Chapter 236: Vaccine Appears

Hu Wei immediately replied, "There are twenty-two provincial capitals, about two hundred county towns, and probably over a thousand villages."

"Okay, let's assume the prefecture has 100 people, and each person gets an average of 10 taels of silver per month. The county has 300 people, each with 50 clerks, and 5 taels per month. The village has 2,000 people, each with 5 clerks, and 2 taels per month. How much does that make?"

Someone immediately took a pencil and counted in the book.

To Zhou Houfang's surprise, however, it was Xu Zhenying who first came up with the calculation. Without even picking up a pen, she blurted out, "About 100,000 taels per month, or less than one million taels per year. Even including officials at this level of government, it's only two million taels at most. This expenditure is insignificant in the fiscal budget."

Xu Anping sighed, "City Lord, your mathematical ability is truly beyond our reach."

Xu Zhenying smiled.

Nonsense, I was forced by Xu Ma to attend mental arithmetic classes for so many years, and the muscle memory from those years is still there.

Hu Wei nodded repeatedly. "Calculated this way, it's indeed a trivial expense. But the prerequisite is that we must eradicate corruption. If corruption is rampant like it was during the Great Zhou Dynasty, it will cost at least tens of millions of taels of silver."

"This is natural. When implementing any policy, those in power have good intentions, but things can get distorted as they reach the lower levels. Therefore, it all comes down to the capabilities of the top management and supervisory departments. Ultimately, how this ship is steered and where it goes depends on the top management."

Everyone agreed with this.

Seeing that his explanation of his administrative structure was almost complete, Xu Zhenying smiled and said, "We only have two prefectures now, so many things don't need to be so complicated. We can have fewer people in the early stages, but the division of labor between departments must be clear. Furthermore, we haven't declared ourselves king or emperor yet, so we won't rush to decide on the national level yet. We'll tentatively focus on the prefecture and county levels. However, the department heads in Jinzhou Prefecture will also have to take charge of Qianzhou affairs for the time being."

She clapped her hands, looked around, and said with a smile, "The positions are all listed. Please take the initiative to apply for the position you are assigned."

These words made everyone stunned.

So I have to mention everyone’s positions today?

I have only seen those directly appointed by the emperor, but I have never seen one who claimed it himself.

Zhou Houfang was stunned. Could he make the decision on such an important matter entirely on his own?

Who would have thought that some people would actually stand up one after another.

Xu Anping was Xu Zhenying's biological sister, so she wasn't afraid. She spoke first, "Since that's the case, I won't be so hypocritical. I'm ashamed to be the Minister of Education."

Xu Zhenying smiled. "Well, it suits you very well. You're used to doing these things in the early stages. Ning Mo, you will be the Deputy Minister. The two of you will work together to get the Ministry of Education off the ground. The issue of universal education in Jinzhou Prefecture is urgent. This area of ​​work is of paramount importance, and we must make a good start."

Fang Ningmo showed a look of delight and agreed immediately.

Xu Degui also stood up and said, "Then let me be the Minister of Finance. After all, I've been in charge of your money since you were exiled."

Xu Zhenying smiled but said nothing.

The others were thinking that this was the first serious job after the establishment of the administrative structure, which was related to future promotions. It not only depended on whether they could do it, but also whether they could do it well.

Ming Xiaoshuang looked around and said, "I'm currently in charge of the farmers, so why not just take over the Ministry of Agriculture?"

Liu Dazhuang also expressed his opinion. Now that he was in charge of the two major military camps in Jinzhou Prefecture, it was only natural for him to take on the position of Minister of Military Affairs. "Then I will take on the position of Minister of Military Affairs."

Xu Zhenying nodded, then glanced at the blackboard. "So, currently, there's no one left in the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Natural Resources Management, and the Ministry of Health."

Hu Wei immediately said, "City Lord, during this special period, do we need a Propaganda Department? That way, when we capture a city, we can have the Propaganda Department spread the word about our ideal of equality for all, dismantling the enemy's ideology and conquering them without a fight—"

"Oh, that's right!" Xu Zhenying nodded. "I forgot about that. It just so happens that every village now has a propagandist to spread our ideas and policies. Special times call for special departments, and a propaganda department is essential. Let me see, should we temporarily assign Qiu Ju-niang to the medical department?"

Qian Zhenniang reminded him, "City Lord, I'm afraid Dean Qiu is overwhelmed. She wrote a few days ago saying that the cowpox experiment has reached a critical stage. She has stopped many of her teaching duties and is now fully focused on cowpox research."

