Chapter 180 I am a red makeup
The gate of the county government office was filled with joy. When Xu Zhenying returned, he happened to run into the village heads who were assigning female teachers.
Qian Zhenniang was holding a few female teachers nearby, seemingly doing ideological work or giving instructions before departure.
Xu Zhenying had no choice but to turn a corner and enter the county government office through the back door.
Unexpectedly, just as he received Feng'er's letter, he heard a commotion in the front yard. Xu Zhenying put the letter on the table, then looked up and saw Zhou Bo and others coming in.
Now Xu Zhenying has delegated power to the instructors of both male and female soldiers. Wang Sanniang is in charge of the female soldiers, while Mo Jinchun is in charge of the male soldiers' recruitment work this year.
The ones who came in were Zhou Bo, Lu Fei and others. They looked unusually aggressive when they came in, especially Lu Fei. Because he was tall and strong, his dark face made people afraid to approach him.
Lu Fei was brave but lacked strategy, so he could never keep secrets. As soon as he entered the room, he asked, "City Lord, if we find someone spreading rumors about you behind your back, what will you do?"
"Rumors?" Xu Zhenying was stunned, then laughed. "Are you talking about the rumor that I'm a woman? How come even you know about it?"
Lu Fei suddenly became furious, "City Lord, this matter is of great importance, how can you still laugh?!"
Xu Zhenying frowned slightly, "Why? 'Woman' isn't an insulting word. Why should I get angry over someone's words?"
"That's not what you said!" Zhou Bo also refuted, "City Lord, someone has been spreading rumors about you for the past month. As the lord of a city, how can you sit back and watch? Now that the rumor has spread to everyone, the brothers in the barracks are furious and wish they could kill the person behind it with our own hands. My brothers and I have been investigating this matter these days-"
"Wait a minute..." Xu Zhenying came to his senses. "Didn't I ask you to help the refugees in the demonstration village divide their land these past few days? How come you still have time to investigate my affairs?"
Several people looked embarrassed, but Lu Fei was thick-skinned. He raised his hand and said confidently, "Someone dared to call the city lord a woman. I can't swallow this! What's the point of dividing the land? Let's do the business first!"
Xu Zhenying's face darkened, and he slammed the table. "You are soldiers. What is a soldier's duty?! It's to obey, obey, and obey again! How many times have I emphasized discipline? If you leave the team without permission, you are disobeying my military orders! If you dare to leave your post today, will you dare to leave the battlefield tomorrow?"
Xu Zhenying rarely lost her temper. Although she was short in stature, she had an amazing aura, and her words made everyone in the room blush and feel embarrassed.
"I'm asking you, are you still soldiers? Look at what you're wearing. Is that the uniform I gave you?! What am I doing here with disorganized, undisciplined, and disobedient soldiers like you?!"
No matter what situation Xu Zhenying encountered in the past, she was always polite to others. Even when she was teaching them, no matter how stupid the students were, she would never show any impatience on her face.
But now that man had a sullen face, and was intimidating without even getting angry. His questions, one after another, made everyone's heart sink, and they actually felt scared.
"Also, I've repeatedly urged you, both male and female soldiers, to be like one family, and the military and civilians like one family. I want you to change the people's perception of soldiers and encourage them to be proud of joining the army. But you've trampled on the glorious image of military service that I worked so hard to build. I asked you to help organize the land distribution, but not only did you abandon your post, you also don't take the people seriously. I suggest you just take off your uniforms and go back to farming!"
This was so serious that even Zhou Bo's eyelids twitched.
Kneeling was forbidden in the military camp, so Zhou Bo and the others wanted to but didn't dare. They could only clasp their hands and say, "City Lord, please calm down. We are just worried and confused. We don't want anyone to bully you behind your back. We don't treat the common people lightly. We were refugees ourselves once. How could we not see ourselves clearly? Please forgive us, City Lord. We will never leave our posts again, and we will never disobey military orders!"
Lu Fei was also frightened and begged for mercy repeatedly, "City Lord, I was wrong. I really shouldn't have left my post without permission. Please punish me!"
"Alright, today I'll punish you by making you run two laps around the city wall, do 300 push-ups, and clean the toilets for a month!"
Everyone could only accept it with raised eyebrows.
Seeing that the shock had subsided, Xu Zhenying's expression softened slightly. "So, have you found any clues? I see you all walking in aggressively, so I guess you've found the person behind this?"
