Three hours later.
Yun Menglan lay in Fang Heng's arms, her face flushed and her expression languid. She did not even want to move a finger.
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince gave Shang Hongye a gift today."
"A military treatise?"
"Your Highness truly foresaw everything. It was indeed a military treatise."
"I heard it was a military treatise called the Thirty-Six Stratagems."
Hearing Yun Menglan's words, Fang Heng understood at once.
So the person in the City of Life and Death had belonged to the Eastern Palace.
"It was an Eastern Palace retainer named Liu Qi who presented the military treatise to the Crown Prince."
"I heard Liu Qi spent two strange treasures to buy that military treatise."
"The Crown Prince was rather generous. He gave Liu Qi two strange treasures as a reward."
Yun Menglan narrowed her eyes as she told Fang Heng the amusing events of the day.
"Two strange treasures?"
"Really?"
Fang Heng cried out, the words slipping from his mouth.
He had clearly only charged Liu Qi one strange treasure.
"Absolutely true."
"To win Shang Hongye's favor, the Crown Prince really spared no expense."
Fang Heng did not listen closely to what Yun Menglan said next.
Only one thought remained in his mind.
That thick-browed, big-eyed Liu Qi had actually deceived those above and below him, asking for an extra strange treasure.
Fang Heng grumbled inwardly, but after thinking it over carefully,
Liu Qi's actions actually suited Fang Heng's interests perfectly.
He had helped raise the price.
The next time Fang Heng sold military manuals, he could sell them for two strange treasures.
Don't ask. If anyone asked, the Eastern Palace had paid two strange treasures too.
That was the market price.
Six Secret Teachings and Three Strategies, Art of War by Sun Tzu, Taibai Yinjing, Jixiao Xinshu...
He also needed to find time to write out every military treatise in his mind.
The next day.
Xu Xingzhi came to his door bearing Cloud Drunk as a gift.
When Fang Heng learned that Xu Xingzhi had come to deliver a gift, his first reaction was—
This had to be fake!
Would someone like Xu Xingzhi actually give gifts?
Only... when he saw Xu Xingzhi carrying Cloud Drunk did Fang Heng finally believe that he truly had come bearing a gift.
"This subordinate pays respects to Your Highness."
"Hahaha, Lord Xu, you are too courteous."
Xu Xingzhi giving him a gift made Fang Heng feel thoroughly refreshed.
It was like eating a ginseng fruit, the exhilaration shooting straight to the crown of his head.
The effect of receiving gifts differed completely depending on who gave them.
When an office-obsessed man like Tian Sheng offered a gift, Fang Heng was not surprised in the slightest; he had long since grown accustomed to it.
Xu Xingzhi was different. In Yujing City, he was famed for his upright integrity and incorruptible sleeves.
For a figure as Ha Rui-like as this to give him a gift—
That feeling...
Was exquisitely sour and exhilarating!
"This subordinate was blind and failed to see the truth, misunderstanding Your Highness's painstaking intentions. I truly deserve ten thousand deaths."
"Today, I specially prepared this humble cup of wine to apologize to Your Highness."
"This subordinate shall punish himself with three cups!"
Xu Xingzhi raised his cup, poured himself three cups of fine wine in succession, and drained them all in one gulp.
"Lord Xu, ignorance is no crime."
"Your integrity earns my admiration."
"If every civil and military official in the court possessed integrity like yours, why would our Great Qian worry about not prospering?"
"Why would the common people under heaven worry about being unable to live and work in peace?"
Hearing that the Ninth Prince held his integrity in such high regard,
A warm current flowed through Xu Xingzhi's heart. After years of being mocked by his colleagues, he finally felt he had met a kindred spirit.
The tip of his nose stung faintly.
"This subordinate shall offer Your Highness a cup on behalf of the common people under heaven."
"With Your Highness here, the masses of the world have their clear blue sky."
Xu Xingzhi's string of flattery made Fang Heng feel quite pleased.
If anyone dared say again that Xu Xingzhi could not butter people up, Fang Heng would definitely slap them across the face.
"Not at all, not at all!"
"Sacred Emperor Rice has only just been cultivated, and its yield is limited."
"Only by distributing it properly can the common people truly see better days."
