When Li Jun uttered those bold words so naturally, everyone in the tent felt that he spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and no one felt that he was exaggerating. The awe-inspiring aura emanating from him made Ji Su dizzy and mesmerized, as if she were not seeing Li Jun, but the incarnation of the War God Potian whom she served in the mortal world.
"Heroes and great men should be like this!" she thought to herself. Suddenly, a thought struck her: the Khan of the Four Seas who launched the war to unify the Divine Continent a thousand years ago should also be a figure with such awe-inspiring power as Li Jun.
“If that’s the case, then the policy of prioritizing agriculture and suppressing commerce cannot be used.” Li Jun changed the subject. Although he inadvertently revealed his kingly aura, he did not want to show off in front of this group of people whom he regarded as both teachers and friends. He preferred that they see him as a friend with whom they could discuss things, rather than a born hero and leader.
"This is the second strategy: to take agriculture as the foundation, industry as the beam, and commerce as the pillar, and to promote all three at the same time." Feng Jiutian compared the construction of the country to building a house. "If agriculture does not prosper, the people will suffer from hunger; if industry does not prosper, the people will find it difficult to become wealthy; if commerce does not prosper, the country will be stagnant."
"How can we balance all three?"
"The policy of prioritizing agriculture and suppressing commerce relies on reducing the labor input of ordinary people in industry and commerce and increasing the reclamation of wasteland. This policy is actually very wrong. There is always a limited amount of arable land in the world, and the population will compete with the land for land. It can be sustained for a while, but in the long run, there will inevitably be a day when there are too many people and too little land to cultivate. Therefore, relying on increasing the number of farmers to expand the cultivated land area is not a long-term solution." At this point, Feng Jiutian smiled slightly, "The only solution is to make the same amount of land produce more grain."
Everyone was taken aback at first, but then they couldn't help but laugh. Agriculture is basically dependent on the weather. If the heavens are kind and the weather is favorable, the grain production will be greater. Otherwise, after a major disaster like the one that happened in Chen last year, there will be corpses strewn all over the land.
“You probably don’t understand, but Miss Mo Rong should know that you Yue people live in the mountains, where there is little arable land, and you prefer skills to farming, yet you are basically self-sufficient in food. Why is that?”
Mo Rong pondered for a while. She aimed to become the most skilled craftswoman among the Yue people, and she had never thought about these things before. After a moment, she said, "Our grain seeds are different from those of ordinary people."
"That's right! Good seeds can multiply the yield per acre, and according to my discussion with Immortal Chu Qingfeng, the Magic Academy seems to have some methods to improve grain seeds," Feng Jiutian said. "I've estimated that as long as good seeds can be widely adopted, Yuzhou will no longer need to import grain from overseas; on the contrary, there will be a surplus. In addition, the Yue people, with limited manpower, accomplish several times the work that ordinary people can do in the fields, simply because their farming equipment is advanced. Therefore, Yuzhou's agricultural development strategy can focus on upgrading seeds and equipment."
Everyone nodded in agreement, agreeing that this was indeed the only solution given the limited land. Feng Jiutian continued, "With the use of high-quality seeds and advanced machinery, a large number of farmers who were previously confined by the land can be freed up to engage in commerce and industry. In this way, the labor shortage that commerce and industry face can be resolved. There is only one problem now: engaging in commerce and industry requires capital, but farmers are poor and cannot start businesses without capital. Therefore, we might as well use the profits of the Peace Trading Company to establish more commerce and industry businesses and absorb these people. Firstly, it will give them the opportunity to earn capital for themselves; secondly, it will allow them to become familiar with commerce and industry skills; and thirdly, it will generate profits for the Peace Trading Company. Although there will still be specific problems, it is generally more beneficial than harmful."
“I knew it, doing business is a good thing,” Jiang Tang nodded repeatedly and couldn’t help but interject.
"There is something I wonder if you have considered, sir." Li Jun thought of a problem: "The profits from industry and commerce are ten times that of farming. People are drawn to profit and abandon farming for commerce. In this way, all the good land will be abandoned."
“That’s going too far.” Feng Jiutian deeply admired Li Jun’s comprehensive thinking, which was precisely the quality a politician needed. Li Jun’s military talent was acceptable, but his political talent was still in the learning stage. His role in assisting Li Jun was twofold: firstly, to lay the framework for the country Li Jun might build in the future, and secondly, to educate him into an outstanding politician. Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but think of his old friend Lu Xiang. He had initially refused to cooperate with him, but unexpectedly, he ended up cooperating with him to cultivate an excellent disciple.
