Chapter 820 Footprints

Liu Dahu held the bone broth and poured it into the pot.

Tian Tian held winter melon, cabbage, fungus, and other ingredients and put them in.

Crown Prince Ji Chuanye grabbed a few soul wolfberries and sprinkled them in.

Sword Girl sat aside, the corners of her mouth slightly raised, with three parts dignity, three parts aloofness, three parts disdain, and one part small helplessness.

"This is what my imperial father taught me. The imperial father said that eating like this is good for your health."

The Crown Prince put the beef balls into the pot, slowly waiting for the hot pot to boil.

The aroma of beef began to gradually spread.

Eating beef is against the law. Even under the rule of the enlightened Prince of Pingxi's mansion, cattle are also extremely important means of production. It is not easy for ordinary people to eat a bite of beef.

But if you say that even the Shizi (son of a feudal lord) , Wangye (prince) and Crown Prince can't eat beef, that's too unrealistic.

In addition to the beef balls, there were also slices of beef, which the Crown Prince put into the clear soup.

"The soup can also be drunk, later."

The Crown Prince introduced.

According to Ji Lao Liu's own statement, his youthful debauchery was to deliberately tarnish his reputation.

But no matter what, since he didn't cultivate a martial artist's physique, indulging in pleasure will inevitably overdraft and hollow out his physical foundation in advance.

Fortunately, Ji Lao Liu realized this problem early. He couldn't work so hard to fight with his father for so many years, and finally sit on the dragon throne, only to have his body collapse after a few years of tossing, leaving a group of orphans and widows, benefiting...others.

Since the birth of his eldest son, Ji Lao Liu has attached great importance to health preservation.

In addition, the Crown Prince had a weak constitution since he was a child, so Ji Lao Liu often guided his son's diet.

Next to him, another hot pot was boiling.

Zheng Fan sat there, holding a cigarette in his hand.

The Blind Man sat in front of him, having just finished recounting the progress of some affairs from the new year to the present.

In short, everything in Jinyun East is steadily improving. After the foundation was laid and plans were made in the previous two years, even if a war has just been launched, it is more like a stretch after a long rest. Next, Jinyun East will enter a period of more rapid development.

The key here is population.

Population is a metaphysics.

It's not that it will immediately decrease when you think it's too much, nor will it immediately increase when you think it's too little. Immediate birth is too late; people are not rabbits.

Moreover, the Prince's Mansion is not very motivated to lay the foundation for the development of future generations; this is a matter of predecessors planting trees for future generations to enjoy the shade.

After all, the Prince's two children are still in their mother's belly; after all, neither the Prince nor the gentlemen have had enough fun yet.

Therefore, on the issue of population, they can only continue to absorb from the Chu region and the Snow Plains.

The nobles of the Snow Plains, after meeting the asset certification, can even directly become standard households. They may not like the treatment of standard households, but they will definitely like this official identity recognition and the protection that this identity can provide them.

The refugees in the Chu region, accompanied by the great victory in the last Battle of Fancheng, those refugees who were still hesitant and uncertain began to migrate to the Jin region spontaneously.

Anyway, they can't beat the Yan people, and maybe the Yan people will have to fight again in two years, so it's better to join in advance.

But the population supplemented by these two aspects still cannot meet the needs of development. Fan Li and Xue San went to look for silver mines, but mining requires extremely terrifying manpower.

After the development of all walks of life enters the right track, each one is a "man-eating" beast.

There is no way; Jinyun East was too barren in the beginning. The Wild Men and Chu people created trouble one after another. After the Yan people occupied here, this place once became the front line battlefield, and they didn't plan to develop and restore it at all.

The real development only started after Zheng Fan took over here.

Therefore, to a certain extent, enfeoffment can indeed strengthen the development and consolidation of marginal areas.

On a large scale, there were the Three Marquises opening up the borders during the Xia Dynasty. On a smaller scale, there was the Chu Kingdom, which had the most ethnic problems and the most complex regional characteristics, enfeoffing a large number of nobles. For hundreds of years, except for Southern Xinjiang, they basically recognized themselves as Chu people.

On a smaller scale, there is Jinyun East, where the people are proud of being able to eat steamed buns with fillings.

