Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

After a brief conversation in the warm pavilion, Li Yuanzhao pulled Fang Zheng back to the East Palace.

He couldn't wait to say, "Lao Fang, you're not really planning to reason with those people, are you? That's not your style! Besides, those scholars are stubborn and won't listen to reason."

Fang Zheng cursed, "Reason with them my ass! I just sent people to beat them up. These bastards are completely useless and only know how to cause trouble for the court!"

"I don't know what kind of books they're reading. If they fail the exam, they should either retake it or honestly go to the factory and work. What's with all the fuss!"

Li Yuanzhao's eyes glazed over.

As expected, Lao Fang wasn't a pushover. This matter wasn't so simple.

"Then how are you planning to solve it? This kind of thing will definitely get bigger and bigger! If it drags on, it might involve other people. Once those scholars incite them, even the common people might attack you en masse," Li Yuanzhao said anxiously.

Fang Zheng walked straight to the table and sat down, poured two cups of tea, and waved at Li Yuanzhao.

Li Yuanzhao stared at him without moving, waiting for an answer.

Fang Zheng slapped his thigh and clicked his tongue, "Hey, aren't you tired? You act like the sky is falling with the slightest disturbance. If all officials were like you, they'd die from it."

"In such a big country, there's bound to be some trouble every day, right? Not to mention the country, even a family has its share of issues every day, doesn't it?"

"Officials shouldn't be afraid of trouble. When something happens, they should just smooth it over, that's it! What's the point of being an official if I'm afraid of trouble?"

"Besides, the major events you'll face in the future will be much more numerous than this. Come, have some tea, Your Highness."

Li Yuanzhao sighed and walked to the table, "You're even more carefree than I am. I don't even know why I'm so worried about you. So you already have a solution."

"No, I can only say I have a little clue."

"......"

Just as the teacup was picked up, Li Yuanzhao put it back down, surprised, "Then I don't understand. Why are you taking on everything yourself?"

Fang Zheng spread his hands and said, "It can't be helped. I have to establish the Science Academy, and I can't let anyone interfere. If it were a court decision, concessions would have to be made, and the Science Academy might be abandoned. I can't take that risk."

"This is a path for the common people to advance in the future. The sooner it's stabilized, the sooner many people will benefit."

"Besides, we must also find a proper way to stabilize those troublemaking scholars. Temporary concessions can stabilize the situation, but if the root cause isn't resolved, it will eventually become an obstacle."

"But there's really no need to rush now. I've already had people surround the Marquis's mansion, so they can't get out or in. I want to see how long they can last without food or drink. Let's wait and see for now, and then think of a countermeasure on the scene tomorrow."

"By the way, Your Highness, would you like to come with me tomorrow to take a look? I'm planning to bring a few reporters to secretly record the whole process. I think this is very meaningful!"

"Sure, let's take a look!"

......

The next morning.

Outside the gate of the Marquis's mansion, a large group of sickly scholars were still sitting in place in groups.

Some were standing in twos and threes.

After a night of tossing and turning, it was clear that the condition of these frail scholars had deteriorated significantly.

Not only did they get a beating last night, but they also had no food or drink and froze for a night. The impact on their morale was indeed a bit great.

Everyone knew that the Jinyiwei were guarding all around the Marquis's mansion. They could leave, but they couldn't enter again.

Forcing their way in would definitely be no match for the Jinyiwei, and everyone had already agreed to give Fang Zheng five days.

Scholars value their word, and it would be too embarrassing for them to launch an attack in advance. They wouldn't be able to show their faces!

Therefore, no one chose to leave and continued to hold their ground.

Zhou Maoxue sat in the crowd, his lower abdomen aching, and an urge to urinate couldn't help but surge up.

Looking around, he saw people everywhere and couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

He couldn't openly urinate on the street... that would really be beneath his dignity.

But relieving oneself is a human instinct, and he couldn't hold it in.

After enduring for a long time, Zhou Maoxue finally struggled to get up, holding a broken branch he didn't know where he had picked up to support himself.

He limped to the gate of the Marquis's mansion.

The high spirits of last night were completely gone, and his originally fair face had become bruised and swollen.

Looking at many people below clutching their thighs, unable to hold back their urine, Zhou Maoxue felt a little relieved.

It seemed that everyone was the same, so that was good.

Zhou Maoxue raised his crutch and said tremblingly, "Dear fellow scholars, last night a rogue took the opportunity to cause trouble. It must be that evil Fang Zheng, knowing he was wrong, used unscrupulous means to launch a brutal attack on us, but I want to say...."

"The more the enemy opposes us, the more it proves that we are doing the right thing!"

"Right now, the Jinyiwei are blocking us from entering and leaving at will. I know that everyone has had a hard night, but I hope everyone will remain restrained and not clash with them. The Banshan Daily is in Fang Zheng's hands. If we take the initiative to attack, we will give them an excuse and may even be slandered as rioters. If we lose the support of the people, we will be constrained everywhere afterwards...."

Fang Zheng and Li Yuanzhao were watching Zhou Maoxue's speech not far away around the corner.

The Jinyiwei and Xie Xian and other reporters accompanied them.

Fang Zheng asked the Jinyiwei, "Have you found out who the leader is?"

The Jinyiwei said, "Master, according to this humble officer's observation, the most active person in the crowd right now is the person who is speaking, named Zhou Maoxue. His identity was investigated last night. He is the eldest son of Lord Zhou Hong."

Zhou Hong!?

Fang Zheng and Li Yuanzhao exchanged glances, both feeling a little unbelievable.

Fang Zheng knew Zhou Hong, the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, a second-rank official in the court, whose official position was above his.

This person was upright and acted decisively, an old minister who had fought alongside Emperor Jing.

As Right Vice Censor-in-Chief, he needed to travel all over the country frequently. Three years ago, his body couldn't take it anymore, so he applied for retirement.

Therefore, there was not much communication between the two in the court in the past. Their relationship could only be said to be average, but there were no conflicts.

Why did his son jump out to cause trouble?

Fang Zheng asked, "Does this Zhou Maoxue have any other information?"

"This humble officer found out that this person is good at making friends, and there are traces of activities in major restaurants and brothels in the capital, but he has repeatedly failed the imperial examinations...."

As the Jinyiwei spoke, Li Yuanzhao was eager to try, "Lao Fang, then it's easy to handle. Just have his father call him back, wouldn't that be enough?"

Fang Zheng raised his hand and pondered, "No, he is not important at all, he is just a fuse. Even if there is no Zhou Maoxue, some Zhang San or Li Si will jump out to lead the trouble in the future. So many people are responding to the trouble, it cannot be caused by one person's power alone, so what we need to solve is the deep-seated contradiction."

"Lao Fang... look, he seems to be peeing at your door!" Li Yuanzhao suddenly patted Fang Zheng's shoulder and pointed towards the gate of the Marquis's mansion.

Fang Zheng turned his eyes and immediately his eyes were about to split.

"Damn, he's so uncivilized!"