Chapter 144 The Fang Family Dispute
Xu Zhenying ignored the noise Sun Qingchen made and continued to speak solemnly to the crowd, "So I say, recruiting female soldiers is the general trend. Once this first batch of female soldiers is trained, they must teach the women of Lan County martial arts, teach them how to fight the enemy, and teach them how to protect themselves. Otherwise, whether it's bandits or the imperial army, women will always be the first to fall under the sword."
These words made everyone's faces turn pale.
Especially those who just expressed dissenting opinions.
Both Miao and Lian looked panicked. They did not question what Xu Zhenying said, nor did they think that Xu Zhenying was spreading rumors to confuse the public like Sun Qingchen.
Xu Zhenying has proven her ability.
She said that the world will be in chaos, so it is very likely.
If this is true, the issue of female soldiers is really imminent.
Seeing everyone's silence, Xu Zhenying sighed, "In that case, I'll assume everyone agrees with my plan. This matter can't be delayed. Ming Xiaoshuang, Jiang Yongkang, you'll do it tomorrow. Oh, and there are still a few wealthy families in the city. Conscript all the unmarried women over the age of thirteen from their families. I've made it fair, so I'm sure no one will complain."
After everyone left the meeting, Xu Zhenying rubbed her temples while Feng'er brought her a cup of tea. She glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw that Qian Zhenniang had not left yet and was looking at her hesitantly, as if she wanted to say something.
Feng'er winked at Qian Zhenniang, who seemed to muster up her courage and took two steps forward. "City Lord... you said you don't like to guess what others are thinking. You prefer to be asked directly..."
Xu Zhenying sat up straight, "Zhenniang, what happened?"
Qian Zhenniang shook her head, then looked at Xu Zhenying infatuatedly, her eyes misting over. "May I ask, City Lord, what did Zhenniang do wrong?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"I...I..." Qian Zhenniang hesitated, and finally, encouraged by Feng'er's eyes, she stammered, "I see that most people in our team have been assigned tasks. Even the people under Lao Liao have been accepted by the city lord. Why...why haven't you assigned me any tasks yet? But if you think there is anything I still need to hone, please tell me directly..."
Xu Zhenying looked into Qian Zhenniang's eager eyes, pretended to pat his forehead, and then smiled and said, "Sorry, I was really busy and lost my mind. I don't have any prejudice against you personally, but I'm just used to some people, and I forgot to make any adjustments in my busy schedule. How about this..."
Xu Zhenying looked at Feng'er with a smile. Feng'er was a little overwhelmed by her stare. "I think Feng'er has been by my side for a long time and can basically stand on her own. Is there anything you want to do?"
Feng Er was a little confused. "This...I always do whatever the City Lord tells me to do. Feng Er is not picky."
"Okay. The hardest thing to deal with right now is the female soldiers. You'll be in charge of that tomorrow."
Feng Er was even more confused now. "Could it be that the City Lord wants Feng Er to be a female general?"
Xu Zhenying smiled. "I see you have good physique and a more aggressive personality than the average girl. You're a good prospect. If you want to join the army, you can do that. If you want to be a female soldier commander and lead female soldier affairs, that's fine too."
Feng'er widened her eyes. As someone close to Xu Zhenying, Feng'er naturally knew how much Xu Zhenying valued the issue of female soldiers.
Although she still couldn't understand why Xu Zhenying insisted on taking this step, she knew that this matter was of great importance and the responsibility was heavy.
Moreover, she had always followed Xu Zhenying's orders before. Now that she was asked to take charge of this area alone, she was a little undecided. "City Lord, can I...can I do this?"
"If you ask me, it's always yes. Even if it's not possible, it has to be possible. Life is interesting only when you face challenges head-on."
Seeing Feng'er lacking confidence, Xu Zhenying patted her shoulder and said with a smile, "What are you afraid of? Fang Xun's work in agriculture was also a journey of trial and error. Remember, what we are doing is pioneering, so encountering problems is inevitable. How you solve them will show your ability. Don't be afraid, give it a try first, I'll cover you."
Feng'er's eyes welled up, and she wanted to kneel down and kowtow, but due to Xu Zhenying's rules, she could only bow her hands: "City Lord, Feng'er will definitely not let you down, I will definitely do it!"
