Royal Gold Magistrate

Guo Tianyang widened his eyes, looking ahead with an expression of disbelief on his face.

Then he quickly stuck his head out and looked back.

After that, he turned back and rubbed his eyes vigorously.

The road behind them lay in ruins, with mud and rubble everywhere, but the road in front of them was smooth!

There wasn’t even a hint of unevenness visible!

The blackish-gray road surface reflected a strange luster in the sunlight, with stone slabs lining both sides.

The violent jolt just now had occurred when the carriage hit the junction between the new and old roads.

Guo Tianyang exclaimed in shock, “H-How can there be such a road!”

The coachman looked aggrieved, “This is my first time here too…”

Guo Tianyang hurriedly crawled back into the carriage, “Your Majesty, you should come out and take a look!”

The Emperor furrowed his brows and then also leaned out of the carriage.

Just like Guo Tianyang, he was stunned. Before them lay a straight road, with green crops planted on either side.

He had never seen such a sight before!

“Guo, are you sure this is within the territory of Taoyuan County?!”

Guo Tianyang carefully checked the map again and then nodded vigorously.

“Yes! This is it!”

The carriage continued moving, but the ride felt exceptionally smooth.

With the cool breeze blowing and such a refreshing scene, the tension on the Emperor’s face couldn’t help but ease.

“I never expected to find such a place less than a hundred miles from the capital. It seems we must visit Taoyuan County no matter what!”

Guo Tianyang couldn’t help but agree, “Even the roads are built so elegantly here. The officials in this place must be remarkable.”

After another half an hour, signs of human activity gradually appeared on the road, with many people traveling by carriage.

There were even many farmers visible in the fields on both sides.

The Emperor nodded in satisfaction.

He never imagined that such a small county could be so well-managed!

It seemed that the local officials were indeed exceptional, but why were they so unknown?

The lush greenery passed by continuously, and the distant city walls gradually came into view.

…………

As they approached, the Emperor, Guo Tianyang, and the coachman all opened their mouths wide!

Before them, what was supposed to be Taoyuan County turned out to be a fortified city!

The walls, constructed from grey-white bricks, towered more than ten meters high. Each part showed a toughness like steel, a fortress that stood strong against the passage of time.

Above the city gate hung a golden sign that read: “Taoyuan County!”

At this moment, the Emperor couldn’t care less about being shocked.

Suppressing his anger, he said to Guo Tianyang, “Guo, come here!”

Guo Tianyang was trembling with fear, but he still dismissed the coachman first and then cautiously approached the Emperor.

“What’s the use of your presence! Less than a hundred miles from the capital, there is such a strong city! Why wasn’t this reported to Us by anyone!” the Emperor rebuked in a low voice, his anger barely contained.

Having waged wars year after year, the Emperor had seen countless small counties, but none of them had such high-standard city walls.

At most, they would patch together mud walls. And this Taoyuan County was still an unknown small county!

Located in such a narrow position, with mountains on both sides, facing directly towards the capital.

If the enemy patiently cleared a small path and stationed troops here, they could directly take the capital!

Having buried such a big bomb under his nose, who wouldn’t be angry?

Guo Tianyang was in a panic at the moment, kneeling down and kowtowing profusely.

He really didn’t know! He hadn’t even heard of it!

No matter how capable the officials were, they wouldn’t come to such a remote place!

The curious gazes of the people around them fell upon them one after another.

The Emperor sighed helplessly and let Guo Tianyang off the hook.

“Get up, we’ll settle the score later!”

Guo Tianyang felt relieved. Having followed the Emperor since he was less than ten years old, he knew the Emperor’s temperament too well. Saying that meant he was basically fine.

But he still got up with a sniffling nose and tearful eyes, “Thank you, master.”

“Let’s go, into the city!”

After that, the two of them lifted their legs and walked towards the city gate.

However, they were suddenly stopped by three officials at the city gate, “Please show your pass!”

Guo Tianyang had already prepared it and handed it over directly.

After inspecting it, the officials returned it and asked, “What brings you to Taoyuan County?”

“Business! My master is in the porcelain business and came here to take a look.”

Upon hearing the word “business,” one of the officials smirked, turned his head to whisper to someone next to him, and then the person hurriedly ran into the city.

The Emperor didn’t understand, but he didn’t ask further. Obviously, they didn’t want others to know.

So he said, “With such tall and sturdy city walls in Taoyuan County, it must have cost a lot of money, right? Did the government raise taxes?”

Before the official at the front could answer, the one behind him laughed first.

“He asked! He asked! I told you so! Now pay up!”

The official who had asked earlier gave a helpless glance at the Emperor and then took out ten coins from his pocket.

Then he explained, “As for these city walls… they’re actually just for show. Didn’t you see the stone slabs stuck on the outside? The patterns are carved on them.”

“Our county magistrate found the earth walls ugly, so he came up with this idea. It didn’t cost much.”

Guo Tianyang: “…”

The Emperor burst into laughter immediately.

So that’s how it was! He never expected the county magistrate to be so refined! It seemed he had been too suspicious.

Seeing the officials lose money, the Emperor was in a good mood. He directly had Guo Tianyang take out a tael of silver and handed it over.

But as soon as the officials saw the silver, their expressions changed. With a stern voice, one of them said, “What are you doing! Take it away, take it away! We don’t accept this kind of thing in Taoyuan County!”

Guo Tianyang’s hand froze in mid-air, not knowing whether to give it or take it back.

He felt both amused and helpless. Where else would they refuse to take silver? This was really strange!

The Emperor also showed a pensive expression. Even such a low-ranking official had such awareness. Taoyuan County… was really interesting.

The two of them didn’t dwell on it and took back the silver, heading straight into the city.

As soon as they entered the city, they fell silent again…

Before them lay vast stretches of stone-paved roads, spotlessly clean!

Buildings lined both sides of the road, and there were many people on the streets.

There were even many street vendors selling their wares.

The houses on either side looked very luxurious, obviously newly built.

Overall, it seemed much more luxurious than the capital!

“Your… Master! They even paved the roads with stone slabs here! It’s… rare to see,” Guo Tianyang said with a serious expression.

The Emperor nodded solemnly.

Even in the capital, it had been impossible to be so extravagant with stone-paved roads. Most of the roads in the capital were still dirt roads.

Whenever it rained, they would become especially muddy. However, the stone-paved roads of Taoyuan County seemed to stretch endlessly!

Most importantly, the vigor of the people on the street was completely different from that of the capital!

Everyone looked healthy and robust, with no signs of malnutrition. There even seemed to be quite a few overweight people.

Even in the capital, the difference was huge!

The Emperor’s doubts grew heavier.