Fang Zhengyi finally arrived at Jianjiang City after traveling for more than ten days.
When it was some distance before entering the city, Fang Zhengyi deliberately walked separately from the others.
He drove into the city alone, while the others split up.
I have the previous address of Xie Xian and the others, so I should be able to find the person there.
The reason for this arrangement is because Fang Zhengyi is cautious.
Jianjiang is not as good as the capital, and a strong dragon cannot overwhelm a local snake. In the capital, Emperor Jing is clearly the upper hand.
As long as you hold it, you basically won't die.
But this is a new place, and if you are unfamiliar with the place, it is best to keep some trump cards. This is his way of survival.
Driving to the foot of Jianjiang City, Fang Zhengyi's mood gradually sank.
At this time, the sun was high in the sky, but outside the city there were masses of victims.
Many officers and soldiers beat and chased away the victims with sticks in an attempt to drive away the victims and maintain some order.
There were about a dozen porridge sheds set up outside the city, and officers and soldiers were serving porridge.
Looking around, many victims were lying on the ground in a mess after receiving porridge and water.
Because of the hot weather, many people had expressionless faces and bare chests and bellies.
Underneath the dark complexion are skinny bones, and the occasional ups and downs are proof that the person is still alive.
The air was filled with a strong rancid smell, and flies were buzzing and flying around.
Thousands of people don't take a shower for months, and in the hot summer, the smell can be imagined.
Fang Zheng jumped off the carriage, untied the reins, and rode away. He walked not far from the soup kitchen and looked out. Wherever there was porridge in the porridge pot, it was clearly white water.
Judging from the consistency, it cannot be connected with the word porridge.
Fang Zheng frowned, not expecting that Jian Jiang's situation was far more serious than he thought.
Drinking such porridge can only replenish some water, and it can only be said to be useless in terms of nutrition.
How could the victims survive relying on such things?
Fang Zheng frowned and glanced around twice. After getting a rough impression of the current situation, he rode into the city.
When he met the guards blocking the way at the city gate, Fang Zheng took out the road guide, but he did not take out the official documents and instructions.
Fortunately, the guards saw that he was dressed luxuriously and did not stop him much. 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 early and it was necessary to conduct inspections among the people. If he took office rashly, he might be blinded by many problems.
Although the official position of Jianjiangtong was not large, he had the right to report directly to the emperor.
He is also in charge of grain affairs and water conservancy. If he is not careful, he may be blamed for it.
Fang Zhengyi felt a little heavy and was riding a horse on the street to keep observing.
The situation in the city is not very good. There are only a few people on the street. Even if there are people, most of them are disheveled and obviously severely malnourished.
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 hurried over according to Xie Xianliu's address.
Fortunately, Xie Xian was very attentive and gave the information very clearly. Fang Zhengyi quickly found the house that Xie Xian and the others bought.
When I got to the door, I knocked on the door and soon the door opened.
When the man saw that it was Fang Zhengyi, he shouted in surprise: "Master! Why are you here!"
Fang Zheng said nothing and straightened his face, stepping directly into the house.
Bai Rui followed cautiously behind him.
It's over, I didn't expect my group to make such a big noise! Now the master has been alerted to come in person!
It seems that you must eat good fruits when you go back!
As soon as Fang Zheng entered the main hall, Da Ma Jin Dao sat on the main seat and said in a deep voice: "Where are the others?"
Bai Rui swallowed: "The others... uh... we bought a boat. Most of the people are on the boat on weekdays. I stay here to look after the house, and I sleep during the day and move around at night."
"Well, call everyone! Especially Shen Zhaoxuan! You must come here! Go!"
Bai Rui started to get worried. It's over, the master is really angry!
In the past, he was not lenient at all when he wanted to punish people!
"Why aren't you leaving yet?"
"Ah! Let's go, let's go right now!" After saying that, Bai Ruifei ran out of the house.
After waiting for an hour, the expatriates from Taoyuan County began to rush back from outside.
Fang Zhengyi walked around the yard twice and found no one else. It seemed that this group of people was quite cautious and satisfactory.
After everyone arrived, they began to sit around the big table and looked anxiously at Fang Zhengyi, who was sitting in the main seat.
After a moment of silence, Fang Zhengyi slowly spoke: "You..."
"Ouch!! I'm sorry, sir, I'm late!!" A shouting voice suddenly came from the door of the courtyard.
Zhou Tie ran in staggeringly shouting.
Then he stood still and watched Fang Zheng rub his hands shyly on his chest.
Fang Zhengyi said calmly: "Why are you here? Everyone is here and you are late? Are you looking down on me?"
Zhou Tie swallowed and did not dare to speak.
Xie Xian quickly smoothed things over: "Master, he is injured!"
Zhou Tie said quickly: "Yes, I'm injured. Master, I didn't mean to be late. I got lost! I'm sorry!"
"Lost? How did you get here?" Fang Zheng looked at him sideways.
Zhou Shen whispered: "He's coming."
Fang Zheng sneered and said, "You came here? We all go out in sedans and carriages. You come here, you deserve to get lost! You come here, you shouldn't come to this meeting."
Zhou Tie immediately shouted: "I'm sorry, sir! They threw me on the boat alone, and I have no money! I can only walk over here."
Fang Zhengyi said impatiently: "Ah, okay, okay! Find a place to sit by yourself. Why are you injured? Did someone hit you?"
Zhou Tie looked embarrassed: "Uh... I fell into the water and got flooded. It's not in the way, it's not in the way..."
Fang Zhengyi shook his head helplessly.
"That's all! Xie Xian, tell me what's going on with you now and what have you done?"
Hearing this, Xie Xian took out a notebook from his pocket, looked at the contents in the notebook and said, "Master, you arrived just in time, we haven't done anything yet."
"Shen Zhaoxuan founded the Zi Zi Sect, which now has 5,500 followers."
"Wei Cai and others dug several tunnels and connected them to the granaries of several famous households in Jianjiang, but fortunately they haven't taken any action yet."
"We have already inquired about the companies we dug tunnels from. Most of them have good reputations, but they are secretly trying to hide their business."
"Taking advantage of the food disaster, we crazily lowered the minimum price, annexed a lot of land, and forced many people to death. Bai Rui went out to verify them one by one."
"The most important news is that there is a big problem with the grain in the official warehouse. Most of the grain stored in the warehouse is moldy grain and old grain."
"We suspect that someone in the government colluded with local big players to exchange old items for new ones and make arbitrage profits in the market."
Fang Zheng glanced at everyone and smiled: "Not bad! Well done! I thought you were going to cause big trouble, but I didn't expect that you gave me a big gift as soon as I arrived!"
As he said that, Fang Zhengyi's eyes suddenly became sharp: "However, if it weren't for you guys, I wouldn't have been demoted!"
...........
