When the first ray of pale morning light pierced through the window lattice, he was already dressed and seated at the head of the dilapidated but cleaned main hall.
On the table before him, there was no food or drink, only a blank sheet of paper, a charcoal pencil, and a bowl of clear, natural drinking water personally brought by Zhao Pan.
Zhao Pan stood behind him, holding a saber, like a silent iron tower.
Overnight, he seemed to have shed some of his soldier's fierce bravery, gaining more of the calm and restraint of a Royal Guard Captain.
Soon, Chen De, the Zhizhou of Yunzhou City, arrived in a hurry, led by a Royal Guard.
He clearly hadn't slept well either; his eyes were sunken, and his expression was haggard.
In the main hall of the Prince's Estate, the atmosphere was even more solemn than at the welcoming banquet the day before.
Chen Zhizhou bowed and stood below, his heart in turmoil. He didn't know what this Idle Prince, who never showed his emotions, was truly planning.
And Zhao Pan, like an iron tower, stood behind Li Chen'an, his gaze sharp, adding a touch of 肅殺 to the oppressive atmosphere.
Li Chen'an sat in the main seat, his fingertips tapping rhythmically on the table, making soft 'tap, tap' sounds. He still looked as if he hadn't quite woken up, with a lazy demeanor.
Li Chen'an's gaze slowly swept across the main hall. He saw the dust in the corners, the peeling paint on the pillars, and the old grease stain on Chen Zhizhou's official robe. Finally, his eyes settled on the bowl of muddy water on the table, which had been deliberately left and had settled overnight.
The thin layer of sediment at the bottom of the bowl was like a thorn, hurting his eyes.
"Chen (Prefect)," he finally broke the silence, his voice hoarse and irritable from lack of sleep, "I, this Prince, have no great ambitions, but there are two things I cannot compromise on."
Chen Zhizhou immediately bowed, listening intently.
Li Chen'an extended two pale fingers.
"First, my bed. I spend most of my day in bed, and if the bed isn't comfortable, I can't live."
He paused, then extended a second finger, pointing in the air at the broken earthenware bowl.
"Second, this bowl of water. I am particular about my palate, and I cannot drink sand."
His words were nonsensical, leaving Chen Zhizhou bewildered and unsure how to respond.
Li Chen'an leaned back lazily in his chair and continued, "The matter of the bed is easy. I brought my own craftsmen; a little money will fix it. But the matter of this water..."
"I thought about it all night. I feel that the affairs of Yunzhou City are myriad, but there must be a beginning. So, let's start by solving the drinking water problem for all the military and civilians in Yunzhou City. Chen (Prefect), as the parent official of a prefecture, you must surely have a plan for this, right?"
Chen Zhizhou's heart tightened, and a layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.
He had no such plan; for so many years, his only strategy had been to 'delay'. He immediately put on a sorrowful face and poured out his grievances:
"Your Highness! Your concern for the common people is truly a blessing for our Yunzhou City! It's just... it's just that this matter is difficult!" He extended three withered fingers. "Your Highness, please allow me to explain, there are three major difficulties with Yunzhou City's drinking water, like three great mountains, suffocating our Yunzhou City!"
"Firstly, there's no flowing water in the city; there's only one old well. Your Highness also knows that Yunzhou City has little rain, and the scarce well water is merely a drop in the bucket."
"Secondly, the Blackwater River outside the city, not only is it far, but along the way, Black Wind Mountain is plagued by bandits who kill and rob. For the common people to go out to fetch water is to risk their lives!"
"And finally, the Imperial Granary is empty, already stretched thin; we truly... we truly cannot afford to build water conservancy projects, nor do we have surplus grain to recruit laborers!"
He spoke with great emotion, summarizing it in six words: Can't do it, no way.
Li Chen'an listened quietly, his face expressionless, but his mind was already furiously complaining: Good heavens, he hasn't even started working yet, and he's already listing difficulties, asking for resources, and crying poverty.
This approach is exactly the same as those product managers in my previous life who tried every possible way to shirk projects.
However, he ignored Chen Zhizhou's complaints and slowly asked, "Chen (Prefect), you just said that the water source in the old well in the city is almost depleted, is that right?"
"That is correct, Your Highness."
"Since the water source is nearly depleted, how is this well water currently distributed? There must be a system, right?" Li Chen'an asked casually.
Chen Zhizhou's face instantly became somewhat unnatural. He stammered, "This... this well water concerns the great livelihood of the people. This humble official... this humble official dare not act on his own. It has always... always been managed by Liu Zhubu, the Zhubu of the prefecture. He is experienced and distributes it daily according to household registration..."
"Oh, Liu Zhubu has gone to great lengths then." He nodded, then changed the subject. "However, with fixed quotas, there must be times when it's not enough, right? If a family has an urgent need, such as for a wedding or funeral, or for boiling medicine for a patient, where would this water come from?"
At this question, cold sweat instantly poured down Chen Zhizhou's forehead.
He said with difficulty, "This... Liu Zhubu... he... he would spare some... some stored water from his own residence, to... to meet urgent needs."
"Is it spared, or sold?" Li Chen'an's voice remained calm, but it struck Chen Zhizhou like a bolt of lightning.
Chen Zhizhou knelt on the ground with a thud, his voice tinged with a cry, "Your Highness, please be discerning! This humble official... this humble official was negligent! This humble official was negligent!"
He knew he could no longer hide it. Liu Zhubu, relying on the only water source he controlled, had been privately selling water at high prices, which was already an open secret in Yunzhou City.
It was just that no one dared to speak, and he was powerless to manage it, so he could only turn a blind eye.
"That's interesting." Li Chen'an smiled, but that smile sent a chill down Chen Zhizhou's spine.
