Rally to the emperor's defense

"The koi fish died?"

Emperor Kaide dismissed his attendants, and upon hearing his daughter's words, his eyes widened in surprise.

At that moment, both hands gripped the silk ribbon beside them tightly.

Jin'an nodded gently, a hint of sadness still lingering on his face.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Kaide felt a sense of foreboding. The sudden death of the koi fish meant that something serious was about to happen.

What did the koi fish say at the end?

She told me to flee.

Jin'an spoke softly.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Kaide's expression changed drastically.

If a koi fish could help Princess Jin'an escape from danger, one can imagine what would happen next.

"So, these guys couldn't hold back any longer and were about to make their move?"

Emperor Kaide took a deep breath, and then his face darkened.

"I'll find a way to send you away from Yanhuai City."

Emperor Kaide thought about it and still wanted to save his daughter's life.

"I am the princess of the Jiang Kingdom!"

Upon hearing this, Princess Jin'an replied with a stubborn expression.

Emperor Kaide was taken aback when he saw this. Looking at his daughter, he couldn't help but smile bitterly. If the Jiang Kingdom were not in its current state, his daughter would surely be a heroine who was no less capable than any man.

Unfortunately...

"It's a pity that the governor of Jiangling Commandery, with such talent, ultimately didn't get the chance to inherit the throne."

Given this situation, sending the enemy to Yanhuai City would only be sending them to their deaths.

That's enough, that's enough...

Emperor Kaide shook his head and sighed repeatedly, then his expression turned solemn.

He knew, of course, that the thieves had prepared a foolproof plan, but he would never surrender so easily.

"Go back in peace. I will take care of the rest."

Emperor Kaide picked up the brocade box beside him; there wasn't much of the remaining spirit medicine inside.

This time, he broke the spirit medicine in half and ate it in one bite.

After consuming the spirit medicine, Emperor Kaide instantly felt that his body had returned to its youthful state.

Upon seeing this, Princess Jin'an immediately withdrew.

Back in her palace, Princess Jin'an picked up the book "The Three Kingdoms" that Fang Weiyan had given her, carefully wrapped it up, and then called Qiao'er over.

"Take this to Pingjiang City and return it to Prefect Fang. Then leave it there and don't come back."

"Princess!"

Upon hearing this, the personal maid's expression changed drastically.

Having grown up by the princess's side, she was incredibly clever and quick-witted; how could she not understand the meaning behind those words?

"This is my order!"

Princess Jin'an looked at Qiao'er and immediately said in a cold voice.

Upon seeing the princess before her, Qiao'er silently lowered her head, nodded gently, put her things away, and then turned to leave.

A moment later, Princess Jin'an heard the news in the palace that Qiao'er had been searched by a palace maid before being allowed to leave.

However, the old woman was soon found dead in a dry well.

Upon hearing this news, Princess Jin'an merely twitched her brow slightly, a cold smile playing on her lips. She then retrieved a box from a hidden compartment in the main Great Liang.

"Sir, these are the accounts for the grain transported from Linbei County. Please take a look."

In Pingjiang City, a minor official brought an account book to Fang Weiyan and presented it to Fang Weiyan for review.

Fang Weiyan picked up the account book and looked at it. The magistrate of Linbei County had brought over the freshly harvested grain. Was this a sign of his loyalty?

This shipment includes 100 mu of corn, totaling 730,000 jin of corn, 500,000 jin of vegetables, and 2,830,000 jin of potatoes.

"Two hundred and eighty-three catties of potatoes?"

Fang Weiyan's eyes were fixed on the booklet, and he was stunned when he saw the potato yield. What was going on?

Is there a potato overproduction?

Fang Weiyan scrolled down and then saw the details written by Uncle Fu.

He roughly estimated the potato yield per mu (a Chinese unit of area, approximately 0.165 acres), which is as much as 16,000 jin (a Chinese unit of weight, approximately 8,000 kg).

In Linbei County, a total of 500 mu of land was planted with potatoes, yielding a total of 8 million jin.

There was actually quite a bit of grain left over after this shipment, but due to limited manpower, it was really difficult to transport it.

Besides that, the other party also made a record with Fang Weiyan about the production of vegetables and other similar items.

Cabbage and similar crops also yield extremely high harvests, reaching 9,000 jin per mu.

The reason for such a high yield is that each cabbage grows so tall and large that when you look inside the leaves, it looks like they are full of juice.

