Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Guo Tianyang widened his eyes, his face filled with disbelief as he looked ahead.

Then, he quickly poked his head out to look behind him.

After that, he turned back and vigorously rubbed his eyes.

The road behind him was dilapidated, with dirt and gravel everywhere, but the road in front of him was a smooth and level path!

It was so flat that even the slightest undulation was hard to discern!

The black-gray road surface reflected a strange luster under the sunlight, bordered on both sides by stone slabs.

The carriage had jolted violently just now when it hit the junction between the old and the new.

Guo Tianyang said with a shocked expression: "How... how can there be such a road!"

The coachman looked aggrieved: "This is my first time here too..."

Guo Tianyang hurriedly crawled back into the carriage: "Your Majesty, you should come out and take a look!"

Emperor Jing frowned, then leaned out of the carriage as well.

Then, like Guo Tianyang, he was stunned, his face also full of shock.

Before him was a straight avenue, with lush green crops planted on both sides.

He had never seen such a scene before!

"Guo Banban! Are you sure this is Taoyuan County?!".

Guo Tianyang quickly took out the map again and carefully examined it, then nodded vigorously.

"That's right! It's here!"

At this moment, the carriage was still moving, but it was traveling exceptionally smoothly.

The cool breeze blowing in his face, coupled with such a refreshing scene, Emperor Jing's brow couldn't help but relax.

"I didn't expect that a mere small county could build such a unique road. Interesting, truly interesting. It seems I must see this Taoyuan County for myself!"

Guo Tianyang couldn't help but agree: "Even the roads are built so uniquely. The officials here must be extraordinary."

After another half an hour, signs of habitation gradually appeared on the road. Some people were walking, others were leisurely riding donkey carts.

In the fields on both sides, many farmers could be seen.

Emperor Jing nodded in satisfaction.

He didn't expect that a mere small county could be managed so well!

It seemed that the officials here were indeed capable, but why were they so unknown?

The verdant greenery on both sides continued to flash by, and the city walls in the distance began to gradually appear before them.

......

When they got closer.

Emperor Jing, Guo Tianyang, and the coachman all opened their mouths wide!

The so-called Taoyuan County before them was actually a fortified city!

The gray-white brick walls, the city walls as high as tens of meters! All of them revealed four words: Impregnable!

Hanging above the city gate were three gilded characters: Taoyuan County!

Emperor Jing couldn't care less about being shocked at this moment.

Suppressing his anger, he said: "Guo Tianyang! Get over here!".

Guo Tianyang was terrified, but he still paid the coachman first, then walked tremblingly to Emperor Jing's side.

"What use do I have for your Embroidered Uniform Guard! A fortified city like this is located within a hundred miles of the capital! Why has no one reported it to me!"

Emperor Jing suppressed his anger and reprimanded in a low voice.

Emperor Jing had fought in wars for many years and had seen countless small counties. Never had he seen a small county with such high-standard city walls.

At most, they would just fool around with adobe walls, and this Taoyuan County was still an unknown small county!

Such a big landmine was buried under the emperor's nose, who wouldn't be angry?

Guo Tianyang's heart was filled with panic at this moment, and he quickly knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly.

He really didn't know! He had never even heard of it!

No matter how powerful the Embroidered Uniform Guard was, they wouldn't come to this godforsaken place!

Who would have thought that there would be such a fortified city in this remote mountain valley, built so luxuriously.

It was simply ghostly!

The curious gazes of the surrounding people were cast over.

Emperor Jing sighed helplessly. Guo Banban had been with him since he was a child, and he couldn't bear to be too harsh, but... he was really a bit useless.

"Get up, I'll settle the score with you when we get back!".

Guo Tianyang was overjoyed, knowing that he was safe.

He had been by Emperor Jing's side since he was less than ten years old, and he knew exactly what kind of person the emperor was. Saying this meant that he was basically fine.

However, he still slowly stood up with tears streaming down his face: "This servant thanks you, Master."

"Let's go, enter the city!".

After saying that, the two of them raised their legs and walked towards the city.

At the city gate, they were suddenly stopped by three constables: "Please show your travel permits!".

Guo Tianyang had already prepared it and directly handed it over.

The constable glanced at it, returned it, and then said: "What is the purpose of coming to Taoyuan County?".

"Business! My master is in the porcelain business and came here to take a look."

Hearing the word "business," the constable's mouth curled into a smile. He turned his head and whispered something to a person beside him, and then that person hurriedly ran into the city.

Emperor Jing didn't understand why, but he didn't ask any further questions. They obviously didn't want people to know.

So he said: "This Taoyuan County's city walls are so tall and solid, they must have cost a lot of money, right? Did the government raise taxes?".

Before the constable in front of him could answer, a constable behind him laughed first.

"He asked! He asked! What did I say! Pay up!".

The constable who had asked the question earlier helplessly glanced at Emperor Jing, then took out ten copper coins from his pocket.

Then he explained: "These city walls... are actually just for show. Didn't you see the stone slabs glued on the outside? The patterns are all carved on."

"Our county magistrate thought the earthen walls were ugly, so he came up with this method. It didn't cost much money."

Guo Tianyang: "......"

Emperor Jing suddenly laughed heartily.

So that's how it was! He didn't expect this county magistrate to be such a refined person! It seemed that he had been overthinking things.

Seeing that the constable had lost money, Emperor Jing was in a great mood at this time and directly asked Guo Tianyang to take out one tael of silver and hand it over.

Who knew that when the constable saw the silver, his expression changed, and he said sternly: "What are you doing! Take it away, take it away! We don't do this in Taoyuan County!".

Guo Tianyang's hand froze in mid-air, not knowing whether to hand it over or take it back.

He couldn't help but laugh and cry in his heart. There were still places that didn't accept silver? It was really damn strange!

Emperor Jing also showed a thoughtful expression. Even a small clerk had such awareness. Taoyuan County... was indeed interesting.

The two of them didn't dwell on it, took back the silver, and walked straight into the city.

As soon as they entered the city, the two of them fell silent again....

Before them were large expanses of stone-paved roads, clean and tidy!

Buildings lined the left and right sides, and there were many pedestrians on the street.

Even the small stalls selling goods along the street were numerous.

Moreover, the houses on both sides looked very bright and new, obviously having been built not long ago.

Overall, it looked even more luxurious than the capital!

"Your... Master! They actually paved the roads with stone slabs here! It's really... rare."

Emperor Jing nodded with a serious expression.

Paving roads with stone slabs was something that couldn't be done so lavishly even in the capital. At this time, most of the roads outside the outer city of the capital were still dirt roads.

Whenever it rained, it was particularly muddy, but the stone-paved roads in Taoyuan County stretched as far as the eye could see!

Most importantly, the spirit of the people on the street was completely different from that of the capital!

Everyone's face was rosy and healthy, without any signs of malnutrition, and the number of fat people seemed to be not small.

Even in the capital, it was far from this!

The doubts in Emperor Jing's heart grew heavier and heavier.

......