The Tang dynasty's Anshi University was going to hold a sports competition, and it was the most important final. Most importantly, Ang Lee was going to participate in it in person.
This made many officials who had just arrived feel that this was a very good opportunity, an important opportunity to build a good relationship with Li An.
Therefore, before the competition began, a large group of people had gathered inside and outside the university. There were more than 100 people, including the officials of the Tang dynasty who had just arrived here and the subordinates who had followed Ang Lee all the way here. After watching the competition, Ang Lee would almost leave Anshi County. Therefore, it could be regarded as a farewell.
The first County Governor of Anshi County was surnamed Chen. He was a middle-aged man in his thirties. He did not have the slightest background of an aristocratic family. He could be regarded as a person from a poor family.
Although there were great prospects for development overseas, compared with the rich land of the Tang dynasty, it was definitely inferior. Since the children of aristocratic families had a better way of development, they were naturally unwilling to go thousands of miles away to suffer. What was the difference between that and being banished?
Anyway, in the Tang dynasty, as long as an official was transferred to a faraway place, it was no different from being banished. As long as the official had a background and a way out, he would not be willing to go far away to develop his career. Only the frustrated people who were depressed and thought they were talented would choose to leave their hometown and seek a way to make money in a faraway place.
Because they did not have any background, these officials of the Tang dynasty appeared to be very well-behaved in front of Ang Lee. There was not the slightest trace of arrogance in them.
The venue of the final was on the big playground of the Anshi University of the Tang dynasty. The four competitions could have been held at the same time. However, in order to increase the audience's appreciation and to avoid the situation where some students were unable to attend two competitions at the same time, they had to do it this way.
The first competition was shooting. It was also the sport that the students had been practicing for the longest time. The ten students participating in the competition were all over 10 years old. In other words, none of the students in Class A and Class B entered the top 10. After all, the students in these two classes were too young to compete with the older classes.
A row of tables and chairs were placed in front of the classroom. There was also a shed specially built for the senior officials like Ang Lee to shade them from the sun. In addition, there were enough snacks, drinks, iced red tea, and some delicious fruit juice.
Before the competition began, many officials around Ang Lee were talking about various topics of interest. Although they had talked a lot along the way, they were all on the boat. Moreover, many officials were not on the same boat. Therefore, after they gathered together, they always had endless topics to talk about.
"Assistant Minister Li, everything is ready. We can start the competition at any time. do you want to say something?"
The teacher of the school asked.
Li An nodded and stood up. Immediately, everyone stood up as well.
"You all, sit down! You don't have to stand up. "
Ang Lee waved his hand and asked them to sit down. However, no one dared to sit down. They all stood up straight, ready to listen to Ang Lee's instructions.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Anshi University of Tang has just been established, and the scale of the school is not large. However, with unremitting efforts, I believe that Anshi University of Tang will become an enviable university in a few years. A large number of talents useful to the Tang Empire will be cultivated here, and there will be more and more subjects in the school. Of course, in addition to learning cultural knowledge, the students also need to exercise their bodies. Only with a good body can they serve the Tang Empire better in the future. This sports competition is the first one held by the university, and I am very happy to be the host. I hope the children can have a good time. Well, I now announce that the first sports competition of Anshi County University of Tang Empire officially begins."
Ang Lee announced seriously.
"Start the competition."
The teacher shouted loudly and asked the students to enter the field.
"Dong, dong, dong …"
With a burst of music, ten students with good shooting scores walked into the field and began the shooting competition.
The rules of the competition did not change at all. Students of different ages chose different shooting heights. Even so, the advantage of age was somewhat obvious.
The ten students were divided into five groups. Five of them would compete first, and the other five would compete later. The height of the basket was adjusted according to their height.
Each of the five students had to shoot 30 coconuts. They had to shoot 10 coconuts at a time. Then, the next group would change. After three consecutive rounds, the one who shot the most coconuts would be the final winner.
