Chapter 267 Ming Xiaoshuang Returns
Zhang Qiuchan quickly stood up and expressed her feelings modestly, "No, no, this is all thanks to the City Lord. If he hadn't taken us in back then, we wouldn't have been able to have a sister for so long. My sister's skills are also from the City Lord."
Xu Zhenying smiled. "Don't be so self-deprecating. Master brings you in, but it's up to you to practice. You two sisters are also very hardworking. You can fight and decide the fate of the world, and you can write and bring peace to the world. You are my indispensable arms. Oh, by the way, Osmanthus--"
Xu Zhenying turned to Gu Guihua beside him and said, "Give Zhang Wanjun a first-class individual merit and send her family a plaque of "Glorious Family". Have Qian Zhenniang and someone else deliver it in person."
Gu Guihua was also happy for the Zhang sisters. They were all the first batch of female soldiers in Jinzhou Prefecture, so they naturally had a deep relationship.
Although they are in different positions now, the feeling of mutual respect will never change.
Zhang Qiuchan was so excited that he was a little incoherent, "Thank you... City Lord!"
Now that my father is at home, I'm afraid he will be so excited that he won't be able to sleep for several days and nights.
This plaque may be insignificant in value, but it holds great significance. With this plaque, Dad will surely stand tall and walk with aplomb! Who dares to point at Dad and curse him for the extinction of the Zhang family?
The girls of the Zhang family are so amazing! They are far superior to those families with sons!
Mo Jinchun asked, "Then why does the City Lord still look so worried?"
Xu Zhenying smiled and said, "Not really. It's just that our territory is expanding too quickly. First, I'm worried about the difficulty of defending the city. We need more manpower to govern. Second, we now have six prefectures. Do you know what this means?"
Everyone looked quite nervous.
"This means we've truly stepped onto the stage of history, earning the right to compete for supremacy. But it also means we can no longer afford to slouch like before. Attention will be drawn from all sides, and enemies will be watching covetously. Look..." Xu Zhenying pointed toward Henan Prefecture and the King of Zhoushan to the west. "I predict the Great Zhou Dynasty will soon send troops against us. After all, Xingyuan Prefecture is right next to them. Meanwhile, the King of Zhoushan will seize the opportunity to attack us. We may appear victorious, but in reality, this also brings with it a crisis."
These words made everyone feel uneasy. When they looked at the map again, the joy of victory disappeared in an instant, and they were replaced by a strong sense of crisis.
Chang Zizai immediately said, "City Lord, I volunteer to serve under Minister Jiang and garrison the east. We've undermined Prince Ming's position this time, and he'll surely take the opportunity to retaliate. Minister Jiang has 70,000 to 80,000 men under his command, but 20,000 are natives from Qianzhou, and the remaining 40,000 are newly recruited soldiers who need to be trained by us before they can go into battle. In other words, Minister Jiang only has a mere 10,000 men under his command. If Prince Ming marches south, we will be completely defenseless."
Xu Zhenying nodded. "That's right. The defenses on the east and west sides must be strengthened. All soldiers who surrender from the Great Zhou Dynasty must undergo labor reform before being assigned to new positions. Otherwise, we can't trust them. Who knows if they are truly loyal to our Jinzhou Prefecture? I, Xu Zhenying, don't want soldiers who surrender so casually and act like fence-sitters."
Everyone nodded.
Even with such a shortage of manpower, and even though it takes a long time to train new recruits, they do not want the ranks of soldiers to become mixed.
After all, having an excellent combat team can achieve twice the result with half the effort and is also easier to manage.
Accustomed to the Jinzhou Prefecture's soldiers who obeyed orders, observed discipline, and were all smart, they really didn't want the Zhou Dynasty's soldiers who couldn't even understand military orders.
"From now on, all surrendered soldiers must first go to Jinzhou Prefecture for labor reform and study. Only through thorough ideological transformation can they truly become our soldiers. Mo Jinchun, you will return to Jinzhou Prefecture immediately and be responsible for training captured or surrendered soldiers. Discuss this with Qian Zhenniang and come up with a specific plan. By the way, have Qian Zhenniang organize another civil servant assessment. Our territory has expanded too much, and we can't keep up with the follow-up forces. We need to appoint new personnel as soon as possible. The appointment of prefects should be promoted from those who have performed well in the previous batch of positions. We need to consider all aspects and decide on the prefects of several prefectures first, and report to me quickly for finalization."
