"Is this my county magistrate?"
"What use is there for me to come here with a county magistrate like this?"
"Rather than having someone like you as the county magistrate exploiting the people, it would be better to put a dog in that position! A dog would be equally clueless, but a dog wouldn't exploit the people!"
Fu Xiaoguan was very angry and the consequences were serious.
He slammed the table with a loud bang, then stood up and kicked Bai Qiusheng to the ground.
Bai Qiusheng's face had already turned pale. He hurriedly climbed to his feet and knelt down again. "Bang, bang, bang..." He kowtowed several times, his body shaking uncontrollably as he wept, "Your Majesty, your Majesty, deserves death!"
"Of course you deserve to die!"
Fu Xiaoguan took a deep breath and calmed himself down. He was so disappointed. The Ministry of Personnel hadn't noticed such a county magistrate! Neither had the Censorate!
This is a very serious problem.
Did the Ministry of Personnel and the Censorate overlook something, or did they know about it but concealed it?
"I will never let you two off easily!"
"Eunuch Jia, send an edict to the Minister of Personnel Wen Siyuan and the Censorate Zhou Tongtong, telling them that I will be the magistrate of Siyang County!"
Jia Nanxing was startled and instantly understood what His Majesty meant. "I will draft the decree right away."
At this moment, Bai Qiusheng and Ma Ji had already fainted from fright.
Ning Siyan walked in, and Fu Xiaoguan ordered him: "Drag these two out and throw them on the street."
Fu Xiaoguan really settled down in Siyang County.
He went to the county government office in person, put the two men in jail, and fired all the officials in the county government office.
This news shocked the entire Siyang County in an instant——
"You know what? His Majesty is coming!"
"I heard that County Magistrate Bai, General Ma, and the others were all dealt with by His Majesty!"
"really?"
"Isn't my relative a bailiff at the county government office? He came back yesterday and told me about it. He was so excited. His Majesty was sitting in the court. He said he was here to temporarily take over as magistrate of Siyang County!"
"Are you blind? A notice was posted outside the county government office this morning stating that all citizens who have any grievances or suggestions for the development of Siyang County can go to the government office and speak directly to His Majesty!"
"Oh my god, the emperor is the county magistrate... is there such a strange thing in the world?"
"Our Wu Dynasty's emperor is no ordinary man! His story could take three days and three nights to tell! By the way, Mr. Jiang, isn't your grandson a learned man? Let him go to the county yamen and meet His Majesty. Perhaps he'll even catch His Majesty's eye."
The old man known as Mr. Jiang stroked his long white beard and smiled faintly, "My grandson went to the county government office early this morning."
…
…
Siyang County Government Office.
Fu Xiaoguan and Jiang Shang looked at each other in surprise.
What surprised Fu Xiaoguan was that the young man showed no fear at all. Now that he had revealed his identity as the emperor, the young man simply bowed when he came in, neither humble nor arrogant and very proper.
Jiang Shang was surprised that this emperor, about whom he had heard so much, was so young. He was wearing a silk shirt and did not look like an emperor at all.
"I, Jiang Shang, a member of the Jiang clan of Siyang County, pay my respects to His Majesty."
"I thought you wouldn't be polite."
Jiang Shang looked up, "But you are the emperor after all."
"In fact, even if you are not the emperor, I will still greet you politely."
"Why?"
"Because I have heard many of your stories, you are worthy of my respect!"
Fu Xiaoguan grinned, it seemed that his reputation was still good.
"Plus, since you've wiped out this whole nest of rats and snakes as soon as you arrived, I have to show you my respect. And I have to show you a big respect!"
After saying this, Jiang Shang took three steps back and knelt down formally, "I, Jiang Shang, greet your majesty!"
This kid is quite interesting. Fu Xiaoguan laughed and walked over to help him up. "You are just flattering me."
"Your Majesty, this is inappropriate. I sincerely pay my respects to Your Majesty on behalf of the people of Siyang County."
"Have you read many books?"
"Family training."
"Oh, did you go to Guanyun City to take the imperial examination last year?"
"The journey is too long. It's too late."
"Please sit down."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"If Siyang County wants to become rich, what methods should it use?"
This is the main topic, and Jiang Shang seems to be well prepared.
"I believe that Siyang County has a unique geographical location. If we want to dig food from the land, even the rice seeds and sweet potatoes that Your Majesty has provided can only meet the food rations of the people of Siyang County."
"Siyang County governs three towns and twelve townships, with a total population of just over 200,000. Even this county seat has only over 50,000 people, not even close to the population of a town in the eight states of Nancang."
"But Siyang County has a vast territory. Didn't Your Majesty mention in the First Five-Year Plan that the six states of Beixiao should be established as a heavy industrial base? I think Siyang County could shoulder some of this responsibility, as they have a special kind of kerosene. While I'm not sure what else it can do besides burn, I think it could be studied by the Academy of Sciences; I think it could be very useful."
"Kerosene? What does it look like?"
"It's just black, sticky oil with a pungent smell."
Fu Xiaoguan was startled. "Does it smell like rotten eggs?"
Jiang Shang was startled. "Exactly. Your Majesty knows about this thing?"
Oh shit!
oil!
Or the open-air kind!
"Where is this thing?"
"It's in Heitan, Siyang County. There's no one living within a few dozen miles of that place. The kerosene produces billowing black smoke, which has a terrible smell. But I think if we build a brick, tile, cement workshop in Siyang County and use this kerosene as fuel, the black smoke won't be a problem."
"There's so much of it there it's like a huge lake, and it doesn't cost a penny. I guess there are businessmen willing to invest and build a factory here."
Jiang Shang thought his proposal was perfect, but to Fu Xiaoguan it sounded like a waste of talent.
You actually use oil to heat the kiln!
This is not the way to squander money!
Of course, the uses of petroleum are extremely wide, such as industrial lubrication, and fuel after refining. With this thing, we can study internal combustion engines.
With current technology, it is not too difficult to solve the problem of distillation and cracking of petroleum. Although it is impossible to truly purify gasoline, the oil that has been cracked is estimated to be close to gasoline, and the energy generated by combustion is considerable.
Although steam engines have not yet been applied in the civilian field, this does not affect the Academy of Sciences' project on internal combustion engines - this is not something that can be accomplished overnight, and involves issues such as materials and casting processes.
"How far is the Black Pool from here?"
"More than three hundred miles."
"Come to the county government office tomorrow morning and take me to see it."
Jiang Shang thought that his strategy was accepted by the emperor, but he never expected what kind of changes his words would bring to the Wu Dynasty.
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