The 17th of August, Shanhai City.
Xiao He represented the Marquis and sent them off at the city gates. The strange thing was that Xiao He did not see Su Qin in the crowd. Thinking back to the look in the Marquis's eyes, Xiao He's heart skipped a beat.
After the end of the conference, Shanhai City became even busier.
The establishment of the Shanhai Guards, the establishment of the law school, the reshuffling of the Southwest University China Hall and the Military Lecture Hall, the reception of scholars from all over the world, and so on.
Luckily, the officials were in charge of everything, and Ouyang Shuo didn't have to do it himself. After the conference, Ouyang Shuo turned his attention back to the battlefield in Zhaoqing.
According to Bai Qi's report, the fifty thousand allied vanguards had arrived at the frontlines yesterday and were stationed at Yun An County. Yun An County was located to the north of Cangcheng County.
Following behind the vanguards, the one hundred thousand allied soldiers would arrive as well.
A great war was about to begin.
At the same time, the second and fourth divisions of the Tiger Troop had just crossed the Jingzhou Straits. They would need another two weeks to reach Cangcheng County.
The expeditionary fleet would arrive at Jiaozhou Port in a few days.
As the allied forces gathered, Shanhai City's army did not have the upper hand. At this time, it was time to send out the Imperial Guard Division to reinforce Zhaoqing.
Wulong County, which Black Snake had promised, had been successfully taken down and signed a temporary alliance with Shanhai City. Ouyang Shuo's conditions were a county magistrate position and the title of a first-rank viscount.
The Imperial Guard Division could teleport to Wulong County at any time.
The problem was, according to Bai Qi's report, the allied forces had eighty thousand soldiers at the rear. It was unknown if the Imperial Guard Division could do anything to the enemy's rear.
At least until now, the [Southern Alliance] had not revealed any flaws.
Therefore, Ouyang Shuo was prepared to go personally. Firstly, the matter of Shanhai City had been settled, and there was no need for him to be there. Secondly, he wanted to stretch his body. Grass was growing on his back after staying in Shanhai City all day.
Once he went out, he would not be able to return to Shanhai City in a short period of time.
The battle of Zhaoqing, the arrangements after the battle, the battle of Chiyou City, etc. would take a long time. Ouyang Shuo would probably have to wait until the next battle before he could return to Shanhai City.
The fifth battle would be triggered by the promotion of 15 cities.
It had been more than 20 days since the end of the Battle of Giant Deer. During this period of time, Bawang County, Danyang County, and Xunlong County had been promoted to county cities.
The China region was still seven cities away from the target of fifteen. Ouyang Shuo estimated that the fifth battle wouldn't be triggered for at least two months.
Thus, Ouyang Shuo had to make proper arrangements for the territory before setting out.
"Guards!"
"Here!"
"Order the Imperial Guards to follow me into battle tomorrow."
"Yes, sir!"
When the guard heard this, he turned around and left excitedly. If the Marquis were to go to war, the two hundred of them would have to go with him.
At two o 'clock in the afternoon, Ouyang Shuo summoned the four directors and Xiao He for a meeting.
In just a single morning, the news of the marquis's departure had already spread throughout the Southern Protectorate. Although Xiao He and the other civil officials believed that it was only right for the Marquis to stay in Shanhai City, they did not dare to dissuade him.
In troubled times, it was very normal for the ruler to personally go into battle.
"I'm afraid that I won't be able to take care of Shanhai City for the time being. While I'm away, other than the important matters that can be reported through letters, the daily affairs of the protectorate will be handled by Minister Xiao He. "
This decision was the result of Ouyang Shuo's careful consideration.
During the war between Chu and Han, it was Liu Bang who fought on the frontlines while Xiao He stayed in the rear to manage his fief. Therefore, in terms of ability, Xiao He was qualified to take on this important responsibility.
The only shortcoming was that Xiao He had just joined Shanhai City and did not have enough prestige. However, through organizing the Zhengming Assembly, Xiao He had already handed in a beautiful answer sheet and obtained the initial approval of the officials.
With Ouyang Shuo's instructions, there shouldn't be any major problems. This was also the reason why Ouyang Shuo summoned the four directors. As long as the four directors supported Xiao He's work, the general situation would basically be set.
