Empress: Your Majesty, please respect yourself, I don't want to be promoted

The carriage was speeding on the road to Taihe County.

In the carriage, Lu Chen and Fu Huan continued to improve their suggestions. Of course, most of the time Lu Chen was talking and Fu Huan was listening. She would only add something when Lu Chen needed to know some information.

The separation of local administrative power and judicial power cannot be accomplished overnight. If nothing else, the talent pool alone is a problem. The judiciary requires a lot of professionalism. There are not many talents in this field in the court now.

Relevant systems must also be improved.

After all, politics is not about playing house. You can make a decision just by taking a picture of your forehead. Pilot experiments are still necessary.

The most suitable areas for piloting are naturally the two states of Yu and Sui that have just experienced a great purge, as well as the Gyeonggi region that is firmly controlled by the empress.

Especially the Sui and Yu states.

At this time, the land of the two states was like a blank piece of paper, where the empress and Lu Chen's ideas could get maximum feedback. Moreover, while the policy was being tried out, the talents that the court really needed could be continuously cultivated to prepare for the future. Get ready.

Kill multiple birds with one stone.

Therefore, this matter is also the top priority at present and must be given sufficient attention.

An hour and a half passed quickly.

Near noon, the carriage finally arrived at the foot of Heishan Mountain, about thirty miles away from Taihe County.

A brand new memorial just happened to have its final touch at this time.

When Lu Chen and Fu Hua were discussing the memorial, Gu Simiao, who had been unable to interrupt, saw that the two of them were finally done, so she opened the car window out of boredom and took a look outside.

What you see is a bare black land. Compared with the lush mountains, rivers and vegetation around Luojing, this place is like a lifeless desert.

Looking far into the distance, the endless black mountains are like a black dragon, rising straight into the sky with its teeth and claws, which is quite spectacular.

Looking sideways, several dilapidated farmhouse eaves appeared in her sight in the distance.

"Um?"

Gu Simiao's moving eyes flickered slightly.

"Where is this?"

She opened her mouth and called out softly.

"Recall the General's words."

Zhu Yong's thick voice sounded.

"We have arrived at the boundary of Heishan. There is a village called Yongping Village on the east side of Heishan."

"We've arrived in Montenegro."

Lu Chen handed the memorial to Fu Hua, and then looked at Gu Simiao.

"Now that we have arrived at Miss Gu's fiefdom, let's take a look at the living conditions of the people here."

"Um."

Gu Simiao nodded.

After responding, she looked at Fu Hua, who took the memorial back into his arms without hesitation after hearing Lu Chen's words, and said softly: "Commander Fu, do you want to stay in the carriage to study the memorial that was just drawn up?"

"No."

Fu Hua shook her head, then smiled slightly and turned to look at Lu Chen.

"His Majesty once said that Huaiyu's safety is related to the future of Daxia. Protecting Huaiyu is the top priority of the Xuanji Guards. As long as the Xuanji Guards still exist, even if there is only one person left, as long as there is still breath, We must protect Huaiyu Zhouquan at all costs. As the commander of the Xuanji Guards, in this strange place, I naturally have to follow Huaiyu closely to avoid anything going wrong."

Hearing this, Lu Chen couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

Thank you so much!

As long as you are here, why should I worry about my dream of ascending to heaven being shattered?

"Commander Fu made this statement wrong."

Gu Simiao shook her head, then waved her hand. The moment the mysterious spiritual power emerged, a blue butterfly appeared out of thin air at her fingertips.

"Although I am not talented, I am still a cultivator of the fifth level of Guiyi Realm. With me here, Huaiyu will be absolutely foolproof. Commander Fu can rest assured."

Feeling the coldness emanating from the extremely familiar butterfly, Lu Chen sighed helplessly.

It was because of these two guys that his plan to become an immortal was so difficult.

From the beginning, he had no hope of an ambush or anything like that.

For two powerful men in the Guiyi Realm, unless the Holy King personally takes action, or the enemy has arranged some ancient formation in advance, he will hardly encounter any danger.

There is no need to even think about dying in the line of duty and becoming an immortal or something like that.

With them here, it's impossible.

"and…"

Gu Simiao looked at Fu Hua with a smile on her face, as if she was looking at a best friend she had known for many years. Her eyes were as kind as possible.

"As far as I know, what Commander Fu just said about His Majesty's orders...should have been what Huaiyu said when he went to Erzhou to help Mr. Xiao Ge calm down the flood, right?"

Fu Hua shrugged.

"As long as His Majesty does not withdraw his orders, this decree will always be valid for Xuanji Guards. I am loyal to Your Majesty, how can I greatly discount His Majesty's decree?"

