The people must live well. Otherwise, wouldn't his legs be broken in vain?

[Of course not!!!]

Xu Lang still maintained his gentle and humble attitude when listening to the prince's words.

But his heart was beating like waves, hitting the wall of his heart.

[It's not that they can't live well! It's just that in this era, they can't live well no matter what.]

[And, the Workers' Guild shouldn't be like this. They should...should...they should be the most solid backing for the people!]

[This kind of thing——]

"Eat." The prince said suddenly. As if he couldn't stand his complaining look, he waved his hand and said, "Don't take what I said just now to heart, I just said it casually."

Xu Yanmiao nodded silently.

He ate this meal in silence, and it was obvious that he was uneasy.

After dinner, they went to pick mulberries as planned.

"Why is it at the edge of the field?" Xu Yanmiao was surprised.

[I thought it would be a whole mulberry forest or something.]

The prince smiled and said, "People who grow crops, how can they be willing to use good fields to grow mulberries? They don't even want to plant soybeans and sorghum, they only plant them at the edge of the field."

Xu Yanmiao's poor farming knowledge told him, "Don't they need to rotate crops?"

When the mulberries are ripe, the whole place is dark and full of people picking mulberries. A farmer nearby laughed and interrupted: "Rotation! Why not rotation? Wheat in the first half of the year, rice in the second half, rotate."

Xu Yanmiao: "Ah? Don't you plant soybeans to fertilize the land?"

The farmer laughed and said, "It's a pity to plant soybeans on such a good land."

The accompanying agricultural officer whispered to Xu Yanmiao: "Rice and wheat rotation can complement each other and improve soil fertility. But usually the fertility of the land is not enough at the beginning, and rotation is not possible."

Xu Yanmiao suddenly realized.

[Fortunately, I am not a local official, otherwise if I were to talk about military affairs on paper and force people to follow the wheat-soybean or rice-soybean rotation, wouldn't that be a disaster? Another farmer came up to him

, smiling broadly, "And there are sweet potatoes and potatoes - the seeds distributed by the court this time are really good seeds! Plant one in the ravines and you'll have food! Normally, the land in the ravines can't be used to grow crops, so we can only leave it there. Now we're lucky to have potatoes and sweet potatoes. Young man, you don't know, In previous years, the mulberries beside the fields were carefully guarded by each family, and outsiders were not allowed to pick them randomly. But now, when people are full, outsiders passing by pick some mulberries to eat, and the owner doesn’t care.

The farmer teased him, “Old Zhang, you are now saying that potatoes and sweet potatoes are good, but the year before last you refused to plant them, thinking that the court was trying to increase the number of fields in your hands. If you planted three acres of sweet potatoes, it would be recorded as one acre of good land in the field book, and you have a lot of harvest land. "Is it my fault?"

The old farmer Zhang smiled embarrassedly: "I blame myself, I thought too badly of the court!"

He turned around and picked a bag of mulberries: "Young man! Come! Eat as much as you want!"

Xu Yanmiao: "This..."

The old farmer Zhang laughed: "This is my family's land, I planted the mulberries myself, and seeing that you are so white and cute, I want to give you more mulberries to eat."

Xu Yanmiao thanked the old farmer Zhang, and seeing that he was laughing happily, he also smiled.

That night.

Xu Yanmiao didn't know if he did the right thing. He copied down all the knowledge about dragon slaying in his memory, put it in a box, and buried it in a piece of land outside the city.

——Usually the city gates are indeed not open, but Xu Yanmiao was, after all, a minister of the emperor, and a favorite of the emperor.

He used his power, which was rare.

[This is not needed in a peaceful and prosperous era, but when the world is in chaos and the people are so hungry that they have to eat dirt to survive, perhaps it is time for it to see the light of day again.]

——The people may not be able to read, but perhaps they will dig it out and give it to someone who can read.

Or maybe not.

Maybe after digging it out, someone who sees it will burn it directly. Maybe it is also possible that the other party has learned the art of slaying dragons and overthrown the corrupt dynasty.

Maybe...even...it will not even be dug out, and will be buried day after day and year after year, and it will be buried in the vicissitudes of life.

But, it is still a hope after all.

