Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

“In Yuan’an Prefecture, all forty-five mountain bandits led by Liu Er Mazi in Funiu Mountain have now been brought to justice. The governor of Yuan’an, Ye Chang, has specially written 'Three Strategies for Suppressing Bandits' and requests that this old minister present them to Your Majesty on his behalf.”

Inside the warm pavilion, Emperor Jing was privately discussing state affairs, while Zheng Qiao was holding a memorial and slowly recounting the events.

“Three Strategies for Suppressing Bandits?” Emperor Jing took the memorial, casually tossed it aside, and said with disdain, “Liu Er Mazi and his gang of robbers have been gathering in the mountains for quite some time. Someone reported it two months ago, saying there were only twenty of them at that time.”

“After two months of suppression, their numbers have only increased. And he has the audacity to write such a thing for Us?”

Zheng Qiao looked embarrassed: “Your Majesty, Ye Chang is originally a civil official and has only recently taken office. He was previously unfamiliar with military matters, and Yuan’an Prefecture has also suffered from recent floods, so there have been many twists and turns...”

Emperor Jing said: “Teacher Zheng, Ye Chang is your student, isn't he?”

“Uh... yes, he is.” Zheng Qiao chuckled awkwardly.

He had originally thought of helping his student gain some recognition from His Majesty, paving the way for his future, but he didn't expect His Majesty to look down on him...

“We will take a look at his bandit suppression insights when We have time.” Emperor Jing stood up, put his hands behind his back, and sighed: “Everyone says that our Great Jing is thriving, but people are turning to banditry and gathering in the mountains every year in the east, west, south, and north... It's impossible to eliminate them all.”

Li Yansong said with emotion: “Your Majesty need not worry. This old minister has read through history books. Even in the greatest of prosperous times, there are still poor people everywhere, suffering from hunger and cold, and even freezing or starving to death is not uncommon. This is human nature. Moreover, people's hearts are unpredictable, and with so many common people, problems are always inevitable.”

“Not to mention distant matters, let's just talk about what happened recently. Weren't there thousands of people collectively scammed in Zhengtong Ward a few days ago?”

Emperor Jing paused, surprised: “What? Thousands of people were scammed in Zhengtong Ward, right here in the capital, and We didn't know about it?”

Several officials in the warm pavilion looked at each other, their eyes full of confusion.

Li Yansong tentatively said: “Your Majesty, this matter has already spread among the people. It has been properly resolved, and the money lost by the people has also been recovered. Doesn't Your Majesty know about it?”

“You all know?” Emperor Jing asked back.

Seeing the Emperor's reaction, the officials nodded in surprise.

No one in the court had discussed this matter, assuming that His Majesty knew about it.

Unexpectedly, His Majesty didn't know anything about such big news from the people from beginning to end? Strange!

Seeing that he was the only one kept in the dark, Emperor Jing slammed the table and roared: “Outrageous! Such a shocking thing happened under the Emperor's feet, and We didn't know? The Ministry of War didn't even report it proactively? Does quickly closing the case mean they can withhold information? Someone, let Fan Cong come to see Us immediately!”

A eunuch ran out of the warm pavilion in a panic to spread the word.

Li Yansong said: “Your Majesty, calm down... It seems that they were afraid of being demoted. Since the truth has come out, they wanted to handle it quietly.”

Emperor Jing sat down again, his anger still not subsided: “It can only be like this. They are so negligent. We will ask him when he comes.”

Zheng Qiao said: “This matter is indeed inappropriate, but Your Majesty can rest assured that it has not caused a bad impact among the people. It is said that the ringleader was arrested and brought to justice in less than a day after the incident, so the Ministry of War can be considered to have handled the case effectively.”

Emperor Jing sighed, nodded slightly, but still had some doubts in his heart.

The Ministry of War didn't report it, so why didn't the Embroidered Uniform Guard report it? It wasn't seen in the newspapers either, which is a bit strange.

While he was thinking, Li Yansong suddenly said: “Your Majesty, this old minister has something else in mind today that I would like to ask Your Majesty about.”

“Please speak, Teacher Li,”

“This old minister has been paying attention to the Yucai Elementary School today and discovered that its education has unique merits. Many children are precocious, and the Emperor's grandson's grades are even more outstanding. The lecture is the day after tomorrow. Although the Emperor's grandson is still young, his knowledge is not low, and it seems that he should also participate in the lecture.”

