Royal Gold Magistrate

With the sustained income from the lottery, Fang Zheng naturally started the renovation plan with a generous hand.

Just like in Taoyuan County, all the road surfaces in Banshan District were changed to stone slab roads. A large number of poor people were hired for this purpose.

Infrastructure was also doubly improved, with trash cans and stone benches for pedestrians placed along the roads.

In addition, all the drainage ditches in the district were overhauled, and even the surrounding moat outside the city walls was taken care of.

The rainy season arrived, and rainfall gradually increased.

Fang Zheng checked the rainfall records of previous years and found that there were instances of blockage and water accumulation, big or small, every year.

This matter could not be taken lightly. The outer city was not like the imperial palace. The drainage in the palace was top-notch, located at a high elevation, well-maintained, and exquisitely designed.

The drainage ditches in the outer city were filled with withered branches, rotten leaves, and silt. If not cleaned regularly, problems would very easily occur.

After arranging everything, Fang Zheng also began his leisurely life, throwing all other matters, big and small, to Li Yuanzhao.

Every day, seeing Li Yuanzhao busy like a spinning top, Fang Zheng couldn’t help envying the crown prince’s energy.

Young people are great. They’re always in a rush to do things, can’t wait a moment, and handle matters efficiently!

There were only a few days left until the end of the three-month betting period. Fang Zheng was leisurely lying in his courtyard.

Shade from the trees covered his head, and the occasional bird chirps could be heard. Beside him was a small table with a pot of clear tea and a plate of pastries.

The pastries were sweet cakes that Xiao Tao had steamed not long ago. Fang Zheng had eaten all but one, but they were still continuously emitting a fragrant aroma.

Just as he picked up the last piece of sweet cake and was about to put it in his mouth, Li Yuanzhao’s loud voice came from the entrance.

“Old Fang! Old Fang! Are you in there?”

Fang Zheng responded, and then Li Yuanzhao came running in like the wind.

Before he could speak, his nose twitched, smelling the sweet aroma permeating the air, and his eyes turned to the sweet cake in Fang Zheng’s hand.

“Old Fang, what are you eating?”

Fang Zheng looked at the sweet cake in his hand and hesitated for a moment, then first put it in his mouth and slurped it.

Picking up the sweet cake, he said to Li Yuanzhao, “Just an ordinary pastry. Does Your Highness want some?”

Three black lines drooped down from Li Yuanzhao’s forehead.

You won’t even give me a single pastry to eat? Stingy bastard!

“I don’t want it! What pastries haven’t I eaten before? I’m here to find you for serious business!”

Fang Zheng heard him say he didn’t want it and laughed, then stuffed the sweet cake into his mouth and mumbled, “What matter could there be with Your Highness here?”

Li Yuanzhao anxiously paced back and forth in the courtyard and spoke rapidly, “I was negligent! I didn’t even notice that the number of people on the streets in the district has decreased quite a bit recently. I only found out after hearing from my subordinates that those commoners have actually all gone to Fuyun Temple.”

“Reportedly, several eminent monks have come to Fuyun Temple recently. The most famous among them is a monk called Huijue. The commoners are all enthusiastically donating silver to them!”

“With so many people going, most of them are probably poor. They already have no money, yet they still donate.”

“Old Fang, do you know, Imperial Father somewhat dislikes these monks. He believes they don’t engage in labor. He wanted to deal with them long ago. If Imperial Father sends someone to inspect the district in a few days and sees this situation, won’t it be terrible?”

Fang Zheng took a sip of tea and asked in puzzlement, “How did the sanitation team with so many people only discover this now?”

“My subordinates are all exhausted after working all day. When they go home, they just want to sleep. They have no mind to pay attention to these things.”

“I only found out after actively asking. If we let those bald donkeys continue, won’t the district’s atmosphere be ruined!?”

“*Tsk*… Old Fang, how are you not anxious!”

Seeing Fang Zheng narrow his eyes like he was about to fall asleep, Li Yuanzhao instantly became furious.

Fang Zheng waved his hand weakly. “Don’t be impatient, Your Highness. I’m thinking… Does Your Highness have any ideas?”

Li Yuanzhao frowned. “It’s not that I don’t have a solution. I just don’t know if it will work.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“Post persuasion notices on the district’s bulletin boards and have people explain them. Promote the harm of studying Buddhism to passersby, wasting time and money.”

“Have the subordinates in the sanitation team also help promote it.”

“Finally, find Lord Ji Er and his men and have them frequent Fuyun Temple… With three simultaneous approaches, what do you think?”

Fang Zheng smacked his lips. “Not very good. In terms of brainwashing, can our people compare to those in Buddhism? They are all professional players.”

“Also, you want Lord Ji Er’s men to frequent the temple. With those few small-time hooligans, if they don’t get beaten up in the crowd, it would be a great blessing.”

“You might as well drag the monks out of the temple, strip them naked, and give them a beating. That would be more effective…”

Li Yuanzhao sighed. “Then what do you say we should do? We can’t just drag people out and beat them for no reason. Where would the government’s prestige be then? The commoners already fear the government. It would be even more difficult to handle matters in the future.”

Fang Zheng chuckled. “Aren’t they just a few monks? It’s not a big deal. Your Highness, relax.”

“Today, I’ll teach you a lesson. Temples, ah, they lead people to superstition. The only thing that can defeat magic is magic… Reasoning is useless.”

“If those commoners could think for themselves and listen to advice, they wouldn’t stare wide-eyed and donate their pitiful few copper coins.”

Li Yuanzhao had a puzzled expression. “What’s magic?”

“It’s sorcery, the sorcery of barbarians is called magic.”

Li Yuanzhao had a bitter face. “So… you mean we should also open a temple? There’s no time! Imperial Father would dislike that even more.”

Fang Zheng poured Li Yuanzhao a cup of tea. “No, no, Your Highness, first drink some tea and take a break for a bit.”

“Does Your Highness know what the sharpest blade in this world is?”

“Blade? Of course it’s my Imperial Father’s golden blade!”

“No, I’m talking about an invisible blade. The sharpest blade in the world is killing with a compliment!”

“Since Fuyun Temple is developing so well, we should add fuel to the fire. Otherwise, the more you persuade the commoners not to believe, the more they will want to believe.”

“Don’t directly teach people to think. People are all blindly self-confident animals. It’s useless.”

Li Yuanzhao had a completely baffled expression. “I don’t understand. Old Fang, what do you mean? How do we add fuel to the fire?”

“My meaning is very clear. It’s to encourage the commoners to go to Fuyun Temple.”

“However, this matter naturally needs to be done with a particular method. How to encourage them is the key!”

“Those monks use ignorance to amass wealth. We will use greed to fight back. This is called using magic to defeat magic.”

Li Yuanzhao put on a stern face. “I understand! Those monks can swindle… We’ll set a time, allowing the commoners to legally rob the temple every month, and the government won’t interfere.”

“Like this… I’d like to see which temple can still operate!”

“Uh…” Fang Zheng was momentarily speechless. The crown prince’s realm had directly reached the stratosphere. This was going to make the monks under heaven go extinct.

“There’s no need to go that far. The commoners’ lives are already quite difficult. Having a temple to relax in is also good… Your Highness, doing this is too negative! What if some people take the opportunity to cause trouble? If you cultivate a group of unruly people, today they dare to rob temples, tomorrow they’ll dare to rob big households, and the day after they’ll dare to rebel!”

“Come, come, come, let me tell Your Highness about my method… Like this… In this way…”