"Anyway, the documents are here, so let's continue building the road."
With plenty of manpower, they repaired both the main roads and country lanes in just a few days.
The most important part of road construction is building bridges, which is also where the most money is spent.
The bridge that used to lead to the county town was a wooden bridge, built many years ago. The railings on both sides of the bridge have weathered and broken, and the entire bridge surface is also in danger of being washed away by floods.
The bridge was repaired by a master bridge builder that Fang Qing had specially contacted. The stones used to build the bridge were also carefully selected from the mountain and carried down.
The bridge was four meters wide and eighteen meters long after it was completed, and it took a full month to build.
On the day of completion, firecrackers were set off, a sacrifice was offered to the river god, and even the county magistrate came to inspect the site.
Not only did the people come, but they also brought a huge plaque covered with red cloth.
“Fang Qing, you have done a great job in building roads and bridges for the villagers. As the local official, I should reward you.”
With that, he waved his hand and ordered his men to bring the plaque up.
"This is my own inscription, which is hung on the bridge. It is my contribution to the construction of this bridge."
The county magistrate lifted the red cloth covering the plaque, and Fang Qing saw the two large characters "Zheng You".
Zheng You was the name of the county magistrate.
He could have simply taken the honor, but instead he presented a plaque.
Fang Qing almost couldn't help but sneer.
"Then I should thank you, sir?"
Zheng Youxiao's eyes narrowed into slits.
"No need to thank me, no need to thank me. What is this? Oh, you prepared a plaque? Why didn't you say so earlier? What does it say on the plaque?"
As he spoke, Zheng You tore open another, smaller plaque.
Wanmin Bridge.
This is the name that everyone came up with.
Because it was built with everyone's money and effort, and everyone had a share, and one plaque couldn't contain everyone's names, it was called Wanmin Bridge (Bridge of Ten Thousand People).
Zheng You's smile froze for a moment.
"Oh, your plaque is quite nice, but you should use mine instead. Mine is bigger and more impressive."
Since he's already said that, does anyone have any further opinions?
Seeing the "Zheng You" plaque hung up, the county magistrate smiled with satisfaction.
He had this plaque prepared two days ago.
He wouldn't have had the guts two days ago.
After all, the group from the Northwest hadn't left An County yet.
He had someone keep an eye on that group of people, and they left two days ago, finally putting his mind at ease.
It was just a plaque; he didn't try to cause Fang Qing any trouble.
Even if that mighty general found out, he could explain it away.
He was calculating in his mind.
Everyone secretly rolled their eyes at him.
Little did he know that this very bridge would bring him to his death.
After the road was repaired, everyone was busy with the wheat harvest, while the imperial governor quietly entered the territory of An County.
Anxian was a necessary route between the two prefectural cities. After the governor's convoy entered Anxian, they discovered that it was different from other counties.
There were no hungry or cold refugees on the roadside, and all the people had a positive and optimistic outlook.
He was the newly appointed governor, and this was his first time visiting Jizhou. He was curious as to why Anxian was different from other places, but he found the answer after seeing everyone harvesting wheat.
While serving in the court, he had heard that the grain yield in Jizhou was high, but seeing it with his own eyes was still awe-inspiring.
He instantly understood why everyone here was always smiling and seemed so energetic.
And the roads here are really wide. Drainage ditches have been built on both sides of the main road, and rows of weeping willows have been planted. They are better than the roads in Beijing.
He wrote all of these things down in his memorial, and every word was a praise for the magistrate of An County.
Upon entering An County, he casually asked a few people about the county magistrate, and they all unanimously praised him.
"Greetings, Lord Zheng. Did you cross that bridge when you came to the county town? It has your name on it. It was Lord Zheng who built it for us."
"And do you know why our An County has such a high grain yield? It's also because of our county magistrate; he cultivated the grain seeds for us."
"Lord Zheng is a good official, a true benevolent official."
The governor also included all of this in his memorial to the throne.
During my few days in An County, I heard the people praising Lord Zheng everywhere.
But as soon as the governor left, those who had been appearing around him from time to time took off their costumes and returned to the Wind and Rain Pavilion.
They were arranged by Zhao Shi'an.
It merely adds another heavy chapter to the story of Zheng You's death.
In the house next to the county school, Zhao Shi'an listened to Xiao Liu's report on the matter, and a cold smile appeared on his lips.
Once the governor's memorial reaches the capital, and the crown prince adds fuel to the fire, Zheng You wouldn't have enough lives to kill.
"Master, the Eighth Prince has already made contact with the Crown Prince's people, and the Gao family must have noticed it as well."
Zhao Shi'an leaned back in his chair, fiddling with a string of Buddhist prayer beads that was almost identical to the ones he had given to Fang Qing before.
"Clean up all the clues. We can't let the Gao family trace it back to Fang Qing."
"yes."
Xiao Liu did not leave immediately.
"There's another matter. A few days ago, our Fengyu Tower intercepted a secret letter from the Northern Rong to the capital."
Zhao Shi'an slowly raised his lowered eyes.
"The Gao family?"
"Master, you are truly a prophet; it is indeed the Gao family."
Zhao Shi'an scoffed.
It's not that he's a prophet; he's just someone who has already lived through a lifetime.
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