The people of agrarian societies are among the kindest and most simple-minded people in the world.
They love the land and cherish their hometown.
As long as there is land to grow crops and rice to fill one's stomach, one can live a happy life without causing trouble or rebelling.
Who cares what kind of high-ranking officials live in the capital? As long as the land and grain are still available, I'm content.
Wang Wen spent most of the day running around filling in the water sources in all four directions.
The spirit Fox jumped out.
Although she merged into the spirit of the artifact, her own magical power did not disappear. Moreover, by following Wang Wen, she was constantly subjected to the power of heaven and earth, and her cultivation continued to improve.
She used magic to conjure up the exquisite carriage that had once been woven from countless lush green branches and leaves.
It has increased more than two or three times in size.
She carried everyone into the sky, only stopping when she had almost reached the limit of her magical control.
Wang Wen peered out of the carriage and looked down at the ground.
The earth lay flat below, and years of drought had turned the ground into a uniform grayish-yellow color.
Today, however, there are four flowing water sources, spreading and meandering in all directions like branches and leaves, like tiny blood vessels extending from the heart.
The land the water flows over darkens in color.
Then a crowd surged forth.
They scurried about like ants, whispering to each other, running around, and then gathering in a small group.
Wang Wen observes the ground from the sky.
The observed are people, and the observers are also people.
There is not much difference between the two in essence.
The distance between heaven and earth is simply due to the different environments they are in.
The people on earth are unaware that a group of people in the sky are watching them.
Aren't the people in the heavens the same? They too don't know if there's a group of people even further away watching them.
The sun is setting.
Imperial City and Imperial Palace.
After finishing his meal, the emperor did not attend to state affairs but instead picked up a scroll to read and aid digestion.
A trusted aide approached, noticing the emperor was in a fairly good mood, and casually remarked, "Your Majesty, no one in the surrounding prefectures has seen His Highness the Second Prince. It's as if they vanished into thin air in the past day."
"Disappear?" The emperor thought for a while, nodded and smiled, "Those gangsters always like to use the crowing of chickens and dogs to hide their whereabouts and take pride in it. In fact, they are just pretending to be gods and ghosts to deceive children."
He paused.
He glanced up at his confidant, then changed his tone and said, "But it takes some skill to fool you. Summon him to the palace and give him a random position, so that people won't say I'm old and senile and don't recognize talent."
The confidant quickly bowed and said, "This humble subject has no informants; they are all Your Majesty's."
The emperor smiled noncommittally and continued flipping through the books.
Seeing the emperor's pleasant mood, the confidant breathed a sigh of relief and dared not continue the topic, subtly changing the subject. "Does Your Majesty really intend to put the Second Prince in charge of disaster relief?"
"What do you think?" This time, the emperor didn't even look up, his gaze remaining fixed on the book, as if he had stumbled upon an exciting passage.
The trusted confidant bowed his head. "Your humble servant is foolish and unaware."
The emperor remained silent.
I've been reading this book quietly for a long time.
Finally, he gently put the book down, got up, walked out of the desk, and stood by the incense burner.
Gazing at the wisps of smoke rising from the ground, he said meaningfully, "Since he's spoken, let him do it, lest people say I'm too biased towards the Crown Prince."
"Who dares to speak so boldly of the Emperor!" The confidant exclaimed indignantly, "Your Majesty, I will go and cut off that man's head right now!"
The emperor laughed heartily.
He shook his head and patted his confidant on the shoulder.
He picked up the ginseng soup on the table to moisten his throat and said, "My dear minister, you are very thoughtful. Let them say what they want; I don't care. In the future, they will surely prove that I am absolutely right! They will be able to see through the mediocre and recognize the true talent at a glance!"
"Absolutely, absolutely!" The confidant nodded repeatedly.
I hesitated for a moment.
