Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

It was said to be a two-day vacation, but Fang Zheng, being the lazybones he is, stayed for three days.

However, he wasn't completely idle. He wrote a detailed memorial about Zhang Shi's crimes, but it hadn't been submitted yet.

The gunpowder side had already begun to produce small results.

The palace directly sent the regulations of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to Taoyuan County. He naturally had to carefully customize the future plans of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

As the knife in the emperor's hand, which had not yet been fully forged, he still had some power to influence it, so he had to be serious and careful.

If he didn't play this well, it wouldn't be strange to lose his old life.

Fang Zheng often felt emotional when customizing the plan these days, thankful that he didn't transmigrate to the Ming Dynasty.

If he had encountered Zhu Yuanzhang, damn it, with his antics, probably not even bone scraps would be left.

Later generations said that Old Zhu loved the people like his own children, but Fang, as a former beggar, had a different opinion.

His starting point was high, he jumped out of the mud early. Even so, the little lamb was still forced to become a bandit leader.

A ruthless person like Zhu Yuanzhang, relying on his explosive personal ability, went from beggar to the peak step by step. His humanity was almost worn away, leaving very little.

Probably, apart from the empress and his son being the last bit of softness in his heart, the rest was nine-tenths hard.

Moreover, Old Zhu came from a humble background and had an extremely strong sense of crisis. The monitoring level of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was brought into full play.

Even the common people had to supervise each other. Anyone who dared to slack off, be lazy, or go far away... in serious cases, they could wait for death.

In a chaotic world, ruthless people want to gain a foothold, and they usually don't have much humanity, emotion, or morality. This is Fang Zheng's humble opinion.

Fortunately, he met Emperor Jing.

Born into a legitimate noble family, and judging from his experience, he had almost never lost from childhood to adulthood, going smoothly all the way. Such people tend to have a strong sense of security and are tolerant and generous.

Fang Zheng could feel a very precious quality of this era in him: health.

A comprehensive health from psychology to physiology.

Fang Zheng felt that the rough regulations sent from above were almost no different from the Eastern Depot.

Probably, Emperor Jing felt that the Eastern Depot was not working well and wanted to use two parallel institutions to complement each other.

But people can change. What if he gets old, confused, or suspicious? What if he doesn't have such a strong sense of security as when he was young and strong?

So Fang Zheng still wanted to make some adjustments within his power, mainly in the Southern Prison.

The Southern Prison is responsible for the military discipline and punishment within the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and strict regulations are needed to restrain the internal affairs of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

He thought for three days, but there was little progress. But it was also time to go to the capital, and if he delayed any longer, he would be scolded.

Li Yuanzhao also stayed in Taoyuan County for three days, only returning to the capital once in between, and having a great time the rest of the time.

On the day of returning to the capital, Li Yuanzhao and Fang Zheng strolled on the street, followed by a group of yamen runners, preparing to walk out of the city.

Halfway there, Li Yuanzhao suddenly pointed to the side of the road and laughed: "Lao Fang, I don't think the notices from your county government are that useful. Aren't these beggars still here? I've seen them several times."

Fang Zheng looked closely and saw several people gathered at the entrance of a restaurant. Looking through the gaps, he saw that it was the two beggars from before.

He glanced at Ao Chen, who shook his head: "I don't know, sir. Logically speaking, the people below shouldn't let them beg anymore. Our efficiency isn't that low."

"Let's go take a look." Fang Zheng raised his foot and walked over.

Someone saw Fang Zheng coming and immediately made way for him.

Fang Zheng looked down and was amused!

A piece of white cloth was spread on the ground, with two words written on it: [Selling Thanks!]

Brother Liu and Xiao Qiang felt the surrounding crowd disperse and instinctively looked up.

The moment the two saw Fang Zheng, they immediately knelt down, burying their faces on the ground, wishing they could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

"Am I no longer effective in the county? I told you not to beg, to find you a job, and not to beg for food here!"

Brother Liu raised his head and smiled reluctantly: "Sir... we're not begging for food... selling thanks, doing business! I paid the stall fee."