After saying that, she stood up directly and walked to Lu Chen's side.

"I appreciate General Gu's kindness. I also know that you are highly cultivated. Even if you don't use spiritual power, you can carry a cauldron, move a horse with your arms, and be an unparalleled warrior. However, it is my duty to protect Huaiyu. , Therefore, wherever Huaiyu goes, I will go wherever I go.”

Hearing this, Lu Chen immediately looked at Gu Simiao's arm subconsciously.

Her arms can move a horse, her strength can carry a cauldron, etc. These words are not very good when used to describe a woman, even in this Central Continent where strength is respected, right?

As if noticing Lu Chen's gaze, Gu Simiao raised her hand so that her shoulder was facing the lighting bead in the carriage.

The next second, a slender arm was quickly revealed in the gauze.

"Commander Fu, that's an honor."

Not sure if it was an illusion, but Lu Chen always felt that Fu Hua's tone of voice was slightly fluctuating, which was slightly different from the usual calm tone.

"Although my cultivation level is barely enough, I am just a weak woman in essence. If I don't have spiritual power, let alone being able to carry a cauldron and win the three armies bravely, I might not even be able to kill a chicken. But, You don’t deserve the name of such a fierce general.”

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere in the entire carriage became a little subtle inexplicably.

Silent smoke of gunpowder quietly surrounded the eyes of the two people looking at each other.

Lu Chen yawned.

"alright."

He stood up slowly.

"Since Liangyu wants to relax, let's come together."

After that, he left the car and walked outside.

After Lu Chen left, the two of them looked away almost at the same time, and then Fu Hua said very politely: "General, please."

"Commander Fu please go ahead."

"There is a difference between superiority and inferiority. It is better for the general to invite you first."

"His Royal Highness the Holy King has made great contributions to the court. When Commander Fu led the Xuanwu Guards to the Ziji City to save His Majesty from fire and water, his great achievements were far greater than those of me. How can I dare to claim arrogance in front of Commander Fu?"

"The general is too humble."

"Commander Fu is the one."

The two of them pushed each other, and for a while they didn't agree on who would go out first.

It wasn't until Lu Chen called out from outside that the two of them glanced at each other, then walked out of the carriage at the same time and came to Lu Chen's side, one on the left and the other on the right.

Then, Fu Hua looked at Zhu Yong and several other Xuanji guards who were preparing to follow.

"I will go with Huaiyu and the general to visit the people. You stay here and don't move around."

After saying that, without waiting for a few people to respond, he signaled to Lu Chen.

"Huaiyu, let's go."

"Um."

Lu Chen responded, then took steps, accompanied by the two of them, and walked slowly towards the village not far away.

Soon, Lu Chen and the other three walked into the village.

There is only one word to describe what you see - dilapidated.

Because there had just been a spring rain, the roads in the village were extremely muddy. Within the sparse fences, farmhouses that were obviously old were scattered at random. At a glance, you could casually see the loess soil of those farmers. There were actually cracks all over the wall.

Some cracks are even big enough to put your hand in, giving people the feeling that they could be blown over by a gust of wind.

And because it is located at the foot of Black Mountain, there are very few green plants in the village. Some places have obviously been plowed, but there is nothing except a few patches of weeds.

It was simply desolate.

Seeing this scene, Lu Chen frowned quietly.

"Can this village... really be habitable?"

Gu Simiao lowered her eyes slightly.

"Maybe it used to be possible."

The meaning is obvious.

It used to be possible, but now it's not possible.

She is not aloof from the world, nor is she a daughter of a famous family who is inexperienced in the world.

In fact, she had traveled all over the world, and had the experience of traveling to the ends of the earth with a sword. Otherwise, she would not have accidentally met Lu Chen and others who were out for training, so she naturally had an understanding of what an ordinary village was like.

The Yongping Village in front of her was several times more dilapidated than the poorest village in her memory.

Is it really possible to live in a place like this?

Fu Hua slowly closed her eyes, and the spiritual power in her body spread rapidly to the surroundings. In just a few breaths, he figured out the situation of the creatures here.

"There are now more than 200 villagers in the village."

She sensed it while reporting the information to Lu Chen.

"These people are all ordinary people, there are no cultivators, and the fire spiritual power and earth spiritual power here are extremely strong, and a restless breath can be clearly felt in the soil. It seems that charcoal has a great impact on the land here, so The land...it is basically impossible to grow food within a radius of ten miles."

Hearing this, Lu Chen couldn't help but feel a little confused.

“Can’t you grow food at all?”

"Um."

Fu Hua nodded and slowly opened her eyes.

