Chapter 275 The Step is a Bit Big
Jiang Chaoping's thoughts drifted off to who knows where. Suddenly, he heard Xu Zhenying reciting a poem, seemingly reading a battle report from Sanping County: "Those who died during the day, don't ask how many, the sun is bleak, shrouded in gloomy clouds... Three people can't walk more than ten steps when two suddenly die, blocking the road. Those who died at night, dare not cry, the plague ghosts exhale, the lamps flicker green... In a moment, the wind rises, the lights go out, and the coffins of the dead and ghosts share the dark room. The dead fill the ground, and the bones gradually age in the wind. Everyone in the underworld has returned to life, and the underworld has turned into the rain of spring!"
Then, Jiang Chaoping was surprised to find that Xu Zhenying seemed to be crying!
The city lord...is crying!
Not only Jiang Chaoping, but even Qu Min on the side was shocked.
They have never seen the city lord cry!
Xu Zhenying is a well-known iron man. There are even rumors that she only likes to deal with government affairs and is a cold-blooded and ruthless government fanatic.
Who has ever seen her cry?
But Xu Zhenying's eyes were red, and drops of crystal clear tears flowed down and fell on the battle report of Sanping County.
The people below were at a loss for what to do!
Now almost all of Xu Zhenying's men have been sent to various places, and only Lian, Zhao Qiaonian, Lin Lao, Sun Qingchen, Feng'er, Qi Er and others remain in Xingyuan Prefecture.
No one dared to ask, only Elder Lin, relying on his advanced age, spoke first: "City Lord, is the situation in the west not good?"
Xu Zhenying raised his eyes, a bitter expression on his face. "Lu Fei sent his men deep into the Zhoushan King's territory to the west. There's a plague raging there, and the death toll is estimated to be no less than 400,000. Wherever they go, there's almost no one left alive, and the roadsides are littered with corpses that haven't been cleared away yet. He said... the wild dogs in the west are fatter than those elsewhere."
Xu Zhenying finished speaking and sighed softly, "Thousands of villages are deserted, with only the remains of the dead. Tens of thousands of houses are empty, with ghosts singing. May I ask where the Plague God is going? His paper boats, with candles burning in the sky."
Elder Lin was somewhat surprised. "Is the city lord mourning for the followers of King Zhoushan?"
Mr. Lin originally wanted to say that Xu Zhenying was too soft-hearted! But after two months of contact, he knew Xu Zhenying's character very well.
Xu Zhenying is a person who truly cares about the world!
Her kindness and great love truly transcend identity, position, and rank. She is truly a benevolent monarch throughout history!
"They are all innocent people. They came to this world with great difficulty, but now they have nothing left behind and died quietly. There are even tens of thousands of children here. Even though we are enemies, I still feel sorry for them. The survival of the lower-class people is so difficult. They are the most hardworking and kind, but also the weakest. The land of the Great Zhou Dynasty is so vast that it can't even accommodate people as humble as ants—"
Everyone present was deeply moved.
In the past, they only knew how to capture cities and territories, and always deliberately ignored the suffering of the people. However, they were often with Xu Zhenying, and after being influenced by him, most of them agreed with Xu Zhenying's military strategy of surrendering and attacking.
Jinzhou Prefecture has always advocated using minimal casualties in exchange for maximum rewards.
Among the generals in Jinzhou Prefecture, the ones who rose the fastest were never those who killed many enemies or seized many chariots and supplies, but those who could capture the city without losing a single soldier.
Elder Lin was deeply moved. "City Lord, since ancient times, human life has been worthless, let alone in these turbulent times. The phrase 'winners are kings, losers are bandits' is made up of countless bones. One general's success is built on the bones of thousands. Only if the City Lord unifies the world as soon as possible can the people be free from the flames of war."
Xu Zhenying frowned. "I know that, too. But things like this have to be done step by step."
It was the first time that everyone heard Xu Zhenying express his ambition in person, and they were all a little excited.
At present, they have begun to possess the ability to compete for the world.
Xu Zhenying quickly calmed down and pointed to the west on the map. "According to the intelligence from Lu Fei, the power of the King of Zhoushan has been greatly reduced, and the defenses of the various cities have been relaxed. This is the best opportunity for us to sweep the west. Although I didn't expect to expand at such a fast pace, the opportunity has come, and we must seize it."
