In a chaotic and famine-stricken era, I picked up an empress to be my wife.

They all looked so eager to learn.

Shen An immediately revealed his plan.

Very simple!

First, increase grain production. Currently, the people of Daliang are unaware that manure can be used as fertilizer and rely almost entirely on the weather for their livelihood. They don't need chemical fertilizers; they only need to learn how to use manure as fertilizer. Compared to the past, grain production will increase significantly.

Second, seize the land from the wealthy and redistribute it! This will boost the enthusiasm of the people.

As soon as he said that...

Liu Wenyuan thought it was a fantasy.

"My lord, that man's excrement is worthless, how can it really increase grain production?" Liu Wenyuan couldn't understand it at all.

"Of course it can. In fact, most droppings can increase production, and if you encounter bird droppings, the increase will be even greater," Shen An said with certainty.

"this..."

"Liu Wenyuan, stop with the nonsense. Our lord is a descendant of the dragon. These things must have been told to him by the Dragon God in a dream. How could the Dragon God's methods not work?" Liao Bing slapped Liu Wenyuan on the head.

"Go easy on me, you son of a bitch!" Liu Wenyuan cursed as he turned around, then asked in confusion, "Dragon, descendant of the dragon?"

"Looks like you haven't received the message yet!"

Liao Bing coughed lightly and then recounted how Shen An had used a dynamite canister to scare away three thousand Black Spirit soldiers the previous night.

After listening, Liu Wenyuan and the others were not only thrilled by the close call, but also deeply impressed by Shen An's composure. They also gained an answer to why Shen An possessed all sorts of unimaginable abilities.

Shen An must be a descendant of the dragon, which explains everything he did in the past!

It was all told to him in a dream by the Dragon God.

That moment!

They all clearly felt more awe towards Shen An.

In the past, I admired Shen An's methods and feared his ruthless decisiveness.

Now it's a deep sense of awe.

Shen An didn't deliberately correct them. Instead, he said, "Regarding the matter of the descendants of the dragon, it's enough for you few to know. You don't need to tell anyone else. I want to know if you now believe that excrement can be used as fertilizer to increase grain yields?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"But, confiscating the land from the wealthy and distributing it to the rich seems inappropriate," Liu Wenyuan said, resting his chin on his hand. "It might cause internal strife in our Qingyang County."

"Why can't we fight? The people are suffering now. The chaos and famine are one reason, but the bigger reason is that the land is controlled by those gentry and wealthy families. The people don't even have land, how can they live well?" Liao Bing slammed his fist on the table. "Anyone who dares to disobey will be killed! I don't believe those gentry and nobles would dare to defy fate!"

"What do you know? The late emperor also carried out similar reforms, but it didn't last a month before he suddenly died. The court said he was sick, but in reality, the late emperor was still healthy at that time and it was impossible for him to die suddenly."

It is because his policies infringe upon the interests of the gentry that he cannot be tolerated and must be put to death!

Liu Wenyuan retorted, "Do you want our lord to face the same predicament?"

Liao Bing protested, "Our lord is a descendant of the dragon!"

"The late emperor was still the Son of Heaven, yet he was still killed," Liu Wenyuan retorted.

"How can that be the same? When the late emperor was alive, warlords had already emerged in various places, and powerful families controlled all kinds of regions. He lost control and was naturally killed!"

My Qingyang County only has 30,000 to 40,000 people, while we have 6,000 to 7,000 soldiers!

How many people were there in the gentry and aristocratic families?

Why should we be afraid of them?

If one person refuses, kill their entire family; if two people refuse, kill their entire clan!

We're not even afraid of Li Huaiyi, so why should we be afraid of them?

"Under the power of the strong, they are nothing but a mantis trying to stop a chariot!" Liao Bing continued to refute.

For a moment, Liu Wenyuan didn't know how to refute him.

He realized that his mindset was still stuck in the past when he was the county magistrate. He always felt that the local gentry and aristocratic families controlled Qingyang County, and that officials had to give them face. He felt that eradicating them would be too difficult.

However, they overlooked the fact that they now possess a formidable military force.

But he still advised, "My lord, even if Liao Bing is right, we cannot rush things. Right now, Qingyang County needs to maintain stability!"

Shen An did not agree with Liu Wenyuan's idea.

His idea, seemingly aimed at maintaining stability, actually sacrificed the interests of all ordinary people in order to keep those bloodsucking powerful families in check.

It's a false stability.

His campaign to seize land from the wealthy and distribute it to the poor was not solely aimed at increasing grain production.

Instead, he wanted to unite the entire Qingyang County, making the people feel that they couldn't do without him, and that his presence meant their interests were protected.

Under such circumstances, the people will fight desperately to protect him, and when they are needed in the future, they will do their utmost.

