The world of film and television begins with the God of Medicine.

Chapter 1509 Attention
"Wang Yan, the registrar of Chun'an County?"

Prince Yu frowned as he looked at Feng Bao kneeling on the ground in front of him and asked uncertainly.

In the beginning of the series, Feng Bao killed Zhou Yunyi of the Imperial Observatory. He then bypassed Lü Fang and other senior eunuchs to rush to the emperor to report good news. Unable to survive in the palace, he was sent by Lü Fang to Prince Yu's side...

Young Feng Bao said, "Yes, Master, the Ancestor said that Wang Yan and Hu Zongxian share the same idea: they are afraid that if the grain price for buying land is too low, officials will force the people to rebel, ultimately causing chaos in the southeast. So Wang Yan brought this up in order to confiscate the property of the Hangzhou Assistant Magistrate and take the money and grain back to provide disaster relief..."

Prince Yu chuckled and turned to ask, "What do you gentlemen think of this matter?"

"He's like a pillow delivered to someone who's about to fall asleep; Wang Yan is quite something," Gao Gong said. "Now that he's lifted the lid, we can't waste this opportunity. We should send people to investigate; I refuse to believe we can't find Yan's faction behind it."

Zhang Juzheng shook his head: "Your Excellency, this case is probably difficult to investigate. At this time, the Hangzhou magistrate is probably already dead. To continue the investigation, especially in Yan's territory, is extremely difficult."

“That still needs to be investigated. Yan’s faction is not monolithic. The more chaotic it is, the more mistakes and omissions there will be, and the more opportunities we will have.” Xu Jie spoke calmly, but he made the decision directly.

Prince Yu nodded: "I also think we should investigate, and investigate thoroughly. With the case under investigation and Hai Rui and others holding firm on the pressure, we can maneuver in the capital, and the conversion of rice paddies to mulberry fields will fall through. If we can't fill the deficit, Yan's faction will suffer." Prince Yu was also greatly encouraged.

They didn't intend to kill Yan Song outright, because they couldn't. Their goal was simply to make Yan Song make mistakes, fail to accomplish anything, and incur the emperor's displeasure. Step by step, they would undermine Yan Song's favor, suppress his prestige, eliminate the Yan faction, and ultimately dismantle it.

Even though Yan Song was already eighty years old, it was precisely because he was eighty and wouldn't live much longer that they had to do this. The sooner Yan Song was overthrown, the sooner they could breathe a sigh of relief. Otherwise, if Yan Song were allowed to inherit power peacefully, who knows how much more trouble it would cause.

But to be honest, Yan Song wasn't having an easy time either. Before, he might have wanted to advance his career and help his family and descendants, but now, does he really want to be the Grand Secretary? His eyesight is failing, his energy is waning, walking is difficult, and he's short of breath when he speaks; he's long past the point of being able to do it.

Ultimately, it was the emperor who wanted him to be the Grand Secretary…

Prince Yu and his group devised a plan, and the next day they began arguing between the censors and Yan Jie's faction over the matter. They eventually reached a consensus that the case should be thoroughly investigated, and then another argument ensued regarding the personnel to be assigned to the investigation. Yan Jie's faction didn't want Xu Jie and his group to send more people, and Xu Jie and his group didn't want Yan Jie's faction to send more people either.

It was precisely during this argument that news of the unexpected death of Luo Zhengwen, the Assistant Magistrate of Hangzhou, who had fallen into a lake, reached the capital. This was a serious matter; such a coincidence was extremely rare, and everyone knew perfectly well what had happened.

Three days later, a special investigation team was finally established, consisting of the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate, along with an inspector eunuch dispatched by the Directorate of Ceremonial. This impressive team set off for Zhejiang in a grand procession.

Wang Yan's troubles came one after another.

Tian Youlu said anxiously, "Third Master, the river management office has arrested the people sent by wealthy families in our county to buy grain at the grain market."

"It's alright, at least we managed to bring some back. With a little extra food in our bellies, we can last another half month."

"Aren't you worried, Third Master?"

"Why should I be in such a hurry? The new magistrate must already be in Zhejiang by now, probably discussing strategies with the two departments in Hangzhou. The next problem will be the new magistrate's responsibility. I can just focus on making good bricks and building houses for the people. Isn't that enough to accomplish my goal?"

"Third Master, why are you abandoning your post now?" Tian Youlu was almost in tears. "It's not easy for those wealthy families to sacrifice their fortunes to help us through this crisis. Now our people and money have been seized, and they won't even give us grain. Third Master, what we're doing is not ethical."

Wang Yan, while working with the mold to make brick blanks, said with a smile, "Brother, you're my buddy, so you can't be biased."

