Seeing that Liu Tan was now in a very peaceful state of mind, Sang Qian politely bowed to him and said, "Your Highness, I pay my respects to you."

Liu Tan looked at him carefully and found that in less than a year, Sang Qiangeng had become completely different from when he first came.

When Sang Qian was in Chang'an, he was a noble young man with rosy lips and white teeth. Now his skin has turned wheat-colored, and his previous dandy habits are gone. He looks much more down-to-earth, and his eyes are brighter than before.

Liu Tan looked at the county seat of Xi'an Yang County and had to say that this city was much better than the previous one in Shuofang.

He looked carefully and found that the streets were clean and tidy, and the pedestrians seemed to be in good condition. These people should recognize Sang Qian. They looked like they wanted to come up and say hello, but they didn't dare to do so when they saw Liu Tan walking in front of him.

It was also thanks to Liu Tan that he left the elite regiment outside and only brought a dozen people into the city, otherwise these people would have been scared away.

Liu Tan asked, "You've been here for quite a while, haven't you? What are your thoughts?"

Sang Qian said with emotion, "I used to think that because I came from a family of officials and grew up in Chang'an, my horizons were beyond the reach of ordinary people. But now that I've come here, I realize there are still many things I don't know."

Liu Tan smiled. "Don't you think the contrast is too great? Chang'an is so prosperous that it's easy to mistake all the cities and people in the world for the same. Even if you knew, you wouldn't be able to imagine that being a county governor will open up a much wider world for you."

There was no mandatory regulation in the Han Dynasty, but after the Han Dynasty, even in the middle of the Tang Dynasty, if one wanted to enter the central government, one had to serve in the local area, and some even had to start from the position of county magistrate.

Sang Qian was unconvinced at first, but now he felt it was not a bad thing and simply asked, "Why did Your Highness leave so hastily this time?"

Liu Tan asked, "Do you have a map? I don't need a detailed map, just the water system and irrigation network."

Sang Qian was stunned for a moment: "Irrigation network?"

Liu Tan raised an eyebrow. "I heard from the Prime Minister that there has been little rain this year, so I'm afraid the harvest will be poor."

Sang Qian's expression immediately turned worried. "So Xi'an Yang isn't the only one like this?"

Liu Tan asked, "How does it compare to last year?"

Sang Qian said, "It's a little less than last year."

Liu Tan frowned: "Why didn't you report it earlier?"

Sang Qian was stunned: "This... Your Highness, could it be that you want to pray for rain?"

Liu Tan: ???

Sang Qian immediately fell silent when he saw Liu Tan's unfriendly expression. It was strange that although he was not a bully in Chang'an, he had a bad temper and sometimes even disobeyed his father at home.

However, after arriving in the Northern Border Kingdom, he was very afraid of two people. The first was Prime Minister Huo Guang, and the second was His Royal Highness the King of the Northern Border.

In fact, if you think about it carefully, the King of the Northern Territory rarely loses his temper, and he doesn't understand why he is afraid. In the final analysis, it is probably because Liu Tan stabbed the former county governor so easily that time, which left a psychological trauma on him, and he was afraid that he would be stabbed too someday.

Liu Tan resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Of course we have to find a way to solve it. Guarding the Yellow River and still having a water shortage? Haven't you ever thought about how to divert water?"

Sang Qian smiled bitterly and said, "Of course I've thought about it, but... the Yellow River is too difficult. Even if we dig a canal to divert water, it won't last long. If it's used this year, there might not be water next year. What's even worse is that the Yellow River will change its course here, destroying the original farmland. Over time..."

Liu Tan nodded: "I understand."

It was similar to what Huo Guang said, the only difference was that the common people had actually thought of a solution, but Huang He had a bad temper and a high IQ, so every time someone came up with a solution, it would be destroyed by the other party.

After arriving at the county government, Sang Qian brought the map. This map had basically been re-surveyed using a new method. Although it was not as detailed, it was still readable.

Liu Tan looked at the oxbow lakes scattered throughout the territory and said, "The best thing to do is to utilize the water from these lakes. The second best thing to do is to utilize the Yellow River itself. There must be a reason for its frequent course changes. Only when we find the reason can we solve it."

Sang Qian stood aside and didn't dare to breathe. Liu Tan's words were too grand. He wanted to solve the problem of the Yellow River right away. Regarding such a matter, not only Sang Qian, but even the people downstream didn't dare to say anything.

Liu Tan put the map away, looked up at Sang Qian, and asked, "How's it going? Do you want to take a walk with me?"

Sang Qian was a little surprised: "Your Highness wants to take me on a tour?"

Liu Tan said, "The Yellow River isn't independent. Even if we need to control it, we all need to work together. Otherwise, why would I come out? If the problem is solved in Shuofang City upstream, what will we do if there's a flood here?"

Sang Qian agreed. Even if he didn't care about other counties, they were all members of the Northern Territory. If anyone only cared about themselves and angered the King of the Northern Territory... then they would have lived too long.

Sang Qian obediently handed over the matters to his subordinates and followed Liu Tan on the tour.

In fact, Liu Tan didn't go to many places. He just visited the counties located on the Yellow River. In addition to Xi'an Yang County, there were Wuyuan County, Yunzhong County, and Dingxiang County. Although the remaining Xihe County and Shang County were also on the Yellow River, the situation was not very serious. In fact, compared with these counties, the harvest was considered good.

Liu Tan simply decided not to go there, mainly because Xihe County and Shang County were very close to Chang'an. He was afraid that if he went too far, Chang'an would get the news. At that time, Liu Che would directly issue an edict asking him to return to Chang'an. Should he go or not?