Fang Xun was worried. "This expansion is too fast. I'm worried that our logistics won't be able to keep up. Furthermore, we already have six prefectures, which are a thorn in the court's side. If we continue to expand at this rate, it will not only be a logistical problem, but also a question of whether we can fully absorb these cities."
Ming Xiaoshuang also said: "If we go further west, I'm afraid the imperial court will immediately join forces with the prince in the east to attack us."
Feng Er disagreed. "As the saying goes, wealth and honor are sought in danger. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Isn't it said that we should take advantage of his illness to kill him? If King Zhoushan recovers, it will be difficult for us to expand westward!"
Every time Mr. Lin heard them say the six words "kill him while he's ill", he always shuddered.
It sounds so vicious!
But he seemed to like it very much!
Qi Er never dared to speak when attending such meetings. She sat in the corner and just listened attentively.
She was well aware of the gap between herself and the rest of them, so she studied silently. At the same time, her family spent a lot of money to hire two or three teachers from Jinzhou Prefecture, and she kept cramming the textbooks from Jinzhou Prefecture.
Even Qi's father and mother were not spared.
She insisted on forcing the two of them to study together.
I just need to pass this civil servant assessment.
It was only after Qi Er that she officially entered the official career.
Only then did the room have a place for her to speak.
Sun Qingchen said, "It's only a matter of time before the imperial court attacks us, but this opportunity is rare. We should first capture the city, then gradually conquer it. Besides, the people in the west are leaderless and don't know what life will hold for them. The city lord is well-known, and they might even be hoping for us to come."
Elder Lin also said, "I agree with what Lord Sun said. City Lord, it's us who advocate for refined government administration. In the Great Zhou Dynasty, they never considered such things and simply attacked and occupied the city first. We should follow their example! Take the city first and then talk about it! Besides, the King of Zhoushan is not a good person either. The people under his rule are suffering terribly. To save the people in the west from the war, we should also head west."
Feng Er also said: "This is a process of one side gaining while the other loses. We are afraid that the Great Zhou Dynasty will attack us, but how can we be sure that the Great Zhou Dynasty will not be afraid of us? If we go west, all the way down, we can at least capture a few more prefectures. By then, who knows who will be the stronger one!"
These words made the generals present feel a surge of emotion.
Yes, if they continue westward, they will own one-third of the territory of the Zhou Dynasty, which means they will truly rule the southwest.
By then, who would dare to underestimate them?
However, the only concern is that their expansion speed this year is really scary!
It's only been a year, and they have captured four provincial capitals in a row. As Fang Xun said, logistics is indeed a big problem.
Military pay, military supplies, military rations, and the number of soldiers are all big problems!
Not to mention that Jinzhou Prefecture has only been around for more than a year and its foundation is not stable. Although the people share the same hatred for the enemy, such a large-scale war is also a considerable burden for the people.
The people also need to recuperate and live a peaceful life.
However, everyone knew their opinions, and Xu Zhenying had always merely listened. The city lord was a genius, her ideas far beyond the limitations of this era, and everyone willingly followed her lead.
Sure enough, Xu Zhenying made a decision quickly.
"Opportunities are rare and will never come back. Since God has given us this opportunity, we must not let God down."
At this point, everyone immediately took out the booklets and pencils they carried with them.
They all knew that Xu Zhenying was going to give orders and make arrangements.
Have to write it down on paper.
Because Xu Zhenying thinks very quickly, it is difficult to keep up without taking notes.
Mr. Lin is never used to such scenes.
When Xu Zhenying reached the crucial moment of speaking, everyone lowered their heads and began to write in the booklet.
He just squinted his eyes and listened attentively.
"I think we can go west. First, to put an end to the unrest among the people in the west. Second, this is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We can only find a way to supply the logistics as we go."
Fang Xun immediately asked, "What about the recruitment of officials? We're expanding too quickly. In some places, we've just conquered them and haven't had time to implement comprehensive education. As a result, the local people don't have the ability to participate in the civil service examination, which is unfair to them. There are already complaints that this civil service examination will be dominated by people from Lan County. We must prevent people from Lan County from forming cliques in the officialdom, and we must ensure that the local people have local officials who understand their local conditions to increase their cohesion."
