Jiang Gunian Made A Change

Part 10

As the days turned into weeks, tempers started flaring. Casual sparring between clans turned into free-for-alls. Sitting in a Sect meeting after the latest brawl sent over fifty men to Wen Qing and her people for healing (including her younger idiot brother), Jiang YanLi fumed.

"This is unacceptable," Jin ZiXuan frowned and wiped blood from his forehead. "Someone needs to keep those ruffians in their place."

Nie HuaiSang swung his fan and played with his sleeves. "And who are you suggesting act as peacekeeper? You?" The question sounded idle; it very much wasn't.

"If need be," Jin ZiXuan groused. "Most of the major sects' cultivators are too well trained, and they have a chain of command."

"So I've heard," Nie HuaiSang slyly agreed.

Jiang YanLi coughed to disguise a smile. Had the Nie heir heard Wang Ping dressing down the Jin heir?

"if we're going to appoint one of us to command this group, it should be me," Lan XiChen insisted. "I'm the eldest and I'm a sect leader, not an heir."

Jiang YanLi agreed. "Yes, Lan Zongzhu is wise. I concur with that."

Jin ZiXuan bristled. "Well, I don't!"

"Neither do I, actually," Nie HuaiSang sat up primly from a slouch. "Lan Zongzhu's credentials are impressive, of course, but they are not the ones needed to run a camp. We need someone people can respect, of course. One who is clever and already."

"We are not electing Wei WuXian to lead us," Jin ZiXuan spat.

"I concur with that," Jiang YanLi gave a look of caution to the Nie boy. "My brother is smart and clever, but he is more likely to join in these fights than figure out how to stop them. In fact, I honestly think the only reason he isn't in the infirmary right now is that he was out hunting crabs when it was happening."

Lan XiChen nodded. "Wei WuXian is not the leader we need."

Nie HuaiSang snapped open his fan and waved it angrily. "As I was saying before I was interrupted," he glared at the Jin heir, "We need someone who is clever and already knows logistics. Like... someone who has already redistributed cooks, and who already controls the food distribution around the camp so no one goes hungry. Like... someone who has already set up a separate site for the women because some men were trying to treat them as camp followers." There was another glare at the Jin heir who tried, and failed, to look repentant for his disciples' actions. "Someone who has already demonstrated competence in running this place."

"No." Jiang YanLi's stomach filled with rocks. "You can't mean...."

"I do," the Nie heir smirked. "It would be helpful, don't you think, to give leadership to someone who has earned it through her actions rather than as a birthright?"

The initial vote was tied: two against two, until Jiang Cheng limped in to the meeting. Upon being briefed, he raised his fist at the Jin heir. "You will follow my sister, or the next time there's a fight, I won't block my disciple's blade when he tries to bash your skull in. Hopefully, he'll at least take an eye. Help you see the world around you better."

The final vote was four to zero. A notice was distributed to everyone that Jiang Gunian was now in charge of the entire camp.

Her first order was to require everyone involved in the fights over the last few weeks to dig new latrines and then fill in the almost full ones while their Cores were sealed. "Hard work builds character and reduces time to get in trouble."