Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

After Guo Tianyang finished reading the second page, the assembled officials fell silent.

For a moment, they were lost in thought, a mix of shock, fear, and disbelief welling up in their hearts.

They never imagined someone could write such a disgusting letter.

They never imagined that Jianjiang had already decayed to such a state.

They never imagined that Fang Zheng's methods were so ruthless; compared to him, being slandered in the newspaper seemed gentle?

They never imagined...

In short, the main hall was filled with a strange atmosphere.

Everyone seemed to see an indescribable entity.

A ghost, a ghost with a lewd grin, seemed to wander and linger above the hall.

It was already far away, yet it continued to come up with new tricks, causing everyone a headache.

Guo Tianyang turned to the third page, ready to continue reading, but Emperor Jing spoke, "Alright, read no further."

"Gentlemen, what are your thoughts?"

"And should I continue to issue decrees to stabilize grain prices and halt large-scale construction?"

Li Yansong immediately knelt on the ground, "Your Majesty! If what Fang Zheng said is true, then continuing to implement the policy of stabilizing grain prices is unwise!"

"Furthermore, I suggest granting Fang Zheng the position of Provincial Governor, with the power to act expediently!"

"We agree!"

Zhang Dongxiang and Zheng Qiao bowed in succession.

A small number hesitated whether to agree, but after hesitating for a short while, they all knelt down and shouted their agreement.

In Jianjiang Prefecture, those with higher official positions than Fang Zheng had their heads chopped off by him.

The position of Prefect was already nominal; in reality, Fang Zheng was the only one in charge.

If a new person were sent temporarily, it would take time to adapt to the situation and delay matters.

Aren't you, Fang Zheng, awesome? Go ahead and do it; let's see who can clean up this mess!

Yang Yingcai knelt on the ground, his heart filled with despair.

He had just been lecturing the Emperor about reason, and now he was being slapped in the face!

And Li Gongxian wasn't even trying to hide it anymore?

He couldn't possibly be ignorant of the principle of promoting the worthy and avoiding favoritism!

Provincial Governor? That was a temporary position! How long had Fang Zheng been gone? He would be back in a few months!

It seemed that they really didn't want to live in peace!

But at this moment, he had nothing to say, and could only kneel on the ground with a bitter face.

A sharp voice came from behind him, "Your Majesty! I believe that granting Lord Fang the position of Provincial Governor is perfectly timed!"

"Lord Fang swept away the chaos, and the people of Jianjiang all trust and admire him. With Lord Fang's ability, he will surely be able to solve the grain disaster in Jianjiang!"

Yang Fengfan said with a serious face.

The Hanlin Academy officials were kneeling all over the place, but he was standing.

Everyone glared at this sharp-tongued, monkey-faced villain, secretly cursing him as a traitor!

If you flattered the Emperor, everyone would at most say you lacked integrity, but you could still play along.

But you're flattering Fang Zheng, and he's not even here! Are you still human?!

Yang Fengfan unhesitatingly glared back at them.

As long as following Fang Zheng could bring wealth and glory, I don't care about being human!

Emperor Jing looked at the reactions of the people below the hall, sneered, and slowly said, "Draft an edict, granting Fang Zheng the position of Acting Provincial Governor of Jianjiang, ordering him to return to his original post in the capital once the grain disaster is resolved!"

"As for the rest of you, kneel here and think! Was it I who was wrong, or was it you who were wrong! Leave only when you have figured it out!"

After saying that, he flicked his sleeves and left.

The corners of Guo Tianyang's mouth twitched.

Ah! It seemed that the Crown Prince had accidentally earned His Majesty some face... Hopefully, His Majesty wouldn't be too angry later.

Seeing Emperor Jing walk away, Guo Tianyang took the letter and hurriedly followed him.

The two arrived at the Imperial Study, and Emperor Jing sat in his seat.

His eyes were fixed on Guo Tianyang with a cold expression.

Guo Tianyang didn't dare to look directly at him and stood uneasily in front of Emperor Jing.

"Bring the letter here."

Guo Tianyang obediently placed the letter on the table.

Emperor Jing picked it up and reread it with a serious expression.

Suddenly, he angrily said, "Absurd! Full of flattering words! Disgusting!"

