I am a soldier in the border army

Chapter 456: Langju County Magistrate! Ding Sheng's Struggle!

After the New Year holidays, the two groups of civil and military officials who had been on leave returned to their posts.

After a brief meeting with the two classes of civil and military officials as per custom, the 61st year of Taikang officially began.

Since there were people working, Han Shao, the boss, suddenly had some free time.

Han Shao summoned Zhou Xuan from the Secretary's Office next door and got straight to the point.

"The reconstruction of Langju City needs someone to lead it. Do you have a suitable candidate?"

After last year's battle, Langju City has become a ruin, and reconstruction is imperative.

Filling the defense gap facing the grassland is secondary. The main thing is that Langju, like Guanjun, is an important trading post on the grassland trade route.

If the reconstruction cannot be completed before the weather warms up in April, every day of delay will result in a significant loss.

Hearing Han Shao's question, Zhou Xuan thought carefully for a while, and suddenly said a name that surprised Han Shao.

"Your Majesty, what do you think of... County Lieutenant Ding?"

County Lieutenant Ding?
Xuan Ji’s bootlicker senior brother Ding Sheng?

There was a strange flash in Han Shao's eyes. He tapped the table with his fingers for a while and then said.

"Tell me why."

He didn't think that Zhou Xuan recommended Ding Sheng just to please Yu Xuanji.

After all, with Yu Xuanji's indifferent personality, this kind of flattery is like playing the lute to a cow.

So he just wanted to hear what Zhou Xuan had to say.

When Zhou Xuan heard this, he said seriously.

"Although County Lieutenant Ding doesn't talk much, he works meticulously."

"Over the past year, the bad guys in the city have been under his control, which is enough to show that he is quite capable."

All the bad guys in the city are the remnants of the Beigu Outer Gate.

Just being able to suppress these two thousand people and prevent them from causing chaos is already very difficult.

Not to mention that it can be used for one's own benefit to maintain law and order in the various markets in the city.

Seeing Han Shao nod in agreement, Zhou Xuan continued.

"In addition, when a city is being rebuilt, there will inevitably be a mix of good and bad people, so severe punishments should be used!"

"Kang Chengguan, County Magistrate Ding, is quite decisive in his actions and will surely be able to deter the villains for His Majesty."

I have to say that Zhou Xuan is quite good at judging people.

You must know that when the horses trampled on Beigu Sect, it was Ding Sheng who acted as a hidden man. He boldly drew his sword to prevent the opening of the mountain gate formation and opened up a way for the army to break through the mountain.

Of course, there is one thing Zhou Xuan did not make clear.

That is, with Yu Xuanji as the connection, Ding Sheng would never be easily corrupted or lured by those aristocratic families and thus plant a stake in the newly built Langju City.

Taking all these factors into consideration, Ding Sheng is indeed a very suitable candidate.

So Han Shao didn't waste any time and gave the order directly.

"Go, call the county lieutenant Ding Sheng."

Not long after, Ding Sheng, who was patrolling the streets of the city, hurried over.

With Han Shao's divine sense, he could clearly see that he was quite nervous. He calmed his breath in the outer room, carefully tidied his appearance, and then bowed respectfully towards the inner room.

"Your Highness, I am County Lieutenant Ding Sheng, summoned by your Majesty."

"come in."

He took small and quick steps, then slowed down and stopped.

"Your Majesty, I, Ding Sheng, greet you!"

Han Shao lowered his eyes from his high position, then said with a half-smile.

"Nourishing the body and living in a place will change one's temperament. That's right. County Lieutenant Ding has become quite dignified now."

Hearing Han Shao's teasing, Ding Sheng remained expressionless and spoke respectfully.

"This is all due to your cultivation!"

Tsk tsk, who said that he, Ding Sheng, can’t speak?

Han Shao was too lazy to beat around the bush and spoke directly.

"I plan to let you preside over the reconstruction of Langju City. What do you think?"

Ding Sheng was stunned when he heard this, then said.

"I am not familiar with the art of construction, and I am afraid that I will delay your majesty's important work."

