A faint smile flashed across the emperor's lips. He shook his head. "I thought so too, but recently..." He raised his hand, stretched out two fingers, and pointed his temples. "I always feel like I can't do anything. Especially the river's two consecutive breaches made me wonder if it was really angry. Do you know why?"

Liang Xiao shook his head and did not answer. Of course he knew that the emperor would feel powerless, but he did not understand why. In history, after Emperor Wu of Han took power, he killed all directions, Wei Qing and Huo Qubing won one after another. Although the Yellow River was broken, and it lasted for more than 20 years, he did not encounter such a difficult situation.

Could it be that my arrival changed history and made the emperor start in advance and was not prepared enough?

"Some people have always said that I was in a bad position."

Liang Xiao was stunned for a moment. This was really a little impression. Emperor Wu of Han was not in a proper position? He had read a lot of historical books of the Han Dynasty and had never read such records. Even after many years of coming to this world, it was the first time he heard it, and it was said from the emperor.

"How is this possible? Although Your Majesty is not the eldest son, he is the legitimate son born to the queen, and he should succeed the throne."

The emperor shook his head. "My mother was named the queen after I was born, and was a remedy made by the late emperor to allow me to succeed to the throne. But according to etiquette, even if my mother was the queen, I was still a concubine. Only the child she gave birth to after she became the queen can be considered the legitimate son. This is why my elder brother, King Linjiang, was named the crown prince before this."

Liang Xiao was stunned and didn't know how to answer. As soon as the emperor said it, he understood the truth. This truth was not complicated, it was just that he had not paid much attention to it before. Relatively speaking, he was more willing to focus on the general trend of history and specific issues, so he would block the Confucianism from coming to power at all costs. He has always paid little attention to these issues that have no practical significance.

However, for people of this era, this problem may be a big problem. The emperor has always been upset, which shows that.

"So, Your Majesty is trying so hard to prove his destiny?"

"Although it's not entirely true, there are also considerations in this regard." The emperor showed a self-deprecating smile. "In fact, compared to me personally, it is more important whether the Han family has the destiny to win the world. But..."

The emperor didn't say anything further, but just glanced at Liang Xiao.

Liang Xiao smiled knowingly.

He understood the Emperor's concern. In terms of the overall situation, of course, the legitimacy of the Han family to win the world is more important, but in terms of personal interests, the Emperor's concern is his own problems. After all, this is a big issue that may directly threaten his rule. I wonder how many royal families are staring at him. Emperor Xiaojing Liu Qi is a high-profit family. In addition to the deposed King of Linjiang Liu Rong, the King of Linjiang Liu Yanyu who died young, and the King of Jiangdu Liu Fei who died not long ago, the Emperor has six brothers in front of him. These people are his powerful competitors.

Liang Xiao thought of Emperor Taizong of Tang Li Shimin. Because of his inappropriate position, Li Shimin had to work hard to be a wise ruler and achieve the Zhenguan rule. The same was true for Liu Che, who was guilty and forced him to work harder, so he became a hero of a generation.

"So, I am against Mr. Dong, but has my plan broken?"

"I had this idea at first, but now it may not be a bad thing. Otherwise, the river would break its mouth one after another, and I really couldn't handle it. Just when the kings came to pay tribute, those cold words made people feel upset."

Liang Xiao couldn't help laughing. The emperor in front of him was far from the Emperor Wu of Han who was the best in history, and even seemed a little weak. He looked worried at this moment, and probably couldn't imagine how he would be in a few decades, killing the Prime Minister Ru and slaughtering dogs. In the end, he was so angry that he even killed his son and daughter without mercy.

After all, I am still young, and I am not confident enough, and I am not that cold-blooded.

"Your Majesty is wise." Liang Xiao said half-true and half-false.

The emperor glared at Liang Xiao, and stopped talking. Liang Xiao picked up the knife and cut off the scorched meat. He watched the fresh meat slowly turn yellow under the scorched flames, and oil seeped out. Liang Xiao cut a piece, picked it up on the tip of the knife, and handed it to the emperor. The emperor hesitated for a moment, reached out to take it, put it in his mouth, chewed it slowly for a while, swallowed it, nodded, and praised: "This is tender, just roasted."

"Your Majesty, barbecue seems simple, but it is actually very skillful."

"You mean, governing a big country is like cooking a small fresh food?" The emperor tilted his mouth and laughed proudly. "I have heard of your high theory."