Now no one spoke.
The group's expressions became even uglier than before.
It even reveals a few unspeakable meanings.
Xu Zhenying guessed briefly and roughly understood. "Now I ask you to speak, but you won't say anything. Okay, you want me to guess, right?"
Zhou Bo and the others remained silent.
"Seeing how you're hesitant, I'm sure you know the person behind this. This person must be very close to me, otherwise you wouldn't be so hesitant to speak."
Zhou Bo’s eyelids twitched!
"Oh, is it the Xu family?"
Lu Fei's eyes widened.
Xu Zhenying understood everything now, and the name was about to come out. She smiled coldly, "Okay, I know who it is."
Who else but Xu Lezhi could have a grudge against her and like to stab her in the back?
Lu Fei was stunned and said, "City Lord, how did you know that?"
Xu Zhenying sneered, "None of you can hide your true feelings on your faces. Everything you're thinking is written all over your face. It's hard for me not to guess! Where are you?"
Everyone looked at each other.
"Don't tell me you found out who it is but you don't dare to arrest him?"
Zhou Bo immediately said, "City Lord, please calm down. Miss Xu Qi is your cousin after all. If we act rashly, I'm afraid..."
"Are you afraid I'll get angry?" Xu Zhenying smiled faintly. "That's not the case. Well, that little girl has quite a few tricks up her sleeve. Go get Xu Yinxi to take her away, and tell her this is the last time. If she still can't resolve this, then I'll step in and help her solve it."
Several people looked at each other, and they seemed to have no idea why the city lord raised it high and then let it go.
Lu Fei's temper was intolerable. "City Lord, that little girl keeps saying bad things about you all day long, and she even says you're a woman. This is intolerable. Even if she's your cousin, you can't be so indifferent! If it were up to me, we brothers should just go and beat her up. That little girl would be so scared that she wouldn't dare to say anything!"
Xu Zhenying curled the corners of her lips and stared at them. Her lips were bright red, with two shallow dimples at the corners of her lips, and she suddenly looked androgynous.
She spoke slowly and quietly, "Who told you she was talking nonsense? I'm a woman, guaranteed to be genuine."
As soon as the words were spoken, the room fell into dead silence.
These people were obviously shocked. They were dumbfounded and speechless for a moment!
"I've never deliberately concealed my identity. People around me should all know it to some extent. I usually wear men's clothes because it's more convenient. Since you asked, I don't mind telling you the truth. If you look down on women and feel that being inferior to women is a waste of talent, humiliation, and unwillingness, you can take off this military uniform and leave. I won't stop you. But if you stay, you must serve me, Xu Zhenying, as your master and obey my orders."
After Xu Zhenying finished speaking, he ignored the shock of the people below, took out Feng'er's letter and slowly tore it open.
The girl raised her eyebrows, and her tone was not aggressive, but somehow it made people feel as if a mountain was pressing down on them and making them breathless.
"I'll give you a stick of incense to think about it. Leave or stay."
Zhou Bo raised his eyes and saw the man in the high position reading the letter slowly, looking calm and relaxed.
This woman seems to be a natural born ruler.
Calm, indifferent, wise and bold!
Zhou Bo came from among the refugees, followed all the way, and had been training in the army. In addition, he had attended many meetings of the Xu family's political team, so he naturally knew Xu Zhenying's abilities.
This woman is very capable and ambitious.
It was able to settle tens of thousands of refugees overnight, to make the demonstration base flourish in a few months, and to prevent nearly 100,000 people in Lan and Ye counties from going hungry.
The highest-ranking official Zhou Bo had ever seen in his life was the county magistrate.
Therefore, he actually didn't know what it was like to be an official. But he knew that the woman in front of him was probably more powerful than those high-ranking officials in the court!
It doesn’t matter who you follow.
What's more, Xu Zhenying still pays them wages every month. Isn't it enough for him to treat her as a female boss?
Thinking of this, Zhou Bo felt a little relieved. He quickly softened his expression and began to express his loyalty: "City Lord, although you are a woman, you are far more capable than other men in the world. I, Zhou Bo, am convinced and willing to follow you."
The tone was neither salty nor bland, and seemed a bit perfunctory.
Compared to Ming Xiaoshuang's surrender with his life, Zhou Bo's intentions are a bit too insignificant.
However, Xu Zhenying was mentally prepared.