"This problem is not difficult to solve. First, when formulating specific measures, we need to consider guiding the people. Second, if land is left uncultivated, grain prices will rise, and then farming will become profitable, so the people will naturally return to the land. We only need to pay attention to purchasing the surplus grain from the people at a fair price, so as not to cause farmers to suffer from low grain prices."
Li Jun nodded silently, and after a moment, he slowly said, "If there are no unexpected events, Yuzhou will not wage large-scale foreign wars within two years. We will use these two years to recuperate and rebuild. The way of domestic affairs will depend entirely on Mr. Feng."
Chapter Two: Stormy Times
Section 01
"How many two-year periods does one have in a lifetime? How many years of beauty can a woman retain?"
Looking in the mirror, carefully searching her brows, she noticed that crow's feet hadn't appeared yet, and Mo Rong sighed softly. Although youth hadn't yet abandoned her, she was well aware of her age; a twenty-six-year-old unmarried woman, whether ordinary or from Yue, was extremely rare.
Although she felt melancholy, Mo Rong could not reveal her true feelings. Although her relationship with Li Jun was already common knowledge, even Yu Sheng, who wholeheartedly wanted Li Jun to marry a lady from a prestigious family so that he could become the empress, had to some extent tacitly approved of their romance.
However, there is another person, Ji Su, who is also caught in a painful love affair with Li Jun. Ji Su braved arrows and stones to charge ahead of the Peace Army amidst thousands of enemy troops; Ji Su reversed the Peace Army's decline during Peng Yuancheng's rebellion; and Ji Su was even the only one who could exchange martial arts techniques with Li Jun and improve together. As heroes in a chaotic world, only someone like Ji Su, with both strong military backing and formidable combat skills, could be considered Li Jun's ideal match.
Whenever she thought of this, Mo Rong couldn't help but feel a little sad. It wasn't that she was belittling herself; she knew she had done quite a lot for Li Jun. But compared to Ji Su's irreplaceable role, what she could offer Li Jun was mostly just a quiet emotional comfort, giving this man who had lost family love at a young age a sense of belonging, preventing him from becoming a completely cold-blooded butcher. Compared to years ago when he would readily slaughter prisoners of war, Li Jun now understood the importance of recuperation and development, rather than blindly engaging in war.
"Sister Mo, there is something we need to discuss." Princess Pei Ziyu of Chen Kingdom had felt somewhat ashamed ever since she persuaded Li Jun to send troops last time, but more than two years had been enough for people to forget some old things, and she did indeed have an important matter to discuss with him.
Mo Rong moved away from the dressing table and ushered Pei Ziyu into the tent. Seeing Ji Su behind Ziyu, she paused, surprised at how coincidental her arrival was.
“Sister Mo, this is a matter between us women.” Pei Ziyu subtly revealed her purpose. “You and Sister Ji Su are the parties involved, so I’ll just be an intermediary, hehe.”
Mo Rong's face paled slightly. Last time, Li Jun said he needed two years to recuperate, but in reality, Yu Prefecture had been peaceful for two years and four months, and there was no indication that Li Jun intended to send troops in the short term. For the past two years, besides training troops and reading, Li Jun had spent time with her or Ji Su, enjoying romantic moments under the moon and at dawn and dusk. Although there was a hidden pain in their hearts, the three of them found considerable joy together. Seeing Ji Su's somewhat timid demeanor, which was completely out of character for her, Mo Rong couldn't help but feel a strange unease.
"Speaking of which, it's all Commander Li's fault," Pei Ziyu said, half-jokingly and half-seriously. "If he weren't such a hero, the two of you wouldn't be so infatuated with him."
Mo Rong and Ji Su both blushed, and four hands reached out to grab Zi Yu. "Nonsense, you're the one who's head over heels for that silly Lan Qiao..."
Ziyu giggled as the two tickled her. She and Lanqiao already had a son named Lanji, but their love remained as strong as ever, just like when they were first in love. Mo Rong and Ji Su often teased her about this. The three of them were making a ruckus, and the originally somewhat tense atmosphere became much lighter.
Ziyu was no match for the two of them alone. After laughing so hard she could hardly breathe, she had no choice but to beg for mercy: "Alright, alright, stop fooling around. If you keep fooling around, I won't say anything more."
"Fine, don't say it then. What good things could you possibly say?" she said, but her hands stopped moving. Mo Rong tilted her head and looked at the two of them. Seeing the puzzled look on Ji Su's face, she realized that Ji Su also didn't know what Zi Yu had come to say.
"It's like this, Sister Mo and Sister Ji Su are not young anymore, but that idiot commander hasn't said a word. We can't hang ourselves on a stupid, crooked tree, so I'm here to act as matchmaker."
