Jiang Yu and the others were naturally unaware of their conversation.
But everything will be revealed the next day.
Finally, after negotiations between Jiang Yu and the governor of Taiyuan Prefecture, the price was set at 10,000 warhorses and packhorses, with each person and horse fed with grain, plus an additional 300,000 taels of silver.
After everything was agreed upon, Jiang Yu did not stay in Taiyuan any longer, but led his men toward Luoyang.
Qi Nuan's letter was not delivered to Taiyuan until several days after they left.
Meanwhile, in Wutu County, Bai Jiao was also recruiting men. The grain and silver confiscated from the local wealthy families were enough for the people of Wutu County to live on for several years, but only if the world was at peace and the weather was favorable.
The Hedong Commandery also sent troops to Luoyang, and now is Bai Jiao's opportunity.
However, the most important thing right now is to stabilize Wutu County.
Qi Nuan was also appointed by Bai Jiao as the county magistrate of Wutu County, serving as Bai Jiao's assistant to handle affairs.
During this time, Qi Nuan and Xu Erniang have been working to appease the people.
As for the land in Wutu County, although Bai Jiao used it as a reward for meritorious officials, he still followed Qi Nuan's advice that all land tax revenue should not exceed 30%.
No matter how difficult things are now, we must ensure that the people plant their crops.
Meanwhile, Bai Jiao led his men to quietly nibble away at the surrounding county towns.
Gradually, one begins to value oneself.
Wutu County is rich in water resources, and rice is the main crop. The rice is ready for harvest now, but due to Bai Jiao's attack, many rice fields have become unclaimed.
These unharvested rice grains also became the object of fierce competition.
When Qi Nuan arrived at this field, the people from Heshang Village and Hexia Village were already fighting bloody.
Qi Nuan ordered her men to separate the people and inquire about what had happened. Only then did she learn that this rice paddy originally belonged to the Zhou family, the same Zhou family that Qi Nuan had led her men to investigate and kill.
Since the Zhou family members died, their property was naturally taken back by Bai Jiao. However, they have been busy with county affairs these days, so there are bound to be places they can't see.
The rice had been ready for harvest for about a week, but seeing that no one was harvesting it, the villagers finally mustered up the courage to sneak in and harvest it.
Unexpectedly, both villages shared the same intention, which led to this conflict.
After a moment of contemplation, Qi Nuan said to the village chiefs of the two villages, "Since you have already harvested some rice, you should finish harvesting it now. Each of your two villages shall take 30% of the harvested rice, and the rest shall be handed over to the government."
The village chief of Hexia Village was naturally willing after hearing her words, since it was free grain and he wouldn't refuse it.
The village chief of another village saw that Qi Nuan was still a child, with only five or six people following behind him, and that he had distributed rice to them. He then had a plan in mind.
“You little girl, this is utterly unreasonable. This rice field was first discovered in our village, and we have already harvested it all. You come here expecting to make things easy, right? Why should we hand it over to you?”
Upon hearing this, Qi Nuan's eyes turned cold. "Then what do you intend to do?"
"We will let bygones be bygones for the people from Hexia Village who injured us, but all this rice belongs to us, and they can't possibly take a single grain."
"What do you mean we injured you...?"
"Girl, don't listen to their nonsense."
Qi Nuan ignored their argument and simply looked at the other villagers in Heshang Village, saying, "Is that what you all think?"
Seeing some people in the crowd lower their heads, the village chief of Heshang Village looked at Qi Nuan and asked, "Why are you asking them? I'm the one who makes the decisions in this village."
Qi Nuan was extremely annoyed and didn't want to talk to these clueless people at all.
He gave Ji Jin a wink, and Ji Jin kicked the man away from Qi Nuan, pointing the sword at his neck.
The scene immediately fell silent.
Qi Nuan looked at the people of Heshang Village and asked, "Besides him, who among you is in charge?"
A thin young man stepped forward and said, "They listen to what I say."
Qi Nuan looked at him and nodded. "What do you think about the distribution of rice?"
“Since the rice belongs to the government, we naturally dare not take it. We only considered it before because no one came to collect it. It would be a waste if it were left to spoil on the ground. Now that it belongs to someone, we cannot take it.”
After hearing his words, the villagers whispered among themselves, but no one stood up to speak, since the people behind Qi Nuan were wearing the official robes of yamen runners.
If they initially thought Qi Nuan was a naive little girl, they would have changed their minds after seeing the village chief lying motionless on the ground.
Whether the young man was telling the truth or not, what he said was satisfying to hear.
"Alright, let's do it this way. Since you've put in the effort, you should be rewarded. It'll be 30% each. As for him, you can handle it as you see fit."
The village chief, lying on the ground, dared not move when she saw the sword in front of her, but her gaze toward the young man and Qi Nuan was as if it were poisoned.
The young man naturally saw it too. His eyes flickered slightly, and he said to Qi Nuan, "But the village chief is always highly respected, I'm afraid..."
Qi Nuan looked up at him. What? He was clever enough to use someone else to do his dirty work, but why was she helping him?
Although she disliked the village chief, she wasn't a murderous maniac who would arbitrarily take someone's life over trivial matters.
"This is the county government's token. From now on, you are the village chief of Heshang Village. As for other matters, you can handle them yourself."
Qi Nuan tossed down a token and left with her people; as for other matters, that was no longer her concern.
When Qi Nuan returned to the county government office, she felt like her bones were about to fall apart from exhaustion.
There are still too few people available in Wutu County.
But there are too many things to do; this won't do.
When Bai Jiao returned, he saw Qi Nuan waiting for him, and he was in a good mood. It was rare for him to see Qi Nuan waiting for him.
He asked, "Is there something you need?"
Qi Nuan looked up at the travel-worn people and said, "Most of the original officials from the county government have left, and most of the people in the mountain stronghold are illiterate. Let's recruit some more people; we don't have enough manpower."
Bai Jiao nodded. He had long had this idea, but he had been too busy with county affairs to have the time.
"How about I leave this to you?"
Qi Nuan raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure?"
Bai Jiao smiled and said, "What do I have to worry about? Recruiting is a big deal. You have a plan, and I'll arrange it with you."
He sat down and drank a cup of tea. "Do you have any thoughts?"
"Naturally, everyone should do their own job and do what they are capable of."
"Aren't you a scholar? What were the exam questions you took? You can come up with a list, and I'll take a look and add a few things. Then we'll select the best candidates based on their performance in the exam."
White focus lens.
Qi Nuan added, "There are too many illiterate people in the county government, and some capable people are also illiterate. It's difficult to do some things if you can't read. Let's open a school. People in the mountain village need to be literate."
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