"This time, the civil servant assessment isn't limited to Lan County, right? Jinzhou Prefecture and Qianzhou Prefecture have both been promoting universal education for a long time, so let's even it out."
Sun Qingchen immediately bowed and said, "City Lord, now that we've conquered so many cities, we can continue to serve as local officials. This way, we won't encounter much resistance when we capture cities and territories in the future. Especially for local officials, if they know they can still maintain their wealth and glory, they will definitely not fight to the death."
I don’t know if this is Sun Qingchen’s experience.
"Lord Sun is absolutely right," Xu Zhenying nodded. "But we must be vigilant. We can't keep those with criminal records or bad reputations. Good officials can be retained temporarily, then given a limited period of time, during which they must take the next civil service examination. Only after passing can they be officially retained. Our methods for assessing and promoting officials must be clear, especially taking the year-end public vote into consideration."
Elder Lin also sighed: "This is a way to alleviate the local manpower shortage."
When Mr. Lin first heard Xu Zhenying mention the "top leader takes full responsibility" system, his eyes couldn't help but light up.
Especially when Xu Zhenying called them together some time ago to jointly revise the official assessment method, he actually decided to conduct a public satisfaction survey and voting every three years. He knew that Xu Zhenying was a man who really got things done!
This kind of thing was unimaginable in the Zhou Dynasty.
When it comes to voting, who among ordinary people can read?
But it’s different in the southwest. With the promotion of universal education, even if people don’t know characters, does that mean they don’t know pinyin?
What's more, the officials under Xu Zhenying were well treated, but the management was extremely strict. There were several channels for complaints and reports. There was not only a special letter inspection office, an inspection department to collect intelligence, and secret lines in various places, but she even had to go out incognito from time to time.
With this combination of punches, who among the officials of Jinzhou Prefecture could not help but tread on thin ice? Who dared not to cherish their reputation? Who was willing to give up their bright future for a few melons and two dates?
Fang Xun's expression eased a little, otherwise he would have really been ready to bang his head against the wall.
So many counties are looking for people! They all come to him to ask for them. Where does he get so many people from?
"Qu Min, after the meeting, send a letter to Liu Dazhuang and the others, asking them to lead their troops westward. No need to storm. Just raise our flag in any city that's poorly defended. The King of Zhoushan is struggling to protect himself now, so I'm afraid he won't start a war with us for the time being. He'll just have to swallow this humiliation. By the time he recovers, these places will have become ours."
"Fang Xun, contact the medical school. The thing the west is most in need of right now is probably the cowpox vaccine. Tell them to speed up the production, the more the better. We can use the cowpox vaccine to win over the people in the west."
Qu Min recorded it immediately.
Elder Lin warned, "If it's true what General Lu said, nine out of ten houses in the west are empty, and a large number of people have died, then what we have inherited is just a wasteland. City Lord, land needs people, and the development of the city also requires population. Where can we find so many people?"
"That's easy. Send out invitations to heroes. Anyone willing to settle in the territory west of Xu Zhenying will be given five mu of land free of charge once their household registration is complete, and there will be no land tax for the first year. Anyone who brings a child under ten years old will receive a one-time subsidy of 500 wen per child, regardless of gender."
Elder Lin disagreed, "City Lord, think twice. If that's the case, many people will come from far away to seek refuge, and those with children will lie about their age in order to receive the subsidy."
Xu Zhenying smiled, "I originally hoped they would come and seek refuge here. Once they see how much we have to offer, they'll naturally consider moving their entire families. I just want them to feel like there's always something for everyone here."
Elder Lin looked ashamed, "The City Lord is very far-sighted. We are far behind him."
Xu Zhenying smiled, "It's not that I'm being far-sighted. It's just that Mr. Lin may not have heard the saying that since ancient times, true love cannot be retained, only tricks can win people's hearts."
Mr. Lin frowned slightly, seemingly puzzled.
The old men from the Xu family's government team on one side all smiled knowingly.
Feng Er said, "Are we really poaching the Great Zhou Dynasty? In this way, we have completely angered the Great Zhou Dynasty."
"It's only a matter of time." Xu Zhenying sighed, then thought of something and curled his lips slightly. "But well, we can keep them busy so they don't have time to attack us."
