After summarizing the system's changes, Fang Er no longer felt any heartache for what had been hacked.
That open shop was simply a treasure trove!
So what if the prices increased? Was he someone who lacked money?
Once the Shijian Silver Mountain was taken, wouldn't vast sums of silver flow in?
The national treasury still owed him a lot of money!
Joyfully, Fang Er eagerly anticipated the next system refresh.
Glancing at the remaining tires in his space, he thought it best to use these good items as soon as possible.
Otherwise, if the system decided to upgrade again someday, he would cry!
He got up, put on his clothes, and pushed open the door.
It was still raining outside, and the courtyard was deserted.
Fang Er took an oil-paper umbrella and walked to the gatehouse.
Wang Duan, on night duty, was idly cleaning his gun.
A Dragon Tooth rifle had already been disassembled into pieces and laid out on the table.
He held the barrel, wiping it back and forth.
Hearing footsteps, he quickly turned around.
Seeing it was Fang Er, he got up and saluted.
"My Lord, are you going out?"
Fang Er nodded.
"You mind your business, I'm going to the workshop."
Wang Duan opened the main gate, started the pickup truck, and then retreated to the gatehouse.
The pickup truck roared away, and none of the dogs raised on the estate dared to make a sound.
They twitched their ears and went back to sleep.
The car stopped in front of the workshop.
He opened the door and walked in, taking out everything stored in the system space, one by one.
"Damn it, I don't trust you anymore."
The first thing he would do was build a safe to properly store those books.
Early in the morning, Fang Er was busy in the workshop.
The rainy Chang'an City was exceptionally peaceful, but it was suddenly broken by the sound of hooves.
A bailiff, riding a black horse, galloped frantically towards the imperial palace.
Outside the Chengtian Gate, he jumped off the horse.
The guards reached out to stop him.
"Who goes there!"
The bailiff, his face anxious, pulled out a memorial from his怀.
"I am a bailiff from Sanyuan County. The Jing River and Zhengguo Canal have breached! Tens of thousands of mu of farmland have been flooded, and hundreds of thousands of people in Jingyang, Sanyuan, and Gaoling counties are suffering!"
Hearing his words, the guards' faces became solemn: "Wait!"
After speaking, he took the memorial and ran into the palace.
When the memorial was handed to Li Shimin, he turned ashen after reading its contents.
"Summon! Minister of Works Du Yiyang!"
The guards did not dare to delay and quickly left the Erji Palace to find Du Yiyang.
Within a quarter of an hour, Du Yiyang arrived as summoned.
Li Shimin hurled the memorial at him.
"Minister Du! Is this your calculation?
You gamble with the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people in three counties!
You have immense audacity!"
Du Yiyang was startled by Li Shimin.
He nervously picked up the memorial thrown by Li Shimin.
After reading it, his expression actually calmed down.
"Your Majesty, this matter, this minister had anticipated it."
"The Jing River and Zhengguo Canal, I have assigned Supervising Officer Cui Yuanzhong and Cui Xu respectively."
"The land along the riverbanks is mostly owned by the aristocratic families."
"The impact on the common people is not significant."
"This minister has already sent people to stockpile large quantities of stone and cement near the riverbanks prone to breaches."
"It is expected that repairs to the riverbanks have already begun."
Li Shimin was taken aback.
The land along the river belonged to the aristocratic families. If they were not diligent in repairing the riverbanks, and their own land was flooded,
"This is unacceptable, isn't it!"
"Using the national treasury's money to do business for their own families, and still not being diligent?"
Seeing Li Shimin's furrowed brow, Du Yiyang quickly explained.
"Your Majesty, this minister sent people to investigate."
"The good land near the Jing River and Zhengguo Canal in Jingyang, Sanyuan, and Gaoling counties has long been divided."
"Most of it has been acquired by the Lu and Fan families."
"However, I have assigned Cui Yuanzhong to be in charge of this section of the river."
Li Shimin suddenly ceased being angry and said to the attending eunuch.
"Summon! Duke of Wei, Duke of Fang, Duke of Du!"
"Minister of Works Cui Yuanzhong, Hundred Riders' Commander Qian Feng!"
Du Yiyang was very shrewd; this move was brilliant.
The first to arrive was Qian Feng, Commander of the Hundred Riders, dressed in close-fitting attire as he entered the Erji Palace.
"Your subordinate Qian Feng, greets Your Majesty."
Li Shimin said.
"Cui Yuanzhong and Cui Xu of the Ministry of Works, have people been sent to monitor these two?"
Qian Feng took a small notebook from his怀.
He flipped open a few pages and began to read the contents.
"Cui Yuanzhong, from the Boling Cui clan, was appointed supervisor of the Jing River in the middle of the Dinghai year and Dingwei month, embezzling 2,200 strings of cash."
"He embezzled 2,000 shi of cement, which was used for the repair of his family's ancestral house and tomb."
"Cui Xu, from the Qinghe Cui clan, was appointed supervisor of the Zhengguo Canal in the middle of the Dinghai year and Dingwei month, embezzling 1,700 strings of cash."
"He embezzled 5,000 shi of cement and resold it to merchants, earning over 500 strings of cash!"
Cui Yuanzhong and Cui Xu, who had been summoned by the guards, had just stepped into the Erji Palace when they heard Qian Feng's recitation.
Their legs went weak, and they tumbled in.
"Your Majesty, this minister has not done these things!"
Cui Xu's forehead was damp, unsure if it was from being rained on or from cold sweat.
"Your Majesty, this minister is being framed!"
Cui Yuanzhong was also trembling as he tried to defend himself.
Li Shimin ignored them and instead asked Qian Feng.
"Is there concrete evidence for this?"
Qian Feng closed the small notebook and put it back in his怀.
"Your Majesty, for the money embezzled by Cui Yuanzhong, 1,500 strings were sent back to Boling."
"The remaining 700 strings are hidden beneath the floor tiles in his study."
"The cement cannot be hidden; my subordinates have already sent people to personally witness it."
"For the 1,700 strings of cash embezzled by Cui Xu, all were sent back to Qinghe. The money earned from reselling cement is hidden under the bed of his concubine, in a rosewood box!"