The incense in the heart hall is curling.

After Xiao Rui told His Majesty what he thought in his heart, the next step was to select a suitable Ministry of Industry Shangshu to take the position, and he must find a capable and courageous official in order to use gunpowder well and complete the concession of the coal mine.

Under the general trend, we must choose officials who dare to advance bravely, rather than those who dare not forge ahead.

Then.

Emperor Xia couldn't help but sigh: "I have been an emperor for twenty-three years, and in the first ten years, I worked hard to govern and fought in the south and the north, and little by little I recovered the lost land. In the middle of the decade, we will recuperate and reduce taxes and military services to stabilize the country and make the people healthy. Now it's the next decade, the third year in the blink of an eye. And in the past three years, to be precise, since you have been appointed as the crown prince, the national fortune has been rising. The northern expedition to Qi reached Fengtian, and the west went to Zhao, expanding one-third of the territory, and still holding gunpowder, corn and potatoes in his hands. ”

"In times of crisis, we must think about change. Nowadays, the emergence of novelties such as Huangtian Group, Daxia Bank, and franchise is not a flash in the pan, but a guarantee that will change Daxia in the future, make Daxia prosperous, and even unify China... Can the feat of unification of the Seven Kingdoms be accomplished in your generation? Do I have a chance to see it? ”

Xiao Rui said with a smile: "My father is in good health, and it is not a problem to live a long life. ”

Emperor Xia shook his head and said, "My body is clear, if it weren't for your filial piety to the elixir kneaded by the Meat Buddha, eliminating some dark diseases in my body, and consolidating the foundation of Peiyuan, my body would have become worse and worse." I'll talk to you today, let's talk about the hearts of father and son... When I was in the west to conquer the Zhao Kingdom, I was once in an emergency and almost didn't survive, I was very scared at that time, if I died, what would Daxia do? At that time, the king of Jin was a young man, you were not born yet, who could suppress the civil and military officials and military marquis? Will Great Xia fall into chaos again? Fortunately, I survived, and then quickly returned to Beijing and continued to fight with the troops led by the King of Ruyang. At that time, he was the generalissimo of the world's soldiers and horses, and he had 400,000 troops in his hands. ”

Xiao Rui was stunned, and immediately understood the reason why His Majesty deliberately mentioned King Ruyang!

It seems that His Majesty's emergency caused him to worry, once he dies, the King of Ruyang, who has an army of 400,000, will have no one to stop him, and then Daxia will definitely change hands, so His Majesty needs to be the last hand.

It just so happened that at that time, the Jiuyin Forbidden Army of Zhao State came to assassinate the family of King Ruyang, and it happened to be a plan.

At this time, His Majesty told himself this, and he also told himself that for the sake of the stability of the country, there are some things that must be done, and he cannot be soft-hearted.

Xiao Rui did not ask whether the son of the king of Ruyang was dead or alive, the time had come, and he believed that the king of Ruyang would tell him.

"Father will definitely see the unification of China, because we have been preparing for the catastrophe to come, and when the real catastrophe comes, we have a way to deal with it. On the other hand, the Yuan State, the Qin State, and the Wei State, behind their arrogance are unprepared, and when the time comes, if we don't need to take action, the people will not be able to hold on. Xiao Rui believed.

Every time the Xiaoice River period is a moment of national destruction, the people are not able to survive, they can only revolt and rebel, this is the law of history, but also an unprecedented opportunity!

If you don't use this natural disaster to destroy other enemy countries, you will be constrained if you want to succeed in the future, and many people will die.

"You tell Yuan about the Xiaoice River period." Emperor Xia also knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Xiao Rui once again elaborated: "Father, the Xiaoice River period will lead to a sharp drop in temperature, and a large reduction in global grain production, and thus cause violent social unrest, so that the population will drop sharply......"

Xiao Rui explained in detail what he knew, and he wanted to give an example of the Ming Dynasty, but he gave up if it was not suitable.

Emperor Chongzhen, the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was also a good emperor who did practical things, but unfortunately he encountered a natural disaster that could not be fought by manpower.

"Hannan Xujun Chronicles" records: In the first year of Chongzhen, the whole Shaanxi sky was as red as blood. Five years of great famine, six years of great floods, and seven years of autumn locusts...... Fourteen years of drought.

Once it encounters natural disasters such as prolonged drought, heavy snowfall, locusts, and cold winters, driven by hunger, not to mention uprisings, there will even be a tragic situation of "cooking human bones for wages and cannibalizing human flesh for food".

History books say that under the Xiaoice period, the population plummeted by half at the end of the Ming Dynasty, but the truth may be even more! That's tens of millions of people, that's a fact, a cruel fact.

And the Xiaoice period is very long, and the worst weather can last for ten or twenty years, and now is just the beginning.

Before you know it, it's getting dark.

Xiao Rui and Xia Huang chatted for a long time, and it was not until Hai Dafu lit the lamp that the two stopped communicating.

After the harvest of the next year, Emperor Xia decided to start the large-scale cultivation of potatoes and corn by the imperial decree to increase the use of barren and abandoned land and improve the utilization rate of cultivated land.

The promotion of the Zhan Mansion has been very good, but if you want to promote the entire territory of Great Xia, you have to rely on the power of the imperial court.

Xiao Rui is also looking forward to it, hoping that Shen Wansan can bring back sweet potatoes on this voyage!

The three magic weapons of the Xiaoice period, corn, potatoes and sweet potatoes!

