Luo Qingci stood up and issued the order to the executioner, Shuangjiang: The hour has arrived. Execute!
A smile appeared on Shuangjiang's face. Understood.
The county office currently did not have a dedicated executioner, so Jiang Jin planned to just let the soldiers handle the task of beheading.
As a result, both the male and female soldiers wanted to be the executioner, and they fought over it, neither willing to yield.
Seeing that the two sides were about to hold a martial arts tournament just for this spot, Jiang Jin felt a headache coming on and helplessly designated Shuangjiang directly.
A man who beat his wife having his head chopped off by a woman—it was perfectly reasonable.
Shuangjiang raised the broadsword against the sunlight and, without changing her expression, brought it down in one clean, swift strike.
Blood sprayed as the head rolled to the ground. Yuan Jian's eyes remained wide open, filled with fear, unwillingness, and resentment.
Among the onlookers, the eyes of quite a few men flickered with fear.
The women, however, looked with burning eyes at Jiang Jin on the execution platform—the woman who controlled Gefeng.
Jiang Jin stood up, looked at the surrounding crowd, and spoke in a clear, ringing voice.
In our Gefeng, under my jurisdiction, women and men are alike; they hold equal status and rights. They can independently establish a household and be the masters of their own homes. They are no longer the appendages of men. If anyone dares to beat their wife or daughters again...
She pointed at the decapitated Yuan Jian. This is the consequence!
The women's eyes grew red as they looked at the seemingly glowing woman on the platform.
If someone had told them this in the past, they wouldn't have believed it. From childhood to adulthood, all they knew was to obey their fathers at home, obey their husbands after marriage, and obey their sons if their husbands died.
A woman's entire life was defined by one word: obey!
But now, they believed it. Their lord had given them jobs and the ability to survive. They had the confidence to say no and the backing to choose not to obey.
Gefeng even allowed ordinary women to attend school and study just like men, learning various knowledge and skills.
The Jinyang Army had female generals and female soldiers. The county office had a female magistrate and female officials. The academy had a female dean, female teachers, and female students. The head of the industrial zone was a woman, and there were female workers...
And now, their lord was severely punishing men who beat their wives. What reason did they have not to believe?!
Jiang Jin surveyed the crowd. Starting today, regardless of whether you are a man or a woman, you can come to the county office to register for a divorce. As long as the reason is justified, we will grant it.
Those who are subjected to violence in their families can also report it to the county office. Once we verify the facts, we will punish the offender severely.
Many women became visibly excited. Li Changming's eyes turned red, and she shouted, Wonderful! Long live our Lord! Long live Gefeng!
Jiang Jin waved her hand dismissively; in this era, long live was not a phrase to be shouted casually.
The crowd, however, didn't have such reservations and joined in the shouting: Long live our Lord! Long live Gefeng!...
What if... what if a man is beaten, can he also ask for protection? Amidst the cheers, a weak voice piped up.
Everyone's eyes immediately snapped toward the source of the voice.
The speaker was none other than Wu Gao, the man who had been forced seven times. At this moment, he stood behind Wu Fangniang, looking like a timid little wife.
Being stared at by so many people, Wu Fangniang's face flushed red. She turned back and glared at him. Are you implying that I hit you? When have I ever hit you?
Wu Gao kept his head lowered. Then I guess you didn't.
The crowd was speechless. With you acting like that, who would believe you weren't hit?
Wu Fangniang felt incredibly stifled. This Wu Gao was truly infuriating sometimes. She actually wanted to hit him, but since they were newlyweds, she couldn't bear to do it.
Now he was turning the tables on her, making it seem like she had actually laid a hand on him.
Jiang Jin looked at him and said, Naturally. As I said, men and women are the same. If you are truly beaten, you can report it to the county office.
Wu Gao hurriedly thanked her. Thank you, My Lord. You are wise.
Wu Fangniang frantically waved her hands. I really didn't hit him.
The crowd couldn't help but roar with laughter.
However, Jiang Jin shifted her tone, if you file a false report and waste our manpower, you will also be punished.
Wu Gao looked sheepish. I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare.
Jiang Jin then turned to Li Changming, Ah Hua, and the others, praising them.
