Hezhong Prefecture is located in a transportation fortress. Not only are the official roads in the prefecture extensive, but river transportation is also very developed.
Including Manager Chen’s people, there are only a few hundred people who are actually needed.
It is extremely stressful to guard four city gates with such a small number of people.
The people under Manager Chen are all laborers, and there are even girls among them, but they are not regular soldiers.
Li Mingde did not dare to completely hand over the city defense to the original palace soldiers, so he could only take turns patrolling with Ye Liewei.
In the year of the disaster, the weather was unpredictable and the night wind was freezing cold at night.
The gates of Hezhong Prefecture were closed.
Li Mingde pulled his clothes closer, his swollen eye bags were dark blue, and he looked listless.
He had just finished inspecting the East Gate and was halfway there when he heard a commotion at the North Gate.
Suddenly, Li Mingde woke up completely, and ran towards the north gate, shouting as he ran.
"What's wrong? What happened?!"
Before Li Mingde reached the north gate, he saw from afar that the defenders had actually opened the gate!
Li Mingde was so frightened that his soul flew out of his body, and his voice was broken: "No! How dare you! I want to punish you by military law..."
The rest of Li Mingde's words were stuck in his throat, and his whole body was frozen, unable to move.
His eyes were fixed on the figure riding on horseback at the city gate.
The man was wearing armor and holding a spear. He looked heroic and intimidating.
In the moonlight, her armor flashed with a cold light, which hurt people's eyes.
She turned around and saw that it was Li Mingde. His serious expression was like the melting of an iceberg, and spring flowers were blooming.
She smiled and said, "Mingde, you did a good job. I'm here."
Li Mingde, who has a goatee, is used to not showing his emotions on his face. However, when he heard her say "You did a good job", his nose suddenly felt sore.
All the grievances I have suffered over the years, the obstacles I have overcome, the countless sleepless nights, all kinds of emotions mixed together, and my eyes suddenly became blurry.
Li Mingde stood there blankly, not daring to blink, for fear that if he blinked, the figure in front of him would vanish into thin air.
She was bathed in moonlight, riding a horse, and walking towards him.
Li Mingde looked at her stupidly until a warm hand fell on the top of his head and the voice that had supported him to move forward through difficulties countless times rang in his ears again.
The voice was gentle, and it was full of familiar teasing: "What? Don't you recognize me?"
Li Mingde's tears fell, just like a wanderer who finally saw his relatives: "Godmother, you are finally here, I am so tired!"
Li Mingde's grievances poured out like a flood: "It's too difficult to be an official in Hezhong County. The superiors only care about money, the petty officials are cunning and treacherous, and the people are fickle."
"We wanted to send the children to school and provide them with food and drink, but they ended up putting the food and drink in their pockets and taking it home. After six months of school, they couldn't read a single word."
"I have tried to provide point-to-point assistance like you did in Yunzhou. But in some villages, we just gave them piglets, and as soon as we left, the piglets became meat in their pots."
"We sent people to ask them what they needed, and they said they wanted to marry a wife, and wanted us to help them find one!"
"No, motherfather! If you don't use a whip, force, or power, they won't obey you at all!"
What made Li Mingde feel most helpless was not the physical fatigue, but the mental shock.
Li Mingde once scoffed at the saying that "governing a country is like cooking seafood, and governing the people is like herding sheep."
Li Mingde highly approves of Godmother's governing philosophy [Let the people know, fill their bellies, and strengthen their bones. The people are the foundation of the country, and wealth is the treasure of the people]
However, when he arrived in Hezhong County, he found out how difficult it was to realize this set of ideas, as difficult as climbing to the sky!
The moonlight was as cool as water. Gu Nanxi listened quietly to Li Mingde crying out his confusion.
After a long time, Li Mingde wiped his tears, lowered his head embarrassedly, not daring to look into Nan Xi's eyes.
"Godmother, I'm sorry to have made you laugh."
Gu Nanxi patted Li Mingde's head and said, "When the granaries are full, people know etiquette; when they have enough food and clothing, they know honor and disgrace. Yunzhou is different from other places in the Great Zhou. It has suffered a lot from wars. The external conflicts are far greater than the internal conflicts."
"It's easy to build a tall building on flat ground, but it's hard to tear it down and rebuild it. The rules of Yunzhou are set by me. I will lead them to resist foreign enemies and become prosperous. Then they will regard Yunzhou as their home. This is the will of Yunzhou!"
Gu Nanxi's words were like a shot of adrenaline: "You are still young, you are not even twenty years old. You still have enough time to put your ideas into practice. And I will create the most favorable conditions for you!"
Li Mingde cheered up again and rearranged the city defense according to Gu Nanxi's orders.
With Gu Nanxi around, the former Hezhong soldiers who once had some ulterior motives became obedient and fought wherever they were told, not daring to even complain.
For the first time, Li Mingde and Ye Lievi felt that the efficiency was so high. It turned out that those clerks and soldiers could understand what people said and were not cunning or treacherous!
Li Mingde said angrily: "Before, when I gave them money, they never acted so quickly! It turns out that they were just slacking off before!"
Ye Liewei comforted him, "Villains fear power but not virtue, and gentlemen fear virtue but not power. Duke Yun has both power and virtue, and villains and gentlemen all fear her. How many people in the world can do this?"
Li Mingde thought about it and realized that it was indeed true.
On the grassland, the name of godmother can stop a baby from crying!
It's so normal that these villains don't dare to disobey their godmother!
Gu Nanxi was like a magic needle that stabilized the sea, standing in Hezhong Prefecture and intimidating all the villains!
After the Hong family and other families learned that Gu Nanxi had entered the city, they immediately offered two-thirds of their family property as a token of their loyalty.
Gu Nanxi did not meet with them, but handed the matter over to Li Mingde.
Wherever Li Mingde went, this group of people followed.
Li Mingde pulled the corner of his mouth, feeling that he was still too young and too thin-skinned.
The previous second, this group of people brought their servants to besiege the county government office.
The next second, it was still this group of people, holding gold, silver and treasures, licking an old face and trying to please him.
The change in attitude was so smooth, without any embarrassment at all.
After persuading them for a long time, Li Mingde finally decided to accept their property.
The Hong family and others breathed a sigh of relief, then stayed quietly at home, not daring to offend Gu Nanxi and Li Mingde.
…
Xiao Dashanmao was scratching his ears and cheeks in the forest near the south gate of Hezhong Prefecture.
The city gates have been kept tightly closed. Where can we get any information?
Xiao Dashan touched his hungry stomach and his brows drooped even more. He ran too fast and forgot to bring dry food!
The world is big, but eating is the most important thing.
Since I can't go into the city, I'll find a way to fill my stomach.
Xiao Dashan patted his butt and decided to take a walk around the surrounding villages.
(End of this chapter)
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