Sweet potato has strong adaptability, has the excellent characteristics of whether the land is not suitable for land, and the yield is high, dozens of stones per mu, and 20 times better than the grain.

In addition, if the white pigs can be brought back and then castrated, the growth rate and meat output are not comparable to the local black pigs.

……

Yan Xiaoxiao brought dinner, and whispered to Xiao Rui: "Your Highness, the snow has disappeared." ”

This light snow seems to have come to say hello, or to march first, and it came and melted in a hurry.

Xiao Rui accompanied Emperor Xia to dinner.

Emperor Xia suddenly remembered something, so he said: "The two princesses are pregnant at the same time, this is a major event in the continuation of the bloodline, you must take care of it, and you can't mess around." ”

"Erchen understands." Xiao Rui responded.

Emperor Xia said again: "There are too few women around you, this is not good, but there is a favorite girl?" Speak up, and I will marry you! ”

The prince of a dignified country, with only two princesses by his side, is also too shabby, not to mention that now both daughters are pregnant and cannot continue to serve Xiao Rui.

And Xiao Rui understood what His Majesty meant by "don't mess around", and he understood very well which was more important.

It just so happened that Xiao Rui was about to propose marriage, and His Majesty took the initiative to give marriage.

"Father, son-in-law and Zhang Ruoxi of the Loyal and Brave Marquis Mansion are in love..."Xiao Rui did not hide it and said.

Emperor Xia nodded and said, "I know that when you were assassinated by the Cao family, the girl of the Zhang family sacrificed herself to save you, and this affection speaks for itself." The Zhang family has been loyal and good for generations, and the mother of the Marquis of Zhongyong is also the benefactor of the Empress Xiaosheng and me, and she is the right person. It just so happens that there is a position of the side concubine next to you, so she will be decided. Hai Dafu, I am going to go to Zhang's Mansion tomorrow with a generous gift, and ask the opinions of Marquis Zhongyong and Old Madam Zhang on behalf of me. ”

"The slave understands." Hai Dafu said respectfully.

"In addition, although Lu Pheasant is the protector of the Black Lotus Sect, he abandoned the darkness and turned to the light, and in the end he did not make a big mistake, and he also caught the treacherous thief for me, which can be regarded as a meritorious service." Emperor Xia said: "Back then, I and Uncle Ming Yi were sworn brothers, and I made a verbal marriage contract for you, I can't be treacherous, since it is a marriage, there are not many good things to accomplish, and the two of them are set up as Mrs. rank." In addition, the girl in your palace who is proficient in disguise also shares life and death with you, so she is appointed as the rank of Zhaoyi. ”

According to the practice of Great Xia, the crown prince has one concubine, two side concubines, two ladies, four Zhaoyi, and Zhaoyuan and Liangdi...... After all, he is the prince of a country, and his identity and status are here.

"Huh?" Xiao Rui was instantly dumbfounded.

Marrying Zhang Ruoxi was expected, but letting Lu Pheasant, Lu Su, and A Zhu enter the East Palace at the same time is too much... Xiao Rui didn't know how to describe it.

Corruption, corruption...

Xiao Rui felt the enjoyment brought by his identity for the first time, and it was not easy for ordinary people to enjoy the blessings of that Qi people.

"What? Don't need it? Emperor Xia asked.

Xiao Rui came back to his senses and said respectfully: "It's all up to my father." ”

The matter was settled.

After dinner, Emperor Xia felt tired, so he left the Heart Nourishing Hall to rest first. When Xiao Ruigong sent Emperor Xia away and was about to go back to the East Palace to rest, she suddenly saw Yan Xiaoxiao's face distracted, and when the inkstone in her hand was tilted and the ink flowed out, she didn't even notice it.

"Tiny?" Xiao Rui called.

Yan Xiaoxiao came back to her senses at this time, and then hurriedly wiped the ink with a cloth, and said, "Please forgive your highness, the slave is distracted." ”

"Are you alright?" Xiao Rui asked.

Yan Xiaoxiao saw that there were other officials in the hall, she lowered her head and hurriedly shook her head, and then said, "The slave is fine, the slave and maid go and fetch water and wipe it clean." ”

After speaking, Yan Xiaoxiao ran out of the Heart Cultivation Hall in a panic.

When she left the temple, the cold wind blew against her, but she could not feel the cold wind. She endured the silence, and when she passed by the library pavilion, she couldn't hold back anymore and pushed the door in.

The library was dark, and only a small piece of moonlight was reflected in the beam of light that came through the patterned hollowing out of the door.

She hid in the middle corner of the bookcase, resting her head on her knees, tears uncontrollable and bursting out of her eyes. But she bit her lip to keep herself from crying. At the same time, she held a jade lotus seed in her right hand, which was given to her by Xiao Rui.

She didn't know why she was crying, but after hearing that Lu Su and Ah Zhu could become His Royal Highness's wife and Zhaoyi, she felt a wave of despair permeating her heart, and the strength in her heart collapsed suddenly.

He has loved His Highness silently from beginning to end, no more than anyone else, and is even willing to die for His Highness, but he can't be the person who accompanies His Highness.

"Xiaoxiao, it's okay, it's okay, you have to be strong."

Yan Xiaoxiao muttered to herself, cheering herself on, but the tears still couldn't stop flowing.

"As long as I can be by His Royal Highness's side, even if I am always a female official, I will be fine."

"But what about after the age of twenty-five?"

"Woo..."

Her lips had been bitten and oozing blood, and Yan Xiaoxiao couldn't control the disappointment and fear in her heart, tears rained down, crying bitterly.