Han Yi hurriedly thanked her, "Thank you, thank you, miss. We will carry them, we will take turns carrying them."
Although they were physically weak right now, with hundreds of people in the village, carrying three corpses was still manageable.
Soon, the crowd set off after Shuangjiang, filled with sorrow and apprehension.
Gefeng County Office.
With a unanimous vote for Dong Si to be the negotiator, the matter was happily settled.
They began discussing the quantity of supplies. If they asked for too much, the other party wouldn't be able to provide it; if they asked for too little, they would suffer a loss. Therefore, the best outcome was to hit the exact bottom line of the other party.
Of course, Jiang Jin didn't intend to push it too far; after all, she still needed Ze'a Prefecture to continue tying down a portion of Quzhao's military forces in the future.
The meeting lasted for an hour before everyone finally dispersed.
Looking at the somewhat depressed Dong Si, Jiang Jin couldn't help but find it amusing. "Everyone recommended you to negotiate, which shows your strong abilities. This is everyone's trust in you; you should be happy."
Dong Si twitched the corners of his mouth. "Perhaps. By the way, My Lord, the attendant officials I was supposed to select for you have been chosen."
Jiang Jin's interest was piqued. "Oh? Who are they?"
Dong Si didn't keep her in suspense. "One is He Li's daughter, named He Qiuchi, and the other is a daughter of the Xu family, named Xu Qian."
Jiang Jin gave Dong Si a look.
Dong Si hurriedly explained, "They only made it through by passing the examinations. I can bring their test papers for you to see later."
Seeing Jiang Jin's indifferent expression, he felt a bit embarrassed. He did indeed have a little selfish motive in this matter.
The people Jiang Jin was selecting this time didn't just need to know how to read; they needed to have a certain reserve of knowledge.
With the popularization of Jiang Jin's education system, there would certainly be many such talents in the future, but right now, they were as rare as phoenix feathers. After all, the literacy campaign had only just begun less than a year ago.
Take Dongzhi for example. She used to be a slave, and although she could now read and write, her knowledge was limited to literacy and what was taught in the classroom.
As a qualified attendant official, the most basic qualities were secrecy and loyalty, and in this regard, Dongzhi was exceptionally qualified.
However, an attendant official also needed a certain cultural foundation. They needed to transmit orders from above and report from below, and even required a certain level of decision-making ability. Therefore, they also had to understand history, national conditions, major political directions, and so on.
After two rounds of examinations, just as he had expected, the ones with the best scores were those from families with some foundation: the He family, the Mei family, the Zhang family, the Xu family, and the son of a minor merchant.
His consideration was simple: no single family could be allowed to dominate. Whether in politics or commerce, there had to be balance.
Regarding the Mei family, he had been involved in planting hidden pieces among them, so naturally, he wouldn't choose someone from the Mei family as an attendant official.
As for the Zhang family, Jiang Jin would probably use them, since her Ministry of Justice still lacked personnel, but the timing wasn't ripe yet, so he would continue to observe.
As for the minor merchant's son, although the attendant official position was not restricted by gender, for the time being, Dong Si still felt a woman would be more suitable.
So ultimately, Dong Si chose the He family and the Xu family.
Jiang Jin shook her head and smiled. "You don't need to consider these things in the future. The capable shall hold the positions."
She understood Dong Si's approach, but they were still in the early stages; considering such things was premature.
Seeing that Jiang Jin wasn't angry, Dong Si secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "There are three others who also performed well. Would you like to take a look at all of them?"
He had merely selected the candidates he thought were currently the best; the specific choices still depended on Jiang Jin's wishes.
Jiang Jin shook her head. "No need. We'll go with the people you selected. Have them come over tomorrow."
Dong Si hurriedly nodded. "Understood."
"By the way, there's no need to rush over to the inn. Let them wait," Jiang Jin instructed.
The more anxious the Sheng family became, the greater the bargaining chips she could obtain. Besides, she wasn't planning to deploy troops recently anyway.
He Qiuchi was sitting in the courtyard talking with her mother, Guan Rong.
Guan Rong looked at her graceful and elegant daughter with great satisfaction. It was just a pity that they were currently in a time of chaos; otherwise, with her daughter's talent and beauty, she would surely be able to marry into a good family.
He Qiuchi was a bit absent-minded, glancing outside from time to time.
Guan Rong gave her a reproachful look. "You, why do you want to be a female official? The family doesn't lack food or drink for you."
A few days ago, He Qiuchi had returned excitedly to tell her that a notice had been posted at the county office, saying the City Lord was recruiting attendant officials.
He Li had no objections to her becoming an attendant official and had even smiled and encouraged her: "If our He family can produce a female official, it would bring honor to our ancestors. Your father supports you."
Guan Bailing also agreed: "That's right. Things are different now than before; women have many more ways to live. Go ahead and do as you wish."
Seeing that both her father and husband supported her daughter, Guan Rong didn't say anything more, tacitly giving her consent.
He Qiuchi held her mother's hand and shook it affectionately. "Mother, didn't you also attend the literacy classes? How can you still have such thoughts?"
"The Lord has said that men and women are the same. If men can achieve great things, women can too. I don't want to be confined to the inner courtyard for my entire life."
Guan Rong shook her head. "I'm not asking you to be confined to the inner courtyard. Besides the path of a female official, there are many other things women can do."
He Qiuchi rested her head on her mother's shoulder. "Mother, in all my life, this is the first time I've seen a city like Gefeng."
"The City Lord is amazing, and many women in Gefeng are amazing too. They work hard for this city, for us Han commoners. I want to join them, become someone like them, and do something for our Han people."
Guan Rong's nose tingled with emotion. The former Yan Kingdom might have had many flaws, but it was only at the moment the country truly fell that one profoundly realized: only with a country can there be a home!
Even wealthy merchants like them lived in such constant fear, facing the threat of being slaughtered at any moment, let alone the common people at the bottom.
Just as the two were talking, a steward hurried in to announce, "Madam, Eldest Miss, someone from the county office has arrived."
He Qiuchi sharply raised her head. "Did they say what it's about?"
The steward's face wrinkled into a wide smile. "They said the City Lord's attendant official has been decided as the Eldest Miss, and they asked the Eldest Miss to report for duty at the county office tomorrow."
He Qiuchi shot to her feet. "Really?"
After the people from the county office left, He Qiuchi still couldn't believe she had actually been selected.
Guan Bailing was very happy. He carefully instructed, "Since the Lord has chosen you, you must prioritize the Lord. Do not have any selfish motives, and do your job well."
He knew very well that it was only because Jiang Jin was just beginning her rise to power and talents were scarce that such a position would ever fall to a merchant family like theirs.
The world was in chaos; who would ultimately settle the realm?
He didn't know who would settle the realm, but the longer he lived in Gefeng, the more he felt that in this world, Jiang Jin would surely have a place.
An attendant official, that was a close courtier!
As long as his granddaughter secured this position, she wouldn't need to do anything specific for the He family or his Guan family. Just by being there, no one would dare to bully them. This was the power of influence!
Gefeng Inn.
"Do you think Gefeng will provide us with support?" Sheng He sat by the window, looking at the scenery in the courtyard outside, his expression somewhat gloomy.
At first, Jiang Jin gave him the impression that she would send troops to assist, but after he explained the situation in Ze'a Prefecture, Jiang Jin's attitude became ambiguous, which couldn't help but make him worry.
Sheng Shang ignored his words. He stared at the glass on the window, looking at it continuously. After a long while, he hesitantly reached out and knocked on it. "What... what is this object?"