Xu Yanmiao remembered this place and slowly returned to the city. It was late at night, and most places in the city were quiet. Only in those bright buildings, the sound of drums and flutes was deafening, and the laughter of men and women, the fragrance of rouge and powder, and the strong aroma of wine all crowded out.

Even though Ji Sui often cracked down on brothels, even though the emperor's favorites made it clear that they didn't like brothels, and even though the trend in the capital was to ban brothels, other places would still exist openly, all night long, and full of laughter.

This is the current situation of the times, which cannot be changed by individuals. Only the torrent of the times can wash it down.

Xu Yanmiao became more and more silent.

Not long after he left, the Jinyiwei flashed out, raised their hands to dig, and dug out the box.

A hand suddenly stretched out from the side: "Give it to me."

Jinyiwei was stunned for a moment, and immediately handed the box to the prince. The prince patted the dirt on the box, lifted it up, and looked at the lock in the moonlight: "It's so beautiful, so solid."

The solid box was soft and colorful in the moonlight.

Jinyiwei asked: "Your Highness, do you want a fire starter?"

The prince walked casually in the moonlight holding the box, seemingly absent-minded: "Well, give me one."

Jinyiwei lowered his head to turn over the fire starter, and when he looked up again, he saw the prince holding the box, standing by the Yangzi River, staring at the turbulent waves of the Yangzi River.

Jinyiwei's voice was horrified: "Your Highness!!!"

The prince tilted his head and smiled at him. As soon as his hands loosened, the waterproof box fell into the river, and as the waves rolled, it disappeared.

"No!!!"

Jinyiwei rushed over and jumped down without hesitation.

Jinyiwei is a military position that can be inherited from generation to generation! His sons, his grandsons, and generations can all be Jinyiwei, and can all climb up. But if the dynasty is gone, all of this will be gone!

The waves of Yangzi River are very big, and every time it feels like it is about to catch up with the box, the mud and sand carried by the waves will make it lose its trace. The river water is drunk mouthful by mouthful, and the river rocks are hit one by one. The roaring waves of Yangzi River take away the hope of inheriting the military position and becoming an official for generations.

The Jinyiwei swam to the shore in a panic, water dripping from the corners of their clothes, and their fingers were pale and bluish.

Even if it was Xu Yanmiao, looking at the artifact at this time, he could only see that [the box is in the Yangzi River]. The Yangzi River is very large and long, the waves are fierce, and the river channel is very rugged. No matter how much manpower and material resources are invested, a box cannot be found, and one can only wait for it to accidentally come ashore.

The prince patted his lame leg as if he was patting a drum.

His father hated officials deeply. That was the most fundamental and essential thing rooted in his father's heart. All motives originated from this.

What is his root?

The prince looked at the river dimly, and his memory floated back slowly.

When he was fifteen, he underestimated the enemy and advanced recklessly, causing his father's three generals to die and two to be injured in order to save him, which indirectly led to the failure of the battle.

His father beat him to a cripple and secretly applied medicine to him in the middle of the night.

"Xian'er, don't blame your father for being cruel. Your father must give an explanation to the soldiers under him."

The families of the three generals and the soldiers under their command need an explanation.

The soldiers who charged into the battle and suffered countless deaths and injuries need an explanation.

And the soldiers whose families are in Changzhou and are eager to win so that they can rescue their families need an explanation.

"And the people in Changzhou."

"And the people in the city who surrendered to us after we were forced to retreat."

"They will live worse than before."

"And the people who are under the rule of the enemy and provide them with entertainment..."

When fighting for the world, a failed battle represents not only a loss, but also many, many things.

"Xian'er, the military must be stable, the people must be cared about, and the people under the rule of the enemy also need to see hope and a benchmark. Your father also wants to unify the world, so that the country will not continue to be in turmoil, and many people will not be like us before, relying on begging and selling skills to barely survive."

The words make sense, and his father is not without love for him, and he was the one who made the mistake first.

But...

he is only fifteen years old, and his leg is broken, so he will be unable to walk for the rest of his life. He was not born to be particularly sensible or carefree.

He knew he was wrong, but he couldn't help feeling wronged, resentful, or obsessed.

But others died to save him, and more people died on the battlefield because of him, which caused the situation to be unbalanced. He was not qualified to grieve for his leg.

With time and self-blame, he slowly made himself stop caring about his leg.

But his father's words still lingered in his mind, day after day, turning into an obsession -

the people must live well.