Sima Fa withdrew from the army, and the news of Li Xun's order came back to Huajun, and all the civil and military officials breathed a sigh of relief.

Ning Ze did the same, and ordered the three armies to be rewarded.

If Sima Fa did not withdraw his troops, Danjun would be in real danger, so he would have to put down the major matter of exterminating locusts and set out with the Futu army in person. At present, there is no need to bother anymore, we can seize the opportunity to complete the final work of exterminating locusts and completely eradicate the locust plague.

If the locust plague is not extinguished, it will be difficult for Jinzhou to recover its vitality, and it may even spread to Han and Cheng Prefectures inadvertently, and it will not be careless.

It is said that Sima Fa was ordered to return to Beijing, led his troops to retreat, traveled long distances with Zhou Hao, and spent more than a month rushing back to Dangliang.

After returning to the city, he faced Lu Cong and said bluntly: "The minister led the army to fight to the death on the front line, fought fiercely with the enemy, and saw that Danjun was taken." Why did the prime minister send someone to summon his ministers back to Beijing?"

In fact, Sima Fa took Zhou Hao to retreat and return to Dangliang without hesitation, proving his innocence and having no idea of rebellion at all. Otherwise, with the army in hand, they can directly occupy Jiyang.

Therefore, in the face of Sima Fa and Zhou Hao's gaze, Lu Cong was a little embarrassed. Moreover, Sima Fa is older, and he is still his son-in-law, because of the rumors spread outside, when the father-in-law did not believe that his son-in-law recalled him, he really couldn't face it, and hurriedly said: "Xi'er wanted to vomit with pantothenic acid some time ago, and the doctor said that he had a happy pulse, so he was urgently called." Unexpectedly, it was a misdiagnosis, and the quack had been executed, so the matter was turned over for the time being. Since it was a misunderstanding, after a short rest, we can send troops to conquer Jinzhou!"

Sima Fa sighed: "The locust plague in Jinzhou was raging before, which was really a godsend. Ning Ze struggled to cope, and the counties in Golden State were powerless to be distracted. However, our army retreated and returned to Beijing, and if it went out again, it would take at least two months to go back and forth. Ning Ze's control of locusts is quite effective, and I am afraid that at that time, I will free up my hands, and I will mobilize all the soldiers and horses in all counties of Jinzhou, fight with Danjun and our army, and even transfer the Futu army. I heard that the Futu saber is invulnerable, water and fire are invulnerable, our army has fought repeatedly, and the sergeants are tired, so they may not be able to win!"

Lu Cong regretted hearing this, and turned his head to reprimand Wang Jun: "Why did the servant shoot listen to the rumors and persuade the prime minister to recall the army?"

Wang Jun was aggrieved in his heart, and said in his heart that you don't believe in rumors, will you listen to me? But you can't refute it face to face, after all, you are the prime minister, and you can only be honest and obedient if you want to carry the black pot yourself. Therefore, he stepped forward and bowed to Sima Fa: "The lower official was confused by rumors, and he broke a big matter, so please forgive the military advisor!"

Sima Fa could see that this was Lu Cong letting Wang Jun take the blame, although Wang Jun may indeed be responsible. Reluctantly, he said: "This is the enemy's strategy, although I don't know how to contact it, there must be many enemy ministers in the two states of Chi Bo who are responsible for spreading rumors." Please order a thorough investigation and find out the details, so as to prevent further rumors from arising. ”

"In fact, the prime minister has been tracking down all parties carefully, but it has some effect. Lu Cong said, "It's just that Jinzhou's whereabouts are hidden and well-informed, and every time I get a clue to track down, I don't know where to go, as if I know it in advance." ”

"Ning Ze's subordinates must have a special way of communication, which is unknown. Sima Fa said, "I can't find out what method the other party uses, and I am extremely passive." This matter is very important, and the subordinate officials ask for a thorough investigation and detailed work, and take full responsibility for this matter!"

"Then ...... over there in Golden State"

"As the lower official said, the good opportunity has passed!" replied Sima Fa, "although he is unwilling, it is not beneficial to go on another expedition. The most important thing at the moment is to find out the details and ensure internal stability so that rumors cannot spread. ”

"Okay!" Lu Cong was sure that Sima Fa had no objection, and with guilt in his heart, he obeyed his words, "This matter is fully handed over to the military advisor." By the way, we will disperse later, and come home with me for dinner, Xi'er has been looking forward to your home. ”

He knew that he had hurt Sima Fa's heart a little, so he hurriedly appeased him with family affection.

After Sima Fa came back, he only rested at home for one night, and the next day he was busy and began to track down Jinzhou Xizuo.

Sure enough, the underground intelligence officers were alerted and quickly hid before they were suspected, or they left early and went with the caravan to hide elsewhere.

This is the advantage of having a perfect intelligence network, coupled with a long period of infiltration, some unsatisfactory officials and officials in Lu Cong's territory have been bribed, and they will quietly leak secrets before the operation.

Under Sima Fa's big move, he found out a lot of detailed works from other princes, but he failed to find a single Golden State intelligence agent, and he did not obtain any meaningful information.

However, he did not give up, and further investigation of the whole territory was determined, determined to find any clues.

As Sima Fa said, the locust eradication work in Jinzhou has entered the final stage, and the locust plague in the entire state capital has been brought under control, and there is no longer a scene of locusts flying and jumping all over the mountains.

Instead, there were groups of people everywhere, searching for locusts as food reserves in their spare time.