After saying that, he folded the letter and casually stuffed it into a book on the side.

Then, he looked at Guo Tianyang and said faintly, "Guo, how many years have you been with me?"

"Returning to Your Majesty, forty-two years."

Emperor Jing said with some emotion, "Yes, more than forty years, you are also old."

Then, his eyes sharpened, "Today, in the court, you were still able to do such a stupid thing. I entrusted the Eastern Depot to you, what achievements have you made?"

Guo Tianyang felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, immediately knelt on the ground, and said in a trembling voice, "This servant deserves to die! Please punish me, Your Majesty!"

After saying that, he kowtowed repeatedly.

Emperor Jing looked impatient and shouted angrily, "Get up! Get up for me!"

"Every time something happens, all you do is say you deserve to die and kowtow! Do you know anything else?!"

"Such a major case of corruption in Jianjiang was thoroughly investigated by Fang Zheng, a Vice Prefect who had only taken office for a few days!"

"And what about you! What have you been doing! I might as well hand over the Eastern Depot to Fang Zheng!"

Guo Tianyang looked at Emperor Jing in despair.

Has he finally spoken his mind?

This old servant had long seen that you wanted Fang Zheng to enter the palace.

But why him!

Just because he is better at flattery than me? I have been with you for more than forty years!!!

"Your Majesty! Please give this old servant another chance!"

Guo Tianyang knelt down again, his words filled with tears and blood.

Emperor Jing sighed again as he looked at Guo Tianyang trembling all over, and couldn't help but close his eyes and rub his forehead.

"Only this once, do not repeat it."

Guo Tianyang was overjoyed upon hearing this!

Sure enough! This old servant has not fallen out of favor! His Majesty is becoming more and more sentimental!

"Thank you, Your Majesty! This old servant thanks Your Majesty!!!!!"

"Get up, don't kneel."

Emperor Jing picked up the third page of paper, looked at it carefully, and said, "Not bad, not bad, Fang Qing is truly capable."

"Nearly a hundred people are involved in collusion on this list, but he only beheaded the ringleaders, which really saved me a lot of trouble."

Emperor Jing thought for a while holding the letter, and suddenly said, "Find the memorials from the three prefectures applying to the court for silver!"

Guo Tianyang immediately nodded and went to find them. After a while, he brought a stack of memorials and placed them in front of Emperor Jing's desk.

Emperor Jing began to read them one by one.

After a lot of effort, a smile appeared on Emperor Jing's face.

Seeing this, Guo Tianyang hurriedly asked, "Does Your Majesty have any good news?"

Emperor Jing smiled slightly, "Fang Qing is indeed a great talent."

"These memorials for the allocation of funds from the three prefectures were originally urged very urgently by those places, one memorial every day."

"But judging from the time, since Fang Zheng took down Liu Xun, he has not asked the court for money again."

"It can be seen that Fang Zheng has a way to get money from other places, so he did not ask the court for money."

Emperor Jing couldn't help but sigh, "Fang Qing really saves me trouble in everything and makes me feel happy in everything."

Then, he glanced at Guo Tianyang, "Hmph!"

Guo Tianyang's heart twitched, and he quickly lowered his head, not daring to speak.

Emperor Jing lowered his head and continued to look at the third page of the letter, muttering:

"And there is someone behind Liu Xun, this person is very mysterious."

Emperor Jing raised his head and said in a cold voice, "This person may be right under my nose, ha, interesting. It seems that someone thinks my knife is not fast enough."

"Order people to investigate! Be sure to investigate thoroughly, and from today onwards, the garrison eunuchs in various places must also report on public opinion in addition to military and political affairs!"

After arranging everything, Emperor Jing continued to look at the letter and found that there were words on the back.

Looking at the content above, he couldn't help but smile.

"Unexpectedly, Fang Qing has already classified and resettled the disaster victims, he is indeed acting in an orderly manner."

"Hiss~ But, what does this flexible employment mean? Guo, do you know?"

Guo Tianyang was so nervous that his throat was dry, and he thought about Fang Zheng's style of doing things.

He hesitated and said, "This servant thinks... it should refer to some idle people."

"Shut up! Why are you asking so much, does Fang Zheng have a grudge against you!?"

"Hmph! Good for nothing!"

Guo Tianyang: "........."