Zhang Zhu was startled and quickly bowed in greeting, "City Lord."
Luo Qingci stood up and bowed, "My Lord."
Jiang Jin nodded at the two of them, "Sit down and let us talk."
Luo Qingci explained with a smile, "Young Master Zhang said he wishes to seek an official position in Gefeng, preferably in the field of law."
Jiang Jin looked at Zhang Zhu and asked, "Then what do you think of the former Yan Kingdom's laws?"
Zhang Zhu thought for a moment before replying, "They overly protected the interests of the royal relatives, nobles, and prominent families. Personally, I believe the most important aspect of the law is fairness and justice."
Jiang Jin raised an eyebrow. This Zhang Zhu was quite clever; he must have seen through her intentions behind handing down heavy sentences recently.
However, she wondered if the fairness and justice he spoke of were his true thoughts, or just words meant to please her.
She did not dislike clever people, as long as their cleverness was not used for crooked paths.
"I happen to be short of a lawmaker. Are you willing to be the lawmaker of our Gefeng?"
Overjoyed, Zhang Zhu immediately bowed deeply in the manner of a subject, "I am willing."
Jiang Jin nodded, "Alright. I hope it will be just as you said, that the law is fair and just, regardless of gender, and irrespective of noble or lowly status."
Zhang Zhu's expression was solemn, "Understood."
Jiang Jin continued, "I heard you have a considerable understanding of the laws of various countries. However, Gefeng is different from other places. I want you to write down the foundational tones of the various laws according to your own ideas and submit them to me first."
It was time to establish the Ministry of Justice, also known as the Ministry of Punishments. If Zhang Zhu proved to be a capable talent, letting him take charge of this department would not be a bad idea.
Zhang Zhu bowed once more, "Understood."
Jiang Jin looked at Luo Qingci, "Find him a room for his office and provide him with all the necessary personnel."
Luo Qingci replied, "Understood."
Not far from Gefeng City, a group of refugees in tattered clothes, covered in filth, were trudging along with great difficulty.
Walking at the front was a man whose cheeks were completely sunken. He was so thin that he had lost his shape. With half-closed eyes and a somewhat blurry consciousness, he just walked forward numbly.
"Brother, Gefeng... if we reach Gefeng, can we really survive?" a weak voice sounded by his ear.
The man opened his eyes. His voice was hoarse but firm, "We can. We definitely can."
He had also heard it by chance from others, saying that in Gefeng, as long as you worked, you could eat your fill. Therefore, when he and the villagers had nowhere else to turn, he thought of Gefeng.
"But, how could there be such a good place in this world? To be able to eat... to eat our fill, I do not even dare to imagine it. As long as I can be half-full, no, even just a tiny bit full, I would be satisfied."
The man twitched the corners of his mouth, wanting to smile, but found he had no strength, "It will definitely be fine."
This belief supported him. Only with hope could he hold on until now.
"Ahead, ahead, it looks like there are crops!" an exclamation rang out in the crowd.
The man looked up into the distance and indeed saw large expanses of green, and behind the green, there were city walls.
He suddenly widened his eyes, "Is... is this Gefeng?"
"It must be! Gefeng is in this direction. Quick, everyone hurry over and take a look. If there are crops, there must be water."
"Water? Let us go, there is water."
The originally feeble crowd was suddenly filled with strength. They walked quickly toward the crops. Some even started to jog, and even if they tripped and fell, they scrambled up and continued running.
However, before they could reach the crop fields, an arrow shot over, landing a few meters in front of them and kicking up a cloud of dust.
The people running at the front immediately stopped, looking in panic at the soldiers holding bows and arrows on the city wall.
"Go to the South Gate," a soldier pointed in a direction.
The commoners did not dare to resist, not even daring to ask a single question, as they stumbled toward the direction the soldier pointed.
The man's pace quickened. From afar, he saw water in the moat. He swallowed hard but did not dare to step forward to drink.
The imposing soldiers on the city wall were all glaring at them like tigers eyeing their prey, as if they would shoot them dead the moment they made a wrong move.
When Liu Mi arrived fully armed at the entrance of the South Gate, the newly arrived refugees had already drank water and were either squatting or standing not far from the temporary shelters.
The temporary shelters had already been built, and a water well had been dug.
A few days ago, when the number of people increased, Jiang Jin specially dispatched a platoon of soldiers to be responsible for the refugees outside. The soldiers of this platoon temporarily lived outside.
Liu Mi examined all these refugees. After confirming there were no major issues, she turned her head to Zhao Er and said, "Have you told them our rules?"
Zhao Er was precisely the bandit from Wuhu Mountain who was forced to accept Jiang Jin's surrender back then. He had now reached the position of platoon leader and was sent to take charge of the refugees outside.
He now looked like a completely different person from before. He had completely lost his silly and naive aura and looked very mighty.
He nodded, "I told them."
Liu Mi nodded, "I will brew some medicine in a while and bring it out for them all to drink. By the way, get their household registration information recorded as soon as possible."
The benefits of the universal literacy campaign were evident here. There was no need for specialized personnel to register the household information for the refugees; these soldiers could do it themselves.
However, what these soldiers had learned was naturally not as comprehensive as the civil clerks, so they were equipped with a simplified dictionary, which was currently small in number.
If there were truly characters they did not recognize, they could just write the pinyin. After all, every character in the world could be spelled out.
The food given to these refugees was still coarse grain, cabbage, and radish porridge. The refugees ate with tears in their eyes, endlessly kowtowing toward the direction of Gefeng.
Tian Erniang and her group lived in the last row of houses. Having eaten over the past few days, their bodies had recovered quite well. Although they were still thin and weak, they were no longer so frail that they panted with every step.
Normally, they would also find work to do, such as helping to sweep the houses and clean up.
When the new refugees arrived, they obediently stayed in their houses and did not go out. Over the course of a few days, they had come to clearly understand the meaning of quarantine.
Not long after the midday meal, Zhao Er came over to notify them, "You can enter the city today."
Joy colored the faces of Tian Erniang and her companions. Although it had only been a few days, they felt as if they had waited a very, very long time for this day.
The group hurriedly expressed their thanks.
Zhao Er smiled, "If you want to thank someone, thank our Lord. After entering the city, remember to abide by the laws and regulations, and work hard."
The group quickly nodded in agreement. They packed up simply and, feeling both apprehensive and full of hope, stepped into the Gefeng City they had been yearning for over the past few days.
Qiu Liao and Nan Wen led a mighty contingent of mountain civilians to Gefeng.
Although most of their belongings were tattered and torn, for poor people who had nothing, that was all of their worldly possessions, so naturally, they had to pack everything up and bring it along.
Because of this, they were delayed for a day or two and only set off for Gefeng today.
The gatekeeping soldiers had long received notice, and after a simple inspection, they let them pass.
Watching the grand procession of Paba Mountain bandit-civilians entering the city, some of the refugees could not help but mutter.
"How come they can enter the city directly, while we have to be quarantined outside for days?"
"Yeah, talking about plagues, how come they do not have a plague?"
Zhao Er looked at the two who spoke, his voice cold and stern, "First of all, you have no right to question how we do things in Gefeng."
"Secondly, if you are dissatisfied, you can leave right this instant. For the sake of us all being Han people, we will not hold the food you ate and the water you drank against you."