"Alright, let's keep it for her first. The position in the Medical Department must be reserved for someone in the medical field. Otherwise, it would be difficult for us to manage them. It just so happens that there's no rush to move forward with this matter. It won't be too late to come back once the number of doctors increases. Ministry of Civil Affairs—"

Xu Zhenying looked at Zhao Zhenlan, who was eager to try but remained silent, and asked, "Fourth Aunt, how about you hold on for a while?"

Zhao Zhenlan glanced at Xu Anping, then at Xu Zhenying, who said, "Aunt Si, if you have any concerns, please speak up."

Zhao Zhenlan said, "City Lord, it's inappropriate for three of our four families to have positions. Besides, my second and third sisters-in-law are here. They're more familiar with logistics than I am and have been doing it longer. Logically, they're more suitable for this position."

"That's nothing. There's also a Natural Resources Management Department. Second Aunt can start by setting up that department."

Xu Zhenying said this, and naturally others had no objections.

However, Lian subconsciously thought that the Ministry of Natural Resources Management sounded very powerful, and would definitely involve a lot of approvals and gold and silver matters in the future, but now it seemed to be just an empty shell.

Could it be that Xu Yinxi is already the Lord of Qianzhou, so he deliberately ignores her to avoid suspicion?

"As for this Supervisory Department?" Xu Zhenying was hesitating when Hu Wei stood up and said, "City Lord, I'm not talented, but I'm willing to help you with your worries."

It was obvious that the members of the Xu family team were not confident in Hu Wei, and his proposal immediately attracted the attention of others.

Xu Zhenying didn't hesitate and said with a smile: "Okay."

Zhou Houfang thought to himself that this supervisory department had great power, and they had to find someone who was not so close to the Xu family team.

Hu Wei joined in the middle of the process. He was not on good terms with the other members of the Xu family. He had no ties and was ruthless enough, so he seemed suitable for this job.

The Xu family, however, didn't want to be scrutinized by outsiders. If Hu Wei caught them, Xu Zhenying would be in grave danger, if not death.

Xu Zhenying certainly didn't want to supervise his family too much, so Hu Wei needed to step forward.

"There's only one Propaganda Department left..." Xu Zhenying glanced at it, then looked at Qian Zhenniang with a smile. Qian Zhenniang could only accept the challenge, "Alright, it doesn't matter what I do. Anyway, the City Lord won't treat us elders unfairly."

"Okay." Xu Zhenying knocked on the table. "Before you leave, please take care of Houfang. I'm afraid she can't handle it all by herself. Can you send me one or two promising candidates from this list who are diligent and hardworking?"

Qian Zhenniang agreed.

Zhou Houfang calculated the time and saw that such a large meeting, which decided such an important matter, only took an hour.

She had to admire the efficiency of the Xu family team.

If this matter were brought to the court of the Great Zhou Dynasty, it would have been a dispute for at least a year or two.

After a meeting, everyone was in high spirits, except Zhou Houfang and Qian Zhenniang, who looked worried.

For such a large meeting, they had to prepare a document within one day, publicize it widely, and even send it to every county in Qianzhou.

Zhou Houfang had only been in office for three days when she already felt her hair falling out in clumps. She really didn't understand how Qian Zhenniang could handle it so easily.

Seeing her bitter face, Qian Zhenniang laughed out loud: "What are you afraid of? You can't eat hot tofu in a hurry. Let's go eat first and have a good meal. Then you and I will work overtime tonight and stay up all night to sort out this document."

Staying up late...

This was the first time she stayed out all night.

I’m afraid my mother must be very anxious.

But Zhou Houfang could no longer care about so many things.

Qian Zhenniang had her own propaganda department to prepare. Seeing that he was about to take office, he squeezed out such precious time to help her complete such a big task before leaving. She could only be grateful and dared not to find fault.

She quickly pulled Qian Zhenniang's sleeve and said, "Secretary Qian, thank you so much. I don't know what I would do without you."

Qian Zhenniang smiled and patted her shoulder: "Don't be afraid, we all got through this. Eat more at night, we have a tough battle to fight. Oh, by the way, I will also provide you with reinforcements as soon as possible. Don't worry, it's just these few days, just hold on a little longer--"

Zhou Houfang had no choice but to do so.

This time she finally understood why Xu Zhenying was so eager to promote universal education.

Talent, please quickly find more of her, otherwise she won’t be able to work for a few days and her hair will turn completely white.

