The peasant girl has a private space, and her husband is handsome.

Master Zhang brought more than three hundred members of the Zhang clan, all of them young and strong men.

"Miss Su, these are all members of our Zhang clan. They volunteered to join your ranks to protect Qinghe County."

"Okay!" Su Qianqian knew that the Zhang family had been entrenched in Qinghe County for many years and was very wealthy, but she didn't expect them to be so responsible.

After Su Bing finished registering and assessing all three hundred-plus members of the Zhang family, he discovered that Master Zhang was still there.

Su Bing had a fair complexion, but he was really simple-minded. He casually asked, "Master Zhang, are you also going to join the army?"

Master Zhang shook his head, "No, no, no, I am Miss Su's strategist, and I must stay by Miss Su's side to help her relieve her worries at any time."

Su Qianqian was full of questions. "Strategist? Master Zhang, how come I don't remember asking you to be my strategist?" Could it be that she's been too busy lately, causing her memory to be blank?

Master Zhang felt a pang of guilt. Well, although he had long considered himself Miss Su's strategist, Miss Su was unaware of this.

"Miss Su, now that you have so many people under your command, you need a strategist. I not only don't need a monthly salary, but I'm also willing to pay out of my own pocket."

The Zhang family was known for their wealth in Qinghe County, and Master Zhang was genuinely willing to contribute both money and effort.

He is thirty-five years old this year. He is from a wealthy family and has many children. His only regret is that he has achieved nothing in the past half of his life. He only passed the imperial examination and became a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examination) before stopping.

If he could earn some military merit, it would be a way to honor his ancestors, and he genuinely wanted to protect Qinghe County.

The people of the Great Qi Dynasty valued clans the most, and the Zhang family had more than two thousand clansmen in Qinghe County who needed to be protected.

"Miss Su, I've been staying up late these past few days reading many military books, hoping to become a qualified strategist."

Su Qianqian felt that it wouldn't be a bad thing to have more people offering suggestions. As the saying goes, "Three cobblers are equal to one Zhuge Liang."

Moreover, Master Zhang is a very upright person, and he is also quite learned.

Su Qianqian stuffed the envelope in her hand into Master Zhang's hand. "Alright, then Master Zhang will be my strategist. This is a letter sent by Emperor Qi Jing. You will be responsible for replying to it for me."

Master Zhang was so excited that his hands trembled uncontrollably.

How could a failed scholar like him possibly read the emperor's handwritten letter?

Moreover, Miss Su also put him in charge of replying to the emperor.

Good heavens!

Master Zhang felt as if the letter in his hand weighed a ton, and carefully carried the emperor's handwritten letter back to the Zhang family.

Master Zhang stayed up all night, writing and tearing up letters, and finally wrote ten versions of his reply, intending to give them to Miss Su so that she could choose the best one.

When he was having breakfast, Master Zhang discovered that his courtyard was surrounded by hundreds of clansmen.

The old patriarch of the Zhang family had gray hair and was frail; he had to be carried in.

"My dear grand-nephew, I heard you have a letter written in His Majesty the Emperor's own handwriting. I came here specifically to see it. You're quite capable, my grand-nephew!"

With dark circles under his eyes, Master Zhang explained, "The one with real ability is Miss Su. This letter was written to Miss Su by His Majesty the Emperor."

The old clan chief was moved to tears when he mentioned Miss Su.

He was born and raised in Qinghe County. He thought that Qinghe County would fall into the hands of the rebels, but he never expected that Miss Su would save Qinghe County by turning the tide on her own.

The old clan chief praised, "Miss Su is truly remarkable! She actually managed to receive a personal letter from His Majesty the Emperor, and she was able to defeat the Prince of Huainan's 10,000 elite troops with a smaller force."

Everyone in the Zhang family knows Su Qianqian. Previously, the Zhang family was the richest in Qinghe County, but now the richest person is that Miss Su.

Most of them had eaten at Gu's Restaurant, and they always wanted more of the food there.

A young girl who had only run a restaurant for a few months managed to defeat the Zhang family, an old and powerful clan that had been entrenched in Qinghe County for hundreds of years. You can't help but admire her.

The old clan chief felt that the young girl was destined for greatness, and it was best to curry favor with her as soon as possible.

The old clan chief praised him, saying, "But you, my great-nephew, are also very capable. You managed to become a strategist by Miss Su's side. Perhaps you will earn military merits in the future and become the first person in our Zhang family to become an official."

