Honey, you didn't really drugged me, did you?-Chapter 616 - 186, what? How, how is this possible?

Chapter 616 -186, what? How, how is this possible?

Mianshui County.

Zhao Ya held a local specialty, a pan-fried fish cake, nibbling on it as she walked, followed by the three brothers Ah Da, Ah Er, and Ah San.

They had already taken a stroll around Mianshui County.

They found this county town to be not much different from the ones they had passed through on their way.

The lives of the common people were also roughly the same: poor and difficult.

This was the normal state of the people in the Southern Territory, but comparatively speaking, Mianshui County’s commerce was rather developed. It wasn’t like other lesser counties; it had even caught up with the larger ones.

This was related to the level of the ruling officials.

Zhao Ya ate her fish cake and nodded slightly, “This Yelu does have some ability.”

Mianshui County was originally a lower-tier county, not prosperous, and known as a place of poverty. However, after Yelu took charge, through his governance, he replaced the disorderly small guilds with one major guild. He clearly stipulated the amount of money all merchants and passing traders needed to pay to the guild, which saved them quite a bit of money.

This improved the business environment in Mianshui County, making traders more willing to do business here.

It was no longer chaotic and disorderly as before.

Once upon a time, when traders entered Mianshui County, they might first have to endure excessive demands from the government and then from the local guilds, not just one but many. Perhaps the Fishing Guild would come, followed by Guild Cao. After Guild Cao was done, the Beggar Sect might show up, and who knows who else after that…

But after Yelu took office, he made it clear, for example, that if goods were to be transported into South City, then only the Fishing Guild was allowed to charge fees, and no one else.

As a result, traders paid less money, and, having saved a considerable sum, they naturally would pass through Mianshui again. Seeing how orderly Mianshui was, other traders also frequently came through, and Mianshui County’s commerce began to thrive.

Thus, it slowly evolved from a lower-tier county into an upper-tier one.

You might ask if there was anything special about Mianshui County’s methods. There wasn’t, and the governance could not even be considered incorruptible. Yelu earned every penny he was supposed to, simply designating a guild to manage this affair. If other guilds had objections, it was that guild’s responsibility to settle them.

Just such a simple policy couldn’t be implemented in other county towns because the officials in other counties, aside from raising money, did nothing else.

This was also where the Mulan people fell short. They were essentially a grassland people, competent in combat, but lacking in state governance. Hence, the Mulan people of vision were also thinking about how to utilize the Han to govern the country.

This was the beginning of Sinicization, which was severely resisted by the Mulan nobles.

Princess Zhao Ya was an exception. From childhood, she was intelligent and quick-witted, excelling both in martial arts and political awareness.

Among her many mentors was a Han teacher. Under his tutelage, she learned a great deal of Han knowledge and understood what it meant to govern a country.

However, she was not someone adept at governance, but she greatly admired Han people who had the talent for it, and she often recommended them to her father.

Her father, though, was a typical Mulan noble who disdained the idea of Han governing the country. Yet, he was quite fond of Han martial artists, which was why Ruyang Royal Mansion had many extraordinary individuals.

This time, being sent as an Inspection Envoy, Zhao Ya had two objectives.

The first was to punish the incapable Darugachi, stripping them of their posts and, for those who were utterly greedy and had no bottom line, those who betrayed the court for personal gain, to sentence them to death.

The second was to identify capable Darugachi or Han people, to promote the loyal and courageous, and to select talents for the country.

On their journey, they quickly moved from South City through West City, passing through Shuijing Alley, which was full of gamblers under Qin Ying’s control, and emerged onto bustling Peace Street, which was completely transformed with its tidy roads filled with orderly crowds.

Upon entering here, Zhao Ya felt as if she had moved from a filthy sewage ditch into a crystal-clear pond, the feeling was strikingly evident.

“This place?”

Zhao Ya looked around, observing the clean streets with passersby moving in an orderly fashion, and on the road were guards patrolling, dressed in black with a Tiger Head embroidered on their chests.

The expressions of the people who came to this street instantly relaxed, and the looks of those who had been clutching their money bags as if afraid of losing them also vanished.

Moreover, there was not a piece of trash on the broad street, much less the stench of urine and feces that was common on other streets.

Indeed, this city was once a place where waste could be seen everywhere.

The people here were all bustling; the faces of merchants and peddlers bore smiles that were not commonly seen on the faces of those in other streets.

Zhao Ya was rather curious.

At that moment, she stopped a passerby, who seemed to have come from an adjacent street. The moment he arrived here, he stopped clutching his money bag and let it hang in front of his chest without covering it.

Zhao Ya asked, “Why do you not clutch your money bag upon arriving here?”

The man was startled and looked at Zhao Ya suspiciously, “What, what do you want to do?”

Hearing this, Ah San immediately became furious, “When my young master asks you something, you just answer!”

The man was scared by Ah San’s ferocity but quickly retorted, “You violent fellow, don’t be so arrogant! Do you know where this is? This is Peace Street, the territory of White Tiger Hall. If you cause trouble here, you’re making an enemy of the entire White Tiger Hall. Have you thought this through?”

“What White Tiger Hall nonsense, I—”

“Hey!”

Zhao Ya stopped Ah San’s impulsiveness and looked at the man, “You say this is White Tiger Hall’s territory. Does that mean thieves and robbers can’t steal or rob here?”

The man replied, “Of course, Grandpa Chen of the White Tiger Hall has made it clear: anyone who causes trouble on the four streets of the White Tiger Hall is making an enemy of the Hall. Plus, anyone who loses their money on the Hall’s territory will have it found and returned by the White Tiger Hall.”