Han Shao waved his hand and smiled faintly.

"If you don't understand, someone else will."

"You just need to coordinate for me and keep an eye on it."

Leave professional matters to professionals.

With those Mohist sages around, why would he need to worry about these things?

Han Shao's words undoubtedly blocked Ding Sheng's reason to refuse.

Langju and Guanjun are more than 300 miles apart.

And building and rebuilding a city is impossible to complete in a short period of time.

When he thought about how he and Junior Sister Yu would be separated by such a distance after this trip, Ding Sheng couldn't help but feel hesitant.

But facing Han Shao's order, how could he refuse?
So after struggling for a few moments, he could only bow and accept the order.

"Here."

Seeing this, Han Shao smiled with satisfaction and then said.

"In that case, you will temporarily take over as the magistrate of Langju County."

"I will make the official appointment after I submit my petition to the court."

If the name is not correct, the words will not ring true.

Although Langju City and even the three prefectures and dozens of counties promised by Emperor Taikang were already under Han Shao's actual control, the procedures for appointing officials still had to be followed.

This is also a major disadvantage of Han Shao's refusal to seal off the country.

However, judging from Shangguan Ding's attitude when he met him before, this little matter shouldn't be too difficult for him.

So it's mostly just a formality.

But when Ding Sheng heard Han Shao's words, he was really stunned.

County magistrate?

Have I been promoted again?

Han Shao didn't care how confused he was. Since the matter had been finalized, he arranged it directly.

"Now that the city is stable, two thousand bad men seem a bit redundant. When you go there, you can take half of them away."

"Also, I will ask Qi Shuo to lead a battalion of cavalry there later."

"If anything unexpected happens, you don't need to report it to me in advance—"

Han Shao paused here, then uttered the second half of the sentence in a cold tone.

"You can kill them all!"

The trade route to the grasslands brings considerable profits.

It is inevitable that there will be barbarians who are driven crazy by poverty and lose their minds and want to fish in troubled waters.

Or maybe some noble families are doing something behind the scenes.

In a word, as long as they have the courage, Han Shao will never hesitate to wield the butcher knife and kill the chicken to scare the monkey.

One battalion, ten thousand cavalry.

Not too much, not too little, enough to intimidate and powerful enough when the sword is struck.

It's just okay.

Perhaps alarmed by Han Shaosheng's murderous aura, Ding Sheng subconsciously shrank back, and then responded in a panic.

"Yes! Your Majesty's order will be obeyed by your servant Ding Sheng!"

Seeing this, Han Shao said nothing more.

Alas, one carrot, one hole.

Similarly, when one carrot is moved away, a new carrot must be brought to fill the old hole.

Next, he had a headache again as to who should be in charge of the remaining one thousand bad guys.

"How about... cutting some of them off?"

As soon as this thought came to his mind, Han Shao suppressed it.

Although one thousand bad guys are still too many for the current Champion City, it was still worth some thought.

Once the team is laid off, all the resources spent previously will be wasted.

Allowing these warriors with strong skills to spread among the people would undoubtedly be a major destabilizing factor.

"Forget it. I'll transfer some of the best troops to the city defense camp."

"The rest will be transferred to other counties."

It would be a good opportunity to first drive a wedge into the counties controlled by the Chen family of Zhuo County, the Zhou family of Jiao County, and other aristocratic families.

Han Shao, who already had an idea in mind, waved his hand and let Ding Sheng go down.

But just as Ding Sheng was leaving, Han Shao suddenly said again.

"Later, go meet your Junior Sister Yu. It's been a while since you last met."

"I'm going to Langju now, and I don't think I'll be back for a while, so I'd better go and say goodbye."

To put a hat on Han, Ding Sheng is not worthy of it.

Han Shao has never been reluctant to show his magnanimity.

Of course, the most important thing is that Yu Xuanji stays in the backyard all day long, never going out of the front door or the back door, and he is afraid that she will be bored.

Letting Ding Sheng, an old friend, chat with her for a few minutes could also help her gain more popularity.

