bookcurios Chapter 179 Don’t support idle people
Chapter 179 Don’t support idle people
The so-called "Zhangshuling" is similar to a secretary.
He was in charge of official documents, scheduling, and conveying government orders, making him second only to Jiang Mianmian, the master of Peach Blossom Spring.
The Chief Scribe has two departments and one office under him. The Documents Department is responsible for drafting documents, the Jade Balance Department is responsible for material allocation, and the Messenger Office is responsible for intelligence transmission. However, these functional departments are currently vacant, with only Shi Yi as the head.
There are also the Four Departments, Six Offices, and the Qingyi Pavilion.
The four central military districts were divided into agricultural administration, industry administration, household registration administration, and garrison administration, which were responsible for agriculture, sericulture and water conservancy, civil engineering and construction, household registration and education, and defense and foreign affairs, respectively.
The Six Offices were responsible for Ceremonial Affairs, Carriages and Horses, Metallurgy, Crafts, Weaving, and Education, respectively overseeing rites and music education, transportation and animal husbandry, military industry and metallurgy, technology research and development, textile trade, and most importantly, talent cultivation.
As for the Qingyi Pavilion, it was an oversight body.
In addition to these, there were slave registration offices and pacification offices, which were specifically responsible for managing slaves and the influx of refugees during special periods.
These institutions have many smaller positions. Jiang Mianmian, Jiu Niang, and Shi Yi discussed for a long time that, apart from the positions that were temporarily set, such as Shi Yi's Chief Secretary, Ye Jianbai's Chief of the Four Departments, Liu Hongru's former Chief Clerk's Chief of the Six Ministries, and Ye Hansheng's Chief Supervisor of the Qingyi Pavilion, all the others needed to be confirmed through a combination of recommendation and examination.
After introducing the basic structure, Shi Yi glanced at everyone in the room. "All of you here are the best in the camp. From now on, you can nominate yourselves or recommend others. Three days later, exams will be arranged based on the number of applicants and the specific positions. Only those who pass the exams..."
Those attending the meeting today included not only Ye Jianbai and his group, but also all the team leaders and respected clan elders. The more they listened, the more excited they became. In the past, they always hoped that their family/village/clan would produce a scholar or a successful candidate in the imperial examinations, so that they could share in the glory. But now that they had that opportunity, how could they miss it?
For a moment, my mind raced, trying to figure out which option suited me best, whether there were suitable people in my family/village/clan, and even if I had to take an exam, so what? Could it be harder than the imperial examination?
Besides, this is an official position in Taoyuan. From the time the earth dragon turned over to the eastward retreat, from digging the underground city to fighting for Taoyuan's quota, they have seen and felt the generosity of Mianmian Fujun. Even if he can only be the lowest-ranking official, his treatment will definitely not be bad!
Jiang Mianmian was dozing off while listening, and was just wondering what excuse to make to leave when someone came to report that the girls she had just rescued had woken up.
She immediately stood up and said, "Take your time driving. If you don't understand anything, just ask Master Shi."
With dark circles under her eyes and a mournful expression, Shi Yi said, "Respectfully seeing off Lord Fu."
The others echoed, "Respectfully bidding farewell to Lord Fu!"
Jiang Mianmian got goosebumps from the sound of it, quickly went out the door, and followed the patrol team toward the cave.
In the cave, the four girls had already washed themselves and were each slurping down a bowl of thin porridge, too busy to talk.
Pan Lian, holding her spoon, stared in disbelief. "Drink slowly, no one's going to take it from you."
"Thank you, Auntie. I was really starving."
One of the girls finished her drink first, wiped her mouth with her sleeve, and asked somewhat shyly, "Did Auntie save us? Do we know where we are?"
"Judging from your accents, you don't seem to be from around here. Where are you from? Where are your family members?"
Pan Lian smiled gently, but instead of answering her question, she asked several questions in return.
The girl lowered her head and rubbed her eyes with her hand, as if wiping away tears.
After a moment of silence, she said, "My name is Zhu Yingxue, and these are Da Niu, Er Sha, and San Di."
The other three: "???"
I was puzzled but dared not ask.
Ignoring their gazes, Zhu Yingxue continued, "The four of us were sold by our families and barely managed to escape. We were completely disoriented when we smelled the aroma of food..."
"I see. Would you like some more porridge?"
Pan Lian felt something was off. How come of the four maids, one had such an outstanding name, while the other three seemed to have been chosen casually?
The four of them were only about fifteen or sixteen years old. How did they manage to get here from such a far place?
Despite the large amount of blood on their bodies, they didn't actually have many wounds.
The trees in the nearby mountains have long been dug up by the campers. Not to mention wild beasts, even a rat or a fish has been caught and exchanged for points. So what do they eat and drink? And where does all that blood come from?
Just as they were pondering this, Zhu Yingxue spoke up, "Auntie, we don't want to drink porridge anymore, can we have some meat instead?"
"Oh? You want to eat meat?"
Pan Lian was understandably surprised. Although no one starved to death in the camp, it wasn't to the point where people could eat meat every day, let alone prepare meat specifically for these 'outsiders'.
She smiled and said, "You've been hungry for a long time, so your bodies aren't ready for meat. Otherwise, you'll get diarrhea. If you're still hungry, I'll make you something thick to drink."
"We won't get diarrhea!"
Zhu Yingxue blurted it out, then quickly lowered her head.
The other three also anxiously said, "Auntie, we really won't get diarrhea. We've been eating this for the past few days..."
"Stop talking nonsense!"
Zhu Yingxue quickly grabbed her, her eyes slightly flustered. "Auntie, the reason we've been able to persevere these past few days is because we've always held onto the belief that once we find the source of the aroma, we can finally eat meat. Otherwise, we would have starved to death long ago. That's why I was so presumptuous just now. If it's not convenient for you at your home, then forget it."
"This is not my home."
Pan Lian pointed to the cave, "This is a public place. Do you see those people?"
The four of them looked in the direction she was pointing and saw that the cave was very large, with one cave next to another, and one cave inside another. In each cave, there were three to five people, some lying down and some sitting.
Except for those who were sleeping, everyone was busy, some mending clothes with needles and thread, others washing vegetables.
"What do you mean by 'public place'? What are they all busy with?"
Seeing their curiosity, Pan Lian explained, "Everyone here has to work. Only by working together can we get through this awful weather, right?"
As for the imperial court's disaster relief, they had long since given up on it; they would rather hope that Mianmian Fujun would visit the camp more often.
However, as soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the four people changed.
Zhu Yingxue, in particular, smiled rather reluctantly, "Auntie is right, how can we support idlers?"
She was very dissatisfied. She had finally found a place with living people, but they wouldn't even give her a piece of meat. Now they were even indirectly telling her that she would only have food if she worked!
If I had known this would happen, I would have been better off signing the indenture and going with that Jiang Mianmian. I could have suffered less!
But who knows? Maybe that heartless, cold-blooded woman has already eaten Xin Xiuniang alive? At least I'm still alive!
Thinking this way, she finally felt a little better, and a hint of smugness appeared on her face.
Just then, footsteps could be heard outside the cave.
The two walked in one after the other. The one in front was wearing a blue dress. The style was very simple, but as she walked, it reflected a dazzling sunlight.
Zhu Yingxue felt inexplicably uncomfortable. She looked up and was stunned.
She never expected that the person who came would be Jiang Mianmian!