Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Kindness Academy... This name sounds quite meaningful, filled with the people's passionate and profound emotions.

Emperor Jing thought, a benevolent fatherly smile unconsciously appearing on his face.

"A good name!"

"I didn't expect the scholarly atmosphere here to be so strong. How many scholars are there in the county?"

Since education is so outstanding, the grassroots resources of the officialdom must also be accumulating richly.

Yang Fengfan quickly recalled and said, "Last year, forty-six scholars from this county passed the examination, but there are currently a total of two hundred and twenty-one scholars in the county."

The courtiers were in an uproar: "Where did the nearly two hundred extra scholars come from?"

This matter sounds too shocking! Its significance far exceeds other aspects.

A county usually has only about twenty scholars, and a large county can reach the level of forty or fifty.

Scholars may seem inconspicuous; their title seems to be everywhere in books and plays.

But in reality, it is not so. Just by virtue of this status, they can be exempted from a lot of taxes. Passing the scholar examination is basically equivalent to landing ashore, and it has to be the top tier.

As long as they give up the illusion of continuing to rise and don't mess around, life can be very comfortable.

"Many scholars also come from other places because before Pingwan implemented broad commerce, there were only twenty scholars. However, after more than thirty scholars emerged in one session last year, merchants traveling outside spread the word that this place is the home of literary tradition, hence the situation today."

"Some people even come from very far away, even if they spend all their travel expenses, they still want to come here to absorb the literary atmosphere and continue to strive upwards," Yang Fengfan said with emotion.

Emperor Jing felt somewhat absurd listening to this: "If they spend all their travel expenses, how do these people live in the city? Could it be that they also go to the workshops to work?"

Yang Fengfan shook his head and said, "No, these people are the seeds of learning of our Great Jing. Everyone has the opportunity to enter the court and serve the imperial court. If they are distracted and lose sight of the big picture, it would be a great loss. Therefore, I am also thinking of ways to take care of them as much as possible."

"To this end, the county has specially established a new plan, specifically taking out a sum of money to lend to these scholars without interest, so that they can prepare well for the examination."

"Because there are many students here, it is simply called the 'Student Land Plan'. Many students have borrowed money from the county, and they can be exempted from interest within three years."

Emperor Jing stroked his palms and smiled after listening: "Good, you have arranged everything properly."

"The current scholarly atmosphere in Pingwan County is so strong that I dare say it is very rare throughout Great Jing. I wonder if Your Majesty would like to visit the Kindness Academy?" Yang Fengfan asked cautiously.

"Indeed, that's what I was thinking. Then lead the way."

Hearing Emperor Jing's consent, Yang Fengfan gave Fang Zheng a reassuring look and then led the way forward.

Emperor Jing and a group of ministers were already chattering and discussing behind him.

Except for Sun Sheng at the end, who was distraught and covered in blood.

At this moment, he seemed to have been abandoned by the entire world, and he did not know what kind of fate awaited him.

But no matter what, his reputation accumulated to this day has been completely ruined....

Fang Zheng glanced at him and quickly walked to Yang Fengfan's side, whispering, "Have you prepared everything in advance at the academy?"

"This subordinate has already sent people back to prepare for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Paper flowers and firecrackers are all prepared, and they will definitely make His Majesty happy," Yang Fengfan replied in a low voice, "But what about our fireworks?"

"This is nothing. The fireworks will be set off tonight. When the time comes, you will say this to His Majesty..."

A group of people walked and discussed.

After Yang Fengfan's explanation, looking at the situation in Pingwan County, it seemed to have become a different scene.

The original 'disorder' also looked vibrant and pleasing to the eye.

The various smells permeating the air also turned into the atmosphere of everyday life.

Even the merchants who were originally looked down upon now seemed much more pleasing to the eye.

Halfway through the journey, a noisy scene suddenly appeared in front of Fang Zheng and others, which seemed somewhat unusual.

Guo Tianyang and others immediately became nervous and surrounded Emperor Jing.

Emperor Jing was not flustered, gently waved his sleeves, and asked, "What happened ahead?"

"This subordinate will go and ask!" Yang Fengfan plunged directly into the crowd, separating and squeezing in.

Before long, he squeezed out again, panting, and said to Emperor Jing: "This subordinate knows. The richest man in Taoyuan is here to preach and teach merchants, telling his business secrets, and he is signing and selling books inside!"

"Who is the richest man in Taoyuan?" Emperor Jing asked Fang Zheng, turning his head.

Fang Zheng was also a little puzzled.

Who else could the richest man in Taoyuan be? It's me!

However, he seemed to have heard this title somewhere, but he couldn't remember clearly because there were too many things going on.

"Your Majesty, please wait a moment, I will call him over to ask questions."

After Fang Zheng finished speaking, he walked towards the crowd with Zhang Biao.

Zhang Biao exerted himself twice to open up a passage, and the people on both sides were as silent as cicadas in winter.

Fang Zheng took a closer look and remembered.

Isn't this Liu Zhongshun? He's not selling houses in the county, what's he doing here?

"Liu Zhongshun!"

Liu Zhongshun was signing his name with his head down. After signing one book, he threw it roughly to the other side, and then continued to sign the next one.

He had quite the demeanor of an international superstar signing autographs.

Hearing someone call his name, Liu Zhongshun raised his head, saw Zhang Biao at a glance, and then saw Fang Zheng, surprised: "Brother Biao? Master? Why are you here?"

Fang Zheng stepped forward and said in a low voice, "His Majesty is here. When you see him later, you must speak well. You like this.... Don't worry about this stall, come with me."

......

Before long, Fang Zheng dragged Liu Zhongshun to Emperor Jing.

Emperor Jing looked at Liu Zhongshun and smiled: "You are the richest man in Taoyuan?"

Liu Zhongshun bowed tremblingly: "This commoner dares not accept the title, it's just rumors from the outside world."

"Then what kind of business do you do?"

"Selling houses, houses in Taoyuan County."

"Why did you come here?"

Liu Zhongshun swallowed and briefly recalled Fang Zheng's words, cleared his throat and said: "This commoner has some experience in doing business and has also earned some money, so I want to pass on some of my methods to others and benefit the people."

"Moreover, this commoner heard that merchants are rising here, and many people are lacking guidance, so I came here. This commoner often heard our master say in Taoyuan County that merchants cannot simply focus on making profits."

"Merchants' businesses are for the people. Since they are products of the people, they must take on some responsibilities for the people. The responsibility of merchants lies in doing business well, doing it long, doing it sustainably, and doing it professionally, being responsible for the employees, being responsible for the people, and even more so contributing to the country, providing affordable and high-quality goods, and actively paying taxes."

"The most important thing is that the merchants of Taoyuan County have always had a fine tradition of national sentiment. Only with a broader perspective can business be bigger, and only when business is bigger can it better benefit the people and cooperate with others, so this commoner came to Pingwan County to impart experience."