After being exiled, I led my whole family to rebel.

Chapter 281 Cause of the Plague
"If we copy the tactics of the Zhou Dynasty, then what is the purpose of my rebellion? I, Xu Zhenying, don't want to be an ordinary rebel. Since I want to be a rebel, I must be the first rebel in history!"

Xu Zhenying's eyes were sparkling, and she seemed to have never revealed her true feelings to anyone.

There is only Mr. Lin, this weirdo who looks skinny and has an air of immortality, but is full of rebelliousness and is out of touch with the world.

Mr. Lin was so angry that he didn't dare to breathe, and stared at the person in front of him intently.

It was as if at that moment, Xu Zhenying's surroundings were coated with a light golden light!

"Then...then the city lord...what kind of world do you want to create?"

Xu Zhenying stared at Mr. Lin with a smile, but gave it away, "My answers are all in the textbook. Since Mr. Lin has come to Jinzhou Mansion, why not walk around and see if you can find the answer."

Mr. Lin walked out the door in a daze.

Xu Zhenying wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Oh my god, I finally deceived a great smart person again.

The others in the room looked at each other in confusion, Xu Zhenying had no choice but to smile and fool them again: "It's okay, the title has been decided, other things can be taken care of slowly."

Everyone was enthusiastic, and even after the meeting ended, they still pulled each other to discuss the "ritual system" and "legal system" mentioned in the meeting just now to govern the country.

Everyone is thinking about what it will be like if the country is governed by law.

Everyone left, only Zhou Houfang and a few secretaries stayed to clean up the mess.

Zhou Houfang was a little absent-minded throughout the meeting. Now that everyone had left, she seemed to have made some kind of decision and walked straight to Xu Zhenying, "City Lord, can I talk to you alone?"

Xu Zhenying raised his eyes and glanced at Zhou Houfang.

well.

Zhou Houfang's eyes were clear and she looked tougher than before.

In the past, she was like a magnificent peony kept in the greenhouse.

But now, it is more like wild flowers growing freely in the wild.

Xu Zhenying waved his hand and signaled everyone in the room to leave.

Several secretaries looked at each other, each with their own thoughts, and then withdrew.

After everyone left, only Xu Zhenying and Zhou Houfang were left in the room.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Houfang knelt down on the ground with a "pop".

Xu Zhenying raised his eyebrows.

"City Lord, save me!"

Xu Zhenying sat in the chair and did not move.

Although she didn't like being kneeled down by others, she also knew that Zhou Houfang was arrogant and arrogant, but now he was willing to bow his head and be humble. He must have asked for something big.

Xu Zhenying was stunned for a moment, and finally pointed to the stool beside him, "Sit down and talk."

Zhou Houfang refused, her eyes were filled with mist, and she was a little excited, "City Lord, I...I...the Chang family recently intends to continue the marriage between the two families. I used excuses to stabilize them before, but now they may have seen that the City Lord has become a climate change." , he will probably force me to get married soon."

"City Lord, I don't want to get married! I don't want to marry Chang Ze! That Chang Ze already had a third aunt before I got married. He even ignored my Zhou family's face and couldn't wait to bring his cousin into the house on the second day of our engagement. "

"I, Zhou Houfang, have read poetry and books, and I am familiar with the scriptures. I don't want to be on par with my husband. However, Chang Ze is stupid and what he does really disgusts me! More importantly, I...I...Zhou Houfang is not willing to give in! No! Why should I, Zhou Houfang, leave my fate in the hands of such a man? He is not worthy of me! I want to keep my fate firmly in my own hands!"

"What's more, I will follow the city lord and have a bright future. Even if I don't get married, I won't feel regretful. I have already seen through marriage in this life. Instead of finding a man and living in confusion, I would rather dedicate my life to the cause I love!"

Zhou Houfang's voice echoed for a long time.

When she said these words, her lips couldn't stop trembling and her chest kept rising and falling.

However, the room was quiet.

Xu Zhenying looked at her, but didn't seem to be looking at her.

Zhou Houfang was a little flustered.

After a long time, Xu Zhenying said quietly: "Zhou Houfang, marriage is the order of the parents. The matchmaker said that you are asking the wrong person."

Zhou Houfang was shocked.

If she could ask her parents to make the decision, why would she rush to Xu Zhenying in such a hurry?
Her father is powerful and her mother is weak. In their eyes, letting her get married may be of greater value than letting her serve as an official.

