The governor of Beiling County, named Zheng Pei, is in his forties, slightly fat, with a belly, and looks like an official.
When a local official sees the king, his behavior can be imagined.
After getting up, he hurriedly stepped forward and held the horse for Xiao Yuan with a shy smile.
"Okay." Xiao Yuan stopped him with a slight frown.
"Yes, yes." Zheng Pei quickly bowed, nodded and bowed.
There was no words all the way. Xiao Yuan's intention was to rest for one night in Beiling. King Xuan had no objection to this.
After arriving at the county government, the first thing for the governor Zheng Pei was to host a banquet.
The arrival of the king made him somewhat flustered, and he even took action in person, directing his men to be busy.
In the hall, Xiao Yuan and Prince Xuan were diagonally opposite each other, with a case in front of them to show their respect for Prince Xuan. Below were Xu Hu, Xie Hongling, and Wang Su.
Not long after, the food and wine were served one by one, including everything that could fly in the sky, run on the ground, and swim in the water.
Looking at the dazzling array of delicacies and the piles of dishes, with almost no sign of a vegetarian dish, Xiao Yuan couldn't help but look up at Zheng Pei.
At this time, the latter was personally carrying the last two dishes, placing them on Xiao Yuan and King Xuan's tables respectively, standing there with a smile, bowing his shoulders and saying:
"This is a small piece of meat taken from around the fish's eye. They are all treasures. Your Majesty and His Highness Prince Xuan, please use them with caution."
On the dinner plate were small pieces of fish, which were very tender and topped with sauce. They looked really appetizing.
But just for such a dish, I'm afraid you have to kill dozens or hundreds of fish to make it.
Xiao Yuan was a little angry and laughed, because this was very wasteful based on the current situation of Beiling.
However, Zheng Pei wanted to entertain him, and since King Xuan was there, he couldn't say much. He could only smile and extend his hand towards King Xuan: "Sister Wang, please."
"Brother Wang, please."
King Xuan picked up his chopsticks and ate gracefully. After tasting it slowly, he nodded and said, "Well, it's very good. Thank you Master Zheng for your hospitality."
"Oh, His Royal Highness King Xuan is too polite." Zheng Pei said quickly: "It is a lifetime honor for me to entertain the King and His Highness."
"Why are you still standing here? Take a seat." Xiao Yuan frowned and glared at him again.
"Ah?" Zheng Pei was startled and hurriedly saluted: "Yes, yes..."
After the banquet, that night, in the county study room.
Zheng Pei bowed his head and stood respectfully below.
Xiao Yuan was sitting in his usual office, casually opening some bamboo slips.
Whenever he inspects a place or reaches a place, Xiao Yuan will check the official documents of the county governor. This seems to have become a habit.
In the bamboo slips, there are work reports of county magistrates from various places, as well as people's livelihood and taxation in the county, from which we can get a general understanding of the local situation.
Zheng Pei was a little worried.
Xiao Yuan read it very carefully, and there were no problems with most of the official documents.
But soon, a roll of bamboo slips was suddenly thrown down from above and hit Zheng Pei with a loud bang.
The latter tensed up and knelt down in a hurry.
"See for yourself!" Xiao Yuan said concisely.
Zheng Pei swallowed hard, knelt there, hurriedly picked up the bamboo slips, and at the same time wiped the cold sweat on his forehead with the sleeve of his official uniform.
This official document is mainly about the current population problem in Beiling County.
Logically speaking, after a series of relocation policies, Beiling should be saturated, but this process is very slow.
It can only be said that Zheng Pei did not regard this as his first priority, but focused on other political achievements.
He opened the bamboo slip nervously, and after reading it, his face became sad, "Your Majesty..."
"Don't complain to me!" Xiao Yuan seemed to know what he wanted to say and immediately interrupted him:
"Everyone can do superficial things! Beiling's taxes are not important! The economy here is not important for the time being!"
"Population saturation is the basis for a place's prosperity! Without the people, no matter how well you manage Beiling, it will still be a wasteland! Do you understand?"
"If you dare to do this again, you will be treated as a corrupt official!"
Under the majesty of the king, Zheng Pei was shocked and said: "Your Majesty, please calm down. I, my ministers, must remember your Majesty's teachings..."
"More!" Xiao Yuan said again: "I have already issued the decree, why has Beiling Academy not been built yet!?"
"Back to the king, I am... choosing a place." Zheng Pei explained.
"Stop prevaricating!" Xiao Yuan was slightly angry: "Are you being lazy?"
ah! ? Hearing this, Zheng Pei immediately panicked. He might not dare to guess the king's intentions easily, but as an official of the Qin State, he also understood that the king hated officials who were waiting to die without doing anything.
Lazy government is as hateful as corrupt officials!
He hurriedly explained, and his voice began to tremble:
"Since I have been favored by the king and served as the governor of Beiling County, I dare not say that I have worked hard, but I am also conscientious and have not dared to slack off in political affairs. I hope that the king will learn from it——"
"Okay!" Seeing his appearance, Xiao Yuan felt a little impatient: "Master Zheng, don't you hear that all the countries in the world are still making fun of Qin, a barbaric country! They laugh at me, the people of Qin, who have no sense of etiquette! Most of them are illiterate. barbarians!"
"As a governor, you must consider the people under your jurisdiction. How many young men want to study, but they are poor, have no money, and have no place to read? The state cannot ignore them!"
"The gold and silver used to build the school have not been released from the treasury of each of your counties. The imperial court has allocated funds. If construction does not begin within a month, your official position will not be guaranteed!"
After Xiao Yuan finished speaking, Zheng Pei didn't dare to hesitate. He immediately knelt down and said, "My lord, I respectfully obey the king's order——"
Outside the study.
King Xuan originally planned to come over to see Xiao Yuan to discuss some matters, but when he went outside, he could vaguely hear the scolding inside.
"I'm cursing, so don't go in." She pursed her lips and smiled, then gestured to Wang Su.
The two returned. On the way, King Xuan said as he walked: "Master Wang, do you know why I want to come to this area of Qinguan?"
"Your Majesty always handles matters in a meticulous manner, and I don't dare to make rash guesses." Wang Su said wisely.
King Xuan smiled: "Beyond Xiping Pass, the twelve cities were occupied and massacred by the Xirong. It is a very difficult task to restore this place, but didn't you find out? Qin State did it."
"When we came here, we saw fertile fields and vibrant life. There were even many business travelers coming here."
Wang Su heard this, thought about it, and said: "According to our country's previous research, it should be the policy of the King of Qin to immigrate to guard the border. He marked the wasteland as farmland so that the people could cultivate it on their own. At the same time, he suppressed the tyrants who annexed the fertile land, strengthened centralization of power, and based on the people. ."
"With such a drastic move, I have to admit that King Qin's courage is what I need to learn from. In addition, we also have to take a look at the border military defense of the Qin Army."
King Xuan said seriously.