The reason why they used coconuts for the competition was that they could be found everywhere in the local area. There was almost no cost. If they used cloth balls or leather balls, it would cost a lot of money.
The five students were all concentrating on shooting the coconuts. Ang Lee only needed to look out of the corner of his eye to see the competition. He came to watch the competition mainly to show his support for Anshi University of the Tang dynasty, to know the results of the competition, and to cheer for the teacher and the students. He did not need to watch the competition attentively all the time.
In addition, there were so many officials around him at the moment. Some of them followed him, while others were just transferred from the capital. It was most interesting to chat with these subordinate officials.
Although the exchange of pleasantries was full of nonsense, it was also conducive to the communication between the officials. It was necessary for the officials to communicate with each other. Ang Lee also wanted to take this opportunity to ask for the opinions of the officials.
For example, regarding the Maritime Silk Road that Ang Lee proposed, these officials could tell him their opinions, opinions, and suggestions. In this way, Ang Lee could understand how they saw this problem.
In addition, Ang Lee had many plans, such as building five fleets overseas. He did not know what these people would suggest.
The most important point was that these officials were appointed overseas. What were they thinking? Were they happy or unhappy? Were they still thinking about returning to the capital after meritorious service? What would they do when they got old? Would they return to their hometown to retire or die in a foreign land? What would their children do? Would they still want their family members in the Tang dynasty? These questions were very important. Only by making these people feel at ease could the overseas territories of the Tang dynasty be stable.
However, fortunately, the transportation equipment was getting more and more advanced. Even if these officials returned to the capital, it would not take too long. If their family members wanted to come over, it would not take more than a few days. With the smooth railway and the rise of steam ships, the overseas territories that were thousands of miles away became not so far away.
"How many years have you been an official, Governor Chen?"
Ang Lee glanced at the students shooting the coconuts and asked.
"Assistant Minister Li, I have been a county magistrate for two years."
Governor Chen replied.
"It must be very difficult for a person like you who has no background of an aristocratic family to survive in the officialdom!"
Ang Lee continued to ask.
"Not bad. After I became a Jinshi, I stayed in the capital for six years. Then I became a county magistrate in Yazhou for two years. His Majesty trusted me. Half a month ago, he asked me to be the county magistrate of Anshi County."
Ang Lee nodded and said, "From the capital to Yazhou, from Yazhou to Anshi County, your position as an official is getting further and further away! Do you feel like you are being banished? "
Provincial Governor Chen suddenly became nervous and hurriedly shook his head, "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. For Your Majesty to appoint this lowly official, it means that you trust this lowly official. How would this lowly official dare to have any complaints? Besides, it's the same no matter where I am.
"Did your family come with you?"
Ang Lee asked.
"Only my wife and my youngest son came with me. My mother is old. I am afraid she can't stand the bumpy journey. She is still staying in Yazhou."
Ang Lee looked up at the kids shooting the coconuts and said softly, "For the sake of the Tang dynasty, so many people have to endure the pain of being separated and can't be reunited with their families. You are all heroes of the Tang dynasty."
"This is what an official should do. How dare we take the credit?"
Ang Lee nodded and said, "How long do you plan to stay in Anshi County? Are you willing to stay for a lifetime?"
"Everything is under the orders of the imperial court. His Majesty wants me to go wherever he wants me to go. I dare not make the decision myself."
Governor Chen said cautiously.
"Governor Chen is very loyal. As long as you do a good job, His Majesty will not let you stay overseas forever. Sooner or later, you will be transferred back to the Tang dynasty."
Ang Lee comforted him. After a pause, he asked, "Governor Chen, how much do you know about the Maritime Silk Road I proposed? What do you think?"
Governor Chen thought for a moment and said, "I don't know much about the Maritime Silk Road. I understand Assistant Minister Li's painstaking efforts. As far as I am concerned, it is extremely necessary for the Tang dynasty to build the Maritime Silk Road. Such mutual exchange is of great benefit to the people of the Tang dynasty and the people of the countries along the way."
"Do you really think so?"
Ang Lee continued to ask.