Xu Zhenying turned his head again and looked at Qian Zhenniang, who looked bewildered. "Zhenniang, you will take over Feng'er's secretary job starting today. Let Feng'er teach you what to do in a few days. When Feng'er takes over the female soldiers, you will take over."
In fact, if Xu Zhenying were to say, she really couldn't bear to let Feng'er go out like this.
But she really had no choice. All her subordinates had been deployed, and there were still tasks in the education, commerce, and construction sectors. The talent gap was so huge. Compared to the position of secretary, Xu Yinxi was a little busier and should be able to do it alone.
But since Qian Zhenniang asked, Xu Zhenying also wanted to train Qian Zhenniang.
At least Qian Zhenniang can write and count, and aside from a somewhat soft temper, she doesn't have any other shortcomings. With Xu Yinxi in charge of government affairs and Qian Zhenniang in charge of domestic affairs, there shouldn't be any problems.
Qian Zhenniang was completely confused. She had been with the Xu family for so long, so she naturally knew what the position of Xu Zhenying's secretary meant.
Although it seems to be some small tasks such as serving tea and water, welcoming and seeing off guests, and recording documents, the position is sensitive and is almost the core position among the core team around Xu Zhenying.
Qian Zhenniang was self-aware and naturally knew that she was not qualified for this position. She also knew that Xu Zhenying wanted to promote her, and she was both surprised and frightened.
She wanted to refuse, but when she thought of Xu Zhenying's work style and the five words she had just said, "It has to be okay even if it's not possible," she was afraid that if she politely declined Xu Zhenying, she would never have such an opportunity again.
Opportunity never comes again!
Xu Zhenying is surrounded by many talented people, this opportunity is so precious!
Qian Zhenniang then stood up and said loudly, "City Lord, I will definitely study hard and will never embarrass you!"
Xu Zhenying said to Feng'er, "I'll be thanking you for your hard work these past few days. You should temporarily shoulder both the female soldiers' and secretary's responsibilities. During this transition period, you must not slack off on either side."
"Ah!" Feng'er responded cheerfully, then pulled Qian Zhenniang out. Qian Zhenniang was terrified and felt a bit like she was in a dream. Feng'er, however, spoke as they walked, already explaining the matters. "Sister, the City Lord may seem easygoing, but she's actually very strict about things. To work under her, you need to think quickly, keep up with the flow of ideas, have a good memory, and always be willing to learn. Being the City Lord's secretary isn't easy, but you learn quickly."
Qian Zhenniang's heart was in turmoil as she listened, and she was now even more at a loss. She couldn't help but hold Feng'er tightly, "Feng'er, I didn't even dare to say anything in the room just now. Do you think I... can really do this well?"
Feng Er, however, reassured her, "Don't be afraid. I was also very nervous at the beginning, but I was very grateful for the City Lord's patient guidance. As I said before, don't be afraid of making mistakes or saying the wrong thing. The City Lord is busy with all kinds of things every day and won't mind our small mistakes. You just took over my job. If you are afraid of making mistakes, just watch and listen more, talk less and ask less, and come back to ask me if you don't understand. Don't worry, the City Lord is not a cannibal. You will definitely learn a lot from following him!"
Qian Zhenniang was still uneasy. "Then tell me more about the city lord's personality and taboos. For example, what she likes to eat and what she doesn't like to eat..."
"Stop." Feng'er interrupted Qian Zhenniang. She looked at her seriously and said word by word, "Sister, you must remember one thing. You are not here to serve the City Lord as a handyman, much less a maid. Even if you are sometimes needed to serve tea and water, you must never put yourself in the position of doing housework."
Qian Zhenniang was full of doubts.
If you think about it carefully, isn't Feng'er's job to serve tea and water and welcome and see off guests?
She didn't understand what he meant and said anxiously, "I hope my sister can teach me more."
"Sister, the City Lord has no shortage of maids. If she needs one, she only needs to wave her hand. How many girls in Lan County would be willing to follow her? Why would she spend so much energy and time teaching me and Xu Yinxi? The City Lord doesn't lack maids, she lacks people who can work for her! When you go to the City Lord's side, remember to learn more from Xu Yinxi. Miss Xu can write and count, and she is well-educated. The City Lord often asks her for advice."