Occasionally, some cabbages grow so big that even small babies can't be held in one arm.

"Sir, the seeds were sown in Linbei County several months ago, and they should have been harvested long ago. Why is it that only the second batch of grain has arrived now?"

Seeing this, Cheng Feng frowned and said...

He wondered if something had gone wrong in Linbei County.

"The letter mentioned that they were busy harvesting grain, which caused a lot of delay. That's understandable; with such a high yield from this acre, harvesting vegetables would take a considerable amount of time."

Fang Weiyan replied upon hearing this.

If the harvest is entirely done manually, this is indeed quite labor-intensive.

In addition, Linbei County has likely received a lot of refugees these days, so it's normal for it to be busy there.

Hearing what the adults said, Cheng Feng said no more.

Fang Weiyan was still looking down at the letter in front of him, nodding repeatedly as he read its contents.

The enormous harvest from these acres of land filled Fang Weiyan with immense joy.

Having plenty of grain is great! There's a saying that goes, "Store up grain and delay declaring yourself king."

With a stable food supply, the lives of ordinary people improved dramatically.

Just as Fang Weiyan was looking at the accounts in front of him, a yamen runner rushed in from outside, "Sir, that young lady from last time is here again."

"That girl from last time?"

Fang Weiyan was taken aback. That girl?

After thinking for a moment, Fang Weiyan asked, "The one from Yanhuai City?"

"Yes."

Please come in.

Fang Weiyan waved his hand. Wasn't that Qiao'er from Yanhuai City? Was she here on behalf of the princess to express her gratitude? Fang Weiyan thought to himself.

Last time, we gave them 80,000 taels of silver, which was actually a lot; it was enough for them to do many things.

A moment later, Miss Qiao'er walked in directly. After seeing Fang Weiyan, she gave him a graceful bow and then presented the item in her hand.

"My lord, this is an item that Princess Jin'an returned to you."

Fang Weiyan was somewhat puzzled. They were returning his things?

As soon as Fang Weiyan reached out and took the item from the other person's hand, Qiao'er immediately pulled out a dagger from her waist.

Fang Weiyan only saw a flash of cold light, and Cheng Feng, who was standing to the side, was shocked and rushed to Fang Weiyan's side.

But the next moment, Qiao'er's wrist twitched, and the dagger slashed towards her own neck.

Qiao'er moved extremely fast, yet the dagger still stopped just inches from her skin.

A beam of light condensed slightly at that moment, indicating that Fude had arrived.

Having learned how the previous City God was demoted, Fude is now keeping a close eye on the situation on the Lord's side.

Seeing that something was wrong, he rushed over and stopped Qiao'er from committing suicide.

What are you doing?

Fang Weiyan glanced at Fude, gave him an approving look, and then looked at Qiao'er with a frown and asked.

"This servant simply left before the princess."

Qiao'er's face was defiant at this moment, "You don't need to stop me. Even if I don't die now, I will die with the princess later."

"What are you talking about? What happened to Princess Jin'an?"

Fang Weiyan was completely confused, and a bad feeling crept into his heart. What? Those guys killed Princess Jin'an?

Seeing that she couldn't commit suicide anytime soon, Qiao'er thought for a moment and told Fang Weiyan what she knew.

"His Majesty actually finds you very attractive, and Her Highness the Princess also feels you are someone she can entrust her life to. However, some fellows are impatient and are preparing to make their move. I was searched when I came out..."

Qiao'er explained the whole story to Fang Weiyan in detail. As Princess Jin'an's personal maid, she knew quite a lot.

This time, she was searched before leaving the house, and after seeing the princess bury the koi fish, she knew that the princess was indeed in grave danger.

The princess allowed her to come here to save her life, but she did not want to live a life of dishonor and was willing to commit suicide to follow the princess in death.

"What?"

Fang Weiyan was completely stunned. He never expected that Emperor Kaide would actually intend for him to inherit the throne.

Could Qiao'er be lying to him?

Thinking of this, Fang Weiyan subconsciously glanced at the plaque above his head, but there was no movement on the plaque.

It seems the other party is telling the truth.

How do you know about this?

Fang Weiyan's mind was in a mess as he listened; he couldn't understand when he had caught the eye of the Emperor Kaide.

"As Her Highness the Princess's personal maid, I naturally know a lot."

