Chapter 146 His Majesty Arrives
The three of them excitedly went to a big house at the foot of the mountain.

Deng Qianqiu had been waiting for them at the door. When he saw them, he started to curse: "You put so much medicine...it's causing the sky to collapse and the earth to crack. Are you crazy?"

Zhu Gang made a face and said obediently: "We know we were wrong. It was our fourth brother who did this..."

Zhu Di was about to refute.

Deng Qianqiu said angrily, "People only pay 10 taels of silver to open a mountain, and you are asked to demonstrate it to others. You must lose money on 10 taels of silver if you put so much medicine in it. How can you do this business? You have to make a living! Do you know that?"

Zhu Fan: "..."

"Okay, let's leave the next thing to the Qixia Mountain Hundred Households Office." Deng Qianqiu said, "The main thing is that gunpowder needs to be strictly controlled. The people can't use it casually. I asked the prince to apply for this gunpowder. Next, let's do serious work."

The three of them had no choice but to agree.

……

Yang Yuangao, the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, received an oral order from Zhu Yuanzhang and ordered him to inspect the Qixia mining area.

After receiving the imperial edict, Yang Yuangao frowned. He didn't like going to such a barren land.

The original memorial was made because Yang Yuangao had heard that many people had become rich in the mining area, and he had an idea that it would be great if he could take back the mining area and place it under the jurisdiction of Yingtian Prefecture.

On the other hand, many scholars did come forward to complain, saying that people are now in a state of unrest and everyone is talking about gold rush.

Yang Yuangao was appointed as the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, and his reputation was very good. Everyone praised him for his outstanding reputation and his love for the people. Some people even said that he was well-known for his virtues and righteousness, his integrity, prudence, and fairness, and his diligence.

Of course Yang Yuangao had to be humble about this, but in his heart he was also quite proud of it.

He knew that as a provincial governor, the most important thing was to spread moral teachings, and to educate the people. Therefore, he was particularly strict with things that were against morals.

Now that he had received the order from His Majesty, he had no choice but to take action. He brought three shifts of runners with him, together with the assistant officials in the palace. He ordered people to play gongs to clear the way, and he sat in a sedan chair.

Halfway through the journey, a fellow aide came on horseback, panting.

This assistant was a pathfinder. Yang Yuangao was already considered an official of a very high rank. Because of this, if he wanted to inspect a place, he had to have people lining up to greet him.

"En Mansion."

Yang Yuangao stopped the sedan chair, drew aside the curtain, and took a look at his friend: "How is it?"

The aide said slowly, "The magistrate of Jiangning County has gone to the river bank. He has asked the county clerk to go to Qixia in advance and bring the elders of the county to welcome Lord Yang."

After hearing this, Yang Yuangao immediately showed dissatisfaction.

In fact, in Jiangning County, Deng Jian was obviously very dissatisfied with this.

Because Jiangning County is a county in the capital, the county government office is actually just one street away from the Yingtian Prefecture government office.

And Qixia is the suburb of Jiangning County. Logically speaking, if your prefect is going to inspect the county and comes to the county government office, it would be nothing for Deng Jian, as the county magistrate, to show some courtesy.

But what Yingtian Prefecture meant was that the prefect was going to Qixia in Jiangning County, so you, the county magistrate, should quickly bring the county's assistants, as well as the upper and lower officials, as well as the county's elders and gentry, to Qixia to welcome the prefect and wait for him to arrive.

When Yang Yuangao heard from his friend that Deng Jian refused to go and went to the river bank instead, he was stunned for a moment.

He showed an incredible look, but then he pretended to be calm. He just smiled and said, "This County Magistrate Deng is very busy."

The assistant said indignantly, "En Mansion, you only sent a clerk. I said something I shouldn't have said. Who is Deng Jian? How dare he be so disrespectful to his superiors! He doesn't take you seriously. I'm afraid that his son has won the emperor's favor, so he doesn't take you seriously."

Yang Yuangao just smiled and said, "Okay, stop talking about other people's faults behind their backs. This is not what a gentleman does."

The staff members were discerning. Seeing Yang Yuangao being so magnanimous, they were even more indignant. "Enfu, he is not going to the river bank, he is deliberately trying to teach us Yingtianfu a lesson. If Enfu goes there, there will only be one clerk and a few subordinates. Enfu's reputation will be completely lost. What will the soldiers and civilians think?"

Yang Yuangao said calmly: "You know me well. People who don't know me think I am just showing off. People who know me will understand that if you cannot maintain the etiquette when serving as an official, you will lose the dignity of the government and even the face of the court, even if it is your majesty..."

He paused deliberately when he said this.

The friend hurriedly said, "What Enfu said is really thought-provoking. If Your Majesty knew how loyal Enfu was... it's a pity that in today's world, villains are in power. Even a heretic like Deng Qianqiu... can actually receive the emperor's favor. This Deng family father and son are amazing."

Yang Yuangao said, "Okay, stop here and be careful with your words."