"Oh dear, my ancestors, how can I possibly turn back now? I've been tied to this pirate ship, my life is hanging in the balance, there's no turning back now. Ten days' worth of food won't be enough, Third Master. We have to find a way to get the people back and get the money back."

Tian Youlu spoke hurriedly and with utmost sincerity, appearing every inch the good county magistrate who cared for the people.

This shows how much Wang Yan pushed people to their limits. Even a corrupt official who was greedy for money, lived a simple life, and did nothing for the people started to care about the common people...

Wang Yan said with a smile, "We definitely have to find a way. I remember that Xu Dahu confessed that the river management department was also corrupt, right? You can send someone with the evidence to the river management department to threaten them. Anyone who's even remotely compliant will have to release them along with their grain."

"What if we don't release it?"

"Luo Zhengwen is a cautionary tale; there's no need to be so foolish. Besides, our report has been submitted for half a month, and the news of Luo Zhengwen's death must have arrived by now. The court will have to make a gesture. We'll hand over everything we have then. I don't believe that those who want to bring down Yan won't investigate to the death without seizing the evidence. If they don't really want to die, they won't have any other choice."

"And then what?" Tian Youlu pressed.

"Then hand over the evidence and let this kind of person die! It's one thing for him to make money on a regular basis, but now he's harming not just one or two people, but more than 40,000 people in Chun'an. He's utterly depraved."

Wang Yan spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world, waving his hand to stop Tian Youlu from spouting nonsense about rules, "Hurry up and go, it will take a few more days for the grain to arrive, let's hurry."

"Yes." Tian Youlu nodded resignedly and turned to gather evidence to threaten his superiors.

He had been an official for over a decade and had traveled to many places, so he was quite knowledgeable. But all his past experiences combined couldn't compare to the thrilling experience of working with Wang Yan for just one month.

After Tian Youlu left, Wang Yan continued working on the brick blanks. After several rounds of experimentation, he was now able to fire red bricks. He just needed some more specific adjustments, from the clay mix to minor improvements to the brick kiln and the control of the firing temperature.

They weren't far from firing usable red bricks. Meanwhile, sand and clay were being fired up, and with a lucky break, cement would be produced. And with another lucky break, glass would be made…

At this moment, Qi Dazhu, along with a group of strong and burly brothers, pushed over several people who were bound hand and foot, their faces pale and their mouths gagged.

"Third Master, we've caught a few traitors. They were asking around everywhere, and it took us a lot of effort to capture them. Several of our brothers were injured in the process. This is what we found on them; they say they're from the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

"You guys are pretty bold," Wang Yan said with amusement as he took the token, looking at the words "Northern Garrison Command" on it and the smaller print on the other side.

Qi Dazhu chuckled and said, "What if it's an imposter?"

Wang Yan stood up and gave Qi Dazhu a light kick: "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and untie the four guards!" "Huh? Really?" Qi Dazhu quickly led the anxious group to untie the four guards.

"It's truly because the common people below are blind to your greatness; please forgive them, sir." Wang Yan cupped his hands and then returned the token.

The four Imperial Guards looked utterly dejected. Their intelligence gathering had been exposed, and they'd been captured alive by a group of local militia—a truly humiliating defeat. Although they'd held back considerably to avoid killing anyone, this was precisely why they were captured.

But that was the process; nobody cared about that. The result was that they were captured alive by a group of local militia!
It's not entirely their fault; Chun'an County is currently under Wang Yan's control, and everyone is united. Or rather, once unwavering support for Wang Yan becomes the mainstream, all other ideas are considered heretical, and they are forced to firmly support him—they have no choice but to.

If someone discovers a problem and fails to report it, causing negative consequences, they might end up being beaten to death. Even if they aren't killed, they'll be crippled and suffer endless criticism during their remaining years of existence, to the point where they might even contemplate suicide.

So when these people went out to inquire about information, they were already being watched. Someone secretly informed the local militia patrol team, and they were captured alive.

"My name is Zhu Qi. I have been ordered to come to Chun'an to find out the details. You don't need to ask about anything else."

“Wang Yan, the registrar of Chun’an, greets Seventh Master.” Wang Yan greeted him politely with a cupped hand, then turned and ordered, “Go, have the kitchen in the yamen prepare a good meal. It is only proper and reasonable to treat you officials well. I hope you officials will not hold it against us.”

"Hmph, if we cared, they would be dead long ago." One of the Imperial Guards couldn't hold back his resentment.

Zhu Qi didn't say a word, but just turned around and stared. The Imperial Guard who had been speaking froze, sweating profusely under his gaze.

After calming his men down, Zhu Qi smiled and cupped his hands in greeting: "We originally intended to investigate secretly and did not want to disturb Chief Clerk Wang. Since our skills are not up to par and we have been captured alive by you brave warriors, and we can no longer hide, we will respectfully comply with your orders."

