I was a conman in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 401 Who says women are inferior to men

Chapter 401 Who Says Women Are Inferior to Men?

Wang Wenzhou said, "Fellow elders of Gaoling, rest assured, I will send people to collect grain from other places immediately."

Wang Wenzhou glanced at Wang Qiang, who was not far away, and said, "Xiao Qiang, I hereby appoint you as the acting magistrate of Gaoling County. Before the new magistrate takes office, you will be in charge of all matters in Gaoling County. Now send someone to deliver a letter to Sun Chuanting, asking him to send some grain to the people of Gaoling."

"Yes, sir!" Wang Qiang was overjoyed. He had finally become an official. Back then, his young master had turned Hanshan County into a metropolis, and now he could turn Gaoling County into a metropolis as well.

"Gentlemen, please be patient for a few more days. In a few days, the government will open the granaries and distribute grain, and then you will no longer go hungry." Wang Wenzhou thought for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "I have official duties to attend to and cannot stay any longer at my advanced age. Please disperse and take your leave!"

"Wang Qingtian, you must accept my granddaughter. If you don't, this old man will kneel on the ground and not get up!"

"I won't kneel here any longer!"

The people who came to Wang Wenzhou seeking food tickets all knelt on the ground, looking as if they would die here if he didn't take in their daughters. These people were truly desperate. Although Wang Wenzhou had promised that the government would raise grain to help the people, if Wang Wenzhou left, would the officials below really follow through? They might just be two-faced, like before. Now, they would save whoever they could, determined to get Wang Wenzhou to take in their daughters.

Wang Wenzhou glared at Yu Tao and said viciously, "Yu Tao, I wish I could skin you alive! If you had done anything decent, would the people be starving and selling their children?"

Yu Tao shook his head with a wry smile and said helplessly, "Lord Wang, please have some understanding of us. Although we receive salaries from the imperial court, we haven't been paid for two years. We all have families to support. We risk our lives for the court, suppressing bandits and protecting the people. Are you going to let us starve to death? If that's the case, why should we continue to serve the court? We could go back to being bandits; that would be better than being government officials!"

Wang Wenzhou nodded helplessly. Putting himself in Yu Tao's shoes, he might have acted the same way. After all, a grown man couldn't just watch his family starve to death. As the saying goes, it's better to die for a friend than to die for a poor man. Given a choice, most people would choose to be the good one.

"Justice Wang! I beg you! Please give my granddaughter a way to live!"

"Wang Qingtian!"

The people knelt down and begged.

An older woman held her daughter's hand and said earnestly, "Child, I'm so sorry! Don't blame me, I did this so you could live!"

"Mother! Let me die!" the girl cried.

"Don't blame your mother!" After saying that, the old woman quickly stripped her daughter naked and pushed her towards Wang Wenzhou.

The older woman said, "Wang Qingtian, look at my daughter, she has a pretty face and a great figure!"

When the people who came looking for meal tickets saw this, they all followed suit, and in no time, there were hundreds of naked girls in front of the county government office.

Wang Wenzhou was quite helpless and said loudly, "Fellow villagers, I may be a little lustful, but I am also born of a mother and father! How can I take advantage of people's vulnerability and seize them by trickery? Everyone, quickly put your daughters on their clothes. I will take all these girls!"

"Thank you, Judge Wang!"

"Granddaughter, quickly kowtow to Wang Qingtian and thank him!"

"Thank you!" The girls, overcome with shyness, rubbed their tears and kowtowed in gratitude.

Wang Wenzhou felt a pang of pain in his heart, as if something had touched him. Some people sell their dignity, their bodies, and even anything for money. These people are often looked down upon, but upon closer examination, they are all forced by the necessities of life.

Wang Wenzhou knelt down and kowtowed three times to the people, solemnly saying, "Gentlemen, as an official appointed by the court, I am truly ashamed to see you all like this!"

The people were moved to tears. They had never seen a commoner kneel before an official before, let alone an official kneeling before a commoner, especially an imperial envoy.

"Wang Qing is really something!"

"Wang Qingtian, it's not your fault! It's all that damned Shen Zizhen's fault!"

"Yes, Wang Qingtian, you did nothing wrong! Your execution of the corrupt official Shen Zizhen is the greatest act of kindness we, the people of Gaoling, have done!"

Wang Wenzhou stood up and said, "Gentlemen, I took these girls in not to make them my concubines or my maids. I have a female guard. Now, bandits are rampant in the Northwest. Good men should protect their homes and country, and women can do the same!"

Wang Wenzhou continued, "I really want to reprimand you all, but I'm reluctant to say anything too harsh. After all, you sold your daughters out of necessity and desperation. But I still have to say something: women are human beings too. They are not playthings for men, and cannot be sold off like objects!"

"Babies, babies, hurry up and put on your clothes!" Wang Wenzhou said, pointing at the girls.

The girls were a bit confused, not understanding what Wang Wenzhou meant. Did Wang Qingtian want them to join the army? Women in the army? Weren't the rumors that all the female soldiers under your command were just for sleeping with?

The girls got dressed.

Wang Wenzhou asked solemnly, "Babies, babies, I have a question for you: would you be willing to be treated as a plaything by a man?"

"No." Most of the girls didn't answer, but a few answered quietly.

Wang Wenzhou shook his head with a wry smile. In the Ming Dynasty, there was no gender equality, and women themselves accepted this; women were appendages of men. The "Three Obediences" of the "Three Obediences and Four Virtues" meant that women were always expected to obey men.

Wang Wenzhou beckoned to Zhang Jiao and said, "Jiaojiao, come here for a moment."

"Okay!" Zhang Jiaobao obediently walked up to Wang Wenzhou.

Wang Wenzhou ordered the two constables, "Attack her with all your might. Whoever defeats her will become the head constable of Gaoling County."

Upon hearing this, the two constables quickly clasped their hands in greeting and said, "Yes!"

These two were unaware that Zhang Jiao was Wang Wenzhou's baby, let alone that Zhang Jiao was incredibly strong. They thought, "She's just a girl, I could easily subdue her with one hand."

Wang Wenzhou gently stroked Zhang Jiao's hair and said with a smile, "Jiaojiao, go ahead and show these girls who says women are inferior to men!"

"Okay!" Zhang Jiaobao nodded and rushed towards the two constables.

"Slap! Slap!" In the blink of an eye, two constables were kicked to the ground by Zhang Jiao, clutching their stomachs and kneeling on the ground, howling in pain.

Wang Wenzhou shouted to the girls, "Babies, babies, did you see that? Zhang Jiao is a girl too, but two strong men are no match for her. Who says women are inferior to men? Women can join the army, women can achieve great things, and women can become officials!"

Wang Wenzhou asked again, "Babies, babies, are you willing to be men's playthings?"

"No way!" the girls shouted, each one full of confidence, after all, they had just witnessed Zhang Jiaobao take down two strong men with two kicks.