Zhou Houfang can’t afford to gamble!
Zhou Houfang stood up suddenly, Xu Zhenying subconsciously leaned back slightly, and even the secret guard beside Xu Zhenying was a little nervous.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Houfang walked around the room and then found a pair of scissors. Just when Xu Zhenying thought Zhou Houfang was going to use self-mutilation to force her, she saw the man untied her bun, and her long hair was loose like a waterfall.

Then Zhou Houfang picked up the scissors.

——Click.

——Click.

She cut off her long hair, leaving only an inch long, and she looked no different from the female soldiers in Jinzhou Prefecture.

"Clang."

Zhou Houfang threw away the scissors, then knelt on the ground and looked at Xu Zhenying with a determined expression: "City Lord, is this the only way you can truly trust me?"

Xu Zhenying was silent.

"I know that you have always been on guard against me! I also admit that in the past I had the intention of betting on both sides. But today Chang Ze came to me and forced me to get married, which made me completely sober! City Lord, You have brought me such a world of equality and freedom, how can you have the heart to push me back to the hell of the past! No, I, Zhou Houfang, will never go back! I, Zhou Houfang, don’t want to rely on anyone in my life, I just want to rely on myself! , From this moment on, I am completely loyal to you! I just ask you to save me! City Lord, I would rather remain unmarried for the rest of my life, just like you, I will fight for this beloved cause for the rest of my life!"

Xu Zhenying was silent for a long time, and then sighed softly.

Zhou Houfang didn't know what the outcome of her desperate gamble would be.

But she is willing to take a gamble!
She bet on Xu Zhenying's intolerance!

She bet that she still had exchange value in Xu Zhenying's eyes!
"In fact, with your intelligence, you may be able to find a way to escape." Xu Zhenying said this, but there was no expression on his face, leaving Zhou Houfang confused.

It is said that accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger. Zhou Houfang finally felt a little bit afraid of this feeling of walking on thin ice.

She was like a criminal who had committed a serious crime, waiting for Xu Zhenying's trial.

Afterwards, Xu Zhenying smiled: "But since you have asked me for help, I can only help you."

Zhou Houfang's chest rose and fell violently.

"You reminded me that there are still a group of people imprisoned in the prison of Jinzhou Mansion. This time, it is a return gift for you to officially join me."

Xu Zhenying had just finished clicking, but Zhou Houfang had already come to his senses!

Did the city lord agree to help her resolve the Chang family's marriage?

She really made the right bet!

Zhou Houfang was so nervous that her body kept shaking. This time, she was even more nervous than when she first met Xu Zhenying during the interview.

Just because this time, she really meant it.

After defecting to Xu Zhenying, she would no longer leave herself a way out.

To strive for a happy life for all mankind is such a lofty ideal and such a thrilling thing!
The value of Zhou Houfang is not in the struggle of women in the back house, but in the eternal history!

She finally found the meaning and value of her own existence!
She wants to work with the city lord to create an unprecedented world!
At this moment, she felt like crying.

She seemed to understand why the old man in the Xu family's political affairs team was loyal to Xu Zhenying to an almost pathological level. They are like a group made of steel, impervious to rain and blood, and they only run towards one goal wholeheartedly.

How lucky she is to be one of them!
But she held back because there were more important things to do.

"City Lord, I also have a gift of surrender!"

Facing Zhou Houfang's complete surrender, Xu Zhenying knew: This person will be his from now on. Xu Zhenying was obviously more enthusiastic about his own people. He pointed to the stool again and said, "Sit down and talk."

Zhou Houfang also noticed that she was a little excited. She stood up, walked slowly to the chair and sat down to calm her mind.

Then she looked into Xu Zhenying's eyes and said slowly: "City Lord, I suspect that this plague in the west is caused by someone deliberately poisoning!"

Xu Zhenying's expression changed slightly.

"At first, people from the medical school and the Propaganda Department joked that Hu Wei always exceeded his authority. Out of curiosity, I paid more attention. Later I found that more than two months before the epidemic started in the west, Hu Wei He has been vigorously promoting vaccination in Jinzhou Prefecture. He is originally from the Supervision Department, but he has repeatedly intervened in publicity and medical care. In some places, he even talked to the local county magistrate and turned our encouragement to vaccinate into compulsory vaccination. This is the first doubt.”

"Later, when the news about the plague in the west came, I vaguely felt that something was wrong. So I sent people to follow Hu Wei and found that there was a man named Lin Er next to him who usually helped him do some dirty things."