For Liu Tan, it was the first time to go on a tour with four county governors, so it was quite new.

It’s a pity that except for Sang Qian, the other three county magistrates were exhausted every day. Not only did they have to serve Liu Tan carefully, but they also had to serve the iron-eating beast beside him.

Serving Liu Tan was because they were worried that he would draw his sword and kill them if he was unhappy. Serving the iron-eating beast... that had nothing to do with Liu Tan. They were worried that the iron-eating beast would be unhappy and kill them.

You should know that after the Dingxiang County Magistrate went on patrol, they were camped in the wild and saw the iron-eating beast run towards a wolf, and then slapped the wolf to death with three slaps.

They felt cold all over when seeing the iron-eating beast, and when the iron-eating beast came back, the three county governors except Sang Qian all gave off an aura of weakness, pity and helplessness.

Especially when he saw Liu Tan actually patting the iron-eating beast on the head to teach him a lesson, he almost couldn't breathe.

They finally understood why there were rumors that the King of the North was a god who had descended to the earth. If he was not a god who had descended to the earth, how could he have tamed such a ferocious beast!

Liu Tan didn't think Gun Gun shouldn't kill the wolf. These days wolves are not protected animals and are even becoming a disaster. He just didn't want Gun Gun to eat the wolf. What if the wild animal carries some disease?

If GunGun is obedient and doesn't eat, just let it go and play.

Sang Qian couldn't help but smile as he watched Liu Tan educating Gun Gun and said, "Your Highness, are you teaching the children?"

The remaining three county governors looked at him as if he were a warrior, but they did not feel it was abrupt. After all, Sang Qian's identity was there, and the King of the Northern Territory was not really a madman. As long as Sang Qian did not touch the bottom line of the King of the Northern Territory, his life would be in no danger.

Liu Tan couldn't help but complain: "This is harder than having children."

However, the son he complained about showed his filial piety the next day - when Liu Tan woke up, he heard Miao Rui say that there were a wild goose, a fox and a wolf neatly placed at the door of his tent.

Because it was dragged here, they didn't dare to move and could only wait for Liu to make a decision.

After Liu Tan stood up, he walked to the door of the tent. At first glance, he felt that Gungun probably had obsessive-compulsive disorder. He even arranged the tents according to their body sizes from small to large!

Liu Tan said sadly, "Let's take the wild geese first. As for the foxes and wolves, just keep their skins. You can do with their meat as you please."

He wouldn't eat it, but after all, he was his son's filial piety. He was afraid to throw it all away, so he turned around and squatted beside his bed, crying, and then he said goodbye to his life.

Because of this, when GunGun came over to act cute towards him, Liu Tan praised it against his will.

After praising him, he took Gun Gun to the central tent, called over several county governors and said, "Okay, we have walked along the Yellow River in the past few days. Tell us what you think."

When Liu Tan said this, the county governors immediately became serious. It must be said that after following the King of the Northern Territory on this trip, their views of him changed a lot. At least before this, they had never thought that a prince could endure so much hardship.

Even if his conditions are the best, wouldn't it be better for him to spend his time eating, drinking and having fun in the palace?

Why do you have to run out and sleep in the open?

But it was also because of this that they realized that Liu Tan was serious about water control.

Everyone was thinking seriously at this point. Sang Qian said, "The first thing we need to solve is the problem of diverting the Yellow River. If the Yellow River could flow smoothly along a single channel like the Yangtze River, we could safely divert water for irrigation, and even grow crops in areas that we previously wouldn't have dared to cultivate."

The governor of Wuyuan County said seriously, "Yes, yes, those places are very fertile."

Wuyuan County is closest to the Yellow River, and the only city that can be compared to it is Shuofang City. As a result, because a large area of ​​land along the Yellow River cannot be used, the governor of Wuyuan County has been distressed for a long time.

The Yunzhong County Magistrate smiled bitterly and said, "Everyone understands this principle, but the problem is that the Yellow River is changing its course. That's God's will. Who can control it?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he was poked by the Dingxiang County Magistrate with his elbow. When he turned his head in confusion, he saw the Dingxiang County Magistrate's eyes drifting towards Liu Tan. The Yunzhong County Magistrate immediately shut up obediently - he almost forgot that there was such a god.

As expected, he heard Liu Tan chuckle and say, "There's a saying that goes, 'Man conquers nature.' I hope you can remember that. Speaking of the Yangtze River, it seems to rarely change its course, and even when it does, it's not too drastic. So, we could compare the Yangtze River with the Yellow River. Perhaps that could solve the problem."

Everyone was stunned. Sang Qian looked at Liu Tan blankly and said, "But... the areas the Yangtze River flows through are completely different from those the Yellow River flows through. How... how can we compare them?"

The geographical features and climate are different, so how is it possible to copy the situation of the Yangtze River?

Liu Tan said directly, "It's not that we can't compare. First, let's talk about the river channel. Why doesn't the Yangtze River change its course so frequently? It's primarily due to a lack of natural waterways. A closer look reveals that the areas the Yellow River flows through are generally water-scarce, or have very little rainfall, and sparse vegetation. This is especially true in our desertified area, where silt and sand accumulate. Do you understand?"

During this process, Liu Tan has tried his best to use less professional terms to explain, but many of the words may have appeared for the first time in this era, so he could only explain and ask at the same time.

The Wuyuan County Magistrate said thoughtfully, "This... I think I've heard someone say this."

Liu Tan was startled: "Who is it? Where is this person?"

Anyone who can see through this matter clearly knows a lot about the Yellow River and may have even studied flood control!