As the saying goes, don't release the eagle until you see the rabbit. It is useless to blindly demand others' loyalty. When she conquers the entire Jinzhou and Qianzhou, there will surely be many people who will express their loyalty.
Compared to Zhou Bo's speculation, Lu Fei seemed much more sincere. This man was an honest person. At this moment, he laughed heartily, "City Lord, no matter whether you are a man or a woman, you pay me wages, teach me to read and write, and teach me the art of war. That makes you my boss and benefactor! What's more, you also divided land for me. Anyway, I obey you. I will do whatever you ask me to do! Don't say you are a woman, even if you are neither male nor female, I am willing to follow you!"
Xu Zhenying was speechless.
This kid's emotional intelligence is just like that.
What a reckless man!
Shouldn't he be punished by running two more laps and doing 500 push-ups to show his gratitude?
Xu Zhenying covered his chest and stopped Lu Fei from speaking. "Alright, I received your loyalty."
Several others immediately expressed their loyalty.
Xu Zhenying waved his hand, signaling them all to go out.
The loyalty of these people is nothing but empty talk. The key is to see what kind of achievements she can make and what kind of investment value she has.
So instead of doubting other people’s loyalty all day long, it is better to improve yourself so that others can only depend on you and be loyal to you.
Xu Zhenying sighed.
Xu Lezhi's situation is really tricky.
This girl is like a mosquito, not very harmful, but very annoying. If you want to get rid of it once and for all, you can kill her.
But what happens after you kill someone?
Xu Yinxi has high emotional intelligence and a quick mind. She is a good seedling and she plans to entrust her with important tasks in the future.
The Lian family also assisted the Miao family a lot in logistics.
If Xu Lezhi was killed, the relationship between her and the second branch might really become irreconcilable. Not only that, it would also easily shake her administrative team, unless she could find someone to replace them in a short period of time, or completely kick Xu Yinxi out.
These are things that cannot be accomplished overnight.
Xu Zhenying hated the feeling of being coerced.
Didn't she work so hard to create a fair society? But now that Xu Lezhi made a mistake, she was forced to forgive her?
What's the difference between this and the arrogant people in ancient times who would just walk away after doing something wrong?
If it weren't for the fact that Xu Lezhi didn't cause any big trouble and was just showing off with his words, Xu Zhenying really wanted to crush this fly to death.
However, Xu Zhenying also wanted to test Xu Yinxi this time to see if Xu Yinxi could get rid of the influence of her original family and handle Xu Lezhi's affairs well.
If she is unable to handle household chores, she will eventually be dragged down. She can also consider training a replacement as soon as possible.
Talents... Universal education has been popularized for so long, so talented people who can stand on their own should be popping up like mushrooms after a rain, right?
Xu Zhenying calmed down and picked up Feng'er's letter again.
Feng'er actually changed her name. She is now called Xu Feng, and pretends to be siblings with Xu Huiming. The two of them work together in perfect harmony, one in the open and the other in the dark.
Xu Huiming was in charge of the above-board business. His main product was sugar, which he sold throughout the country.
Feng'er is in charge of salt, commonly known as a private salt dealer.
From the tone of Feng'er's letter, Xu Zhenying read a sense of lightness and ease, as if Feng'er had become bolder since she knew they were going to rebel. She gathered hundreds of private salt dealers, and while selling private salt, she took the opportunity to establish her own intelligence network. At the same time, she gradually expanded her network to Gwangju and Shouzhou, and gradually laid out her intelligence network. It was estimated that by the end of the year, it would have grown to tens of thousands of people.
She also explained why her business might not see profits for several years. First, she had purchased a mountaintop, primarily producing iron ore, which would allow her to bypass the imperial court and produce her own ironware in the future, meeting Lan County's weapons needs. Second, she was secretly working within the imperial court to see if she could bribe officials to work for her. Third, training intelligence personnel and spies required significant funds. The business had expanded significantly over the past few years, requiring significant investment. Even if the private salt business was profitable, it wouldn't be able to return any profits to Lan County.
Feng'er also made fun of Xu Huiming in the letter, saying that Xu Huiming always asked her why she didn't make much profit from the illegal salt business. She had to say that illegal salt business was a shady business, and there were too many things that needed to be done secretly, so she couldn't make a profit in the short term. She didn't know if he believed it.
When Xu Zhenying saw this, the corners of his lips curled up slightly.
Feng'er really didn't disappoint her.
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