He cautiously began, "As for His Highness the Second, he'll likely face many closed doors this time. Years of famine have brought complaints from various prefectures, and remote lords are more inclined to obey orders than summons. Asking them to open their granaries and distribute grain now... I'm worried His Highness might be in danger. Should we send someone to secretly protect him?"
"No need." The emperor waved his hand gently. "He has Commander Yun protecting him. Even if things fail, his safety won't be threatened. Let him be. He'll learn from his setbacks and eventually give up. He'll realize that things in this world aren't as easy as he thinks, and his attachment to power will lessen."
The confidant's eyes lit up, and he quickly bowed respectfully, saying, "Your Majesty is wise!"
The emperor laughed again.
The hall was filled with joy and peace.
The government office of a large city on the western riverbank.
"Your Highness, it's not that I'm disrespecting you, but years of disaster have resulted in a complete crop failure, yet we still have to keep paying taxes. How about you refund some of the taxes from the past two years from the national treasury? I'll immediately distribute grain to relieve the disaster."
"Insolence! Taxes in the hardest-hit areas have already been reduced or waived. Don't try to fool me!"
"The severely affected areas have received relief, but the less affected areas haven't. Not only have they not received relief, they're also being forced to share the burden of refugees fleeing from the severely affected areas. Where can I go to seek justice? Even the largest city can't support so many people feeding the horses, Your Highness!"
"..."
A government office located on the northern riverbank.
"I have neither grain nor life. Second Prince, you might as well offer my head to His Majesty, and that would be a fitting tribute to my loyal heart."
"You think I wouldn't dare!"
"That's wonderful! We've finally found someone daring! Second Prince, please proceed. Your humble servant will be eternally grateful!"
"..."
A government office on the eastern riverbank.
"Every general who passes through this place takes a portion of the grain; if this continues year after year, how will there be any leftover provisions?"
"Why are you giving them to them? They have their own! Our dynasty has never lacked money and provisions for its troops!"
"Then you'll have to ask them. In short, the answer I heard was that if the soldiers go hungry, who will protect the country and its people? If the enemy army from the east attacks, will the people in the government office take the place of the soldiers and fight in their place?"
"..."
A government office on the southern riverbank.
"Your Highness, it's late and the Lord has already gone to bed. The disaster is severe, and the Lord should set an example by cutting back on food and clothing. Resting early will save on rations. We'll discuss opening the granaries tomorrow."
"How dare you shirk and delay such a matter of national importance?"
"Your Highness, this momentous undertaking seems to have been underway for many years, and several officials have already resigned. We simply cannot continue..."
"..."
The people who had returned to the sky looked at the young man with strange expressions.
The young man couldn't stand being stared at.
Lei Ting roared, "I'm furious! A bunch of treacherous ministers who claim to be kings and ignore the imperial edict are infuriating me!"
Wang Wen smiled and said to him, "It's definitely not going to work for you to just come to their door and give them orders like that."
"Then what do you suggest we do?" The young man was so angry that he forgot to use honorifics.
If it were any other "expert," they might just throw him to the ground and smash him into a pulp if they were unhappy.
Fortunately, Wang Wen doesn't care about these things.
He calmly guided them, saying, "You need to think about why they're not cooperating, and why they should cooperate? What benefit would opening the granaries and distributing grain bring them?"
"You eat the king's food and do the king's duty, yet you still have to ask for benefits??" The young man's eyes widened.
"Of course we have to offer incentives!" Wang Wen pointed to the ground. "For them, the disaster is insurmountable. Opening the granaries now would only lead to their demise. They won't listen to you at all unless there are substantial benefits."
The young man angrily denounced, "Officials in charge of a region are all corrupt and self-serving sycophants who fail to serve their ruler or benefit the people! In my opinion, they should all be beheaded and replaced with capable people!"
Looking at this naive young man.
Wang Wen smiled.
I didn't explain much to him.
He simply told him, "I have a way to get them to cooperate willingly. It's still early; let's work through the night!"