his sleep and did not feel much pain before leaving. Thorin said that he could persist until our arrival and must thank you for your help.

"Kili's voice was a little hoarse.

"As the new king of the kingdom under the mountain, Thorin sacrificed his life to protect the home of the dwarves before he could begin his rule as the king under the mountain. This deserves respect from all of us. What I have done is not

A piece of cake."

Gao Yuan was self-aware, and what he had done was very limited and not worth mentioning. He was flattered by Thorin's exaggeration of his achievements.

"The good thing is, Thorin left a will for us before he left, didn't he? He chose me as the heir to his throne."

"In this will, Thorin has arranged many matters after his death, but there is one thing that he did not explicitly mention in the will. This is why I came to you alone, Gao Yuan.

Sir!" Kili said a little mysteriously.

A trace of doubt flashed in Gao Yuan's golden pupils. Is there anything else Thorin hasn't explained?

And it’s important enough that you need to discuss it with yourself.

"I think Thorin Oakenshield should have arranged everything in his will. I don't understand what you are talking about. After all, I have not seen the contents of that will with my own eyes.

.”

"As the heir of Thorin Oakenshield, the contents of your will can only be seen by you and your tribe. If you are willing, I don't mind listening." Gao Yuan shook his head, he did not want to play guessing games with the other party.

Qili smiled with relief: "Thorin did not specify in his will the ownership of the treasures in the lonely mountain. He gave me the right to distribute the gold and silver, saying that it would be up to me to decide."

An inexplicable smile flashed across Gao Yuan's face, and his golden pupils seemed to want to find something in Qili's eyes.

"Oh! Then how are you going to distribute the gold and silver?"

He found it a little funny. Thorin Oakenshield's final arrangement before his death was a perfect use of power.

Thorin was obviously still a little worried about Kili after hearing his own evaluation of him, so he deliberately gave the right to distribute the treasure to Kili.

Gao Yuan's guess was correct. Thorin Oakenshield actually did this on purpose. He thought of this plan after he proposed the two regents to him.

How to distribute the gold and silver treasures in the Lonely Mountain is the first test that Thorin Oakenshield left to Kili as the King Under the Mountain after his death, testing his wisdom and character.

If the gold and silver are distributed unevenly, it may even cause the dwarf race to split again.

Even Thorin's cousin and the dwarves from the expedition might not care about this wealth.

But it does not mean that other races or individuals do not care about this wealth.

Under the leadership of Bard, the residents of Changhu Town are preparing to move to River Valley City and restore the former glory of River Valley City. They are the ones who care most about how the gold and silver are distributed among all the forces.

If these wealth are not allocated to Bard and the others, I am afraid they will not let it go, and may even turn against each other and create a powerful enemy for the dwarves of Lonely Mountain.

In this distribution of benefits, if the distribution of Qili to the allies or friends of the dwarves is not fair and correct enough.

Then the dwarves are likely to lose those allies or friends that they underestimated during the distribution of benefits.

Whether or not to distribute this huge wealth, and how much, was clearly left to Kili to decide by Thorin Oakenshield.

In fact, secretly, Thorin Oakenshield must have expressed his opinions when he was talking alone with Balin and Dain.

Let them supervise the entire process of profit distribution, and even before Qili makes irreversible mistakes, be ready to seize the right to distribute wealth from Qili's hands and save him from the wrong decisions he has made.

The regent, who has authority over the current king, was not established to make decisions on the king's behalf.

It is to assist the king in governing his country before he is unable to take on the responsibilities of a king.

Prevent him from making fatal mistakes and help him grow.

Either intentionally or unintentionally, Qili chose to find Gao Yuan at this time, which can be regarded as a wise choice.

Although both Bahrain and Dyne can be regarded as beings worthy of Qili's trust, it is difficult to guarantee that these two will not have any bad thoughts in the face of such huge wealth.

Just like the regents that have appeared in the history of the earth.

The problem with the regent is that it is easy for the king's power to be emptied or taken away by the regent, instead of returning the power to the successor designated by the previous king after he has grown to a certain extent.

Therefore, in history, often before the king of the previous generation appointed a capable minister to assist the new king as regent, he would also find someone who was worthy of his trust and could control powerful force and could ensure the normal replacement of power to check and balance the regent.

And Gao Yuan is currently the only option that can check and balance Bahrain and Dyne at the same time.

"Thorin said that if I am hesitant, I can seek your opinion. I am a little unsure about paying attention, so I have come to see you now." Kili's eyes looked a little confused.

It seems that he really doesn't know everything about it.

Seeing this, Gao Yuan couldn't help but sigh.

Kili was still too immature. He didn't understand Thorin Oakenshield's good intentions in making such an arrangement. Even though he came to him for help, he still followed Thorin's advice.

"It's not up to me to help you make up your mind. This will be the first test you face after becoming the new king under the mountain. Thorin wants you to learn to solve this problem on your own."

Gao Yuan simply rejected Qili's request.

But after he pondered for a moment, he finally decided to give a hint.

"Maybe I can give you a little hint."

Qili's head, which had been lowered, raised his head again and looked at Gao Yuan expectantly.

"I would like to hear the details, Mr. Gao Yuan."

"When considering the distribution of these gold and silver, the first thing you have to consider is the people who died in this war and their families!" Gao Yuan said, touching the prickly beard on his chin.

"After that, all you need to do is to abide by every promise Thorin Oakenshield has ever made. Although it was a promise made by Thorin Oakenshield, you are his successor, and it is naturally up to you.

To fulfill.”

Gao Yuan's advice was limited to this. His reminders were already helping Qili avoid making fatal mistakes as much as possible and pointed him in a direction.

He never worried whether Qili would want to monopolize those treasures.

Even when Thorin Oakenshield was at his craziest in the Lonely Mountain, he didn't dare to do this.
Chapter completed!