"Thank you for your understanding, Seventh Master. Please!"

"No rush, no rush, cooking always takes time. Please trouble Registrar Wang to show us around and explain the situation." Zhu Qi said politely, then asked rather bluntly, "May I ask what Registrar Wang is doing here?"

"I promised the people of Chun'an that I would build them new houses. I am currently firing cheap and durable new bricks, and it is almost complete. Seventh Master, please come and take a look at the new bricks with me."

Immediately, Wang Yan led Zhu Qi and other Imperial Guards to inspect the brick kiln and the fired red bricks. Zhu Qi and the others even broke a few bricks by hand on the spot to test their strength. They also packed up a few more bricks, saying they would send them back to the chief craftsmen of the Imperial Workshop for their review and study, demonstrating a very amiable and friendly attitude.

Although the Embroidered Uniform Guard has declined in power and is no longer as formidable as the Eastern Depot, that only applies to high-ranking officials. For minor officials like Wang Yan, regardless of whether they are from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Eastern Depot, or any other unit, as long as they come from the capital, they are all superiors.

Therefore, Wang Yan adopted a "take advantage of the situation" attitude, no longer referring to himself as "your subordinate" but as "I," and became much more casual in his speech towards Zhu Qi and the others.

They wandered around until dark before finally returning to the county government office to have a meal.

The meal was, of course, very plentiful. The entire county could easily ensure that Wang Yan ate and drank well. There was meat, wine, hot food, and cold food. The cook's skills were also quite good. Even Zhu Qi praised it highly, though it was hard to tell whether he was being sincere or not.

"Judging from the actions of the registrar, it seems he opposes the national policy of converting rice paddies to mulberry fields?" Zhu Qi asked casually, while munching on a chicken leg.

"Seventh Master has misled me. Since it is a national policy, how can Wang Yan, a mere registrar of Chun'an, express any opinion of agreement or opposition?"

"Then why don't you sell your land?"

Wang Yan said, "Now that things have come to this, although I am only in the county and have experienced a lot, I have a certain understanding of this national policy. I have heard that this policy of converting rice paddies to mulberry fields involves adding 300,000 bolts of silk to overseas trade, selling a total of 500,000 bolts of silk for 7 million taels of silver to make up for the court's deficit. But if the court makes up for the deficit this year, will it be free of deficits next year?"

Next year will bring another deficit, and the people of Chun'an and Jiande are already destitute; they will surely rebel within two years. Zhejiang is a vital source of revenue for our Great Ming Dynasty. Externally, there are Japanese pirates; internally, there are civil unrest. If Zhejiang's stability is disrupted, the overall situation in the southeast will be thrown into chaos. Next year and the year after, our Great Ming will face even greater deficits. What will we do then?

"Registration Officer Wang's words... Zhu Qi pondered for a while, and still opposes the national policy." Zhu Qi took a sip of wine, his eyes not on Wang Yan, but focused on eating the meat, his mouth full of oil.

"No, national policies can be implemented, but they cannot be allowed to allow wealthy households to annex the land of two counties for ten or eight shi per mu, thus cutting off the livelihoods of the people in the two counties."

"The fields need people to cultivate them, and people also need to reel silk and weave it. Why is there no livelihood?"

"If the land yields more rent, I'll do the same work as before, but the harvest will be even less. If I go to spin silk and weave brocade, a mere steward can decide whether I stay or leave. I'll work from morning till night without a break, and the wealthy households will withhold my wages. My workload will increase, my illnesses will multiply, and my lifespan will be shortened. After three years, my family will be ruined and I will die. Seventh Master, you've seen a lot. Hasn't this kind of thing happened a lot in our Great Ming Dynasty?"

Zhu Qi said, "But even if the wealthy households buy land at high prices, they can't afford that much grain. Otherwise, why would they buy land in Chun'an and Jiande counties? It's because of the flood that land prices are cheap."

"How could Seventh Master not know how the Xin'an River breached its banks?"

"I don't know." Zhu Qi shook his head, then asked, "In your opinion, Chief Clerk Wang, how should the national policy be implemented?"

"It's simple. The government lends grain to the people so they can plant mulberry seedlings. This way, the people earn more and they also have silk. In less than three years, they will earn more and more. It's just a pity that the silk merchants are too greedy. They want to make every penny and are unwilling to leave any way for the people to survive."

Seeing Wang Yan munching on a pork knuckle with such a concerned expression, Zhu Qi was somewhat speechless.

At this moment, a minor official from the county government office ran over.

"Reporting to the Third Master, a group of people came and said they could sell us grain, but Qi Dazhu has already detained them."

"Give them a call and find out where they came from."

Zhu Qi frowned...

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