Gaia second year, 23rd February. 3rd January.
On the third day of the new year, Ouyang Shuo's schedule was still packed to the brim.
In the morning, Ouyang Shuo summoned Fan Zhongyan, the three division heads, and Yongye County Magistrate Shen Zhui.
In order to strengthen their rule over the grasslands, they had to build cities in the grasslands. It just so happened that the original Friendship County's three second-class subsidiary territories had not been used yet.
Ouyang Shuo's intention was to build Blessed City next to the Blessed Lake, at the base camp of the Sky's Boundary Tribe. Then, on the east and west sides of the prairie, he built a citadel each.
With the three cities as the foundation, he would establish the Blessed Ones.
In the future, the Blessed Prefecture would be the prefecture with the largest area among all the prefectures in Lianzhou County.
The magistrate that Ouyang Shuo was interested in was Shen Zhui.
Ouyang Shuo had always thought highly of Shen Zhui. Not only did he have experience in the Resource Reserve Department, he had also served as a county magistrate. Whether it was experience or ability, he was more than qualified to be the prefect of the Blessed Prefecture.
Unlike the other manors, the Blessed God's Manor was practically destitute and had to start from scratch.
In the morning, Ouyang Shuo and the three division heads came up with a four-point plan for the development of the Blessed Abode.
First, move the herdsmen of the various tribes to settle down in the three cities.
On the grassland, including the Sky Abundant Tribe that had surrendered, there was a total of one large tribe and eight medium-sized tribes. Their total population was less than 130,000 people. After the battle of Lianzhou, excluding the dead soldiers and the reorganized cavalry, the actual population of the grassland was less than 100,000.
Blessed Providence had a vast territory but a small population, so animal husbandry was its lifeline. Gathering the herdsmen in the city was to put an end to the scattered and extensive grazing of the herdsmen. Instead, they would build large-scale pastures and farms for collective grazing.
The second was to build city walls.
In the future, the Blessed Abode of Gods would be a place where the tribes of the plains and the Han people would live together. The prerequisite for building a city was to build a sturdy city wall.
Only in this way could the advanced farming culture of the Han people be integrated into the nomadic culture of the grassland.
There was neither wood nor stone on the grassland, which was a major test for the construction of the city wall. Fortunately, there was no shortage of red soil on the grassland, so there were enough conditions to build a large brick kiln.
The walls of the one city and two counties in the Blessed Abode of Gods would be mainly made of earth, with a layer of green bricks on the outside.
The buildings in the city were also mainly made of bricks, but at the same time, they also took into account the characteristics of the grassland tribes. He could consider delineating an area in the city to allow herdsmen to build yurts.
The convergence of the two civilizations was also a major feature of the future Blessed Abode.
At the same time, it was a huge test for Prefectural Magistrate Shen Zhui.
Ouyang Shuo even proposed to openly select people with both ability and integrity from the various clans of the prairie to assume important positions in the soon to be established provincial and county governments.
Even the nobles who were about to move to Shanhai City would be placed in an important position as long as they had outstanding abilities.
The operation of the Blessed Abode was inseparable from the support of the grassland tribes.
This task required Shen Zhui to coordinate with the Administrative Bureau and the Home Affairs Bureau.
Of course, the selected officials had to go to Southwest University China Hall for three months or even half a year of advanced studies. Only after successfully graduating would one be able to obtain employment.
Thirdly, develop the deep processing industry on the grassland.
Animal husbandry was the foundation of the grassland, but it was not enough to support the economy of the Blessed Abode. With the end of the battle in Lian Province, all the major chambers of commerce had set their sights on the vast prairie.
The furs and livestock that the herdsmen had painstakingly saved up were bought by the merchants at a low price.
Ouyang Shuo, who possessed outstanding foresight, naturally wouldn't allow the grassland to grow wildly.
Deep processing was the opportunity and way out for the grasslands to rise.
Whether it was wool, leather, milk, or goat's milk, they all had to be deep processed on the spot. The wool could be woven into blankets, and the leather could be made into leather boots or clothes.
Even goat's milk and horse's milk could be made into milk skins, cheese, and other dairy products.
Fourthly, protect the ecology of the grassland and maintain the growth environment of the cyan beetle horses.
In the future, the Blessed Abode's greatest contribution to the territory would be to provide an endless supply of cyan beetle horses. Ouyang Shuo had already raised the cultivation of cyan beetle horses to the strategic level of the territory.
What Shen Zhui wanted to do was to gather the cyan beetle horses from the various clans and build a large military horse farm near the beautiful Blessed Lake.
The military horse farm at the Blessed Lake would surpass the Storm Valley Military Horse Farm and become the largest military horse farm in the territory.
To maintain the population of cyan beetle horses and protect the ecology of the grassland, it was imperative. All the development and construction of the Blessed Abode must not destroy the ecology of the grassland.
After deciding on the general direction of the Blessed Abode, Ouyang Shuo no longer interfered with the allocation of manpower, resources, and funds. Shen Zhui needed to personally coordinate with the Administrative Bureau, Home Affairs Bureau, and Finance Bureau.
Before Shen Zhui left, Ouyang Shuo gave him three Black Iron Village Creation Tokens.
The three badges had not been forged using the Fusion Badges. They were extracted directly from the stele in the Friendship City.
At this point, the nine Shanhai City Village Creation Tokens of the Grade 2 subsidiary territories had all been separated.