Ao Chen quickly stepped forward to remind him: "Sir, that's right! He paid the stall fee and is still selling here, no wonder our people didn't care! Our county has regulations, we can't control selling air."

Li Yuanzhao also laughed: "These beggars are doing business? Selling thanks? I'll buy one and try it!"

Saying that, he took out a tael of silver from his sleeve and threw it down.

Brother Liu grabbed the silver in his arms like a hungry dog, and said in a simple voice: "Thank you!", then there was no second sound.

Li Yuanzhao was dumbfounded: "That's... that's it? Just say thank you, two taels of silver!"

"Ah, it's just one sentence no matter how much money." Brother Liu's eyes magically separated left and right, and he began to pretend to be mentally handicapped.

"Talent! You two are truly Crouching Dragon and Young Phoenix, work hard! I won't care anymore! Come to my side if you do well in the future!" Fang Zheng couldn't help but sigh, "Let's go, Your Highness, the carriage outside the city is still waiting."

Li Yuanzhao stared at Brother Liu with suspicious eyes for a while, and finally left.

Watching Fang Zheng's back gradually fade away, a sense of loss that was difficult to hide appeared in Brother Liu's eyes and face.

Feeling a little sore in his nose, he reached out and rubbed it.

He poked Xiao Qiang, who was still trembling on the ground: "He's gone, sir is gone, don't hide."

Xiao Qiang tremblingly raised his head, tears already visible in his eyes. After holding back for a while, he couldn't hold back the tears, and they poured out like a dam bursting.

He burst into tears and cried: "It's over! It's over! Sir saw me! I can't live anymore! Brother!"

Brother Liu patted Xiao Qiang's back to comfort him: "You weren't this sad when your childhood sweetheart ran away, work hard, we've earned six hundred taels of silver in the past few days."

"When we save up two thousand taels, I'll take you to contract wasteland and build a house."

Xiao Qiang leaned against the pillar, looking lifeless, and muttered: "What if we lose everything again?"

"Xiao Qiang! Why are you discouraged again! You can't do this, you have to stand up! We have a monopoly, there's no reason to lose money!" Brother Liu encouraged loudly, attracting the surrounding crowd to watch.

Xiao Qiang sighed softly: "Forget it, brother, I've thought about it. If we really make money, won't other people be blind? There are many people in the county with more capital than us!"

"How can we think of all the good things? Even if we think of it, we may not run to the end. Maybe we can only drink some soup in the end..."

"Why don't we... stop? We have a lot of money now, let's use our connections to go back to the guard team."

Seeing that his only partner's morale was gone, Brother Liu became anxious and grabbed his shoulders and shook him violently: "Xiao Qiang! What are you talking about!"

"Ah? We've been through so much together, relying on each other for life! How could these words come out of your mouth!"

"Go back to work? I'm telling you, it's impossible to work! It's impossible to work in this life! We are free people, I can't go back! We can't go back!"

Hearing this, Xiao Qiang suddenly came to his senses and shouted: "Then what do you say! Others are richer than us! Others are faster than us! Others have more fame than us! Even if we think of it first, what can we do, Brother Liu, I beg you, stop dreaming!"

Brother Liu's breathing stagnated, then he gradually calmed down: "No, it's not a dream, Xiao Qiang, don't worry, listen to me."

"I've thought about it these past few days. When we contract the land and find someone to start construction, you go to the capital to rent a shop, decorate it well, and specially attract people who want to move to Taoyuan County. When the wasteland here is halfway built, let people book it, so we'll have silver!"

"If someone books it, that means the wasteland has value, and I'll use the wasteland to borrow a sum of silver from the county, and take the silver to buy more wasteland! Repeating this cycle, when everyone hasn't reacted, all the wasteland around Taoyuan County will be ours!"

"The more I think about it, the more reliable it is, it's definitely feasible!"

Xiao Qiang smiled helplessly, his eyes full of pity: "Brother Liu, don't talk nonsense, if you play this set to the end, the house won't be finished... then we'll pay with our lives?"

