She's skilled in medicine, martial arts, and even understands animal language—the abandoned dau

After the city lord's position was somewhat secured, Shen Man began to reform a series of old policies of the border city government.

She traveled through the streets and alleys every day, delving into the lives of ordinary people, talking with them, and conducting on-site surveys of farmland and markets, gaining a thorough understanding of every aspect of the city.

After conducting research, Shen Man realized that if she wanted to truly revitalize Biancheng Prefecture, she had to implement sweeping reforms.

That morning, sunlight shone on the blue bricks of the government office. Shen Man sat upright in the main hall, her eyes clear, her mind already sketching out a blueprint for reform.

She knew that everything is difficult at the beginning, and tax reform was a key step in this transformation.

Shen Man summoned the city's financial officials and meticulously calculated every single income and expenditure of the border city government.

In the dimly lit warehouse, she flipped through the mountain of ledgers, her fingertips covered in a thick layer of dust. After several days and nights of hard work, she finally grasped the intricacies of the finances.

Subsequently, she decisively ordered the abolition of many unreasonable and exorbitant taxes, reduced the heavy land tax by one-third, and made reasonable adjustments to commercial taxes.

When the news came out, the people initially couldn't believe it.

It was July, the season for storing summer grain. With some skepticism, they delivered only one-third of their original tax grain to the government, and to their surprise, it passed through smoothly.

As a result, the streets and alleys were in an uproar, with people discussing it endlessly.

An elderly farmer with gray hair smiled broadly as he patted his grain bin and said, "Lord Ding is truly our great benefactor! Now we have hope for the future!"

In addition, to cope with possible famine, Shen Man personally selected locations and set up granaries in the east, west, south and north of the city.

Despite the scorching sun, she traveled to various places to oversee the construction progress of the granary.

After the granary was built, she assigned a dedicated person to manage it and regularly allocated grain from the government treasury to replenish the reserves.

At the same time, she also posted notices in the city, encouraging wealthy merchants and ordinary people to donate surplus grain, and giving donors certain honors and rewards.

Soon, the granary was filled with grain, building a solid defense line for the people of the border city against natural disasters and man-made calamities.

After resolving the issues of taxation and people's livelihood, Shen Man turned her attention to the city's security.

Under the cover of night, the border town was often rife with bullies and thugs, causing immense suffering to the people.

Shen Man selected a group of elite soldiers from the army and formed a joint security team with the city's yamen runners.

She personally designed patrol routes and task assignments for the security team and supervised their work day and night.

One day, Shen Man received a report from the people that a local bully had forcibly seized farmland. She immediately led the security team to the bully's residence and captured him in one fell swoop.

In the dimly lit interrogation room, Shen Man's gaze was piercing. Faced with the bully's sophistry, she produced evidence of his crimes one by one. In the end, the bully was executed in public.

As the news spread, the people spread the word, and the streets gradually filled with laughter and joy at night. People no longer had to live in fear.

In agriculture, Shen Man, relying on her memories from her previous life, sent people to the southern coast to find higher-yielding rice varieties and drought-resistant sweet potato and corn varieties.

In addition, to encourage people to reclaim wasteland, Shen Man announced that newly reclaimed land would be exempt from taxes for three years and that subsidies for farm tools and seeds would be provided.

At the same time, she also organized artisans in the city to improve agricultural tools such as plows and harrows according to the new planting needs.

Gradually, the wasteland outside the city was transformed into fertile farmland, grain production increased significantly, and the problem of food and clothing for the people was completely solved.

In business, Shen Man relaxed market regulations and abolished many cumbersome rules that restricted business operations.

She allowed merchants free access to the border city for trade, lowered the tax rate, and established a special trading area in the city's most prosperous area, assigning officials to manage it and ensure fair and just transactions.

To attract more businesspeople, she also provides affordable accommodation and warehousing services for those who travel from afar.

Soon, the market in Biancheng Prefecture became bustling with activity, as merchants from all over came, bringing abundant goods and advanced business ideas.

Shen Man knew that talent was the foundation of urban development. Therefore, she did not hesitate to use the savings from the treasury to establish many schools in the city. She personally traveled to various places to invite learned and virtuous teachers to teach.

At the opening ceremony of the girls' school, Shen Man looked at the shy yet expectant girls below the stage and encouraged them, "Knowledge knows no gender, and you all have the right to pursue knowledge."

Thanks to her efforts, all the children in the border town, regardless of gender, were able to attend school and receive the enrichment of knowledge.

With the implementation of these new policies, the situation in the border town gradually stabilized, and the lives of the people improved. The city was bustling with activity, the streets were crowded with shops, and laughter filled the air.

The people were deeply grateful to Shen Man and praised her as the savior of Biancheng Prefecture.

Seeing this, Shen Man's heart, which had been hanging in suspense since she stepped into the government office, finally settled down.

Meanwhile, Liu Tong's report to the capital, after several twists and turns, finally reached the hands of Prime Minister Xiao Kuo.

After reading the report, Xiao Kuo's brows furrowed deeply.

These days, the capital city is not peaceful. From time to time, there are reports of Japanese soldiers causing trouble in the city, committing robbery, kidnapping and abducting innocent women.

Now, another incident has occurred: a border town garrison has been illegally conscripting soldiers with the intention of rebelling. It's truly a case of misfortunes never coming singly.

At the court assembly the following day, he read the report aloud in front of all the ministers and discussed countermeasures with them.

"This Fu Kai, a mere border garrison commander, dares to privately conscript soldiers with the intention of rebellion. What audacity!" Duke Xingguo said sternly upon hearing this.

His voice echoed in the empty council chamber, his eyes revealing a ruthless glint.

Minister of War Du Zicai, who was standing nearby, hurriedly stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Prime Minister, this matter must not be tolerated. I implore you to order the immediate dispatch of a large army to the border city to annihilate these traitors and restore order to the country!"

Xiao Kuo paced slowly, his expression cold and stern. After a moment of thought, he said, "The border city government has now formed an alliance with the Qi Rong. If we rashly send troops, the outcome is uncertain and it may even cause greater turmoil."

At this moment, Zuo Cong'an, the Minister of Rites, bowed slightly and respectfully advised, "What the Prime Minister says is absolutely right. In my humble opinion, it would be better to send an imperial envoy to persuade them to surrender first. This would demonstrate the benevolence of the court and also allow us to probe the strength of the border city government. If they remain obstinate, it will not be too late to launch a military campaign to encircle and annihilate them."

Xiao Kuo glanced at everyone, and after a moment's consideration, nodded in agreement: "As Lord Zuo said, we will select an eloquent imperial envoy to go to the border city. If Fu Kai and the others refuse to surrender, we must find out the troop deployment and fortifications in the city."

But who would be most suitable to be this imperial envoy?