After traveling for more than ten days, Fang Zhengyi finally arrived at Jianjiang City.
When they were some distance away from entering the city, Fang Zhengyi deliberately separated from the others.
He drove into the city alone, and the rest of the people acted separately.
I have Xie Xian and the others' previous address, so I should be able to find them when I get there.
The reason for this arrangement is that Fang Zheng is cautious.
Jianjiang is not like the capital, and a strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake. In the capital, Emperor Jing is clearly a powerful figure.
As long as you hold on, you basically won't die.
But since he has just arrived in a new place and is unfamiliar with the place, it is best for him to keep some cards in his pocket. This is his way of survival.
As they drove to the foot of Jianjiang City, Fang Zhengyi's mood gradually sank.
The sun was high in the sky at this time, but outside the city there were large groups of disaster victims.
Many officers and soldiers used sticks to beat and chase the victims away in an attempt to drive them away and maintain some order.
A dozen porridge stalls were set up outside the city, and officers and soldiers were distributing porridge.
Looking around, many victims were lying on the ground in a crooked state after receiving the porridge.
Because of the hot weather, many people had expressionless faces and exposed their chests and stomachs.
Under the dark skin is a thin body, and the occasional ups and downs are proof that the person is still alive.
The air was filled with a strong stench of foul smell, and flies were buzzing and flying everywhere.
Thousands of people haven't taken a shower for months, and in the hot summer, you can imagine the smell.
Fang Zheng jumped off the carriage, untied the reins and rode away. When he got to a place not far from the soup kitchen, he stretched his head and looked inside. There was no porridge in the pot, but only white water.
Judging from the viscosity, it has nothing to do with the word "porridge".
Fang Zhengyi frowned, not expecting that Jianjiang's condition was far more serious than he thought.
Drinking this kind of porridge can only replenish some water, and in terms of nutrition it is just useless.
How can the victims survive on this kind of thing?
Fang Zheng frowned and glanced around twice. After getting a general idea of the current situation, he rode into the city.
When he arrived at the city gate and was blocked by guards, Fang Zhengyi took out his pass but did not take out the official transfer order.
Fortunately, the guards saw that he was dressed luxuriously and did not try to stop him. They extorted a penny from him and let him into the city.
He didn't take these little things to heart. He arrived a few days in advance because it was necessary for him to investigate among the people. If he took office rashly, he might be blinded to many issues.
Although the position of Jianjiang Tongpan was not high-ranking, he had the right to report directly to the emperor.
Moreover, he is in charge of grain and water conservancy, and if he is not careful, the blame might be thrown on him.
Fang Zheng was feeling a little heavy-hearted as he rode his horse along the street, observing everything.
The situation in the city was not very good either. There were not many people on the streets, and even if there were some, most of them had pale faces, obviously suffering from severe malnutrition.
After walking around the city twice, countless pairs of eyes were already staring at him.
Fang Zhengyi didn't dare to wander around anymore and quickly rushed over according to the address Xie Xian left.
Fortunately, Xie Xian was very careful and gave very clear information, so Fang Zhengyi quickly found the house that Xie Xian and his family had purchased.
I arrived at the door and knocked, and soon the door opened.
When the man saw that it was Fang Zhengyi, he immediately called out in surprise: "Master! Why are you here!"
Fang Zhengyi frowned without saying anything and walked directly into the house.
Bai Rui followed behind tremblingly.
It's over. I didn't expect that my group of people would make such a big noise! Now they have even alarmed the master to come here in person!
It seems that I will have to eat good fruits when I return!
After Fang Zheng entered the main hall, he sat down in the main seat with a big horse and a golden sword, and asked in a deep voice: "Where are the others?"
Bai Rui swallowed his saliva: "The others...uh...we bought a pleasure boat. Most people are on the boat on weekdays. I stay here to look after the house. I sleep during the day and move at night."
"Well, call everyone together! Especially Shen Zhaoxuan! He must come! Go!"
Bai Rui began to feel nervous. It was over. The master was really angry!
In the past, he was very ruthless when it came to punishing people!
"Why aren't you leaving yet?"
"Ah! Let's go now, right away!" After saying that, Bai Rui flew out of the house.
After waiting for an hour, the expatriate personnel from Taoyuan County began to rush back.
Fang Zhengyi walked around the yard twice and didn't see anyone else. It seemed that this group of people were quite cautious and quite satisfactory.
After everyone arrived, they began to sit around the big table, looking anxiously at Fang Zhengyi who was sitting in the main seat.
After a moment of silence, Fang Zhengyi slowly spoke: "You guys..."
"Ouch! Sorry, sir, I'm late!!" A loud shouting voice suddenly came from the gate of the courtyard.
Zhou Tie staggered in, shouting.
Then he stood still and watched Fang Zheng rubbing his hands shyly in front of his chest.
Fang Zhengyi said calmly, "Why are you here so late? Everyone else is here but you are late? Do you look down on me?"
Zhou Tie swallowed and dared not speak.
Xie Xian quickly tried to smooth things over: "Master, he is injured!"
Zhou Tie said quickly: "Yes, I am injured. Master, I am not late on purpose. I am lost! I am sorry!"
"Lost? How did you get here?" Fang Zheng glanced at him.
Zhou Shen whispered, "I walked here."
Fang Zhengyi sneered, "Walking here? When we go out, we all ride in sedan chairs or carriages. You walked here, so you deserve to be lost! If you walked here, you shouldn't have come to this meeting."
Zhou Tie immediately cried out, "My Lord, I am innocent! They left me alone on the boat, and I have no money! I had no choice but to walk over here."
Fang Zhengyi said impatiently, "Ah, come on, come on! Just find a place to sit. And how are you injured? Did someone hit you?"
Zhou Tie looked embarrassed: "Uh... I fell into the water, it's okay, it's okay..."
Fang Zhengyi shook his head helplessly.
"Forget it! Xie Xian, what do you think is your situation now? What have you done?"
Hearing this, Xie Xian took out a notebook from his arms, looked at the contents on the notebook and said, "Master, you came just in time. We haven't done anything yet."
"Shen Zhaoxuan founded the Freedom Sect, which now has 5,500 followers."
"Wei Cai and others dug several tunnels that connected to the granaries of several famous wealthy families in Jianjiang, but fortunately they have not taken any action yet."
"We have already inquired about the companies whose tunnels we dug. Most of them have a good reputation, but they are secretly operating in a shady way."
"They took advantage of the food disaster to frantically lower the base price, annexed a lot of land, and forced many people to death. Bai Rui went out and verified it one by one."
"The most important news is that there is a big problem with the grain in the government warehouses. Most of the stored grain is moldy and stale."
"We suspect that someone in the government is colluding with local bigwigs to exchange new for old to make arbitrage in the market."
Fang Zheng glanced at everyone and smiled, "Not bad! You did a good job! I thought you were going to cause a big disaster, but I didn't expect you to give me such a big gift as soon as you got here!"
As he spoke, Fang Zhengyi's eyes suddenly became fierce: "However, if it weren't for you guys, I wouldn't have been demoted!"
...........
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