You stood up for justice and did a great job. I hope that in the future, our Gefeng can carry forward this noble quality.
Being praised by the Lord in front of so many people, Ah Hua and the others straightened their backs, their faces flushed with excitement, wishing they could go back and beat Yuan Jian even harder.
The other commoners looked at them with faces full of envy, deeply moved. If they encountered such injustice in the future, they would definitely step up to help. To receive praise from the Lord was an absolute honor of a lifetime.
What made the crowd even more envious, to the point of jealousy, was that the very next day, Li Changming and Ah Hua were summoned to the county office.
Both of them were very nervous. Upon seeing that it was Jiang Jin who had summoned them, they hurriedly tried to kneel and bow.
Jiang Jin waved her hand. There is no need for such formalities. I called you here today because I have a task I want to entrust to you.
Li Changming was incredibly excited and immediately patted her chest in guarantee. Just say the word, My Lord. As long as we can do it, we absolutely will.
Jiang Jin couldn't help but smile. It's like this. I want to establish a neighborhood committee. Its main responsibilities will be promoting our laws and policies, assisting the county office in mediating for the commoners, supervising environmental sanitation, managing the population, and so on.
This was something she had thought of after the Mu Wuniang incident. As the city's population grew, the demographics became more complex.
Relying entirely on the bailiffs and clerks of the county office meant not only an overwhelming workload but also a higher chance of oversights.
The masses understood the masses best.
Therefore, she decided to simply establish a neighborhood committee, which could both better convey the government's policies and more easily assist the government in managing the city's residents.
Li Changming and Xiao Hua looked up at Jiang Jin in disbelief, completely unexpected that she would trust them so much to hand over such important positions.
The two hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed in gratitude.
Jiang Jin didn't know what to say anymore. The commoners of this era liked to kneel at the drop of a hat. She smiled and said, You don't need to kneel so easily in front of me. Magistrate Luo will discuss the specific details with you.
Li Changming and Xiao Hua hurriedly got up, nodding repeatedly. We will listen to everything you say, My Lord.
After Jiang Jin left, Luo Qingci spoke to the two: We plan to set up the neighborhood committee office in Xiaohuashan. I will have someone take you to the specific room number when the time comes.
She looked the two up and down and quickly made the final decision. Lady Li, you have deep experience, so you will temporarily serve as the director of the neighborhood committee. Lady Zhong, you will be the deputy director. Depending on the situation, you can recruit two to three more people.
Xiao Hua's surname was Zhong, and her original name was Zhong Wuhua. It was said to be a name given by her grandfather, but Xiao Hua's mother disliked the name Wuhua, so everyone usually just called her Xiao Hua.
Xiao Hua's grandfather had passed away, and he had treated his granddaughter quite well in the past, so the name was never changed.
Neither of them had any objections to this and were eager to roll up their sleeves and get to work immediately to repay their Lord's appreciation and trust.
Just as Jiang Jin returned to her official residence, He Qiuchi walked in holding a rolled-up object. My Lord, the flag is ready. Please take a look.
Saying that, she unrolled the flag. It was the exact Jinyang Army flag that Jiang Jin had designed a couple of days ago.
The military flag's design was very simple: a bright red background paired with the black characters for Jinyang.
She was currently mainly in charge of the Lord's external affairs, Xu Qian handled the paperwork, and Dongzhi mostly stayed at the official residence, always on standby.
Jiang Jin took a look and shook her head, "The color of the flag is wrong. It is not pure enough. Have the dyeing workshop try again."
He Qiuchi did not understand, "What do you mean by pure?"
She had never heard of a color not being pure enough.
Jiang Jin opened her mouth, but for a moment, she did not know how to explain. After a long pause, she finally said, "It just is not red enough. I want a very, very deep red."
He Qiuchi roughly understood and suggested, "Then I will have the dyeing workshop try a few more shades for you to choose from later?"
Jiang Jin nodded, "Alright."
Not long after He Qiuchi left, Dongzhi came to report, "My Lord, Doctor Suo from the medical clinic requests an audience."
Jiang Jin's expression turned solemn as a bad premonition rose within her, "Quickly, invite him in."
