Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Selling horses....

After a moment of contemplation, Jiang Hu calmly said, "No need to sell the horses. We won't ride the horses. One tael per person, two thousand taels in total. We still have enough silver on hand."

"Boss, one toll station is two thousand taels, and there are more ahead. We still have to sell the horses!"

"Damn it!" Jiang Hu slammed the table in frustration.

Damn it! How could he forget about this? Just how many toll stations are there in Taoyuan County?

"Then sell the horses!"

"But we have two thousand horses. It's not easy to sell them! It's too conspicuous. We won't get a good price even if we find a black market."

Jiang Hu covered his eyes and waved his hand helplessly, "Sell them, sell them. This little bit of money won't matter once we see the Prince. But do it quickly. They won't wait for us too long."

Anyway, you can't ride horses into the mountains, and going directly through the official road is too conspicuous.

Selling the horses now is considered increasing income and reducing expenditure, and it's more convenient to directly rob the city now.

"Tomorrow, Xiao Liu will scout again to calculate how much money needs to be paid. The day after tomorrow, send another two hundred people into the city, dressed in plain clothes and carrying weapons. Be careful."

"When our main force arrives, we will send up a signal arrow to notify you. Remember to arrange for two people to stay near the city gate in advance."

"Then do we have to wait another day tomorrow?" Someone asked.

Jiang Hu rubbed his brow helplessly, "Now the plan for Taoyuan County has changed. To save time, we will go to the farm outside the city tomorrow. Everyone, pay attention. The Prince has specifically instructed that not a single person in the farm is to be left alive! All the crops planted must also be burned clean!"

Xiao Liu said, "But... when we went to the farm to investigate, didn't we find that there was one person missing from the list? What if that person hasn't been found?"

Jiang Hu sighed in his heart.

Why does he always run into strange things? He had fought in battles for several years when he was young, and this was the first time he had encountered paying the opponent before fighting!

Could it be that his luck is bad this year? Is there something wrong with the Prince's side...?

"Never mind him! If he hasn't been found after so long, he might be dead, or the list might be wrong. It won't have any impact! Act according to the plan. We don't have time to delay any longer!"

.........

Two days later, inside the Taoyuan County government office.

Ao Chen sat in the county government hall, holding a newspaper that had been delivered early in the morning, eating while reading.

Although it was a newspaper from the capital, it actually had a significant impact on Taoyuan County.

Especially since Taoyuan County now has a guest house in the capital, many Taoyuan people doing business in the capital will go to the guest house to inquire or communicate.

So, the movements of the capital must be grasped.

Even if we don't talk about these, there is a lot of valuable information in the newspapers of the Six Ministries that can be analyzed.

As he read, Ao Chen put down the half-eaten bun, took a sip of tea, and pointed to the newspaper, saying to those around him, "Look! Look, a farm outside the capital was on fire yesterday, burning dozens of people to death. Didn't we have a restaurant fire here yesterday?"

The runners around him were also eating breakfast. Hearing him ask, they quickly nodded in agreement.

Ao Chen shook the newspaper and continued, "This matter must be taken seriously. The weather is dry now, and it's easy for things to happen. The training for those newly arrived people in the county is not yet in place."

"After we finish eating, call everyone over. I'll assign tasks."

After breakfast, dozens of people from the county government gathered together. Ao Chen stood in the hall and said loudly, "I called everyone here today because there are special matters to be explained. The weather is getting drier and drier, making it extremely easy to have fires. Remember to remind the people to prevent fires, and the slogans on the streets and alleys must also be replaced with a new batch."

"Boss, what should we change them to?"

Ao Chen sorted out his thoughts and cleared his throat, "Fire prevention knowledge enters every home, and peace accompanies you and me."

"Join hands to build fire safety, and share a harmonious Taoyuan."

"The lives of the people are paramount, fire disasters... something like that. You go back and write two more each, and submit them to me for review this afternoon."

"Brother, you have such literary talent!" A round of rainbow farts followed.

Ao Chen's face was slightly red. He had worked with Fang Zheng for two years in propaganda, so he still had some cultural background!

"Everyone must take it seriously! Don't underestimate this fire hazard. Which year hasn't something happened because of this? Look at today's news. A farm fire burned dozens of people to death. It's simply appalling!"

"That's not a fire hazard, it's murder!" A loud voice came from outside the hall.

Everyone hurriedly looked towards the door, and saw a refined man walking in.

His eyes were slightly tired, and he was carrying a cloth bag in his hand.

Ao Chen was shocked to see this and immediately said, "Everyone, disperse immediately and perform your duties!"

Everyone knew the importance of the matter and immediately dispersed in a rush. Only the man and Ao Chen were left in the hall at this moment.

Ao Chen looked at him with a slightly helpless expression and said, "Feng Ya, the master has gone to the Prince's mansion to look for you several times, but he couldn't find you. Where have you been?"

At the beginning, Fang Zheng sent two spies into the Prince's mansion, one was caught, and the other disappeared.

The missing one was Feng Ya, who was ostensibly a croupier, but was actually the manager of the Taoyuan County casino. He was also the gambling king of Hengjiang City in the early days, with superb gambling skills.

Feng Ya didn't rush to answer, but first threw the cloth bag onto the table in front of Ao Chen, and said seriously, "Those are not important, let's talk about business first."

"The farm outside the capital that caught fire was actually Prince Wu's farm. He has been secretly planting and cultivating some crops in the farm."

"I have never heard of those things. Before I escaped from him, I brought out the seeds."

After saying that, Feng Ya untied the cloth bag, which was divided into smaller cloth bags.

First, he revealed a round, sweet potato-like thing, and he picked it up and said, "This thing, the people in the farm call it 'yang yu' (potato), with extremely high yields. It can be used as a staple food, no less than sweet potatoes! Quickly get people to take it to the greenhouse for key cultivation."

Then, he picked up other cloth bags, pinched the tiny seeds from inside, and introduced them one by one, "This is called 'lang tao' (tomato), it is said to be poisonous and cannot be eaten. The grown fruit is red."

"There is also this one called 'la jiao' (chili), which is also poisonous, but not deadly. I ate a little bit, and it was very uncomfortable. My tongue hurt terribly."

"Finally, this one is called 'zhen zhu mi' (pearl rice), which looks a bit like a long radish when grown. The yield is average, but the taste is very good."

After the introduction, Feng Ya carefully put them back into the cloth bag and pushed it in front of Ao Chen, "Take these to the greenhouse and plant them, and send people to protect them."

"Although I don't know what the two poisonous things are for, since Prince Wu has planted them, it means they have a certain use. Maybe they are some kind of medicinal material."

Ao Chen took the cloth bag and held it tightly in his hand, "Prince Wu... this person is very mysterious. Where did he get so many strange things?"

Feng Ya shook his head and said, "I don't know, but I don't like this person. Besides potatoes, there are also sweet potatoes on the farm, and they were planted long before Taoyuan County! The world is constantly suffering from grain shortages, but he has been secretly cultivating such high-yield crops. What do you think he is hiding in his heart?"

......