Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

On the way from the hunting grounds to Taoyuan, the courtiers whispered amongst themselves.

Today had been a day of shocks.

However, compared to the advanced weaponry, the focus of everyone's discussion had already shifted to overseas.

What with the artisan nation of Wakanda, Gan Daofu's borrowing arrows with straw boats, the three heroes battling Kratos, Arthas fleeing to Thermopylae...

These legendary foreign stories all attracted the curiosity of the civil and military officials.

As for Fang Zheng Yi, he remained by Jingdi's side.

Listening to the soft discussions behind him, Jingdi asked in a low voice, "Why did you tell so many more stories this time than last time? Are they real?"

"Naturally, they are real, Your Majesty... I just embellished them a little," Fang Zheng Yi replied.

Li Yuanzhao also leaned in to eavesdrop, and after hearing this, he gave Fang Zheng Yi a look of disdain.

He turned around and huddled next to Zhang Biao to study the musket together.

Jingdi immediately understood and said with a wry smile, "If foreign countries were already this strong hundreds of years ago, as you say, wouldn't my Great Jing have nowhere to stand in the future if a conflict really broke out?"

"Your Majesty, they probably aren't as strong as you think. Otherwise, where would Prince Wu have gotten the courage to run over there, still thinking about stealing gunpowder?"

"However, regardless of whether it's true or false, I can confirm one thing: there must be no shortage of gold and silver treasures over there!"

"If they are stronger than our Great Jing, we can scout out their secrets in advance. If they are weak, then why should we work so hard to farm the land! We can just rob them... or engage in friendly cooperation. Either way, we won't lose out!"

Fang Zheng Yi wiped his face, his occupational disease acting up. He almost blurted something out.

In his opinion, the West wasn't anything special at the moment; they didn't even have gunpowder.

If Great Jing charged over there first... wouldn't that be fantastic?

However, some things couldn't be said because they didn't align with mainstream values.

Jingdi nodded and began to ponder, and Fang Zheng Yi didn't say anything more.

When they arrived at Taoyuan County later, there would be a second wave of surprises!

If he didn't shock this group of people, he wouldn't sleep tonight!

After a long time, as they were about to reach Taoyuan County, the sky had already turned dark.

Fang Zheng Yi listened to the sounds around him and vaguely looked ahead by the firelight.

He felt a strange sense of unease in his heart.

It seemed... something was wrong with the county! He hadn't been back for quite some time.

But he couldn't quite put his finger on what was different. Judging from the sounds, it seemed like a lot of trees had been planted around the area?

Before he could think too much, they had already arrived outside the city gate.

Ao Chen had sent people to the city gate early to welcome them. As soon as Jingdi appeared, they immediately directed the troops to line up and welcome him.

Fang Zheng Yi whispered a few instructions in Jingdi's ear, and after the main force was led into the city, he dismounted.

He walked to Ao Chen's side and asked, "How are the preparations going?"

Ao Chen replied, "Everything is ready. Miss Tao said that if you didn't come soon, the beef would be cooked to mush."

"The back mountain is also ready. We're just waiting for your signal, Master!"

Fang Zheng Yi felt a little relieved: "That's good. Prepare carefully; we need to make a big splash today. Why did I feel like something was wrong when I came back? Were trees planted outside the city?"

Ao Chen was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "Ah, yes, quite a few trees were planted."

"Why plant trees?"

"Uh... well, do you remember those two beggars in the county? They bought up the wasteland in the county and used it to build houses to sell to people from the capital. They couldn't build walls on the wasteland outside, so they planted a lot of trees as a screen."

Fang Zheng Yi was shocked: "What! You sold the wasteland in the county? Why didn't you tell me!"

Did he mess something up?

Ao Chen scratched his head and said nervously, "I thought that thing was useless, so I just gave it to them... What's wrong, Master?"

"Damn it! I wanted to keep it to sell! Where did those two stinking beggars get the money to buy wasteland?" Fang Zheng Yi was furious.

Ao Chen said guiltily, "They earned the money by selling thanks. Now, many people in the county are following suit."

"Damn! Isn't that just going back to the old beggar's path? How are you watching over things for me? Is Taoyuan County going to become Beggar County in the future?"

"There are no beggars... they are all flexible residents. Besides... the competition is fierce. Ordinary begging for thanks doesn't get any money, so they also perform talents, like acrobatics," Ao Chen defended.

"You're good, playing word games on me!" Fang Zheng Yi gritted his teeth. "I just didn't keep an eye on you for a moment, and you've messed things up again! We'll talk about it tomorrow; let's go into the city first!"

.....

A group of guests had already been settled in the backyard of the county government office.

Several bonfires were lit in the yard, illuminating it brightly.

A dozen round tables had already been set up, and everyone took their seats.

Next to the pool, a band was playing, and the musicians were pulling out Kijuriro's Summer on the erhu...

As soon as Fang Zheng Yi stepped into the yard, someone immediately asked, "Master Fang, you don't intend to just treat us to a meal today, do you?"

"That's right! Everyone, please wait a moment. After you've had your fill of food and drink, there will be wonderful performances."

"I'll go check in the kitchen first. Everyone, chat amongst yourselves."

As soon as Fang Zheng Yi left, the sound of conversation began.

"What surprise is there? After all this, it's just a meal. Does this have anything to do with the West or guns?"

"Heh heh, he's out of ideas! What kind of excitement can there be in this dark night?"

"Everyone, don't be anxious. I don't think it's that simple! This tune is a bit interesting. Have you heard it before?"

In the back kitchen, Xiao Tao was leading a group of cooks, busy preparing and constantly directing the seasoning.

Seeing Fang Zheng Yi arrive, Xiao Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Young Master, you've finally arrived. I was afraid that you wouldn't come and we would have prepared everything in vain. The dishes will be ready to be served soon."

Fang Zheng Yi sniffed, smelling the strong aroma in the kitchen, and gave a thumbs up: "Well, not bad! Very good, then I'll go back first."

Seeing that he was about to leave, Xiao Tao hurriedly grabbed him, worried: "Young Master, do you think His Majesty will like the dishes I made? What if something goes wrong?"

Fang Zheng Yi smiled and shook his head: "Alas, His Majesty is pitiful. What can he eat? In the palace, it's just some porridge and mutton. Relax, prepare to serve the dishes. The Embroidered Uniform Guards are waiting outside."

After saying that, he grabbed a raw potato from the kitchen and put it in his sleeve, and slowly walked back to the backyard.

In the backyard, everyone was shaking their heads and listening to the novel little tune.

Fang Zheng Yi appeared and said loudly: "Everyone, the dishes will be served soon. Don't be restrained later, eat and drink to your heart's content today!"

As soon as the words fell, the Embroidered Uniform Guards began to serve dishes to each table.

One after another, novel dishes came into everyone's eyes: potato stew with beef, tomato stew with beef, hot and sour shredded potatoes, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, potato stir-fried with potatoes....

Unseen new ingredients, special aromas never smelled before.

They captured everyone's attention as soon as they appeared.

Jingdi held his chopsticks, a little hesitant. Guo Tianyang had already taken a small plate and was tasting each dish for Jingdi.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Fang Zheng Yi, but it was better to try this novel thing first.

Everyone watched Guo Tianyang chew, their throats surged.

They hadn't eaten anything proper all day, and now their stomachs were indeed a little hungry and thirsty.

After several new dishes, until he picked up the hot and sour shredded potatoes, Guo Tianyang's face changed, and he said in a high-pitched voice: "Your Majesty, there's a problem with this dish!"

The courtiers were shocked... countless subtle gazes instantly focused on Fang Zheng Yi.