Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

The next day.

Fang Zheng Yi and Li Yuan Zhao stood on a street in Banshan Ward, accompanied by a stranger.

Observing the surroundings, the street was full of dust, with dilapidated houses on both sides, and a child was taking off his pants to pee in the corner.

Li Yuan Zhao's eyes twitched a couple of times, and he fell silent, the scene quite different from what he had imagined.

The environment he had envisioned should have been similar to Peach Blossom County, or at least an inner city ward.

He then turned to Fang Zheng Yi in disappointment and said, "Lao Fang, is this the place you chose?"

Fang Zheng Yi smiled smugly: "That's right, do you like it? This is carefully selected by yours truly. I guarantee you won't find a better place than this in the capital!"

"Come, let Lord Zhao Gang explain it to you."

After speaking, he pulled over the person who had been standing beside him.

Zhao Gang looked at Li Yuan Zhao with a flattering smile and quickly performed a salute.

"Banshan Ward is under the jurisdiction of the Northern City Garrison. Lord Zhao is the commander of the Northern City Garrison. Lord Zhao, please introduce Banshan Ward to His Highness the Crown Prince."

Yesterday, as soon as his shift ended, Fang Zheng Yi went straight to the Northern City Garrison to say hello.

The Five City Garrisons are dedicated to maintaining the security of the capital area, basically a rank six yamen that combines the functions of modern public security, fire protection, urban management, and market supervision.

Although it sounds impressive, in reality, the officials are low-ranking and have little power, with many responsibilities and little money. In the capital, where high-ranking officials are everywhere, it is basically a marginal yamen for taking the blame.

The rank of the garrison commander is only a mere rank six, and most of these positions are held by relatives of concubines in the palace, basically just holding the position without doing anything.

Zhao Gang didn't have any connections and had worked his way up. Reaching his current position was probably the end of the line for him, so he was particularly excited to see the Crown Prince this time.

He looked at Fang Zheng Yi gratefully and quickly took out a dossier from his arms to introduce to Li Yuan Zhao.

"Your Highness, Banshan Ward was initially built five years ago. At that time, there was turmoil due to war, and a large number of refugees poured into the capital, so the nearby wards were all built at that time."

"Because the construction was rushed and the funds were insufficient, it looks a bit simple."

"However, after several years of development, many places have improved a lot."

"Banshan Ward now has twenty restaurants..."

"Lord Zhao, there's no need to talk about these. Just tell His Highness how many criminal incidents occur here in a month, big and small," Fang Zheng Yi interrupted Zhao Gang.

Zhao Gang's expression stiffened, and he reluctantly continued to speak while flipping through the dossier: "Taking last month as an example, there were 177 theft incidents, 12 robberies..."

As Zhao Gang spoke about each and every incident, Li Yuan Zhao's face grew darker.

He knew that the people's lives were difficult, but he never thought that so many petty criminals could appear in a single ward.

Living in such an environment was truly alarming.

"There were 239 fights..."

"Enough! Stop talking!" Li Yuan Zhao said, pursing his lips and looking serious.

Zhao Gang immediately stopped, feeling uneasy.

Li Yuan Zhao really couldn't listen anymore. This was simply a mess. Taking over such a place was purely asking for trouble.

He turned to Fang Zheng Yi angrily: "Lao Fang, are you trying to set me up!"

Fang Zheng Yi smiled and didn't answer. Instead, he slipped a silver note into Zhao Gang's sleeve without anyone noticing.

Zhao Gang was shocked and immediately became respectful.

As expected of a noble from the palace! Such a technique... such speed... was simply unheard of.

"Lord Zhao has worked hard today. I'll take His Highness the Crown Prince to walk around and take a look. The imperial decree should be issued in the next two days, and I'll have to trouble Lord Zhao a lot in the future."

Zhao Gang breathed a sigh of relief, feeling relieved...

He couldn't help but think that Fang Zheng Yi wasn't as barbaric and unreasonable as the rumors said. On the contrary, he was refined and polite, without any airs, and he handled things meticulously. He even gave a subordinate like me money. The rumors were wrong!