The Blind Man stated the problem.

The Prince of Pingxi listened.

The cigarette butts scattered on the ground showed how seriously the Prince was listening.

But the crux of the problem is that Xu Wenzu did too well. Once Yingdu is settled down, Jinzhong is basically settled down. Population mobility in this era is not high, and the war has not affected Yingdu, making it difficult for Jinyun East, which lacks population, to absorb population from there.

Steamed buns with fillings are very desirable, and many people continue to cross the Wangjiang River to Jinyun East to seek refuge in the Prince's Mansion because of this, but it is still "a drop in the bucket."

"At first, I thought that with Xu Wenzu sitting in Yingdu, our rear would be stabilized, and we could spare more energy to face the threat from the Chu Kingdom. Now that the threat from the Chu Kingdom is smaller, the rear..."

Zheng Fan smiled. There was no way to continue this.

The Blind Man interjected, "The main reason is that we fought too well and stabilized the situation too well. If we are not chaotic here, the Three Jin Lands cannot be chaotic."

The Prince of Pingxi didn't notice that the Blind Man's words could actually be reversed.

"Don't bite off more than you can chew. Introduce some policies to encourage childbirth. Give some subsidies to standard households who have more children," the Prince said.

"My Lord, in fact, the standard households are already working very hard to have children."

The standard households have high living security and good welfare. With the premise of not worrying about food and clothing, they are also very motivated to have children. Moreover, the Prince's Mansion has long abolished the head tax. Unlike other places, there is still a tradition of drowning infants.

"Ah, let's see."

The Prince of Pingxi shouted to the table where the children were sitting:

"Son, bring two plates of beef to Dad."

"Okay, Father."

Tian Tian brought the beef over.

Compared to the clear soup pot on the children's side, Zheng Fan's side was cooking a spicy pot.

When the beef went down and rolled,

The children sitting at that table stared straight, suddenly feeling that the health pot in front of them was no longer fragrant.

Of course, their existence can add more appetite to Zheng Fan's side.

After the meal, the Blind Man took his leave to work on official business.

Zheng Fan practiced his saber and took a bath as usual.

In the afternoon, the Prince's otaku life began.

Si Niang was busy, and the Princess went to Gourd Temple to pray to Buddha.

Um,

Plus, they were both pregnant.

The Prince's only choice left was one.

Ji Lao Liu once complained in a letter that his two women were pregnant.

At that time, Zheng Fan felt that this guy was showing off that he had children again, but now he understood this depression.

Fortunately, Liu Ruqing's belly has not moved,

Whether she is anxious or not is another matter,

The Prince himself was relieved.

When Zheng Fan entered the courtyard, Liu Ruqing was pruning branches, wearing a green jacket and white soft-soled shoes, looking like a Huadan (female character in Chinese opera) on stage, but she didn't have makeup on.

Naturally beautiful, with natural charm;

The world rumors that the Prince of Pingxi likes married women, but in fact, Si Niang and the Princess are both original versions. Only Liu Ruqing really made the Prince of Pingxi bear this statement.

But,

It's worth it.

Everyone teases Meng De, but everyone envies Meng De.

Seeing the Prince coming, Liu Ruqing took the initiative to greet him.

In front of the maids, the Prince stretched out his hand and directly embraced Liu Ruqing in his arms, his salty pig hand was skilled, marching and fighting for thousands of miles as if entering an uninhabited area, seeking up and down, equally distributing the rain and dew, and shielding the battlefield.

In an instant, Ruqing's eyes were already full of charm and her breath was continuous.

The two maids on the side pursed their lips, but they were not shy. Obviously, they had long been accustomed to it. They just followed and squeezed the handkerchief in their hands, as if they had empathy with their mistress.

It's just a pity that their Prince is very picky in terms of women. Although they have also done the work of helping to push the cart, they have never really been favored.

The Princess once joked that Ruqing was afraid of not being able to bear it alone, and what if Ruqing was also pregnant, so she advised the Prince to take in a few more concubines.

But the Prince, who refused harem comics in his previous life, already felt "deeply sinful" with three wives in this life, and he really had no intention of opening a room to take in people.

