Chapter 326 Recruiting Soldiers
Gu Huan and Zhou Zhilan did what they said.
First, two groups of people were selected from the young maids in the palace. Six of them were literate, good at arithmetic and smart. They were chosen to be the maids in charge of the palace. Most of them were born in the Mu family.
They will be trained by Zhou Zhilan for more than a month, and when they are competent, they will be assigned to the housekeeper as assistant and become the second echelon of female housekeepers.
The princess also said that the older generation of housekeepers would receive a reward of 100 taels of silver for each apprentice they trained. After the apprentice could become independent, she would be eligible for retirement and would not have to work and would still receive silver.
The maids in charge immediately dispelled their concerns that the apprentices would starve their masters to death, and began to carefully discipline the younger generation under their command.
Ten people with good martial arts skills and quick hands and eyes were selected to serve as female guards.
These ten are almost all orphans of Mu’s army soldiers. They are not only skilled in martial arts, but also loyal.
Gu Huan planned to train Zhou Zhilan to become the backbone of the future female soldiers' team, so that she could lead a hundred people and one day lead a team of more than a thousand female soldiers.
If a major war really breaks out and all the men in the Mu family army have to rush out of the city, then the women can take on the responsibility of protecting their families and even the Juzhou City, allowing the men to go out and fight without worry.
In the morning, Zhou Zhilan brought six maids headed by Dong Qing to watch how she managed the affairs of the inner house and how to explain the arrangements to the housekeepers. She would patrol the mansion four times a day, carefully explaining what places needed to be observed and how to deal with any clues found.
In the afternoon, Zhou Zhilan taught the female guards martial arts.
Every time this happened, the old lady would take Tuantuan and Yuanyuan to sit on stools and watch them practice martial arts.
But Tuantuan was reading the sketchbook with great interest, as if he didn't like practicing martial arts.
Sometimes he would sneak away to watch his mother and Aunt Zhou discussing household matters. He would sit on the big armchair like a little adult, with his short legs crossed and his hands neatly placed on his legs, a serious look on his face.
I didn't understand what you were saying, but from time to time I would smile approvingly at you for doing a good job.
Every time this happened, Gu Huan and Zhou Zhilan would laugh so hard that they fell forward and backward. Zhou Zhilan would even deliberately ask him a few questions for his opinion, and the little guy would nod in agreement or shake his head to express his disapproval.
Gu Huan and Zhou Zhilan immediately cooperated and said that he was right and gave him a thumbs up.
This was the rare time that the little brat giggled like a two-year-old.
Yuanyuan, however, couldn't sit still. She often ran to the team and followed the sisters, shouting "Hehehe" and "Haha" and doing a few punches. With her small arms and short legs, she sometimes couldn't even stand steadily, but she looked quite imposing, making a group of sisters laugh so hard that they bent over backwards.
Gu Huan had notices posted in Juzhou City, beginning the recruitment of female guards for the palace, with a target of twenty people.
She and Zhou Zhilan never expected that just one hour after the notice was posted, the gate of the palace was almost broken by the crowds of people.
Some of them sent their daughters here, some came to the door on their own initiative, and some came to inquire about news for their female relatives.
Gu Huan quickly had people put tables and chairs at the street corner and asked Zhou Zhilan to sit there and choose personally.
Because of the princess's several measures, everyone in the palace seemed to be energized and full of energy. They worked quickly and had happy smiles on their faces. It was as if they were celebrating some big festival and it was very lively.
Yin Tao took a long walk around the palace and was shocked to see this scene. They actually started recruiting female guards.
She hurried back to the courtyard where she lived and saw Yiyun sitting in the east side room reading a book calmly. She snatched the book away in annoyance.
"Look, do you think these crap books can help you marry a man of your dreams? Can they give you gold, silver, and jewelry? Don't you see that the world outside has changed? Why are you still reading?"
Yiyun frowned and looked at her: "Can you please stop yelling and talk nicely if you have something to say."
Yin Tao laughed angrily: "You are here to be a lady from a wealthy family and enjoy a peaceful life? You have thrown the Queen's instructions out of your mind, right?"
