The first county magistrate in history

"Your Majesty!" Qiu Han stepped forward and handed over a secret letter: "The little princess just sent news that Qin Zheng is ill."

"Sick?" Xia Mochu was shocked.

Open the memorial and read it.

laugh!

Xia Mochu burst into laughter.

Li Qiuhan was puzzled: "Your Majesty, he is ill and cannot go to provide disaster relief. Why are you still laughing?"

Xia Mochu laughed and said, "You're silly! Was he sick when we were in Hongtong County? Why is he suddenly sick now?"

Li Qiuhan suddenly realized: "Does he know that His Majesty has been to Guanghe County?"

Xia Mochu nodded: "He is still a little naive to try this trick on me!"

I thought to myself, what's wrong with him? He's full of energy when he's with me.

Li Qiuhan said, "What if he uses this as an excuse to disobey the order?"

"He's not stupid. Even if he doesn't think about himself, he will think about Hongtong County. Otherwise, it wouldn't be just madness. Wouldn't it be better for him to just pretend to be more serious and lie down?" Xia Mochu was very sure.

Qin Zheng had said he didn't want to go to court, but if the empress issued an order, he would have no choice but to go. Hehehe...

Li Qiuhan felt the same way.

"Let's go and see the Taifu!" Xia Mochu went to visit the Taifu again overnight.

When Taifu Wei Xuelin saw the empress return, his illness was half healed.

Xia Mochu told her mentor everything, but was too embarrassed to talk about the fact that she had slept with Qin Zheng.

After hearing about the empress's journey, Wei Xuelin was extremely excited: "Your Majesty, this Qin Zheng must be used by you. If he is lured away by the villains, the Daqian Dynasty will be in danger..."

Xia Mochu nodded: "That's exactly what I meant."

I thought, Qin Zheng, if you dare to betray me, I will...

Xia Mochu suddenly realized that she really couldn't do anything about Qin Zheng. That guy was too smart, and Hongtong County was too powerful!

Back in the palace, Xia Mochu instructed Li Qiuhan: "Contact Zhao Suhong tomorrow. It's time to cooperate. I need money. Without money, I won't be able to move forward!"

Li Qiuhan asked, "If we give all the business to the Zhao family, they won't be able to come up with that much money, right?"

Xia Mochu was confident: "Are you good at business, or am I? What if we lose money? Besides, do we have the capital? Renting a house, hiring people, publicity, which aspect doesn't require money? First, we can collect part of the agency fee and owe the rest. Later, when we have money, we can ask Qin Zheng for a few projects."

Li Qiuhan smiled bitterly. His Majesty must be sure of Qin Zheng. But why is Qin Zheng so obedient?

Thinking of those projects, Li Qiuhan felt a pang of heartache: "This will make me lose a lot of money."

Xia Mochu sighed, "This is the only way for now. I've already asked Mo Ning to learn some skills from Qin Zheng in Hongtong County. When the time comes, I'll let her do it."

Only then did Li Qiuhan understand why His Majesty left the little princess in Hongtong County.

"Your Majesty is wise!" Li Qiuhan praised sincerely.

Late summer, early pride...

After the arrangements were made, Xia Mochu tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep. The bed was too hard. A Simmons mattress would have been better.

Also, she wanted some beer. She'd ask for a few buckets before she left.

"On the seventh day of the seventh month, in the Changsheng Palace, in the middle of the night, when no one is around, whispering. In the sky, I wish to be a pair of wings, on the ground, a pair of branches... When the golden wind and jade dew meet, it is better than anything in the world. Tender love is like water, and the good time is like a dream. I can't help but look back at the Magpie Bridge on my way home. If love is to last forever, why should we be together day and night..." Xia Mochu unconsciously hummed the lines from the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. She had memorized them from watching the play at the Hongtong County Grand Theater.

The Daqian Dynasty lacked operatic culture, with only court songs and dances and commonplace clichés. However, Hongtong County's opera culture was truly exceptional, with Qin Zheng reportedly writing the scripts and training the actors.

As she sang, Xia Mochu's longing for Hongtong County became stronger and stronger. If possible, she wanted to move to Hongtong County and live there permanently.

Xia Mochu suddenly touched her lower abdomen.

It's been several months and she's still not pregnant. Is that little county magistrate not capable of doing this?

She was very conflicted. She wanted a child, but was also afraid of the situation she would face after getting pregnant.

Xia Mochu fell into a deep sleep in entanglement and worry.

A group of troops marched towards the northern border under the cover of night.

A burly middle-aged man was sitting in a carriage.

This person is the King of the North, Cheng Kun.

At this moment, Cheng Kun's face turned pale and he cursed non-stop: "Xia Mochu, you killed my students and insulted me. I will never let you go. Sooner or later, I will pull you down and ravage you..."

"Qin Zheng, you are a powerful and unruly person. I am giving you face..."

After cursing for more than half an hour, Cheng Kun grew tired and leaned against the carriage, ready to take a break. However, the road was bumpy and his head kept bumping against the carriage.

Cheng Kun got angry again and started cursing, "What the hell is this broken road? Why don't they fix it? It's worse than Hongtong County!"

He secretly went to Hongtong County.

The freshness and richness of Hongtong County made him salivate.

He once sent Xuanzhou prefect Cai Bulun to try to win over Qin Zheng, but when his attempt failed, they resorted to violence. As a result, Cai Bulun was badly defeated.