"As far as I know, wherever the spiritual power of fire and the spiritual power of earth merge, it is a dead place. No grass will grow. Not only is it worthless, but it will also erode the vitality of people with incompatible attributes. If they stay here for a long time, they will even die. There is fear for one’s life.”

"If so."

Lu Chen's brows suddenly furrowed even deeper.

"Then why are there villagers here?"

Fu Hua shook her head, and then looked at Gu Simiao, who was standing on the other side of Lu Chen with the same frown.

"This...I don't know."

She took a deep look at Gu Simiao and then said: "I only know that the aura of the people here is very weak, much weaker than that of normal people. It is probably affected by the harsh environment here, and their aura... is very weak , it doesn’t feel like I have lived here for a long time.”

"Besides, we three strangers have been here for a while, and the village chief doesn't even have a figure. It's a bit strange..."

Gu Simiao has been famous for a long time, and her strength is naturally much stronger than Fu Huan, who has just broken through to the Guiyi Realm. She will naturally not be unaware of what Fu Huan is aware of.

After a moment of silence, she suddenly turned her head and looked at a slightly larger farmhouse not far away.

"Huaiyu, come with me."

With that said, she directly lifted her steps and walked towards the farmhouse.

Lu Chen did not refuse and followed her while thinking.

Although Fu Huan was not called, she followed him consciously.

Click…

Soon, the three of them arrived at the gate of the farmhouse.

Lu Chen was about to speak and ask the owner inside to open the door, but Gu Simiao directly stretched out his hand, pushed open the courtyard door, and walked in.

"No one will come out and open the door."

As they walked, Gu Simiao said without looking back:

"Although there is someone inside, her aura is extremely weak, so weak that it is almost undetectable."

Hearing this, Lu Chen was slightly startled.

So weak that you can barely feel the breath?

Aren't you about to die?

In just a moment, he reacted.

"not good!"

His eyes suddenly focused, and his steps suddenly quickened.

However, just when he was about to rush forward, Gu Simiao, who seemed to be taking a leisurely stroll, somehow took only one step, but the moment she landed, she stood at the door of the farmhouse, directly Pushed open the door.

Bang!

The door that had been corroded into shape fell down immediately.

The loud movement soon attracted the attention of people around him.

"what happened?"

A thin old man opened the door and walked out with weak steps on crutches.

"Where's the movement?"

"father."

Seeing the old man coming out, a woman wearing shabby linen clothes who was cleaning the yard trotted over quickly.

Seeing that although the old man was trembling, he was standing still, he was relieved.

"Damn it, where did the noise come from just now?"

The woman who was called a bitch girl was stunned for a moment, and then she suddenly came to her senses.

"oops!"

Her expression suddenly changed, and then she turned her head and looked in the direction of Lu Chen and others.

"It seems to be Old Man Chu's daughter's house!"

Hearing this, the old man was shocked.

"What? Is it from Bao'er's girl's house?! No!"

As he said that, he took a big step forward and wanted to rush over quickly.

"We have to get there quickly!"

"ah?"

Seeing the anxious expression on her father's face, the woman suddenly panicked.

"Dad, please stay at home and I'll be there right away."

"No! I have to go and see for myself."

The old man said stubbornly.

"Chu Zhan has helped us a lot these days, we have to be grateful, and now the men of the Chu family are taking everyone to the county town to beg for food for us, leaving the Chu family girl alone at home. If anything happens to Bao'er girl, we will How to explain to Mr. Chu and Zhan?!"

"I won't be at ease if I don't go over and take a look in person!"

The woman couldn't resist her father-in-law, so she had no choice but to nod in agreement, then supported him and hurried out, heading towards the farmhouse where Lu Chen and the others were.

Naturally, the old man is not the only one who has this idea.

The moment there was movement at Chu Zhan's house, almost all the villagers who were aware of it ran out in a hurry. They endured their physical discomfort and hurried to Chu Zhan's house.

Soon, more than a dozen villagers came to Chu Zhan's small courtyard.

When they saw that the door of the farmhouse had fallen to the ground, everyone's hearts suddenly sank.

"Is there a thief here?!"

Someone called out in a trembling voice.

When the others heard this, their expressions suddenly tightened, and then they all looked at the old man being supported by the woman.

"Mr. Chen, we"

"Don't panic!"

Before the man could finish speaking, Mr. Chen interrupted, then staggered towards the farmhouse, and said in a deep voice: "There is no grass growing in the Black Mountains, and we can't even grow food. We certainly can't feed the thieves, so please relax." That’s it.”

After hearing this, everyone immediately relaxed a little.

Then, they looked at each other, took a deep breath, and then plucked up the courage to follow Mr. Chen with clenched fists.