Teasing the First Dragon at the Start

"They even commissioned the scholars from various schools to compile books on various agricultural, medical, animal husbandry, medical, and water-fetching techniques, and to distribute them throughout the land, striving to ensure that everyone had a copy, thereby broadening the people's knowledge and improving their livelihoods..."

After hearing about Bai Su's deeds, Maodun couldn't help but sigh, "I thought his greatest skill was in conquering battlefields and strategizing, but I never imagined that governing the country was his true forte."

"He's a man who keeps surprising people. It seems I underestimated his talent."

Just as she was pondering, a woman's clear, cold voice suddenly came from beside her: "You just mentioned that man? That familiar tone... could it be... you know that scoundrel?"

Maodun was taken aback and turned around to look.

Then a beautiful woman with jet-black hair and a slender figure appeared in her sight. This beauty had fair and delicate skin, and the blue jade hairpin in her hair shone brightly. She had red lips and white teeth, and her almond-shaped eyes were clear and bright, as if they were shining. One glance from her made one's heart feel as if a spring breeze was blowing.

She wore a white ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), and every move she made exuded a natural noble temperament, as if she were a classical woman who had stepped out of a painting or calligraphy. Her makeup was exquisite, and she carried a dignified and elegant scholarly air about her.

Despite his simple attire and lack of luxurious decorations, the aura he exuded made Maodun secretly think to himself.

The woman before me has an extraordinary air about her.

Chapter 378 The Passionate Gesang Flowers of the Grassland

Maodun looked at the woman in front of him, his delicate eyebrows slightly raised.

She had an exceptional eye for people. Putting aside the woman's beauty, her refined demeanor and graceful manners were striking.

These details were enough to tell her that the woman in front of her was probably a high-ranking official or nobleman from Xianyang.

Fu Su glanced at Maodun, who was dressed in Hu clothing and had a strikingly beautiful face with an exotic air, and couldn't help but ask, "Judging from your appearance as Hun envoys, could you be the legendary Hun Chanyu Maodun?"

Maodun nodded slightly: "That's right."

Her colleague glanced at Fu Su with some curiosity. This woman's eyesight was extraordinary. Could she be a relative of a high-ranking official in the imperial court?

After a moment's hesitation, she couldn't help but ask, "May I ask how this young lady is addressed?"

After pondering for a moment, Fu Su said, "My surname is Zhao, you can call me Miss Zhao."

Maodun was momentarily stunned. Zhao Shi?

If she remembers correctly, the current emperor's surname is Zhao.

I never expected to run into the current princess while just strolling around town.

However, Maodun was not too nervous. After all, she had a reliable patron, and even the current princess would not dare to offend her easily, so there was no need to be too restrained.

After pondering for a moment, Maodun couldn't help but ask, "What is Miss Zhao doing in this study?"

Fu Su put down the book in his hand and said, "I have a special fondness for playing chess. I often come to the market to search for interesting chess scores, but I unexpectedly heard a familiar name on the way."

As she spoke, she tossed her jet-black hair behind her delicate ear and looked at Maodun with a hint of curiosity in her almond-shaped eyes: "I wonder what your relationship is with Bai Su?"

Maodun didn't hide anything too much. He smiled and said, "I met Lord Bai in the northern desert and made a firm vow. As for our relationship... it's probably a deep-rooted one."

When she spoke of deep-rooted roots, her slender hand unconsciously touched her flat stomach, and a blush rose on her exotic face that made hearts race.

Fu Su thought to himself, "Just as I thought."

She knew that after Bai Su pacified the northern desert, he led his army to capture the Xiongnu king Tinghou. Faced with such a charming and alluring steppe wolf king, how could that scoundrel possibly let go of the stunning beauty in front of him?

Even Fusu, who was confident in her appearance, couldn't help but be moved when she saw the charm in Maodun's glance back, let alone that scoundrel.

She clenched her fists instinctively, a vague sense of unease rising within her.

After all, once she regarded Bai Su as a powerful minister, she began to think about how to use her beauty to gain favor and her son to protect the Great Xia dynasty from Bai Su.