Even he was afraid of the combat power of Hongtong County.

Especially the Tianlei Cannon in Hongtong County, which is something that only heavenly soldiers can possess.

He really didn't expect that Qin Zheng would actually give the empress five sky thunder cannons.

He and the other realm kings were so frightened that they didn't care that the empress had killed their people, and they fled without caring about their face...

It's so sad that the King of the North, with a million soldiers under his command, is helpless against a small county magistrate.

He did think about mobilizing border troops to attack Hongtong County. Even if Hongtong County had thunder cannons, could they defeat the human wave tactics?

However, he can't do this.

The four kings of the four realms appear harmonious on the surface, but in reality, they each harbor their own hidden agenda. If he were to suffer heavy casualties, it would be uncertain who would rule the Northern Territory...

The more Cheng Kun thought about it, the more suffocated he felt. He had never felt so aggrieved before.

"Pass the order, set up camp here!" Cheng Kun shouted angrily.

I'm not going to leave. I'm so damn tired, not just physically but mentally as well.

Deep in the imperial palace, in the Prime Minister's residence.

Xia Bitu, the prime minister of the Daqian Dynasty, paced back and forth in his study.

There was also a man of medium build standing in the room.

This person is the steward of the Prime Minister's Mansion and Xia Jinzhong, Xia Bitu's adopted son.

Xia Jinzhong is smart and capable, good at observing people's words and expressions, loyal and efficient, and is deeply trusted by Xia Bitu, who asks him to do almost all the shady things.

At this moment, Xia Jinzhong looked at his father and adoptive father, his small eyes flashing with cunning light.

"How is it possible that she really brought back five Tianlei Cannons from Hongtong County? Why did Qin Zheng give her the Tianlei Cannons? Did she reveal her identity to Qin Zheng, and we ended up making things worse?" For a long time, Xia Bitu seemed to be asking Xia Jinzhong, but also seemed to be talking to himself.

Xia Jinzhong knows his adoptive father better than he knows himself, otherwise he would not have gained the trust of the cunning Xia Bitu.

He was very clear about the difference between an adopted son and a biological son. In the past, when Xia Bitu had no biological son, he was the favorite, and he could be very powerful. He could make the decision on many things, and he dared to make the decision.

But now my adoptive father has his own son, who is also a top soldier in the army.

He had already put himself in the right position, and was not only more cautious, but also more respectful, loyal and obedient.

At this moment, he knew that his adoptive father was talking to himself, but he was also looking for answers.

He needs to offer his own opinions. Even if his opinions are bullshit, with his adoptive father's wisdom, he can find some clues from the bullshit to support his opinions.

Xia Jinzhong said softly, "The Sky Thunder Cannon that the Empress brought back is under the personal supervision of the Imperial Palace experts. The people we sent cannot touch it at all."

Xia Bitu didn't seem surprised and asked, "Have you received any intelligence from Hongtong County?" Xia Jinzhong replied, "No progress at all. Hongtong County is relaxed on the outside but tight on the inside. Even children are wary of outsiders."

"Oh?" Xia Bitu was a little surprised.

Xia Jinzhong continued, "Those elderly people are even more difficult to deal with. They're all so-called joint defense team members. They'll immediately follow any strangers who enter. If they spot anything unusual, they'll immediately report it to the garrison. Our spies are useless."

Xia Bitu was thoughtful and asked, "What's going on with the Empress?"

Xia Jinzhong replied, "The Empress is even more cunning, using her feints to one side and her attacks to the west. When she spread the word that she had returned from her incognito tour, our spies followed the wrong person. Therefore, we have no idea what she was doing in Hongtong County. The only person who could contact the Empress, Yanzi Lisi, died, and all leads were cut off. It wasn't until the Empress killed someone at the gates of the imperial capital that we realized we had been tricked."

Xia Jinzhong was very smart. He did not give his adoptive father any answer because his answer would affect his adoptive father's judgment.

He just stated the facts that needed to be said.

All of these facts should have been reported to Chabito, but he unknowingly expressed his own opinion:

Anything is possible. Without access to the Sky Thunder Cannon, it's difficult to verify its authenticity. The secret investigation in Hongtong County is progressing slowly, making it impossible to confirm whether Qin Zheng gave the Empress the Sky Thunder Cannon. Since there's no way to verify it, there's no point dwelling on it. It's better to take it as it is and deal with it accordingly.

Sure enough, Xia Bitu's face, which had been tangled with worry, relaxed and he said with a smile, "The Empress's intention is very clear. She wants to recruit Qin Zheng to the court. If she can win him over, so can we. Hehehe, go and prepare, closely track Qin Zheng, and report his actions in a timely manner. Also, Hong Wu has been in hiding for so long, it's time for her to come out!"

"Yes!" Xia Jinzhong bowed respectfully and turned to leave.

Watching Xia Jinzhong's back disappear, Xia Bitu suddenly sighed and said to himself, "I wish Jinzhong was my own son. My son Tianjiao can rule the world with his martial arts, but his wisdom and strategy are far inferior to Jinzhong's."

Hongtong County Government Office.

"What, the Empress's decree has arrived?"

Qin Zheng, who was drinking beer and smoking a cigarette, jumped up from his chair and the cigarette fell to the ground.

The chief clerk Tian Fuan and the county magistrate Zhang Mingli also jumped up.

The three were terrified.