Douluo Continent: I am a biologist, and I have awakened a weapon spirit?

"This is just my personal habit of addressing you, it's not important," Chen Feng said with a smile.

“Alright.” Qian Renxue didn’t dwell on it. “Then, how should we deal with the problem of these feudal lords?”

As she asked, she also felt that the term "feudal lords" was indeed easy to pronounce and could vividly refer to those people.

In response to Qian Renxue's question, Chen Feng raised a finger and said, "To dismantle them, you only need to follow one principle."

"What principle?"

"Establish many feudal lords, but weaken their power."

"Establishing numerous feudal lords...isn't that just like what Father Emperor and the previous emperors of the Heavenly Dou Dynasty did?"

"No, no, no, their approach is to establish many feudal lords while reducing their own power, while I'm talking about establishing many feudal lords while reducing their own power," Chen Feng said, shaking his finger.

Qian Renxue looked confused. "I don't understand."

"To put it bluntly, it's the difference between dividing one's own land and dividing the land of feudal lords. The former results in the loss of one's own power, while the latter results in the loss of the power of the feudal lords," Chen Feng explained.

Qian Renxue understood now, but doubts also arose. "It would be good if we could use the lands of the feudal lords to establish new feudal states, but how could the feudal lords possibly agree to such a thing? They wouldn't allow their interests to be harmed."

Chen Feng smiled. "Indeed, they would be extremely unwilling to have their land divided by outsiders, but what if it were their own offspring?"

"Offspring..." Qian Renxue began to understand.

"That's right. The empire's current succession law is primogeniture, but nobles rarely have only one son. So, the other sons have to fend for themselves after the noble's death."

“If the maternal clan has some power, then their lives are not too bad. But what if the maternal clan is weak? They can only live a hard life. Whenever I think of this, my heart aches.” Chen Feng said, clutching his chest with a look of pity.

Qian Renxue's lips twitched slightly. She thought to herself, "What are you feeling bad about? What are you feeling bad about?" But she still cooperated and asked, "So, what should we do?"

Chen Feng immediately became serious and said, "Problems should be solved. Since they suffer because they have no right to inherit, why doesn't Your Highness extend your kindness to these people, so that when their eldest son inherits the title after their father's death, he can also receive a share of his father's land and title? This way, they will have a foundation to stand on."

"As the Crown Prince of the Empire, Your Highness should relieve these noble descendants from their suffering. This would demonstrate the Empire's respect for the nobles and prevent them from dying out of lineage. They will surely be grateful to Your Highness when they learn of this."

Really? I don't believe it, Qian Renxue muttered to herself.

She wasn't stupid; she could naturally see what Chen Feng's so-called "favor" really meant—it was actually a blatant attempt to divide up the land and power of the nobles.

The reason why nobles were difficult to deal with in the past was that they intermarried, creating a complex web of interdependence.

Ordinary methods won't work to break through this net; the slightest mistake could provoke them to join forces in resistance.

However, if Chen Feng's so-called "benevolent favor" method is adopted, then the benefits from the land will cause the nobles to split apart, and it will be difficult for the nobles and their descendants to be of one mind, not to mention the maternal clans standing behind these descendants.

At that time, the more frequently a family intermarries, the more likely it is to split up, and all its previous reliance will turn into disaster.

Disintegration? It certainly will disintegrate; the nobles will fall apart.

"Of course, ambitious people will always exist, so in order to prevent them from resorting to desperate measures, we still need to prepare a considerable military force in advance. As long as we deal with the troublemakers, the remaining nobles will have no choice but to accept reality and won't be able to cause any trouble," Chen Feng added.

Qian Renxue nodded secretly. With such a smooth series of moves, the nobles who were once so entrenched and difficult to deal with became lambs to the slaughter. She could mold them into round shapes or flatten them as she pleased, and they would no longer be obstacles in her path.

Looking at it this way, Chen Feng's plan was indeed effective, which made Qian Renxue wonder.

"Xiao Feng, you... and your friends are considered members of the nobility, aren't you afraid?"

Chen Feng smiled. "What's there to be afraid of? Has Your Highness forgotten what my fundamental purpose was in receiving this title?"

"It's to provide a place to build the academy, but this policy of granting favors will ultimately affect you." Qian Renxue still didn't quite understand.

"No, it won't affect me while I'm alive. As for after I'm gone..." Chen Feng shrugged. "Can I still worry about things that far ahead? If my descendants are ambitious, they can work hard to build their own legacy. If they're not, they can eat whatever I leave them. What right do they have to complain? It'll save them from being too wasteful and squandering everything at once."

"As for the academy, the moment it is completed, it will no longer be dependent on that land, nor will it be controlled by me or any of my friends alone. It will belong to the entire continent. No matter how the lords of those fiefdoms change, they will not be able to affect the academy. In fact, the more lords there are, the more beneficial it will be. And I do not intend to hand the academy over to my descendants."