"Since Liu Zhubu has clean stored water at his residence, why did he not spare some to show respect to this Prince and the other esteemed officials present when I arrived yesterday? Instead, he made everyone drink this muddy soup with him?"
Liu Zhubu had the ability to provide good water, but he didn't. This showed that in his eyes, he didn't put the newly arrived Idle Prince in his place at all!
"Your Highness... Your Highness, please calm your anger!" Chen Zhizhou immediately kowtowed, cold sweat instantly soaking his official robe. "Liu Zhubu... he... he... he deserves ten thousand deaths! This humble official... this humble official was negligent!"
"Calm my anger? I am not angry." Li Chen'an's tone remained calm. "I am just thinking about one question: such a small matter as a bowl of water, and the people below can be so deceptive and perfunctory."
"Then what would the situation be like for major governance matters concerning the lives and property of all the people in the city?"
He stood up, walked to Chen Zhizhou, and looked down at him.
"Chen (Prefect), I now understand that the biggest problem in Yunzhou City is not a lack of drinking water, nor banditry, nor poverty."
"It is the administration."
"It is that people's hearts have rotted, and the rules have broken down."
He leaned down, his voice extremely low, but every word clearly reached Chen Zhizhou's ears:
"Therefore, I have decided that this administration must also begin with this bowl of water. I want to see with my own eyes who exactly wants me, and the people of this entire city, to continue drinking this muddy water."
Chen Zhizhou collapsed on the ground, unable to even beg for mercy. He knew that this Idle Prince was going to get serious.
Li Chen'an straightened up, returned to the main seat, and resumed his previous lazy demeanor, as if those scathing words had not come from his mouth.
He picked up his teacup, but inwardly, he was furiously complaining: Damn it, dealing with these ancient people is too tiring; everything has to be said in a roundabout way.
Isn't it just a department head who is disobedient and wants to sideline the new project manager? In my previous life, I would have just sent an email to the big boss and had him fired!
He took a sip of tea and continued to assign tasks in the tone of a project manager.
"Alright, Chen (Prefect), get up. I will not pursue your past dereliction of duty; I will only look at your future performance." He paused. "You just said that there are three major difficulties in solving the water problem, right?"
Chen Zhizhou quickly scrambled up from the ground, saying in a trembling voice, "Yes, yes... This humble official is ignorant..."
"No, you spoke very logically." Li Chen'an praised him instead. "That's very good; understanding how to analyze a problem is the first step to solving it. Now, I will help you break down these three major difficulties into three actionable tasks."
He walked to the map of Yunzhou City hanging on the wall and picked up a charcoal pencil.
"Task one: Technical breakthrough." He pointed at the Blackwater River on the map. "The river water is turbid, not undrinkable, but it needs purification. I will personally take charge of this problem; I can make clean water appear for you."
"Task two: Risk elimination." He drew a heavy cross over the location of Black Wind Mountain.
"Banditry..." Li Chen'an stroked his chin and looked at Zhao Pan behind him. "Zhao Pan, are you good at suppressing bandits?"
Zhao Pan stepped forward, his voice steady: "Your Highness, as long as we understand their details, a mob of rabble is not worth worrying about."
"Good." Li Chen'an's gaze returned to Chen Zhizhou. "You see, the safety problem for this second step is also solved.
"Task three: Resource allocation." Li Chen'an looked at the completely bewildered Chen Zhizhou.
"You, go now and post a notice, stating that the Idle Prince's Estate will be undertaking water conservancy projects and recruiting laborers. All those who come to work will be provided with two full meals a day, and after the work is completed, they will receive ten catties of grain per person! And I will not take a single coin from the Imperial Granary."
"This... how can this be!" Chen Zhizhou was greatly alarmed. "Your Highness! Your personal treasury is also a matter of royal dignity; how can it be spent like this!"
"No, no, I have my own arrangements for the money and grain." Li Chen'an interrupted Chen Zhizhou, then added, "This is called 'work-relief'. It's better to give those vagrants something to do than for them to steal chickens and dogs in the city."
Then Li Chen'an turned to Zhao Pan and said, "Zhao Pan."
"Your subordinate is here!"
"You first take a few brothers and go look at the Imperial Granary in the prefecture." Li Chen'an's voice was very soft. "I heard that the imperial court allocates a sum of 'border defense relief grain' every year to appease the border military and civilians. Calculating the days, the autumn grain should have arrived long ago. Go and see how much of this batch of grain is left, what its quality is like, and if there are any signs of insect infestation or rat damage."
At these words, Chen Zhizhou's face instantly turned ashen! Because he knew that batch of grain... had long been mostly sold off by Liu Zhubu in collusion with the granary officials!
Li Chen'an didn't even look at him, continuing to speak to Zhao Pan: "After you've investigated thoroughly, immediately seal the granary! No one is allowed in or out! Then you come back and tell me how much relief grain we have; I need to calculate carefully whether it's enough to pay the laborers."
After speaking, he slowly turned to the almost collapsed Chen Zhizhou and smiled, "Chen (Prefect), you see, haven't I also solved the problem of money and grain for you? Now, go and post the notice!"
He tossed the charcoal pencil, clapped the dust from his hands, and delivered his concluding remarks.
"Alright, the project kickoff meeting is concluded. Technology, security, and human resources, three task lines will proceed in parallel. Chen (Prefect), go and handle it now."
Chen Zhizhou responded in a daze, preparing to withdraw.
"Oh, right..." Li Chen'an seemed to remember something and turned to him with a gentle smile.
"Please also invite Liu Zhubu. After all, the water in this city has always been under his management. Such a major livelihood project, we must let this 'expert' of his guide our work, mustn't we?"