(Updated two chapters into one today)

Perseus had nine children in his life. Six of them died in the coup in the royal city 13 years ago, and three are left.

No, to be more precise... 5 died, the eldest son, the "eldest prince", was missing, and finally 3 were left.

Among these three children, apart from the young Solandel, the two princes Andre and Bolton happen to be both civilized and military.

There is no need to mention Bolton's deeds. He joined the army at a young age, studied under Sting, and has now grown into a general on the battlefield. With him on the battlefield, the soldiers feel like they have taken a reassurance, no matter how dangerous the battle situation is.

Move forward bravely.

Andre is just the opposite of Bolton. His martial arts skills are very poor. He can't teach offensive and defensive techniques no matter how hard he is. He has never won a fight with Bolton when he was a child. His understanding of military command is also average. To put it more simply -

Not military material.

However, whatever the gods take away from you, they often give something else.

It is true that Andre had no talent in the military field, but he had read hundreds of books since he was a child and knew the ways of the world. He had developed a friendly and easy-going attitude toward others since he was a child. He never limited himself to his status and reputation when making friends, and he knew everything about government affairs.

When Andrei was 14 years old, he could already sit next to Perseus and listen to meetings, put forward his own opinions in a timely manner, and his opinions were mature and not immature at all.

Seeing that Andre had such a talent, Perseus began to entrust him with some simple tasks so that his talents could be put into use.

Andrei did not live up to his father's expectations, and he could handle everything his father assigned him in an orderly manner. While proving himself, the responsibilities on his shoulders became heavier day by day, but he always worked hard and did his best to share his father's worries.

This kind of humble attitude and down-to-earth spirit of hard work are very rare in the flashy royal family. Many ministers admire Andre's talents. They always praise him every time they mention him, and ask their children to pay tribute to the second prince.

Your Highness studies.

Among the people, Andre often visited various places, conducted practical inspections, solved problems for people in various places, discovered talents for the kingdom, and was committed to improving people's lives.

Andre was born into a noble family, but valued the poor. He never looked down on people with low social status. Many children from humble backgrounds but with extraordinary talents were supported by him and got the opportunity to study in school.

The fate of the family.

The royal ministers praised Andre very much and regarded him as a kind and friendly nobleman. The people's evaluation of him was even worse, and the common people regarded him as a benevolent person who solved problems.

This is where the name "Prince of Mercy" comes from.

This time Danyu City caused such a mess, it would be difficult to get the best of both worlds. We must send someone who has good relations with all parties, whose words have weight, who is famous, and who everyone is willing to listen to and cooperate with, to deal with this mess.

.

And this person was undoubtedly Andre, and Perseus naturally handed over the heavy responsibility to him.

It was already evening when the main hall meeting ended. When Andre left the meeting room, many ministers came over to say hello to him:

"Your Highness, you have troubled yourself a lot about Danyu City. If you need any help, just ask and I will do my best to help you."

"Second brother, when you get to Danyu City, you must teach the officials there a lesson. It's so outrageous! Especially the derelict grain officer Kai Rui. Unless he is killed, the people will not be angry!"

"Andre, you have a good rest tonight. When you are ready, you can set off immediately. There is no delay."

...

Andre responded to everyone one by one, making them feel relieved, and then walked towards his mansion.

The moon and stars are sparse tonight, and the royal city is not as good as Danyu City. The cold winter wind is biting. Except for the evergreen trees, all the vegetation in the palace has withered away, leaving only bare dead branches, waiting for spring in the cold.

Arrive, it's lonely.

After Andre left the hall, he dismissed the guards and did not let anyone follow him. He walked alone.

He came to a fork, and instead of walking in the direction of the mansion, he quietly chose a remote path leading to a secluded place.

The path was eerie and long, with lifeless dead branches intertwined like the claws of a devil. The cold moonlight fell on it, adding a pale and eerie color.

Andrea meandered through the deep path, and stopped walking along the main road halfway. Instead, he stepped into the grass covered with dead leaves, peeled off the intertwined dead branches with his hands, and squeezed into the depths of the forest.

He seemed to be very familiar with this vast forest. Without any pause along the way, he walked to a remote area by a familiar route and stood in an open space filled with dead leaves.

