Chapter 2723 Sanjiang Dam Earth Immortal Meeting
After a while, dinner was served. It was indeed some warm and nourishing food. Nan Yan first served him a bowl of soup.
Then he asked softly, "Your Majesty, is everything alright?"
Zhu Feng was silent for a moment, then said, "Let's eat first, and then we'll talk after dinner."
“…”
Nan Yan glanced at him and stopped talking.
Having been with Zhu Feng for so many years, she knew very well that it was definitely not "no big deal" because it was their habit to talk about small things while eating. But if it was really a big deal, Zhu Feng would not say it at the dinner table.
Firstly, there will be nothing to discuss, and secondly, it will affect your mood for eating.
So, Nan Yan accompanied him to finish the meal quietly.
However, both of them felt a little depressed while eating. Even though Nan Yan didn't eat much, she felt a tightness in her chest. Zhu Feng looked the same. After finishing his dinner, he sat in a chair beside her and kept rubbing his chest with his hand.
Nan Yan had the cups and plates taken away, and asked Ruoshui and the others to go out and serve. She personally made a cup of daughter's tea for him and placed it next to him, then sat on the chair next to him and leaned slightly towards him.
Said: "Your Majesty...?"
Zhu Feng was staring at the candlestick in a daze, with one hand on his chest. When he heard her call, he came to his senses and turned to look at her.
Nan Yan whispered, "What happened?"
Zhu Feng was silent for a moment, then said, "Several places in Henan and Hebei have been hit by disasters. Although the King of Wei and his men have been actively allocating food for disaster relief, it's still too late."
"Is there not enough food in the treasury?"
“The national treasury has money, but we can’t empty it.”
“…”
"Although there doesn't seem to be a major war between the North and the South for the time being, we cannot be without reserves."
"I know this."
"The bulk of the nation's grain goes to Yue every year. Coupled with the southerners switching from rice to mulberry, grain output has indeed decreased. If this continues, the imperial court will be hard-pressed to survive."
When Nan Yan heard this, she also frowned.
She said softly, "We can't cut costs, we have to increase revenue."
"That's right."
Zhu Feng picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said, "I just need to find a place to open up new sources of income."
Nan Yan thought for a moment and said, "Isn't the Emperor planning to manage Shu now?"
“…”
"Shu has always been a prosperous land. If we can manage Shu well, there will be no hunger in the world."
"It's not that easy."
Zhu Feng sighed and said, "Shu is facing a lot of problems right now. Otherwise, why would I send Liu Yueze and the others there? And why would I want your 'Brother Ye' to go to Shu as well?"
Nan Yan glared at him.
After thinking for a while, he asked, "Your Majesty, you are talking about the flood in Shu, right?"
Zhu Feng was still thinking, but upon hearing this, he raised his eyebrows slightly and turned to look at her: "Huh? How did you know?"
Nan Yan smiled and said, "Your Majesty has forgotten that my grandmother once traveled to many places, including Shu."
“…”
"I remember my grandmother once told me about the beauty of Shu, but she sighed. Shu also has a major problem: flooding. They say the Sanjiangkou floods every year, but that's not a long-term solution. If we want to control Shu, we need to control the floods first."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Feng smiled and said, "Your grandmother is quite far-sighted."
Nan Yan smiled and said, "That wasn't Grandmother who said that, it was Grandfather who said that. Grandmother just said it to me."
Zhu Feng took a sip of tea, looked at her again, and said with a heavy smile: "Your Si family is truly a talented family. If your grandfather were still alive, I would definitely use him."
Nan Yan smiled.
She whispered, "Your Majesty, please don't rely on my family for anything. At least leave some for my family."
“…”
"Use other family members more often."
Zhu Feng smiled faintly.
He naturally knew that Nan Yan's words were a subtle reminder. After all, since she was canonized as a noble concubine, he had been criticized for "favoring in-laws" because of the successive promotions of her family members. But fortunately, whether it was the Si family, the Gu family, or even the Tong family, these people were all capable, so although there was such criticism, it did not have much impact.
Nan Yan asked softly again, "What does the emperor think?"
Zhu Feng sighed softly, then said, "Water control is water control."
“…”
"I have also asked some officials in charge of water conservancy to ask for advice. If we want to change the situation in Shu, we must first improve the water conservancy."
“…”
"However, the water in Sanjiangkou is not so easy to treat."
“…”
"If we were to build a dam there to control the flood, it would take at least thirty years. But I don't have thirty years."
Nan Yan thought about it and agreed.
Although Zhu Feng is young and strong, he is in his thirties after all. His plan can last for a hundred years and become a national policy for his descendants to implement, but the strategy he implements himself cannot last more than twenty years.
She asked, "Then, what does the emperor plan to do? The water in Shu can't be cured?"
"That won't work either."
Zhu Feng said, "The water in Shu still needs to be controlled. I'm counting on Shu's grain and brocade production. I plan to have officials go to Shu first and build a few small dams upstream of Sanjiangkou. Firstly, they can irrigate thousands of acres of fertile farmland upstream. Secondly, by controlling the upstream, we can also alleviate the flooding problem in Sanjiangkou. This won't take much time, but it will greatly reduce the pressure there."
“…”
"However, these are only temporary solutions. Ultimately, the problem will still be the dam. We'll have to wait until there's money in the treasury."
Nan Yan said, "That's fine."
She looked at Zhu Feng and said, "Since the problem has been solved, why is the emperor still so tired?"
Zhu Feng glanced at her, said nothing, and just rubbed his eyebrows with his hand.
Seeing him like this, Nan Yan also stood up and walked behind him to massage his shoulders. She felt that his entire back was stiff, which showed how tired he was after last night and the whole day.
Nan Yan said distressedly: "No matter how big the matter is, the emperor must rest well and take care of his health."
Zhu Feng gave a bitter smile: "As long as there is something going on in this world, I won't be able to rest."
Nan Yan pressed her elbow on his shoulder to loosen up his muscles and asked, "Is there anything else?"
Zhu Feng said, "Do you still remember the group of people we saw on the road when we came back last night?"
"That group of people?"
Nan Yan thought about it and immediately remembered: "It was the group of people carrying some statue and praying in the street."
"Um."
"Who are those people? What gods do they worship?"
"Those are members of the Earthly Immortal Society. They worship the Earthly Immortals."
"Earth Immortals? The Earth Immortal Society? What is that?"
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