"That's not high, I'm talking about something higher today." Liang Xiao was happy, and reached out to hold the wooden stick of the wild boar, and slowly flipped it. "Wild boars are much more complicated than small fish. Grilled small fish, just need to master the opportunity and not act rashly. The wild boars are bigger and the meat quality in different parts is different. If you want to eat the best delicious food, you must first choose the place to cut the knife."

As he said that, he cut another piece of meat from the wild boar's belly, cut a small piece and handed it to the emperor. The emperor's eyes flashed, he took it over and tasted it, and frowned immediately. "This piece is not as good as the one just now. It's too much oil and is greasy."

"The one just now was the spine, and the middle spine. The spine was moved more often, mostly live meat, which tasted delicious, and the abdomen was just oily, so the taste was much worse. However, although the meat on the spine was delicious, it was not easy to get. Too many bones could easily damage the knife."

The emperor looked slightly and smiled at the corner of his mouth.

"So, when cooking small fresh meat, you still can't eat the real delicious food. Therefore, when eating small fresh meat, you should use the method of cooking small fresh meat, and when eating barbecue, you should use the method of barbecue. You cannot keep it unchanged, nor can you face the wall out of thin air. You can only honestly study wild boars, practice knife skills, and master the heat."

The emperor laughed out loud. "So, you can use the Huang-Lao way to govern a small country, and you must make some changes in governing a big country."

"Your Majesty is wise, I think this is indeed the case."

"Then why do you still oppose Mr. Dong? Even if his response to heaven and man is infatuated, the great unification is adapting to the current situation."

"Your Majesty, in addition to the resonance of heaven and man and the great unification, Master Dong also talks about governing the country with virtue."

The emperor was a little embarrassed and asked back: "Isn't it good to govern the country with virtue?"

"Okay, but it's just nice. I'm afraid it's as difficult as the inner sage and the outer king." Liang Xiao explained slowly, as if he were a family: "According to Master Dong's meaning, governing the country with virtue is based on the interpretation of the law, especially based on the Spring and Autumn Annals, and using the meanings and principles contained in the Spring and Autumn Annals to judge. However, there are many annotations in the Spring and Autumn Annals and different meanings, who has the final say in the end?"

"How should you govern the country according to your opinion?"

"I don't know." Liang Xiao did not think.

"Don't know?" The emperor was stunned. Liang Xiao said with great confidence. He thought he had any more clever theories. Unexpectedly, after talking about the wild boar Xiaoxian for a long time, he finally asked a practical question, but he only had the three words "not know". He was amused and crying. "Do you think such an occasion is not solemn enough and it is not appropriate to discuss such a problem?"

Liang Xiao also frowned. "Your Majesty, I am not a saint who was born to know. I am just a country boy. It is a great blessing to be named a marquis for his military merits. Isn't it normal to not know the principle of governing the country so noble?"

The emperor was speechless. Liang Xiao made a point. He was not a knowledgeable person at all, and it was normal for him not to know the way of governing the country. However, he made such a great determination and came to ask for advice. How could the three words "not know" satisfy him?

"Then what you said just now..."

"I'm just giving an example."

"Uh" the emperor was speechless. He waved his hand depressedly, wanting to get angry, but he didn't know what reason to get angry. Could it be that Liang Xiao didn't understand the way of governing the country? However, he was holding a ball of fire in his heart and did not vent it, which made him feel uncomfortable. He felt like a wild boar roasted on the fire, and Liang Xiao was the diner watching the show, cutting him a piece of meat from time to time and evaluating.

Liang Xiao lowered his voice and asked carefully: "Your Majesty, are you here to relax today, are you here to ask?"

"Do you think I'm really idle and come to hunt like you?" The emperor was in a dark head. "Do you know how many documents are waiting for me to review. Wei Qihou had just sent a manuscript, and I hadn't had time to read it."

"Is it a compilation of travel notes of Dou family members traveling around the world?"

"Um."

"Here comes out so soon?" Liang Xiao was surprised. "The scholars in Huainan are really motivated."

"You know, too?"

"I know that Wei Qihou sent a manuscript to Huainan and asked the King of Huainan to help him print it into a book, but I didn't expect it to be so fast. It seems that if you make money, you have motivation."

The emperor was confused. "What... can you make money?"

"Don't your Majesty know? This book is to be promulgated throughout the world. Wei Qihou plans to sell it publicly. Each hardcover book is sold for one gold coin, and each simple copy is sold for three thousand yuan. In addition to paying the cost of printing the book, it will also be regarded as the cost of the next journey."

