Do you know: I am Xu Jiazi

Chapter 728 Pest and Rat Extermination [Thank you! Thank you again! 36k words owed]

"What is your name? And what is your official position?"

Cao Yi looked at the camp official not far away and asked.

The minor official bowed and cupped his hands, looking at the ground and shouting:

"Your Excellency, I am a minor official under the Bianhe River Embankment Office, Canal Management Office, and Moat and Fortress Office. My name is Yu Chou."

"I live on Xishuimen Street"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Fang turned his head and smiled at Xu Zaijing, then whispered, "This clerk is quite clever; he knows how to subtly ingratiate himself with someone."

Xu Zaijing nodded with a smile: "Your Highness is right."

Cao Yi frowned slightly and said in a stern tone, "Just answer whatever I ask. Don't add anything unnecessary."

"Yes! Yes!" the clerk Yu Chou hurriedly bowed and replied.

"Since you are an official in this camp, find another laborer to accompany you to His Highness for questioning."

After Cao Yi finished speaking,

Seeing the clerk who seemed unsure whether to stand up straight or turn around, Zhao Fang smiled and said, "Forget it, don't make things difficult for him."

"Old man, please come out and say something."

As he spoke, Zhao Fang pointed to the old man who had just been called "Uncle Wang".

The old man blinked blankly, looking at Zhao Fang not far away.

Only after the imperial guards who were blocking his way made way, and Zhao Fang waved to him again, did he involuntarily step forward.

Seeing the old man who had walked behind the minor official Yu Chou and still seemed confused about what had happened, Xu Zaijing smiled and said, "Old man, don't be nervous. His Highness the Crown Prince just wants to ask you a few questions."

"too"

The old man's lips moved slightly, but before he could utter a complete word, his legs went weak, and he knelt directly on the ground.

"Hey!" Zhao Fang shook his head with a smile.

The official was quick-witted and immediately stepped aside to help the old man up.

"This old man, this old man, please forgive me, Your Highness, for making such a fool of me!"

"Even in the grandest of dreams, I wouldn't dare to dream of seeing His Highness's true face."

As he spoke, the old man glanced at the people near Zhao Fang a few more times.

"Old man, why are you looking at the generals around me again?" Zhao Fang asked with a smile.

This Uncle Wang was clearly not a fool. After a quick thought, he said, "The one who can accompany and protect His Highness must be an extremely powerful general, a celestial being descended from heaven as the God of War!"

"If this old man takes a few more glances, he can absorb some of the noble aura and bring blessings to his family."

Hearing this,

Not only Xu Zaijing, but even the usually stern He Guan couldn't help but smile.

Zhao Fang smiled and nodded, saying, "May I ask your age, sir? And where do you live?"

"No need for formalities, I'm fifty-four this year," the old man said, gesturing. "I'm from Yangwu County, and this is my sixth time coming to Bianjing to dredge silt."

"Wow! You've come so many times already," Zhao Fang said with a smile. "How does this year compare to the previous times?"

The old man nodded repeatedly with a slight sigh, saying, "Compared to the previous times, this year is much better! There are now charcoal stoves in the workers' shed, and we also have ginger soup and meat porridge."

"In fact, it's more enjoyable than being at home."

As the old man spoke, Zhao Fang glanced behind him a few times.

Looking at the many laborers standing there, and hearing the old man's words, many nodded in agreement.

Zhao Fang felt relieved, then smiled and looked at the clerk Yu Chou, asking a few more questions about how many cartloads of meat, rice, and coal had been transported.

The official answered truthfully.

Zhao Fang then asked, "Winter is bitterly cold, and dredging requires going into the water, which makes it easy to catch a cold. Is there a doctor in the camp?"

"Your Highness, the physician comes every other day."

"Ok!"

After asking a few more questions, Zhao Fang said loudly, "Dredging is a major task at the end of the year, and you must not slack off."

"Yes, I will keep it in mind!"

The official bowed and said.

Zhao Fang smiled and nodded, then turned and walked towards his mount.

Zhao Fang nimbly dismounted, looked down at the laborers in the camp who were staring at him, smiled, and then gently pulled on the reins and walked out of the camp.

"Congratulations, Your Highness!"

As the minor official shouted loudly, the laborers in the camp echoed his words.

The group rode their horses out of the camp, the shouts behind them still very loud.

