Chapter 177 Wang Sanniang poaches
"How is that possible?!" These old men were not easy to fool. Even the village chief of Zhangjia Village was incredulous. "Miss Qian, you are just bragging. We have never been to school, but we know that it takes at least three to five years to learn to read. You said that Aunt Zhao learned to read in just ten or twenty days? Ha, who would believe that?"
Qian Zhenniang was not in a hurry. The task she received today was ostensibly to receive the village heads, but in reality it was to let the tens of thousands of villagers who had never had the opportunity to come to Lan County know about the changes in Lan County, and to stop resisting their policies and sincerely accept their Xu family team.
This is crucial to the city lord’s big event!
This also concerns whether they can take root in Lan County!
"You don't know, but our city lord invented something called Pinyin. It has over 60 characters. As long as you know these 60 characters, you can spell all the words and recognize them. However, to be able to read them thoroughly, you still have to work hard on your own. Alas, there's no point in telling you this. You don't need it right now anyway. We're in such a short supply of teachers that we can't even take care of all the kids in Lan County!"
"Hey hey hey--" Everyone got really mad when they heard this. Who said that no one knew what pinyin was? But seeing Qian Zhenniang's serious look, plus their observations after entering Lan County, these dozen or so village heads were more or less shaken. What's more, this was about the future of the children in the village. Let alone pinyin, even learning a few more characters would be good!
"Miss Qian, how can the city lord be so partial? Does she look down on us country folk? Why does she only give all the benefits to people in Lan County? We are also from Lan County, so why can't we get any benefits? It's okay that the craftsmen are not recruited in the village, but it's a big deal for these children to go to school!"
"Yeah, even though we don't understand your pinyin, if city kids have something, our country kids should have it too!"
Qian Zhenniang thought that Xu Yinxi's tactic of retreating to advance was really useful. As the saying goes, those who pursue others are not in a good position to do business. Her refusal made people believe the authenticity of the matter even more.
She could only shake her head and sigh, "Village leaders, it's no use telling me. I'm just an errand boy. The city lord said there aren't enough teachers now. She wants to teach the children pinyin, and after that, mathematics and the Four Books and Five Classics. Even after we're gone, they'll have a foundation, which will help them have a good future. That'll be considered a good deed. And there's a policy now. Anyone who passes the elementary literacy exam can work in Lan County for at least 20 wen a day. Not only that, those who complete the elementary class can also take the intermediate class. After that, they can work for the city lord, earning wages and living on the government income. Oh, and maybe you didn't know this yet, but when we leave Lan County, we'll see several tall buildings. That's the city lord's new medical school. All the famous doctors in Lan County teach there. As for the students, they're directly selected from the graduates of the intermediate class!"
"What?" The old men were all stunned.
Qian Zhenniang was very satisfied, but her expression remained calm as she continued, "That's right. Medical studies are free, the teachers are ready, the school buildings are ready. As for how well you learn, it all depends on your luck. You say something like a pie in the sky fell from the sky, how could the people of Lan County not scramble for it? Our ten literacy classes are already full, and we're running out of teachers. How can we even extend this knowledge to your village?"
“This…this…” This made the village heads very anxious. Seeing that the affairs of the research institute were not going well and the children’s schooling was delayed, how could they study medicine for free now?
Even if you don't study medicine, it's good to eat some white rice!
If this step is slow, all steps will be slow.
Opportunities are fleeting. Who knows when the new king will be recruited by the court? By then, these benefits may be gone before they can get them.
A strong sense of crisis spread among the crowd. Without even saying it out loud, the dozen or so old men looked at each other and almost confirmed their thoughts.
They have to fight for a few spots in this literacy class!
Village Chief Fan spoke up immediately: "Miss Qian, you can't always push the city people over! We villagers are also ordinary people of Lan County. Besides, people in the city are rich and have no worries about food and drink. Children in our countryside have been running around naked since they were young. Some families can't even afford a diaper. We are poor. It is precisely because we are poor that we need opportunities even more!"
"That's right, Miss Qian. When we get sick, we just have to persevere. If we get through it, we'll be fine. If we can't, it's fate. We don't even have a doctor in our village. If someone has a headache or a fever, they have to walk all day and all night on the mountain road to get to the city for treatment. If a kid from our village could go to school in Lan County, or even attend a medical school, then when he returns to our village, won't we have our own doctor?"
