After returning to the newspaper office, the two chose an empty room and sat across from each other, looking at each other in silence.
Li Yuanzhao sat in a chair and was lost in thought.
When Fang Zheng saw his appearance, he didn't want to disturb him any more, so he poured two cups of tea and drank it alone.
Outside the door were the voices of reporters discussing loudly, as if they were talking about a certain piece of news.
In this way, until the tea was cold and all the drinks were finished, and Fang Zheng drank three cups in a row, Li Yuanzhao spoke in a hoarse voice.
There was sadness in his tone, and he could not hide his disappointment: "How could this happen? I didn't let them blackmail the people."
"They are also common people. When heavy rains cause disasters in their homes, they will also go out to provide disaster relief."
"They drank and ate meat with me... There was no trouble before... How could it happen now..."
In words, there is indescribable disappointment.
Fang Zhengyi could only listen quietly. He had also experienced betrayal, and he also experienced the mentality of being deceived.
A simple clerk in the workplace suddenly became a county magistrate overnight. He was burdened with a burden that did not belong to him, and he could not unload it.
After struggling with the "burdens" until finally there is meat to eat and money to share, some of those who share the same joys and sorrows will always have different ideas.
Having the aura of a county magistrate cannot intimidate everyone.
Those great people seem unattainable, untouchable, and great to outsiders until you step into their lives and the physical distance is shortened.
The light of the halo will also gradually dissipate... and the sense of awe and boundaries will also disappear. This is human nature.
This is part of the reason why the health team dares to deceive superiors and deceive subordinates and use power for personal gain.
The prince often mingled with his subordinates, looking very harmonious and beautiful. But there was a hidden worry in it. Fang Zhengyi never said much, he just watched quietly. Some things can only grow if you experience them yourself. Telling them through others' mouths always misses the point.
Li Yuanzhao sat where he was, looking a little at a loss.
Only then did Fang Zhengyi say softly: "Your Highness, have you ever thought that this is actually your problem?"
"My problem?! What problems will I have?" Li Yuanzhao felt his chest congested: "I just want to make people's lives better, but the people below are deceiving me!"
"Your Highness, who are they? They were just a group of people who picked up dung, and they didn't even know how to read."
"Every day I work from dawn to dusk to earn a penny, barely enough to support my family."
"Now that they have the opportunity to make money, how can they not do it? Even if it means exploiting others!"
"Even though their lives have improved compared to before, their horizons have also broadened and their desires have become bigger."
"Now that His Highness has handed power into their hands, will they give up this opportunity?"
"Your Highness, have you realized how important the word Prince is? You represent the court and the country."
"Now that you are standing behind the health team, it means that the court is standing behind them."
"How could they not take advantage of their own? Maybe they have never deceived His Highness. They just handed over layers of proposals to His Highness, and His Highness agreed one by one. Then the health team increased the pressure on the merchants layer by layer and kept putting pressure on them. .”
"They have raised the standards to a level that is simply impossible to achieve. On the one hand, they are using you to expand their power, and on the other hand, they are trying to prevent you from interfering with the situation below and shifting the responsibility to the merchants."
"Anyway, the health team has set standards in their minds. It's just that merchants don't obey management and they always fail to achieve it."
"They will always take advantage of it, and merchants will always make mistakes." Fang Zheng said, his voice unhurried.
Li Yuanzhao seemed more and more depressed, until Fang Zheng finished speaking, swallowed his saliva and retorted: "Old Fang, what you said went too far."
"Even if they don't know a word of Chinese characters, even if they are originally excrement collectors, there are still many good people under my command."
"Do you still remember Captain Wang during the disaster relief? He rescued injured people from collapsed houses regardless of his life."
"He is now in charge of the largest area of Banshanfang. I don't believe he can do such a thing!"
"Shen Yi!" After Li Yuanzhao finished speaking, Fang Zheng shouted.
Shen Yi pushed the door open and entered.
"Bring me the materials I asked you to prepare!"
After hearing this, Shen Yi turned around and returned to his workstation. After a while, he took back a few pages of materials and placed them in front of Fang Zheng's desk.
"Thank you. Leave the door open and go and do your work." Fang Zheng picked up the materials and said, "Your Highness, this is evidence for the health team to extort merchants."
"And this is only part of it. On the surface they are still a health team, but privately they have become a bandit."
"And what Your Highness said about Captain Wang is that he is more greedy than anyone else. As long as the restaurant pays him twenty taels of silver a month, he can be exempted from all inspections!"
"He can collect at least a hundred taels of silver in a month. As long as he works hard for a few months, he can have enough food and clothing for the rest of his life!"
"If Your Highness doesn't believe it, you can call him over and confront him!"
Li Yuanzhao's eyes were blank, he grabbed the material, pointed at the words on it with his finger and read it carefully.
He murmured: "Impossible. I have had drinks with him three times. He is a generous person and everyone below loves him. There is no reason for him to do such a thing. If it is really like what you said, how could he be What about the kind of person who risks his own life to save others?"
As he was talking, he couldn't go on. Following his fingers, every detail about Captain Wang's deeds was recorded in detail.
Gradually, Li Yuanzhao's eyes turned red.
The reporters who travel the streets and alleys every day are very professional, and their professionalism is comparable to that of detectives. So much so that the above content was written in too much detail. The specific location, the amount of money and even the time of the transaction were clearly written.
Combined with today's on-site visit, there is almost no possibility of fraud.
Li Yuanzhao gave up and leaned back on the chair slumped.
His hands were spread out, and the papers were scattered on the ground.
Fang Zhengyi stood up and picked up the materials and said calmly: "Does Your Highness need to call Captain Wang over for confrontation?"
"No...it's not necessary..." Li Yuanzhao said in frustration: "Where did I go wrong...Is it because I didn't treat them well? Why did I do this to me?"
"Of course they are not targeting His Highness." Fang Zhengyi smiled slightly: "But these disasters are caused by His Highness."
“Power is like wine, it is addictive and corrosive.”
"They themselves are not strong enough to bear this power...and certainly not able to control it."
"So much so that they use their power to embarrass merchants... The bottom levels are fighting against each other."
........