There are trees all around, and the landscape in all four directions is very similar, like a blinding enchantment array. People who step into this place for the first time may not know how to identify the direction.

Andre stood there and took out a jade stone from his arms.

This piece of jade seemed ordinary and unremarkable in the hand, but when Andre put it on the ground, mysterious lines slowly appeared on the surface, shining brightly, and the whole stone seemed to be on fire.

This is a piece of jade carved with runes!

The rune energy on the jade penetrated toward the ground. Centered on the place where the jade was placed, a square area began to glow faintly. The dead leaves and the land became distorted and blurred, as if the paint on the paper had been forcibly wiped away.

Under the surge of runic energy, the vague square area gradually disappeared, and finally the hidden stairs leading to the underground were revealed.

If anyone from the Eric family is here, they will find that this is a hallucinogenic soul technique.

This kind of soul technique can build an energy barrier, and the illusion it generates will automatically blend with the surrounding scenery, making it invisible to the naked eye. Even if outsiders touch this barrier, it will not trigger any reaction.

If you want to break the illusion barrier, you can only place the corresponding "curse-breaking stone". The jade that Andre just took out is this object.

Andre walked into the passage hidden under the illusory barrier. After he took back the curse-breaking stone, the barrier reappeared and the surface became seamless again.

He took out a luminous lighting stone from his arms again and walked down the stairs to the ground.

There is a wooden door at the end of the stairs, which is unlocked and slightly ajar. There is a faint but deep sound of airflow coming from inside the door. I don't know if it is the sound of air flowing or the breathing of some creature...

The rich darkness and eerie sounds did not make Andre flinch. He seemed to be a regular visitor here and calmly opened the door and entered.

Inside the door is a secret room with a narrow space and an ordinary layout. There is only a table and two chairs without any extra furniture.

At this time, a figure was already sitting on a chair. He was hidden in the darkness, and his figure and face were difficult to distinguish. Only the constant sound of breathing indicated that he was a living person.

Andre put the lighting stone on the table, and the light illuminated the other person's face. He sat down in another chair, looked at the other person and said slowly: "Master Lan Xian, I've been waiting for a long time."

Lan Xian and Andre were not surprised by each other's appearance. They must have secretly made an appointment in some way.

The light from the lighting stone fell on Lan Xian's face, and the outline of the shadow was confusing. He said in a deep voice: "Let's end the conversation as soon as possible. You are the focus of everyone's attention now. If you disappear for too long, it will inevitably make people suspicious."

Andre nodded, without saying any nonsense, and got straight to the point: "This incident in Danyu City was beyond my expectation... I had thought that there would be resistance to the implementation of the decree to plant blood essence grass, but I didn't expect that it would be ruined in the end.

On top of natural disasters.”

"Whether it's a natural disaster or not, I can't tell yet." Lan Xian's eyes flashed with a sharp look, and his brows knit together tightly. "It's very rare for a south wind to blow in the cold winter."

"What's the result? Not only did Danyu City have a southerly wind, it didn't blow in the morning and it didn't blow in the evening, but it happened to blow up on the night of the Dragon Fire Festival, and it happened to burn the food supplies in the eight granaries... Do you think this is a coincidence?

?Maybe yes, maybe not."

Andre thought for a moment, squinted his eyes and asked: "When I go to Danyu City this time, in addition to implementing the administrative order, am I going to also find out the truth about this matter?"

"No!" Lan Xian simply shook his head and said seriously, "You must find a way to refuse the mission assigned to you by His Majesty the King."

"Rejection?" Andre was puzzled.

"Yes, I must decline." Lan Xian's tone was without hesitation and his voice was very solemn. "We don't care whether the fire in the Dragon Fire Festival granary is a natural disaster or a man-made disaster. The current situation in Danyu City is-"

"The relief grains in the eight major granaries were destroyed, and more than 6 million people had very little food left in their homes. They were waiting for the upcoming harvest season and had to rely on the wheat that was about to mature in the Danyu Plain. But in order to ensure the supply of Blood Essence Grass, those

The straw must be pulled out immediately."

"Originally, the Royal City transported 1.62 million tons of relief grain to Danyu City to make up for the half-year food shortage caused by the switch to planting blood essence grass. But now that the relief grain is gone, the people can be said to have nothing to eat."

