Famine and exile: I brought the Spirit Spring to save the entire Marquis's mansion.

It took Huo Chang'an a long time to fully digest all of this.

He understood.

He acknowledged the beauty of that world, but also knew that it wouldn't work here, nor could it be done.

Change is not something that can be achieved overnight; it requires a complete overhaul and the hard work of countless people to reach the ideal world.

Dongyang is too far away now.

“Ning’er… I can’t give you a country like that. I can only try to change things little by little.”

"What are you thinking about?"

Sang Ning chuckled, “If you really want to build such a country, you’re courting death. All the upper echelons will unite to overthrow you!”

But even small changes are possible. Let's discard the bad and, in our lifetime, do our best to make this country better, little by little.

"Yes." Huo Chang'an nodded emphatically.

As long as she's there, anything is possible.

"Speaking of this, there's something I've wanted to say for a long time."

“I don’t like to get involved in military affairs, but this is something I find very unpleasant, and I really don’t think it’s necessary.” Sang Ning frowned, a hint of disgust in her eyes.

"Ning'er, just say it."

“I think the practice of punishing wives who wash their hair in tassels should be abolished! And the unjust law that punishes wives for men’s crimes should also be abolished.”

Huo Chang'an was not surprised at all; in fact, he had already figured it out.

Sang Ning hates it when women are bullied.

Changing the law is a matter for the future; it's too early to talk about it now. As for the woman who washes her hair in a tassel... he can abolish it immediately!

“I also think it’s unnecessary. What the army needs are soldiers with firm will. If we can’t stabilize the morale of the army without women who can help us wash our hats, then what use is I as the commander-in-chief?”

“Yes!” Sang Ning said excitedly, “Do you know how much the people love and respect soldiers in our area?”

Sang Ning has endless things to say about this.

During the war, he refused to take a single needle or thread from the people, preferring to sleep on the streets rather than disturb them.

Anyone in the army who harasses a woman will be shot on sight.

It is precisely these strict laws and regulations that have earned them the people's favorite team.

Afterwards, the entire village was willing to sacrifice themselves to avoid revealing the soldier's identity.

The military and civilians are one family, working together to drive out the Japanese pirates.

Only then did we achieve final peace and victory.

To develop into a strong and prosperous country.

The stability and strength of an army are never built or maintained by superficial things.

Huo Chang'an became more and more engrossed in listening, his eyes burning with passion, and he pestered Sang Ning to tell him a lot more.

In the end, Sang Ning even sang the national anthem once more, and crossed the Yalu River with great pride and high spirits.

Oh my god, I'm exhausted.

After eating some food, I couldn't hold on any longer and felt lazy and wanted to sleep.

Huo Chang'an tucked her in, still wanting more, but reluctant to let her continue.

In any case, there will be plenty of opportunities to talk about it in the future.

"Ning'er, that... maid?"

"Go ahead and look for it, I really need it right now."

She couldn't keep bothering such a busy man, and besides, she needed to remember herself, but there was no need for her to be unconventional; a maid would suffice.

Huo Chang'an was relieved.

*

The governor of Xihua City had been colluding with the Buddhist temple; otherwise, he wouldn't have been allowed to commit evil deeds for so many years.

When the incident at the Buddhist temple occurred, the prefect fled with his family upon hearing the news, but was immediately captured and brought back by Shao Qing, who was keeping an eye on him.

The prefect was beheaded on the spot. Huo Chang'an listened to Sang Ning's words and did not exterminate his family. Those who should be imprisoned were imprisoned, and those who should be released were released, according to the severity of their crimes.

The prefectural governor's mansion was empty, so Sang Ning and Huo Jingya moved in to recuperate.

Strangely, Yuan Mu, the general guarding the city, did not make a move at all.

Yan Meng personally watched him but found nothing unusual.

Could it be that he has actually abandoned darkness and embraced light?

In any case, we can't let our guard down, so Yan Meng continued to send people to keep an eye on things.

Next, we need to deal with the matters concerning the Buddhist temple.

Mingshui Temple, along with several other Buddhist temples in Xihua City, was completely ruined. At that time, Mingshui Temple was almost burned down by the people, but the soldiers stopped it.

It's such a waste to burn down such a nice house.

The angry people had no choice but to burn down the evil houses in the valley.

They even extended their hatred to other Buddhist temples, smashing them as well.

Since the people of Xihua City no longer believed in Buddhism, the Buddhist temples were no longer needed, and the monks were required to return to secular life and the land was reclaimed.

I don't know, I was taken aback.

The fertile land under the name of the Buddhist temple actually occupies one-fifth of Xihua City! A full five hundred acres!

Of these, the imperial court only allocated 100 mu; the remaining 400 mu were all seized from others.

Having swallowed so much land, and to deceive the people, they boil the coarsest grains into thin porridge and distribute it over several days each year, yet the people are grateful to them. How utterly foolish!

Since we are foolish, let us begin with wisdom.

The empty Myosuji Temple was converted into a private school.

Huo Chang'an hired three teachers to teach the children at public expense. They were all very dedicated, and those who did well in class would receive paper, ink, brushes, and inkstones as a reward.

The first lesson taught was: "The Master did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits. It was not that he did not believe in them, but that he respected the spirits and gods, yet kept them at a distance."

After arranging the Buddhist temple, the next issue was the allocation of the 500 acres of land.

All of this land should be distributed to the people.

If we're talking about understanding, it's the local officials who need to understand the people's situation. But with the prefectural governor in charge, how can the local magistrate be any better?

But now there's no one available, and Huo Chang'an can't just dismiss them all, so he's at a loss.

How should this land be divided?

"If only I had listened to Magistrate Song back then," a commoner said with a worried expression as he walked down the street with his companion.

"It's because we didn't bring that wretched child back that our family's reputation is ruined. If we had listened to Magistrate Song back then and hadn't sent her to choose some worthless divine servant, we wouldn't be being talked about behind our backs today."

How embarrassing!

"Yes! Magistrate Song is a truly good official who cares about us, but alas..."

Unfortunately, the person didn't say what was wrong, but it seems the outcome wasn't good.

Huo Chang'an waved for someone to investigate.

They soon returned to report what they had found out.

“Song Zhaolun was a local. He became a Jinshi in the 14th year of the Qianyuan era. According to the locals, he should have been the magistrate of Xihua County, but the current magistrate bribed the prefect, so Song Zhaolun became the assistant magistrate.”

Five years ago, when Myōsui-ji Temple held its first goddess selection, he strongly opposed it, but his voice carried little weight and no one paid attention.

After that, he went from house to house advising the people, and some people believed him and listened to his advice.

But a few days later, he had an accident.

The story goes that he accidentally fell into the river while drinking at night and almost drowned, but luckily he was pulled out by a fisherman who was catching big fish at night.

But because he injured his head in the river, he became mentally impaired! Naturally, he could no longer serve as the county magistrate.

He has only one mother, who is fifty years old, and the two of them depend on each other for survival.

The locals say he's incredibly stupid; sometimes, if his mother beats him, he'll run away and disappear for days.

Over the years, the people of Xishui City have almost completely forgotten about him.

With Mingshui Temple gone, I suddenly remembered that person.