Chapter 192 Chapter 192 Take a piss and look at yourself
The man with extraordinary temperament on the shore seemed to have seen him as well. His eyes lit up, and then he looked at him with a look of great joy and satisfaction.
Xu Yunfan snorted, turned around, and took the first few steps steadily, but soon he started running.
It's all over.
Xu Yunfan was 100% sure that someone had taken a fancy to him.
Feeling that the boat had stopped, Qi Xiu Ze endured the discomfort and came out to check. When he saw someone walking towards him, Qi Xiu Ze rubbed his eyes and thought for a moment that he was so dizzy that he was hallucinating.
If it wasn't an illusion, how could he see the person who should be far away in the capital in this place?
Not to mention that Qi Xiu Ze was dumbfounded on the spot, even Xie Baizhou and the other two who came out behind Qi Xiu Ze paused when they saw the person coming.
The reason they came out to take a look was because when Xu Yunfan ran in, he shouted that he was being taken a fancy to by a lecher. When the man saw him, his eyes lit up. The other party also had an important identity. What should they do?
If someone else said such shameless and extremely confident words, Xie Baizhou and the others would probably spit at them and ask them to piss themselves in the mirror. But the person who said this was Xu Yunfan. Xu Yunfan's face was even more beautiful than Qi Xiu Ze and Prince Xiao's, so Xie Baizhou and the other two had to come out to take a look.
Seeing this, the three of them were as dumbfounded as Qi Xiu Ze. They bent their knees out of habit, but before they could kneel down, the noble man raised his hand.
A simple gesture stopped Qi Xiu Ze and the other three from kneeling. The man walked over to the boat and glanced at them. "Out there, treat me as Master Fu, a man you've only met once, not the emperor. Don't mention my existence to anyone else."
What Fu Qingyu meant was that everyone should pretend not to know each other.
The emperor's order cannot be disobeyed.
Qi Xiu Ze and the other three could only return to their room.
Xu Yunfan discovered that the man with extraordinary temperament actually boarded their cargo ship. When he appeared again, he was standing on the deck, looking at the scenery on both sides of the river receding. He didn't know what he was thinking, and he didn't even notice when he came out.
Xu Yunfan went to ask Lin Xiaoran, and Lin Xiaoran told Xu Yunfan with a strange look on his face to be less confident. That man is a well-known figure, and he would rather like a sow than you. He looks at you more just because he appreciates beautiful things, not because he has any other thoughts, so you can rest assured.
Lin Xiaoran said this with great confidence, but within two days, he couldn't help but doubt himself.
"Who is that person? Do you know him?"
"We met once." Lin Xiaoran did not forget to remind him after he finished his nonsense: "I know very little about this person and his other affairs, but I only know that his identity is not simple. You must remember not to offend him, otherwise we will not be able to save you. Also, this person is very knowledgeable, so don't show off in front of others, otherwise you will be embarrassed." Especially since you will have to take the imperial examination in the future.
"Is this person so powerful?"
"Of course." Lin Xiaoran thought, throughout the dynasties of the Great Yan Dynasty, which emperor would be a fool?
Xu Yunfan felt relieved.
I can't stay away from it once I feel at ease.
Seeing that there was only this person on the splint, Xu Yunfan was bored and his social cow syndrome came on. He stood not too far from Fu Qingyu, a distance suitable for strangers to chat. He coughed and pretended to be looking at the river view.
Xu Yunfan likes to deal with very powerful people. It’s not because of the damn desire to win, but simply out of curiosity. How powerful is this person that Lin Xiaoran reminded him like that?
This person probably has someone above him.
Otherwise, Lin Xiaoran would be afraid of nothing.
Xu Yunfan would never think that Fu Qingyu's identity was that of the emperor. After all, the emperor was so busy, how could he appear here?
Even if they were on a secret visit or had to leave the palace for something, why did they have to suffer and squeeze into this cargo ship instead of taking a comfortable carriage or passenger ship?
