It's better to be an empress than a county magistrate

Lu Xingchen did not notice the mood of Ling Xiao, the sensitive boy, at this moment.

Wei Hu and Zhang Fan accepted it very quickly, and he felt that there was nothing wrong with Ling Xiao, so he didn't pay much attention to it.

Lu Xingchen and his team have been stationed in He County for two days, and the situation in He County has become stable.

The frightened people now opened their gates and walked onto the street.

Because they found that Lu Xingchen's soldiers were well-organized and would not break into ordinary people's homes to rob or kill people.

The world is in a mess nowadays. In just a few years, He County has changed its owner again.

Previously it was the county lord of the previous dynasty, then it was replaced by Tang Yi, and now it has been replaced by someone with the surname Lu, and I heard it’s a woman.

When Lu Xingchen and his troops entered He County, the people were terrified.

Afraid that he and his family would be killed, and afraid that his property would be stolen.

As a result, after two days, Lu Xingchen's troops maintained strict military discipline and did not harass any civilians. The city was unusually quiet, and the common people slowly opened their doors, walked onto the streets and began to test the waters.

This is not the first county that Lu Xingchen has taken over.

So the reaction of the people is normal. They just ignore it.

Lu Feng placed a stack of account books in front of Lu Xingchen.

"During the time when Tang Yi occupied He County, several families opened more shops, and the land of several gentry more than doubled." Lu Feng took out the booklets of several families and placed them in front of Lu Xingchen.

“There were some gentry whose land holdings were reduced during this period.”

"But the people's fields have basically remained stable, and the number of tenants has not increased much."

"It can be seen that Tang Yi is governing He County like a normal county magistrate."

"The overall size of He County is about three times the size of Song County."

Lu Xingchen nodded and said, "Let Master Guo come over to look at these things. Now I have a headache when I see these numbers."

Lu Feng smiled and said, "Then I will send someone to call Master Guo over."

Lu Xingchen nodded slightly, "Tell him to bring more people over."

"We will rest for a while and continue to expand southward."

Lu Feng nodded in agreement.

After Wei Hu and Zhang Fan reorganized their troops, they continued to recruit new soldiers while conducting training.

This time they brought 3,000 soldiers, but later they absorbed some of Pei Jun's men. If they recruited more soldiers in He County, the number of soldiers would be about 3,500 to 4,000.

Of course, in addition to the regular army, it is also necessary to recruit some garrison troops.

Lu Xingchen found that Ma Kui was a capable person with ideas and strong abilities, so she usually handed over the matter of garrisoning troops to Ma Kui.

Ling Xiao had already taken out those leaders who were unwilling to surrender from the prison in He County and forced them to kneel at the door of the prison.

There was a small open space at the door of the cell.

Most of Tang Yi's brothers with different surnames have died, and there are only a few left.

Those who were willing to surrender were sent to Niutou Mountain by Lingxiao and asked to mine in the mountains.

There are only four people who are unwilling to surrender now.

The four were tied up and forced to kneel on the ground.

"Kill us quickly, we want to go see the big brother." A man looked up and glared at Lu Xingchen angrily.

Lu Xingchen was not in a hurry. They were already dead anyway, so why bother with them? It was also good to fulfill their loyalty.

Ling Xiao was annoyed by their noise and stuffed cloth into their mouths.

After a while, He Zhang came over accompanied by a servant.

At this time, He Zhang had already washed and changed into new clothes. Although he still looked thin and small, he was at least a fair-skinned little boy.

He still looked very timid, his eyes were evasive, like a guilty thief.

However, given the environment and being raised by an old servant, it is not surprising that he would grow up to be like this.

He Zhang is only eleven years old. If he behaves well when he is young and is a smart child, he will get better slowly with proper guidance.

"These people are Tang Yi's brothers with different surnames." Lu Xingchen held He Zhang's shoulders with both hands and said to him.

He Zhang looked at the four people kneeling on the ground, and was so scared that he took two steps back, lowering his head and not daring to look again.

Lu Xingchen held his right shoulder with his right hand, added a little strength, pinched his chin with his left hand, and lifted his face up.

"You don't even dare to face them. How can you avenge your parents, brothers and sisters?" Lu Xingchen said.

"Tang Yi is already dead and has become a corpse. It is useless for you to seek revenge on him. But these people must have been stained with the blood of your parents, brothers and sisters."

"These people are kneeling in front of you right now, what are you going to do?"

If He Zhang cannot vent the hatred buried deep in his heart, he will never achieve great things in the future.

This is what is called "destruction before construction".

Only by leading him out of the shadow of his childhood can he embrace a new life.

But Lu Xingchen can only play a guiding role. What to do and to what extent depends on He Zhang's own ability and awareness.

"You have to avenge your parents, brothers and sisters. You can kill them. If you say that I can not avenge my relatives, I can forgive them, or..."

"This is the choice I give you."

He Zhang looked up at Lu Xingchen with a confused look in his eyes.

He never thought that his enemies would be tied up in front of him. He could avenge his relatives and kill them.

The old servant had taught him countless times how to kill an enemy if he had the chance to meet one, and which part of the enemy's body the knife should pierce to kill them instantly.

The old servant even risked being beaten to death by Tang Yi and used the horses in the stable for his experiments.

He once held a dagger and stabbed it into the horse's body like a madman.

He was awakened by nightmares countless times, and he made up his mind countless times that if he had the chance to meet his enemies, he would tear them into pieces.

But at this moment, the enemy was right in front of him. They were tied up and had no power to fight back, but he was a little confused and didn't know what to do.

"Boy, these people killed your parents, brothers and sisters, so of course you have to kill them." Lu Yun said, stuffing a dagger into He Zhang's hand.

"The first time I killed someone, I was scared. I was scared before, and I vomited several times, but as long as I kill one person, the rest doesn't matter."

"Think about your parents' tragic death, lying in a pool of blood, and looking at your desperate eyes."

He Zhang was stimulated by Lu Yun's words. He held the dagger in his hand and walked towards those people step by step.

His eyes became increasingly determined, his teeth were clenched tightly, and his face was full of resentment.

But even so, he still closed his eyes and stabbed the man.

The knife stabbed into the first person's heart, and blood slowly flowed out along the blade.

He Zhang's hands were almost torn apart by the burning blood, and he took two steps back.

Fortunately, at the last moment, he overcame his fear and pulled the dagger out of the first man's body.