And this is like the demand for population. In the past two years, the grain output in Jinyun East was insufficient, and it was impossible to take the opportunity to massively absorb refugees at that time. Now that the foundation has been laid, it is no longer possible to obtain a large influx of population.

Similarly, you can't only consider the inconvenience of having two pregnant wives now. After all, children will eventually be born. You have to consider your future waist.

In broad daylight, they were not in a hurry to enter the room, because there was still one thing to go out and do later.

Liu Ruqing began to sing opera for the Prince. Her singing skills are getting better and better. The Prince, who originally knew nothing about opera and still has no interest in it, listened with gusto.

This is like some men going to sing in later generations. Are they really passionate about singing?

Drinking tea,

Eating snacks,

Listening to the little song,

The afternoon sun seemed to be stained with a faint golden color.

Thanks to Dugu Mu's head and General Nian's egg,

The Prince, who had just been on the battlefield some time ago, now had enough patience to continue enjoying the quiet little days in the Prince's Mansion.

At the end of a song,

Liu Ruqing, who had long figured out the excitement point of her man,

Put her orchid fingers on her lips, and her body retreated slightly,

Refusing and responding, refusing and shy,

Her charm and allure were just right,

She shouted:

"Uncle~~~"

"Hiss..."

No matter how many times he had heard it, he still couldn't get tired of it.

It can even be said that the previous little song, with so many correct pronunciations, was all a foreshadowing for this last sound for the Prince himself.

It was complete and comfortable.

The Prince beckoned,

Maybe this is the most attractive thing about Liu Ruqing. Even though they have been together for a long time, she still maintains her shyness, which makes the Prince feel like he is doing something bully-like every time.

Although with the Prince's current status, even the censors of the court would not think it was a big deal if he really went to bully men and women. They would even be overjoyed and think that the Prince of Pingxi finally "knew the overall situation" and began to truly "self-defile for the country."

But this matter is really too uncharacteristic and too low-end, but at home, hehe...

After hugging Liu Ruqing and flirting again, Ke Shi came in to report.

Xiao Yibo is very sensible. Whenever the Prince is in the Madam's courtyard, Ke Shi will always deliver the message.

"Go, change your clothes and come out with me."

Liu Ruqing was a little surprised. Although she is also a Princess now, compared to the other two, she has always considered herself a "concubine." It is generally not her turn to show her face with men.

But she didn't refuse. After all, the other two are not feeling well now. It would be meaningless to be coy.

Liu Ruqing got up and went back to her room to change clothes first.

Ke Shi stepped forward and spat at the two maids who were following behind slowly:

"You two sluts, your legs are so weak that you can't walk. I'll marry you off sooner or later!"

As she said that, Ke Shi walked to the coffee table by herself, bent over to clean up the fruit plate and tea, just facing away from the Prince.

The Prince, who had been wiping his gun for half an afternoon, slapped it up, the waves rolled, and the rebound was powerful.

"Master~~~"

Although Ke Shi is not a member of the room, she had fed the Prince milk after all, so she is considered half a family member.

At this time, the maid who had not gone far had the courage to turn around and smiled:

"Mama, the Prince likes it more if you call out twice."

Ke Shi blushed immediately and scolded:

"Hey, see if I don't tear your mouth apart!"

...

On weekdays, when the Prince goes out of the Prince's Mansion on official business, he is accompanied by a retinue. It is not about gongs and drums or flags, but the rows and columns of guards in brocade clothes, carrying flying fish knives and marching in unison, are enough to declare the sacred and inviolable nature of the Prince's power.

But this time,

The Prince went out in a carriage.

Liu Ruqing changed into a plain formal dress and sat in the carriage with him.

The carriage entered the school.

The school of the Prince's Mansion was first opened in Shengle City, and then continued to move to Xuehai Pass and then to the current Fengxin City. The scale of the school is also constantly expanding.

Basically, eligible children from standard households will study there.

And it is very difficult for children from non-standard households.

The tradition of the Zhuxia culture is that as long as the parents' conditions allow, they are very willing to spend money on their children. If it is in a remote place, it is fine, everyone is laughing at each other, but it is right in front of you, you can see clearly that other people's children are going to school in the school, and your family is still playing in the mud at home. How can you bear it?

