Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Seeing Jingdi's clenched fist, Guo Tianyang hurriedly stepped forward and whispered, "My lord, these commoners are just like this. All day long, they do three things: eat, sleep, and curse the imperial court. But they can curse us, their own people, but if outsiders curse the imperial court, they still lean towards us in their hearts. This old servant has seen it many times when I was young, please don't take it to heart."

Zhang Biao, with his sharp ears, added in a muffled voice, "Who said that? I never curse the imperial court."

Guo Tianyang's old face fell, and he glared at him fiercely.

"Are you a commoner? Are you being talked about! ?"

You big lump of meat, wouldn't it be better to stay quiet? Why so talkative!

However, Jingdi's mood inexplicably brightened when Zhang Biao, this taciturn fellow, spoke, and he cast an admiring glance at Zhang Biao.

"Great wisdom may appear as foolish."

Guo Tianyang: "......"

Hearing Wang Erzhu say that the imperial court was not good in front of Jingdi, Fang Zheng was also anxious.

Is this kid courting death? Although my father-in-law is kind and benevolent.

But today he is obviously in a very bad mood... Why say such nonsense, and even make up a conspiracy theory.

"What nonsense are you talking about? The war has nothing to do with Xinzhang County. Xinzhang County is not good, but our Great Jing has been developing by leaps and bounds in recent years, how can you say the imperial court is not good?" Fang Zheng said seriously.

Wang Erzhu was amused: "Damn it, don't I know in my own heart whether life is good or not?"

"The imperial court sent a fool to make a mess of Xinzhang County, are you not even allowed to speak your mind? Or can you explain to me, if it's not the fault of the imperial court, whose fault is it?"

Fang Zheng turned his head to look at Jingdi, and seeing that his face was a little dark, he calmly said, "This is just a problem with Xinzhang County, besides, don't you have land? If you work hard, how is it possible that you can't get enough to eat?"

"I'm already working very hard to live!"

The two of them muttered, and Jingdi listened, his face becoming darker and darker.

"Alright, stop complaining." Fang Zheng said plausibly, "We are both common people, of course I stand on your side, but we have to be fair about everything. Tell me, has Great Jing been good these years! Isn't His Majesty wise and divine?"

Mentioning His Majesty, Wang Erzhu was stunned for a moment, then twisted and said, "That's true... His Majesty is wise, but I haven't had a good life, then isn't His Majesty's wisdom wasted?"

"Hiss... I say, why are you so stubborn!"

Just then, Jingdi walked over and said to Fang Zheng, "Alright, you don't have to argue. Come out with me for a moment, Zhang Biao is waiting in the room."

Jingdi's tone of voice had already become that of the owner of the house.

Wang Erzhu didn't dare to refute either, and watched Jingdi and the other two walk out, only then did his gaze fall on Zhang Biao.

Zhang Biao basically didn't say anything, making him feel very insignificant.

Wang Erzhu took a closer look and was immediately shocked: "Oh my god! How did you become as strong as an ox? How much food must you eat? It seems that Master Huang really has a lot of money..."

......

Outside the house, Jingdi hadn't opened his mouth yet.

Fang Zheng preemptively struck, "I didn't expect it, I really didn't expect such a vicious incident to happen during His Majesty's tour!"

"When will this trend of deception and fakery in the officialdom end!" Fang Zheng knocked on his chest, saying with grief and indignation.

As he spoke, he furtively glanced at Jingdi, and seeing that he wasn't looking at him, the corners of his mouth flashed quickly.

Guo Tianyang immediately captured this scene, and a look of utter contempt appeared on his face.

Hearing this, Jingdi sighed, "This Sun Sheng, seemingly frank, unexpectedly has the heart of a beast! I also have times when I misjudge people. It's a pity that he can act so well."

Fang Zheng said, "Your Majesty, this humble subject feels that deception and fakery may not be Sun Sheng's original intention..."

"What do you mean by that?"

"This humble subject has been observing him all the way here. If he was really acting, he should have found some people to perform in front of Your Majesty from the moment he entered the city. Why did he wait until we arrived outside the farmland to pull this stunt?"

"This humble subject just heard that Sun Sheng was clear and upright in his administration and made meritorious achievements in the first two months he arrived. But why did his style suddenly change after two months? This change is a bit too big."

Jingdi asked in confusion, "Get to the point."

"It's very simple, Sun Sheng was deceived. After entering the city, Sun Sheng has been telling Your Majesty about his governance strategies, and this humble subject also felt that they were very clean and efficient after listening."

"Now that I think about it, the problem may lie there. His methods are too ruthless and straightforward, and he does things rigidly, without any room for maneuver."

"Water that is too clear has no fish, and people who are too observant have no followers. He is new here and has no foundation in Xinzhang County. At first, everyone was afraid of the three fires of a new official taking office, and could tolerate temporary concessions, but after a long time, even the people in the county government couldn't accept it. They had previously held positions in the county and had already formed a relationship with the gentry."

"If everyone above and below is dissatisfied with him, then they will unite, and at the same time, they are afraid of his background, so they will coax him and deceive him."

"But how can the increase in Xinzhang County's tax revenue be explained?" Jingdi asked.

Fang Zheng said, "I'm afraid that the wealthy households have united and are willing to give up a portion of their profits to report to the imperial court."

"And compared to the profits they jointly exploit from the common people, these 20% are just a drop in the bucket! As long as they stabilize Sun Sheng, they can continue to monopolize the entire city and suck the blood of all the people in the city."

"Even if the matter is exposed in the future, they can completely push Sun Sheng, this scapegoat, out, and they can get away unscathed."

Jingdi nodded thoughtfully.

Fang Zheng continued, "In the final analysis, this humble subject feels that Sun Sheng is still good in nature, but he has a common problem among scholars."

"What common problem?"

"He doesn't get his feet dirty. His understanding of the people's sentiments is far from deep enough. If everything is really as this humble subject has imagined, then he should rarely walk among the people on weekdays. He relies entirely on reports from below to make decisions regarding everything in the city and its planning. Otherwise, he would not be deceived. If this kind of handling is understandable in the central government, but for a county, if he cannot personally go to the fields and talk to the people, then there must be major loopholes in his governance. This humble subject still has some experience in this area."

Seeing that Jingdi was listening attentively, a look of remembrance and emotion gradually appeared on Fang Zheng's face.

"Back then, when this humble subject was in Taoyuan County, I personally took care of everything. I would personally visit every street and every building. Only after the construction was completed could I rest. As for public opinion surveys, I would conduct one every month. Major events had to be personally inquired about, and the documents for each and every item were clearly recorded and then carefully verified according to the records."

"The most important thing is to mediate among the interests of all parties, and strive to satisfy most people, and be fair, just, and open. Only then can Taoyuan County have what it has today."

After Fang Zheng finished speaking, he slightly raised his chin, waiting for his father-in-law to say something nice.

Jingdi was a little distracted, and after a while, he reacted and said hesitantly.

"You... you also have such diligent times?"

"? ? ?"