"You flatter me, Elder Chief," Master Zhang said, feeling a little guilty. He felt that he had only gotten the position of strategist by being shameless.

The younger members of the Zhang clan all requested to see the Emperor's handwritten letter, hoping to share in his good fortune.

Master Zhang refused: "No, that's a secret, I absolutely cannot show it to you."

But we can show everyone what the envelope looks like.

Master Zhang held the envelope high, saying, "Just look at it from a distance, and whatever you do, don't touch it."

The envelope bore five characters written in the emperor's own handwriting: "To be opened by Miss Su."

The old clan chief looked at the envelope and wept bitterly. "My dear nephew, the fact that Miss Su entrusted His Majesty's personal letter to you shows that she trusts you very much."

The old clan chief had spoken so much that he was out of breath.

"No, no matter what, for our Zhang family to see His Majesty the Emperor's personal letter is an unparalleled honor. You should do your best to help Miss Su, and you will surely have a bright future."

Master Zhang was previously somewhat weak, but after drinking flower tea at Gu's shop a few times, his health improved significantly.

He felt that the old clan chief's weak constitution and cough would improve significantly if he went to Gu's tea shop a few more times.

"Elder Chief, many people say that Miss Su is a blessed person. Many doctors cannot cure your ailment. Why don't you go to Miss Su's restaurant a few more times? Maybe you can get some of her good fortune."

The old clan chief nodded. "My eldest grand-nephew's suggestion is excellent. I'll go to Gu's Restaurant right away. Miss Su is such a kind person, I must support her restaurant. All three hundred-plus people who came today will come with me to eat at Gu's. I'll pay the bill."

After the old clan chief led his clansmen away, Master Zhang's father took out a silver note and stuffed it into Master Zhang's hand.

"My son, you've made something of yourself, you're even capable of being a strategist now. From now on, you must diligently help Miss Su manage military affairs. I have ten thousand taels here, take it and give it to Miss Su, consider it a donation."

When Master Zhang, with dark circles under his eyes, handed ten replies to Su Qianqian, Su Qianqian only casually took the top one.

"Let's keep this one. The reply isn't important; what's important is protecting the people. Also, Master Zhang, stop staying up all night. If you fall ill, I'll have to hire a new strategist."

Master Zhang didn't want to lose his job, so he quickly promised, "I promise I will try my best not to stay up late in the future."

Su Qianqian accepted the 10,000 taels of silver notes given to her by Master Zhang, and then gave Master Zhang two packets of flower tea.

Master Zhang was overjoyed, convinced that Miss Su's flower tea had the effect of prolonging life!

Flower tea is now so expensive that you can't buy it even if you have the money, so it's a good gift for his parents to enjoy.

That night, Su Qianqian lay in bed feeling a little worried.

In the past few days, we have recruited more than 6,000 people, but we only have a little over 1,000 broadswords and about 2,000 spears that we got from the enemy camp. It is simply not enough.

Xiangming knocked on the door: "Miss, the young master has sent Ying Shiyi to deliver something."

Thirteen cartloads of goods were pushed into the backyard of Gu's Restaurant.

Judging from the deep tire tracks, the contents of the vehicle must have been very heavy.

After the tarpaulin on the vehicle was removed, Su Qianqian could see what was inside. It was exactly the weapons she needed: a spear and a broadsword.

This is truly a godsend! She's got exactly what she needed. Prince Gong is practically a mind reader!

Shadow Eleven: "Miss, there are a total of 10,300 weapons."

Su Qianqian was very happy: More than ten thousand? That's a lot. Even if we recruit a few thousand more, we'll have enough weapons to distribute.

"Shadow Eleven, where did these weapons come from?"

"My young master led men to steal it from the armory of the Prince of Huainan."

Ying Shiyi handed Gong Yu's handwritten letter to Su Qianqian.

Su Qianqian only learned after reading the letter that Gong Yu had already set off for the border yesterday.

She had already guessed this news. Gong Yu had vaguely mentioned in his previous letter that he wanted to go to the border, but he would only go if he got her permission.

She replied that she respected the other party's choice.

Everyone is an independent individual, and even if she gets married in the future, she doesn't want to lose her freedom.

Therefore, she also hopes that Gong Yu can live out his true self.

I heard that three cities on the border have already been massacred by the northern barbarians. If she were nearby, she would go and help.