Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Three days later, Guo Tianyang prepared the carriages and horses, ready to accompany Emperor Jing and his son out of the palace.

The time was precisely Hai Shi (9-11 PM), and it was so dark that one couldn't see their own hand.

Emperor Jing and his son waited for the carriage first. Guo Tianyang was just about to follow when he suddenly heard a burst of hurried footsteps.

Then, he quickly raised a lantern and ran over to see.

He breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing who it was; it turned out to be his good-for-nothing adopted grandson!

So he scolded: "You little rascal! What are you running around in the palace for! Trying to scare your grandpa to death!?"

The little eunuch gasped for breath and said: "Grandpa! Lord Li... Lord Li has an urgent memorial to present to His Majesty, saying it needs to be reviewed by His Majesty!"

Without thinking, Guo Tianyang snatched the memorial from his hand and said in a low voice: "Get lost!"

Watching the little eunuch walk away, Guo Tianyang quickly ran back to the carriage and presented the memorial.

"Your Majesty! Urgent memorial from Lord Li!"

Emperor Jing felt an inexplicable sense of anxiety as he looked at the memorial. His pupils dilated instantly after opening it!

Seeing the abnormality in Emperor Jing, Guo Tianyang asked cautiously: "Your Majesty, what happened?"

Li Yuanzhao stared at the memorial with curiosity. Whatever could make his father reveal such an expression must be a major event!

Emperor Jing closed the memorial, worriedly saying: "A great flood in Jianjiang has already breached five dams, displacing thousands of people. The Jianjiang governor is requesting the imperial court to allocate an additional two hundred thousand taels of silver for disaster relief."

"Moreover, the rain hasn't stopped, and the future floods may be even greater... If it doesn't stop in half a month, I fear the consequences will be endless."

"Two hundred thousand taels! The national treasury can't provide it, nor can the imperial treasury. If this continues, the situation will only get worse and worse!"

"My Great Jing is truly plagued by disasters... How can there be such heavy rain in February? Is it all the will of Heaven!?"

Emperor Jing clenched the window frame tightly with both hands, a sense of depression filling his chest.

Guo Tianyang lowered his head and said: "Your Majesty, are we still going to Taoyuan County?"

"Go! Now, if I stay in the capital, I'm afraid it will be of no help... Go to Taoyuan County immediately and procure a batch of tea! Bring the map! I want to think about how to solve the Jianjiang flood."

Perhaps that Fang Zheng might have some unique ideas?

Emperor Jing looked at the darkness outside the window and made a hasty decision.

......

Taking advantage of the night, the carriage quickly drove out of the capital.

Inside the carriage, Guo Tianyang held up an oil lamp as Emperor Jing constantly pointed at the map, muttering to himself.

Li Yuanzhao was extremely bored. The road was bumpy, he couldn't sleep, and he couldn't concentrate on reading, so he could only stare at the map blankly.

Emperor Jing looked up and saw Li Yuanzhao in a daze, and said: "What, do you want to take a look too?"

Li Yuanzhao hesitated for a moment, took the map, and began to draw on it with his finger.

At the same time, he said: "The flood in Jianjiang Prefecture started from Jinli, and then flowed down the river, destroying Changxin, Jiao County, and Hunlou. Now it should have reached Pingwang."

"But this memorial departed from Jinli City and would take at least five days to reach the capital even with fast horses!"

"That is to say, the dam in Pingwang may also have been breached by the flood, or even already has been, right?"

Emperor Jing nodded in agreement. It seemed that this rebellious son was not completely inept; at least he could understand the map and had some ability to think.

Li Yuanzhao continued to look at the map and said:

"Father, look here! This place is called Yintuo! This place guards the position south of where the flood enters Jianjiang City, and it is surrounded by mountains on both sides! The eastern terrain is low and there are no villages. If the river is diverted here, and the people of other counties and cities are relocated in advance, wouldn't the flood disaster be resolved!?"

Emperor Jing looked at him with a strange expression: "How to divert it?"

Li Yuanzhao immediately began to gesticulate: "Summon cultivators to perform spells! Summon heavenly thunder to blast down the mountain on the south side and block the river channel! A mere flood is nothing to worry about!"

Emperor Jing quickly snatched the map and flicked Li Yuanzhao on the head.

He angrily shouted: "Bastard! What kind of books do you usually read! National affairs are not child's play!"