Mo Jinchun accepted the order, but thought in his heart that this was a very serious matter.
With more than 40,000 people coming at once, the responsibility is huge.
Mo Jinchun felt a surge of excitement in his heart.
It's only been over a year, and they have achieved such brilliant results. It turns out that following Xu Zhenying was definitely the right choice!
Xu Huijia immediately volunteered, "City Lord, I'll go west! Lu Fei only brought 3,000 men, I'm afraid he can't resist the King of Zhoushan."
"Don't panic. We are now surrounded on three sides. How many soldiers do we have left?"
Mo Jinchun immediately replied, "Xingyuan Prefecture has about 10,000. Jinzhou Prefecture has another 20,000."
"Alright, the soldiers from Xingyuan Prefecture will stay. Together with the 20,000 soldiers we have recruited from Xingyuan Prefecture, Gu Guihua, you will serve as the chief instructor first. Then, recruit soldiers from the local people and quickly train 30,000 soldiers who meet our standards to stay in Xingyuan Prefecture."
Gu Guihua said, "Isn't 30,000 too few? Our actions this time were too grand, and I'm afraid they have attracted the attention of the Great Zhou Dynasty. As you said, what if they raise an army to attack us?"
"It's okay. Mo Jinchun will return to Jinzhou Prefecture to train the surrendered soldiers. Jinzhou Prefecture will no longer retain any soldiers; they will all be dispersed to the border. We'll have to act accordingly."
"Xu Huijia, Chang Zizai, you will go to Jinzhou Prefecture and select 10,000 men. They will immediately reunite with Jiang Yongkang. Liu Dazhuang, Zhang Qiuchan, you will transfer another 10,000 men to the west to reunite with Lu Fei. At that time, Liu Dazhuang will be the general in charge, and Qiuchan and Lu Fei will be deputy generals."
"So, there won't be anyone left in Jinzhou Prefecture?"
"Jinzhou Prefecture is now in the heart of our sphere of influence, so we don't need many people stationed there. Mo Jinchun, you must pay attention to the training of the new recruits. If there are any unusual movements on our three sides, you can mobilize support from your new recruits. And Fang Xun..."
Fang Xun immediately stepped out.
"After our people are settled in the county town of Xingyuan Prefecture, you will cooperate with Qian Zhenniang to keep up with the governance of these newly occupied cities. The prefect, county magistrate, propaganda officers, and various assistance and construction projects must keep up."
"Sun Qingchen, you have experience in governing cities. I will leave the daily affairs of Xingyuan Prefecture to you."
Sun Qingchen was naturally delighted.
I didn't expect that I would be promoted to a higher level right after joining Xu Zhenying's camp. I was naturally filled with gratitude.
"By the way, does your wife have any thoughts about coming out to work?"
Sun Qingchen quickly said, "Women in Jinzhou Prefecture all work outside the home, and my wife is tired of doing menial tasks in the backyard. She's looking forward to becoming the new kind of woman you advocate, just like you."
This flattery was done without making any noise.
Even Fang Xun couldn't help but twitch the corners of his lips.
Think about how stubborn Sun Qingchen was back then, and now he has even learned to flatter.
"Has she attended our elementary literacy class?"
"Although I haven't taken the class, I've audited it before, so arithmetic and pinyin are no problem for me."
"Okay, then let her cooperate with Feng'er and Lian to take care of the elderly, the weak, the sick, and other people's livelihood issues in Xingyuan Prefecture. I'm very short of people under my command right now, so I'll have to trouble your wife to fill in for a while."
Sun Qingchen naturally agreed.
At this point, Xu Zhenying seemed a little tired. Gu Guihua immediately said, "City Lord, you mentioned earlier that you wanted to select a few secretaries to share the work. I've already compiled the list and their personal information. Do you need to interview them in person?"
Xu Zhenying waved his hand to let everyone leave, and then Gu Guihua immediately presented the personal information of the candidate secretary.
Xu Zhenying took the information and said to Gu Guihua, "Thank you for your hard work over the past month! You originally wanted to continue your military service, but I forced you to come here to be my secretary."