At this moment, Xu Zaijing, who was following behind Zhao Fang, noticed that several people dressed in official robes were being blocked by the Imperial Guards on the side of the road.

Zhao Fang slowed his horse down, and after several officials in their robes bowed and greeted him, and introduced himself, he smiled and said, "You have done a very good job at this camp!"

Not knowing whether Zhao Fang was being sarcastic, the officials quickly looked up.

Seeing Zhao Fang's smile, the official quickly said a few words of self-deprecation.

"Good job."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

After saying this, Zhao Fang spurred his horse and led his men toward the city gate.

As the crowd rode into the city, the imperial guards standing watch at the city gate saluted.

After walking along the Bian River for a while after entering the city, the group entered a military camp.

Just like outside the city, the Imperial Guards and cavalry were already on standby.

Upon seeing Zhao Fang and the others enter the camp and dismount,

The officer in the wrinkled military uniform immediately knelt on one knee, cupped his hands and said, "Your humble servant, Wang Dongtie, a junior officer of the Xiang Army's Kaihe Army, greets Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

The soldiers of the garrison standing behind the junior officer also knelt on one knee and shouted, "Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Zhao Fang looked at the crowd whose clothes were covered in mud and said, "Rise."

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Stepping towards the soldiers, Zhao Fang looked at them and said, "You've worked hard dredging the river in winter."

"Your Majesty, this is the duty of your Majesty and all the soldiers. We dare not say it is hard work," the junior officer of the Xiang Army hurriedly replied.

Zhao Fang smiled and looked at the soldiers who were already wearing leather trousers that reached their chests, and said, "You are indeed much more professional than the laborers."

While Zhao Fang was speaking, Xu Zaijing and He Guan, who were standing next to him, kept looking around.

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness!"

"Was this item provided by the army, or did you buy it yourself?" Zhao Fang asked.

The junior officer forced a smile and said, "The imperial court will pay half the cost, and the soldiers will pay the other half themselves. With this item, they can work more and get more rewards."

"Yes!" Zhao Fang nodded and said, "Once the donations from the capital arrive, we won't need to collect the soldiers' share."

Upon hearing this, many of the soldiers of the Xiang Army who were standing at attention showed joy in their eyes.

Taking advantage of a lull in the conversation, Cao Yi, who was standing behind Zhao Fang, frowned and asked, "Judging from your uniforms, you're just captains in charge of a hundred men! Where are the commanders and deputy commanders of your battalion?"

Lieutenant Wang Dongtie was taken aback upon hearing this, and said hesitantly, "The two commanders got infected because of the cold weather."

As a son of a concubine of the Marquis of Tuoxi, Cao Yi had been in the Western Army for a long time. Hearing the junior officer's tone, he said solemnly, "His Highness is here. Think it through before you speak!"

Xu Zaijing nodded and said, "Although you are Xiangjun soldiers, you are still in the army! The crime of deceiving the Crown Prince is severely punished by military law, so please be careful."

After Xu Zaijing finished speaking with Cao Yi, he followed Zhao Fang and continued walking towards the barracks of the Xiang Army soldiers.

Seemingly influenced by Zhao Fang's mood, the winter sun was slowly obscured by clouds.

The junior officer stood there stunned, but quickly chased after him after a moment's thought.

Upon arriving near the barracks, the junior officer said urgently, "Your Highness, the two commanders of the two generals' army have not come to the camp for six days."

"Ah."

Zhao Fang hummed in agreement, then frowned and glanced at the barracks door.

As soon as he stepped inside, Zhao Fang's brows furrowed even more deeply.

Squat down,

Zhao Fang's cloak then fell to the ground.

Taking off his gloves, Zhao Fang reached out to test the temperature of the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) in the barracks. He frowned and asked, "Was the kang not lit last night?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

"And where is your barracks?" Zhao Fang asked again.

“Your Highness, this way please,” Wang Dongtie said.

The discipline of the Xiang Army was not as good as that of the Imperial Guards. They were the river-opening troops who did the dirty and hard work. Among the soldiers standing there, some would often look at the figures of Zhao Fang and others.

Although other teams were quietly reprimanding and maintaining discipline, some people were still whispering among themselves.

quickly,

Zhao Fang walked out of the junior officer's room with a frown on his face.

"Go and take a look at your kitchen," Zhao Fang added.

"Yes, Your Highness."

