On the pleasure boat.

Li Yuanzhao and his group were wolfing down various delicacies.

After more than ten days of traveling day and night, being jostled on horseback had left everyone extremely tired. After waking up, they were hit by a tidal wave of hunger.

When Fang Zheng had a table of delicious food prepared, everyone immediately dug in with gusto.

Halfway through the meal, Li Yuanzhao noticed Fang Zheng picking through the dishes with his chopsticks.

He couldn’t help but frown and say, “Old Fang, why are you being so picky? And you’ve even gained weight in the days we haven’t seen you!”

“I thought you’d be eating and sleeping poorly in Jianjiang.”

Fang Zheng put down his chopsticks and smiled awkwardly, saying helplessly, “This subject didn’t want it to be this way either.”

“But that Liu Xun was truly despicable! As soon as I arrived, he tried to corrupt me with fine food and women. But whenever I thought of His Majesty and Your Highness, my mind cleared, and I just played along with him.”

“However, during the time I was pretending to go along with Liu Xun, I picked up some bad habits.”

As expected of Old Fang, still the same old flavor!

Li Yuanzhao grinned and chuckled stupidly, then lowered his head to continue eating.

Fang Zheng leaned close to him and whispered, “How did you handle things with His Majesty…”

“Father Emperor definitely knows by now. I left him a letter. In a couple of days, someone might come after me.”

“If anyone comes looking for you, just say I’ve returned to the capital. Anyway, I don’t want to go back. I put in so much effort to get here, and after staying for just two days, they want to drive me away? Impossible!”

Fang Zheng hesitated a bit.

Getting Li Yuanzhao involved might lead to many complications, but having His Majesty’s people take him away directly seemed too underhanded, not his style of doing things.

He could only continue to persuade, “Your Highness, the newspaper and Banshan District are counting on you.”

“If you’re not there, won’t the other court newspapers take advantage of the opportunity?”

“Moreover, who knows what might happen at the newspaper without you there. It would be troublesome to sort things out when you return!”

Li Yuanzhao, chewing on a large piece of mutton with his cheeks bulging and his mouth glistening with oil, glanced sideways at Fang Zheng and said discontentedly, “Old Fang, are you trying to get rid of me? Are you afraid of trouble? You dared to kill the prefect, but you’re scared with me here?”

“Besides, you set up the newspaper. I’ve hardly had a hand in it. Whether I’m there or not doesn’t make much difference.”

“I don’t care. Anyway, I’m not leaving. If I get caught and taken back, you can forget about seeing my sister in the future!”

As Li Yuanzhao spoke, he inwardly smirked.

Miaohan has been begging Father Emperor for mercy quite often. By the looks of it, the situation isn’t good. Whether I go back or not, you can forget about seeing her!

Hiss

Fang Zheng drew in a sharp breath.

This kid has become so cunning! Damn it! He’s got me cornered.

“Fine! Then you can stay! But you must follow my arrangements for all actions. From now on, I’ll have Zhang Biao protect you.”

“If you were worried about safety, why did you tell the people outside the city that I had arrived? Isn’t that redundant?”

Fang Zheng chuckled, “How is it redundant? Tomorrow, you’ll come with me to the government office to convey policies to the local authorities. You’ll stamp the documents.”

Whether it’s one pot or two, I’m already taking the blame!

Help me spread out the risk before you leave!

Li Yuanzhao gave Fang Zheng a disdainful look and continued eating.

Seeing that Shen Yi and the others were still eating, Fang Zheng stood up and said loudly, “Brothers, when you’re about done eating, there’s another round coming up. I’ll take you to eat something even better.”

“This time, His Highness the Crown Prince has brought you out for team building, consider it a company-paid tour!”

“Don’t think too much about it. Take some time to go outside and gather inspiration. You’ll have something to write about when you get back.”

“As for food and drink, this official will cover it for you. If you’re hungry or tired, come back to the boat to rest. This will be your temporary accommodation.”

“Later tonight, there’s a place called Fenghua Tower opening in the city. This official will take you there to broaden your horizons. Food and entertainment will be provided! Everyone, enjoy yourselves to the fullest!!”

Hearing this, Li Yuanzhao immediately stopped eating.

Tugging at Fang Zheng’s sleeve, he asked, “Old Fang, is this Fenghua Tower yours? What’s its relationship with Xueyue Tower?”

“Your Highness will know when we get there. There’s nothing special about going there, just eating, drinking, and having fun!”

Li Yuanzhao suddenly lowered his voice, “If you keep taking the reporters out to play every day, they might not have the heart to work when they get back!”

“If people’s hearts are scattered, it’s hard to lead the team!”

“It’s not easy for us to recruit people! Before I left, I didn’t see many qualified candidates coming for interviews at the newspaper.”

Fang Zheng smirked, “They’ve been tired out traveling with you for more than ten days. Can’t you let them rest a bit?”

“Let them have some fun. They’ll work better when they get back.”

“Your Highness, don’t worry about anything else. Let me teach you!”

“When you get back, if anyone doesn’t work hard and always wants to go home early, just let them leave early while the others continue to work overtime!”

“After a while, everyone will pressure that person! Let’s see who dares not to work overtime then!”

“If they band together wanting to leave work at a normal time, then single out the ringleader, take him into a private room in front of everyone, and give him a raise and bonus!”

“Then create awards like ‘Glory of Labor’ and ‘Perfect Attendance.’ Give them to whoever works the most overtime!”

“You need to create a newspaper culture where overtime is honorable!”

“Educate the newcomers about the newspaper’s culture! Have the senior reporters tell them stories about how they started from nothing and now have houses, cars, and wives!”

“Don’t you think they’ll be excited? Then throw the newcomers into the most difficult and tiring positions. After a year or so, those who haven’t rebelled can be promoted to management to continue training new people.”

“After this, if anyone still asks to leave work on time, are they even human? Do they have any shame? Do they deserve the mattresses we bought for them?!”

“Your Highness, this is the art of management. I guarantee it won’t be outdated even two thousand years from now!”

Li Yuanzhao listened with cold sweat forming, looking at Fang Zheng with a mix of shock and anger.

He whispered, “I just wanted them to work well. If you do this, won’t everyone below be worked to death?”

Fang Zheng put on a serious face and said loudly, “Brothers! Am I good to you?”

“Yes!!!” The reporters responded in unison, their faces excited.

Fang Zheng smiled with satisfaction and continued in a low voice:

“If they do well, we can give them more money! If they can’t handle it, they can leave!”

“What does it matter to me if reporters work themselves to death? It’s not like I told them to do that.”

Li Yuanzhao: “………”

Seeing the Crown Prince’s young mind shattered by this advanced culture, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but comfort him, “Ah! This is all temporary!”

“Growing up is like this! Your Highness, think about it. When the court officials made you study, isn’t this how they treated you?”

Li Yuanzhao thought carefully and stammered, “It seems so…”

“Would His Majesty harm you?”

“No…”

“There you have it!” Fang Zheng said righteously, “His Majesty is definitely doing it for your own good. By the same logic, this subject is definitely doing it for the reporters’ own good!”

“We not only give them work and opportunities for promotion, but we also pay them every month.”

“So, am I mistreating them?”

“Hiss… What you’re saying seems to make sense!!”

…