GBP Chapter 383 What kind of divine treatment is this?
Chapter 383 What kind of divine treatment is this?
Emperor Zhu strongly disliked Xia Yu going to see Yang Shaofeng.
After all, Wang Qiong had to bring back a pound of small dragon balls every time she went to Ningyang County.
Every time Chen Zhong goes to Ningyang County, he has to bring back a pound of small dragon balls.
Now that bastard Xia Yu is going to Ningyang County again, won't that mean he'll need another pound of Xiaolongtuan?
Damn it, Yixing only sends twenty catties of small dragon balls as tribute a year, how can it withstand such a disaster?
However, Xia Yu had no choice but to go to Ningyang County.
Sighing, Emperor Zhu asked Chen Zhong to fetch a pound of small dragon balls. Heartbroken, he pulled Xia Yu aside and gave him instructions.
"Ask the questions you need to know."
"It would be best to solve all the problems in one go."
"Our little dragon group is almost gone, we can't afford to go through this much trouble."
"Go find the Empress and the Crown Prince later and see if they have anything else they want to take with them."
After waving for Xia Yu to leave, Emperor Zhu sighed helplessly and instructed Chen Zhong, "Make a note of this. Have Yixing send some tea buds as tribute, and also have someone plant two tea trees in the palace for us."
At that moment, Chen Zhong felt an overwhelming envy for Yang Shaofeng.
What kind of divine treatment is this?
The Emperor would rather grow and pick tea himself than delay Yang Dianfeng from drinking Xiaolongtuan.
……
Xia Yu hurried along the way and finally arrived in Ningyang County before Yang Shaofeng set off for Dengzhou Prefecture.
The first thing Xia Yu did after meeting Yang Shaofeng was to take out the little dragon ball that Emperor Zhu had given him.
"Your Highness, this is a small dragon feast that Your Majesty has sent me to bring you."
That fawning, smiling face—where was there even a trace of the living Yama?
Yang Shaofeng smiled and ushered Xia Yu into the backyard of the county government office. After they sat down as host and guest, he had a maid make tea and then asked with a smile, "Inspector Xia, what brings you to Ningyang County?"
Looking at the little dragon dumplings that the maid had prepared, Xia Yu felt as if a mouthful of blood was stuck in his throat, unable to spit it out or not.
What merit do I, Xia Yu, possess to deserve being entertained with a small dragon soup by the Prince Consort...?
After chuckling twice, Xia Yu bowed to Yang Shaofeng and said, "This humble servant has come to ask the Prince Consort for help."
Yang Shaofeng was slightly taken aback and asked, "Are you asking me for help?"
Xia Yu sighed and then explained all the problems at hand.
Your superiors say you must ask the questions you need to ask, and it's best to get the answers right away.
The point is that we can't let Yang Dianfeng get a pound of Xiaolongtuan for nothing.
After hearing Xia Yu's question, Yang Shaofeng couldn't help but look at Xia Yu with the kind of concern one would show to someone with intellectual disabilities.
The whereabouts of salt, iron, money, and grain were too complicated, and a reliable direction for investigation could not be found.
This is utter bullshit!
Yang Shaofeng chuckled and looked at Xia Yu, asking, "Did you bring the files of those officials and gentry?"
Xia Yu said, "I brought everything."
Yang Shaofeng hummed in agreement and then asked, "Did you bring the map of our Great Ming?"
Xia Yu was slightly taken aback, then shook his head and said, "I didn't bring this."
No, maps are something that anyone can carry around with them.
It's not a big deal if you, Yang, carry this around with you; your superiors might even praise you for it.
But who do I, Xia Yu, think I am?
If I dare to carry a map with me today, does that mean I'll dare to rebel tomorrow?
The day after tomorrow, my entire extended family will be buried in the ground, you bastard!
Yang Shaofeng, unaware of Xia Yu's thoughts, merely pursed his lips and shouted loudly towards the courtyard, "Fifty Fifth Brother! Send someone to the school to fetch all twenty-six students!"
After Limpy Wu agreed, Yang Shaofeng looked at Xia Yu and said, "Inspector Xia, please wait a moment. I will be right back."
No map? No problem. For the sake of that pound of Xiaolongtuan, I'll show you what data filtering really means.
After returning to the room, Yang Shaofeng took out a few sheets of white paper and then started drawing tables on them.
Take Zhili as an example.
A table was compiled to list the names and hometowns of all officials convicted of crimes within Zhili province.
A table was compiled to list the names and places of origin of all the gentry who committed crimes within Zhili Province.
Then prepare a table listing all the provinces, prefectures, and counties, and then record how many officials and gentry in each county were involved in the blank seal case.
Finally, the investigation will begin in the prefectures and counties with the most officials or the largest number of gentry involved in the case.
To put it simply, supplies cannot simply disappear into thin air.
These officials and gentry didn't just spring up out of nowhere.
To orchestrate such a massive movement involving officials from over six hundred counties, there must have been several key figures involved.
During the Ming Dynasty, officials considered only a few types of relationships to be reliable.
Fellow villagers.
in law.
Classmate.
Nine generations of relatives.
Therefore, the fastest way to find these key figures is to directly locate the prefecture or county with the largest number of gentry.
The next step was to interrogate the gentry of that prefecture and county separately, a task that Xia Yu was quite skilled at.
After the twenty-six students studying at the county school arrived at the county government office, Yang Shaofeng directly instructed Zhou Jingxin: "Take these few with you and, using the form I made as a template, compile a list of the names and places of origin of the officials and gentry in those files."
Then, Xia Yu watched as the twenty-six young students began to divide the work and cooperate.
Some people used the table drawn by Yang Shaofeng as a template to continue drawing tables for the capital and twelve provinces of the Ming Dynasty.
After opening the files, someone read out the names and hometowns of the officials and gentry.
Others recorded the names and hometowns of officials and gentry on blank sheets of paper.
The Ming Dynasty consisted of one capital city, twenty provinces, one hundred and twenty prefectures, one hundred and eighty states, and eighty-seven counties.
How could such massive and complex data suddenly become incredibly simple at this moment?
Looking at the twenty-six students who were busy working non-stop, Xia Yu became more and more envious.
After much deliberation, Xia Yu couldn't help but bow to Yang Shaofeng and ask, "Your Highness, are there any other scholars like this in Ningyang County?"
Ok?
Xia Yu, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, I was just trying to help you solve your problem, but you've set your sights on the students of Ningyang County.
Yang Shaofeng snorted coldly and pointed at Zhou Jingxin and the other students, saying, "These twenty-six students have all passed the county examination and will have to go to Jinan Prefecture to take the prefectural examination in a few days."
"Several of them have already been reserved by His Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince, and they will go to study at the Imperial Academy after they pass the prefectural examination."
"As long as you, Inspector Xia, have the ability to persuade them to go with you, I have no objection."
Xia Yu immediately shrank back, chuckled twice, and said, "This humble servant misspoke, I hope Your Highness will not take offense."
After speaking, Xia Yu couldn't help but feel a little envious of the students in Ningyang County.
What kind of situation is this?
They haven't even passed the prefectural examination yet, and they've already caught the eye of the high-ranking officials and the Crown Prince!
If this gets out, I wonder how many scholars will be green with envy!