Chapter 38 It turns out that a goddess truly did descend upon Anling.

The second day of the first lunar month.

Anling County was captured. Hu Dazhu and Ning Huai'an led their troops into the Anling County government and accepted the surrender of the county governor and others.

They quickly dispatched people to relay the message back to Yunhe County.

The people of Yunhe County were overjoyed; they had finally captured it!

The administrative office staff began packing up documents and materials, preparing to move to Anling County soon and reorganize an administrative office that would cover all areas under the goddess's rule.

Gu Lanying said, “Our propaganda team can go to Anling County with the goddess first. The goddess will give food to all the people in the county, and we will do our propaganda work at the same time to make the local people grateful to the goddess.”

Cheng Hui stroked his beard and nodded. "Your publicity department should go assist the goddess first. The rest of us need to arrange our own work, so we'll be a little later."

Li Yan, the person in charge of the timber workshop, said, "Yes, we need to select a group of people to build a larger timber workshop in Anling County. As for who to select, that's a rather troublesome matter."

Guo Qian from the weapons workshop laughed and said, "Although we're going to Anling County, we can't take all the capable people with us. Our various workshops in Yunhe are doing very well right now. If we transfer our capable people away, Yunhe will definitely have big problems. Wouldn't that be a loss?"

Cheng Hui said, "So you need to carefully consider how to allocate personnel."

Zhu Youchuan rested his hands on the table, interlacing his fingers, and said in a relaxed tone, "I'm fine here. We can directly implement the 'Yunhe Law' in Anling County, and then make revisions based on the actual problems and situations we encounter."

Qian Shiwen was surprised, "Can the 'Yunhe Law' be modified?"

Zhu Youchuan raised an eyebrow. "Of course, the law cannot be perfect enough to cover every aspect. We need to patch up the law based on the problems we discover in our daily lives and work."

Qian Shiwen nodded thoughtfully and said, "Qinglan Academy will not move for the time being. We will move there after the new library and academy are built in Anling County."

“Anyway, it’s winter break now.” Yun Youning made a note on the paper and said, “The children in Anling County and the children in our surrounding counties can wait until the new academy is completed before they can enroll.”

A family with children asked, "Does this mean that school start dates will be postponed in the spring?"

Qian Shiwen replied, "Yes. According to the goddess's will, all the children under her rule must be sent to the two academies in Yunhe and Anling counties." Given the current number of children, two academies are sufficient.

Mo Jingchun raised his hand to indicate, "When we get to Anling County, the first thing we need to do is to count the population and land. So, do we need to count the number, gender, and age of the children separately?"

Qian Shiwen said, "Yes, after you collect the data, you will share it with us to make it easier for the children to enroll in school."

Mo Jingchun nodded, and she also jotted down the matter on the paper. Then she continued, "The goddess said that after we go to Yunhe County, we will distribute land to the people, and the workers in the various workshops will no longer be working for free; we will pay them wages."

Aunt Feng from the teahouse spoke thoughtfully, "In this way, everyone can also sell their products to the outside world."

Yun Youning said, "That's right, we're going to open a market."

Cheng Ji, the owner of the printing workshop, was very proud. "From now on, our printing workshop and paper mill will be able to show our skills and let the world see our strength!"

Wang Heren of the ironware workshop sighed, "What are you so happy about? We need to be careful not to let any spies within our ranks sell everything. That's a huge workload."

Cheng Ji: "..." That's right. Some of their books can be sold to other states, while others can only be sold in Anling County. This is quite a lot of work.

Qin Dongkui from the embroidery workshop hissed, "The goddess agreed to sell our books?" If the people from their Yunhe Library sold them to other states, wouldn't they be fighting over them?

Wang Heren said, "The goddess also agreed to promote our improved farming tools."

Qin Dongkui asked, puzzled, "Why? This isn't ours..."

Cheng Hui said, "Because the goddess felt that it would be necessary to promote it sooner or later, so why not promote it now and let others help us with the promotion work?" In the future, if... we can reap the benefits.

Mo Jingchun declared righteously, "The goddess's favor extends to all people, not just those who believe in her!"

Qin Dongkui: "..." She nodded repeatedly, "The goddess is the kindest!"

The meeting at the administrative office lasted all afternoon.

After returning to their respective departments, the responsible personnel held an emergency meeting overnight to discuss personnel allocation and solicit opinions on who should stay and who should go to Anling County.

While Yunhe was busy with a meeting, the people of Anling County, guided by Yunhe soldiers, nervously made their way to the county government gate.

They walked forward cautiously, whispering to each other among their acquaintances.

"I never expected that the imperial army of Anling County would lose to the ragtag troops of Yunhe County." The person who said this secretly glanced at the Yunhe soldiers walking beside him.

"Isn't this normal? If the imperial army were omnipotent, it wouldn't have been able to let the rebels occupy so many places."

"But Yunhe is just one county..."

"Moreover," the speaker glanced cautiously at the Yunhe soldiers and said softly, "I've heard that the leader over there is a woman!"