Seeing no one around, Feng'er simply explained it more clearly, "The secretary position is a core position, dealing with government affairs such as internal affairs, food, production, and defense. To put it bluntly, the current magistrate of Lan County is the city lord, and the secretary is the chief clerk. Sister, this opportunity will never come again!"
Feng'er spoke earnestly, but Qian Zhenniang was already horrified.
If you think about it carefully, it is true.
Isn’t Xu Zhenying the county magistrate of Lan County now?
Isn’t the secretary beside the county magistrate the chief clerk?
Qian Zhenniang was both afraid and happy. She was surprised that Xu Zhenying was willing to give her such a great opportunity, but she was afraid of the unknown journey ahead.
She seemed to be suddenly pushed forward by a huge force. From now on, she had to be tough, otherwise she would lose face for Xu Zhenying, which would be a thousand times more painful than losing her own face!
And today is obviously a good day.
Later in the afternoon, Xu Zhenying was discussing the establishment of a standardized pig house with Fang Xun when he heard the servant in the front yard of the county government office announcing the good news that his grandmother and the others had returned!
This is a big deal.
Xu Zhenying and his colleagues almost immediately dropped what they were doing and ran to the city gate to greet them. Sure enough, they saw a team of about thirty or forty people in tattered clothes, supporting each other and walking into Lan County.
Huang was disheveled, but in good spirits. As soon as she entered Lan County, she looked around, touching everything here and there, eager to take everything home. Her voice trembled with fear: "This... is this Lan County? Sixth girl is the city lord now? Oh my god, isn't that the same as the county magistrate?"
Ever since Xu Huijia encountered this group of people in the mountains, he had already informed everyone of his recent situation. At this moment, he was supporting Huang, a look of pride on his face, but he also reminded everyone, "Grandmother, please remember, everyone is calling that girl the City Lord now. Don't call her that randomly, or else people will recognize your identity. The City Lord said he would give us a new identity in a few days. From now on, we won't go to Qianzhou anymore, we'll just be good citizens here!"
Everyone nodded frequently.
The elders repeatedly told the children to keep their mouths shut.
Huang praised: "That's right, I knew that kid was a capable one. Now we finally don't have to worry about having nowhere to go!"
"Mom!" Some people came forward and started crying and wailing.
Everyone in the Fang family was already crying bitterly.
Miao, Zhao, Lian and the others also came forward and shouted, "Mother!"
"Fuwei!"
"Mei Xiao!"
Everyone hadn't seen each other for a long time, and they all burst into tears and couldn't be comforted.
Xu Zhenying had also reached the city gate. She glanced at the crowd and saw that although everyone was dressed in rags, they were in good spirits. She thought they had not starved along the way.
Xu Zhenying couldn't help but wonder where their food came from, but she knew now was not the time to ask about that, so she asked Huang, "Grandma, are you feeling well?"
It had only been a month since they last met, but everyone had already noticed Xu Zhenying's extraordinary aura. She had a smile on her face, but she was intimidating without showing it, and there was a sense of pressure in her words and smiles.
He is worthy of being the one who conquered this city.
Everyone unconsciously smiled in a fawning yet somewhat nervous manner. However, Madam Huang patted Xu Zhenying on the shoulder and praised him, "Well done! My Sixth...Zhenying, well done! I didn't suffer much. After you left, we waited in Ye County for your return. But after waiting for days and nights, you didn't return, and the entire Ye County was out of food. Later, Grandpa Fang said that Li Datou must have disliked us old, weak, and sick people because we were in the way, so he took the opportunity to get rid of us. In the end, there was no other choice. There was no food in the county, so we had no choice but to come to you..."
Xu Zhenying also said with some emotion: "Grandma, you have suffered."
"It's not hard at all! It was only hard for the first few days, but then we got lucky and ran into an acquaintance!" Huang laughed. "We've got the person tied up, so this isn't the place to talk—"
Xu Zhenying immediately understood and instructed everyone, "Thank you for all the hard work along the way. Everyone should go back and reunite with their families first and rest for a few days before we discuss anything else."
Everyone dispersed, and Miao and the others led Huang and the others back to the house. Huang held Xu Zhenying's hand all the way and refused to let go. After Xu Zhenying saw that they were all family members, he asked Huang about the journey.
