Xu Zhanzhi is the eldest son of Xu Kuizhi, Liu Xingdi's first wife. Because his father died early, he was taken in by the guilty Liu Yu and grew up beside him, and he was deeply doted on.

Such a background made Xu Zhanzhi's life extremely luxurious, but Liu Yizhen, his uncle, did not criticize him too much because of Liu Xingdi, and had a completely laissez-faire attitude.

But Xu Zhanzhi's appearance today surprised Liu Yizhen.

He who should have been wearing gold and jade jewelry and embellished with pearls to dazzle his body was now actually wearing linen clothes and walking barefoot through the mud of the fields.

Had Tao Yuanming not called out his name, Liu Yizhen would not have recognized that the man dressed as a farmer was his nephew Xu Zhanzhi.

Xu Zhanzhi, whom he had not seen for several years, smiled naively at Liu Yizhen, and with mud in his hands, he saluted Liu Yizhen: "The emperor's holy bow is in peace."

"I am safe..."

Liu Yizhen looked at Xu Zhanzhi, and then looked at Liu Xingdi beside him with eyes seeking confirmation.

"Sister, what's going on?"

Even though he knew that Liu Xingdi was not the kind of person who would dote on his children, wasn't it a bit cruel to get Liu Song's first son... ah, no, the second son besides Liu Jun to farm in the fields?

After that, Liu Yizhen looked at Tao Yuanming suspiciously.

Could this "stepfather" have forced Xu Zhanzhi? Isn't this a bit too courageous?

Tao Yuanming saw Liu Yizhen's doubts about him and hurriedly explained: "It was Zhan Zhi himself who was interested in these yin and yang crops. It happened that I was idle, so I taught him all the principles that the emperor taught me.

"

Interested in farming?

"Your Majesty, it is indeed I who asked Mr. Tao to teach you the truth."

Xu Zhanzhi suddenly interrupted at this moment, and Liu Yizhen in turn pointed the finger at his nephew:

"Why don't you go study?"

"The teachings in the book are full of rotten Confucianism. Even if you can't cultivate your moral character, how can you protect your family and country?"

"Why don't you learn the art of war?"

"Although the art of war is wonderful, it is a method of killing people, not a method of saving people. It is useless to learn more."

"Then why don't you go to the bar to have fun? Go to a wine shop to have fun?"

When asking this question, Liu Yizhen could clearly feel Liu Xingdi's sharp gaze behind him, but he had already bit the bullet and was looking forward to Xu Zhanzhi's answer.

"His Majesty!"

Xu Zhanzhi suddenly became serious.

"I am the son of the eldest princess, and I have the blood of the Tian family! If even I imitate those wine bags and rice bags and live in drunken dreams every day, then will my Great Song Dynasty still be a Great Song Dynasty?"

These words were a bit harsh, but Liu Yizhen was not angry.

Instead, he fell into a brief doubt about life.

But when Liu Yizhen saw Xu Zhanzhi's muddy eyes, but the light flashing in his eyes, he suddenly smiled with ease.

"Once upon a time, I tried every possible means to get others to accept some of my ideas. Now that such a person suddenly appears, I am a little uncomfortable with it."

"Zhanzhi, come here!"

Calling Xu Zhanzhi over, Liu Yizhen pinched his cheeks hard. Xu Zhanzhi's eyes were almost covered with mist because of the pain, and then he slowly let go.

"Good boy!"

That childish face made Liu Yizhen a little happy.

"This world is ours and yours too."

"But in the end...it's still yours."

Today's Xu Zhanzhi made Liu Yizhen's dusty heart beat again.

He took Xu Zhanzhi's hand and walked to the thatched cottage next to him. As he walked, he said: "Let's go! I want to teach you astronomy and geography today?"

Astronomy and geography?

This is not a new term, but Tao Yuanming knew that the "astronomy and geography" mentioned in the emperor's mouth and the "astronomy and geography" mentioned in books today are completely different things.

Immediately.

Tao Yuanming also threw down his hoe and rushed in the direction of Liu Yizhen. As he walked, he complained: "How many things does the emperor have that he has not revealed to others?"

Liu Yizhen in front twitched his ears and turned to look at Tao Yuanming. His sharp eyes made Tao Yuanming quickly lower his head and dodge to the side.

When he arrived at the thatched cottage, Liu Yizhen took some charcoal from the stove and started drawing patterns on the ground.

"What's this?"

Although the pattern was a bit abstract, Xu Zhanzhi could still see it at a glance——

"It's the big river and the Yangtze River."

"Exactly."

After that, Liu Yizhen drew some mountains between the two rivers and displayed a map of mountains, rivers and the country in front of everyone.

"Zhanzhi, do you know why the land of Guandong is a fertile wilderness? On the contrary, in Guanzhong and Hedong there are mountains and mountains?"

This kind of issue involving natural science is obviously a bit profound for Xu Zhanzhi now. Liu Yizhen was not in a hurry, but gently explained to him——

"There has been an old saying since ancient times - water flows downwards. Look at the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, do they all run from west to east?"

Xu Zhanzhi nodded, while Tao Yuanming behind him stared blankly, not daring to miss a single word.

"Since ancient times, both our ancestors, the Xia kings and the Yi barbarians, Di Qiang, have always depended on the water."

"Among them, the big river is even more important to me, Zhu Xia."

Then, Liu Yizhen suddenly looked solemn.

"But the river is unruly and untamed. Before Wang Jingzhi River, the northernmost outlet of the river reached Liaoyan, and the southernmost outlet reached Xuyang Guangling. Every time the river changes its course, life must be ruined!"

After Liu Yizhen finished speaking, Xu Zhanzhi's young face turned pale.

"Today's big rivers are actually not very peaceful."

Then, Liu Yizhen told him how the ancestors over-exploited the Hetao and the Loess Plateau, and how the river rolled down tens of thousands of tons of sediment.

"Over a long period of time, a large amount of sediment has accumulated in the river. It is said that it is navigable. Maybe the river water will be raised above the land! If that happens, the people in Hebei, Henan, and Qingzhou will suffer!"

Xu Zhanzhi was so frightened by these words that his face turned pale. He obviously did not expect what kind of disaster it would bring to Shandong if the river was no longer navigable.

Tao Yuanming was also horrified by what Liu Yizhen said, but as he was older, he immediately comforted himself - how could it be as serious as what the emperor said?

This is the reason why Liu Yizhen does not release some more ambitious and advanced knowledge.

Preconceptions in people's hearts are like a big mountain.

Older people will only program their eyes based on their own experiences, so they can no longer see the world as clearly as they did when they were young.

Even though the world may be dark and absurd, it still needs eyes that can see it.

Touching Xu Zhanzhi's round head, Liu Yizhen said comfortingly: "But fortunately, the river is quite calm now. It leaves me and you with plenty of time."

If the survival of the river can be preserved, even if it is only one-half of the Yangtze River's transport capacity, as long as the era that Liu Yizhen hopes comes, the whole of China will usher in earth-shaking changes.

"The first step in this change is the Loop."
Chapter completed!