The Golden County Magistrate

In fact, what Fang Yingtai, the Minister of Winter Affairs, told him was to ask Chen Yan to consult with him about the problems in the construction book and see if there were any adjustments that needed to be made.

Although Fang Yingtai was just following Tang Yun's orders, he didn't know why he asked Chen Yan for advice.

But Jin Ze didn't believe in Chen Yan's "secret weapon" at all. Secondly, he had worked in the Water Affairs Department for so many years and could be said to be an expert in the water conservancy system. He had his own confidence and pride and was convinced that the construction book he supervised could not have any room for improvement.

Therefore, when he spoke to Chen Yan, it was not a question at all, but a command in a domineering manner.

Chen Yan didn't want to argue with him, so he quietly took the paper book and read it by candlelight.

On the side, Xueyan was originally worried that he would get angry, but she didn't expect him to be so easy to talk to, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Chen Yan flipped through a few pages, then suddenly closed the book, threw it back on the table, and said, "I don't know who wrote this proposal, but I suggest that you reconsider it."

Jin Ze frowned: "Do you think there are any changes that need to be made?"

Chen Yan shook his head: "No."

An attendant couldn't help it: "Bold Chen Yan! Are you trying to tease me? You didn't say anything about reconsidering!"

Chen Yan glanced at him: "Who are you? When is it your turn to interrupt me when I'm talking to you!"

The attendant was annoyed: "I am Zeng Hong, the water affairs doctor, and I was conferred the title of the fourth rank. You, a mere seventh rank county magistrate, dare to insult me!"

Chen Yan was stunned.

Damn!

These attendants were all wearing old clothes, so he originally thought that they were just servants of Jin Ze, but they were actually fourth rank water affairs doctors!

From this point of view, the other people's official positions are probably not low!

Of course he didn't know that these people deliberately wore old clothes to cater to Jin Ze's preferences, so as not to look like an official.

Xueyan, who was standing next to him, was also frightened and tried to wink at Chen Yan.

Is Chen Yan crazy?

He should apologize quickly, otherwise insulting his superiors would be a serious crime. Not only would he lose his official position, he might even end up in jail!

But Chen Yan ignored her look. He had already cursed at this time. If he apologized quickly, he was afraid that the other party would take the opportunity to teach him a lesson.

Chen Yan's mind raced, and he asked anxiously, "So, Lord Zeng also participated in this book?"

Zeng Hong puffed out his chest and said, "Humph, I am one of the four main authors of this book!"

Chen Yan sneered, "In other words, you are one of the people who harmed Lord Jin?"

Zeng Hong was shocked and said, "What nonsense are you talking about! How can this book harm you?"

Jin was even more displeased: "County Magistrate Chen, don't think you can get away with it by making shocking remarks. You just said that this book does not need to be revised, but you also said that I should reconsider it. What do you mean! If you can't explain it, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

At this point, Chen Yan also gave up, and spoke up as if he would not stop until he made a shocking statement.

"This book really doesn't need to be revised, because it's useless to revise it!"

"If you don't even know the most basic points, this book should be burned directly!"

"If you do it this way, not only will you fail to break through Tianxuan Mountain, but you will also waste 300,000 laborers and hundreds of thousands or even millions of silver in vain!"

"If others know about it, they will think that you are deliberately wasting money and harming the people. If the emperor punishes you later, isn't that harming you?"

Several followers were furious and wanted to speak.

Jin Ze raised his hand to stop them.

"County Magistrate Chen, you'd better explain what you said clearly, otherwise, I will get off the boat and return to Beijing immediately." He said in a deep voice.

How could Chen Yan not hear the threat in his words? Returning to Beijing is not just to say that he will give up this project, but also to forcefully report his problems to the court and dismiss him from his post!

At that time, another person will be sent to Qingshan County to take over the position of county magistrate, and everything he has worked hard to develop will be completely exposed!

At the critical moment, Chen Yan's expression suddenly turned cold.

He turned to one of the pages in the construction book, pointed to the topographic map of Tianxuan Mountain drawn on it, and said coldly: "Please answer a question for me, why do we need to break through from here to here?"

He pointed to the two points A and B of Tianxuan Mountain, which are located in Jizhou and Yongzhou respectively.

According to the construction book, the project will break through from point A in Jizhou to point B in Yongzhou.

"Because doing so can save money to the greatest extent." Jin Ze said coldly, "Such a simple thing also requires me to explain to you, County Magistrate Chen, you are too ignorant."

"Then may I ask, sir, if we follow this route, how many peaks do we need to break through?" Chen Yan said calmly.

"Isn't it written in the construction book? There are fourteen large peaks and thirty-seven small peaks. A total of fifty-one peaks need to be broken through. What's wrong with this?" Jin Ze was impatient."Then I don't understand. Why do you have to take this more troublesome route when there is a simpler route?" Chen Yan said in a deep voice. Jin Ze turned around and the officials of the Water Affairs Department looked at each other and sneered. This guy started talking nonsense again! This is obviously the simplest and most direct route! Jin Ze turned back and a hint of sarcasm flashed in his eyes: "I want to hear where the simpler route mentioned by County Magistrate Chen starts and where it ends?" Chen Yan pointed to the topographic map: "Start from here and end here." Everyone laughed when they saw the location he pointed to. "I am dying of laughter! After talking for a long time, he actually pointed out a route that is the most laborious and time-consuming!"

"Mr. Chen, I have a tape measure here. Why don't you measure it and see which one is longer, the route you pointed out or the route we have drawn up!"

"Also, you'd better count how many peaks there are along this route, and how many peaks you need to break through to divert the water of the Fairy River to Jizhou!"

"I can see that this guy is just making a joke on purpose!"

"Humph, he treats the court affairs as a joke. In my opinion, this guy should be punished according to the law!"

Amid the laughter of the crowd, Xueyan was also dumbfounded.

The original route in the construction book was only about five inches long according to the map.

But the two points pointed by Chen Yan were about one foot long!

What's even more terrible is that the topographic map roughly depicts hundreds of peaks in the Tianxuan Mountains, and also uses icons to indicate the size of the peaks. There are at least hundreds of peaks between the two points he pointed to, and most of them are large peaks!

If the construction is carried out along this route, the amount of work will be several times larger?

Chen Yan's expression did not show any emotion, and he said coldly: "Who told you that I want to break through these peaks? But it's no wonder that people who come up with such stupid ideas naturally can't see what the correct approach is."

Everyone was furious.

This guy is so hateful, isn't he scolding them in person!

Jin Ze's face was as dark as water: "This is ridiculous! Separated by mountains, how can the river water pass without breaking through the peaks!"