The emperor was very curious. He received a book sent by Dou Ying. The binding was very novel, the paper felt very good, and the handwriting was beautiful, but he never thought it was for sale. Selling books? What money can you make? Besides, shouldn’t such classics be hidden at home?

Liang Xiao told Dou Ying's plan. These plans also had his suggestions, which he naturally said were very well-informed. Dou Ying summarized more than a dozen records of the travels of the Dou family's children, unified the style, and attached it to the catalogue. It was about 50,000 words and sent it to Huainan. The King of Huainan helped him print the book. Even if he printed it into a thread-bound book, he still needed several large books. The cost was naturally not low. Even if the King of Huainan was willing to help, it would not be in vain.

So Dou Ying offered a high price and paid 200 gold. He asked the King of Huainan to print 1,000 pieces first. The average cost per piece was 2,000 yuan, which was still the starting price of 1,000 pieces. In order to recover the money, Dou Ying planned to sell books. If this plan could be realized smoothly, he could make a profit of 50 to 100 gold.

Of course, Dou Ying did not lack this money, but this means that printing books is not a loss of money and can be operated continuously for a long time.

The emperor was stunned when he heard this. No wonder Dou Ying didn't bother him recently. He was doing such a thing.

"Can books...profit profit?"

"It should be possible." Liang Xiao said with a smile: "I have read one or two articles, both pictures and texts, and it is quite interesting to use for entertainment. Especially for those women in the boudoir who live in simplicity, those who have more money spend on hardcover books, and those who have less money buy a simple version to see the great mountains and rivers. In the future, you can talk more about it. Why not do it? After all, not everyone has the opportunity and time to travel all over the world."

The emperor understood as soon as he heard it. This is a book that expands its knowledge and experience. It has both practical value and entertainment value, so he should not worry about selling it. Not to mention anything else, there are so many wealthy families in Chang'an alone. For Dou Ying's sake, hundreds of books are not just snatched away.

However, he immediately thought of another question. If books can be made in batches, wouldn’t the spread of knowledge be more convenient. With more readers, the conflict of thought may become more intense. If someone wants to spread any remarks that are unfavorable to the court, it will be easier.

A strong sense of uneasiness arose in the emperor's heart. He realized that this was probably a more turbulent wave than the breach of a river. If he didn't prepare early, he might swallow himself up.

Seeing Liang Xiao still laughing and joking, the emperor couldn't help but interrupt him. "Liang Xiao, don't you think this is very dangerous?"

"Danger? Where does the danger come from?"

"If someone is unfavorable to the court, spread rumors and cause trouble, and bewitch people's hearts, wouldn't it shake the root of it?"

Liang Xiao put away his smile, a little careless. "Your Majesty, if the world is peaceful and the people live and work in peace, how can the only few rumors shake the root cause? Evil cannot defeat the righteousness, falsehood does not hide the truth. If anyone overestimates himself, I am willing to refute it for Your Majesty."

The emperor's eyes flashed and he didn't say anything. This matter was too sudden. He had not figured out what was going on and could not make a decision rashly. However, seeing Liang Xiao was so confident, he was inexplicably relieved.

"By the way, Your Majesty, when I passed by Chang'an, I once suggested that Wei Qihou assist Master Dong in writing the history of the changes in the river and send the children of the Dou family to inspect the geography of the river and prepare for the management of the river. Has he ever made it clear to Your Majesty?"

The emperor looked confused. "I haven't had time to see it yet, let me talk about it first, what's going on?"

Liang Xiao briefly explained the situation. To manage a river, we must not only clarify the changes in the river in history, but more importantly, field investigations. Just based on the records in the book is far from enough. He suggested that Dou Ying arranges his children to travel, and make the up and down of the river the current focus and advance along with Dong Zhongshu. At that time, the text and field investigations should be more instructive.

The emperor nodded repeatedly. "This plan is good. If it can be done, those playboys will be considered a contribution."

"Since you have made merit, will Your Majesty be rewarded?"

The emperor glanced at Liang Xiao and snorted: "Little family! Will they care about the little reward?"

Liang Xiao smiled. "Your Majesty, this is not a stingy person. This reward does not matter to them, but for those scholars with poor families, it may not be a way to make a living. Can the Chen and Dou families have hundreds of people? There are thousands of scholars in the world. If they can be launched for a census, it may take a few years to get rid of the river."

The emperor's eyes lit up and his heart beat.-

(To be continued.)
Chapter completed!