In order to prevent the outbreak of locust plagues, Ning Ze spent a large amount of money from the official warehouse and asked the Chamber of Commerce to help purchase duck seedlings from various states and counties, which were distributed by the government to the poor people in Jinzhou for free, and at the same time encouraged the rich people to buy and raise ducks on their own.

Ducks feed on their own when they get out into the wild, not only locusts, but also other insects that are harmful to crops. Not only can it control pests, but it can also make the ducks fatten faster and become reserve food. The whole Golden State promotes duck breeding, even if a family raises a few, the accumulation of a lot is also a huge force, and then some favorable policies for poultry breeding, do not worry about the emergence of professional duck households.

The results of locust control have been remarkable, and the people's great problems have been solved.

Because of the publicity, Ning Ze put all the credit on Princess Yuanxi Liu Yuanxiang, further spreading her benevolence and righteousness, so that the people of Jinzhou would remember her favor. also took advantage of this incident to spread Liu Yuanxiang's fame to the neighboring states and counties, and even managed to spread it to the sixteen states.

If you want to completely change the world's prejudice against women in power, you must start with Liu Yuanxiang, shape her image little by little through public opinion, and finally let the people regard it as a faith, until the prejudice against women in power is defeated by fanatical beliefs, and then there is no need to worry about the so-called Dacheng orthodoxy.

At the same time, efforts should be made to develop troops, recruit qualified personnel, and accumulate grain and grass for the development of internal affairs, so as to lay a solid foundation.

With a two-pronged approach, after the conditions are met, you can ignore Emperor Hui, Emperor Shun, and even the so-called legitimacy of the Dacheng court, and directly let Liu Yuanxiang establish a new regime and sweep away all the princes in one fell swoop.

However, the task is arduous, and freezing three feet is not a day's cold.

Ning Ze was not in a hurry, and came steadily step by step.

During this time, Chu Xun disguised himself and traveled around the counties of Golden State with a fake identity.

He had been in Tong County for a while, so he knew how Ning Ze's intelligence network worked, and he also knew how to avoid them and hide himself.

In fact, during that time in Tongjun, he learned about the benefits of various policies by handling government affairs, and found that Ning Ze, who had always looked down on him, and the team centered on Liu Yuanxiang, the princess of Yuanxi, and even recruited female officials against the rules of the ancestors to make it difficult for him to accept.

He also adhered to the concept of focusing on the people and was contrary to the mainstream voice in the court at that time, so he simply resigned and did not do it.

And the baby daughter became a female official, and she seemed to have found her own goal, and she went to Tongjun to help herself before, and subtly, it also made her thoughts a little loose.

In fact, this sudden trip also has a purpose, to hide his identity and personally check the current situation of Jinzhou from the perspective of ordinary people, to investigate the benefits and implementation ability of the policies promulgated by Ning Ze to the people in a more direct way, and to understand how this power group with Liu Yuanxiang as the main body is different from other princes.

After on-the-spot investigations, it was found that the people were full of praise for the policy. Whether it is the local people in each county or the foreign population attracted by the local policies, because of the various policies, the life has been actually improved, and the county towns, county seats, and even remote places in the countryside are much more lively and prosperous than before.

The people praised Princess Yuanxi's benevolence, and spread the voice of praise for Liu Yuanxiang everywhere.

However, Ning Ze, the real implementer of the policy, seems to have only a bad reputation among the people, and they all say that he is a powerful minister who controls the princess and uses the princess's benevolence to realize his ambitions. Most of the people were afraid of him, because Ning Ze was indeed the most powerful person in Golden State now, and he heard that he was proficient in spells and could summon thunder.

Of course, there are also some people who have a different opinion of him than others because Ning Ze knows magic, but they respect him very much. As for what "forcibly marrying a princess" controls power, I don't care at all.

Chu Xun had been in the Tong County official for a while, and knew that the actual situation was completely different from that spread by the people. Instead of controlling Liu Yuanxiang, Ning Ze took the initiative to bear this notoriety, and at the same time, he was also fueling the news that was spreading everywhere, I am afraid that he deliberately created momentum for Liu Yuanxiang.

As a woman, Liu Yuanxiang has a huge weakness in the face of Emperor Hui and Emperor Shun, that is, it is generally not easy for the world to accept the princess to interfere in politics. Therefore, Ning Ze also asked Liu Yuanxiang to maintain his recognition of the legitimacy of Emperor Hui and Emperor Shun on the surface, and only expressed doubts about which of the two could truly inherit the unification, without revealing the slightest intention of letting Liu Yuanxiang replace him.

even pushed himself into everyone's sight for this reason and hid Liu Yuanxiang.

The world can only see the powerful minister Ning Ze, and gradually ignore the possible threat posed by Liu Yuanxiang to Emperor Hui and Emperor Shun, and regard Ning Ze as the challenger. On the other hand, she desperately promoted Liu Yuanxiang's benevolence and piled up all the benefits of the policy on her, so that her image in the hearts of the people gradually rose.

As for the so-called forced marriage of the princess, in Chu Xun's opinion, Princess Liu Yuanxiang of Yuanxi and Ning Ze were already in love, and there was no possibility of coercion.

With the visit and investigation, more and more information was presented in front of Chu Xun, which made his opinion of Ning Ze gradually change. And the gradual prosperity of the Golden State, as well as the yearning and joy for the future on the faces of the people compared to other princely states and counties, also shook his long-standing thoughts.

At the very least, I believe that this power group, which is difficult for the world to accept, is stronger than those princes who regard the people as targets for exploitation and treat them as cattle and horses, as if they were superior to others, in terms of improving the lives of the people and solving various problems.