Andre thought for a moment and asked: "Maybe we can try to adjust it from other places."

Lan Xian still shook his head: "Even if we ask various provinces to borrow grain and adjust it, in the cold winter like now, the surplus grain in each city is limited. Even if we scrape together some and transfer some, it will be difficult to feed more than 6 million people for the first half of the year."

"Then the question is, in this situation, are you going to follow your father's order, sacrifice the small for the big, ignore the people of Danyu City, and try to protect the supply of blood essence grass?"

"Or do you want to stand on the side of millions of people, delay the implementation of the decree, refuse to uproot the wheat stalks in Danyu Plain, and ensure that everyone has enough to eat?"

"No matter what choice you make in this situation, it will put you in a dilemma."

"If you choose to implement the decree, your evaluation in the eyes of your father will be unprecedentedly high. But at the same time, you will lose the support of the people. Everyone will think that you are someone who does not care about the lives and deaths of the people for the sake of political achievements. You have worked hard for so many years to become a kind prince."

"The image will completely collapse."

"If you choose to stand on the side of the people, the people's support will be strong, and people will support you even more loudly, but can you bear the consequences of disobeying the decree? Even if you can bear it, what will your father think of you? He will do it in the future.

Do you still dare to leave important national affairs to you?"

Lan Xian's analysis made Andre fall into a long period of reflection.

Indeed, now he seems to be favored by his father and is given orders to face the crisis. Everyone is looking at him with admiration and waiting for him to turn the tide like a savior.

But in reality, it's a bad job.

Father's heart and people's heart, he can only gain one, but he will also lose the other.

No matter what he loses, it will be a disaster for him.

This is not about implementing an executive order. This is simply about overcoming a tribulation. You will lose a layer of skin even if you don't die...

Andre stood up unconsciously and paced back and forth in the narrow secret room. His voice was very solemn: "However, it is not up to me to decide whether to accept this task or not."

"My father asked me to do it by name. Should I ask him to refuse in private? If I refuse at such a critical moment, he will definitely be dissatisfied and will neglect me in the future... It's really difficult to handle."

"So, we must find a way to offload this task to others without affecting His Majesty the King's evaluation of you." Lan Xian's eyes gleamed. He stood up and came to Andre's side, his tone as deep as

Dahai said, "I have already thought of this method for you."

Andre quickly motioned for Lan Xian to sit down and said respectfully: "Please enlighten me."

Lan Xian's fingers were beating regularly on the table and he said slowly: "If you want to reject the task without affecting His Majesty the King's opinion, first of all, you must ensure that you are doing practical things and let him see your efforts. So you

The first thing to do is-"

Lan Xian said two words in a deep voice: "Raise food."

"Raising food..." Andre muttered.

Lan Xian nodded: "Yes, we need to raise food. With the current food situation in Doguland, we only have such a short period of time. No matter whether we borrow it from other provinces or spend a lot of money to buy food from the Chamber of Commerce's food store, it will not be enough to raise food again."

Produce millions of tons of grain."

"In other words, famine in Danyu City is inevitable. However, even if you know that you won't have enough food, you can't do nothing. You must try your best to raise food."

"As long as you go to collect food, first of all, His Majesty the King will be very pleased to see that you are doing practical things, and he will secretly praise you in his heart."

"Secondly, no matter whether the food is enough or not, it will eventually be distributed to the people. They know that this is the food that His Highness the "Mercy Prince" has worked hard to raise. When they eat this food, they will think of you and thank you."

"Even if they are hungry later, they will only vent their grievances on the officials of Danyu City, and not resent you who worked hard for them."

"So, even if you know that there is not enough food, you still have to raise food, and you try your best to raise food. The more you raise, the higher His Majesty the King will think of you, and the people of Danyu City will be more grateful to you."

"The last and most critical step is that you raise the food, but you must not be the one who transports the food to Danyu City to implement the executive order. You must find a way to get out in advance, and you must not wade into this muddy water."

When Lan Xian said this, he reached out and took out a pocket bottle from his arms. The bottle was completely black and had a red stopper on it. It looked like a small medicine bottle.
Chapter completed!