Yang Yuangao was very unhappy at this time. He even wanted to go back home. When he thought about the bare land in Qixia and the perfunctory treatment given by Jiangning County, he became furious.

The assistant looked up at Yang Yuangao and said, "Master En, I know your dilemma, so I quickly went to Jiangning County to report. When I learned that they were being so disrespectful, I... I came up with an idea. I made my own decision, so please don't blame me, Master En."

The so-called secret agents were all recruited by officials and were trusted people. Yang Yuangao said, "Hmm?"

The aide said, "I have asked people to quickly invite some gentry and local elders from Jiangning County, using the name of Yingtian Prefecture. Not only that... I have also informed the county offices of the surrounding counties... and asked them to hurry... to Qixia. Enfu... I have taken the initiative... But my original intention is that if Jiangning County does not welcome them, then the surrounding counties..."

Without waiting for the friend to finish, Yang Yuangao pressed his hand to indicate that he already knew and did not want to discuss it further.

The assistant immediately understood what Yang Yuangao meant. This was done by him, and it was enough for Yang Yuangao to know about it. As for the specific details, the subordinates would arrange them. Otherwise, it would be ungentlemanly for Yang Yuangao to personally inquire about such a matter.

Yang Yuangao said, "It's not easy for everyone. They have come from all over the place. In some counties, I'm afraid it would take two or three hours for a fast horse to arrive. It's really hard for them."

After a pause, Yang Yuangao said, "Teach people to walk slowly, don't rush."

After hearing this, the staff member could not help but sigh: "The Enfu really cares about me, which is admirable."

Moving slower will give the counties some time to prepare.

……

For a while, there was chaos in Yingtian Prefecture.

Many fast horses delivered the news to the counties, and the county magistrates dared not neglect it. This matter, once the Yingtian Prefecture was informed, would be a matter of greater importance than heaven. If you pretend to be deaf and dumb, you will be guilty of a thousand deaths.

Therefore, the county magistrates and their assistants immediately rode their horses at full speed to Qixia.

The academician of Yingtian Prefecture had also taken action, and quickly informed all the scholars, gentry, and elders in the prefecture who could make it, and they also hurried to Qixia.

There happened to be a post station at the junction of Qixia and the capital.

The postmaster of Qixia Post was shocked when he received the notification from the government, and then he could not help but be speechless. For such a matter, the county should have been the first to inform, so why did the government inform it first?
No matter what he thought, his place soon became lively.

The first to arrive were many gentry and scholars, some wearing silk scarves and Confucian robes, some wearing square turbans, and all of them had rosy faces.

After a while, the magistrate of Shangyuan County arrived with many assistant officials and runners.

Shangyuan County and Jiangning County are adjacent to each other and not far from here, so we arrived the earliest.

Wu Chen, the magistrate of Shangyuan County, simply became the guest of honor to welcome the prefect's inspection. He immediately ordered people to prepare tea, banquets, and various fruits and vegetables. He also ordered people to spread linen cloth in front of the post station to prevent the prefect's boots from getting dirty when he got out of the sedan chair and entered the post station for a tea break.

He calculated with his fingers and realized that it might be a little late by the time they arrived, so he ordered people to find a way to get more lanterns to light up the outside of the post station.

Wu Chen was in command and was very happy. Yingtian Prefecture was different from other prefectures. Although there was a distinction between the prefects and county magistrates in other prefectures, the position between a county magistrate and a prefect was not out of reach.

However, the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture had powerful abilities and could meet the emperor alone, and his rank was several levels higher than that of an ordinary prefect.

Because of this, to Wu Chen, the prefect was like God, the person who could truly decide his life and death, honor and disgrace.

It's a pity that the Jiangning County Magistrate neglected the prefect so much. Now, this time, it's a good opportunity for Wu Chen to show his face. Then...

Wu Chen was in high spirits. Soon, more and more people came riding on horses, so that this small post station was overcrowded.

Except for some extremely remote counties, there are now five counties under the jurisdiction of Yingtian Prefecture.

When the five county magistrates met, they felt relieved when they saw the huge crowds of people, and immediately went to the post station to drink tea and wait.

At this time, the sky gradually darkened.

Suddenly, someone shouted: "People are coming, people are coming..."

At this loud shout, Wu Chen and other county magistrates, as well as the county magistrates, county lieutenants, clerks, and teachers of various counties all stood up.

Wu Chen's face was flushed, and he even said excitedly: "Is it coming so soon? I heard before that Lord Yang's carriage is not fast. He is sympathizing with us officials and taught us to be prepared. I didn't expect that it would come an hour earlier than I expected."

"It should be. A lot of people came, and it was a grand event. Apart from Lord Yang of Yingtian Prefecture, who else could have such a grand event?"

"Hurry, I'll go and see you."

At this time, on the official road, a group of people and horses were surrounding Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang saw Hu Weiyong panting, so he smiled and said, "You are in much worse shape than me and Duke Wei. You are already out of breath after just a few steps. It's okay. If I remember correctly, the Qixia Posthouse is ahead. It's a good time to take a rest."

(End of this chapter)