The apse of the royal palace.

A crystal round table is filled with a wide variety of delicacies.

Roasted suckling pig smeared with honey, black chicken soup stewed to a milky white color, fresh venison cooked over a warm fire, pan-fried steak with golden butter, braised fish with tender oil......

Birds and animals, mountain delicacies and wild game are all available, and the whole palace is filled with a strong fragrance.

"Wow, that's good!"

Fang Fan couldn't help but light up when he saw the table full of delicacies, this was a king's imperial meal.

I remember that when the country was first founded, he was short of money, the treasury was empty, and the people of the whole country had to cut back on food and clothing, and could only eat some simple food to maintain this life.

For example, dry bread, wild vegetable paste, some stinky dried fish, etc., are simply miserable.

Now, that's what the king should be able to enjoy.

Fang Fan sighed, and sat on the main seat, Artoria quietly accompanied him to the right, and around the crystal table stood four delicate maids, serving them to eat.

Fang Fan first tasted the roast suckling pig coated with honey, the outside was charred and tender on the inside, sweet and delicious, the taste was simply praised, he quickly sandwiched a piece of roast pork and put it on Artoria's plate.

"Wife, try this, it's very delicious!"

"Oh, yes."

Artoria took a small sip when she heard this, and a smile immediately appeared on her delicate pretty face, and she exclaimed, "It's really delicious~"

"Wow~ Try this venison again."

Before Fang Fan had time to put down his chopsticks, he was attracted by the delicious aroma of stewed venison, picked up a piece of venison and took a bite, and suddenly the mellow meat juice quietly spread in his mouth, and the meat was full of aroma.

This venison stew tastes three points better than roast suckling pig!

"Who made this venison stew?" Fang Fan looked at a maid curiously.

"Tell Your Majesty, it's the new Imperial Chef...... Daji. The maid bowed slightly and replied respectfully.

"Poof~Daji?!"

Fang Fan laughed.

I didn't expect Daji to have such first-class cooking skills in addition to seducting people's kung fu, it seems that it was really a wise decision for him to send Daji to cook, and he made the best use of his talents.

He coughed lightly and ordered, "Obey the order, immediately promote Daji to be the head chef, and take charge of all matters in the back kitchen!" ”

After the appointment, he immediately approached the girl with a smile and said, "Wife, are you satisfied?" ”

"Hmph, it's okay." Artoria pouted and snorted.

"Reward?"

The girl was stunned and gently kissed Fang Fan on the cheek.

Fang Fan smiled with satisfaction and continued to enjoy the food.

……

After this lunch, it was almost four o'clock in the afternoon.

Fang Fan lay comfortably on the recliner and hugged Artoria for a while.

【Ding Dong~】

An icy mechanical sound suddenly sounded in my head.

【Warning! Your reputation has dropped by 5% and is currently at 95% (Good)]

Forehead......

Fang Fan was stunned, and when he woke up from a nap, he couldn't help but feel some doubts.

What's going on?

Well, why is this popularity decreasing?

In the basic attributes of the kingdom, Fang Fan was only a little puzzled by the popularity value, and he didn't know what the popularity value was for.

Just know that when the popularity value is less than 10%, the people will rebel!

He guessed that the popularity value refers to the people's approval rating for the king, which was 100% in the initial period, and the king's kindness to his people would increase, and the king's mistreatment of his people would decrease.

His popularity is currently good, and he doesn't have to worry about his people rebelling for the time being.

But why the sudden drop?

He shouldn't have abused his own people!

Fang Fan felt that it was necessary to find out the reason for the decrease in popularity, and he had just finished rectifying the military, so he just went to check the people's livelihood and see how his people were doing.

……

"Give your heart for His Majesty the King!"

In the endless wheat fields, the scorching sun hung high in the sky, and a group of tanned sturdy men sweated like rain, working diligently in the fields.

While they worked hard, they shouted slogans desperately, like a group of fanatical believers, vowing to dedicate their lives to the supreme king.

Now, Fang Guo has a population of more than 100,000 people, tens of thousands of acres of fertile land, and millions of gold coins can be harvested every year just by cultivating and breeding by ordinary people, and the revenue of the state treasury has greatly increased.

However, when the population increases, the amount of food that needs to be consumed is also increasing, and weapons and equipment, expanding the army and raising troops, etc., all require a lot of money.

Therefore, Fang Guo's finances are still a little tight at present.

The only solution to this dilemma is to squeeze the labour of civilians and make them cultivate more land every day.

At this time, a young man and a woman came to the field arm in arm.

"Wife, how long does the people of our country work on average every day now?"

Fang Fan couldn't help frowning as he looked at the many civilians who were working hard in the fields.

"About twelve or thirteen hours."

Artoria thought for a moment and replied seriously.

With such a large work intensity, it is almost catching up with Foxconn.

Fang Fan sighed in his heart, and just wanted to continue to ask about their food and accommodation.

Not far away, an old man who was nearly half a hundred years old sat on a mound of dirt at the head of the ground to rest, took out a piece of black dry bread from his pocket, and nibbled on it with difficulty.

He had a bad tooth, and it took a lot of effort to nibble off half of the bread, then he took the kettle and poured a few sips of cold water into his mouth, and carefully put the remaining half of the black bread in his pocket, this was his dinner today.

He then picked up his hoe and went back to work.

Seeing this scene, Fang Fan's heart felt a little uncomfortable.

It seems that although the life of his king has improved greatly, his people have not only not lived a good life, but have become more burdened.

After all, most of Fang Guo's current income comes from this land.

"Your Majesty doesn't have to be sad and blame yourself."

Artoria saw Fang Fan's troubles, and comforted him gently: "You have given your people life and land, whether it is out of loyalty or duty, they should work hard for you, and this situation is not only our country, most of the other countries are also like this, compared to those brutal kingdoms that desperately exploit civilian labor, our country still treats its people relatively well." ”

Fang Fan was silent.

Indeed, in order to make money and develop quickly, some countries do not treat civilians as human beings at all, but as slaves, deniing them food and water, and even sending soldiers to strictly supervise them, forcing them to work until they die of exhaustion.

After exhausting a group of commoners, the king then spent money to create commoners, then enslaved, then exhausted, and then created, and the process was repeated endlessly.

It only takes 10 gold coins to create a civilian, and it takes at least hundreds of gold coins to take care of a civilian's daily food and accommodation, which is more expensive than caring about their food and drink, and it is also the fastest way to make money.

But it's just too inhumane!

It's not animals, it's not machines, it's living people!