Seeing Emperor Jing clenched his fists, Guo Tianyang stepped forward and whispered to comfort him: "Master, these unruly people are like this. They only do three things all day long: eat, sleep, and curse the court. But they can only curse our own people. If outsiders curse the court, they will still be biased towards us in their hearts. I have seen a lot of this when I was young. Please don't take it to heart."
Zhang Biao had sharp ears and added in a muffled voice, "Who said that? I never curse the court."
Guo Tianyang frowned and glared at him fiercely.
"Are you a troublemaker? Did I say that to you!?"
You big piece of meat, why don’t you just stay quiet? Why are you talking so much?
However, when Zhang Biao, the taciturn man, spoke, Emperor Jingdi suddenly became cheerful and looked at Zhang Biao with admiration.
“Great wisdom appears foolish.”
Guo Tianyang: “…”
Fang Zhengyi also became anxious when he heard Wang Erzhu speak ill of the court in front of Emperor Jing.
Are you going to die? Although my father-in-law is kind and merciful.
But he is obviously in a very bad mood today... Why is he saying such nonsense and even making up a conspiracy theory?
"What nonsense are you talking about? The war has nothing to do with Xinzhang County. Xinzhang County is not a good thing, but our Dajing has been developing by leaps and bounds in recent years. How can you say that the court is not good?" Fang Zhengyi said seriously.
Wang Erzhu was so angry that he laughed: "Damn it, don't I know whether my life is good or not?"
"The court sent a fool to mess up Xinzhang County. Can't people speak their minds? Otherwise, explain to me, whose fault is it if not the court's?"
Fang Zheng turned around and glanced at Emperor Jing. Seeing that his face had darkened, he said calmly, "This is only a problem in Xinzhang County. Besides, you have land, so how can you not have enough food if you work hard?"
“I’ve tried so hard to live!”
The two of them were whispering to each other, and as Emperor Jing listened, his face became increasingly darker.
"Okay, stop complaining." Fang Zheng said confidently, "We are both ordinary people. Of course I stand on your side, but we have to be fair in everything. Just tell me whether the situation has been good in recent years! Isn't Your Majesty wise and powerful?"
Speaking of His Majesty, Wang Erzhu was stunned for a moment, then said awkwardly: "That's true... Your Majesty is wise, but I didn't live well, so Your Majesty's wisdom is not in vain?"
"Hiss...I was wondering why you are so stubborn!"
But at this moment, Emperor Jing came over and said to Fang Zhengyi: "Okay, you don't have to quarrel. Come with me first, Zhang Biao is waiting in the room."
The tone of Emperor Jing's voice already made him the master of the room.
Wang Erzhu did not dare to refute. When he saw Emperor Jing and his two companions walk out, he turned his eyes to Zhang Biao.
Zhang Biao hardly said anything, making himself seem invisible.
Wang Erzhu took a closer look and was immediately shocked: "Oh my God! How come you are as strong as a bull? How much food do you have to eat? It seems that Mr. Huang has a lot of money..."
......
Outside the house, Emperor Jing had not spoken yet.
Fang Zhengyi spoke first: "I never expected such a vicious incident to happen during your Majesty's tour!"
"When will this trend of fraud and deception in the officialdom end?" Fang Zheng tapped his chest and said with deep sorrow.
As he spoke, he stole a glance at Emperor Jing in a sneaky way. Seeing that he was not looking at him, the corners of his mouth twitched quickly.
Guo Tianyang captured this scene at the first moment, and his expression was full of contempt.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Jing sighed and said, "Sun Sheng seems to be an honest man, but I didn't expect that he is a beast in human form! I have also been wrong about him, and it's a pity that he can pretend so well."
Fang Zheng said: "Your Majesty, I think that fraud may not be Sun Sheng's original intention..."
"How can you say that?"
"I have been observing him all along the way. If he really acted out this act, he should have found some people to perform in front of Your Majesty since we entered the city. Why did he do this when we were outside the farmland?"
"I just heard that Sun Sheng was very successful in governing the country in the first two months after he came. But why did his style suddenly change two months later? This change is a bit too big."
Emperor Jing asked doubtfully, "Speak to the point."
"It's very simple. Sun Sheng was deceived. After entering the city, Sun Sheng has been telling Your Majesty about his governance strategy, and I also think it is very neat and clear after listening to it."
"Now that I think about it, this might be the problem. His methods are too ruthless and straightforward, and his actions are rigid. There is absolutely no room for maneuver."
"If the water is too clear, there will be no fish; if the person is too strict, there will be no followers. He had just arrived and had no team in Xinzhang County. At first, everyone was afraid of the new official's first three fires, and they could tolerate making concessions for a while, but after a long time, even the people in the county government could not accept it. They had served in the county before and had already formed a set of relationships with the gentry."
"Everyone was dissatisfied with him, so they united together. At the same time, they were wary of his background, so they coaxed and deceived him."
"But how do you explain the increase in annual revenue in Xinzhang County?" asked Emperor Jing.
Fang Zheng said, "I'm afraid the wealthy families have united and are willing to give up some of their profits and report them to the court."
"Compared to the profits they make from joining forces to exploit the people, this 20% is nothing! As long as they can keep Sun Sheng stable, they can continue to monopolize the entire city and suck the blood of the people."
"Even if the truth comes out in the future, they can just use Sun Sheng as a scapegoat and get away with it."
Emperor Jing nodded thoughtfully.
Fang Zhengyi continued, "In the final analysis, I think Sun Sheng is a good person at heart, but he has a common problem among scholars."
"What's the common problem?"
"Without touching the ground, his understanding of the people's sentiments is far from deep enough. If everything is really as I imagined, then he should rarely go out among the people. All the situations and plans in the city must be reported one by one before making decisions, otherwise he would not be deceived. If the central government does things this way, it is understandable, but for a county, if you can't go down to the ground and talk to the people in person, then there must be major omissions in the governance. I do have some experience in this regard."
Seeing how seriously Emperor Jing was listening, Fang Zheng's expression gradually showed a hint of nostalgia.
"When I was in Taoyuan County, I personally visited every street and every building. I would not rest until the construction was completed. As for public opinion surveys, I would also conduct monthly surveys. I would personally inquire about major events, and all the documents were clearly recorded, and then I would follow the clues and verify them carefully."
"The most important thing is to mediate between the interests of all parties, strive to satisfy the majority of people, and ensure fairness, justice and openness. Only in this way can Taoyuan County be what it is today."
As soon as Fang Zheng finished speaking, he raised his chin slightly, waiting for his father-in-law to say something nice.
Emperor Jing was a little absent-minded. It took him a while to react and hesitantly said.
"You...are you still so diligent?"
"???"
......
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