"It can be finished, it can definitely be finished, you believe me! Even if it can't be finished, so what? Then let the buyers who have already booked the house add money, otherwise they will build the house themselves, otherwise the silver they paid before will be wasted, anyway, we have worthless lives, let's see who can outlast who!" Brother Liu smiled coldly.

It's over, Brother Liu is crazy, completely crazy, is this still the kind and honest Brother Liu I used to know?

Xiao Qiang painfully closed his eyes: "Don't say it, don't say it! They will beat you to death before they build the house themselves!"

"Beat me to death?" Brother Liu raised his voice slightly: "I still have some brothers in the guard team with good relationships, if they dare to mess with me, I'll find someone to mess with them first!"

"Our brothers are all government officials! And you cheated others, who will help you beat people? You won't have to do it before the master finds out!"

Brother Liu's expression gradually became sinister, he calmed down for a moment, and slowly said: "What's this, just change clothes, who will know that the brothers are government officials at that time?"

The expression on Xiao Qiang's face froze, he looked at Brother Liu in horror, then curled up, buried his head in his knees, and said in a muffled voice with some crying: "Brother, you've changed, this is too immoral and inhumane, I won't do it with you."

Immoral, inhumane, I won't do it with you.

These few light words instantly shattered Brother Liu's inner defense.

Brother Liu's lips began to tremble constantly, and at the same time, his tiger eyes contained tears. Suddenly, he violently kicked Xiao Qiang to the ground, and then the whole person pounced on him!

Holding down his shoulders, he said ferociously: "Xiao Qiang, we have always shared joys and sorrows, relying on each other for life! I only have you now, if you don't accompany me, I'll die and leave all the money to you!"

"I want to be safe and honest and do business honestly! But what about those people outside? They bully us, asking for favors, asking for tea money! One after another!"

"The horse seller screwed us! The Bureau of Military Affairs screwed us! Old Sun, the monkey seller, tricked us again, and that old geezer even swindled away your woman! Are you fucking happy about that!"

"We talk about rules, we talk about morals, we speak to people politely, and what does it get us? Everyone looks down on us, treats us like idiots! Those who don't play by the rules, who have no morals, always have their foot on our necks!"

"It's one head after another pressing down on us! The devil is always one step ahead! The less you play by the rules, the better you do! The more money you have, the more you can get away with!"

"You tell me! Tell me! What good is talking about morals and humanity!?"

Xiaoqiang was pinned to the ground, his shoulder aching. But Brother Liu wasn't the arm-wrestling champion for nothing. Even if his muscles had deteriorated, he still had seventy or eighty percent of his strength!

Right now, he was in a frenzy. Xiaoqiang was nothing but terrified.

Brother Liu roared, "Morality, humanity? Haven't you seen it yet! In the marketplace, it's the law of the jungle! Only the lowest of the low talk about morality all day long! They are slaves to morality!"

"I get it now! I'm going to turn things around! I, Liu Zhongshun, am going to be the master of morality!"

"So what if I cheat people? Once we're rich, we can just donate a little money to build some schools, and sponsor some elderly people living alone. Then we'll be great philanthropists praised by everyone!"

"People will only see our glory in public. Who will know what we did before? Who will care what kind of people we were before?"

"Now tell me, are you willing to join me?"

Xiaoqiang was stunned. Although Brother Liu was agitated, he actually felt that there was a sliver of truth to it....

"I... I... I don't know."

Seeing Xiaoqiang's attitude soften, Brother Liu pressed his advantage: "Master has always had a discerning eye. He just praised us two as the Crouching Dragon and the Phoenix Fledgling! He must have seen our potential. If we succeed, we might even be able to work by Master's side in the future!"

A hopeful light suddenly appeared in Xiaoqiang's eyes.

That's right! Master just praised me as the Crouching Dragon and the Phoenix Fledgling! I wonder if I'm the Crouching Dragon or the Phoenix Fledgling....

"Brother... I'll do it with you!"

-

A big chapter, two chapters with six thousand words. The daily life isn't filler, it's foreshadowing. The layout is never filler! Don't scold me, everyone, it will all be used later.

2022/8/22 Today's update is early, there won't be one tonight, brothers, I'm going to the city for something.