Having followed Confucian principles since childhood, she couldn't bring herself to do such a shameful thing for the time being.

But suddenly seeing another vixen as a competitor made her feel a strange sense of urgency.

Fu Su had no idea that her mindset was exactly like that of a wife who had been married for many years without conceiving and whose foundation was very shallow, who suddenly heard that her husband had started to secretly find a mistress in order to continue the family line.

Fu Su clenched her slender hands tightly, and gritted her teeth as she said, "Lord Bai is truly a pillar of our Great Xia."

Maodun slowly raised his head, his beautiful emerald green eyes gazing at the distant sunset. He smiled and said, "Yes, Lord Bai has conquered the northern frontier with his horse. With a wave of his hand, he has made countless tribes submit. His fame in the Central Plains is also widespread. There are very few ministers like him throughout history."

Seeing Maodun's high praise for Bai Su, Fu Su's delicate eyebrows twitched. She couldn't help but ask, "Bai Su defeated your Xiongnu tribe and pacified the entire grassland. Don't you...don't you hate him?"

Maodun shook his head slightly: "We have different stances. It is only natural for Lord Bai to serve the Great Xia. What is there to hate?"

"Since ancient times, the grasslands have valued strength above all else, and the law of the jungle is the natural order. The people of the grasslands admire the most powerful figures like you, who are renowned throughout the land. Only under the leadership of the strongest wolf king can a tribe prosper."

"Moreover, submitting to the Lord's command is not a bad thing. After surrendering to the Central Plains, life on the grasslands is much easier than before, and many goods from the Central Plains are transported to the northern desert."

"We, the people of the grasslands, can also use the rouge, water, porcelain, salt, and cloth from the Central Plains..."

"Moreover, local herders could also make money by doing business, go to private schools to learn the Central Plains script, read books, participate in the imperial examinations, and obtain official titles."

"The Xiongnu fought with the Central Plains for so long and suffered such great losses, yet they did not obtain much material and did not set foot in the Central Plains."

"Now, as long as one passes the imperial examination, one can travel all the way to the Central Plains. Some outstanding candidates can even stay in the capital, Xianyang, to serve as officials and govern those foreigners from all directions."

"This is a good outcome for the Xiongnu as well."

Fu Su fell silent for a moment.

She never expected that the Xiongnu Chanyu would have such a high opinion of that scoundrel.

She instinctively thought of the man's countless flaws and wanted to refute him, but when she thought of Bai Su's achievements over the years, she held back.

After all, no matter how much she disliked Bai Su, she had to admit that Bai Su's talent was indeed far beyond that of ordinary people.

In the past, when faced with the incursions of nomadic tribes from the grasslands, the Central Plains mainly relied on defense and expulsion. With the agricultural and sericultural techniques of the Central Plains, it was never possible to station troops for long on the grasslands where rainfall was insufficient and the land was barren.

This problem has troubled countless emperors, ministers, and generals in the Central Plains.

Faced with the hidden dangers of the grasslands, the Central Plains could only suppress them temporarily, but could never solve the fundamental problem. After ten or twenty years, the border troubles would inevitably return.

But now, through diplomacy, trade, military presence, changing customs, assimilation, and other means, Bai Su has brought countless tribes of the grasslands under the control of the Central Plains.

This achievement ensured that the Central Plains would no longer be threatened by the north. Such a feat was so great that countless civil and military officials throughout the land regarded him as an idol, enshrined him in temples, and received the incense offerings of the people.

Such a talented and charming man would surely attract the heart of any woman in the world, let alone Maodun.

If it weren't for the various unexpected events that happened between Fu Su and Bai Su, they would probably have developed a liking for such an extraordinary person on their first meeting.

only……

The thought of that scoundrel who mistook her for his mother while she was bathing and took liberties with her...

To avoid being discovered by her mother, she sat on the man's lap in front of her mother, using her body to cover the figure behind her.

And on the day of her sister's wedding, the thief accidentally got drunk and mistook her for her sister, entering the wrong bridal chamber and embracing the bride.