“The truth always becomes clearer through debate. Although Yucai's education is unique, it is far inferior to the officials in the court in terms of classics and historical collections. It would be greatly beneficial for the Emperor's grandson to be taught early.”

The so-called lecture is, in short, the Hanlin Academy giving lessons to the Emperor, and the princes also participate.

It is said to be a lesson, but in fact, it mostly involves debating scriptures.

Li Yansong mentioned this, and Emperor Jing took it to heart: “Indeed, Teacher Li is right. We haven't seen Our grandson for a long time. Let him participate in the lecture. Tomorrow, We will summon him to the palace first.”

“By the way, how are the grades of your children in Yucai Elementary School?”

Li Yansong and Zheng Qiao's faces were full of pride, and they began to talk about their children's academic achievements.

Only Zhang Dongxiang was sullen and unhappy.

A few days ago, he had secretly sent someone to the school to inquire about his child's learning situation. If he hadn't inquired, it wouldn't have mattered, but after inquiring, he almost had a heart attack!

Last place! How could his grandson get last place?

For the sake of his child's self-esteem, he hadn't dared to ask him until now, but he had specially brought him home to test him.

After personally testing him, he was even more puzzled!

It felt like he was even better at studying than he was when he was young... How could he still get last place?

It was a ghost!

He didn't tell his grandson for fear of hurting his child's heart, and it was too embarrassing to go to the school to find the teacher... He was in a dilemma.

He hadn't been able to sleep for several nights because of this...

Now, hearing his old colleagues bragging about how well their children were doing in school, Zhang Dongxiang's heart was even more bitter.

“Teacher Zhang, why aren't you talking? We remember that your grandson is called Zhang Ling, right? How is he doing now?” Emperor Jing asked, seeing him shuffling backward.

Zhang Dongxiang almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.

Don't mention what shouldn't be mentioned!

“He's... he's doing okay! My grandson studies hard, but he's just too careless in exams... cough!”

Emperor Jing nodded meaningfully and didn't ask any more questions.

What else was there to ask? That meant he wasn't doing well! What carelessness... It's really suffering to worry about his grandson at this age.

Li Yansong and Zheng Qiao looked at him askance with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

Last place, the children at home had all said so!

They couldn't recognize all the children at school, but they definitely knew who was first and last!

Feeling the strange gazes, Zhang Dongxiang just wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Fortunately, a hurried figure quickly broke in, breaking the awkwardness.

“This humble minister Fan Cong pays respects to Your Majesty!”

Emperor Jing's expression immediately became serious: “Fan Cong, why didn't you report that thieves in the capital defrauded thousands of people, such a major case!”

Fan Cong was sweating profusely.

He already knew the situation on the way here, but he didn't expect that he wouldn't be able to hide it after all. Fortunately, he had already thought of an excuse.

Fan Cong stammered: “This... This minister is guilty! This minister was originally preparing to report to the court, but the incident happened suddenly, and too many people were deceived, so I went to the Embroidered Uniform Guard first to seek assistance in handling the matter.”

“The Marquis of Jianye agreed at the time... Unexpectedly, the Embroidered Uniform Guard solved the case perfectly overnight. The Marquis of Jianye specially sent a note to this minister, saying that this matter should not be publicized to avoid panic among the people, and then the Embroidered Uniform Guard took over everything.”

Fan Cong's eyes darted around: “This minister thought... Since it didn't cause any bad consequences, the Marquis of Jianye wanted to stabilize the people's hearts, and also wanted to share Your Majesty's worries, so he didn't publicize it widely.”

Emperor Jing suddenly understood: “Zheng Yi took over, no wonder it wasn't reported.”

After saying that, he sighed: “Then it's not surprising. Zheng Yi has always taken the initiative to share Our worries. Where can We find such a minister? Since he entered the palace, he still submits memorials to Us every morning and evening to greet Us!”

“Yes, yes, yes, the Marquis of Jianye is truly a loyal and filial person, his filial piety moves the heavens!” Several old ministers nodded expressionlessly.

He submits memorials to you every day to greet you, and you feel uncomfortable if you don't praise him for a day.

Didn't you just say that you would report the case even if it was closed? So double standard!

Fan Cong breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and the corners of his mouth slowly turned up.

Fortunately, he managed to muddle through...

“Such evil deeds have not been heard for several years. We think this thief should be publicly executed as a warning to others! We ask you, thousands of people were deceived, how many people committed the crime together? What kind of person is the ringleader?”

“Huh?!”