I embezzled 100,000 taels at the beginning, and the empress begged me to be more greedy

This account clearly records the buying and selling transactions between Anding County and anyone.

The most eye-catching among them is naturally the Jiangnan family.

One of the impeachments made by officials in the court was to accuse Jiangzuo of colluding with the Huang family in Jiangnan.

But today, Zhang Tingye looked through the accounts again and again and found that every huge amount of money was basically normal business transactions.

If they were really colluding, there would be no need to record these transactions in the accounts.

"Master Guo, is everything written in this account true?"

Zhang Tingye couldn't believe it.

If I remember correctly, Jiang Zuo was just a small county magistrate.

How could Anding County, a remote county located in the border area, have such an exaggerated tax revenue? How did it do that?

Master Guo nodded and said, "Master Zhang, everything here is absolutely true. There is not a single falsehood in it."

"How exactly is it done?"

Zhang Tingye was shocked and quite puzzled.

Master Guo explained: "Our Anding County has a prosperous business. The commercial tax we collect every year is nearly 700,000 taels. All the goods we make are fabrics, colored glaze and various other high-quality goods..."

When it comes to Anding County, Mr. Guo talks endlessly.

The fact that Anding County is so prosperous and has so much tax revenue is naturally due to the contribution made by Master Guo.

"If I have the chance in the future, I will definitely go to Anding to take a look in person." Zhang Tingye couldn't help but say.

"You're very welcome." Mr. Guo said with a smile.

Lord Zhang looked at the latest account and said, "If I remember correctly, the court only allocated 200,000 silver coins for disaster relief. Why is it written as 3.2 million here?"

Master Guo explained, "My Lord, these 3.2 million were almost all raised by Lord Jiang. He earned more than 1 million taels from the Liu family in Jiangnan, and raised 1 million taels from the Zhao family."

"Jiangnan Liu family, Zhao family?"

Hearing this, Zhang Tingye immediately admired Jiang Zuo very much.

Even the imperial court found it difficult to obtain funds from these aristocratic families. Unexpectedly, Jiang Zuo was so capable that he raised as much as three million just one month after arriving in Jizhou Prefecture.

"Did the Jiangnan family really donate money to the court voluntarily?"

Zhang Tingye expressed doubt.

Considering that the Thousand Cavalry Division and the Tiger Power Army both appeared in Yecheng, he even suspected that Jiang Zuo was using force to force these Jiangnan families to donate money.

Master Guo nodded and said, "It is absolutely voluntary. We all have a donation agreement. If Your Excellency wants to review it, I will go back to the government office to get it immediately."

"Donation agreement?" Zhang Tingye thought for a moment before putting aside his doubts.

Master Guo said again: "Master Zhang, please follow me and I will show you the construction of the reservoir."

"A reservoir?"

Zhang Tingye was puzzled and followed Master Guo.

A group of people came to the large construction site outside the city.

Zhang Tingye looked at the people who were working hard and saw that they all had peaceful expressions and did not seem to be too tired.

But does this project involving tens of thousands of people really not require the forced conscription of civilians?

Zhang Tingye just realized that he had misunderstood Jiang Zuo, but in his heart he still had some doubts about the "forced conscription of civilians".

Just then, someone shouted.

"Sir, sir, are you still hiring?"

"Recruit me, I'm very strong."

"Four ounces of silver is enough for me."

"I want three taels, as long as food and lodging are included!"

This group of people are actually rushing to do such hard work?

Zhang Tingye didn't understand, so he turned to ask Master Guo, "This project actually includes food and accommodation?"

Master Guo nodded and said, "Of course. My Lord, these people are actually disaster victims in Jizhou. It's already very good for them to have such a respectable job."

Zhang Tingye nodded, agreeing with Master Guo's statement, and asked again: "The four taels of silver that person just mentioned, is it for each person?"

Master Guo replied, "No, sir, it is actually five taels of silver."

"Five taels?"

Zhang Tingye was quite surprised. You know, in the Great Yan Kingdom, five taels of silver was equivalent to an ordinary official's annual salary, and might even earn more than an ordinary person.

"Five taels of silver per person per year, plus we have to take care of so many mouths, so we must spend a lot of food. I wonder if Jizhou Prefecture has enough silver for disaster relief?"

Zhang Tingye was quite confused about this.

But Master Guo said, "Master Zhang, you misunderstood. The monthly salary is five taels per person. Moreover, under the wise leadership of our Master Jiang, there is no shortage of food in all the counties of Jizhou Prefecture."

"per month?!"

Zhang Tingye was shocked again.

Looking around and gazing into the distance, such a large project must have employed at least 20,000 to 30,000 workers. So how much would the annual expenditure be...

"Does the government have so much money to pay the workers? It would have to be at least one million taels a year, right?" Zhang Tingye calculated.

"That's not necessary." Master Guo said, "Lord Jiang said that this reservoir will take at least two months to complete, and it will cost one or two hundred thousand, which is within expectations."

"Two months, impossible."

Zhang Tingye shook his head. He had inspected many government construction projects before, and each of them would take at least half a year. Could such a large-scale project be completed in just two months?

"Don't worry, our government is still recruiting people, and disaster victims from all over Jizhou and Yuzhou have also responded. I believe we can recruit 50,000 people next month." said Master Guo.

Hearing what Master Guo said, Zhang Tingye just found it hard to believe.

As Zhang Tingye walked, he came to the riverside and saw workers constantly stirring something similar to clay, and then pouring it on the embankment.

He walked forward and touched a part of the embankment that had been repaired, and was immediately filled with confusion.

In the past, the states of Dayan basically used wood and stones to manage water conservancy and build dams, and had never used such a stable material.

"What on earth is this?" Zhang Tingye asked.

"This is cement, a specialty of our Anding County. Once you add water and sand, it will become extremely hard in two hours," explained Master Guo.

"Two hours?"

Zhang Tingye turned his head and looked around, and saw other workers mixing this cement and even laying it on the road.

Such a solid dam can be built in two hours. No wonder Jiang Zuo is confident that he can complete this water conservancy project in two months.

Zhang Tingye was quite surprised by what he saw and heard today.

No wonder Your Majesty trusts Jiang Zuo so much and appoints him as the Governor-General.

Jiang Zuo was able to jump so many levels from a county magistrate, he must have some ability.

At this moment, Zhang Tingye had already figured it out.

"It's really strange."

Zhang Tingye couldn't help but marvel.

Today's trip to Yecheng was quite fruitful.

Under the guidance of Master Guo, Zhang Tingye visited the disaster relief work in Jizhou.

The imperial envoy could not help but sigh that Jiang Zuo had completed the task in just one month. No one in the history of Dayan had ever attempted such a feat.

After a day's inspection, Zhang Tingye immediately set off, preparing to return to Beijing overnight to report to the emperor.

Such a capable minister as Jiang Zuo must not be impeached...