Dingzhou.
This city was the heart of Dingzhou. Outside the city was the deep Luo River. It was convenient on land and water. The flow of people was bustling, and the transportation of goods was convenient. It was incomparably prosperous.
Even though a few military towns and Jiedushi were fighting, it only caused the flow of people to decrease slightly. At most, the price of rice and cloth had increased slightly. Within Dingzhou, there was still singing and dancing in celebration of peace.
Only in places that normal people could not see were there turbulent undercurrents.
"Qi Lin has surrendered, and Wu Zhen's army has greatly increased … they did not dare to hold out for long, so they retreated …"
In the manor of the provincial governor, the current provincial governor, Xu Chun, held the urgent document. His entire body seemed to have been pulled out of it as he collapsed weakly to the ground.
After a long time, two clear lines of tears immediately fell. "I have the heart to kill the enemy, but I do not have the strength to reverse the situation. What a pity and pain …"
It had to be said that Qi Lin was a famous military town in Dingzhou. His sudden surrender this time had a great impact on the entire Dingzhou.
Xu Chun could totally guess what kind of choice those big families, who were still watching from the sidelines, would make after this!
Women usurping power was just a slight violation of their skin.
As long as it did not touch the foundations of their rule and did not shake the interests of the scholarly officials and landlords, even if the Man tribes invaded, they would be able to find proof of the mandate of heaven.
"This Dingzhou … is going to be chaotic …"
Xu Chun muttered to himself, but there was nothing he could do.
The collapse of a great building was the result of decades and centuries of accumulated abuses exploding together. Even if he had the heart to repair it, he was powerless.
Compared to the provincial governor's manor, the reaction of the provincial governor was even smaller.
After all, Gao Shun was already beyond cure. Even if he died in office, Xu Chun would not be surprised.
His headache right now was how to protect Zhang Wenzhen.
Although he had left the court with some power and the ability to confront the powerful Nanfeng army in the future, Zhang Wenzhen could be said to have had a bad start this time. Even if he was beheaded, there was nothing to say.
But, only then would he be a loyal official. Not to mention the fact that such loyal officials were already rare, even if Wu Zhen came to kill in the future, who would he rely on to lead the army to defend?
Xu Chun laughed bitterly. Fortunately, the court was muddle-headed. If they had tampered with the document, with him and Gao Shun working together, it would not have been difficult to protect this general.
However, who would have thought that he, the provincial governor who was rumored to be honest and upright, would now have to do some favoritism and fraud. His goal was to protect a meritorious official of the court. This was truly ironic.
…
Soon, the news about the Fan Zhen war spread.
In this aspect, Xu Chun did not intend to hide it at all. In reality, he could not hide it at all.
In an instant, the news of Wu Zhi defeating Shi Tai, taking over Ding Yuan Commandery, obtaining the loyalty of Qi Lin, and repelling the interference of the province quickly spread, causing many people to be speechless.
Even though there were still diehards and pedantic scholars who lamented that the morals of the world were deteriorating with each passing day and demons were emerging from the south, most people chose to remain silent.
After all, Wuzhi's advantage over Dingzhou was too obvious.
Perhaps in a few months, they would have troops stationed outside Dingzhou. Even if they were not afraid, they had to consider their families and future matters.
Therefore, the entire Prefecture City was silent.
…
Outside Dingzhou, by the banks of the Luo River.
There were thousands of hectares of fertile land here, crisscrossing paths, all of which were high quality paddy fields.
The most fertile half was the property of the Xie family. Just the tenant farmers that worked for the family numbered up to a thousand households. The Xie family was one of the 300 meritorious officials who had founded the country. Their glory and favor had not diminished in a hundred years. Even now, they were a well-known family.
However, the ancestral home of the Xie family built on the banks of the Luo River had always been low-key. The stone lions at the door were mottled, carrying the marks of time. The gilded horizontal board was personally written by an Emperor. At this time, it was covered with a yellow cloth and there were people taking care of it.
The Xie family had many capable people and had been bestowed special honors several times. Under the memorial arch in front of the door, civil officials alighted from their sedan chairs and military officials dismounted from their horses. Even if the governor of a province came, they would not be able to open the door to welcome him.
Compared to their family, those large families with as many servants as clouds and crowds of people at their front and back were instead like country bumpkins.
The sky gradually became hot.
The cold of late spring was chilly, and the air was still cold. The alternation of hot and cold was the easiest time for epidemics to occur.
However, the Xie family had specially hired a Fengshui master to design a huge nourishing formation to absorb the qi of the mountains and rivers. It was full of vitality, warm in winter and cool in summer. There was no risk of epidemics.
Within the main residence, in an antique study, the head of the Xie family, Xie Xingshan, slowly put down the report in his hand and shook his head, "The Imperial Court......"
"Master!"
The door was gently pushed open and a person walked in.
Although this place seemed quiet, it was actually the core of the family's guards. To reach this place, one had to pass through at least seven checkpoints. There were also clan arcane masters standing guard at all times to prevent any accidents.
For this person to be able to enter without a sound, not only was he one of them, he must also have a high position.
"The matter has been investigated. The one who secretly followed Ling 'er and Baoyu was the subordinate of the Sili Commandant, Qianhu Li Zongyi of the Anomaly News Division!"
"It's him!"
