Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

The closer you are to the hall door, the clearer the sounds inside.

Then came a strange male voice: "Master Yu, I just told you that I only follow the rules. Regardless of whether what you said is true or not, if you want the fine iron, you have to submit a petition for approval. If they approve it, there is no reason for me not to give it to you."

This person is the Salt and Iron Envoy, Lord Fang Qizhengfang.

There was nothing wrong with what he said, and he did not mean to make things difficult for Yu Zhengqing, but he also did not mean to give Yu Zhengqing a back door.

"Just listening to the voice, it sounds very upright..." Shen Zheng hid outside the door and whispered to Liang Fu, "It's a good thing that two stubborn people didn't fight at the moment."

Liang Fu huddled up and listened to her "corner" and talked about something else: "Your Majesty has only been on the throne for two years, and he has vigorously rectified the Salt and Iron Administration. Many of the termites were confiscated before..."

Thinking about the situation at that time, Liang Fu rubbed his arms.

The Ministry of Works and the Salt and Iron Commissioner were considered "close relatives" and sometimes they were bound to come into contact. He had met some of them several times, but he could not tell that they had already become corrupt inside.

But after the emperor made great efforts to reorganize the system, the results were obvious.

Take their Ministry of Industry for example. The amount of refined iron they collected the following year was more than 10% more than in previous years.

This is the result of the people below pressuring you to pay - a 10% increase in the first year, a 20% increase in the second year, a 30% increase in the third year, and only stabilized at 30% in the fourth year.

Just as the two were immersed in the world of gossip, Yu Zhengqing's voice suddenly came: "Come in if you are here."

"Huh?" Shen Zheng turned around in confusion and looked towards the main hall door.

Oh - the paper side is translucent.

She suppressed her embarrassment, straightened her clothes, and followed Liang Fu inside.

There were only two people in the hall, and all the followers had been sent away. Yu Zhengqing sat in the main seat, and on his left was a cold-faced middle-aged man wearing a dark-colored gown without any ornaments. He sat upright with his hands naturally placed on the arms of the chair.

Looking at the teacup next to him, the tea had already cooled down, but there was no sign of drinking.

After watching this, this person conveyed six words to them - don't buy it, don't take it.

"Master Yu, I am back." Shen Zheng greeted Yu Zhengqing first, then turned slightly and bowed to Fang Qizheng: "Tongan County Magistrate Shen Zheng, I greet Master Fang."

After a while, Fang Qizheng said "hmm", and stood up and said, "There are many things to do in the office. Since Lord Yu has guests, I will leave first."

Leaving again!

Yu Zhengqing winked at Shen Zheng and stood up to stop him: "Sir Fang, the real master has arrived. I wonder if you would like to listen to what County Magistrate Shen has to say?"

Shen Zheng's face immediately frowned when she heard this.

How can you ask such a question to a stubborn person? Isn't this just waiting for him to reject you?

As expected, Fang Qizheng didn't even glance at the "real boss" Shen Zheng, and walked straight out: "No need. I have already said what I should say, I hope Lord Yu will not..."

"Master Fang!" Shen Zheng chased after him in three or two steps. She did not stop him, but walked side by side with him, saying to herself, "I heard that the iron ore yield in the company is quite low?"

Yu Zhengqing frowned when he heard this.

Your opening remarks weren't much better...

But he didn't expect that Shen Zheng's almost sarcastic opening remarks were really useful, but not in a positive way...

Fang Qizheng really stopped and frowned at Shen Zheng, his words full of impatience: "Sir Shen, you promised Sir Yu that you could refine steel, and I don't care whether it's true or not. I just say that you are the county magistrate and have no right to interfere in the matter of my salt and iron envoy refining iron ore."

After that, he looked at Yu Zhengqing and Liang Fu again and said, "Since you are appointed officials by the imperial court, I hope you two adults will not speak without restraint."

Yu Zhengqing and Liang Fu were both stunned.

He even taught them a lesson together!

Shen Zheng secretly comforted the two of them, and smiled at Fang Qizheng: "It is my humble official who has overstepped the boundaries, but if you and your Excellency Yu continue to hold back, I am afraid that your Salt and Iron Department will not be able to figure out the true method of purifying iron ore for decades."

Her expression was extremely friendly, but her words were extremely unfriendly.

Such a bold statement startled Liang Fu and Yu Zhengqing so much that they walked over together. The four of them stared at Fang Qizheng, waiting to see how he would react.

A trace of surprise flashed across Fang Qi's face. He didn't want to pay attention to Shen Zheng who was talking nonsense, but the curiosity in his heart kept driving him to react.

"What did you say?" He couldn't resist the deepest desire in his heart after all, and whispered to Shen Zheng: "Sir Shen, the method of purifying iron ore has been tested for a hundred years, and it is the best now. It is impossible..."

They have tried countless methods, and every slight difference will be recorded. They also boast that the current purification technology is relatively mature, so there is no reason to go astray.

His legs told him to go, but his heart instigated him to continue listening to Shen Zheng's "explanations".

Although he was a little curious about the steelmaking method that Yu Zhengqing mentioned before, in the final analysis, steelmaking was the business of the Ministry of Industry and did not require communication with the Salt and Iron Bureau. So whether what Shen Zheng said was true or false, it had nothing to do with him directly.

But...purifying iron ore is what their Salt and Iron Bureau does every day.

It was difficult for him to put away his curiosity and leave.

"About 20% of the iron output." Shen Zheng held up two fingers and asked him, "Is that right, Master Fang?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Zhengqing and Liang Fu quickly retracted their gazes and turned their heads away, looking as if they were trying to hide something.

Fang Qizheng looked at them with a slightly reprimanding look, but still nodded: "So what?"

Yo--

Shen Zheng raised an eyebrow.

He has a very stubborn temper and speaks in a very straight manner.

She suddenly held up two fingers and said to him, "What if I can double the amount of iron I can produce?"

"How much?" Before Fang Qizheng could speak, Liang Fuxian couldn't help but said, "Isn't that 40% of the iron output? Didn't you say before that you would know only after you have seen the ore?"

Could it be that Lord Shen had hidden some private goods before? !

Shen Zheng smiled at him but sighed in her heart.

She had said before that she had to see the iron ore before she knew the answer because she was afraid that the iron content of the ore might be different from what she already knew. For example, if the ore was of inferior quality and contained only 20% iron, then no matter how much she fiddled with it, she wouldn't be able to extract 30%.

But right now it was an emergency and she had to act accordingly. If she didn't boast first, she wouldn't even be able to keep Fang Qizheng, let alone get the fine iron from him.

There was another reason why she dared to make such a bet - the limestone and feldspar she knew at that time were not much different from the real ores in her memory, and the iron ore... should be the same.

Besides, the Salt and Iron Bureau wouldn't just pick low-grade iron ore for refining, right? That wouldn't be because they have nothing better to do.

Fang Qi was stunned, staring at the four fingers she raised, and said seriously: "Sir Shen, as an official in the same court, you should know that deceiving an official appointed by the court..."

"I know." Shen Zheng looked very confident and said to him firmly, "But there is a prerequisite. You should let me see the iron ore first. Let's see it now."

After reading it, you will feel more confident.

Only after reading it can you prescribe the right medicine.