Therefore, it is not difficult to understand why so many people are eager to enter the civilian labor camp and the auxiliary soldiers camp every time the Prince calls up soldiers.

In comparison, the cost of "free" school is not worth mentioning.

Fortunately, there are not enough people in Jinyun East now. If Fengxin City really becomes like Yingdu, the Blind Man may concoct "school district housing" to further stimulate development.

Today,

It is the day of the formal graduation of the first batch of students from the school, so Zheng Fan, the "Shan Zhang (Principal)," must come.

The school is divided into two parts. After selection, children who are suitable for joining the army and other children are separated.

Children who will join the army in the future will be trained for two more years. They will either serve as the Prince's rotating guards or stay in the army. The remaining children will go to various shops and workshops early to start as the most junior technicians.

This world is always so realistic. If the swords and guns are not sharp enough, no matter how well you build your home, it will only be a wedding dress for others.

The Yan people have always had a tradition of valuing military achievements. The people in Fengxin City regard sending their children to the army as the most reliable and most promising way to rise.

After all, their Prince is invincible!

When Zheng Fan arrived at the school's parade ground, it was already dusk.

On the parade ground, more than 800 children, no, young men, were standing in neat rows.

When the brocade-clad guards came in formation and the carriage drove in,

This group of graduating children, under the order of the school officer, all knelt on one knee, with their right fists supporting the ground,

Chanting in unison:

"Greetings, Your Highness!"

"Greetings, Your Highness!"

There are familiar faces in this group of children.

The best, at the front, are Zheng Man and Liu Dahu and the others.

Moreover, because most of the children were received as orphans, most of them were children who were changed their surnames and enlisted by the fallen soldiers with their own pensions.

Moreover, the sisters in the red tents of the Prince's Mansion also have the tradition of donating silver to create memorial tablets and adopt children. This has been preserved since Shengle City.

"Father" is the Prince's soldier, died for the Prince, and he grew up with the Prince's support. Now, he must rely on the Prince's support to enter the Prince's army and serve the Prince.

Even death warriors are not so thorough.

After this group of children enters the army, when they gradually grow into centurions and officers, the army under the Prince's Mansion will be more loyal and will always be united around the Prince.

In the next batch, and the next batch, there will be more Wild children, Chu children, and Barbarian children. Moreover, the composition of the troops under the Prince's Mansion is also very clear at this time. Their existence will further bridge the complex composition of the army.

In this regard, the Blind Man's arrangement is very forward-looking.

The Prince walked out of the carriage, and behind him stood Liu Ruqing.

Looking at these young men kneeling in front of him, Zheng Fan felt some emotion in his heart.

In later generations, even thirty-year-olds can be called ignorant children.

But now, these young men are already carrying their own missions and will join the army.

The Prince and the Side Princess presented waist tags to the young men one by one.

The Prince was responsible for lightly patting each young man's shoulder, performing the "shoulder patting ceremony" that is very popular in Fengxin City.

The Side Princess delivered the waist tags and gently stroked their faces at the same time.

In this era, when people can be praised by scholars for "being courteous to the virtuous" even if they run out barefoot, this "specification" can be said to be very advanced.

After all, the identity of this Shan Zhang (Principal) is unusual!

"You are all the orphans's good children, and you are all the orphans's good students."

The Prince's voice echoed in the parade ground.

"The orphan believes,

Today, you are proud of the orphan; tomorrow, the orphan will be proud of you!"

"Serve the Prince to the death!"

"Serve the Prince to the death!"

The Prince of Pingxi stood with his hands behind his back,

Looking at these young men who were extremely excited and shouted to serve him to the death,

In his heart, he was extremely emotional.

Perhaps,

In the past few days, his family believed that their appearance changed the original trajectory of the birth and operation of the Demon King in this world, which was enough to be proud of, but it was more like a game of chess, winning several moves in the lead, but in the final analysis, it was still a game.

And today,

Right here,

Zheng Fan found a true sense of emotion;

Compared with the "Demon King" whose destiny trajectory was changed,

What he should really be proud of,

Is because of his appearance, these young men were able to have the day of being adopted, growing up, and becoming adults.

Turn around,

Lower your head,

Look at the way you came,

These footprints,

Aren't they clear?