Looking at Chen Feng's face, Qian Renxue was speechless for a moment. She never expected that there were such selfless people in this world.

Unconsciously, she felt a little ashamed of her probing thoughts just now, and at the same time, she became more determined to embark on the path of the King and become a fellow traveler of Chen Feng.

If Chen Feng can prioritize public interest over personal gain, then she can too.

Moreover, she doesn't have much personal affection to spare in this country, as for the Spirit Hall...

To be honest, the only person who could make Qian Renxue hesitate was her grandfather, Qian Daoliu. As for the others, including Bibi Dong, they were simply unfamiliar with each other.

Qian Renxue had absolutely no liking for that biological mother, let alone asking her to show favoritism.

Therefore, she was quite confident in her convictions.

Qian Renxue wasn't worried about clashing with her grandfather in the future, because she knew that her grandfather never cared about such mundane matters and was single-mindedly focused on the inheritance of the Angel God.

That makes things much easier. Once she successfully sweeps across the continent and establishes the Angelic Church as the state religion, the matter of succession will be settled, right? Her grandfather probably won't say anything.

Steady!

Thinking this, Qian Renxue relaxed and casually said:

"Xiao Feng, this policy of extending favors is good, but it's a matter for the future. Do you have any suggestions for me at this stage?"

"Yes, but I don't know if Your Highness is willing to do it."

"As long as what you say makes sense, I will definitely listen to it and follow it." Qian Renxue said seriously.

Chen Feng didn't keep him in suspense and said, "As I said before, Your Highness needs to immerse yourself among the common people. So the question is, how will Your Highness do this?"

Qian Renxue frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "Should I go out for walks more often in the future?"

“This is one way. Your Highness needs to broaden your information channels and understand the people’s sentiments in order to better govern the empire. If you hide in the deep palace and become a wealthy prince, you will only be deaf and blind and be fooled by those with ulterior motives. So my first suggestion is that Your Highness needs to establish your own spies. These spies do not need to be very elite. They only need to relay what they hear and see to their superiors. Therefore, ordinary people can be directly employed.”

"At the same time, to prevent these informants from being used by others, it's best to choose those without any connections, such as orphans. Most importantly, never let these informants develop any claws or fangs. They are just informants, and can only be informants." Chen Feng held up a finger and emphasized in his tone.

Qian Renxue thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement, "That's a good suggestion. I'll start preparing when I get back. Is there anything else?"

"My second suggestion is Lixin." Chen Feng held up his second finger.

"Lixin?"

"That's right. The credibility of a regime is extremely important. If it has strong credibility, then the people will follow its orders and it will be easy to succeed in whatever it does. On the contrary, if it has weak credibility, then every order will be met with controversy, and the official announcements will be met with skepticism. It may even develop to the point where only official denials are credible. In that case, it will be very difficult for the regime to accomplish anything."

This refers, of course, to the British Empire.

“That’s true.” Qian Renxue thought about it and realized that it made perfect sense.

"However, Your Highness does not yet represent the Heavenly Dou regime, but you can establish a unique credibility for the Crown Prince and deeply ingrain your image as someone whose word is law in people's hearts."

"How do you do that?" Qian Renxue became interested.

"Actually, it's quite simple. The key is to persevere. I remember there's an open space near the city gate. Your Highness can build a bulletin board there and hang your Crown Prince's edict on it. You don't need to issue any special orders. Just set up some bounty missions that are a bit challenging but not too difficult. The key is to settle the rewards immediately."

"For example, we could send someone to collect a certain medicinal herb or material, or have someone invent a tool with a specific function. The reward doesn't have to be too high, so as not to attract people who shouldn't be there. In this way, Your Highness can have some minor troubles solved, and we can also accumulate some resources along the way, giving the people a source of income," Chen Feng explained his idea.

To put it simply, this is a kind of conditioned reflex training, similar to the methods used by Shang Yang to establish trust and Modu Chanyu to sound the arrow.

It is a dark truth that humans can be domesticated.

In some games, you only need ten Primogems to make the blond guy do anything, which means he's been successfully "trained".

......

After leaving the academy, Qian Renxue boarded the carriage, and Ci Xue, who looked like an old man, followed.

"Your Highness, how was the harvest this time?" Ci Xue asked curiously.

"A very fruitful harvest," Qian Renxue exclaimed, then added, "By the way, let's stop that matter."

Ci Xue was taken aback. "But Your Highness, this concerns the great cause of the Holy Temple."

“The great cause rests on my shoulders, and I need him alive now,” Qian Renxue said in a deep voice.

Ci Xue opened his mouth, but in the end he bowed his head and agreed.