Xu Qing was well aware in his heart that the thoughts of all beings were a double-edged sword for him.

They were both the precious nourishment for his Taichu Demon Qi and the deadly poison for his Taishi Demon Qi.

Taishi Demon Qi, undoubtedly, was the core of his existence as a Heavenly Demon, akin to a unique core code. Once lost, he would drift in self-loss, completely severing all autonomous consciousness.

In comparison, although Taichu Demon Qi was not as crucial as Taishi Demon Qi in maintaining self-awareness, its utility was equally irreplaceable. Without Taichu Demon Qi, the marvelous divine skills Xu Qing possessed would be impossible to exhibit, let alone using "Heavenly Demon Transformation" to steal others' divine skills, or to transform into a Demon King Protector.

Thinking of this, Xu Qing was secretly relieved that he had not yet been worshiped through portraits in every household. Given the current state of his Taishi Demon Qi, he was utterly incapable of resisting the vast multitude of thoughts generated by every household venerating such portraits.

He sighed softly and made a "selfless" decision: "From now on, personal worship must be limited."

This incident with the portrait of the Emperor of Wen Chang, although merely crossing a line, had not yet caused any major issues, the hidden danger was already lurking and must be guarded against.

However, the successful creation of the Inner Heaven and Earth was indeed a fruitful gain, marking a crucial step on his path of cultivation.

Now, at the close of the spring ploughing season, the high-yield crops Xu Qing brought back from the Southern Ocean were being simultaneously promoted in both north and south.

In the north, due to extreme food shortage, there was an intense drive for the promotion of high-yield crops, as if grasping a lifeline.

In contrast, the situation in the south was quite different. In regions like Lingnan and Southern Fujian, these high-yield crops received a favorable response, and the common folk gladly accepted and tried cultivating them.

However, in South Zhili and the Zhejiang Province area, the promotion encountered numerous obstacles. The local populace found the taste of these high-yield crops lacking and would rather use them as animal fodder.

Moreover, these two provinces' commerce was thriving, far surpassing other regions, and farming had become a lowly occupation in the eyes of ordinary people.

Some local aristocratic families even shamelessly suggested the Court capture more overseas natives to serve as labor to assist in farming.

Moreover, many ordinary people, having taken up work in workshops, simply rented their farmland to refugees from the north for cultivation. As it turned out, some economically developed states implemented regulations that only those with local resident status were eligible to work in workshops.

Yingtian Prefecture had regained the supreme glory of the "Capital Lord," with an air of prosperity and confidence evident wherever one walked on the streets.

Nowadays, people from Yingtian looked at the capital with a slight disdain in their eyes, as if saying the capital was merely a gathering of country bumpkins.

Looking across the entire Great Yu Dynasty, only the people of Jiangning could barely compete with those of Yingtian in terms of momentum and foundation.

However, not long ago, an official proposed merging Yingtian Prefecture with Jiangning Prefecture, reasoning that the two were very close, and merging would allow for a better integration of resources.

This proposal instantly ignited the fury of the people of Jiangning, for in their hearts, Xu Liushou was forever the pride of Jiangning Prefecture, and Yingtian Prefecture was blatantly scheming against them, their abacus beads about to bounce onto their faces.

The gentry in Jiangning urgently gathered to discuss strategies, filled with indignation and reluctance, they jointly submitted a petition to the Court.

The petition was earnest in wording, filled with deep emotion, detailing the long historical origins and profound cultural foundation of Jiangning Prefecture, emphasizing strongly Jiangning's unique standing in the Great Yu Dynasty, firmly asserting it must not be merged by Yingtian Prefecture.

The letter also specifically mentioned Xu Qing, the remarkable figure emerging from Jiangning, calling him the symbol of Jiangning's glory, further highlighting Jiangning Prefecture's uniqueness, not allowing anyone to obliterate it.

At the same time, the officials of Yingtian Prefecture were also unwilling to be outdone, swiftly submitting their own memorial.

The memorial detailed the many benefits of merging Yingtian and Jiangning... even being able to provide a broader stage for Xu Liushou's reform measures, accelerating the process of reform within the Great Yu Dynasty.

Both sides held firm to their arguments, unwilling to give way, and for a time, the Court was embroiled in a heated debate...

Xu Qing had little interest in this debate within the Court and was happy to watch the officials argue without end.

In his view, if ever the officials in the Court stopped debating, that would be the truly dangerous signal.

It must be said, a person's stance is often determined by their position.

Nowadays, Xu Qing's perspective was increasingly aligning with that of the old Emperor, subconsciously enjoying watching his subordinates engage in factional battles while he played the role of the arbiter controlling the overall situation.

This sense of control stirred a kind of inexplicable peace within his heart, as if everything was under his command.

In a previous life, Xu Qing had read "The Prince," and he knew well that in the ancient world, once on the throne of a monarch, one often instinctively moved toward becoming a Machiavellian-style autocrat.

Qian Long was a classic example among them.

These autocrats upheld the maintenance of ruling power as the utmost principle and were thorough pragmatists.

They would employ political maneuvering to the extreme, using deception, violence, appeasement, and other means to consolidate power. In their eyes, good deeds and bad deeds were merely tools of rule, not moral standards.

Some even straightforwardly declared, "Being feared is safer than being loved."

Moreover, they believed that people were easily driven by interests and were fickle in temperament, thus necessitating strict laws to maintain social order rather than relying on moral transformation.

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