Qian Zhenniang couldn't help laughing in her heart.
Although the city lord also wanted to train targeted doctors, these doctors would go to medical school for free and then return to their own villages to practice medicine for a few years, but the city lord was in charge, and these village heads immediately came up with an idea.
It seems that as long as interests are involved, everyone's minds become clear.
Qian Zhenniang laughed inwardly, but could only suppress her expression. "This...this is all you can tell me. I can't do anything about it. I've already said that I'm just an official, I don't have that kind of authority. You still have to tell the city lord about the specific matters. As long as the city lord gives the order, not to mention one or two kids, even a dozen kids can come!"
The village heads looked at each other in confusion, all hesitant. Should they make a request to the city lord?
They don't dare.
Someone then touched the arm of the Zhangjia Village chief and said, "Old Zhang, didn't you say you met the city lord? What's he like? Is he easy to talk to? Is he very aggressive?"
Village chief Zhang recalled that winter night filled with cries of killing, that night of looting, and the sight of the young man raising his arms in cheering. He felt mixed emotions.
"It's fierce, of course it is fierce." The village chief of Zhangjia Village said this honestly.
How can a man who can chop off Li Datou's head and subdue thousands of refugees in the time of an incense stick not be fierce?
But Old Man Zhang still told the truth, "But he is quite easygoing and speaks politely."
This made everyone even more confused.
"Is this dangerous or not?"
Village Chief Fan snarled, "Who cares? For the sake of the kids, we have to work on our old bones! Otherwise, in the future, the kids in the city will all be able to read and write, and us kids in the mountains will only be able to pick bird eggs! We have to study and learn to read, otherwise, if we stay in that mountain village all our lives, what future will we have?"
"That's right!"
Qian Zhenniang smiled, "Village heads, don't be afraid. The city lord is a very kind and amiable person. After entering the city, she killed no one except the Chen family who refused to release grain to the people. Even the most serious criminals were sentenced strictly according to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Not only that, she also forced the wealthy families in the city to donate grain to the people, and hired teachers to teach everyone to read and write. If you don't believe me, you can go to Lan County and ask around. Our city lord has a very good reputation! The people say she is even more capable than County Magistrate Sun!"
The village elders still had a good impression of County Magistrate Sun. When they heard this, they immediately remembered it and asked a little embarrassedly, "Then...where is the County Magistrate now?"
"He's been following our city lord for a while now. Whenever the city lord has questions about official matters, he always asks him for advice. The two of them have a close relationship, like a teacher and student. But now that Lord Sun is ill, the city lord has sent him home to recuperate."
Qian Zhenniang convinced herself that County Magistrate Sun followed the city lord closely, and although he was often disrespectful to the city lord and often cursed him, their relationship should be pretty good, right?
Yes, that's right.
"So, County Magistrate Sun is not dead?"
"Didn't the king kill the county magistrate's family as soon as he entered the city?"
Qian Zhenniang laughed, "That's impossible. As the saying goes, seeing is believing. If you don't believe me, you can ask the people in Lan County. Ask them if they saw Magistrate Sun a few days ago."
Now the village heads were silent.
The more I think about it, the more strange this new king seems to me.
Usually when bandits enter the city, they will burn and rape people.
Just like the Ye County before, it was completely looted and almost a massacre!
But here in Lan County, although the times have changed, there is still a scene of singing and dancing. Oh no, since entering the city, the scene I have seen is many times more prosperous than before.
The roads seem wider and cleaner, there are more tall buildings, and there are obviously more people.
The streets are full of small stalls and vendors, but the ground is very clean. At a glance, passers-by are all in a hurry, no matter whether they are men or women, old or young, they all seem to have something to do, and I don’t know what they are busy with.
If they looked more closely, they could even see that the people in the city seemed to be wearing neater clothes, had more energetic looks, and their conversation seemed to have more depth.
What is most surprising is that there are men and women walking together in broad daylight!
These girls and boys did not avoid outsiders at all. They walked side by side openly, talking and laughing all the way. However, the people around them did not think it was strange, as if they were used to it.
The restrictions on men and women in the Zhou Dynasty were extremely strict. Generally speaking, even married couples would deliberately keep one or two steps apart when going out on the street.