"woman?"

The seven or eight people around were shocked. "Really? A woman could actually..."

"You're all so surprised? Haven't you heard of the Goddess of the Cloud River?"

"The Goddess of the Cloud River?"

"I've heard of it, but..."

"That goddess of Yunhe is amazing. She gives food to those who obey her. I've eaten meat buns from her these past few days."

The crowd was even more incredulous, "They can really give food???"

They arrived at the gate of Anling County.

Then a fair-skinned and pretty young woman stood on the roof of the county government building. Her long black hair was styled into a bun with two ponytails hanging down. She wore a red straight-collared short-sleeved jacket with a red cross-collar waist-length ruqun underneath.

She looked down at the crowd with an expressionless face, truly like a goddess.

The people who arrived one after another looked around at the imposing soldiers with trepidation, and then turned their gaze to the woman standing on the rooftop, half out of fear and half out of curiosity.

So the leader over in Yunhe is really a woman?

Could those legends about her be true? Could she really give food to everyone?

The officials of Anling County were terrified: they were absolutely certain that they hadn't seen this woman when the soldiers from Yunhe County first stormed their county seat. When and where had she appeared?

Or perhaps she just came from Yunhe.

Anling County officials: "..." No, that can't be...

The people have brought almost everything they need.

As far as the eye can see, there are crowds of people.

The woman in red standing on the roof of the county government building spoke calmly, her voice as clear and cold as snowmelt in winter.

She said, “If you wish to be my subjects, I will provide you with food. If not, leave Anling County tomorrow.”

Everyone: "..."

No one dared to speak, but their eyes conveyed their confusion perfectly.

The woman in red stopped speaking. She raised her hand, and her fair fingertips twitched slightly.

In an instant, an iron plate filled with food appeared in front of every person present.

Everyone: "!!!"

Stir-fried eggs with chives, eggplant with minced meat, stir-fried green beans with meat, and mushroom soup with three kinds of delicacies.

Serve with a bowl of pure white rice, without any other ingredients.

The aroma of rice mingled with the scents of vegetables and meat, instantly making people's mouths water.

The people of Anling County could hardly believe their eyes, and some of them, whose stomachs were growling with hunger, instinctively reached out and grabbed the iron plate.

The woman on the rooftop said, "I'd like to invite you all to dinner; this is my sincere offer."

Immediately, some people grabbed the iron plate without hesitation, picked up their chopsticks, and began to wolf down the food!

Never mind, whether it's a conspiracy or poison, I'll just take it first!

Even in death, I'll be a well-fed ghost!

The vast majority of people couldn't wait to start eating.

The moment they tasted the steaming rice and dishes, they were so happy they wanted to cry.

Oh my god, it's real rice! The white rice smells so good!

These are real vegetable leaves! In the dead of winter, it's amazing to find vegetable leaves that look as fresh as if they were just picked!

The eggs smell so good!

Meat! Meat! Meat!

Some of the more cautious people did not eat immediately. They held their iron plates, looking around, but seeing that the people who started eating were almost finished and there were still no signs of poisoning, they also began to eat.

Their hungry stomachs finally felt the warmth of food after a long time.

The mushroom soup warmed them up from head to toe.

Someone knelt down.

One, two, three.

Some people who were still eating saw others kneel down and also knelt down with their plates in hand.

Soon, a large number of people knelt down.

"I wish to be a subject of the goddess, and I beg for her protection!" someone shouted.

Then someone shouted, "Thank you, Goddess, for the food! I will follow you forever!"

"Attend to the Goddess!"

"I am willing, Goddess, please give food to my parents, wife, and children!"

Long live the Goddess!

...

The scene became noisy.

But everyone looked at the "goddess" with expectant and ardent eyes.

They no longer questioned, no longer wondered, no longer feared; they only obeyed and submitted.

The registrar of Anling County stared in disbelief at the scene before him.

He looked up at the young woman on the rooftop, who seemed to be bathed in a golden light.

I see.

The registrar smiled bitterly and said, “Just think how a woman could govern all the counties of Yunhe, and how Yunhe County could develop a power that threatens the prefecture. It turns out that there really is a ‘goddess’ who saw the suffering of mortals and descended to the mortal world.”

She possessed such power that wherever she went, people would devoutly worship her.

The people will fight to the death to support her.

He Qinglan stood quietly on the roof.

A cold wind blew, causing her braids to flutter and her skirt to sway gently.

She parted her lips slightly and said, "Please rise, everyone."

She said, “I will protect all those who are willing to listen to me. If you are willing to obey, you will enjoy the food I provide, just like the people of Yunhe.”

Her voice turned cold. "But I hate betrayal more than anything in my life, and all those who betray me will come to a bad end." However, at this moment, not many people truly took her words to heart.

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Author's Note: 3000/21000

JJ is terrible; the webpage wouldn't even open. I had to copy and paste it into a writing assistant on my phone to post it. [Cracking emoji]