In a remote mountain village in Lan County, more than a dozen doctors in white coats were staring nervously at the door of a small dark room.

Doctor Qiu was the most nervous.

It was because the cowpox experiments had reached their final stages.

The city lord traveled thousands of miles to find the smallpox virus, and took several death row prisoners from the prison to test the medicine on themselves. Those people only had a fever for a few days and then they were fine.

So Qiu Ju Niang strongly advocated expanding the sample size.

Since there were not enough death row prisoners, she took on the task herself, and she also had a few brave female students with her.

Doctor Qiu has not returned to Jinzhou Prefecture since his last medical license examination. Instead, he stayed with Qiu Ju Niang, teaching while following up on the cowpox experiments.

There are already more than a dozen doctors who have joined their cowpox group.

Everyone knew that the cowpox experiment was halfway done and was getting close to the answer, so the doctors in this experimental group were like chicken blood, working hard on the research without caring about their lives.

In order to effectively isolate the spread of the smallpox virus, the medical school moved the research site to a remote mountain forest. County Magistrate Fang also knew the seriousness of the matter, so he specially allocated dozens of soldiers to guard the temporary wooden house.

And Qiu Ju Niang led the charge and risked her life.

Dr. Qiu feels sorry for his daughter.

Although his daughter is now the vice president of the medical school, according to the so-called division of power and responsibility in Jinzhou Prefecture, she enjoys the same treatment as the county magistrate. County Magistrate Fang also treated his daughter with great courtesy when he saw her.

In addition, Qiu Ju'niang's research lasted day and night, and she even risked her life to vaccinate against smallpox. Now everyone in the medical school respects her very much.

But Dr. Qiu knew that this respect was earned by Qiu Ju'niang with countless sweat.

It has been four days since Ju Niang and those students went in.

During this period, no one was allowed in or out, and they could only judge from Qiu Ju Niang's voice that she was in good condition.

And today is the most critical day.

It can be said that whether there will be plagues like smallpox in the future of the Great Zhou Dynasty depends entirely on today.

Finally, the door was slowly pushed open.

Qiu Ju Niang seemed to have lost weight, looking even thinner, but she was still in good spirits. She stood by the door, followed by the students, the sunlight falling on her face.

Her voice was trembling, but she couldn't suppress her joy. "Father, we can now write to the city lord and tell him that the cowpox vaccine has been developed—"

——————————————————

Within a few days, Xu Yinxi received the latest administrative structure description and a handwritten letter from Xu Zhenying.

Xu Zhenying didn't say much in the letter, but just explained a few things about Qianzhou and mentioned Bai Ci'en in passing.

Regarding Bai Ci'en, Xu Zhenying and Xu Yinxi have different ideas.

Xu Yinxi felt that Bai Ci'en was a hot potato and should be thrown away as soon as possible.

However, Xu Zhenying's letter clearly stated that we should unite all forces that can be united, even enemies.

So Xu Yinxi called his men over and asked about Bai Ci'en's recent situation.

The subordinates replied that the Bai family had collected enough money and handed it over to the chieftains, and the chieftains had kept their promise and released the people.

But Bai Ci'en stayed in Jinzhou Prefecture and refused to leave.

"Have you found out what he's been doing lately?"

"No, I just run to the streets all day long, just walking around and looking around, wandering around, I don't know what I want to do."

Xu Yinxi curled her lips slightly.

Zhang Wanjun said, "Maybe the set of exercises Director Ming asked him to do last time made him a little crazy."

"Doing the test?"

Only then did Xu Yinxi realize that this was the origin of Bai Ci'en and Xu Zhenying.

She couldn't help but laugh. "The pride of the Great Zhou Dynasty, now reduced to a roadside weed in our area, must be a psychological barrier. Is he trying to figure out where he lost?"

"It's probably because someone born in the clouds suddenly fell into the mire one day. I imagine it would be very hard for him," Zhang Wanjun said truthfully. "But judging from the city lord's intentions, it seems that it would be best to win him over."

Xu Yinxi frowned. "That's why I'm confused. The Bai family was an important official in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Generations of them fought for the Great Zhou Dynasty. The prosperity and wealth of the Bai family are all tied to the Great Zhou Dynasty. So no matter how much effort we put in, Bai Ci'en will not easily surrender to a small bandit gang like us."

Zhang Wanjun smiled, "He doesn't have to join us, as long as he doesn't firmly oppose us."

"What if he goes back to the court to file a complaint, and the court starts paying more attention to us?"