It's simply indecent for them to walk side by side and talk and laugh like this!
But after all, it was someone else's territory and they needed help from others. Even if these village chiefs disliked it, they couldn't say anything. They could only pull down the curtains, but they felt very contemptuous in their hearts.
After finally having a hot meal at the county government office, the village heads finally got the plates they had been longing for. Holding these four-grid wooden plates in their hands really gave them a special feeling.
There were not many people in the county government office, only a few soldiers. Speaking of which, after looking around along the way, the biggest change that Village Chief Zhang and his friends noticed was the soldiers in the city.
In the past, the soldiers in Lan County were all ugly, to put it bluntly, and the word "soldier slipper" was not a joke or a derogatory term.
Most of them were thin, with sallow faces and no energy. They would either hide somewhere in the county government office drinking heavily, or extort money at the city gate, or only appear when collecting taxes or arresting people.
Most people don't have a good impression of these soldiers.
But now the soldiers in Lan County look so different!
Those soldiers, all dressed identically, were easily distinguishable from the crowd. Most were tall and muscular, their bodies brimming with muscle, a truly heroic presence. Their piercing eyes, especially, were intimidating from the first sight.
You can even tell from the way they stand, walk, and behave. They stand with their backs straight, never hunched or leaning. When they stand there, they are like a straight wall.
They act with moderation, neither humble nor arrogant, and speak in a loud but not aggressive voice. They can be seen everywhere in the city.
"Oh my God, why do there seem to be girls serving in the army?"
The village chief of Xiaoshui Village shouted loudly, which immediately attracted the attention of other village chiefs.
"Oh my god, they're really female soldiers! How can women be soldiers? They're so weak, don't be scared to pee your pants on the battlefield!"
"This king is really weird. He actually allowed women into the military camp without worrying about bad luck."
The person they were pointing fingers at was Wang Sanniang, who came to the county government office to handle the handover procedures.
Wang Sanniang wanted to curse the country bumpkin out loud, but when she thought about how she was no longer the same person she was before, and how she was now the chief instructor of the female soldiers, and the city lord said that he would select a thousand female soldiers from the newly arrived refugees, then she would be a big shot in charge of the city's defense.
Which big shot would argue with a bunch of old men and women who have no sense of tact?
Thinking of this, Wang Sanniang's expression softened. Instead, she smiled and said, "My dear elders, we not only have female soldiers in the city, but also girls going to school, and there are female doctors at the medical school. The girls in our Lan County are all capable and can now earn money to support their families. Instead of pointing fingers here, why don't you go back and have your granddaughters and wives attend literacy classes? If they pass the exam, they can earn at least thirty coins a day. If they become female soldiers or doctors, it's even more amazing, at least one or two taels of silver a month!"
The village heads gasped, some even coming out from their food-serving queues to surround Wang Sanniang. When they heard there was money to be made, they didn't care whether it was a man or a woman, and simply asked, "Girl, how much do you make a month?"
Wang Sanniang smiled and said, "I have already graduated from the elementary literacy class and earn five taels of silver a month."
"Oh, that's incredible, incredible!"
"Oh my god, the world has really changed. Five taels of silver a month, that's probably more than what the county magistrate makes!"
"So... Nalan County really has female soldiers. How many are there, and what are the requirements?"
Wang Sanniang was overjoyed. Most of the girls in the countryside were strong and hardworking, and they were all good candidates for being soldiers!
Since the city lord planned to expand the military force, Wang Sanniang was worried that she would not be able to recruit enough female soldiers this year.
It just so happened that these people just happened to come to her door. This year's task of recruiting new female soldiers will definitely be exceeded. How can she not be happy!
Wang Sanniang calmed down now, not caring about the group's previous rudeness. She put down her work and said, "Female soldiers must be over thirteen years old, hardworking, and able to endure hardships. Once they enter the barracks, they will serve for at least two years. They will receive a monthly salary of one or two taels of silver, and three meals a day, so you can eat as much as you want. They train for six days and then rest for one day. Oh, and they also have to attend cultural classes every day, where they have to read and write. The rest of the time, they are at the disposal of the city lord, basically helping refugees divide land and maintaining order. When necessary, they also help the people build houses, collect food, and carry out propaganda in the countryside."
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