On the way to the kitchen,

He Guan said in a low voice, "Jing-ge'er, it's rare to see a junior officer like this who shares weal and woe with his soldiers."

Xu Zaijing nodded: "It's rare, from now on."

He Guan smiled.

Soon, the group arrived near a quiet kitchen.

Xu Zaijing and He Guanxian pushed open the door and went inside. After the two had finished their inspection, Zhao Fang quickly entered.

“Your Highness, the kitchen and storeroom are here,” He Guan said from deep within the kitchen.

Zhao Fang walked in with a stern face.

"call."

Xu Zaijing exhaled a breath in the winter warehouse, and a white mist appeared before his eyes.

Zhao Fang used his gloved hands to take a handful of grayish rice from a rice bag next to him, and frowned as he looked at it.

After scattering the rice back into the bag, Zhao Fang picked out a few turbid crystals from a jar and looked at Xu Zaijing and the others with some doubt.

"Your Highness, this is coarse salt," Xu Zaijing said.

"Is this what you usually eat? What about the meat, sugar, and ginger that were delivered a few days ago?" Zhao Fang asked.

"Your Highness, I brought my own salt and ate quite well. The things you mentioned were taken away by the two commanders on the day they were delivered," Junior Colonel Wang Dongtie said in a low voice.

"Ah."

Zhao Fang laughed in exasperation: "The dredging in the city is extremely urgent. The work is cold, heavy, and dirty, yet the commanders in your camp have such refined tastes."

The junior officer bowed deeply, cupped his hands, and lowered his head, not daring to speak.

"Let's go."

Zhao Fang clapped his hands and said calmly.

As soon as everyone left the kitchen,
Then they saw several fat cooks kneeling outside the house.

Upon hearing the footsteps of Xu Zaijing and his group, the men looked up and then knelt down on the ground, trembling and chattering.

Before they even reached the vicinity of the camp gate where the Xiang Army stood in solemn silence, a captain of the Imperial Guards came running quickly.

"Your Highness, there is a man outside the camp claiming to be the commander of this camp."

"Tell him to get in."

Zhao Fang said calmly.

"Yes."

Watching Xu Yizhou, whom he knew, leave quickly, Xu Zaijing didn't say anything.

Hearing Zhao Fang's words and seeing the figures of Zhao Fang, Xu Zaijing, and the others,
The soldiers of the garrison standing solemnly near the camp gate did not dare to speak, but instead exchanged glances with each other.

quickly,

A middle-aged man wearing a brocade cloak, fox fur earmuffs, and deerskin gloves rushed in from outside.

At this moment, Zhao Fang was already sitting in a portable armchair.

As he approached Zhao Fang, the middle-aged man staggered a couple of steps.

He immediately knelt down and said, "Your subject, Ma Pi, deputy commander of the Kaihe Army, greets Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

As he spoke while kneeling, the dust in front of Commander Ma rose slightly with his panting breaths.

“Raise your head and speak.”

Cao Yi said calmly.

"Yes Yes!"

As he spoke, Commander Ma raised his head and looked at the crowd in front of him with his slightly bluish eyes.

"Didn't I order you to get in? Why did you walk in?" Zhao Fang asked coldly.

"Chen, chen"

"Get out of here now and come back in," Cao Yi snapped.

"Yes!" Just as he was about to get up, the horse commander suddenly stopped.

He then lay down on the ground and rolled away.

They rolled around for quite a while before finally getting out of the camp gate.

Then it rolled in again.

The once-rich and elegant horse commander was now covered in dust and looked utterly disheveled.

Looking at Commander Ma kneeling on the ground, Zhao Fang said indifferently, "Your surname is Ma, what is your relationship with the Marquis of Jinxiang family?"

“Your subject is a concubine’s son from the Ma family of Marquis Jinxiang. The current Marquis of Jinxiang is your distant cousin.”

"Your attire just now was quite impressive and luxurious!" Zhao Fang continued.

"Your Majesty."

"Dredging the rivers in the capital is a major undertaking; why aren't you in the camp?"

"minister"

"Where have the coal, refined salt, rice, meat, ginger, and sugar distributed by the court gone?"

"minister"

"Ma Pi, his name truly reflects his character."

As he spoke, Zhao Fang waved his hand.

He Guan stepped forward, and before Lord Ma could react, He Guan grabbed him by the hair with one hand and dragged him aside.

