Traveling back to the Northern Song Dynasty: Picking up a princess as my wife

On the third day after Li Zhen took office, someone reported that Wanyan Ping, the heir apparent of the Jin Dynasty's Zhennan Prince, had arrived in Tangyin City. At this time, his caravan had already entered the city.

Li Zhen was slightly taken aback: The heir of the Prince of Zhennan? He didn't seem to have any dealings with them.

Before Li Zhen could think further, he quickly summoned his men and hastily began to put on his official robes. This was the first time Li Zhen had worn official robes since becoming the county magistrate, as he disliked the color of them and usually didn't even want to wear them. But this time was different; the Prince of Zhennan was a powerful figure, and he couldn't afford to be negligent.

When Li Zhen, wearing his official hat askew, ran to the entrance of the county government office, the prince's entourage also arrived.

A tall, handsome young man stepped down from the carriage; he was none other than Wanyan Ping, the heir apparent of the Prince of Zhennan.

Li Zhen quickly took the lead in kneeling down to welcome him: "Li Zhen, the magistrate of Pingyin County, led his subordinate officials to welcome the Crown Prince. Please forgive any shortcomings in our preparations."

Wanyan Ping laughed and said, "Magistrate Li, we meet again. Hahaha..."

Li Zhen: We meet again? What do you mean? I've never met him before.

Li Zhen led Wanyan Ping into the county government office, where yamen runners immediately served them hot tea.

Looking at the young yet shrewd Wanyan Ping, Li Zhen asked in a low voice, "I wonder why the young master has come to our remote and impoverished place? And how can I possibly be of service to you?"

"Yes, of course. I was specially arranged to come by the Prince. Don't you have a grain and oil company? Our Jin army is fighting the Song army on the front lines and needs a lot of grain, so that's why we came to you."

Li Zhen smiled and said, "I never expected to catch the prince's eye; I am deeply honored."

Wanyan Ping said to Li Zhen with a hint of amusement, "Who do you think got you this magistrate position? It was only because I spoke well of you to my father that you became the magistrate."

It matches up now. Li Zhen's only question was: he had never met Wanyan Ping before, so why was Wanyan Ping so attentive to him?

Seeing that it was noon, Wanyan Ping stood up and said, "Alright, enough of this talk. We've been traveling and must be starving. Let's eat and talk at your Yi Jiangnan restaurant. By the way, my father specifically instructed me to order some of the Erguotou we drank last time from you. Magistrate Li, don't tell me you don't have any."

"Yes, that's possible. But Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) is quite expensive, and the money..."

"Father is absolutely right, you are a pure businessman. I really don't know if recommending you for this county magistrate was the right or wrong decision."

Li Zhen laughed: "I don't know either. This is my first time being an official, so I'll give it a try."

As they walked and talked, Li Zhen learned about Wanyan Ping's recent incognito visit to the area. The locals greeted Li Zhen with smiles, showing no signs of nervousness.

Seeing this, Wanyan Ping asked in confusion, "Huh, why aren't the people here afraid of you?"

Li Zhen: "Afraid? Why should we be afraid? Aren't officials here to solve the problems of ordinary people? Why should we make them afraid?"

Wanyan Ping was stunned by these words. Yes, why should the people fear them?

Upon arriving at the familiar Yi Jiangnan, Wanyan Ping went straight to the private room without needing anyone to lead him.

Wanyan Ping: "This is my second time here. You'd better bring out all your best dishes. You know, I've brought a lot of silver with me this time."

At this moment, another person ran into the private room. Everyone recognized him as Zhang Cheng, who had just been promoted to the position of prefect of Anyang.

Zhang Cheng, panting, said, "I only just heard the news myself. I was on inspection tours in the counties below, and even though I rushed as fast as I could, I'm still late."

Wanyan Ping smiled and waved his hand: "It's alright. I didn't inform you of my arrival this time; I mainly came for Tangyin County."

After we sat down, waiters quickly brought out one exquisite dish after another.

Every dish was meticulously prepared. In Wanyan Ping's opinion, the dishes here were even better than the imperial cuisine in the Jin Dynasty palace. Those dishes only looked good in color, but tasted very bland.

Li Zhen smiled meaningfully upon hearing this. Of course. These pre-cooked dishes in later generations are made with countless technologies and ruthless techniques. Not to mention the tempting colorings and MSG, the variety of plating styles alone would surpass all chefs of this era.

As they drank and toasted each other, they gradually lost themselves in the moment. When they woke up the next day, they blamed the Erguotou liquor for everything. In response, the modern Erguotou liquor said that it would not take the blame for this.

The next morning, Li Zhen led Wanyan Ping to open the grain and oil warehouses in Tangyin City. After seeing the dozen or so large warehouses filled with grain, Wanyan Ping even had the idea of ​​killing Li Zhen and taking the grain for himself, but in the end, reason prevailed.

Wanyan Ping: "Magistrate Li, the silver I brought may not be enough. Could you lend it to me first? I will have my father send the remaining grain and money over later."

Li Zhenfeng said casually, "Sure, but it would be best to use gold for the transaction."

After Prince Wanyan Ping escorted the grain away, Zhang Cheng said nervously, "Brother, you're really bold. Aren't you afraid the prince will turn his back on you?"

Li Zhen: "Don't worry, because they need more food."

Li Zhen's words were absolutely true. With the Song and Jin dynasties at war, trade between the two countries had completely ceased. Although the north still had its own grain-producing areas, the backward planting techniques at the time meant that the harvest was far from enough to meet their own needs.

Therefore, nearly half of the grain that the Jin Dynasty purchased was from the Song Dynasty to the south. When this trade ended, most areas of the Jin Dynasty suffered from famine. It was precisely for this reason that Zoroastrianism was able to take advantage of the situation and trigger a peasant uprising.

Li Zhen ordered the complete demolition of the original Tangyin city wall, and then pushed it outwards for nearly two kilometers in four directions, finally building a new city wall there with reinforced concrete.

At this time, Tangyin City resembled a huge construction site, with almost all the labor force in the city and surrounding towns participating in the construction. This was because County Magistrate Li Zhen had ordered that all those who participated in the labor would receive fifty coins a day, plus a full meal at noon and in the evening.

Those who didn't want money could exchange it for grain. In this era, grain was more valuable than copper coins. As soon as this news was sent out, tens of thousands of people spontaneously organized themselves to come and work.

In addition, Li Zhen also conducted a voluntary conscription for the people of Tangyin. Anyone who was in good health and between the ages of thirteen and forty could sign up. Those who were selected would receive a one-time settlement allowance of three taels of silver, plus one string of cash and ten catties of grain per month.

When the news reached the able-bodied young men, they all participated in the conscription. Regardless of whether they could go to the battlefield, the food and copper coins they received each month were enough for their families to live on.

It was from this period that people from the surrounding areas of Tangyin County began to flock to Tangyin City. As long as you weren't lazy and could cook, you were guaranteed not to starve. Over time, people from neighboring counties also began to sneak over, which aroused the resentment of the magistrates of the surrounding counties. Almost all the magistrates of the counties bordering Tangyin County filed false accusations against Li Zhen.