Qiao'er replied matter-of-factly upon hearing this.

Although it was classified, she still found out.

Fang Weiyan's mind went blank for a moment. If this were true, wouldn't it mean someone was trying to seize his throne?

Five days have passed since they arrived here.

Princess Jin'an's koi fish is dead, so if someone were to target her now, it would be impossible to defend against.

Have you heard any news from Yanhuai City?

Fang Weiyan asked the crowd around him.

"My lord, I have not heard of any rebellion."

"There's been no news from Xiao Shen's side either."

The people standing nearby spoke one by one.

Upon hearing this, Fang Weiyan felt slightly relieved. If that was the case, then those guys probably hadn't started making a move yet.

The question is, should we make a move this time?

Fang Weiyan's expression was dark and uncertain. If what the other party said was true, Emperor Kaide was already nearing the end of his life, which seemed to be highly likely to be true.

"Let's do it! If I don't inherit the throne, at least I'll have repaid the favor you did me before."

After only a moment's hesitation, Fang Weiyan made up his mind.

After all, this was a great temptation for him. If he could successfully defeat those rebels, he could rightfully inherit the throne of the Jiang Kingdom.

This saves him a lot of effort.

In addition, the rat demons sent by Yanhuai City to kill him should also show up, which will be a good opportunity to get revenge.

"Go and invite the Dragon King here. Tell him you have something to discuss."

Fang Weiyan gritted his teeth and decided to do it.

"You have connections with the Dragon King?"

Qiao'er was stunned when she saw this scene. She naturally knew the Dragon King. He was a guy who had cultivated for thousands of years and whose cultivation was unfathomable.

Fang Weiyan have a relationship with the other party?

"After all, I saved their child's life, so it's reasonable to ask them for a helping hand."

Upon hearing this, Fang Weiyan replied, "You must be tired from your journey here. Go and rest for a while. If the Emperor is in trouble, I will certainly come to his aid."

Upon hearing this, Qiao'er immediately nodded and withdrew.

Fang Weiyan opened the gift the other party had sent back, and inside was the Three Kingdoms he had given to the princess.

The book was carefully wrapped in silk, showing that it was cherished very much.

"What business do you have with me?"

A moment later, the Dragon King arrived riding the wind.

Upon seeing the Dragon King arrive, Fang Weiyan immediately invited him to sit down and then explained the matter to him.

You want me to help protect the emperor?

Upon hearing this, the Dragon King's expression immediately changed.

This is practically asking him to kill people. He's killed too many people; that would create a lot of karmic debt. He's never done anything like that before.

"Um."

Fang Weiyan nodded vigorously.

"This matter involves too much karma, and it will harm my cultivation..."

Upon hearing this, the Dragon King was also somewhat troubled.

Eating people is a great source of nourishment, but that's only true for ordinary minor demons. He's already at the Spirit Platform Realm, so why would he need to rely on this to increase his cultivation?

Doing such things would actually harm one's cultivation.

"However, the merit of saving a country is also included. At most, the merits and demerits will cancel each other out. In addition, you will be asked to be more wary of demons, not to kill people."

Seeing this, Fang Weiyan quickly said something, fearing that the other party would not agree.

"Father!"

Wu Ruichu nearby, also rushed over. Seeing his father's hesitant expression, he couldn't bear it any longer and cried out, "My benefactor saved my life!"

Upon hearing this, the Dragon King looked at his child and chuckled, "Well, he's calling his benefactor so affectionately."

With a sigh, the Dragon King nodded. "Very well, I do owe you a favor after all. I'll accept this."

Fang Weiyan felt relieved when he saw that the other party had agreed.

He was worried the other party wouldn't agree, but now that they have, that's good.

"Then we will trouble the Dragon King to send some shrimp soldiers and crab generals to keep an eye on Yanhuai City. If there is any unusual activity there, we will immediately raise an army to defend the king."

Fang Weiyan cupped his hands and said.

The Dragon King agreed and then turned and left.

"Have Lin Liyun get ready. I'll prepare some things for his soldiers to practice with in the next few days."

Fang Weiyan hesitated for a moment, then said something.

He just asked, and Lin Liyun's side has now recruited 10,000 yamen runners.

Sending 10,000 men to protect the emperor is a bit risky; we'll need to get some other equipment.

Judging from the situation, time seems a bit tight right now. Let's go back and see what equipment we can get.