"If there were really immortals with such great power in the world, so many people wouldn't have died since ancient times!"

"You uneducated wretch!"

"Eunuch Guo! Go back and burn all those miscellaneous and rotten books of his! If I see them again, I'll hold you accountable!"

The carriage returned to silence again, and Li Yuanzhao and Guo Tianyang shrank into a corner like aggrieved little wives.

Emperor Jing picked up the map again and examined it carefully.....

......

Guo Tianyang didn't sleep all night and started giving directions to the coachman early in the morning.

The next day at noon, Emperor Jing and his son woke up from their exhaustion and had successfully entered Taoyuan County.

Li Yuanzhao couldn't wait to get out of the carriage, then looked at the unfamiliar scenery around him, and his mouth widened!

Emperor Jing stretched his muscles and bones, looking at the vibrant scene in front of him, his mood unexpectedly improved a lot.

Li Yuanzhao said excitedly: "I heard from my masters that most of the common people are unhygienic and the environment is filthy! It seems that what the masters said is wrong!"

"If I had known, I should have left the palace earlier! This place looks much more interesting than the palace!"

Emperor Jing glanced at the prince with a meaningful look: "Let's go, let's go to Youjian Inn first. Remember, my current identity is a merchant named Li Long, your name is Li Yuan, and he is called Guo Da."

Li Yuanzhao was still looking around, absentmindedly nodding in agreement.

The three arrived at Youjian Inn, and the shopkeeper enthusiastically greeted them: "Yo! This master, you're here again! Are you here to stock up on goods in the county this time!"

Emperor Jing nodded and said: "First-class rooms, two!"

"Alright!"

After Guo Tianyang accompanied Emperor Jing into the room and put down his luggage, he quietly came to Li Yuanzhao's room.

He saw Li Yuanzhao touching and looking around, constantly making "tsk tsk" sounds.

He ran to the inner room and exclaimed in surprise: "Ah! There's a well here! Eunuch Guo, quickly get me a cup! I want to taste the well water!"

Guo Tianyang's old face wrinkled.

Sure enough! Fortunately, he had taken precautions! Otherwise, if the prince drank the toilet water, he would be the one in trouble!

"Your Highness, this is a commode! It's for convenience. Look, there's even a rope! Pull it and the water will flush it away!"

A barely perceptible blush flashed across Li Yuanzhao's face, and then his attention quickly shifted to the rope on the water tank.

He kept pulling the rope, having a great time.

Seeing this, Guo Tianyang also retreated with peace of mind.

......

"Young master! Those two porcelain merchants from last time are here again today, staying at Youjian Inn!"

Zhang Biao received the news as soon as Emperor Jing and his party entered the city, and hurried to the county government office to notify Fang Zheng.

At this moment, Fang Zheng hadn't gotten out of bed yet, lying on the bed muttering: "I know, I know."

"They only left less than seven days ago, right? Do you want me to bring them over, young master?"

Seven days? Fang Zheng sat up with a whoosh, then quickly lay down again, got up too fast.......

These two are really something! They sold out those twenty catties of tea in seven days? Excluding the round trip, plus other miscellaneous time, it probably didn't even take three days!

They really are capable merchants, able to create a market for a new product so quickly.

Money is coming! Young Master Fang is also energetic.

"No need to bring them over! This young master will personally meet the God of Wealth! Xiaotao! Change clothes!"

After slowly getting dressed, Young Master Fang arrived at Youjian Inn in a sedan chair.

As soon as he got out of the sedan chair, a stench wafted over his face!

Two servants at the door were constantly carrying buckets of water in and out, while the shopkeeper was vigorously fanning the door with a fan.

Fang Zheng quickly covered his mouth and nose and walked up to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper almost cried when he saw the county magistrate. Just as he was about to speak, Fang Zheng kicked him in the butt, causing him to stumble.

"You dog thing! I let you manage the inn, is this how you work!"

"Damn it! Did the cesspool explode? What's going on!?"

Seeing County Magistrate Fang get angry, the shopkeeper hugged Fang Zheng's thigh and cried: "Lord! It's not my fault!"

"I don't know which son of a bitch let all the water out of the water tower! Now I'm arranging for the servants to replenish the water!"

Just then, Emperor Jing and his party also covered their mouths and noses and came down from the second floor.

Seeing Fang Zheng reprimanding the shopkeeper, Li Yuanzhao's face turned red, and he quietly took a step behind Emperor Jing...

......