Royal Gold Magistrate

After more than ten days of travel, Fang Zheng finally reached Jianjiang City.

As he approached the city, Fang Zheng deliberately separated from the others.

He entered the city alone in his carriage, while the rest of his group dispersed.

He had the addresses Xie Xian and the others had provided earlier, so he should be able to find them once he arrived.

This arrangement was due to Fang Zheng’s caution.

Jianjiang was different from the capital; a powerful dragon couldn’t suppress a local snake. In the capital, Emperor Jing was clearly the big shot.

As long as you clung to him, you basically couldn’t die.

But in a new place, being unfamiliar with the surroundings, it was best to keep some cards up his sleeve. This was his way of survival.

As he drove his carriage to the outskirts of Jianjiang City, Fang Zheng’s mood gradually sank.

It was high noon, but outside the city walls were swathes of disaster victims.

Numerous soldiers were beating and chasing people with sticks, attempting to maintain some semblance of order among the refugees.

Outside the city, there were about ten or so soup kitchens, with soldiers distributing gruel.

Looking around, many who had received their portion of gruel were lying haphazardly on the ground.

Due to the hot weather, many people had expressionless faces, their chests and bellies exposed.

Under their dark skin were emaciated bodies, the occasional rise and fall of their chests the only proof they were still alive.

The air was filled with a heavy, rancid odor, and flies buzzed noisily, flying about everywhere.

Thousands of people not bathing for months in the scorching summer – one could imagine the smell.

Fang Zheng dismounted from his carriage, untied the reins, and rode on horseback. He approached the soup kitchens and peered into the pots. What he saw could hardly be called gruel; it was merely white water.

The consistency couldn’t be associated with the word “gruel” by any stretch of the imagination.

Fang Zheng’s brow furrowed. He hadn’t expected the situation in Jianjiang to be far worse than he had imagined.

Drinking this kind of gruel would only provide some hydration; in terms of nutrition, it was practically useless.

How could disaster victims possibly survive on such fare?

Fang Zheng scanned the area twice with a furrowed brow. Having gotten a general impression of the current situation, he rode into the city.

At the city gate, he was stopped by guards. Fang Zheng produced his travel papers but didn’t show his official transfer orders.

Fortunately, seeing his fine clothes, the guards didn’t hinder him much. They extorted a tael of silver from him before letting him enter the city.

He didn’t dwell on these minor issues. Having arrived a few days early, he felt it necessary to investigate among the common people. Taking office hastily might lead to many problems being concealed from him.

Although the position of Assistant Prefect of Jianjiang wasn’t high, it came with the right to report directly to the emperor.

Moreover, being in charge of grain affairs and water conservancy, one wrong move could easily result in him being made a scapegoat.

Fang Zheng’s mood was somewhat heavy as he rode through the streets, constantly observing.

The situation inside the city wasn’t much better. There were few people on the streets, and those present mostly had a sickly pallor, clearly suffering from severe malnutrition.

After circling the city twice, countless eyes had already locked onto him.

Fang Zheng dared not wander aimlessly anymore and quickly headed to the address Xie Xian had left.

Fortunately, Xie Xian had been very thorough, providing extremely clear information. Fang Zheng soon found the residence they had acquired.

He knocked on the main door, and after a short while, it opened.

The person who opened the door was startled upon seeing Fang Zheng and exclaimed, “Master! Why have you come!”

Fang Zheng didn’t speak, but with a stern face, he strode directly into the house.

Bai Rui followed behind, trembling with fear.

It’s over, he thought. They never expected their activities would cause such a commotion! Now they had alarmed the master enough to come in person!

It seemed they were in for some punishment when they returned!

After entering the main hall, Fang Zheng sat imposingly in the main seat and spoke in a deep voice, “Where are the others?”

Bai Rui swallowed hard, “The others… uh… we bought a pleasure boat. Most people are usually on the boat. I stay here to watch the house, sleeping during the day and operating at night.”

“Hmm, gather everyone for me! Especially Shen Zhaoxuan! He must come! Go now!”

Bai Rui began to feel increasingly anxious. It’s over, the master is truly angry!

In the past, when he punished people, he wasn’t lenient at all!

“Why aren’t you going yet?”

“Ah! I’m going, right away!” With that, Bai Rui ran out of the house as if flying.

After waiting for an hour, the people dispatched from Taoyuan County began rushing back from outside.

Fang Zheng walked around the courtyard twice and didn’t discover anyone else. It seemed this group was still cautious, which was quite satisfactory.

After everyone had gathered, they sat around a large table, nervously looking at Fang Zheng seated in the main position.

After a moment of silence, Fang Zheng slowly began to speak, “You all…”

“Aiyah!! I’m sorry, Master, I’m late!!” A loud voice suddenly came from the courtyard entrance.

Zhou Tie came stumbling in, shouting.

Then he stood in place, looking at Fang Zheng while bashfully rubbing his hands together on his chest.

Fang Zheng said flatly, “Why are you just arriving? Everyone else is here, and you’re late? Do you look down on me?”

Zhou Tie swallowed and didn’t dare speak.

Xie Xian quickly tried to smooth things over, “Master, he’s injured!”

Zhou Tie hastily added, “Yes, yes, I’m injured, Master. I didn’t mean to be late, I got lost! I’m sorry!”

“Lost? How did you get here?” Fang Zheng glanced at him sideways.

Zhou Tie said quietly, “I walked.”

Fang Zheng sneered, “Walked? When we go out, we all ride in sedan chairs or carriages. You walked, no wonder you got lost! Since you walked, you shouldn’t even be attending this meeting.”

Zhou Tie immediately cried out, “I’ve been wronged, Master! They left me alone on the boat, and I had no money! I could only walk here.”

Fang Zheng said impatiently, “Ah, alright, alright! Find a place to sit. And how did you get injured? Did someone beat you?”

Zhou Tie looked embarrassed, “Uh… I fell in the water and nearly drowned. It’s nothing, it’s nothing…”

Fang Zheng shook his head helplessly.

“Enough! Xie Xian, tell me what’s your current situation, what have you all been doing?”

Hearing this, Xie Xian took out a notebook from his bosom and, looking at its contents, said, “Master, you’ve come at a good time. We haven’t done much yet.”

“Shen Zhaoxuan has established the Self-Reliance Sect, which now has 5,500 followers.”

“Wei Cai and the others have dug several tunnels connecting to the granaries of several notable households in Jianjiang, but fortunately, we haven’t taken any action yet.”

“We’ve inquired about the families whose granaries we’ve tunneled into. Most have good reputations, but they’re engaging in petty scheming behind the scenes.”

“Taking advantage of the grain disaster, they’ve drastically lowered prices and annexed a lot of land, even driving many people to their deaths. Bai Rui went out to verify each case.”

“The most important news is that there’s a big problem with the grain in the official granaries. Most of the stored grain is moldy or old.”

“We suspect that some officials are colluding with local wealthy households, exchanging new grain for old and profiting from the market.”

Fang Zheng swept his gaze over everyone and smiled, “Not bad! You’ve done well! I thought you might have caused a big disaster, but I didn’t expect you to present me with such a grand gift upon my arrival!”

As he spoke, Fang Zheng’s gaze suddenly turned sharp, “However, if it weren’t for you bunch of dogs, I wouldn’t have been demoted!”