"Yes, Assistant Minister Li. I really think that the Maritime Silk Road proposed by Assistant Minister Li is quite necessary. Of course, if it were ten years ago, I would not have agreed. But now the situation is different. Under the leadership of Assistant Minister Li, the Tang dynasty has invented more and more rare items. There are trains that can travel thousands of miles in a day on the ground and steam ships that can travel thousands of miles in a day on the sea. The power of cannons is unrivaled by all the small countries. With these, the Tang dynasty has the capital to open up the Maritime Silk Road and can completely control this sea route. In the future, the source of income will definitely be endless."
As Governor Chen spoke, he became a little excited.
Naturally, Ang Lee was very happy that he could get the approval of his subordinate officials. This was enough to show that the Maritime Silk Road proposed by him had gained the approval of most of the officials. The merchants were even more delighted.
"Very good. It's very good that you can realize the importance of the Maritime Silk Road of the Tang dynasty. However, it is relatively easy to open up the Maritime Silk Road of the Tang dynasty, but it is not easy to guard this sea route well. You officials are very bold! You must work hard and do your best to govern the overseas lands of the Tang Empire well, so that the local people will gradually be loyal to the Tang dynasty. "
Ang Lee encouraged.
"Assistant Minister Li, don't worry. I will do my best to govern Anshi County. I will not let down His Majesty's trust and Assistant Minister Li's expectations."
Governor Chen replied happily.
Ang Lee was so happy that he took out the miniature version of the world map that he had hidden under his clothes and put it on the table in front of him for Governor Chen and the low-ranking officials behind him to see.
"This is the current world map. Governor Chen must have seen it before!"
Ang Lee said.
"My office is not equipped with this kind of map. However, I will look at this map every time I go to the office. I have looked at it at least five or six times. However, there are too many small countries on this map. I can't remember all of them. I only remember the important big countries and the small countries close to the Tang dynasty."
Governor Chen answered truthfully.
"Yes! Only the offices of prefectures can have a world map in their office area. County offices don't have it. However, Anshi County is still a prefecture! You are now the Lord of a prefecture. Your office should have a world map. Moreover, it should be much better than the one I have. Didn't the imperial court give it to you? "
Ang Lee asked.
Governor Chen was stunned for a moment. Then, he shook his head and said, "Perhaps it is because Anshi County has just been established! The world map hasn't been given out in time. "
"It doesn't matter. It will be given out. Do you know where Anshi County is on the map?"
Ang Lee asked.
Governor Chen looked at the map for a while. Then, he pointed at a location and said, "I remember that this small island is in the Lion Kingdom. Anshi County is in the north of the Lion Kingdom. In addition, there are many ports in the south of South Tianzhu. Therefore, our position should be here. Oh, there is a '4' here."
"Haha! That's right. This is Anshi County. Below this prominent line is our Anshi City. "
Ang Lee happily pointed out the specific location. Then, he pointed to another location and said, "This is Malacca. These are the islands you passed by on your way here. Next, I will go here, here, and here. I plan to station troops and horses in these five important areas. As the five overseas prefectures of the Tang dynasty, each prefecture must be garrisoned with a fleet. Only in this way can we fully control the Maritime Silk Road that was built with great difficulty and ensure your safety."
The map was drawn by Ang Lee himself. According to his own ideas, he made some simple markings on it. For example, the five overseas prefectures of the Tang dynasty. Ang Lee marked five numbers at the core of the five prefectures according to the order from the farthest to the nearest. The order of the five overseas fleets would also be established according to these markings.
"One, two, three, four, five. In order from the farthest to the nearest, Anshi County is the fourth prefecture. Assistant Minister Li still has to establish three more prefectures. How tiring!"
Looking at the time map, all the officials were amazed by the vastness of the world. It was much bigger than they had imagined.
"Establishing the Silk Road will always be the first step. Only when you officials fulfill your duties and properly guard the Silk Road that this official has established will my hard work not be in vain. You are also very important, and you will also have to work very hard."
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