Then, thinking back to the imperial court, in front of all the civil and military officials, he was refuted by that man and left speechless, losing all his pride, dignity, and self-respect.

Fu Su couldn't help but grit her teeth and say, "He's a lecherous scoundrel, utterly shameless."

Seeing her uncertain expression, Maodun couldn't help but ask, "Miss Zhao, are you alright?"

Fu Su came to his senses, looked at Maodun in front of him, and couldn't help but force a smile: "I...I'm fine."

Maodun nodded slightly: "That's good. May I trouble Miss Zhao to pass on a message to Lord Bai for me?"

Fu Su was taken aback and couldn't help but ask, "What did you say?"

Maodun placed one hand on her slender waist, her beautiful green eyes gazing at the distant sunset, a smile spreading across her face: "Just as I said, the Gesang flowers in Lengdong are silently blooming, waiting for the arrival of the person we've made a promise with."

Fu Su asked instinctively, "What is a Gesang flower?"

After a moment of contemplation, Maodun said slowly, "The Gesang flower is a flower that can be seen everywhere on the barren grassland. It can withstand the scorching sun and endure the cold winds of the snowy plateau."

"It is beautiful but not gaudy, delicate yet resilient, a sacred flower symbolizing love and promise. It forever waits quietly in the corner, for the warrior returning on horseback, to bloom for him..."

After hearing Maodun's touching words from the grasslands, Fusu's face immediately turned even worse.

She compared the two and found that Maodun's appearance was in no way inferior to hers.

Although her skin was very fair, Maodun's wild, wheat-colored skin also had a unique charm.

A gentle breeze stirred, causing her skirt to flutter. The high slit revealed her shapely, long, wheat-colored thighs, and she exuded the fiery charm of a woman from the grasslands.

The feeling of a vixen trying to steal her husband made her eyelids twitch uncontrollably. While cursing Maodun for his shamelessness, she couldn't help but feel a sense of crisis.

She even had the idea that, in order to prevent that lecherous man from being taken advantage of by someone else, she should take the initiative herself.

Chapter 379 Fu Su's Request

Inside the Shaofu (a government office).

Bai Su has already made all the arrangements for the canal construction.

With the leader of the Mohist school serving as the supervisor, and Xiao He and others in charge of affairs in the Chu region, hundreds of thousands of laborers were conscripted locally. Everything was ready and construction could begin.

Once the canal is completed, we can then arrange for the Mohists to improve the ships in the Central Plains.

Firstly, it facilitated the transport of goods by traveling caravans, since most ships in the Central Plains nowadays have very small carrying capacity and are not suitable for large-scale trade.

Secondly, it can also prepare in advance for the future journey to Yingzhou.

After all, he had promised Zhengjie that he would bring back Xu Fu, who had deceived her back then.

When we capture Xu Fu, let's conquer Japan as well.

Although Japan is still a barren and desolate land, it is far less prosperous than the Central Plains and looks like a wasteland with no value.

However, Bai Su knew that Japan was a good place.

It is important to know that Japan has extremely rich mineral reserves, especially silver, which accounts for almost one-third of the world's total.

Bringing it back would be enough to make the value of the money houses, silver notes, and copper notes of the Great Xia Dynasty even stronger and more stable.

In the future, a number of vassal states will hold the precious banknotes printed by the Great Xia, supporting the imperial banknotes' strong hegemony.

After all, in order to maintain the value of the Great Xia Treasure Notes in the long term, it is essential to collect seigniorage from the surrounding vassal states and to stockpile large quantities of precious metals such as bronze, silver, and gold.

Japan is a perfect target for mining silver and cultivating a navy.

Bai Su tapped his fingers lightly on the table. Just as he was lost in thought, Chen Ping's voice suddenly came from the doorway.

"My lord, His Highness Fusu has come to pay a visit."

Bai Su raised an eyebrow. "Your Highness Fu Su?"

It's so late, what brings this sister-in-law here so suddenly?

In fact, he was not averse to Fusu, but his relationship with his sister-in-law was rather awkward.