Then, he leaned close to Fang Zheng Yi's ear and whispered, "Lord Fang, I'll be leaving then. If there's any trouble, feel free to find me. The Crown Prince must like cleanliness since he comes from the palace. If you want to renovate Banshan Ward, I have a word of advice: be careful of the night soil workers in the ward!"

After speaking, Zhao Gang left in a hurry.

Fang Zheng Yi raised his eyebrows. The money wasn't spent in vain.

He turned to Li Yuan Zhao and said, "What are you saying, Your Highness? I, Fang Zheng Yi, only set up rich people! Do you have money?"

"........"

Li Yuan Zhao's face turned red: "Then why did you choose such a place? There's nothing here. How can I show my abilities?"

Fang Zheng Yi glared: "Your Highness, if a person truly has great talent, they can conquer a vast territory even with just a bowl at the start. Now you're just governing a ward and you're so unwilling. Besides, I'm here with you, so what are you afraid of?!"

"Look, the people here are living in poverty. They're all counting on you!"

Li Yuan Zhao's face flushed slightly upon hearing this, and he murmured: "Well, one day is fine, two days are fine, but I can't stay in a place like this every day... It's dirty, messy, and there's nothing. It's even more boring than the Eastern Palace..."

"People who loaf around in the Eastern Palace aren't my brothers!"

"I know! I know!" Li Yuan Zhao shouted reluctantly.

Seeing this, Fang Zheng Yi put his arm around his shoulder and began to draw a big picture for him with a smile: "Don't worry, Your Highness. When I first saw you, I felt that you were a wise ruler. Since you're a wise ruler, would you rather build glory in ruins or inherit the glory of His Majesty? You can't always live in the shadow of His Majesty, can you?"

"Think about the scene of ten thousand people admiring you in the future, with the people welcoming you on both sides of the street. Aren't you happy? But when others mention it, they'll say that it's actually your father's achievement, and you just got a big advantage. What would you think in your heart?"

"Moreover, I have money... Don't look at the fact that there's nothing here now. If tens of thousands of taels of silver are thrown in, it'll be transformed tomorrow!"

"And...."

Li Yuan Zhao was, after all, a young man at heart. After being painted such a grand picture, his face gradually became rosy, and he began to cheer up.

He said excitedly: "What you said makes some sense. So, where should we start?"

Fang Zheng Yi pointed to the street: "Look how dirty this place is. We have to improve the sanitation first. Start by sweeping the streets!"

"Hey, there's a broom in the corner. Your Highness can experience it firsthand. Do you know how to sweep?"

Li Yuan Zhao looked at Fang Zheng Yi disdainfully: "I don't want to sweep the streets. Lao Fang, don't try to fool me. I'm afraid you, with your lazy bones, don't even know how to sweep!"

Fang Zheng Yi smiled contemptuously: "Sweeping the streets is nothing. I've even drunk swill. Do you dare to drink it?!"

Swill? Is that something people eat?

Li Yuan Zhao looked at Fang Zheng Yi's face with suspicion, then gritted his teeth and said: "It's just sweeping the streets! Is there something I can't do? You wait!"

After speaking, he strode towards the broom.

Fang Zheng Yi watched the show with his arms crossed. This adolescent, you just have to use reverse psychology on him to make him act.

Although the Crown Prince's character is good, he is still pampered. He usually acts like a rough man, but when he really sees dirt, he avoids it more than anyone else. He has to get rid of his bad habits.

He saw Li Yuan Zhao pick up the broom and "dance" in the middle of the street, causing dust to fill the air.

The pedestrians on the street cursed one after another.

"Damn it, raising dust in broad daylight is going to kill people!"

"Which bastard is it? They're lacking in virtue. I'm going to report to the authorities!"

"Eat shit, you!"

Seeing this, Fang Zheng Yi covered his face with his sleeve and slowly walked to the corner...

Not long after, Li Yuan Zhao's scream came from the dust: "Lao Fang!! Lao Fang!!"

Fang Zheng Yi hurried over, but the dust was too thick and he retreated.

The smoke and dust slowly dissipated, and Li Yuan Zhao was seen leaning on the broom with one hand, looking at Fang Zheng Yi in horror, and said with a crying voice: "Lao Fang, I think I stepped in shit!"

Fang Zheng Yi: "................."

........