Chapter 285

What Xu Ran did most in the New Year was to wander in the street. He also found a very good and reasonable excuse for what he had done, which was to investigate the situation of the people for king Yan.

Of course, Xu Ran was not just wandering around. He had really found out many things. At first, he felt that it was a kind of fun. But  became a kind of responsibility when more and more people started to believe in him, and it also became a habit for Xu Ran.

Xu Ran did not care much about the apricot after handing it to King Yan, but he also often went to places with many apricot trees and saw many people picking apricot flowers. The flowering period of apricot flowers was only more than ten days. There were quite a lot of things to do in these ten days, but many of those picking the flowers were clearly not farmers. Xu Ran guessed that might be King Yan’e men, so he didn’t pay much attention. He just kept wandering.

This year, Tangtang and Guoguo didn’t go to the military camp. Instead, they read books at home and prepared for this year’s Autumn Test. They hadn’t read any books in the past year. No matter how many things they had leant before, it was necessary for them to review it.

he two kids were committed to their goals, so there was no need for Xu Ran to worry about that.

What made Xu Ran more satisfied was the answer to the task that he had assigned to them last year. Tangtang and Guoguo wrote everything they wanted to say when they came back in one day, and then showed it to Xu Ran. After reading it, Xu Ran praised the two children without hesitation.

People could not be poor in Yan Zhou. They couldn’t get rich by crops, but there was another way. From the ideas Xu Ran came up with, it could be seen that both Tangtang and Guoguo were very aware about it, and they also gave the examples to illustrate it.

Since there was a meadow in Yanzhou, then there could also be more grass to raise more cows and sheep. There was also a wide, long river here. So it was not a problem to raise some fish in it, and there were so many desolate lands on the mountain and herbs growing in the mountains, which could be put to good use.

The population of Yanzhou capital was not large, but with the help of the 5,000 troops, it was definitely not small. Therefore, it was impossible for King Yan to feed all the people of Yanzhou by him own. More capable men were needed to give advice to king Yan, to plot out the future of Yan Zhou together.

They even thought about education, which was very comprehensive. They combined what they knew with what Xu Ran had taught them and wrote it all down.

After reading it, besides the smile on his face, Xu Ran also felt very proud. He taught the two children himself. How could he not be proud of them being so smart and quick-witted?

And it was also the reason why Xu Ran wandered on the streets. If he wanted to about people’s life and what they were thinking, he had to get close to with them.

Perhaps it couldn’t work in Great Xia, but it could in Yanzhou. Yanzhou was just like a trapped beast in a cage. It must break the cage and escape, or it wwould be trapped in the cage for life.

Of course, Xu Ran wanted the Yanzhou to be the former. The thing he promised King Yan back then wasn’t just saying it.

Life seems to be going very smoothly.

In the middle of April, people began to plant corn. In May, a large number of potatoes were planted, and the ground on the mountain was reclaimed one after another. Under the refurbished soil, there was an infinite life force, waiting to take root and sprout.

King Yan also read the answer given by Tangtang and Guoguo, then picked some of them which weresuitable for the present, and began to get people to work on it, especially the grassy area. He can raise a meadow in three years, and he can also raise another one in another three years.

Yanzhou belonged to him now, and it would be his son’s in the future, so the things he left for them must be good.

King Yan also began to think about the wool, milk and sheep milk that Xu Ran had mentioned before. He knew what sheep milk was and newborn babies had to drink it, but he had never heard of milk being drinkable. After Xu Ran explained it to him, King Yan felt that it was necessary to get this done.

There have been quite a lot of big movements recently in Yanzhou, but no one came to ask them. Although they have not received any definite news, it was not difficult to guess that something was wrong.

And things had dragged on until July, which was the hottest time in Yanzhou.

That morning, Yan Chuan came to Xu Ran’s house and called Xu Ran to King Yan’s residence.

King Yan was smiling like a psychopath when Xu Ran saw him. Xu Ran turned to look at Yan Chuan behind him, hoping that he could explain what was going on, but Yan Chuan just shook his head, indicating that he didn’t know about it and left.

