The prefect Chen Shiqing was quite well informed. As soon as the convoy entered Qian'an County, he led the government office and Qian'an County government officials to come out to greet it.
At this time, these officials were kneeling by the roadside, respectfully, but they were quite frightened.
Why did the emperor suddenly send someone here?
Let’s take a look at who are the people here: the Chief Minister of the Cabinet, the Minister of Household Affairs, and the dark Jin Yiwei!
Why didn't these people make any announcement when they arrived at Yongping Mansion?
It doesn’t look like he’s passing by...
Seeing everyone getting out of the car, Chen Shiqing hurriedly stepped forward and saluted: "I am sorry to hear that you are so far away, but I hope you will forgive me."
Cao Nai glanced at him and said, "I have been ordered to come here on business, what are you doing here? And you are making such a big show of it."
Chen Shiqing laughed along with him and said: "Master Cao is enthroned in Yongping Mansion, and my subordinates have come to greet him."
Cao Nai suddenly asked: "Your name is Chen Shiqing, right? I've heard of you."
Chen Shiqing forced a smile: "I am ashamed of myself."
"You were originally elected as a magistrate. You first elected officials and became the county magistrate. After that, you achieved great political achievements and were promoted to the county magistrate. Later, you became the prefect's co-magistrate. Finally, you were transferred to Yongping and became the prefect. Among the candidates, you can be regarded as the best." Chen Shiqing replied: "Some achievements are not worth mentioning."
Cao Nai chuckled and said: "If you have no merit, how could the imperial court promote you from a county magistrate to a prefect? There is no need to say more about such false words."
Chen Shiqing was speechless for a moment, so I was humble, why did you take it so seriously?
Unexpectedly, the chief minister of the cabinet turned out to be a bully...
Cao Nai continued: "I've heard for a long time that Qian'an is the ancient city of Guzhu, so I just happened to go and see it today."
Chen Shiqing quickly wiped his sweat and welcomed the people into the city.
However, Qian'an City, like most county towns, is full of signs of decay and disrepair.
The rammed-earth city wall has been weathering for an unknown amount of time, but no one pays attention to it. Most of the streets along the street are dilapidated and look depressed.
Cao Nai waved to Chen Shiqing and asked, "Is this always the case in Qian'an County?"
Chen Shiqing looked a little embarrassed and hurriedly called the county magistrate Yang Guan.
Yang Guan had no choice but to bite the bullet and said: "This has been the case since the official took office."
Cao Nai and Jin Lian looked at each other, and then asked: "I heard that you have a Caijiagou gold mine here with huge reserves and huge profits. Qian'an County must have benefited a lot, right?"
A mine with such a huge market value will definitely recruit countless craftsmen and require countless manpower. At the same time, there will also be a large number of other merchants and related derivative industries.
If those financial reports are true, Qian'an County will definitely reap a lot of dividends.
However, when Cao Nai mentioned the Caijiagou Gold Mine, Yang Guan's expression changed, but he remained calm and said: "The Caijiagou Gold Mine is mainly located thirty miles northwest of the county seat, and has nothing to do with the county seat.
The relationship, the official... didn't know about it..."
Seeing his reaction, Cao Nai realized that something was wrong.
According to common sense, if a large taxpayer like Caijiagou Mining appears in a mere county town, as the county magistrate, it is too late to put money in his own face. How could he react like this?
Judging from what he meant, he clearly didn’t want to be associated with Caijiagou.
If something goes wrong, there must be a monster, and the county magistrate must know the inside story.
And the prefect must also know!
Cao Nai suddenly laughed and said: "As a local magistrate, you don't know anything about it?"
Yang Guan grimaced and said, "No...I don't know."
Cao Nai turned to Chen Shiqing and asked: "It seems that you, the prefect, don't know anything about it either?"
Chen Shiqing could only listen to his scalp and said: "Yongping Prefecture governs nine counties in one prefecture. It is true that I don't know much about the mines in Qian'an County. I hope Duke Cao will forgive me."
Cao Nai's face was gloomy and he said slowly: "Prefect Chen, you are so brave, how dare you bully me!"
Chen Shiqing was so frightened that he hurriedly bowed down and kowtowed: "Xiaguan...Xiaguan is the magistrate. He is in charge of civil affairs and ensures the peace of the country. If you don't...understand the rest, how can you talk about bullying the emperor?"<
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Cao Nai was annoyed. The prefect clearly knew the inside story, but at this time, he still didn't speak.
Now, the only way to know the truth is to go to Caijiagou and see for yourself.
"I've said something ugly before. If you don't say it now, it will be too late when we get to Caijiagou! Lord Jin, Lord Yuan, let's go!"
"Mr. Cao, please wait..."
Chen Shiqing said quickly: "It's still some distance from Caijiagou, and the road is inconvenient and the carriage can't get there. It's better to rest for a night. The official has already prepared wine and food to welcome the adults..."
Cao Nai sneered and said: "No matter how inconvenient the road is, I still have two legs!"
Chen Shiqing continued: "The official suggested..."
Cao Nai had no intention of paying attention to him, stood up and walked out.
When Yuan Bin saw that the two of them were not moving, he reached out and grabbed them on the left and right, and said: "Two adults, let's go!"
Come and try it soon.]
Chen Shiqing and Yang Guan stared at each other with big eyes and small eyes, and at the same time they saw fear in each other's eyes.
Yuan Bin pushed the two men forward and said, "Come here, take the two adults into the carriage!"
The convoy left the city and walked forward for about ten miles, when the road began to become rough and difficult to navigate.
The carriage kept bumping, and the people in the carriage could no longer bear it.
Cao Nai had been closing his eyes to rest. Now he opened his eyes, looked at Jin Lian, and asked, "What do you think?"
Jin Lian sighed and said: "The most important thing for mining in a mining area is transportation. Logically speaking, a smooth road must be built no matter what. However, the road here is rugged and it is difficult to walk. How did they manage it?
Transport countless minerals out?"
Cao Nai nodded and said nothing again.
As they walked further forward, the carriage bumped more and more violently, so the two simply abandoned the carriage and got on their horses.
Even though I am older, I can still walk slower.
Yuan Bin sent someone to lead the horses for the two of them, and they continued walking for about five miles. The road was overgrown with weeds, and it was not until evening that they finally saw some buildings.
From a distance, it looks like a village, but it is already dilapidated. There are wastelands nearby and no one has cultivated them.
The captain of the Imperial Guard who was scouting the road ahead held a torch, unfolded the map, and after examining it carefully, he finally said: "Commander Yuan, this place is Caijiagou. That's right!"
He specifically said that it was not wrong because everyone would think it was wrong.
Cao Nai and Jin Lian frowned and looked around, feeling as if they were in an ancient temple in the mountains.
This is what is described in the financial report. Caijiagou, who is making money every day, is he cheating?
Yuan Bin waved his hand, and immediately a school captain came forward to look for the way. Soon, there were shouts and questions from the front.