Shenzhou, the west gate of Jinxia City.

"Phew-" Hong Siqile stopped his horses and looked in the direction of the gate. Through the city gates, he could see the flow of people in the city and the lively shops on the streets.

"Sir, this place ...... It seems to be more prosperous than expected. The servant Ding Pan was quite excited, "I thought this promotion was another debasement!"

"You have to be able to think like this, to prove that the previous losses are not enough, and you have not learned this lesson. Hong Siqi disagreed, "You don't want to think about it, if it's really a good position, why should the officials throw it to me?"

"Uh, this...... It seems to be too. ”

"I prefer a small town to a down-and-out town, at least because it doesn't have to be remembered all the time, and it's easier to get money. He touched the horse's head, "This place, I'm afraid that every corner will be occupied by all sides." ”

"That'...... What are you going to do, sir? Do you want to report to the government office first?"

"Register? The government has been served by Haikou, who should I report to? The top priority is to first inquire clearly who is in charge of this Yancheng now. Hong Siqi grabbed the horse's belly and let the mount slowly walk towards the city gate, "Let's enter the city." ”

He is the new Taishou who has been transferred from the Ministry of Officials.

As a jinshi in the Tianfeng period, Hong Siqi's official road in the first half was quite smooth, although he failed to stay in the palace, but he was stationed in the field for fifteen years, and he rose all the way from Qipin Zhixian to Wupin Zhizhou, which is the most proud time in his life. However, in the next ten years, he never got a promotion again, and every time he was promoted and degraded, it happened to be when he was laying a solid foundation and was about to make a big profit. This made fewer and fewer cronies willing to follow him, and even the promoted adjutant turned to work for the chief official who succeeded him, and sometimes Hong Siqi himself wondered if he was being targeted by a big man in the imperial court to be treated like this.

Until this time, it was no longer a flat adjustment, but a real promotion to Taishou, but he no longer believed that the officials of the Ministry of Heavenly Officials made this adjustment based on his political achievements.

Ten years of standing still is enough to change a person's ambition, he still had a grand vision when he was admitted to the Jinshi, and now he only wants to save enough money and silver, so that he can live a life of Zhongming Ding food and honorable glory after Zhishi.

As for the Taihe Hall in Gyeonggi, it has become an unattainable thing for him.

After registering his identity and entering the city, Hong Siqi quickly discovered that the city was different - there were places under construction everywhere in the city, as if Jinxia was not an ancient city with a long history, but a new place that had just been established.

Considering the contents of the letter of introduction sent with the appointment and dismissal order, he can understand that the city was attacked by pirates, and many parts of the city were damaged. However, this restoration is often extremely slow, and people who have lost their homes often lose their belongings, and when they become homeless or street beggars, the next group of people will replace them as new occupants of the land. This process can be a few months or more years, depending on the city's population and prosperity.

But here he was surprised to see that many houses were being built at the same time, and it was clear that they were not restaurants or inns, but terraced houses that were clearly habitual. Even the shapes of these houses are extremely similar, as if someone behind them is directing the construction.

"Wouldn't it disturb the people to break ground during the day?" Ding Pan pondered, "The government can use this as a reason to issue a groundbreaking permit, and a certain amount of money must be paid to start construction, and at the same time, it should be able to make a fortune by giving a certain amount of convenience to enter and exit the city." Sir, do you think I'm right?"

While collecting benefits, you must make the benefits worthwhile, this idea has always been taught to him, but now, ...... "Hmph, just copy it." Hong Siqi sneered, "From the style of the house, we can know that this is probably a collective construction, and it must not be easy for someone with such a skill." Your method can only restrict the people who build on their own, so don't want to get a piece of the pie from the other side. ”

"Uh...... Is that so?" Ding Pan touched the back of his head, "It seems that I want to be simple." ”

Not only that, Hong Si said in unison. What surprised him more than the houses was the sight on the side of the road—neither on the main road nor in the alleys, he saw no beggars. As a common figure in the city, or a faction of forces, they actually disappeared without a trace in Jinxia City.

He couldn't understand for a moment what had happened before to allow such people to disappear.

If they were attacked by pirates, they would have increased dramatically.

Hong Siqi decided to choose a teahouse as an entry point for himself to understand the situation.

He knew that once his identity was revealed, it would be difficult for him to have the opportunity to actually find out the details of Jinxia City.

There weren't many people in the teahouse, and there were only two or three if you counted the second child.

After Hong Siqi ordered a pot of spring tea, he called Dr. Tea over, patted a few copper plates and said, "Can you ask a few questions?"

The latter smiled happily after accepting the saliva fee, "Guest officer, just ask!"

"Hey, dude over there. Suddenly, someone shouted at him, "Your first time in Jinxia City?"

Hong Siqi nodded with some surprise, "Not bad." ”

"If you want to ask questions, just go to the General Affairs Bureau, where the answers are the latest policies of the government, so you don't need to ask Dr. Cha. ”

Dr. Tea obviously didn't dare to offend the guests, so he coughed twice and said, "The answers of the Secretariat are all serious, and there will be no gossip and anecdotes in the community." ”

What is this place?

And what is the new policy of this government...... Didn't you say that the entire government office had been served? He, the new Taishou with the official documents of the imperial court, had not yet taken office!

Hong Siqi arched his hand towards the other party, thanking the other party for his kindness, and wrote down the word "General Affairs Bureau" in his heart, "I heard that Jinxia was looted by the pirates a while ago, and the government was hit hard, so who is in charge of this city now?"

"Hehe, the guest officer asked well. Seeing that he was not leaving, Dr. Tea suddenly came to his senses, "There are two people in this Jinxia City who speak and count, one is naturally Her Royal Highness Princess Guangping, and the other is the new Privy Council Governor and the organizer of the General Affairs Bureau, Lord Xia Fan. ”

"Your Royal Highness Princess, is she managing the affairs of the city?" Hong Siqi frowned secretly - he had already roughly inquired about the situation here on the way here, and naturally knew that Jin Xia was the fiefdom of Princess Guangping, but what he didn't expect was that members of the royal family would intervene in the local political situation. "Nobody has ever objected to that? I mean...... Local wealthy families and big families and the like. ”

"Hey, why object. Dr. Tea sighed, "The guest officials don't know that on the day of the invasion of the pirates, the government did not resist at all, and the north and east walls fell to the enemy in a short time. At this time, it was the princess who stepped forward and led her personal guards all the way from the west gate to the east gate, and then from the east gate back to the north gate, and finally killed herself blood-red. ”

Hong Siqi automatically ignored the other party's exaggerated words, he had also been in contact with military and political affairs when he was the governor, and he knew in his heart that leading troops to fight was by no means a victory by one person's bravery. "What about the Privy Council, I remember they only deal with evil events, right?"

"Lord Xia was single-handedly supported by Princess Guangping, and he can be regarded as the actual implementer of the decree. Dr. Tea replied enthusiastically, "He is a great good man, and since the dereliction of duty of the government, he has set up a general affairs bureau. It is also helping the affected households to repair their houses, and distributing relief food to prevent the refugees from starving. Now there are also many recruitment opportunities there, and the employer is considered Princess Quang Binh, and the remuneration is paid on time and on time, so everyone thinks that Lord Xia's words are not much different from Her Royal Highness the princess herself. ”

"That'...... Who will deal with the law and order and disputes in the city?"

"Of course, it's the Bureau's quick arrest - they are not only in charge of evil spirits, but also in charge of ordinary criminal investigation cases. ”

Hong Siqi felt a loud bang in his heart.

It's over, it's over.

Where is this disaster relief agency......

This is clearly a government department that completely replaces the Jinxia City Government!