General Liu was touched on a sore spot by 77. He was indeed bothered by the fact that 77 was a girl. He liked Tang 77, but Lan Yu's parents entrusted him with their orphan before they died, and he was responsible for Lan Yu and Lanling City.

Seeing that Tang 77 had made a pledge and seemed determined to succeed, and since Lan Yu trusted Tang 77 completely, he had no choice but to back down. Although he was unhappy, he couldn't bear to see Tang 77 being bullied by those officials, so he personally selected dozens of reliable and skilled subordinates for Tang 77 to command. Only then did Tang 77 become the de facto regent.

Old Liu was right. All the officials in the court felt that Lan Yu had been blinded by victory, which was why he acted so irrationally.

Minister of Rites Cui Jian repeatedly petitioned Lan Yu to retract his order, but his petitions were firmly rejected each time.

Cui Jian tearfully accused: "I once wholeheartedly assisted the old city lord, and now I wholeheartedly assist the young city lord. I will never stand by and watch you act recklessly. If the young city lord continues to go his own way, then I will have no choice but to resign and go home!"

Old Cui spoke sincerely; now it's time for him to resort to threatening suicide.

Lan Yu rubbed his temples helplessly and said expressionlessly, "Since Lord Cui is unwell, does he intend to retire to his hometown or return to his residence to recuperate?"

Cui Jian was speechless with astonishment, and hurriedly said, "Although I am not talented, I will risk my life to share the burden for the city lord."

Lan Yu's eyes were filled with frost as he calmly said, "In that case, Lord Cui should return to his residence to recuperate. Don't go out unless necessary!"

Only then did Cui Jian realize that the city lord was determined to use the Seventh Prince, and that if he insisted on going his own way, he would be banished back to his hometown.

He looked up to the sky and sighed. When the Qin traitors broke into the city, they used threats, inducements, and torture, but he had maintained his integrity. He never expected that the young city lord would grow up and learn to betray those who helped him.

Seeing Lan Yu's aggressive gaze, Cui Jian finally faced reality, knelt down and said, "This old man is incompetent, I will go home to recuperate!"

From then on, the Minister of Rites claimed illness and declined all visitors. Only then did those officials restrain themselves somewhat. However, although there was less verbal and written criticism, there were still many who disobeyed orders.

Furthermore, because Tang 77 was born pretty and petite, rumors of a bewitching and charming man named Meijun spread, and before Tang 77 had done anything, his reputation was already shattered.

Tang 77, who majored in agriculture, understood best that food is the most important thing for people, so she naturally started with agriculture. She went to the Ministry of Revenue to learn about the general situation of arable land in Lanling from the Grand Minister of Agriculture under the Ministry of Revenue.

The Grand Minister of Agriculture was not a good-for-nothing; he was quite knowledgeable and had a good understanding of the terrain of Lanling. However, capable people are often short-tempered, and he especially despised Tang 77, this androgynous little girl.

He spoke eloquently about agricultural knowledge, and even posed a thought-provoking question: "Does the Regent think that agriculture is so easy to manage?"

Unexpectedly, Tang 77 answered fluently, corrected several mistakes made by the Grand Minister of Agriculture, and even boasted that he would triple the grain yield of Lanling this autumn.

In fact, following Huaiyuan's precedent, it wouldn't be a problem to submit 50 or 60 copies, but Tang 77 was afraid that the painting was too grandiose and would exceed the Grand Minister of Agriculture's mental capacity. He thought she was just talking big and would become even less cooperative, so he only submitted half of the painting.

However, it still startled the Grand Minister of Agriculture. He looked at Tang 771 with disdain and said, "You, the Regent, have never lifted a finger and probably don't even know how a grain of rice grows, yet you dare to make such a boast. You are truly a newborn calf that is not afraid of a tiger!"

Tang 77 was not at all weak in his aura. He stared at the Grand Minister of Agriculture and said, "Whether I have exaggerated or not, you will know once we try. Why don't you wait and see, Grand Minister of Agriculture!"

To everyone's surprise, the Grand Minister of Agriculture, upon hearing this, immediately adopted a pained and indignant expression and said, "Food is the most important thing for the people. Farmers rely on the harvest of the year to make a living. Yet the Regent casually said, 'Let's try it and see.' If there is no harvest, those people will starve to death! I don't know what kind of bewitching potion you gave the City Lord to make such an absurd decision."

Li Liang, unable to contain his anger, stepped forward with a cold expression to speak up for Tang 77: "Grand Minister of Agriculture, do you know the difference between superiors and inferiors? How can you be so disrespectful to the Regent!"

The Grand Minister of Agriculture angrily flicked his sleeve and said, "I only deal with farmers working in the fields all day long. I am a crude and uncouth person myself. I don't know anything about hierarchy. I only know that farming is the only way for farmers to make a living. You can't treat it like children playing house!"

"You..." Li Liang was about to make a move, but Tang 77 stopped him. Tang 77 had already grown fond of this ill-tempered Minister of Agriculture, at least he genuinely cared about the people.

Tang 77 said with a smile, "Grand Minister of Agriculture, I have acquired a batch of excellent seeds. Would you like to take a look?"

The Grand Minister of Agriculture scoffed, "Everyone knows that the wheat seeds I cultivate are the best in Lanling, and even in the entire seven cities of the Great Yan. Compare seeds to mine!"

Li Liang sneered, "That's because the Big Four Dragons have never seen the seeds from Huaiyuan Tangji!"

After saying that, she handed him a handful of wheat and a handful of millet.