"What are you saying, you frivolous fellow?" Mo Rong turned around, looking displeased, but her eyes couldn't hide the inexplicable melancholy that surfaced again.
Ji Su pinched Zi Yu hard and said, "That's utter nonsense."
Ziyu chuckled: "To be honest, I think Li Jun is rather clumsy in this regard. If you two just keep waiting for him to say it, he probably won't say anything even when you're old. If it were only one of you, it would be better, but if there are two of you, he would feel sorry for the other no matter which one you marry. But if you marry both of them, it would be unfair to you. I suspect Li Jun is also very troubled by this matter."
Mo Rong and Ji Su exchanged an awkward glance. They hadn't spoken of it openly, but they both knew the truth. Rationally, Li Jun should marry Ji Su, who could contribute more to his cause; emotionally, he should marry Mo Rong, who offered him comfort and support. Marrying both contradicted his promise of gender equality, hence his hesitation. Although his "fear of women" still flared up occasionally, it was limited to strangers who dared to approach him and confess their love. With the two women, he was already extremely close.
“Don’t just sit here and wait. It’s normal for a hero like Li Jun to have three wives and four concubines. If he achieves great things one day, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration for him to have three thousand beauties in his harem.” Zi Yu, who came from the royal family, was used to this. Although she felt that this extremely unfair phenomenon between men and women was somewhat inappropriate, she was used to it. In her opinion, what Mo Rong and Ji Su were worried about was extremely ridiculous.
"You don't understand Li Jun," Mo Rong murmured. She had considered that instead of remaining deadlocked and unwilling to back down, it might be better to go down with Ji Su to Li Jun. The difference between Yue people and ordinary people had gradually faded with intermarriage between different races in the past two years, and Lei Hun's dedication to the path of the three religions was no longer a problem for her. However, she understood Li Jun's character. If it was a matter of military or political affairs, he would break his promise without batting an eye, but when it came to matters of the heart, it would probably not be so easy.
"You can rest assured about that. You don't need to worry about Li Jun." Zi Yu smiled mysteriously, as if there was something unspoken between her brows. "I'm discussing this with you to find out if the two of you can truly get along. If you two are irreconcilable, then I can't do anything about it no matter how many methods I have."
Ji Su was a woman from the grasslands, and she was naturally broad-minded. Upon hearing this, she put aside her shyness and said, "There is nothing I cannot tolerate. I am a servant dedicated to the God of War. The person who can remove my helmet is the master chosen by the God of War for me."
Mo Rong remained silent for a long while, then said slowly, "If we can be together like good friends, what does it matter if we don't have any official status?"
Seeing that the two had tactfully agreed, Ziyu, though Mo Rong's words seemed to have another meaning, was overjoyed and didn't think too much about it. She said, "That's good. Then my task is complete. I have things to do, so I'll take my leave first. You two can chat slowly." Without waiting for a response, she left the two behind.
"This matter will probably have to be put on hold for a while." Upon hearing Ziyu say that the two had agreed, Yu Sheng, the mastermind behind the matter, grinned. Others might not have considered Li Jun's marriage, but he was a man of many experiences and knew that if Li Jun had children too late, it would be extremely detrimental to the succession of the country, often leading to the worry of powerful ministers deceiving the emperor in the future. Therefore, while others were planning how to develop Yuzhou into a powerful and peaceful army, he was thinking about Li Jun's marriage.
"What's wrong? Has something happened?" Ziyu asked in surprise.
Yu Sheng glanced at her and said, "Anyway, you'll find out eventually. Something has happened in Chen. The Lianfa Sect launched a major attack on Linying, Liu Guang marched into Chendu, and your brother has been deposed by them."
"What! How dare Liu Guang do this?" Although Ziyu was dissatisfied with her brother, her deep affection for him made her worry about his fate.
“What wouldn’t he dare to do? Now he holds most of the military power in Chen, and many of the powerful officials in the court are at his beck and call. When Lian Fazong attacked Linying, they all advised your brother to invite him to the capital to defend the king. Your brother had no opinion of his own and actually let him go to the capital. After he arrived, he besieged the palace and forced your brother to abdicate in favor of the crown prince. Then, he deposed the crown prince on the grounds that the crown prince was weak and incompetent and installed your five-year-old nephew as king.”
Ziyu slumped into her chair, speechless for a long time. The decline of the once mighty Chen Kingdom seemed inevitable. For the past few years, she and Lanqiao had served Li Jun wholeheartedly, hoping to one day revitalize the Chen Kingdom with his help. It seemed that day had finally come, and it had come far too soon.