"I followed the clues and found the cowpox research team of the medical school. I quietly asked the doctors in private, and they all insisted that all the clothes stained with smallpox that they brought back from the north were burned. But when I went to find the person in charge, Only to find out that the man responsible for burning the clothes drank and fell into the river and drowned. "

"After checking this, I felt something was wrong. Later, all the clues were interrupted, and there was no other way. I could only start with Lin Er, who was next to Hu Wei. Under pressure, Lin Er admitted to me personally that Hu Wei had ordered him to The clothes of the plague are sent to the hinterland of King Zhoushan. Now that he is protected by me in the army, if the city lord wants to summon him, he can send someone here now!"

Xu Zhenying was extremely angry at this moment and slapped the table: "Send the witness immediately!"

Then she regained some sense and said, "Tell someone to send it over quietly. Don't alert others."

Immediately a secret guard ran out.

Xu Zhenying asked Zhou Houfang again: "Did Hu Wei know when Lin Er was arrested?"

"I don't know. But Lin Er said that Hu Wei sent him on an errand elsewhere. Therefore, it is possible that Hu Wei now thought that Lin Er went to another place and did not know that he had fallen into our hands."

Xu Zhenying sat back in the chair in a daze.

Poison, living things use poison.

She had always known that Hu Wei was a militant and rebellious, and she had always thought that as long as he was strictly controlled, nothing big would happen to Hu Wei.

But since Zhou Houfang said this, Xu Zhenying actually believed it in his heart even though he had not seen the witness with his own eyes.

There was no sound in the room.

Zhou Houfang didn't say another word.

As the saying goes, things will turn against each other when they are extreme, and too much words will lead to mistakes. She was afraid that no matter how much she said, Xu Zhenying would suspect that they were fighting between parties.

Soon, Lin Er was quietly escorted in through the back door, avoiding all eyes and ears.

As soon as he entered the door, Lin Er saw Xu Zhenying's face and knew that his death was coming. He immediately softened and fell to his knees, "City Lord! For the hundreds of thousands of souls who died in the west, I said, I Say anything!”

"Last autumn, ever since the city lord talked about the war in the west and said that Jinzhou Prefecture was besieged on all sides and was attacked on three sides, Mr. Hu had been thinking about relieving the city lord's worries. Later, Mr. Hu ordered me to stay at the medical school and quietly stole one of the It was a piece of clothing that was supposed to be handled with a plague. The person who was responsible for handling the matter at that time knew that there was a piece of clothing missing, and he was in a daze, fearing that something would happen, and even wanted to tell Dean Qiu about it. I was forced to do nothing. , so we had to pretend it was an accident and push him into the river while he was drunk. "

"Later, Mr. Hu ordered me to send this piece of clothing to the west, anywhere, preferably in the hinterland of the King of Zhoushan, where there are the most people. I also knew that this matter was of great importance, so I kept discouraging it, but Hu The master refused to listen and insisted on doing so. So he took advantage of his position to vigorously promote the vaccination of local people and asked me to go to the west. "

"City Lord, I didn't know that this plague spread so fast! Ever since I learned that the plague in the west has killed hundreds of thousands of people this year, I have been regretting it and having trouble sleeping and eating." Lin Er seemed to be extremely scared at this moment, and his tears were streaming down his face. He went down, "Those are hundreds of thousands of ordinary people! All the debts of these hundreds of thousands of undead will be blamed on me, Lin Er! My bones, Lin Er's, are only three ounces heavy. If they go underground, I'm afraid even the bones will be broken." They were all eaten away!”

"City Lord, I really didn't know there would be such serious consequences! Mr. Hu only told me that at most a few thousand people would die, and then these heads would be considered military merit. As long as the plague comes, the situation in the west will be chaotic. Get up, then the King of Zhoushan will have no time to take care of himself, so he won't come to attack us. This way we can protect the hundreds of thousands of people in Jinzhou Prefecture. He also said that all this was for the city lord. I was so stupid at the time that I believed it. His nonsense!"

Xu Zhenying's tone became particularly long.

She sat there, motionless, like a sculpture.

She has always known that war requires bloodshed and sacrifice, and she has been doing psychological construction for herself. She has even been promoting benevolent government and restraining her subordinates to attack the city with the minimum cost.

As for her path, before today, she thought it was going smoothly.

