Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Inside the Zhenfu Office.

Four foreigners stood dumbfounded in front of Fang Zheng Yi, while Li Yuan Zhao also ran over to join the fun.

The two of them circled around the four with great interest, carefully examining them.

These past few months, he had been preoccupied with other matters, having long forgotten about these foreigners, and he didn't know how Lu Fa's training was progressing.

At this moment, the four foreigners were dressed differently, some in luxurious clothes, some in plain clothes, and one even wearing the sanitation team's uniform.

As he looked, Fang Zheng Yi chuckled.

He asked Lu Fa, "What's going on? Not only can they speak human language, but they can also go out and find employment? Tsk tsk, they've learned quickly. You should teach me a foreign language when you have time."

Lu Fa smiled obsequiously, "Master, this is all thanks to Steward Qian. They learned with a knife to their necks, so how could they not be fast?"

"They could communicate simply in just two months. Anyway, they can survive. Later, I wanted to speed up the progress, so I let them go out and train in the market. These few are doing alright in their studies. It's just that their reactions are slow, and sometimes they still don't understand."

Learning with a knife to their necks? With such miraculous effects, it seems that the education model of universities should be updated.

Fang Zheng Yi nodded in satisfaction, "Not bad, but it's not allowed next time. How can we treat foreign guests like this? It's really impolite."

"Come, let them say a few words first, and I'll listen to how well they've learned."

Lu Fa said loudly, "You! Say a few auspicious words for our Lord Fang to hear!"

The four immediately raised their heads and chests, and said loudly in accented voices.

"Without Da Jing, there would be no home; without a home, there would be no me."

"Youth shines together with Da Jing, glory and dreams are created together."

"I will water the towering tree of Da Jing with the sweat of my hard work!"

Li Yuan Zhao covered his mouth and chuckled, glancing at Fang Zheng Yi, "Old Fang, you're something else! These people have a high level of awareness!"

"That's right! People trained in my Taoyuan County must love the country and their families!" Fang Zheng Yi said proudly.

Then, he pointed to one of the foreigners wearing plain clothes, "What's his name again?"

"Master, his name is Fobert."

"Right, I remember. Little Fobert, say a few daily greetings for me to hear, lest you embarrass me in front of His Majesty."

Fobert stared blankly at Fang Zheng Yi, his mind a little slow.

He had memorized the platitudes quite well, but once someone spoke quickly, he still had to think for a while.

What did 'Little Fo' mean? He understood that 'His Majesty' was the Emperor, but why would he embarrass someone in front of His Majesty, and who would he embarrass?

Seeing that Fobert didn't speak, Fang Zheng Yi's face darkened, "How dare you! This official is asking you a question, why aren't you speaking?"

"I grew up in the embrace of Da Jing! Da Jing is rooted in my heart!" Fobert said quickly, filled with nervousness.

Fang Zheng Yi's face fell, "You didn't understand, did you?"

Fobert nodded quickly.

"Then, let's change the question. How has your life been recently?"

"Not good, we eat army hot pot every day, and we have to hand in the money we earn from working," Fobert quickly replied, having understood this time.

Fang Zheng Yi looked at Lu Fa in confusion.

Lu Fa quickly said, "Master, these foreigners can't spend our money. Usually, we just give them the leftover 'Stew in a Bucket' from the Jinyiwei, which is quite good with bone broth and rice."

"It's all clean swill!" Lu Fa added softly.

It's a good thing that the subordinates are saving expenses!

Fang Zheng Yi nodded, "Little Fo, don't complain, that's all nutritious stuff! What kind of work have you been doing recently?"

"Jinyiwei, odd jobs."

Lu Fa added, "Master, the original odd job worker quit, saving where we can."

Fang Zheng Yi gave him an admiring look.

"Then why are the others dressed differently? What's the situation? These two in the middle look quite wealthy."

Lu Fa said, "Master, these two are Da Zhuang and Xiao Shuai."

"It's like this, Da Zhuang was spotted by a merchant on the street and pulled over to do publicity for them, earning several taels of silver a month! These clothes were given by the merchant."

"Xiao Shuai is even more awesome. He used to watch the bicycle shed outside. But his eyesight isn't good, and he couldn't tell who was who, so he kept losing bikes. Later, he got anxious, and the people themselves ran to report to the authorities. The people in the yamen saw that he looked strange and were willing to help him find them. Later, he became famous, and he helps people in the capital report cases and find bicycles, earning more than ten taels a month. We've received seven or eight banners of merit this month. Do you want to take a look?"

"....."

Fang Zheng Yi's eyelids twitched, and he roared in his heart.

I'll look! I'll look at a chicken feather!

Is this so...is this tradition so long-standing? It's really damn ghostly!

"Then what about the last one! What's his situation, and who arranged for him to join the sanitation team?"

Lu Fa said, "Master, I arranged it. This kid, Kaleemi, is originally named Steve, and his ancestors should have been night soil collectors. I saw that his profession was right, so I sent him over."

"But this little Kaleemi is really unfilial. He's unwilling to do his ancestral business, and he complains to me every other day. Later, I beat him into submission."

"Damn!" Fang Zheng Yi couldn't help but blurt out.

Lu Fa looked dazed, "What's wrong, Master? Did I do something wrong?"

What's wrong? How dare you ask me what's wrong? These foreigners are almost ruined by you!

"Ahem! It's nothing, it's all good." Fang Zheng Yi adjusted his mentality and asked, "Besides these, is there anything else useful?"

"Yes!" Lu Fa said, picking up a stack of documents from the table next to him and flipping through them page by page, "These four were doing wine trade from a country called Fika overseas to the country of Xiluo, and they encountered storms on the way. They encountered a deserted island to resupply along the way, and had a conflict with the local natives. It seems that the captain was killed by the natives."

"The crew on board were not well-educated, and many of them had been pirates, probably rogues and hooligans in the folk. They also didn't know how to tell directions, so they drifted all the way here to us."

Going to sea in this era is no small matter, and the risks are great.

If it's not official, the quality of civilian sailors will not be very high, and this kind of situation is normal.

"What's the situation in those two countries?" Fang Zheng Yi pondered.

"Fika is just a small country without many valuable things, but Xiluo is a powerful country with tens of thousands of troops, sturdy ships, and well-equipped."

Li Yuan Zhao chuckled, "Tens of thousands of soldiers dare to claim that their national strength is strong? Overseas is nothing more than this."

Fang Zheng Yi smiled, "Your Highness, don't rush. The knowledge of these people and the authenticity of the news are not enough to make a judgment. Lu Fa, you continue."

Lu Fa took out a few drawings from the documents and handed them to Fang Zheng Yi, "This is a drawing of the armor and weapons of the Xiluo country according to their description."

Fang Zheng Yi took the drawing, and a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes.

Ordinary knives, guns, and swords are different from Da Jing, but they are not new.

But this armor is full-body iron armor, and the joint design is flexible and takes into account ergonomics, a bit like the Milan armor in his impression.

Li Yuan Zhao's expression became solemn. It was the first time he had seen such equipment.

Such labor-intensive and material-consuming armor is definitely not something that ordinary small countries can afford!

"This armor must be heavy cavalry armor, which looks more comprehensive than our armor. Old Fang, it seems that the Xiluo country is extraordinary."

......