This would prevent her from being too deeply influenced by the ancient heritage mark in her soul.

After hearing what Han Shao said, Ding Sheng subconsciously became flustered and frightened, fearing that Han Shao, the Lord, had misunderstood something.

Only when he saw that Han Shao's eyes were calm and he had no intention of testing or caring about anything did he feel relieved.

"Yes." "Thank you for your kindness, sir."

show mercy?
You don't think that I let you meet my woman just so that you can concentrate on your work, right?

Han Shao waved his hands with amusement.

"Go."

As he said this, he greeted him.

"Zhenniang, you lead the way for County Magistrate Ding."

……

The maid named Zhenniang, with a pretty face and a slender and graceful figure, swayed in front as she led the way.

Ding Sheng didn't dare to look at it any more, nor did he have the heart to look at it any more.

At this moment, his mind was in a mess, he was excited, nervous, but more importantly, he was wondering how Junior Sister Yu was doing, whether she was skinny, whether she was bullied by the other ladies...

Alas, once you enter a high position, it is like entering a deep sea.

But now the Lord is becoming more... prominent.

Ding Sheng felt complicated and confused.

"Are Magistrate Ding and Madam Yu brothers and sisters?"

The study was some distance away from Yu Xuanji's Su Shuyuan. While walking through the corridors, Zhenniang asked curiously.

Ding Sheng, who was awakened, didn't want to pay attention to the beautiful maid in front of him, but because of her words, his mind couldn't help but recall the silly look of the girl named Xuanji on Beigushan Mountain all those years.

Finally, he couldn't help but let a gentle smile appear on the corner of his mouth.

"Yes."

Zhenniang seemed like a simple-minded girl, and asked with a bright look in her eyes.

"Then you must have a very good relationship?"

Ding Sheng didn't think much about it and nodded.

"Ah."

"Xuan Ji has great talent, but her reactions are always slower than those of ordinary people."

"I started here earlier than her, so I should have taken better care of her."

Zhenniang smiled sweetly when she heard this.

"Madam Yu is lucky to have a senior brother like County Magistrate Ding."

Ding Sheng smiled shyly and said.

"No, it is Ding's luck to meet Xuanji in this life."

As he spoke, he unknowingly talked about some interesting things that happened in the mountains.

And later, when Yu Xuanji grew up gradually and fully revealed her heavenly beauty, he also fended off those crazy admirers for her.

It was not until they were approaching Sushuyuan that Ding Sheng realized that he had been the one speaking the entire second half of the journey.

But the waitress, who looked smart and pretty, said nothing.

Ding Sheng suddenly realized something and felt a chill on his back and sweat on his forehead.

"The method of confusing the mind..."

Zhenniang seemed not to have heard Ding Sheng's words, and still had a sweet smile on her face.

"Okay, we're here at Madam Yu's yard."

After saying this, his eyes seemed both playful and indifferent.

"County Magistrate Ding has said something in front of me. You must be careful with your words and actions in front of Madam Yu."

"As servants, we should abide by our duties. As a minister, County Magistrate Ding should do the same."

Xuanji?

How dare you call Madam Yu by her name? How many heads do you have?

After Zhenniang said this, she ignored Ding Sheng's pale face and turned around to go in and pass the message.

After a long while, he came out again and let Ding Sheng in.

At this moment, Ding Sheng's whole body was cold, and his originally anxious heart suddenly felt fearful.

Some people were afraid to go in.

……

Yu Xuanji didn't mean to leave Ding Sheng out.

In fact, besides being a little surprised, she was also quite delighted by the sudden arrival of her former senior brother.

It’s just that Han Shao stayed overnight at her place last night, and after receiving such a favor, she felt a little tired and was too lazy to get up.

After waiting for the personal maid to tell her, she began to dress up in a daze.

"Brother Ding."

Through a thin screen of distant mountains, Junior Sister Yu's voice was still familiar, but with a strange sense of laziness.

Ding Sheng was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly greeted.

"Ding Sheng, meet Madam Yu."

