Volume 3: The Land of Jingchu Chapter 246 Female Official
"General, please respect yourself!" Huang Yueying said angrily.
Bai Tu was also helpless, even though he had asked so politely...
"Actually... what I mean is, with Miss Huang... ahem, Master Huang's ability, she should be qualified for the position of Grand Priest. However, if she wants to be the Grand Priest of the Ministry of Works, at least the couple and children must come to Jinling to settle down." Bai Tu had to change his words.
But it is indeed true - the position restrictions in the Ministry of Civil Affairs are not very large, but as for the Ministry of Industry... the core craftsmen are involved in more confidential matters, so their children and spouses need to move to Jinling City.
On the one hand, it was to guard against threats from other princes, and on the other hand... although it was not stated explicitly, it was actually also to separate them from the clan.
The expansion of urbanization and the increase in urban population are important indicators of the weakening of clan power.
As for the Grand Priest of the Ministry of Works, he is in charge of core projects and is the top priority, so he is naturally included in the list.
Huang Yueying was stunned when she heard this - regardless of whether this was an excuse or not, judging from what Bai Tu said, could it be that... he really wanted to appoint her as the high priest?
"I am not married yet, so naturally I don't have any children." Huang Yueying said tentatively.
Bai Tu heard this and a look of disappointment flashed across his eyes...
A look of disappointment... a look of disappointment...
Huang Yueying: ...
How come I lost interest when I heard there was no marriage? I've heard for a long time that Cao A Man has a fetish for married women, but I didn't expect... you, a white picture with thick eyebrows and big eyes, have a heavier taste than Cao A Man!
However, Bai Tu adjusted his mood. It was true that Huang Yueying looked young now, so it was normal that she was still unmarried.
Even if she doesn't have her own Zhuge Liang, Huang Yueying herself is a rare talent in mechanical engineering. The wooden kite outside the door and the desk and chair before have already proved this.
According to legend, Huang Yueying also contributed to the invention of the wooden ox and horse, and even the Zhuge Crossbow...
At a time when the General's Mansion is in urgent need of talents in mechanical engineering, the role that Huang Yueying can play may even be greater than that of Zhuge Liang - after all, considering his age, Zhuge Liang is only eighteen or nineteen years old.
"So... Master Huang, are you willing to join the General's Mansion, work together with me, and use your knowledge of mechanical engineering to save the people from danger? Although the General's Mansion is weak, I would like to treat you as the Grand Priest!" Bai Tu said sincerely.
Not to mention Huang Yueying , even Lu Lingqi who was standing next to her looked at Bai Tu in disbelief.
Although the six ministries are nominally subordinate officials rather than formal court officials, but... everyone knows that in the General's Mansion, the six ministries are the "court"!
The officials of the six natural ministries are completely different from the guards and eunuchs in Bai Tu's mansion. Appointing a woman as the chief priest puts Bai Tu under considerable pressure.
Huang Yueying couldn't help but feel conflicted when she heard this. Huang Numei, who was standing beside her, looked anxious when she saw this, but she couldn't speak in front of Bai Tu.
During the short period of contact with Bai Tu, Huang Yueying's thoughts changed again and again.
At first, she wanted to play a trick on Bai Tu. However, after seeing him, Huang Yueying first felt the "danger" and wanted to get away from him as soon as possible. However, the "pie" that Bai Tu drew next made her hesitate!
It’s not that Huang Yueying is obsessed with being an official, but in today’s era, it is very difficult for women to become officials or to realize their ambitions. After all, in the moral values of most scholars and officials, a woman’s "ambition" should be to support her husband and raise children.
On the contrary, among the people, especially in places where too much manpower is extracted, a healthy woman can also be used as half a man, but she just wants to enter the officialdom... haha.
A big part of the reason why she had a strong prejudice against the marriage proposed by Huang Chengyan was because Huang Yueying had no pursuit of love and did not want "free love" too much.
I just feel that if she gets married, wouldn’t she lose her last bit of freedom?
Before getting married, at least she could be free with her own wood, copper and iron. After getting married... the best result would be that her husband would be somewhat tolerant of her "unemployed" and "immoral" behavior and would not interfere rudely.
Even... maybe I could publish my invention in the name of my husband?
But this is just the "best" case scenario!
What if her future husband is also just an ordinary person? Huang Yueying doesn't want to take this risk.
And now Bai Tu actually entrusted such an important task to a woman like her. This... was a "temptation" that was difficult for Huang Yueying to refuse.
Huang Numei also understands her own lady, so she is anxious. She is worried that after Huang Yueying is "seduced", she will forget the "danger" of the man in front of her!
"If I am willing, can I be the chief priest of the Ministry of Works? I won't dress up as a man..." Huang Yueying confirmed again.
Seeing this, Huang Numei wanted to cover her face - she was tempted after all!
"Of course there is no need to dress up as a man. How could anyone not recognize a woman dressed up as a man? Hahaha..." Bai Tu remembered Lu Lingqi's previous appearance as a woman dressed up as a man.
But no one heard the sound of a sneeze coming from the inn of the Prime Minister's envoy.
"Are you sure there won't be any objection?" Huang Yueying asked again.
Huang Numei felt that the young lady had already stepped on the dangerous line of being "tempted into the abyss"!
