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Chapter 444 Recruitment
When these words were spoken, Xue Liuniang was stunned.

Chen Changshi and Chen County Magistrate looked calm.

It was not uncommon for the county director to employ female officials. Nowadays, there were very few women who were well-educated and talented. The princess must have long been eyeing a noble lady like Xue Liuniang, who came from a high-class family. Before, Xue Liuniang had not entered the palace and could not speak up, but now that she had arrived at the Nanyang Palace, it was natural for her to be invited by the princess.

"Princess, Xue is a new bride." No one expected that it was Yao who broke the silence: "The young couple should be together. Even if you want to work, you should wait until you are pregnant and have a child, so that you can focus on serving the princess better."

After these words came out, Chen Changshi, Chen County Magistrate, and Chen Haoran's brother and sister all looked at each other. Even Jiang Shaohua was a little surprised.

I originally thought that the biggest obstacle to this matter was Yao, but who would have thought that Yao would be the first to agree.

Yao thought to herself, I am not stupid. The entire Chen family worked for the princess, and even her daughter was the princess's servant. When her daughter-in-law became a female official in Nanyang County, the Chen family would be a well-known family in the entire Jingzhou, no, in the northern states and counties.

"Mrs. Chen is right. This princess is too eager to find talent and is too impatient." Jiang Shaohua said with a smile: "There is no reason for a newlywed couple to separate. They should live together. We will talk about this later."

Xue Liuniang recovered from her shock and quickly regained her senses. She thought for a moment and said softly, "I am grateful to the princess for thinking so highly of me. I am willing to work for her."

After a pause, he continued, "The Ye County Girls' School is very famous, and I have longed to go there. When I have some free time in the future, I will go to Ye County to take a look."

The rules of Jingzhou Prefecture School were strict, with only two days off a month. In other words, Chen Haoran would study hard in the prefecture school, while Xue Liuniang would have nothing to do all day, so she would spend her days in the inner house of Xue Mansion, and she would have plenty of time.

Jiang Shaohua smiled and said, "Okay, you go and take a look first, and we'll discuss how to be an official later."

At noon that day, Jiang Shaohua personally hosted a banquet and invited Feng Changshi and others to come to the banquet. The atmosphere at the banquet was harmonious and relaxed, and it took more than an hour to break up.

Xue Liuniang drank two glasses of fruit wine, her beautiful face was lightly blushed, and she returned to the bridal chamber with her newlywed husband.

Chen Haoran held Xue Liuniang's hand and smiled affectionately, "Is today a surprise?"

Xue Liuniang pursed her lips and smiled, leaning her head against her husband's chest: "Yes. In the past, when I was in the boudoir, I often heard people talking about Ye County Girls' School. I always secretly envied Principal Li and Master Cui. I never expected that as soon as I married into the Chen family, the princess would recruit me to be a teacher. I am really flattered."

Then she whispered, "My mother-in-law's attitude was beyond my expectation. I thought she would not like her daughter-in-law to be in the spotlight. I didn't expect her to be so open-minded."

Chen Haoran grinned: "My mother is a bit narrow-minded, loves to be flattered, and has a bad temper. However, as long as there is something that is of practical benefit, she will never stop it."

"When my sister wanted to be a concubine of the county lord, my mother made a fuss for a while. Later, as you know, my sister is smart and capable, and she has done a good job as a concubine. Now she is also a well-known figure in Nanyang County, and she pays a salary to my mother every month. My mother stopped nagging me."

"You are the daughter-in-law of the Chen family. You are favored by the princess, and it will bring honor to the Chen family. Of course my mother will not stop you."

Xue Liuniang smiled softly and said, "I will work for the princess in the future and give the salary I earn to mother-in-law."

This is the smartest daughter-in-law in the world. Anyway, the Chen family only has one son, Chen Haoran. The mother-in-law has accumulated the family property, so won’t it be theirs in the future?
Chen Haoran laughed dumbly: "Don't be so honest. My sister only pays half of it every month, and keeps the annual rewards and the like as her own." Xue Liuniang knew what was going on, and smiled and nodded. She put her arms around Chen Haoran's neck, and suddenly sighed happily: "It is my blessing to marry into the Chen family."

Chen Haoran lowered his head and kissed her soft cheek: "It is my blessing to marry you."

……

The newlyweds are so sweet and loving that there is no need to go into details.

Bowang County had a lot of complicated affairs, and County Magistrate Chen was indispensable. County Magistrate Chen soon came to bid farewell to the princess.

The Chen family is full of confidants. Jiang Shaohua spoke directly to County Magistrate Chen: "The workshop needs to double the number of weapons and armor this year, and the iron mine needs to add more manpower. The monthly output of ore must be at least 50% more."

The Nanyang military camp was still the imperial garrison, so it was inconvenient and impossible to expand it at will. As for the imperial guard camp, the pace of expansion had never stopped.

The exact number of soldiers in the current Imperial Guard Camp was only known to the Princess and the Chief Historians Song Yuan, Chen Feng, and even County Magistrate Chen was not clear.

County Magistrate Chen never asked questions that were not his business, and he was calm and composed.

No wonder County Magistrate Chen was so confident. Nanyang County had been recruiting refugees from the north in secret. When the plague broke out in Pingzhou last year, there was a brief pause. Later, the plague in Pingzhou was brought under control, and refugees began to pour into Nanyang County again.

A large number of strong laborers quickly enriched the population of the fourteen counties. Not to mention other counties, the population of Bowang County alone has increased by 50% compared to two years ago. At this rate, it will soon double.

In other words, the population of the lower counties in Nanyang County is comparable to that of the upper counties in other prefectures and counties.

Population is the primary productive force. With people, we can reclaim wasteland, grow food, mine, raise horses, grow mulberry trees and weave cloth...

Although Nanyang County is not as good as the capital, it is already the real pearl of the north. In the eyes of the people in the north, its status is even higher than that of the capital.

Not only did refugees flock to Nanyang County, but many skilled craftsmen and merchants with small assets also quietly came to Nanyang County to settle down.

Jiang Shaohua gladly accepted this and issued a document to the 14 counties, requiring all outsiders to be promptly settled, with houses built, land provided, grain seeds, oxen and wooden plows provided, and in short, every effort to retain people.

Sufficient military force is the biggest confidence of Nanyang County. Of course, raising troops is the most expensive and has never been an easy task. The treasury of Daliang Dynasty was empty, and half of it was "attributed" to the huge army of nearly 400,000 people, in addition to the corruption of officials.

Eating empty salaries and drinking the blood of soldiers has been a bad habit of the Daliang army for many years. Four hundred thousand troops, this is the number in the military register of the Ministry of War. As for the actual number of people in each army, it is unknown.

After County Magistrate Chen took his leave, Jiang Shaohua sighed to Song Yuan, "This year, the Tang family's grain store has continued to expand northward, and now there are fifteen grain stores. The people in the Royal Guard Battalion are still not enough."