With the continuous income from lottery, Fang Zhengyi naturally launched the renovation plan with great spending.
Just like Taoyuan County, all the roads in Banshanfang were replaced with stone slabs, and a large number of poor people were hired for this purpose.
The infrastructure has also been improved, with trash cans and stone benches for pedestrians on the roadside.
In addition, all drainage channels in the town were overhauled, and even the moat outside the city was repaired.
The rainy season has arrived and the rain is gradually increasing.
Fang Zheng checked the rainfall records of previous years and found that there were blockages and waterlogging every year to varying degrees.
This matter cannot be taken lightly. The outer city is different from the imperial palace. The drainage inside the palace is impeccable. It is located on high ground, well maintained, and well designed.
The drainage ditches in the outer city are filled with dead branches, rotten leaves, and mud. If they are not cleaned regularly, problems will easily arise.
After arranging everything, Fang Zhengyi began his leisure life and left all other matters, big or small, to Li Yuanzhao.
Seeing Li Yuanzhao busy like a spinning top every day, Fang Zhengyi couldn't help but envy the prince's energy.
That’s the good thing about young people. They are always eager to do anything, can’t wait for a moment, and they are very efficient!
There were only a few days left before the gambling match in March ended, and Fang Zhengyi was lying leisurely in his yard.
There was shade from the trees above, and birdsong could be heard from time to time. There was a small table nearby with a pot of tea and a plate of snacks.
The dessert was a sweet cake that Xiaotao had just steamed. Fang Zheng ate it until only one piece was left, but it was still emitting fragrance.
Just as he picked up the last piece of sweet cake and was about to put it into his mouth, Li Yuanzhao's loud shouting came from the door.
"Lao Fang! Lao Fang! Are you in there?"
Fang Zheng responded, and then Li Yuanzhao rushed in.
Just as he was about to speak, his nose twitched as he smelled the sweet fragrance in the air, and his eyes looked at the sweet cake in Fang Zheng's hand.
"Lao Fang, what are you eating?"
Fang Zheng looked at the sweet cake in his hand and hesitated for a moment, then put it in his mouth and took a bite.
Picking up the sweet cake, he said to Li Yuanzhao, "It's just an ordinary cake. Your Highness, would you like to eat some?"
Three black lines hung down from Li Yuanzhao's forehead.
You don't even give me a snack? I'll kill you!
"No! I've eaten all kinds of snacks! I came to you for something important!"
Fang Zheng stopped laughing when he heard him say he didn't want to eat anymore, then stuffed the sweet cake into his mouth and muttered, "What else can we do with His Highness here?"
Li Yuanzhao paced back and forth in the courtyard anxiously, saying hastily, "I was careless for a moment! I didn't notice that there were fewer people on the streets recently. Later, I heard from my men that those people had gone to Fuyun Temple."
"It is said that several eminent monks have come to Fuyun Temple recently. The most famous one is a monk named Master Huijue. The people are very active in donating money to them!"
"So many people who went there were probably poor people who didn't have any money to begin with but still wanted to donate."
"Old Fang, do you know that the emperor hates these monks and thinks they don't work hard. He wanted to get rid of them a long time ago. If the emperor sends someone to inspect the place in a few days and sees this scene, wouldn't it be bad?"
Fang Zheng took a sip of tea and wondered, "How did the medical team find out only now when there are so many people there?"
"My subordinates are exhausted after a day's work and they just want to go home to sleep. They don't have the mood to care about these things."
"I only found out about this after I asked. If we let those bald asses continue to do this, won't the atmosphere in the neighborhood be ruined!?"
"Hiss... Lao Fang, why aren't you in a hurry?"
When Li Yuanzhao saw Fang Zheng narrowing his eyes and looking like he was about to fall asleep, he became furious.
Fang Zhengyi waved his hands feebly: "Don't worry, Your Highness. I'm just thinking...Does Your Highness have any ideas?"
Li Yuanzhao frowned and said, "It's not that I don't have a solution, but I don't know if it will work."
"Tell me about it."
"Posting a persuasive brochure on the bulletin board in the neighborhood and providing an explanation, telling passers-by about the dangers of learning Buddhism, wasting time and money."
"Thousands of brothers in my health team followed suit to spread the word."
"Finally, we can find Mr. Ji's group and ask them to hang out at Fuyun Temple more often... How do you think of this three-pronged approach?"
Fang Zheng smacked his lips and said, "Not so good. Can our people compare to the Buddhists in terms of brainwashing? They are all professionals."
"And you asked Master Ji's men to hang around in the temple. Those hooligans were lucky not to get beaten up when they got into the crowd."
"Why don't you just drag the monks out of the temple, strip them naked and beat them up in the street? That will be more effective..."
Li Yuanzhao sighed: "Then what do you say we should do? We can't just beat people up for no reason. Where will the government's prestige be? The people are already afraid of the government, and things will become even more difficult in the future."
Fang Zhengyi chuckled: "It's just a few monks, isn't it? It's not a big deal, Your Highness, don't worry."
"I am here to teach you a lesson today. This temple is full of superstition. The only thing that can defeat magic is magic... There is no point in reasoning with it."
"If those people could think proactively and listen to others' advice, they wouldn't be so reluctant to donate their pitiful few coins."
Li Yuanzhao looked puzzled: "What is magic?"
"It's witchcraft. The witchcraft of the barbarians is called magic."
Li Yuanzhao said with a bitter face: "So...you mean we should open a temple too? It's too late! Then the emperor will be even more unhappy."
Fang Zhengyi poured a cup of tea for Li Yuanzhao: "No, no, Your Highness, please have a sip of tea first."
"Your Highness, do you know what the sharpest knife in the world is?"
"Knife? That's naturally my father's golden knife!"
"No, I am talking about the invisible blade. The sharpest knife in the world is the one that kills with praise!"
"Since Fuyun Temple is developing so well, we should add fuel to the fire. Otherwise, the more you persuade people not to believe, the more they will believe."
“Don’t teach people to think directly. People are blindly confident animals. It’s useless.”
Li Yuanzhao was confused: "I don't understand, Lao Fang, what do you mean? Why are you adding fuel to the fire?"
"My meaning is very clear, which is to encourage the people to go to Fuyun Temple."
"However, this matter naturally requires a method, and how to encourage is the key!"
"Those monks used ignorance to make money, so we fight back with greed. This is called defeating magic with magic."
Li Yuanzhao's face turned serious: "I understand! Those monks are very deceitful... We can set a time and allow the people to legally rob the temple regularly every month, and the government will never interfere."
"In this case...I wonder which temple can continue to operate!"
"Uh..." Fang Zheng was speechless for a moment. The prince's realm had directly reached the atmosphere. This was going to make all the monks in the world extinct.
"That's not necessary. The people have a hard life, so it's good to have a temple to relax... Your Highness, this is not positive! What if someone takes the opportunity to cause chaos? If you raise a group of unruly people, they will rob temples today, rob wealthy families tomorrow, and rebel the day after tomorrow!"
"Come, come, let me tell Your Highness my method... like this... like this..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