Everyone in the room looked at Xu Zhenying.
"Prince Ming rebelled under the pretext of revenge for his fiancée. Why don't we spread the news that the Fang family is alive and put Prince Ming in a difficult position?" Xu Zhenying turned to look at Fang Xun. "But this matter involves the entire Fang family. Do you want to go back and ask your grandfather for his opinion?"
Fang Xun shook his head, "Grandfather has been out of touch with worldly affairs for a long time."
"Once this matter is made public, your Fang family may be in danger."
"City Lord, our Fang family has followed you in rebellion. Are you still afraid of danger?" Fang Xun smiled bitterly. "But it doesn't matter. Zhou Heng is so unkind and unjust. He used our Fang family as a pretext, causing my cousin to be accused of harming the country and the people. We have been holding this grudge for a long time. Now it's time for the whole world to know what kind of person Zhou Heng is. He didn't hesitate to kill his own wife's family and fiancée just to justify his rebellion. Our Fang family will not bear the blame for this crime of bringing chaos to the world!"
Elder Lin was slightly startled.
Fang family?
His eyelids twitched. Oh my God, could it be the old man Fang who was sentenced to exile two years ago as the imperial tutor?
This Fang Xun...could he be Mr. Fang's grandson?
Old Lin felt his eyes go dark. Oh my god, no wonder he always felt that Fang Xun looked vaguely familiar, but he really couldn't remember where he had seen him. Could he be the grandson of his old friend?
No wonder this child has such a dignified demeanor and behaves in a well-controlled manner, and seems more stable than most people in Jinzhou Prefecture.
Elder Lin ignored Xu Zhenying's presence and immediately grabbed Fang Xun's hand excitedly and asked, "Son, is your grandfather the former Grand Tutor, Mr. Fang?"
Fang Xun was a little embarrassed. "That's right. But Grandfather is in poor health now, and he is living out his days in Jinzhou Prefecture."
"Good! Good! That's great!" Old Master Lin laughed heartily. "I thought I was the only one who escaped from the entire Great Zhou Dynasty. I didn't expect your Fang family to be so discerning and follow the city lord first! Great, when I return to Jinzhou Prefecture, I must go and catch up with your old man!"
As for what happened between Fang Ruyu and Zhou Heng, it was naturally not appropriate for Old Lin to ask in front of so many people.
Xu Zhenying continued, "Since the Fang family doesn't mind, let's take this opportunity to clear the Fang family's name. This will prevent them from being blamed for everything in the future."
Xu Zhenying spoke rudely, but everyone in the room was used to it.
Elder Lin immediately understood Xu Zhenying's thinking. "City Lord, over in Bianjing City, although the Emperor and the Retired Emperor are father and son, there can't be two tigers on the same mountain. Their political views often differ. We can sow discord between them appropriately, and they will naturally fight."
Xu Zhenying smiled. "Old Lin, this is a good idea! After we march west this time, we need time to grow and develop. It's best not to have any more wars in the short term. Therefore, we need the enemy to be busy with their own affairs. Let's muddy the waters first, so they won't have time to deal with us."
Everyone in the room nodded in agreement.
Yes, only by disrupting the opponent's pace will they have no energy to deal with them.
What Jinzhou Prefecture needs most now is to quell the war and allow the people to recuperate.
Fang Xun asked the most important question, "City Lord, you are of noble status. Xingyuan Prefecture is too close to the Great Zhou Dynasty and is not suitable to be our administrative center."
"I know. I've been thinking about this recently. Jinzhou Prefecture is in the heart of our territory, so it's relatively safe. It's also close to the other prefectures, so news will be received the fastest. Okay, let's get ready and go back to Jinzhou Prefecture."
Everyone in the room cheered, and then Xu Zhenying realized that everyone around him seemed to be hesitant to speak.
Xu Zhenying frowned and asked Ming Xiaoshuang and Feng'er, but they both just smiled and said nothing.
"That's strange. What are you hesitating about?"
Elder Lin stroked his beard and smiled, "They are young and don't dare to speak out, fearing that the city lord will blame them. I am old and I am not afraid."
Xu Zhenying looked at him.
"City Lord, everyone wants to ask, have you considered becoming king?"
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