Xuanyuan Zhan smiled sheepishly: "It's just a game of chess, I don't deserve such praise."
Looking at Xuan Yuanzhan's casual demeanor, Helian Rong suddenly thought of Su Yun'an.
This child's humility must be learned from him. It is said that one is influenced by one's company, and it must be said that they have raised An'er very well!
After finishing their game of chess, the two went to the side to drink tea.
"Your northern lands in Eastern Chu are suffering from a drought. Have you thought of a way to divert water from the south to the north?" Helian Rong asked casually.
Xuanyuan Zhan raised an eyebrow: "It was Xiangnan in Dongchu that suffered from floods first, so I came up with the idea of diverting water from the south to the north. Just over ten years later, when the north suffered from drought, my method of diverting water from the south to the north came into use."
Helian Rong asked with curiosity, "I heard you were only seven years old at the time. How did you come up with such a good idea?"
What can a seven-year-old child understand?
Xuanyuan Zhan explained with a wry smile, "I was indeed seven years old when I arrived at my fiefdom, but the South-to-North Water Diversion Project was officially implemented three years later, when I was ten years old."
"That's still quite remarkable." For Helian Rong, there wasn't much difference between seven and ten years old.
"After I arrived in my fiefdom at the age of seven, Xiangnan was constantly plagued by floods. I followed the local water management official everywhere to manage the floods. However, the floods in Xiangnan were the root of the problem. Xiangnan was originally a water town, with ditches and rivers everywhere. It was also very rainy there. In addition to the floods, every rainstorm could easily cause landslides, mudslides, and other disasters. What was originally a good place was ruined by these waters, making life miserable for the people. So I thought that if there were no water, the environment of Xiangnan would be very suitable for growing crops, and the people would definitely live a good life. However, the ditches and rivers in Xiangnan were all naturally formed, and rainwater was not something that ordinary people like us could control. After much thought, I came up with the idea of diverting water from the south to the north."
Thinking of the difficulties Xiangnan faced back then, Xuan Yuanzhan's face was full of pity: "Back then, when I decided to divert water from the south to the north, I actually did some research. The eastern border of Eastern Chu is by the sea and does not lack water. Although the terrain in the west is strange, it is not short of water either. Only the north is not only hot, but also has few ditches and rivers, little vegetation, and is extremely short of water. So I thought that since there is plenty of water in the south and a shortage of water in the north, it would be better to divert water from the south to the north. This way, it might solve the disaster in both places at the same time."
After listening to his analysis, Helian Rong looked at him with new respect once again.
He, a ten-year-old child, accomplished what perhaps even an emperor could not do.
Even though he was only seven years old when he first arrived in his fiefdom, he went everywhere to manage floods and was able to combine the local conditions to give the most correct solutions, which is something that ordinary people cannot do.
Most people, let alone being able to serve the country and its people as he is, even if they wanted to, wouldn't have the brains to come up with such a brilliant plan. It has to be said that this guy truly has great talent for governing the country.
No wonder he, an illegitimate child, was favored by the Emperor of Eastern Chu and single-handedly placed on the throne.
If it were his own son or grandson, he would definitely help him rise to power.
"I heard that your emperor sent you to the north to provide disaster relief and suppress bandits. You subdued 40,000 bandits in just one day. What method did you use?" Helian Rong is now very interested in Xuanyuan Zhan.
Xuanyuan Zhan chuckled helplessly: "It's not that exaggerated. Actually, when I first arrived in the North, I ran into a bunch of bandits. I killed the third leader of Silver Tiger Stronghold. When the leader of Silver Tiger Stronghold came over, he saw how skilled I was in martial arts and wanted to recruit me into Silver Tiger Stronghold. He said there was a big deal, and if I was willing to join, I would never have to worry about food and drink for the rest of my life."
Recalling the scene, Xuan Yuanzhan laughed again: "Suppressing bandits was also one of my missions in the North. I had just arrived in the North and there was such a big deal, so naturally I had to join in. After three days in Silver Tiger Stronghold, I discovered that the four strongholds had joined forces to rob government silver, and that there were government officials behind them. So I made do and wiped them all out on the day they robbed the government silver, and even exposed the corrupt officials!"
Upon hearing this, Helian Rong looked at Xuan Yuanzhan in amazement once again: "You're really amazing, kid! You can settle things with your words and bring peace to the world with your martial skills!"
Xuanyuan Zhan smiled sheepishly: "It's not as exaggerated as you say. Those bandits were actually forced by circumstances and didn't really want to fight me to the death. That's why I was able to successfully recruit them. Later, in the battle against the Northern Rong, they took advantage of their familiarity with the northern terrain and wiped out the Northern Rong's 100,000-strong army in the canyon, while we suffered almost no casualties."
Helian Rong nodded approvingly, his eyes full of satisfaction: "That is also because of your benevolence that you have such good fortune. You are truly as they say, wise, intelligent, benevolent, and talented in both literature and martial arts. No wonder the Emperor of Eastern Chu insisted on passing the throne to you."
Xuanyuan Zhan blushed as Helian Rong praised him: "Please don't praise me like that. I wasn't his choice at first, otherwise he wouldn't have sent me to the fiefdom of Xiangnan. But it's true that he has always doted on me. In the end, he had no choice, just like you are now."
Helian Rong understood and nodded silently. He then looked at Xuan Yuanzhan and said, "Yun An is very smart, but he is indeed too young. I don't have much time left. Even if Ning'er is willing to take care of me, I can only live for three more years at most. I hope that if there are any unusual events in Northern Wei in the future, you and Ci'er's wife can help Yun An."
Xuanyuan Zhan agreed without hesitation: "You don't need to explain that. Yun'an is my mother-in-law's biological son, and she certainly wouldn't let him be in danger. As for me, you don't need to worry about me either. I've watched Yun'an grow up, and besides, there's Ning'er and Xiaobao. I can promise you that I will never bully Yun'an, and I will be the first to help if needed."
Helian Rong had been waiting for these words, and he nodded repeatedly, deeply moved: "Good, good, you are all good children!"
In fact, he was not only worried about the civil war in Northern Wei, but also worried that Southern Qi, and even Eastern Chu and Western Liang would take advantage of Yun'an's young age to make a move against Northern Wei.
His question today was not merely to praise Xuan Yuanzhan.
Of course, knowing how powerful Xuan Yuanzhan was, he became even more worried. If this was not a helper but an opponent, then Yun An would definitely not be able to deal with him.
That's why he just made that probing attempt.
He could tell that the boy was sincere, and he was willing to believe that the feelings between them were more important than power, the throne, or unifying the world!
At this moment, Xuan Yuanzhan understood the meaning behind Helian Rong's words today. However, he was really overthinking it. He had never thought about these things at all, and he would never do anything to harm Yun An, let alone his mother-in-law!
Helian Rong looked at the father and son who were still practicing with their swords and laughed, "Haven't you had enough yet? Don't tire yourself out. Come and have some tea."
"Oh." Su Yun'an responded, then sheathed the Azure Dragon Blade and turned to walk with Su Renzhong toward Helian Rong and Xuan Yuanzhan.
Suddenly, Xuan Yuanzhan saw countless black figures flashing through the air and rushing towards Su Yun'an and Su Renzhong. He was so frightened that he stood up and shouted, "Be careful!"
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