After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

The day before the river patrol team set off, Minister Tong finally managed to meet his grandson alone.

"Your Highness, please don't forget what I just said on your journey! Remember it well!"

“Oh, Grandfather, I know. You’ve said it so many times in just a short while. I’m not that old, how could my memory be so bad?”

Minister Tong saw that the other party still had a nonchalant attitude, clearly not taking what he had just said to heart.

The only redeeming quality of this child is his closeness to his grandfather and his filial piety.

In terms of aptitude, even if he is his maternal grandfather, it would be wrong to say that the other party has excellent aptitude and unlimited potential.

Sigh~ Well, I've done all I can. This time, I've even sent six more shadow guards to accompany me. With the twelve from before, these eighteen people are enough to protect Sheng'er all the way.

As long as you're alive, there's hope.

Thinking of this, Minister Tong said no more. Before leaving, he instructed Xiao Dezi to check the belongings one last time to make sure nothing was left behind.

The journey was long and arduous; no matter how good the goods were elsewhere, they could not compare to those prepared by the Imperial Household Department.

"Please rest assured, my lord, I have made all the arrangements. I will take good care of you along the way."

Minister Tong nodded. He knew that the eunuch named Xiao Dezi who served his grandson was extremely clever. With such a servant by his side, he was indeed much more at ease.

Before leaving, he gave his attendant a wink, and the attendant immediately took out a small, exquisite purse and stuffed it into Xiao Dezi's hand.

Xiao Dezi pretended to refuse twice, but still quickly stuffed it into his pocket.

Although this is the master's elder, it's better to accept it now. Only by accepting Lord Tong's money can the old man truly feel at ease.

After Minister Tong had walked away, the Fourth Prince patted Xiao Dezi on the shoulder and teased, "You good-for-nothing, you're quick to collect money."

Xiao Dezi chuckled and replied, "Master, Lord Tong has good intentions. This servant isn't after the money. It's just that at this crucial juncture, accepting the money would put your mind at ease, wouldn't it?"

The fourth prince raised the corners of his mouth slightly and nodded, not taking the matter to heart. He was just in a good mood because he was about to leave and wanted to tease his subordinates.

The next day, the river patrol team assembled outside the palace.

Although the emperor did not come to deliver it in person, he sent the Minister of War and the Grand Eunuch Feng Bao to deliver it.

These two combined are enough to demonstrate the emperor's high regard for them.

Minister of Works Wu and Minister of War were the emperor's right-hand men, and their relationship was naturally closer than that of others.

Moreover, neither family had any kinship or connection with the royal family, and there were no vested interests involved. Their working relationship was also relatively simple.

Jiang Changqing, looking anxious and conflicted, hid at the very end of the group. After all, he was the lowest-ranking official in the group, so it was normal for him to be at the back.

Only some low-ranking officials followed behind him, with soldiers from the army providing cover and escort.

All civil officials were provided with carriages according to their rank, but the level of luxury and size of the carriages varied.

Of course, as the head of the group, Lord Wu's carriage could not be more luxurious than the Fourth Prince's.

The fourth prince, who was the deputy chief official, also had his carriage at the very front of the procession.

Jiang Wenqing glanced at the carriage arrangement and felt much more at ease. He and the Fourth Prince were one at the front and the other at the rear, separated by more than a dozen carriages, so they had no chance of meeting.

That's good, that's good. At this moment, he was quite glad that his official position was small enough.

Who says a low-ranking official position is bad? A low-ranking official position is great!

A solemn and dignified drumbeat rang out, and the procession set off, marching in a grand procession along the main street of the imperial city.

The journey will begin by land, but will switch to waterway halfway through, which will make it more direct and convenient to inspect the river.

To prevent local officials from concealing or falsifying the true condition of the river, this was something Lord Wu had planned before leaving the capital.

However, apart from the emperor, only a few officials in the Ministry of Works knew about this matter, so as to prevent anyone from tipping them off.

After traveling for less than half a day, Jiang Wenqing discovered that the convoy had stopped in Tongzhou, which was under his jurisdiction.

This made him a little itchy. He had left for town in a hurry yesterday and forgot to bring his fishing gear. Now that he was almost home, it wouldn't be too much to go back to the county government to get his fishing rod, would it?

Since everyone was going to rest and eat at the inn anyway, he could just skip the meal, grab his fishing rod, and come back.

However, looking at the many soldiers on guard duty, he hesitated. It seemed very similar to what his son often talked about: "employees leaving their posts without cause."

But this isn't "unexcused absence," it's "excused absence"!

At the very front of the procession, the Fourth Prince Zhao Hongsheng, with the help of Xiao Dezi, stepped off the carriage to stretch his limbs.

Before Zhao Hongsheng could give any instructions, Xiao Dezi immediately handed over tea at the right temperature.

"Is this Tongzhou?"

"Yes, Master, it's Tongzhou."

The group had only traveled a few dozen miles and had not yet completely left the capital area. It was only after leaving Tongzhou that they were considered to have truly left the capital.

Due to the limitations of ancient industrial technology, there were no rubber tires or shock absorbers, so even the most luxurious carriages were bound to be bumpy.

Walking these few dozen miles is manageable, but after walking several hundred miles, one will become increasingly listless.

Zhao Hongsheng handed the teacup to Xiao Dezi and looked towards the end of the convoy.

Whether it was due to an overactive sixth sense or because he had been paying close attention to the outside world, Jiang Wenqing suddenly had the feeling that he was being watched.

He immediately abandoned the idea of ​​going back to the county government office to retrieve his fishing gear, and listened to his son's advice to stay safe and sound.

There will always be stalls selling fishing gear and rods along the way, and since this is a patrol of the river, how could we possibly leave the river behind?

With a river, a fishing rod, and Jiang Wenqing, how could there be a shortage of fish?

Hehe, this team has hundreds of people, and they still can't catch a dozen or so fish every day? This job is simply the best fishing route.

I originally intended to bring my two advisors, Qian and Xing, but they were both too busy to come.

Sigh, what a great opportunity for a "publicly funded trip"! Why are these two so busy? What are they busy with?

Master Qian VS Master Xing: Oh, what a coincidence! We've been wondering the same thing, why is being a master advisor so busy?

However, when Landlord Jiang heard that his foolish son had actually received a transfer order from the Ministry of Works, he was extremely anxious.

Fortunately, before his grandson left, he left two capable people by his side. Now, he had to spare one clever and adaptable Mr. Sun to go with Jiang Wenqing.

This Mr. Sun was essentially a staff member. Normally, the Chiang family members were all minor officials of the sixth or seventh rank, with the highest being only a fourth-rank vice minister, so they didn't need any staff members at all.

However, over the years, Jiang Xiaoqi has helped Lin Feng discover many talented and capable scholars and even those who have failed to achieve their ambitions.

They offered him large sums of money, either to support his continued scientific research or to help him acquire property, with the only requirement being that he be used by the Chiang family.

This is similar to the clan school established by Jiang Changqing. To this day, the Jiang clan school still sponsors the education of bright children from poor families, and even helps them take the imperial examinations for the lowest level of education.

However, these people in the clan school have only just stepped into the threshold of learning, and it will take longer to cultivate talents who can be used by the Chiang family.

Jiang Xiaoqi, on the other hand, directly selects ready-made talents, providing them with cars, houses, and money.

They directly hire "executives," "assistants," "secretaries," and so on with high salaries.

He could be said to be slightly better than his great-uncle Jiang Changqing. Of course, Jiang Changqing might not have been unaware of this.

However, due to the Jiang family's financial constraints at the time, he couldn't afford to spend a fortune on talented men like Jiang Xiaoqi does now.