Gu Guihua was a little shy: "City Lord, I am embarrassed by what you said. I am a soldier, and soldiers must obey orders. I will go wherever I am needed. Besides, I have learned a lot from following you for more than a month."
Xu Zhenying used the soybean oil lamp to clearly see the stack of documents in his hand. Gu Guihua immediately explained, "According to your requirements, all of them have work experience and can start working directly. Many of them are top performers in the last civil servant assessment."
"Pang Xiaohua?" Xu Zhenying pointed at one of them. "She seems to be the daughter-in-law of the village chief of Fanjia Village? I remember her performance during the interview was not satisfactory..."
"Yes. But in our semi-annual assessment, her score was among the highest. Although she's not as quick-witted as the others and a bit shy, she's diligent and meticulous. It's said that after she took up her post, she's gotten along very well with the villagers. She knows every household size, cows, acres of land, and the circumstances of the elderly and children. Furthermore, her village is on the border, and last month, it was harassed by refugees from the Zhoushan King's side. She helped relocate over 200 villagers and helped them deal with the refugees, so no one and no property was lost."
Xu Zhenying raised his eyebrows slightly, vaguely remembering Pang Xiaohua's helplessness during the interview, but he didn't expect that she had such a brave side.
She nodded, "That's indeed a good seedling."
"And then there's Qu Min, a member of the second batch of female recruits. She ranked near the top in overall performance, and I wanted to keep some good candidates for the army, so we prioritized those with strong academic performance, a flexible disposition, the ability to withstand pressure, and a broad perspective. Qu Min has a strong mental state and connects well with her comrades. She's a very versatile person, but she lacks physical strength."
"That's also good. I like people with high emotional intelligence. As for her, have you communicated with her?"
Gu Guihua smiled and joked, "I only said to put her on the reserve list, and it seems she's quite looking forward to it. After all, opportunities to become a close minister to the emperor don't come often."
Xu Zhenying glared at her, but Gu Guihua was not afraid. Instead, she smiled at her.
She used to think Xu Zhenying was scary. Even though Xu Zhenyu came to the camp many times to teach evening classes, Gu Guihua still couldn't control her deep fear of the strong.
But in the past month, she has been with Xu Zhenying almost every day, and she found that there is nothing to be afraid of Xu Zhenying at all!
She is even quite friendly and sometimes jokes with you. Putting everything else aside, she looks just like a teenage girl!
"No men?"
Gu Guihua was a little surprised. Normally, a secretary should follow Xu Zhenying almost all the time. She took into consideration that Xu Zhenying was a girl, so when she was making her alternatives, she didn't consider any men at all.
But on second thought, the city lord cannot simply judge by gender. She is the most powerful person in the southwest, so she naturally cannot favor one over the other and must treat everyone equally.
However, Xu Zhenying's explanation was completely different from what Gu Guihua thought.
"Let's set up a secretariat. Pick two men and two women. I'm a woman, so I can't avoid the logical fallacies of women's thinking. I need someone of the other sex to provide different perspectives and ideas."
Gu Guihua's heart trembled.
"Girls, let's decide on these two first. As for men, do you have any recommendations?"
Gu Guihua was stunned. Is it really okay to recommend others and decide their fate like this?
Gu Guihua became very cautious at this moment. She thought about it several times in her mind before she said slowly, "I really don't know much about the male soldiers, and I don't have much contact with them privately. How about I ask Instructor Mo later and ask him to recommend a few candidates?"
Xu Zhenying nodded, "Let them arrive as soon as possible."
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But the next day, Ming Xiaoshuang returned with his troops!
His county town was not difficult to attack, it was only delayed for a few days because he took a detour along the way.
As soon as he came back, he naturally heard that his mother and Zhao Bantou had come to Xu Zhenying for help. He was so excited that he ran home and even put reporting to Xu Zhenying second.
Therefore, he missed Qiu Ju'niang who came back from the north to report on her work.
After more than a year, Ming Xiaoshuang finally met his mother and Zhao Qiaonian.
Ming's mother was arranged to live in a small courtyard not far from the government office of Xingyuan Prefecture. Xu Zhenying also specially assigned two personal guards to take care of her daily life.
Xu Zhenying was not used to having servants, so they followed suit and only kept slaves and maids at home under special circumstances. For example, the ones who came to take care of Ming's mother this time were male and female soldiers temporarily assigned by the military logistics department.