Yu Xuanji felt helpless.

"Senior Brother has taken good care of Xuan Ji in the past. He is the only person Xuan Ji is close to outside. Why is he so distant?"

Even without mentioning the care he had received in the past, he was later imprisoned in the Guanghan Secret Realm, with no one knowing whether he was alive or dead.

Senior Brother Ding was willing to risk his life to seek justice and redress his grievances, which was enough for the indifferent Yu Xuanji to remember.

As...brother.

Ding Sheng felt warm in his heart at Yu Xuanji's sweet words.

When I heard the words 'the only person close to me', I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed.

It’s a pity that the two senior and junior brothers and sisters are now like the distant mountains on the gauze screen placed in front of them. They seem to be close at hand, but in fact they are separated by mountains and seas.

This huge gap, like an insurmountable chasm, is something he will never be able to cross in his lifetime.

With a sigh in his heart, Ding Sheng finally mustered up the courage to respond.

"Junior Sister Yu..."

Yu Xuanji was obviously pleased when she heard this.

Maybe it was because she had been bored in the yard all the time and no one could make her want to talk.

The visit of an old friend at this moment made her feel like talking.

He first recalled the past with Ding Sheng on the mountain, and then became concerned about Ding Sheng's situation over the past year.

The way she spoke really sounded like a younger sister treating her older brother.

When Yu Xuanji heard Ding Sheng say that Han Shao had just appointed him as the magistrate of Langju County, he was surprised for a while.

"In that case, as your junior sister, I would like to congratulate you, Senior Brother."

The magistrate of a city county, also known as Baili Hou.

From being a frustrated outer disciple of Beigu Sect two years ago, he has reached his current position in just over a year. It is no exaggeration to say that he has risen rapidly.

Hearing this, Ding Sheng was silent for a moment and said.

"If it weren't for Junior Sister, Senior Brother wouldn't have achieved what he has today..."

This is a good thing to say.

If it weren't for Yu Xuanji, even if he had the merit of assisting Xiang in breaking through Beigushan, he would not have been able to directly take the position of county lieutenant.

But Yu Xuanji felt a little ashamed.

After all, to be honest, she had never whispered anything in Han Shao's ear about this senior brother.

Instead, it was Han Shao who took the initiative to promote him.

Thinking of this, Yu Xuanji felt grateful to her husband, and at the same time, she couldn't help but feel tender and affectionate.

"My dear, you are so considerate. Next time, I will definitely repay you well..."

As if she was thinking of something embarrassing, her face flushed slightly even through the gauze screen.

Fortunately, the method she practiced had the effect of clearing the mind, so there were no clues.

"Speaking of which, it is because of the grace of the Lord today that I, a senior brother, have the opportunity to say goodbye to my junior sister."

Although Ding Sheng tried hard to conceal his feelings, he still couldn't help revealing a bit of reluctance.

Yu Xuanji, who had calmed her mind, could only pretend that she didn't hear it.

After just agreeing with some reluctance, he gave Ding Sheng a few words of encouragement.

"Brother, you must do your best for my husband and don't let my husband down for his painstaking care."

Ding Sheng nodded in agreement.

Then, seeing that the time was almost up, he stood up and said goodbye.

"In that case, Senior Brother will not bother Junior Sister any more."

"Junior sister, please take care of your body in the mansion..."

After saying this, he took a deep look at the figure in the elegant dress behind the gauze screen, as if he wanted to imprint it firmly in his heart.

Then he turned and left.

Being able to see my junior sister and knowing that she is safe and sound is enough for me.

No matter how many words are left, it is meaningless to say them now.

He is too weak.

He is so weak that he can no longer protect his junior sister from the wind and rain like he did in Beigushan.

I couldn't confidently tell my junior sister, "Don't be afraid, I'm here for you."

After all, any of the other ladies in this mansion, with their backings, could easily crush a mere Yuanshen Zhenren like him.

He could only climb up step by step.

Until you can stand on equal footing with those noble families!

……

(End of this chapter)