A fake cough made Fu Qingyu raise his right eyebrow. He turned his head at the right moment and said, "Little brother, we meet again."
Oh shit!
Listen to this magnetic voice, this sound, it almost makes the listener's ears pregnant.
Xu Yunfan resisted the urge to pick his ears and shuddered. "Hello, friend. Are you going to Beijing too?"
"Well, because we are in a hurry, I can only use some connections to stop the Qi family's cargo ship. Otherwise, if we wait for other merchant ships to depart, we will not be able to leave until the day after tomorrow. I can't wait any longer."
That makes sense.
This man looks elegant and noble, it would be unreasonable for him to not have some power.
"I see. As the saying goes, those who are destined to meet will meet even if they are thousands of miles apart, but those who are not destined to meet will not even meet when they are face to face. I wonder what this big brother's name is?"
"My last name is Fu. Where's my little brother?"
"My last name is Xu."
Fu Qingyu: "...So it's Brother Xu. Brother Xu is a friend of the Third Young Master of the Qi family, right?"
"Yes, Qi Xiu Ze, Xie Baizhou, Lin Xiaoran, Shen Ruxi and I are all brothers. Brother Fu, do you know them all?"
Fu Qingyu nodded and said, "I know them. They are the Four Young Masters of the Capital. Anyone who is not ignorant should know them. I am much older than you, so it doesn't seem appropriate for you to call me Big Brother."
"No way, you are so young, you look only in your twenties." Women like to be praised for their youth, and men are also human beings, so naturally they like to hear such compliments.
As expected, Fu Qingyu touched his face embarrassedly and asked, "Really?"
Since ascending the throne, Fu Qingyu dared not slack off for a moment. He reviewed memorials until the early morning every day. Even so, he still had to pay his taxes to the harem. Otherwise, if there were not many princes born, the ministers would worry about whether he was no longer able to bear children. Not only did those ministers not understand that he was busy with work, they also urged him to have more children. If that didn't work, they would ask him to take in more concubines.
Every day, Fu Qingyu was exhausted. He slept later than a dog and got up earlier than a chicken. Even an old ox was not as hardworking as him.
It's not that Fu Qingyu hasn't looked in the mirror, but at the age of thirty-something, a few years younger than his two royal brothers, he looks older than them no matter how you look at him. He was once sad about this. After all, he was a man, and facing his aging face, looking at other people of the same age who seemed to have not aged, he felt a little uncomfortable. Not to mention, Fu Qingyu used to occupy a place on the list of handsome men in the capital.
"Of course, I am a very honest person and I never lie to others easily." What Xu Yunfan said was true. He rarely lied to others, but most of the time, he didn't lie to humans.
Fu Qingyu thinks he is old, but it is just due to psychological reasons. In fact, he does not look like a man in his thirties.
"You have good taste, kid."
"That's because my eyes are different from others."
"What's different?"
"My eyes are particularly good at discovering beauty. I can see things that others can't see. I think you are very handsome. Although you are a little bit less handsome than me, you have seen what I look like with your own eyes. So, even though you are a little less handsome than me, you are already far better than most men."
What a shameless person.
Fu Qingyu laughed muffledly. Sure enough, what Jiang Lanfang said was right. Xu Yunfan was good in every way except that he always boasted about himself. It seemed that no matter what you said, he could always change the subject and find an opportunity to praise himself.
After laughing, Fu Qingyu changed his cheerful expression and seemed to remember something. He became sad, as if he had encountered something confusing.
The friendship between men is sometimes characterized by inexplicable reasons.
Look, the two of them get along well immediately after you praise me and I praise you, just like Xu Yunfan and Qi Xiu Ze who became good friends after only knowing each other for a few days and felt that they met too late.