As soon as he saw Ming's mother, Ming Xiaoshuang knew that his mother was well taken care of. The mother and son hugged each other and cried bitterly. Ming's mother had poor eyesight and was almost half blind. At this moment, she was even more emotional and couldn't stop crying.
"I thought Captain Zhao was lying when he said you were staying in the southwest on official business! I figured something must have happened to you, and he couldn't bear to tell me because I'm an old widow, so he lied to me! Who knew you were so capable? I heard... you're highly valued by the city lord, your right-hand man, and even led thousands of men out to fight last month? My son is truly remarkable, truly remarkable! Our Ming family is truly glorious!"
Ming Xiaoshuang also choked up and said, "Mother, I'm sorry for being an unfilial son and making you worry! I originally thought that rebellion would cost me my life, so I thought that when we had enough momentum here, I would bring you to Jinzhou Prefecture to live out your retirement! But I didn't expect... Brother Zhao had thought of everything and actually brought you here too! If he hadn't brought you here, I would have been planning to come and pick you up in person in the next month or two!"
Ming's mother wiped away her tears. "My son is incredible, incredible. Look at all the great things you've accomplished. You're so much better than your father. You don't have to worry about me. Just focus on making your own way out there. The city lord treats me very well, and the company minister comes to visit me every now and then. And these two little kids take care of me. They're even more filial than my own sons and daughters!"
The female soldier next to her immediately handed over a handkerchief and said with a smile, "Aunt Ming, you should be happy to see Minister Ming. Your eyesight is not good, so please don't cry."
"Hey, hey, hey, I know." Ming's mother wiped her tears. "I'm so happy! You said your sister knows that you are a high-ranking official now. Let's see if her mother-in-law dares to bully her!"
Ming Xiaoshuang frowned. Ming Xiaomei and her husband were a perfect match, but the old hag just wouldn't get along with her. She always felt that Ming Xiaomei wasn't worthy of her son, and she found fault with her openly and secretly. As a result, even after being married for many years and having a son, Ming Xiaomei was still not treated well.
"If mother is worried about my sister, I'll write a letter and have someone bring my brother-in-law and his family to Jinzhou Prefecture. I'll see what that old hag can do under my nose!"
Ming's mother was delighted. "You're right. You're a high-ranking official now. If your brother-in-law comes, you can help him find a job."
Ming Xiaoshuang felt a little embarrassed and quickly waved to the two guards, and the two men left the room.
Although the city lord was in need of someone, he also knew the character of his brother-in-law. He himself looked down on him, let alone Xu Zhenying?
Moreover, all regular officials and soldiers now have to be evaluated. Although he is in a high position, he also knows that Xu Zhenying does not like to abuse power and favor nepotism. He can only ignore the matter of arranging assignments.
It was naturally difficult for Ming Xiaoshuang to tell the truth to his mother.
Ming's mother grabbed Ming Xiaoshuang's arm and asked, "Son, I heard from the girl who takes care of me that you are a minister now. How high is this official rank? Is it higher than a county magistrate?"
Ming Xiaoshuang smiled and said, "It doesn't matter if you're a high-ranking official or not, you all work for the City Lord."
Ming's mother was somewhat relieved. "Your tone of voice now seems much more steady than before. You're right, your city lord is a very good man. You must do your job with all your heart! Don't worry about me. You have a very good life here. You don't have to worry about food or clothing! Oh, and your brothers, including Zhao Bantou, who used to be in charge of you, come to see me every now and then."
Ming's mother tugged at Ming Xiaoshuang's sleeve and said in a low voice, "You better be careful. I think this man has some bad intentions. When he was in Bianjing City, he only came here occasionally, but since he came to Xingyuan Prefecture, his wife has been coming here every day, and she keeps saying that Zhao Bantou and you are brothers. I am half her mother-in-law. I think she probably wants to ask you for something."
Ming Xiaoshuang remained silent and consoled his mother, "It's nothing. Zhao Bantou is an upright man. He took good care of me when I was working in the Heavenly Prison. Now that you've arrived in Xingyuan Prefecture, you can settle down and leave the rest to me!"
The mother and son talked for a while. Ming Xiaoshuang still had to report to Xu Zhenying, so he said goodbye to his mother and walked out.
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