In the eight cities she captured, the number of civilian deaths was controllable, several times less than in the previous wars of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

But Lin Er's words today were like a slap in the face!

So much so that the tears she shed when she saw the battle report that day turned into crocodile tears.

The death toll in the west is at least 500,000, and if there are no statistics, it will be doubled.

And the reason is because the people under her are eager for quick success!

If Lin Er is afraid that these hundreds of thousands of undead souls will come to settle accounts with him, what about her?

She, Xu Zhenying, is the most responsible for these hundreds of thousands of lives!

Xu Zhenying felt extremely uncomfortable at this moment, and it could be said that his heart was as sharp as a knife.

Since coming to the Great Zhou Dynasty, she has never been so angry, desperate, and annoyed as now.

She felt like a fly trapped in a transparent glass box, wrapped in a breathless despair.

Her fingers were trembling slightly under her clothes.

"Go..." Xu Zhenying's voice was also trembling slightly, "Go and call Hu Wei."

Zhou Houfang immediately stood up and said, "Does the city lord want to interrogate Hu Wei?"

Xu Zhenying looked over like a hungry wolf.

Zhou Houfang couldn't help but shudder, but she could only bite the bullet and said: "City Lord, you have arrested Hu Wei, and you must give an explanation on how to deal with Hu Wei within today."

Xu Zhenying's voice was frighteningly cold, "Hu Wei...this man has a heart that is to be punished. I will kill him!"

"Hu Wei cannot atone for his sins even by dying thousands of times. But the city lord calms down and please allow me a few words."

Xu Zhenying didn't speak. In anger, he still gave Zhou Houfang the right to speak.

"I'm not pleading for Hu Wei. If I were pleading, I wouldn't report him. I'm just the city lord. You need to think twice about how to deal with Hu Wei. Hu Wei has been following you and is a prominent figure in the Xu family's political affairs team. Kill him. Easy, but you have always insisted on equality of crime and punishment. If you cannot tell the reason for dealing with Hu Wei, you may not be able to convince the public, and it will also easily arouse suspicion from the outside world. "

"This matter must be kept tightly covered and no one can know about it. Once the news leaks out and the people of the King of Zhoushan know about it, they are afraid that they will fight back. Moreover, we have just taken over two cities in the west. What would they think if they knew that this plague was not a natural disaster, but a man-made disaster, or even caused by the people under the city lord?"

Xu Zhenying was stunned.

She was so angry just now that she almost lost her mind.

Seeing that Xu Zhenying calmed down a little, Zhou Houfang had no choice but to continue: "If even a little bit of news about this matter leaks out, from now on, the people in the west will share the same hatred and become mortal enemies of our Jinzhou Prefecture, and then we will never march into the west again. It’s even possible that the city lord’s great cause of conquering the world will always be stuck on the west joint!”

Xu Zhenying closed his eyes, his chest heaving violently.

She clenched her hands into fists and then slowly let them go, as if forcing herself to calm down.

I don't know how long it took, but Xu Zhenying's eyes slowly opened. She looked at Zhou Houfang, her tone was cold, "Houfang, you did a good job and reminded me rightly. Thank you for stopping me."

At this moment, Zhou Houfang seemed to see the helplessness of a generation of emperors.

Xu Zhenying was sitting on that chair, looking at his thin back, feeling quite helpless.

Her vulnerability, which she had never shown in front of others, was clearly visible at this moment.

Even from such a long distance, Zhou Houfang could feel the extreme despair in her body.

In her eyes, it seemed that at this moment, there was only fatigue and loneliness.

It was only today that Zhou Houfang suddenly realized that Xu Zhenying was just a teenage girl!
Xu Zhenying suddenly spoke, "Yan Xuesong!"

Yan Xuesong is the leader of Xu Zhenying's personal guard regiment. After An Peilin and the others took their people to the west, the leader of the personal guard regiment became this female soldier.

The female soldier came from the darkness, her eyes cold and unsquinting, and walked up to Xu Zhenying.

"Kill him and deal with it cleanly! Don't let the sound spread!"

Just when Lin Er and Zhou Houfang didn't react, Yan Xuesong coldly drew his knife and stabbed the man in the throat with a beautiful spinning knife.

Before Lin Er died, there was a strange and satisfied smile on his face.

Zhou Houfang was so frightened that she almost screamed. Fortunately, she covered her mouth in time and stepped back half a meter to prevent the blood from getting on her dress.

There was dead silence in the house.