Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 145 Langya (2)

Song Yan still felt that the time frame of "one day" was too vague, so he thoughtfully limited it to the afternoon.

No killings in the afternoon.

He keeps his word.

The disaster victims below the platform could also tell that this "living Yama" must have encountered something good. However, no one was willing to believe that the "living Yama" said he would not kill anyone this afternoon. They were more willing to believe that the "living Yama" was planning to kill two people to add to the fun.

Hey, they're just disaster victims, why do they seem like pigs waiting to be slaughtered?
If I had known that Ningping had such a living devil, I would never have come here even if you beat me to death.

Song Yan cleared his throat: "Don't be afraid of what I'm about to say. I assure you it's a good thing. As you can see, the number of disaster victims in Ningping is increasing, and the two city gates may not be able to accommodate them all. Therefore, I need to relocate some of the disaster victims to other places."

"First of all, I need a group of people with special talents, and I welcome everyone to apply."

Song Yan had a gentle smile on his face, thinking that everyone would be very enthusiastic. However, after he finished speaking, the scene was as silent as ice, without a sound.

The dough is starting to lose its grip.

No, they're there to show their support.
At least someone could stand here and give me a stool so I can keep going. It's so awkward to be standing here all alone, okay?
Just as Song Yan was inwardly grumbling, a young man finally mustered up his courage and stood up amidst the stares of the many disaster victims who looked at him as if he were a hero.

Song Yan's gaze hardened, making the young man's heart skip a beat. For a moment, he even regretted being the one to stick his neck out, but having already stood up, sitting back down now would only anger the boy opposite him even more. Thinking this, the young man's Adam's apple bobbed slightly: "This humble one, Wang Chao, greets Your Highness, the Prince Consort."

dynasty?

Good name.

Zhang Long and Zhao Hu are already by my side.

There was also Ma Han, the leader of Black Wind Stronghold, before that.

Now another dynasty has actually emerged.

With the four guards all assembled, is this a sign that he's preparing to become Bao Zheng (a famous judge in Chinese history)?
Song Yan thought with a hint of unease, "No need for such formalities. Wang Chao, are you planning to register, or do you have some doubts?" Seeing that Song Yan didn't seem to be angry, Wang Chao felt a little relieved: "This humble one is just a little curious. I wonder what special talent Your Highness is referring to?"

"I'm a hunter, I know how to hunt, and I can draw a three-stone bow, does that count?"

Song Yan silently swallowed.

We've struck gold!

This Great Ning Kingdom truly has an abundance of talented people.

The young man in front of me, who was in his early twenties, was sturdy and solid, but that was about it. He was far from being fat and strong. Who would have thought that he could draw a three-stone bow?

The units of measurement in this era were somewhat similar to those in the Tang Dynasty; one shi (石) was approximately 53 kilograms.

It should be noted that even General Li Guang, who was not granted a title, could only draw a bow with a three-stone length. One stone in the Han Dynasty was approximately 31 kilograms. In other words, in terms of drawing a bow alone, the Han Dynasty was probably even more powerful than General Li Guang.

If placed in the army, they would definitely be a superb marksman.

Song Yan tried hard to control the corners of his mouth, not letting the curve of his lips turn up too obviously. As the prince consort, he had to maintain his dignity and remain calm: "Of course it counts."

"Believe me, this is an excellent talent."

"In order to prevent the invasion of Japanese pirates and safeguard the peace of the coast, His Majesty has specially granted Princess the right to recruit 5,000 soldiers to prepare for the Japanese pirates. I wonder if you would be willing to become a soldier?"

"If you become a soldier to defend against Japanese pirates, your treatment will naturally be different from that of ordinary disaster victims. You will have three meals a day, which will be enough to fill you up. You will also have meat every three days and two taels of silver per month."

"Of course, if you choose to become a soldier, you need to be screened. If you fail, you will be discharged. If you pass the screening, you must undergo rigorous training every day. If necessary, you may even have to fight against Japanese pirates and other enemies, and you may lose your life at any time."

Song Yan did not hide anything and explained the treatment of the soldiers in detail, while also clarifying the dangers involved. Although he wanted to gather the four great guards, he would not interfere with the dynasty's decision.

In an instant, many people's eyes lit up. This must be what life like for gods must be like, right?
However, the thought of fighting the Japanese pirates to the death quickly calmed down the fire in his body.

Those were Japanese pirates, ferocious beasts like jackals and tigers.

Two taels of silver in military pay sounds good, but the fear is that you might receive it but not live to spend it.

Wang Chao, however, did not hesitate at all. The moment he heard that he would have to fight the Japanese pirates, his eyes turned blood red, and he nodded heavily in agreement.

Judging from their appearance, Song Yan could guess that this dynasty probably had a deep-seated blood feud with the Japanese pirates.

There were quite a few people like Wang Chao, so Song Yan arranged for people to register their names. As for whether they could pass the test, that would depend on their own abilities.

Gradually, these disaster victims realized that this living devil in front of them didn't seem to be there to kill them after all. They grew up and learned to forge iron, raise horses, drive carriages, and do carpentry...

No matter what their talents were, Song Yan could find them a suitable job. Even if someone knew a few more characters than others, Song Yan could still arrange a clerical job for them.

The ironware workshop and the sugar workshop also each recruited hundreds of workers.

Tea processing cannot be outsourced. The process is relatively simple and easily leaked. Moreover, only the top elites can afford to buy the best tea. If the quantity is too large, the price will drop, and you won't make any money.

In Song Yan's opinion, the salary wasn't high, but in the eyes of these disaster victims, two full meals a day and ten copper coins was an extremely rare and generous treatment. Most of the disaster victims probably never expected that they could get such a good job after becoming disaster victims, and they were all grateful to tears.

Regardless of the era, the people living in the Central Plains are a group of people who are extremely easy to satisfy. As long as they can survive, they can endure hardship and suffering.

Among the remaining disaster victims, Song Yan also recruited some of the stronger ones who could go up the mountain to cut down trees, dig latrine pits, and build wooden houses. They could receive five copper coins a day, as well as an extra meal.

This should be considered a form of work relief, which was somewhat ahead of its time for people of this era.

They never imagined that they would actually receive wages for doing just a little bit of work while receiving relief and disaster relief.

Song Yan wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt as if there was a light shining in these people's eyes. Although they were still hungry and exhausted, they seemed to see hope.

Their perception changed at that moment.

They are no longer parasites waiting for handouts, no longer walking corpses waiting to die; they are human beings, living, breathing people capable of creating their own value.

Perhaps the change in self-awareness is even more valuable than the income of five copper coins a day.

Of course, some people had reservations about Song Yan's arrangements. Since ancient times, when the imperial court provided disaster relief, the victims only needed to wait for the porridge to be distributed. This was the first time that disaster victims were required to work... However, since these matters were arranged by that living devil, they could only suppress their dissatisfaction. As for the reason for their dissatisfaction, whether it was because they didn't want to work or because they weren't selected as workers, only they themselves probably knew.

At the East Gate, the originally dense crowd suddenly thinned out considerably after Song Yan's actions.

……

That night, a secret letter left from Ningping County.

About three days later, the secret letter fell into the hands of an old man in Langya.

Langya.

Hundreds of years ago, this place was called Langya County, but now Langya is a separate city. It is not a prefecture capital and has no counties under its jurisdiction.

It is not under the jurisdiction of any state government.

They are an extremely unique existence in the entire Ningguo.

Langya has never had a prefect, and the highest official is the governor. But there is a behemoth here that even the governor dares not provoke, and that is the Yang family.

Langya is the main territory of the Yang family.

(End of this chapter)