Huang answered truthfully, "After you left, we came looking for you a few days later. Luckily, we didn't run into any bandits. The one time we did, we avoided them. We were incredibly lucky on this journey, as we ran into Hu Wei within a few days. He's the dog-headed military advisor, don't you remember him?"
Xu Huijia then said to Xu Zhenying, "Hu Wei has been tied up by my grandmother and the others. I've already had him taken to the county government office."
Huang nodded and continued, "We interrogated Hu Wei and learned that he had been instigating Li Datou and the others to rebel, and had even secretly helped them hide their food. He suddenly left that day, also secretly transporting the food to the cave. We asked Hu Wei about your whereabouts, but he simply said you went to Zhangjia Village. We detained him and asked him to follow us. We first went to Zhangjia Village, and the people from Zhangjia Village told us to try our luck in Lan County. We didn't expect to run into you!"
Huang walked into the county government office and was immediately served soup. She also saw that everyone was surrounding Xu Zhenying. She was in a state of confusion. She had heard Xu Huijia mention that they had occupied Lan County before, but she didn't believe it. Now she knew the truth after seeing it.
Xu Zhenying's aura was even more impressive than Xu Deyuan's back then. Especially his eyes, half-smiling, half-serious, neither friendly nor approachable, which inexplicably gave people a sense of fear.
So her granddaughter really became the county magistrate?
The more Huang looked at Xu Zhenying, the more she liked him. She held Xu Zhenying's hand and asked about his well-being.
After much difficulty, the Xu family finally had their first meal in Lan County.
But the Fang family was not at peace at this moment.
Although Fang Xun welcomed his grandparents back, the matter of the pig house was no trivial matter. He negotiated with the craftsmen in the afternoon, confirmed the appearance of the pig house, and gathered piglets from several large pig farmers in the city. He worked there until it was almost dark, and he met Feng'er, Jiang Yongkang and others on the way.
After asking, I found out that recruiting soldiers was still not going smoothly today. They have already written a notice and are preparing to start recruiting soldiers from the entire city tomorrow.
They exchanged a few more words and it was completely dark when they returned home.
The house was no longer bustling with activity, but instead was deserted. They lived in a small courtyard with two entrances near the county government office, with men and women living in separate rooms. Now, one of the rooms was brightly lit, and the figure of Old Master Fang could be vaguely seen.
Fang Xun's heart sank, knowing that something was wrong, and he hurried inside.
When I lifted the curtain, I saw a group of people kneeling in the room. Old Mr. Fang and Old Mrs. Fang were sitting on the kang, one of them said nothing and the other had a red face.
Fang Ruyu was already crying like a tearful person.
Fang Ningmo kept winking at him.
As soon as he saw this, Fang Xun understood most of what was going on. It seemed his grandfather had discovered Fang Ruyu's escape.
The day that was supposed to come has finally come.
My grandfather didn't know how angry he was.
Fang Xun knelt down and bowed respectfully, "Greetings, Grandfather. Greetings, Grandmother."
Old Master Fang raised his eyelids and didn't ask too much about where Fang Xun had gone.
However, Fang Xun, who was timid in the past, now has an extraordinary bearing and speaks neither arrogantly nor humbly, which is quite similar to his youth.
Old Master Fang couldn't help but be secretly surprised at Xu Zhenying's ability to train his subordinates.
Fang Xun had only been with Xu Zhenying for a little over a month, yet he had already changed so much. Not only had he grown taller, but his eyes had also become sharper.
I don’t know whether to be happy or sad about such a change.
Old Master Fang heard Fang Ruyu crying again and felt annoyed.
Originally, these things shouldn't have been mentioned to these younger generations, but Old Master Fang was a man of great character. He had long noticed the changes in Fang Xun and Fang Ningmo, and he was willing to examine them. He said, "I won't say much else. Your eldest sister...she and Ming Xiaoshuang...have been alone together for so many days. Who in this camp doesn't know about this? Now the eldest wife wants your grandmother to talk to Ming Xiaoshuang and test the waters. What do you think? Feel free to tell me."
Test the bottom?
Fang Xun immediately understood what Mr. Fang meant by this.
The eldest wife and the others looked ashamed, and Fang Ruyu's face turned red, but she didn't dare to say a word.
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