“What about his entourage? Drag them in too,” Zhao Fang continued.

The order was sent out.

Soon, Xu Yizhou brought in Ma Pi's four close associates.

Sitting in the chair, Zhao Fang adjusted his cloak.

Cao Yi said, "Where has this convicted official been these past two days? Let me tell you, he won't be leaving here unscathed. Think it over carefully before you speak!"

Looking at the imposing group of people in front of him, Ma's attendants glanced around nervously, their eyes filled with fear.

After exchanging glances, one of them said, "Reporting to your Excellency, my master was enjoying himself in Liu Louzhong, which is not far away, yesterday."

"Earlier today, a layman from the capital came to Liu Lou to report that a nobleman had ridden out of the city on horseback and entered the laborers' camp by the river."

"I sensed something was amiss, so I quickly informed him, and he brought his men over."

"How did the rice, meat, salt, sugar, and other supplies in the camp get out? How much silver did you spend on them?" Cao Yi continued to ask.

"Crack!"

He Guan pulled out a section of his waist knife.

"Not going to tell?" He Guan asked with a smile.

When He Guan was in Bai Gao, he had taken many lives. But when he asked a question, the Ma family members didn't dare to look at him.

Xu Zaijing said in a deep voice, "This man, who came from the Western Army as a scout, is best at using torture on the enemy to obtain intelligence as quickly as possible. Do you want to give him a try?"

"No, no! We lowly people wouldn't dare to hide it."

As he spoke, Ma's four close followers kowtowed to Ma Pi.

After a while,
The Ma family members readily spilled the beans, revealing everything.

Deputy Commander Ma Pi sold one-third of the goods, and the rest were sold by Commander Gan Di Gan in the camp.

He Guan asked, "Where are the others?"

Ma's attendant: "Reporting to you, sir, I heard that Commander Gan has been in a bad mood these past two days, and he may be in the outer courtyard."

Zhao Fang shook his head and stood up from his chair: "I don't have time to wait for him. Cao Yi, send someone to arrest him and execute him here according to military law."

"Yes, Your Highness!" Cao Yi bowed and replied.

After saying that, Zhao Fang strode toward his mount.

As Zhao Fang's leather boots passed by, the deputy battalion commander, who was kneeling on the ground, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

suddenly,

Zhao Fang stopped and pointed at Ma Pi, the deputy commander kneeling to the side, saying, "Strip him of his clothes, leave him nothing! We'll deal with him together later."

"Yes, Your Highness!" He Guan bowed and replied.

"The two families are required to replenish the supplies that are missing from the camp by this afternoon."

With that, Zhao Fang mounted his horse and rode off with Xu Zaijing out of the camp.

Before they even reached the door, the soldiers behind them shouted loudly, "Long live His Majesty! Long live His Highness!"

Zhao Fang continued running outside without looking back.

walk for a while,

Seeing Zhao Fang slow down, the entire cavalry force also slowed down.

"Brother Jing, do you know why I'm so angry?" Zhao Fang exhaled a puff of white breath and turned to look at Xu Zaijing beside him.

"Your Highness is benevolent and cannot bear to see soldiers and civilians serving the country only to be mistreated, nor can he tolerate officers and soldiers selling off supplies."

Xu Zaijing said.

Zhao Fang nodded, looking at the street scenes of Bianjing along the way, and said, "There are reasons, as Jing-ge mentioned, and also because Tao-tao is pregnant. It seems that Father and Mother are even more nervous than I am."

"After hearing what you said after entering the palace, Father and Mother also wanted to pray for the baby in Tao Tao's belly."

"But to my surprise, they were incredibly audacious."

"Brother Jing, do you feel there's anything wrong with what I'm doing?"

Xu Zaijing shook his head and said resolutely, "Your Highness, these parasites who drink the blood and eat the flesh of soldiers are the will of the people. It is the people's wish to get rid of them."

"If Your Highness hadn't been in such a hurry to get to the next place, I might have taken matters into my own hands."

"Aren't you afraid of offending people?" Zhao Fang laughed heartily.

Xu Zaijing shook his head: "Killing insects and rats, how can that offend anyone?"

"Hahahaha!" Zhao Fang laughed and patted Xu Zaijing on the shoulder: "Let's go! Let's check out the next place!"

(End of this chapter)