Only then can Qingyang County truly achieve stability.

Shen An told Liu Wenyuan about his idea.

Liu Wenyuan was completely stunned.

Shen An's words seemed to come from the sky, directly shattering the problem that he had always felt was unsolvable.

His desire for stability was just him deceiving himself.

If you can't solve the real problems, where can you find stability?!

Liu Wenyuan lowered his head, ashamed, and said, "My lord, I was wrong. My cowardice has caused the whole thing to turn out the wrong way."

"It's not too late to realize your mistake now. Starting tomorrow, we will seize the land from the rich and redistribute it to the poor." Shen An clenched his fist.

"yes!"

into the night!

When Shen An returned to his residence, Dugu Meng had already prepared the meal.

"You're back. Wash your hands and let's eat."

There was no concern for heat rash, no worried inquiries, but just that one sentence warmed Shen An's heart more than a hundred words of concern.

Shen An hurriedly went to wash his hands. Shen Xiaoqi followed him back and immediately ran to the kitchen, saying, "Sister-in-law, do you know? My brother is a descendant of the dragon. If you marry him, you'll be the wife of a descendant of the dragon, shining brightly! Why don't you hurry up and marry me!"

"Descendants of the Dragon?"

Upon learning of Shen An's return today, Dugu Meng devoted herself to preparing the meal, as it was the first time she had ever heard the term "descendants of the dragon."

Shen An didn't try to fool Dugu Meng like he would with others. Instead, he took out the explosive canister and recounted what had happened the previous night.

When Dugu Meng learned of the perilous situation Shen An had faced last night, her heart was in her throat.

"You should have run away back then. If they hadn't believed you, you would have been in danger! You can't do this again, okay?" Dugu Meng said worriedly.

Shen An originally wanted to say that fortune favors the bold, but seeing Dugu Meng's worried eyes reminded him that his girlfriend had always given him the same advice when he went on missions in his previous life.

He sighed inwardly and changed his words: "I'll be more careful from now on."

Shen Xiaoqi looked like the sky had fallen: "Huh? Brother, you're not a descendant of the dragon? I really thought you were!"

"What dragons or gods? Remember this, Xiao Qi! We humans will conquer nature!" Shen An said in a deep voice.

Shen Xiaoqi didn't react much, scratched her head, and then lowered her head to eat.

Dugu Meng was shocked.

What a powerful force of human will!

Even though she was an emperor in the past, she often prayed to heaven.

Seeing that Heaven did not respond, she always felt that she was not sincere enough.

But Shen An's words made her suddenly realize something!

People should rely on themselves, not on some vague and uncertain heaven.

This further strengthened her resolve to overcome all difficulties and return to the capital.

at the same time!

Li Huaiyi learned that Xu Houtian had been killed and that Shen An was a descendant of the dragon and possessed the power of the dragon god.

Neither he nor Cui Tianhe believed it!

In their view, Shen Anding had used some kind of trick to deceive his Black Spirit Army.

Cui Tianhe was so angry that he wanted to kill all the Black Spirit Army members who had been deceived!

Li Huaiyi was invigorated, feeling that Shen An's method had further inspired him, and he wrote the book better and better.

However, he was not careless. After two failures, his killing intent towards Shen An had reached its peak.

He immediately ordered Cui Tianhe to deal with Shen An according to the previous plan!

The next morning.

Shen An instructed Liu Wenyuan to issue an imperial edict.

Starting today, all farmland within Qingyang County will be allocated by lottery based on population.

Within three days, everyone must go to the county town to draw lots!

Those who fail to appear will be severely punished!

The majority of the people cheered and rejoiced at this imperial edict.

But how could the local gentry and clans of Qingyang County agree to this?

On that day, the heads of the so-called four major families in Qingyang County gathered together.

The Wang family, Wang Luotian, the Chen family, Chen Fa, the Liu family, Liu Mohan, the Jiang family, and Jiang Cheng!

Three men and one woman.

"Shen An is coming with great force this time. How should we deal with him?" Wang Luotian, the oldest among them, spoke first.

"If we don't agree, what can he do to us?"

The fat, big-eared Chen Fa scoffed, "Does he really think that just because he controls the county, we'll do whatever he says? Does he really think the four great families are made of paper?"

"I agree with what Chen Fa said!" Liu Mohan stood up and said.

The woman was not old, just over thirty, and had a rather alluring appearance. She snorted and said, "Does Shen An really think that he can do whatever he wants just because he has occupied the county town? On the surface, it looks like he is in control, but even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. Our four major families have been the actual controllers of Qingyang County for generations."

I suggest we give Shen An a taste of his own medicine! Let him know who the master of Qingyang County is!