Xie Xingshan's brows furrowed, then relaxed again. A glint flashed in his eyes. "That person from the Imperial Court whose head is in the clouds? Do you know why Brother Yi has worked hard? "
Xie Yi's face showed a trace of embarrassment, "This is still unknown...... But the Imperial Court has recently increased their control over the provinces. Could it be that my family attracts the wind?"
"Anomaly News Division......"
Xie Xingshan said, "Mentioning this reminds me of some matters in the capital...... I don't know what happened in the Imperial Court recently, but several important positions have been changed. One of them is the commander of the Anomaly News Division. The position of the powerful minister seems to be unstable...... I'm afraid that a new change is coming!"
Last time, Wu Ming dug a huge pit in Shengjing and buried all of the elite soldiers of Dazhou in one fell swoop. He even lost a Prince of Yong!
This naturally caused a wave of earthquake and a reshuffle in the Imperial Court.
As a powerful family in the region, the Xie family was naturally concerned about this. Xie Xingshan guessed, "Could it be related to this? Heh! This Li Zongyi is too bold. He actually dared to make a move against my family. If he is not seriously ill, I will definitely teach him a lesson! "
For a colossus like the Xie family, a mere Qianhu Li of the Anomaly News Division was really nothing.
"This is just a small matter. Master need not worry about it!"
Xie Yi said straightforwardly.
For them, the fate of this qianhu, or even the future of the two disciples in the clan, was indeed not a small matter. What was truly important was the direction of Dingzhou's future. This was a matter of life and death that concerned their family's lives.
"Yes! The truly important matter is still here! "
Xie Xingshan handed over the intelligence report. Xie Yi scanned it a few times. His eyes slowly widened. Shortly after, he smiled bitterly. "Without seeing this for myself, I still can't believe it! How could Qi Lin of Pingshan Town surrender just like this? "
"This person has a chronic illness and has already given up all hope of conquering the world. However, he has surrendered to Wu Zhen. Presumably, he really thinks highly of this woman and believes that she can at least unify Dingzhou!"
Xie Xingshan also smiled bitterly. "Women are not inferior to men! Wu Zhen has made us old men blush with shame! "
Qi Lin's fame spread far and wide in Dingzhou. His surrender was no less of a help to Wu Zhi than taking another county!
Even when the master of the Xie family unconsciously mentioned Wu Zhi, his tone involuntarily carried some respect.
"Then, what is the master planning to do?"
Xie Yi asked.
With just a few words, he knew that the master of the family had no intention of forcefully resisting Wu Zhi, at least not militarily.
"Listen to his words and observe his actions!"
Xie Xingshan was silent for a long time and still sighed. "Also, didn't we already send people to establish relations with Wu Zhen's wedding last time? Now, let some of the children of the side branches of the family go and become officials! "
In troubled times, large families adhered to the principle of never putting all their eggs in one basket. It was normal for several families to become officials at the same time.
The most famous was the Zhuge family during the Three Kingdoms period. They had three masters. Unfortunately, there was a problem with the choice. Later, Yunshu had the dragon, Wu had the tiger, and Wei had the dog.
Even though the Xie family still had a large number of outstanding children working in the government, they were prepared to do the same.
In any case, it was just the children of some remote branches. If they did not succeed, it was fine to abandon them all.
"Yes, sir!"
Xie Yi bowed and accepted the order. He knew that the master of the family still had misgivings in his heart.
In reality, if Wu Zhi had been a man, the families in Dingzhou would probably have heard the news and surrendered, fighting to suck up to him.
Even if he was a woman, the power of these few victories was enough to cover up the disadvantages.
However, the Xie family was too big, so it needed to be planned slowly. The large families in the four counties under Wu Zhi's rule had probably already begun to lose their moral integrity and kneel to him.
"Also, send out more emissaries to strengthen relations!"
Xie Xingshan said. This was to establish relations on the surface. It could be seen that he had also thrown in some chips.
"I know!"
This was also the right thing to do. Xie Yi agreed. He seemed to think of something else and was startled.
"What's wrong?"
This little change could not be hidden from Xie Xingshan, so he asked directly.
"Nothing … I just thought of the last time Ling 'er and Baoyu came back from a diplomatic mission. After hearing what she said, I realized that Wu Zhi's husband seemed to be quite a character. His influence on Wu Zhen might even be beyond my expectations!"
"Wu Zhi's husband?"
Xie Xingshan was silent for a long time before he finally thought of a name. "That son of the Wu family? That's right! If he didn't have some ability, how could he control that kind of woman? Furthermore, he didn't marry into her family. This is indeed incredible! "
He prided himself on being knowledgeable and having a good memory, but this son of the Wu family had left such a weak impression on him. This was also a kind of ability.
Although it was a little funny, when he thought about it carefully, a little cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
A dragon could be big or small. It could hide in a mustard seed and rise above the Ninth Heaven. Unless the Thunder of Thunder appeared, who could truly recognize it?
After a pause, he immediately said, "Indeed … I have been neglecting this aspect before. Ling 'er has made a great contribution … Isn't she the emissary from last time? This time, I can send her again. We should be familiar with each other."
"Okay, I will go and allocate the soldiers and supplies to the family …"
Xie Yi agreed. Thinking of Xie Ling 'er's unsatisfied face and her blushing face, he suddenly felt a chill in his heart. "Could it be …"
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