Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

The Emperor's inspection tour was quite large in scale, so the speed was naturally a bit slow.

It took an extra two days to barely reach the boundary of Xinzhang County.

Since the imperial decree had been issued, the officials in Xinzhang, both high and low, had already received the news in advance.

Moreover, they had already sent people out to scout for the Emperor's whereabouts.

At this moment, outside Xinzhang County, all the officials of the county had collectively gathered early to welcome him.

The one at the head was none other than Sun Sheng, the magistrate of Xinzhang County.

Sun Sheng was tall and handsome, giving people a sense of righteousness at first glance.

While everyone else seemed anxious, only he remained calm and composed.

An official couldn't help but ask, "Lord Sun, His Majesty is coming, aren't you worried? Should this official send someone back to the city to make some arrangements?"

Sun Sheng waved his hand gently and said confidently, "No need. I believe His Majesty will be satisfied with my achievements today. It's just a pity that I didn't have enough time. If he were to come next year, Xinzhang County would be vastly different from what it is today."

Sun Sheng indeed had the capital to be proud. Since he took office, he had reformed the bureaucracy and rectified customs, sparing no effort.

The Hanlin Academy had initially recommended him to make achievements in order to oppose the policy of appeasing merchants.

And he had indeed done it!

He had inquired about the situation in Pingwan County, where merchants were constantly coming and going, and the chaos was far beyond that of the outside world.

However, in Xinzhang County, the people were content with their jobs and everything was in order. As soon as the measures to suppress merchants were implemented, even prices were lower than those in Pingwan County.

This relied on contacting the local powerful gentry, after all, the main business of Xinzhang was in the hands of these families.

Sun Sheng was not someone who didn't know how to adapt. Yan Guoan's death was still fresh in his mind.

Yan Guoan had suffered the consequences of excessively relying on and favoring the gentry and wealthy households.

Therefore, he did not try to win over or get close to the local powerful families, but instead did everything he could to suppress them!

He often sent officials to inspect the businesses under these families, and would punish them as soon as he discovered price increases.

If any petty official dared to accept bribes or was negligent in his duties, he would never be soft-hearted.

Rectifying officials and suppressing the powerful, taking both measures at the same time, was the only way to achieve today's results.

This process was not too difficult, after all, he was a central government official sent down, carrying an extraordinary significance.

The various resources behind him were enough for him to step on the local snakes to get things done.

This time, after waiting for His Majesty to inspect the two counties, he should be promoted and return to the capital, and this ridiculous matter of appeasing merchants should be stopped.

Sun Sheng thought to himself.

The person next to him reminded him again, "Lord Sun, should we prepare a welcome ceremony for His Majesty outside the city? Isn't it too simple to have only the few of us from the yamen standing here?"

Sun Sheng pondered for a moment and shook his head, "No, His Majesty values thrift. This trip is also extremely streamlined. This is the best way."

"If we make a big show of it, with flashy decorations, His Majesty will not be pleased."

"As long as the sanitation and security in the city are done well, that will be enough. His Majesty will simply take a walk, and finally go to the county yamen to check this year's achievements. At most, he will not stay for more than two days, so everyone does not need to be nervous."

"The achievements we have made this time are enough to be proud of throughout the country! May I ask, which county in our Great Jing can have such a large increase in just one year?"

Sun Sheng asked with a smile.

"That's right, all thanks to Lord Sun's governance. I think His Majesty will be very pleased and exceptionally promote Lord Sun."

"Compared with my Xinzhang, Pingwan's achievements are worlds apart!"

Outside the city, a chorus of flattery rose.

......

There were less than ten miles left to Xinzhang County.

Fang Zheng sat on his horse, pondering silently.

It was rare for his father-in-law to come out, this was a good opportunity to express his filial piety.

After passing Xinzhang County, a grand welcome ceremony was waiting for him in Pingwan County!

Fifty paper flower cannons, a red carpet welcome ceremony, a ribbon-cutting ceremony for public welfare projects... and a large-scale fireworks event at night.

He had already sent a letter to inform Yang Fan in advance.

Don't look at his old father-in-law being thrifty and frugal all day long, he's actually quite flamboyant at heart!

The Emperor likes to see this, he's just holding back and not saying it. Every time he did something like this before, couldn't he barely hold back the corners of his mouth?

If it weren't for the Emperor's status, he would have taken his father-in-law out for a foot massage...

He just didn't know how Yang Fan had prepared.

He always felt uneasy about this kind of thing if he didn't do it himself.

After another journey, the main force arrived outside Xinzhang County.

Sun Sheng led a group of officials to bow down together.

"Your subjects respectfully welcome Your Majesty."

Emperor Jing smiled and raised his hand, "No need for formalities, rise."

Everyone stood up.

Emperor Jing looked around and fixed his gaze on Sun Sheng, "You are Sun Sheng? You are indeed young and promising."

Sun Sheng was secretly delighted, "This subject dares not accept the praise. Your Majesty has traveled a long way, this subject has already prepared a place for Your Majesty to stay, please enter the city!"

The accompanying ministers were overjoyed.

Especially Li Yansong, Xu Wenshu, Yang Yingcai and other veteran officials were even more delighted.

They could finally rest for a while, this journey had almost shaken them to pieces.

Unexpectedly, Emperor Jing said to Sun Sheng, "No need!"

"I don't want to disturb the people. Change into plain clothes here and follow me on a private visit. There's no need for a big show."

Guo Tianyang said in surprise, "Your Majesty, what about the guards..."

"The guards are stationed outside. What problems could there be in Xinzhang County? Don't worry, Zhang Biao is enough to accompany me."

Fang Zheng pushed lightly, pushing Zhang Biao to the front, "Be energetic!"

Zhang Biao puffed out his chest and raised his head, looking extremely sturdy.

Sun Sheng also said, "Everyone can rest assured, the villains in the city have already been cleared out. This official is responsible for Your Majesty's safety!"

Since the words had already been said to this point, there was nothing more to discuss.

They could only change into plain clothes and enter the city.

The moment they entered the city, Emperor Jing and the accompanying officials' eyes lit up.

Leaving aside other things, the sanitation here was really well done. The few counties they had passed along the way were far less clean and eye-catching than Xinzhang County.

Sun Sheng quietly observed the expressions of the others, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

He knew that Fang Zheng had a unique style of governance, and sanitation was one of the most important things.

Emperor Jing also admired him very much, so he naturally wanted to learn from Fang Zheng's strengths, even if this person had a bad reputation in the Hanlin Academy.

But as long as it was good, he was willing to adopt it.

"Where are the people in this city? Why are there so few of them?"

After walking for a while, they only saw dozens of people, and Emperor Jing asked in doubt.

Sun Sheng replied, "Knowing that Your Majesty was coming in these two days, this subject has already sent people to inform all the people in the city. The people are also afraid of disturbing the imperial carriage, so they dare not go out at will."

"Didn't you prohibit the people from going out?"

"Your Majesty has already explicitly prohibited restricting the people's activities in the imperial decree. This subject dares not act without authorization. If you continue to walk inside, there should be more people."

Emperor Jing nodded in satisfaction. He believed that Sun Sheng had no need to lie about this.

Moreover, after a brief contact, he felt that this person was still very open-minded, and his first impression was good.

"Good, then you can first tell me how you govern the county."