The three from Beihai City were used in Tianfeng City, Yi Shui County, and Duanren City. The one from Friendship City was used to build the Blessed Abode. The three from Qiushui City were still in Ouyang Shuo's storage pouch.
By the time he finished dealing with the matters of the Blessed Abode, it was already noon.
Ouyang Shuo left the study and returned to the rear hall to eat.
"Big brother, you're back!"
Bing'er was already waiting in the dining hall for lunch. After the little girl practiced the Pure Heart Sutra, no other changes could be seen, but her appetite did increase.
Ouyang Shuo knew nothing about the Pure Heart Sutra.
All he could do was wait and see.
According to Zisu, other than three meals a day, Bing'er would often eat pastries. Sometimes, she would complain about being hungry even before it was time to eat.
But the little girl was stubborn and would always wait for Ouyang Shuo to return before eating together.
Ouyang Shuo had no choice but to "get off work" on time every day.
After lunch, Ouyang Shuo returned to his room to rest.
In the afternoon, there was an important political meeting waiting for him to preside over. Ouyang Shuo had to conserve his energy.
Two o 'clock in the afternoon, the main hall.
Three bureaus, twelve departments, a total of fifteen officials were all present.
Ouyang Shuo sat at the head of the table and presided over the first political meeting of the Marquis's Mansion.
At some point, the word "political meeting" had become a thing of the past and was replaced by the word "political meeting".
It was only a difference of one word, but the meaning was completely different.
The word "political" in the political meeting represented the formalization of the territory's civil officials. Their speaking power and status had increased, and they had truly become the other pole of the two poles of the military and the political.
At the same time, it also announced that Ouyang Shuo's authority was growing day by day.
The word "political meeting" divided Ouyang Shuo, the lord, and the territory's civil officials into two different levels.
Ouyang Shuo occupied one level. Below him was the civil officials.
Compared to the territory's previous meetings, there were two obvious changes in the political meeting.
First, the number of affairs that needed to be coordinated with each other gradually increased. As the territory expanded, some of the territory's affairs could no longer be solved by a single department or even a single bureau.
For example, the matter of "building the road network in Lianzhou County" that was currently being discussed involved at least three main departments: the Construction Department, the Audit Department, and the Bank of the Four Seas.
The Construction Department was responsible for the road planning and design, the Audit Department was responsible for the audit of the project budget, and the Bank of the Four Seas was responsible for the allocation of funds and financial transfer payments.
Other than the three main departments, the other departments were also more or less involved. For example, the establishment of courier stations along the official road involved the Department of Culture and Education and the Department of Public Order.
Other than that, the government offices and county offices along the official road were also all involved.
Not to mention, there were hundreds of settlements along the road. It was not a simple math problem to decide which settlement the road would pass through and which settlement it would not pass through.
The complexity of the affairs involved was not something that could be imagined during the period of the county.
While this was a test for the departments, it was also a huge test for the three bureau chiefs. Fortunately, whether it was Fan Zhongyan or Tian Wenjing, they were all bigwigs, so they could handle it with ease.
It was precisely because of the complexity of the affairs that the interests involved were intertwined.
During the political discussion, Ouyang Shuo was a listener most of the time and would not easily express his opinion.
And this was the second change in the political discussion.
Ouyang Shuo gradually completed the change of role.
He began to change from a participant to a pure decision maker.
Unless it involved the territory's major strategy, under normal circumstances, Ouyang Shuo would let the departments come up with a solution or a clear plan, and would not take the initiative to guide the work of the departments.
In this way, the authority of the three bureau chiefs was greatly increased.
Their roles were also going through a change.
In the previous discussions, Ouyang Shuo usually played the leading role. Whether it was Fan Zhongyan or Cui Yingyou, they played the role of executor.
Fan Zhongyan and Tian Wenjing's radiance was completely covered by Ouyang Shuo's huge figure, and their sense of existence was extremely low.
Now, they could be considered the real giants, and they had great decision-making power.
For Fan Zhongyan and Tian Wenjing, the stage for them to display their talents had just begun.
In the future, when the two of them led the bureau on this stage, what kind of dazzling brilliance would they produce?
Everything could only be left to be tested by time.
As for the bureau chiefs of the various departments, their days were somewhat difficult.
Power and responsibility had always coexisted.
At the same time that Ouyang Shuo gave the various departments more power, the various departments naturally had to bear greater responsibility. If the bureau chiefs made a mistake in decision-making and caused damage to the territory's interests, they would naturally have to be held accountable.
If it was light, they would be demoted in the year-end evaluation. If it was heavy, they would have to change their positions.
Among the twelve bureau chiefs, there were three or four whose positions were not very stable. They had a common characteristic, and that was that they had all risen from the wilderness. Coupled with their limited qualifications, they were naturally tested.
The current Bureau Chief Du Quan, the Tax Bureau Chief Qian Lifei, and the Industry Bureau Chief Du Xiaolan, these three's positions were the most unstable.
When the time was right, Ouyang Shuo would send them to the prefectural government.
As for the Bureau Chief Qin Shijian, the Bureau Chief of Agriculture Sun Yannong, and the Bureau Chief of Construction Hao Jiancheng, these three were still in the observation stage.
The other six bureau chiefs, whether it was in terms of ability or experience, were relatively outstanding, so there was no need to worry for the time being. (To be continued.)
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