Chapter 28

Shen Shutan found it fun to have the power to intimidate others, so she smiled at the officials.

What they thought of her smile didn’t matter to her.

After some time, one official, who looked like the leader, cautiously approached and asked, “I’m sorry, what does this gentleman mean?”

Jia Xu smiled calmly and said, “Don’t worry. My lord needs to copy some books from memory. We need to borrow your wife and daughter to help. They won’t be harmed during this time.”

He added, “Besides, Miss Cai is very knowledgeable. Your families might learn a lot from her, which is a good thing.”

But his calm tone made his words sound creepy and terrifying to the officials.

The men whose wives and daughters were asked to come wanted to argue, “This is a good thing for you, why don’t you want it?” But under the pressure of Bai Qi, who was purposefully cooperating with Jia Xu and showing a hint of murderous intent, they quickly changed their tune and agreed. They said to Ying Yue, the “harmless” county governor, “Then we will trouble the county governor to take care of my wife and daughter.”

They had no choice. Even if they didn’t want to agree, they couldn’t refuse. What if Ying Yue took action immediately after they said no? None of them wanted to be the “chicken” that would be killed to “scare the monkey.” ^[1]The phrase that means making an example of someone to warn others.

It was clear that Ying Yue, who appeared gentle and easy to work with, was very skilled at balancing power. From that moment on, these officials sent their families to her. With their families in her hands, they had no choice but to work diligently for her and follow her orders, afraid to be lazy or refuse.

At the same time, this also divided the officials into two groups. One group had their families taken, while the other did not. This created a natural opposition. The officials whose families were not taken had to worry about the possibility of their colleagues causing trouble and had to report it if they noticed any unrest.

—If a colleague tried to stir up trouble, they could lose their wife or daughter due to guilt by association.

Another worrying factor was that Jia Xu, the scholar in blue, addressed Ying Yue as “Lord” instead of “County Magistrate.” This title made them wonder about the real significance of this.

They realized that Ying Yue had big plans.

This realization stopped some officials who had been thinking about surrendering and scheming, after waiting a whole day without seeing Ying Yue. They realized they couldn’t act on their plans anymore, because they now understood that staying alive was the most important thing. Without life, nothing else mattered.

“No problem,” Ying Yue said, keeping her responses brief to avoid making mistakes.

The little girl didn’t realize it, but in the past two days, due to what had happened in Beidi County, she had become a mysterious and intimidating figure in the eyes of the officials.

Even if she made a mistake now, they would suspect she was doing it on purpose to test them.

However, the officials didn’t expect that, after a long time, when they were removed from their positions due to the arrival of new talents and replaced by someone like Heping, their wives and daughters, who had been taken as “hostages” by Ying Yue, would later achieve great success in the officialdom. They would have a completely different future.

But for now, the officials were still worried and had to ask the scholar in blue where they should send their families.

Jia Xu calmly answered, “Send them to the courtyard of the former wife of County Magistrate Wang in the County Magistrate’s Mansion tomorrow to meet Miss Shen.”

He wasn’t concerned that they would be left without instructions, since the wives of these officials were already familiar with such social situations.

Once Jia Xu finished speaking, the officials knew where to send their families the next day.

They were only confused by Jia Xu’s mention of “Miss Shen,” but quickly realized that the eldest daughter of Magistrate Wang, known as the “eldest lady” by the people, was indeed named Shen.

Afterward, Ying Yue, from her seat, assigned a task to the officials: to gather all the records on Beidi County’s population, land, and government properties.

After appointing Jia Xu as chief clerk, Ying Yue didn’t say anything else and got up to leave, leaving the officials to process what had just happened.

_

After leaving the government office, Shen Shutan thought the mansion couldn’t be left unattended. Even if no one needed personal service, the mansion still needed cleaning and a cook. They had been getting by for a while, but now that Beidi County was under control, their lives were improving. They no longer had to live in poverty. It was time to hire new servants.

So Shen Shutan mentioned this to Ying Yue and, after getting permission, left to look into the dental clinic.

After Miss Shen left, Jia Xu turned to Bai Qi and said, “I suspect there are still many Hu people hiding in Beidi County. This matter needs more attention from you, General.”

It had become clear when Cai Yan’s card drawing conditions were triggered.

Though Jia Xu couldn’t confirm whether the Hu people had been killed by Bai Qi’s forces or if Zhao Kuo and Huo Qubing had killed them, it was clear that there were Hu people either inside the county governor’s mansion or among its trusted officials.

This explained why the Hu people had been able to raid farms so precisely in the past years: there had been an insider feeding them information.

But from now on, all of that would end. It was time to clean up Beidi County.

Bai Qi nodded slightly and replied, “I understand.”

He had already planned to find and eliminate any remaining Hu people in Beidi County.

Now, Zhao Kuo and Huo Qubing had gone to the military camp, though it seemed they were still dealing with discontent from their sudden promotion.

There is nothing that can’t be solved by a fight between warriors. If there is, then fight twice. Using force to intimidate is the fastest way to control these rough people.

Therefore, no action was taken to alert the enemy, which lowered the defenses of the Hu people who might be hiding among them. They thought they could escape unnoticed.

Once the current group of Hu people in Beidi County is dealt with, the next task will be to strengthen the city’s defense.

…At the very least, we can’t let anyone enter so easily like when County Magistrate Wang was in charge.

Thinking this, the brave young man said, “I’ll take you back.” Then he fell silent and followed the two weaker people quietly.

The girl began to think about what had just happened with Jia Xu. She looked at the handsome man beside her and asked, “Was Wen He’s move to kill two birds with one stone?”

Jia Xu, the scholar in a green shirt, nodded slightly, not minding her slow response, and asked, “Master, can you explain in detail?”

Ying Yue said: “Letting some officials’ families come to the County Magistrate’s Mansion to help Sister Yan recite scriptures was, first, to care for Sister Yan’s mood, and second, to make the officials supervise each other.”

“Yes, but not entirely,” Jia Xu said. “There’s more to it.”

Jia Xu wasn’t worried about what the greedy, fat officials might do.

After all, when they saw Bai Qi—and even Ying Yue, who they didn’t understand—they almost huddled together in fear. They clearly didn’t have the courage to ally with the Hu people and cause harm.

Besides, they couldn’t do anything serious that would be a real threat.

The real reason Jia Xu did this was for Cai Yan.

Although Cai Yan said there was no need to worry about the differences between men and women, Jia Xu knew that Cai Yan cared about the situation. So, he felt it was better to send some educated women to help her.

Besides Cai Yan’s mood, there was another reason:

“In fact, I was hoping to find some talent,” Jia Xu said.

Cai Yan needed copyists, so it didn’t matter who wrote the book. But if they sent women, Jia Xu could find some capable ones who might be useful.

Since Ying Yue is a woman, Jia Xu had to think outside the box.

As the saying goes, “If a tree stands out in the forest, it will be destroyed by the wind.” If Ying Yue wants to become empress ^[2]refers to a female ruler., she should promote female officials. This way, she can reduce criticism and opposition.

As for the families of these officials, if none of them are useful, that’s fine. Beidi County is just a starting point. We can look for others in the future.

He didn’t expect to find perfect talent right away—such people are rare. As long as they can meet the minimum requirements, it will be enough.

And speaking of this, Ying Yue is quite lucky after all.

Yongzhou is poor, mountainous, and has little water, but the people there are tough and strong.

In comparison to rich places with strict rules, in such areas, there are fewer restrictions on women. There aren’t many pedantic scholars who criticize women for showing their faces in public.

_

By the time Jia Xu finished explaining this to Ying Yue, they had almost arrived at the county magistrate’s mansion.