Xia Chanyi's eyes brimmed with a smile. "Alright, step aside for your physical examination."
In this era, medical conditions were limited. They generally just checked height, vision, hearing, and looked for any hidden injuries.
Mu Chichi nodded in gratitude and stepped behind the surrounding folding screen for her examination.
When Xia Chanyi saw the next woman in line, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "We only recruit soldiers between the ages of 15 and 25."
This woman was the very same elderly lady who had previously scolded Qu Zhao, saying he 'only knew how to pee and play with mud.' She looked to be in her fifties.
The old woman was displeased. "Although I'm a tiny bit over the age limit, I am not the least bit inferior to the young women."
Xia Chanyi's mouth twitched. "A tiny bit over? How old are you right now?"
The old woman choked on her words for a moment before finally saying, "Just a little bit. I am only fifty-two this year."
The crowd fell speechless. This was just a little bit? She was more than double the maximum required age of 25.
"However," the old woman quickly tried to make up for it, "I am truly no worse than the young women."
To prove she was indeed capable, she looked around. Seeing a bystander in the crowd holding a carrying pole, she ran over. "Let me borrow this carrying pole for a moment."
Without waiting for the owner's permission, she snatched the pole and ran back. "I can easily snap this pole in half."
Xia Chanyi's eyes lit up. Could this be another woman with herculean strength?
If so, making an exception wouldn't be impossible. Just like Shuangjiang, who hadn't reached the recruitment age either.
Full of anticipation, she said, "Alright, give it a try."
The old woman held her head high and puffed out her chest, brimming with confidence. She grabbed each end of the pole with her hands, raised her knee, and thrust it hard against the center of the wood.
However, the pole showed absolutely no sign of bending under the pressure.
The old woman took a deep breath and exerted her strength once more.
With a loud thud, the onlookers felt a sympathetic ache in their own knees.
The old woman winced and bared her teeth, though she quickly tried to cover it up.
And the carrying pole remained completely intact.
Her face flushing bright red, the old woman planted one end of the pole on the ground, held it with one hand, and delivered a flying kick to its center...
Some people in the crowd couldn't hold back their laughter anymore.
Watching the old woman who looked more pathetic the harder she tried, Xia Chanyi felt a vein throbbing in her forehead. Just as she was about to comfort the panting, exhausted elderly woman, the woman spoke up herself.
"There's something wrong with this pole. In the past, I could snap them in half with a gentle bend. It's definitely the pole's fault."
Xia Chanyi couldn't bear to completely crush her spirit, but she still waved her hand toward Shuangjiang in the distance.
Shuangjiang quickly jogged over. "Battalion Commander."
Xia Chanyi pointed at the carrying pole in the old woman's hand. "Can you break it?"
Shuangjiang nodded. She took the pole from the old woman's grasp, applied force with both hands, and the pole bent, bent, and bent some more...
With a loud crack, the pole snapped in two!
The observing civilians were all dumbfounded. Such immense strength! Was this the true power of the Jinyang Army? Too formidable!
The old woman stood with her mouth slightly agape. She had personally tested that pole and knew exactly how tough it was, yet in this young woman's hands, it was like a mere toy.
Her eyes lit up once again. As expected of the heaven-blessed Jinyang Army! Even a random female soldier was this incredible. It was just a pity she had been born a few years too early, otherwise, she would have absolutely become a soldier!
Inwardly, Xia Chanyi also felt it was a pity—a pity about the old woman's mouth.
She had witnessed the old woman's arguing skills that day. Setting everything else aside, just with that mouth alone, she could anger an enemy to death on the battlefield.
Holding the two halves of the pole, Shuangjiang gave a shy smile to its owner in the crowd. "I'm so sorry. I will compensate you for the pole in a moment."
The owner was overwhelmed by the unexpected courtesy and hurriedly waved his hands. "No need, no need. It's not worth anything."
Shuangjiang spoke with clear and precise articulation: "No. Our Jinyang Army has strict discipline. We do not take a single needle or thread from the common people. If I say I'll compensate you, I must, otherwise I will face disciplinary action."
The commoners were shocked by her words. She would be punished over a single carrying pole?
In this day and age, most soldiers were no different from bandits. Even the most disciplined regular armies would often bully the weak. During wartime, forcibly conscripting men and seizing grain from civilian homes was commonplace. Who would care about a measly carrying pole?
Yet, they believed Shuangjiang's words. Ever since the Jinyang Army entered the city, they had never once harassed the civilians. They treated the common folk with a gentle attitude and had even repaired the rugged roads within the city.
Their Lord was also a person of integrity. Whatever wages were promised for the laborers' work were paid exactly in full. There had never been any arrears or shortchanging.
Only now did they deeply realize that whether it was their Lord, Jiang Jin, or the Jinyang Army itself, they were vastly different from any army of the past.
Could this be the very reason why the Jinyang Army was favored by the heavens?
Unbeknownst to Jiang Jin, Xia Chanyi and Shuangjiang had just generated a wave of excellent free publicity for her and the Jinyang Army. She had just arrived with her people at the location in Qinghuai County where coal had been discovered.
The area was indeed remote. One could say there wasn't even a path. They had to pass through a massive thicket of brambles just to reach a relatively flat mountain valley.
Sun Yishui pointed at the rolling mountains ahead. "These few mountains all have it. We haven't explored the other areas yet."
Jiang Jin nodded in approval. "You all did a great job."
Sun Yishui gave a good-natured smile. "It's all thanks to everyone's hard work."
Looking around, Jiang Jin asked, "Aside from the bramble thicket we just passed through, are there any other paths?"
Sun Yishui thought for a moment and shook his head. "We haven't found any."
Jiang Jin asked again, "Is there a water source nearby?"
Sending people over to live and eat would be an issue. If there was no water, it would be troublesome.
Sun Yishui had done his homework on this point. He pointed in a direction. "Please rest assured, My Lord. Over a mile that way, there is a mountain spring. It's more than enough for drinking and daily use."
Jiang Jin finally felt relieved. "Alright, take a look and see where it would be best to start excavating."
Sun Yishui nodded and led a few men to start surveying the surroundings.
Yun Chengxuan ran over. "Aunt, can I go up the mountain and see if there's any prey?"
Jiang Jin didn't restrict him. She called two people to follow him and let him go.
Jiang Jin went over to check the direction Sun Yishui had mentioned. There was indeed a mountain spring, and the water flow wasn't small.
She observed the surrounding environment. In front of the mountain spring was a slightly flat small valley. A row of housing for the miners could be built here, along with warehouses.
She then found Yun Yu, who was currently surveying the terrain. "Have you been to this place before? Aside from the way we came in, are there any other ways out?"
Because Yun Yu was relatively familiar with the environment of Fengzhou, she had specially called him over today.
Yun Yu thought for a moment and pointed to a mountain path on one side. "My Lord, you can consider going out from this direction. Passing through a few mountains will lead to Gefeng territory."
Jiang Jin frowned. Transporting goods over mountains and ridges was no easy task.
The two climbed the highest nearby mountain. Looking at the endless, dense forests, they realized that trying to cross over from here would be highly difficult.
However, this place was easy to defend and hard to attack, and the terrain was secluded. The coal could be processed here before being transported back.
This would not only reduce environmental pollution but also cut down on transportation costs. But this meant they would need to build coal kilns and factory buildings here.
Having made up her mind, Jiang Jin began discussing the deployment of garrison soldiers with Yun Yu, and instructed him: "Take a walk around this area over the next few days. See if you can carve out a shortcut that leads straight to Gefeng."