"From now on, the heavy burden of the Seed Selection Department will rest entirely on Lord Xu's shoulders."
Fang Heng's words left Xu Xingzhi's face filled with shock.
"Me? Then what about Lord Tian?"
Fang Heng gave Xu Xingzhi a profound look and said with a smile,
"Lord Xu, do not belittle yourself."
"The position of Seed Selection Department Director belongs to none but you."
"I have already recommended you to Father Emperor."
"As for Tian Sheng, he will accompany me to the Ministry of Agriculture."
Hearing Fang Heng's arrangements for himself and Tian Sheng, Xu Xingzhi was both excited and deeply moved.
By now, everyone in Yujing City knew that the Seed Selection Department was about to transform from a clean-water yamen into a yamen flowing with oil and fat.
Xu Xingzhi had never dared hope for the post of chief official over such a coveted department.
He had thought that Tian Sheng had worked himself to the bone, running before and after the Ninth Prince without complaint.
No matter what, the position of Seed Selection Department Director should have fallen to Tian Sheng.
Yet he had never expected His Highness to value him so highly as to recommend him before His Majesty.
"This subject thanks Your Highness for your recommendation."
"Lord Xu, if you wish to thank me, then hold the bowl level and ensure that all the common people under heaven have food to eat."
"This subordinate shall respectfully follow Your Highness's teachings."
Xu Xingzhi's expression was solemn, his face grave and earnest.
The Seed Selection Department was responsible for distributing Sacred Emperor Rice. Its chief had to be someone as upright and impartial as Xu Xingzhi.
If an office-obsessed man like Tian Sheng were allowed to oversee the distribution, he would certainly turn the Seed Selection Department into a smoky, filthy mess.
But Tian Sheng was not without his advantages.
His greatest strength was that he would never question Fang Heng's orders.
No matter how absurd an order might be, he would carry it out.
That was something Xu Xingzhi could absolutely never do.
As the saying went, the Yangtze's waters ran clear, the Yellow River's waters ran muddy; the Yangtze flowed, and so did the Yellow River.
Xu Xingzhi was like the clear Yangtze, while Tian Sheng was the muddy Yellow River.
Each had his own use. Only by placing them in the proper positions could their talents be brought fully into play.
After the wine had gone around three times,
Xu Xingzhi could not help asking Fang Heng,
"Your Highness, there is something this subordinate does not understand."
"It was clearly rice that could not bear grain. How could it cultivate rice as astonishing and world-shaking as Sacred Emperor Rice?"
Bolstered by the wine, Xu Xingzhi finally voiced the greatest confusion in his heart.
He had received the Agricultural School's legacy decades ago.
He had also immersed himself in seed selection and cultivation for decades.
To him, Fang Heng's methods simply defied all common sense.
And yet, they had cultivated Sacred Emperor Rice.
It had once made Xu Xingzhi wonder whether he had a pig's brain.
"This matter is difficult if one says it is difficult, and easy if one says it is easy."
"It was only because I received the legacy of a sage surnamed Meng that I was able to cultivate Sacred Emperor Rice."
A sage surnamed Meng?!
Xu Xingzhi's ears perked up.
"Sage Meng said that all things were formed from yin and yang."
"When they reproduced, yin and yang separated. Then the two qi of yin and yang combined freely, nourishing and giving birth to all things..."
Fang Heng explained Mendel's two laws to Xu Xingzhi.
Using yin and yang in place of dominant and recessive genes, this explanation brimming with Daoist School style quickly won Xu Xingzhi's acceptance.
After hearing it, Xu Xingzhi suddenly understood.
It was as though he had attained enlightenment, and heaven and earth had abruptly opened bright before him.
He only felt that the Agricultural School legacy he had cultivated for the past several decades was nothing but a pile of dog shit.
A true teaching needs but one sentence; a false teaching fills ten thousand scrolls.
Today, with the Ninth Prince's guidance, he had finally obtained the true teaching.
"Sage Meng truly is a great worthy of our Agricultural School!"
"This subordinate will never forget the favor of Your Highness's guidance today. I have no way to repay it."
Xu Xingzhi rose to his feet and bowed deeply to Fang Heng.
What a pity that His Highness was not descended from the Ten Great Dao Courts.
Otherwise, it truly would have been a blessing for all the common people under heaven!
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