Xu Yunfan hesitated for a moment, then, noticing Fu Qingyu's hesitant expression, he simply took advantage of his hesitation and said, "Excuse me, Brother Fu seems to be worried about something. Can I be curious? We already know each other. If you don't mind, you can talk to me. Maybe I can think of a solution for you. If it's something you don't want to talk about with others, just pretend I never asked and don't mention it to me."
It is not a good idea to ask about other people's troubles, but Xu Yunfan speaks politely and does not offend others.
At least it sounds comfortable to Fu Qingyu.
"There is indeed something I don't know how to solve." Looking at the shimmering river surface in front of the boat, which was rippling with the movement of the boat, Fu Qingyu couldn't help but think of the flood that year that kept him awake all night and shocked him greatly.
"oh?"
Fu Qingyu found an excuse and said, "I have a nephew who was tested by his teacher the other day. He asked me how to deal with the flood in Baling Prefecture decades ago. With limited supplies, how can we protect as many vulnerable lives as possible until aid arrives?"
Xu Yunfan was stunned for a moment, a little bit unbelievable, "That's it?"
"What's wrong?"
"No, such a simple question is actually worth you worrying so much?"
"Is it easy?" Fu Qingyu said seriously, "Do you know how many women, women, and children died during the flood when those people headed north, suffering from hunger and cold in the harsh climate? Do you also know that during famine, human nature is the most vulnerable? How many people exchanged their own children for cannibalism during that time? Cannibalism was commonplace. Protecting these people during famine is not easy, because you have no idea what kind of inhumane things the men they regarded as their pillars of support, their beloved sons, would do when they were starving."
In the year when the flood broke out in Baling Prefecture, people like the Qin and Fang families were still relatively well off. Even though they encountered some bumps along the way, they suffered the least losses.
The situation and behavior of those who went north were truly chilling and appalling.
After the imperial court finally brought the flood under control and dealt with other less severely affected areas, and after the imperial troops found the victims who had gone north, they discovered that all the survivors were men who looked sinister, as if possessed by evil spirits. There was not a single woman or child to be seen.
Later, when they traced back the route the victims took, they discovered that many people did not die of cold due to hunger, but were eaten.
People eat people!
Fu Qingyu had heard of such things, but had never seen them with his own eyes. In a society where the country was peaceful and the people were safe, over time, he naturally regarded it as a legend.
This incident caused quite a stir back then. In order to avoid unnecessary panic, Fu Qingyu had the matter suppressed, but he never forgot it.
The ministers had clearly issued orders to set up relief points in every provincial capital, but they still did not consider it carefully enough and underestimated how cruel people would be under extremely harsh living conditions.
Facing Fu Qingyu's seriousness, Xu Yunfan said with equal seriousness, "I know, because I will never underestimate the inherent selfishness of human nature. Human nature is often the most vulnerable to test. In that flood, weren't the strong men the ones who survived the flood the most? And those who died were mostly women, husbands, children, or the elderly?"
"Yes."
Xu Yunfan: "Actually, this problem is very easy to solve. Before the relief supplies arrive, given the limited relief food, the officials distributing the relief food should have set conditions for receiving the relief food. That is, those who can receive the relief food must be men, women, the elderly, and children. Moreover, when distributing relief food, the officials should only give them enough for a few days and not more."
"Why?" In the past, when officials distributed relief food, they usually gave out as much as they had in order to save trouble, no matter who came to collect it.
"Why?"
Xu Yunfan sighed and said, "Have you ever heard the saying, 'The texture of lotus is fragrant when cooked, and milk is like chaos, people scramble to taste it?' You should know what it means. After all, you just said it yourself. During the famine years, you talked about eating children and cannibalism. The people who were sacrificed were always the vulnerable. And who are the vulnerable? Women, men, the elderly, and children. If the premise for receiving relief food is that only these vulnerable people can receive it, this is the greatest protection for them. As long as they can maintain their survival, as long as they are not inhumane, they probably won't attack their own family, nor will they allow others to covet their family."
