"King, this is the result of the operation."
Guardian Dragon handled the matter with astonishing speed, then returned to the Royal Capital to report to the King.
Looking at the result Guardian Dragon had brought back, Yang Yu was quite satisfied. He praised him, "Not bad. I am very satisfied with the result of your work."
"This general takes his leave."
After handing the results to the King, Guardian Dragon did not dare linger in the study.
His mission was to secretly protect the King's safety.
Yang Yu paid no attention to Guardian Dragon's silent departure. Instead, he studied the results Guardian Dragon had brought back, his eyes flickering.
"It seems we need to further strengthen school administration."
"Bullying must never appear in our Star Ancient Dynasty."
Yang Yu murmured softly, "Since that is the case, then we shall carry out a reform."
The first day of the first lunar month, Year 345.
Ordinarily, during this period, all the dynasty's ministers should have been at home, celebrating the New Year with their families.
However.
A royal edict.
Forced the ministers who had been resting to come to the Hall of Governance of the Star Ancient Dynasty and attend the first court assembly of the new year.
While King Yu proposed the cabinet system, he also proposed the Imperial Examination System.
The cabinet did not follow the exact structure of the Three Departments and Six Ministries, but it was modeled after that system.
The cabinet was divided into the following positions: Prime Minister: responsible for managing the people's livelihood throughout the realm.
Minister of Finance: responsible for managing the finances of the realm;
Minister of Public Security: responsible for managing public security throughout the realm;
Minister of Education: responsible for managing education throughout the realm;
Minister of Justice: responsible for managing the laws of the realm;
Minister of Science and Technology: responsible for managing the realm's Ministry of Works;
Minister of Military Affairs: responsible for managing the realm's troops and horses.
The Imperial Examination System no longer accepted recommendations from famous figures. Candidates had to take official examinations, giving scholars from poor families throughout the realm the opportunity and qualifications to rise in society.
The first Prime Minister of the cabinet was Long Ang, the first Minister of Finance was Lin Yang, the first Minister of Public Security was Yang Yan, the first Minister of Education was Bai Lu, the first Minister of Justice was Zhu Que, and the first Minister of Science and Technology was Zhou Ming. There was no Minister of Military Affairs yet; Star Ancient's King Yu would personally assume the position.
As for Long Ang, the cabinet's first Prime Minister, the first thing he did after taking office was promote the policy of encouraging larger families, urging the dynasty's people to have more children while discussing the dynasty's development with the other cabinet ministers.
As the ministers gradually became familiar with their respective fields, they began displaying their talents in their respective positions.
The Star Ancient Dynasty gradually flourished.
The palace.
The Secluded Garden.
King Yu stood before the arched bridge, watching the fish swim in the stream and listening to Guardian Dragon's report, his eyes flickering.
The policy encouraging the people to have more children was excellent.
But the dynasty's food supply could not keep up.
Yang Yu said softly, "To this day, our Star Ancient Dynasty still has not found any grain capable of producing a thousand jin per mu. What should we do?"
Hearing the King's words, Guardian Dragon was slightly stunned before realizing what was happening.
The King was not speaking to him.
Immediately.
He dropped to his knees.
"You're not thinking of making me give you those things, are you?"
Just then.
The System Spirit of the Star System appeared before Yang Yu and looked at him helplessly.
Yang Yu looked bitterly at the System Spirit before him and said, "To this day, we still haven't found any suitable crops. Although I know that sweet potatoes, corn, potatoes, and similar crops should exist in this era, they're probably far too far away from us. Given the military strength of our Star Ancient Dynasty, obtaining them is practically impossible."
"Fine, I'll take a look for you."
The System Spirit did not agree immediately. Instead, it began reading the information of the entire planet. Gradually, astonishment appeared on its face as it said, "Sweet potatoes, corn, potatoes, and other high-yield crops do not exist in this era."
"They don't exist?"
Hearing this, Yang Yu stared at the System Spirit in astonishment.
You're not joking with me, are you?
If these things truly did not exist, wouldn't the Star Ancient Dynasty be doomed?
"According to the information, crops such as sweet potatoes and potatoes will not appear on this planet until approximately thirty million years from now."
"As for corn, it is expected to appear only after two hundred thousand years."
Xingchen spoke seriously.
At once.
A smile appeared on Yang Yu's face.
"You..."
Seeing how bizarre Yang Yu's smile was, Xingchen instantly understood what he was thinking and said, "Fine, fine, I'll give them to you. I'm really done with you, you old rascal."
The Star Ancient Dynasty could wait two hundred thousand years.
But she could not wait that long.
If she could help the Star Ancient Dynasty grow as quickly as possible, she would have a greater chance of returning home.
There was no need to waste time.
With that.
A vine roughly one and a half meters long and covered in leaves, ten oval potatoes, and dozens of corn seeds appeared before Yang Yu.
Xingchen's figure gradually faded away within the Secluded Garden.
Looking at the seeds, Yang Yu smiled.
With these things, the Star Ancient Dynasty would never again need to worry about insufficient food production.
Next.
He personally reclaimed a plot of land in the Secluded Garden and planted the potatoes and corn seeds separately.
He cut the roughly one-and-a-half-meter-long, lush sweet potato vine into five sections, each approximately thirty centimeters long, buried them in the reclaimed soil, and watered them.
"Guard this place. Without my permission, anyone who enters shall be granted the authority to kill without mercy."
Yang Yu spoke.
"Yes."
A cold voice rang out from the darkness, devoid of the slightest emotion, as though a death god had emerged from the shadows.
Immediately afterward.
Yang Yu left the Secluded Garden with Guardian Dragon.
Guardian Dragon was an organization, a special institution responsible for protecting the King's safety. Every member was called a Guardian Dragon, and no one knew how many Guardian Dragons there were.
Likewise, while the Guardian Dragon organization existed openly, a group of people also protected the King in the darkness and handled the dirty matters that Guardian Dragon could not deal with publicly.
They were known as the Night Veil.
These people had all been formed by the sixteen warriors who had seen Xingchen back then.
Year 347.
The Star Ancient Dynasty began distributing crop seeds throughout the realm, while the court personally dispatched officials to teach the people how to plant them.
These drought-resistant and cold-resistant seeds would surely unleash a wave in this era—a wave that would end the lack of food.
At the end of Year 347.
The Star Ancient Dynasty welcomed a bumper harvest.
The people throughout the realm no longer had to endure a life of scrimping and rationing. The dynasty's total grain output reached an Epic-Class peak.
At the beginning of Year 348.
After discussions between the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance, the taxes originally levied on the dynasty's people were reduced to fifteen percent, the lowest tax rate in history.
That same year.
The Minister of Finance, the Minister of Public Security, and the Minister of Education held discussions and increased the dynasty's investment in public security and education.
At the beginning of Year 350.
The cabinet suddenly announced throughout the realm that the dynasty's taxes would be raised to the original twenty percent.
The Ministry of Military Affairs also began recruiting soldiers from outside.
Many veteran soldiers retired from the army and joined the dynasty's Department of Public Security to continue serving the dynasty. The veterans' faith was even simpler and purer.
With their arrival, public order throughout the dynasty grew increasingly peaceful.
In the summer of Year 350.
The Ministry of Military Affairs issued a proclamation.
Fifty thousand troops would be sent east, while another fifty thousand would embark on a southern expedition.
Marshal Bai Lu, who had resigned as Minister of Education, and Long Ang, the first Prime Minister, led the two armies eastward and southward.
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