"There will be people who object, but as long as you can use your ability to convince the craftsmen of the Ministry of Industry, and let them come to me for other pressures... do you have confidence?" Bai Tu asked.
"Of course!" Huang Yueying said with her head raised.
In comparison, farmers, industry and businessmen are actually more open-minded in this regard. Although most of them may have prejudices at the beginning, they can be convinced as long as you prove that you are better than them.
"So you agree?" Bai Tu asked expectantly.
Huang Yueying hesitated again when she heard this - Bai Tu's look just now was still a little worrying.
But soon after, Huang Yueying also sorted out her thoughts!
If Bai Tu really has heroic qualities, then being the chief minister of the Ministry of Works must be safer than being a "common woman", right?
I've only heard of people forcibly robbing women, but who has ever heard of people forcibly robbing officials?
If Bai Tu really has that intention, I'm afraid it would be the most dangerous to leave now...
And more importantly, after declaring that he was not married, Bai Tu’s first reaction was “no interest at all” - well, it seems that Bai Tu is still very safe before getting married!
So Huang Yueying ignored Huang Numei's cough and agreed with a sparkling look in her eyes: "Since the general has invited you so kindly, and it is a matter of great justice to help the world, how can I refuse?"
Cool!
After saying this, every pore on Huang Yueying's body was telling of the word "refreshing".
I, Huang Yueying, am a female and I’m interested in mechanical engineering… Now, the general has invited me to serve as an official for the sake of justice in the world!
Although limited by the times, no one would regard this subtle definition of women as "oppression", it did create a repressive atmosphere.
This made Huang Yueying feel extremely happy after Bai Tu recognized her abilities and even wanted to support her in taking up a government position!
"Right now the Ministry of Industry's organs are mainly researching repeating crossbows. Previously, we seized a batch of repeating crossbows from Huang Zu's army, but we have never been able to crack them. If you can make achievements in this area, I believe those craftsmen will be convinced by you." Bai Tu gave Huang Yueying a shortcut to convince other craftsmen.
In Bai Tu's mind, the repeating crossbow is still "Zhuge Liang's repeating crossbow", so... Huang Yueying, who doesn't know Zhuge Liang yet, is also classified by Bai Tu as someone who "has never been exposed to a repeating crossbow".
Huang Yueying's face froze when Huang Zu's crossbow was mentioned. She bit her lip and said, "That crossbow... was actually given to my uncle by me. There is no need to crack it. I designed it all by myself!"
"What? You designed the repeating crossbow? Your uncle... is Huang Zu?" Bai Tu asked in surprise.
"Yes, I am from the Huang family of Nanjun, and Huang Zu is my uncle." Huang Yueying said frankly.
In aristocratic families, it was not uncommon for even brothers to work for different forces, and even fathers and sons would serve in two different factions - just like in the Three Kingdoms period, after Liu Bei was defeated in Yiling, Huang Quan had no way back and had to surrender to Cao Wei.
Afterwards, Liu Bei lamented that it was his own wrong decision that led to the defeat, and he felt sorry for Huang Quan, so he treated his family well. His son Huang Chong later became the Shangshu Lang of Shu Kingdom, and Huang Quan was also trusted by Cao Wei, and at his highest status he was even honored as General of Chariots and Cavalry.
Therefore, Huang Yueying didn't need to explain anything. If Bai Tu was resentful about Huang Zu's matter, it only showed that he was not broad-minded enough. There was nothing to regret - provided that Huang Yueying was a man!
Huang Yueying seems calm now, but she is still a little nervous in her heart. After all... other princes might not be as "weird" as Bai Tu, who would even dare to appoint a woman as an important minister.
"Huang Zu and my second brother are family enemies, and he was affected by the decline of the aristocratic families in Nanjun, so he died on the battlefield. I hope you will not hate my second brother for this." Bai Tu explained.
"I know, and I left Nanjun when I was a child and lived with my father. But... when it comes to the Nanjun aristocratic families, I wonder what the great... lord thinks about it?" Huang Yueying called the lord a little embarrassedly.
Huang Yueying finally came across such a "weirdo" and felt that she couldn't miss it.
But... since the Nanjun family was mentioned, Huang Yueying felt that she should still ask.
“It doesn’t matter whether you treat them or not. After the chaos in Jingzhou Prefecture is restored to order in the future, they will be treated like the aristocratic families of Yangzhou. As for how the aristocratic families of Yangzhou are, Huang...the chief priest can experience it in Jinling later.” Bai Tu didn’t know what to address them.
Bai Tu usually calls his other subordinates by their courtesy names.
Huang Yueying usually doesn't care about things like the policy philosophy of the General's Mansion, but... since the Yangzhou aristocratic families have not been destroyed or rebelled, and there are still many officials from aristocratic families serving in the General's Mansion, there should be no deep contradictions.
"Then...what about Liu Biao?" Huang Yueying asked.
"Liu Biao is ignorant and foolish, and he has implicated the people. I personally hope that he can wake up in time. If he persists, he may suffer a disaster... Of course, the rules of the general's mansion have always been not to implicate family members."
Although Bai Tu didn't know that Huang Zu was Huang Yueying's uncle before, he knew that Liu Biao's wife, Mrs. Cai, was Huang Yueying's aunt!