These principles are all based on experience passed down by our ancestors.
Fu Qingyu was silent.
The countermeasures Xu Yunfan came up with almost without thinking, but at that time, it took all the officials in the court a whole day to come up with a solution.
It’s not that the officials are not as good as Xu Yunfan, but in the face of disaster, there are so many things to consider, and some things are difficult to take into account.
In addition, how can we empathize with some things if we are not there in person?
Therefore, they underestimate the ugliness of human nature when it comes to survival.
The fact that Xu Yunfan could say this shows that he has thought deeply about it.
This point was deeply appreciated by Fu Qingyu.
A simple test is enough to prove that although Xu Yunfan looks young, his thinking is so deep that it is admirable.
"Actually, my nephew has a few other questions he's confused about. Can I talk to you about them?"
"You say, I'm just sitting around doing nothing anyway."
"It's not a good idea for us to just stand here and talk. Coincidentally, I brought some fine tea from my room. Would you like to try some? I'll ask someone to make some for us."
Fu Qingyu asked someone to find a tea table and chairs, and started drinking with Xu Yunfan on the plywood, but Fu Qingyu did not rush and chatted with Xu Yunfan about all sorts of things.
The more they talked, the more Fu Qingyu's expression didn't change, but he was deeply shocked inside.
Because Fu Qingyu sat in that position, he naturally knew more and more comprehensively than others. He could also glimpse problems that others failed to discover from a memorial. This ability was the most basic ability that a prince had been cultivated with since childhood, not to mention the sense of the overall situation that he had gained from being in a high position and having succeeded to the throne for so many years.
But how old is Xu Yunfan?
It is no exaggeration to say that many people at his age have only just started to develop their vision, knowledge and experience, but what Xu Yunfan showed and said was completely different.
No matter what topic Fu Qingyu talked about, Xu Yunfan could always catch up. When Fu Qingyu "inadvertently" asked some questions, the insights Xu Yunfan gave always made Fu Qingyu's eyes light up and his mind suddenly opened.
Fu Qingyu had to admit that he felt really comfortable chatting with Xu Yunfan. Both Xu Yunfan's conversation and the style of behavior reflected in his remarks made Fu Qingyu feel very comfortable. The two chatted happily and seemed to have a lot of topics to talk about.
But the more comfortable he felt, the more terrified Fu Qingyu felt at the high emotional intelligence displayed by Xu Yunfan. He didn't feel like he had met a confidant. On the contrary, these things proved that Xu Yunfan was just trying to be compatible with him.
Fu Qingyu looked at Xu Yunfan deeply, and when Xu Yunfan felt a little uncomfortable, he said, "Xu Xiaobrother, there is actually a question that I have been unable to understand."
Why does this person have so many questions?
Xu Yunfan drank so much tea from Fu Qingyu. If it weren't for the fact that the tea was really not cheap, Xu Yunfan might have just walked away. "Just tell me what you mean."
Fu Qingyu twirled the bright jade ring on his thumb without looking at Xu Yunfan. "No one else knows about this. I'm only telling you, you must not tell anyone else, okay?"
Listen, why do these words sound so much like, "I will only tell you this secret, no one else knows it, so you must never tell anyone else"?
Often, such secrets are not really secrets at all.
"Don't frame me. Are you sure what you want to say is known only to you and me, and to heaven and earth? Brother Fu, are you taking advantage of me, a guy from the village who knows nothing, and thinking I'm easy to fool?"
Fu Qingyu choked, "Well, actually it's not just you and me who know about this, but not many people know about it. Moreover, this matter is of great importance and cannot be spread to outsiders. To tell you the truth, this is a national event of the Great Yan Dynasty."
"What?"
Xu Yunfan exclaimed in surprise. If it were anyone else, they would probably have hurriedly stopped Fu Qingyu from saying anything further. As the old saying goes, the more you know, the faster you die.
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