Xu Ran saw a piece of paper in King Yan’s hand and guessed that King Yan’s abnormal behavior should have something to do with this piece of paper. Xu Ran was not afraid of being blamed by King Yan and took the paper out of his hand and looked at it carefully.

After reading it, Xu Ran understood why King Yan laughed so strangely. It turned out that the old emperor was dead. And he was probably buried when King Yan received the note. How could he not be happy？

Xu Ran remembered that Lu Qi had told him about three things the King Yan’s father asked him to do, the first two were completed, and now the last one was also completed. Xu Ran patted King Yan on the shoulder and said, “Don’t be so obvious. You should be careful not to get too excited.”

King Yan looked at Xu Ran strangely. “Why would I be too excited? I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time. Am I not allowed to smile?”

Xu Ran was so speechless. If an outsider saw him like this, he would probably be scared to death.

However, King Yan quickly put away his smile and said to Xu Ran, “The coal factory will be shut down for a while. There are other things to pay attention to. Although the news of the old emperor’s death has not reached Yanzhou, the imperial edict of the new emperor’s enthronement will definitely be issued. Maybe I will have to the capital to meet the new emperor.”

Xu Ran asked King Yan, “Do you not trust the new emperor?”

King Yan said, “I don’t trust anyone other than the prince. They are all fools, and there aren’t many capable people around them. No matter who was the new emperor, the Great Xia will be over in their hands.”

It seemed that King Yan had a good impression of the prince. Xu Ran couldn’t help but feel curious and asked King Yan, “Why do you think so highly of the prince?”

King Yan said, “The prince is not particularly capable, but he’s good at spotting and using talents . This is news from people in the palace. As long as the information is correct, I believe that within two years, the court will be completely under the crown prince’s control.”

Xu Ran was well aware of the importance of the teammates, and the best rulers would always let go and left things to those who were capable and trustworthy As long as the prince could do this and learn to control the overall situation, he would win.

Xu Ran didn’t ask King Yan how he get to know the prince so well. It was not hard to guess since King Yan even knew all about the palace.

What Xu Ran could hope for now was that the prince would use people as King Yan said.

In this case, King Yan would not be obstructed and they could also retire with success.

Xu Ran always thought too far, but there were always some unexpected changes that they could not predict.

Three days later, a messenger arrived from the capital. King Yan received an edict to go to the capital to pay homage to the new emperor.

King Yan’s hand trembled with the edict. He said to Lu Qi beside him, “I haven’t left Yanzhou capital for more than twenty years. I don’t even know what it looks like outside.”

King Yan’s words made Lu Qi feel sad. Although he is a king, he was still trapped in the small place of Yanzhou like a trapped beast.

Under the decree of the new emperor, King Yan must rush to the capital within a month. This time was not enough at all, and they had to run all the way without stop to get there.

And the people who came to announce the decree also stayed at the relay station of Yanzhou, waiting to set out  with King Yan.

Instead of answering King Yan’s words, Lu Qi asked him, “When are you going to leave and how many people are you going to take with you?”

King Yan thought about it and said, “I’m leaving tomorrow. You can arrange it today. A hundred people is enough. I’m afraid people would notice us if I bring too many people. Ask the secret guards to hide well and do not appear unless something happens. I will bring Yan Chuan with me, and you will have to deal with the affairs in Yanzhou.”

Lu Qi wanted to refute after hearing King Yan’s words, but he was stopped by King Yan. “You don’t have to say it. I understand your thoughts. I know you can protect me if you go with me, but I’ll be worried if no one stays in Yanzhou. The barbarians had been staring at the Yanzhou with a covetous eye. I’m afraid that the barbarians will know that I’m not here. You have to stay here and watch out for them.”

Lu Qi also thought of this, so he did not say anything else.

King Yan continued to say, “If they really come here and you can’t handle it, go find Xu Ran. Although he doesn’t know anything about Kung Fu, he is smart. He should be able to help you when the time comes, but you have to remember that in any case, their family must not be hurt.”

Lu Qi nodded. “I know. I will definitely guard Yanzhou and wait for you to come back.”

King Yan nodded and gave Lu Qi all his trust.