Yiyun quickly glanced at the door. The nanny who was guarding the door had left, leaving it to the two little maids, who happened to be going to the kitchen to fetch food.
Yiyun stood up, walked to the gate and looked outside, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that there was no one there.
He closed the courtyard door, pulled Yin Tao into the east side room, and said in a low voice, "Are you not afraid that others will know that you are the queen's man? Are you shouting so loudly?"
Yin Tao's face turned pale, and she quickly glanced outside, then lowered her voice and asked, "What should we do? Should we report this to the Queen?"
"We can't get out, how can we report it?"
Yin Tao thought for a moment and said, "Didn't they say that if we throw a token over the west wall, someone would tell us how to pass on the message?"
Yiyun was very reluctant.
But she knew very well that they were not the only two who were the Queen's spies. If they did not pass on the news, they would be of no value.
Yin Tao disliked her slowness and urged her: "Hurry up and take it out. Isn't the token here with you?"
I don’t know what the Queen sees in her?
Is it because she used to be a daughter of an official family?
How can you accomplish anything if you are as timid as a mouse?
Yin Tao was cursing in her heart when Yiyun walked into her room, took something out and handed it to her.
"Throw it out from the west wall at midnight."
Yin Tao took it and looked at it. It was an ordinary wooden hairpin: "That's it?"
She didn't believe at all that the token given by the Queen was this broken thing.
Evian whispered, "Hollow."
Yin Tao quickly took it and took a closer look, and indeed she figured out the trick: it could be unscrewed and was hollow inside.
"Then write a note and put it in there. Just write about the palace's recent recruitment of female guards."
Yiyun looked at her like a fool: "If I don't write it, what if someone else finds it and finds us, won't we be dead?"
Yin Tao choked: "So just throw it out like that?"
"Didn't they say someone would come to find us? Then let's give it a try. If no one comes, it's not our fault."
After Yiyun finished speaking, he snatched the book from Yin Tao's hand and continued to sit down and read.
Yin Tao had no choice but to wait until dark.
…
Gu Huan sat behind Zhou Zhilan with her bulging belly, looking at the women who came to sign up one by one. She felt very happy when she saw the ones chosen by Zhou Zhilan cheering excitedly.
Those who were not selected were also rewarded with fifty coins, and everyone was happy.
Gu Huan just wanted to fill Juzhou City with confidence and clear away the anxiety and frustration brought to everyone by decades of war.
The women in southern Xinjiang are indeed different from those in the Central Plains. There are many ethnic minorities around them, and many Miao and Yi tribes have settled in Daliang. They still hunt, chop wood in the mountains, and pick wild plants and medicinal herbs to sell in the market in exchange for silver.
But this kind of income is a gift from God. If there are many people and children in the family, the whole family will go hungry one day and full the next.
Being a female guard in the palace not only brings a fixed monthly salary, but also face, bringing supreme honor to the whole family.
The girls who came to participate in the election surrounded Zhou Zhilan and her group in three layers, and soon, there were twenty people.
Zhou Zhilan looked at Gu Huan and asked using lip language: Is that enough?
Gu Huan smiled and nodded.
You can't rush this kind of thing.
The palace now has a pair of young men and women, and the princess is pregnant again, so it is not surprising that a large number of female guards are needed.
But recruiting too many people at once will arouse suspicion.
Zhou Zhilan stood up, stretched, and looked back happily to see the twenty women standing neatly in three rows. She was very happy.
She strode towards them and said with a smile, "You can go home and pack your things today. You don't need to bring anything. Clothes will be distributed by the palace, and food and accommodation will be provided by the palace. You don't need to spend any money, and there is also a monthly allowance.
Arrive at the palace at the beginning of tomorrow morning. We will sign a contract first, and then get two taels of silver to take back to your families as a token of your filial piety. The day after tomorrow we will officially enter the palace for training. ”
"As you command."
One of the tall and dark-looking women responded loudly.
The others didn't know how to answer, but after hearing her say that, they all shouted at the top of their voices: "Your servant obeys your command."
The voices of twenty women shouting together were deafening.
Zhou Zhilan was so shocked that she couldn't help but take two steps back.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