When Xiao He heard this, he stepped out of the ranks and solemnly bowed. "Thank you for your trust, Marquis." Xiao He knew how heavy and precious this trust was.
When the four directors saw this, they expressed their opinions one by one.
Ouyang Shuo nodded and said, "I also have arrangements for the work of the four bureaus."
"Marquis, please give us your instructions!"
"First, the military bureau. Other than supporting the frontlines, there are two important tasks. First, improve the logistical security system. Second, establish a military merit system and a military rank system. "
"Yes!"
These two tasks were the most important to the Marquis. How could Du Ruhui not understand?
"Second, the administrative bureau." Ouyang Shuo looked at Fan Zhongyan and said, "The administrative bureau should use the Zhengming Assembly as an opportunity to carry out a major change in the officials of the territory."
The four directors, including Xiao He, were shocked. They could faintly smell the scent of blood.
"The territory has three counties. Other than Lianzhou County, Qiongzhou County and Leizhou County have not been occupied for long. When we first occupied the two counties, in order to maintain local stability, the appointment and dismissal of officials were inevitably discounted. Now that the order of the territory has been restored, it's time to set things right and reorganize the officials. "
Ouyang Shuo's tone was firm and unquestionable. "I suggest that the administrative bureau use one to two months to conduct a comprehensive inspection of all the officials in the territory from the bottom to the top. Those who are capable will be promoted, and those who are mediocre will be relegated. We can also use this opportunity to settle the students who graduated from Southwest University China Hall in the first half of this year, as well as the newly recruited Confucian scholars. "
To put it bluntly, more than half of the current officials in the territory, especially the low-level officials in the various prefectures and counties, came from humble beginnings. They had not received any proper education at all.
This situation was naturally caused by the lack of talents in the process of building the territory, and they could only be forced to do more than they could chew. Even Shanhai City was the same. Zhao Dewang and the others were the same.
After these territories were occupied, the bitter fruit was pushed to Shanhai City.
It was undeniable that there were some people who had become talented after being tempered by the raging fire, such as Zhao Dexian and the others. However, more than sixty percent of them were useless, and they gradually became a burden to the territory.
Ouyang Shuo had already received news that there were officials in various prefectures and counties who had begun to take bribes, abuse the people, and run amok in the villages. Such behavior was naturally not tolerated by Ouyang Shuo.
The territory had yet to establish a complete talent selection system, such as the imperial examinations. It was not that Ouyang Shuo did not want to, but the conditions were not ripe yet. At the current stage, the appointment and removal of officials could only be carried out through the inspection of the Administrative Bureau.
This task not only took a long time, but it also involved the interests of all parties.
If one was not careful, it could cause trouble.
This was the only reason why it had to be carried out as soon as possible. They had to have the courage to completely remove the malignant tumor of the territory, and return the people to peace.
Otherwise, if they did not do anything about it, the small tumor would slowly ferment and grow into a big tumor. When that time came, it would not only harm the people, but also the rule of the territory.
Ouyang Shuo was extremely vigilant about this.
This was also the reason why he had established the Shanhai Guards. In the future, the Shanhai Guards would be a sharp sword hanging above the heads of the civil and military officials, intimidating them.
On the road to hegemony, external warfare was only the external cause. Internal governance was the internal motivation. Only by governing the territory well could they accumulate energy to launch wars and expand the territory.
Otherwise, blind expansion would only result in an unstable foundation. In the end, it would be like a castle made of sand. It looked magnificent, but it would collapse with a slight push.
There was no doubt that this task was the easiest to offend.
Ouyang Shuo believed that only the impartial Fan Zhongyan would be able to control it.
"Sven, I'll leave this matter to you."
"Don't worry, Marquis!"
What the Marquis was thinking was what Fan Zhongyan was worried about, so he naturally would not refuse. To him, as long as he could reorganize the government and sympathize with the people, personal gains and losses were nothing.
Ouyang Shuo nodded and did not mention it. He believed that Fan Zhongyan would be able to grasp the situation.
"Let's talk about the Interior Bureau."
When Wei Yang heard this, he listened attentively. From the Marquis's instructions to the Military Bureau and the Administrative Bureau, Wei Yang did not dare to be negligent. The Marquis had a unique insight that normal people could not compare to.
Every request he made was the lifeline of the various bureaus.
Wei Yang had heard that the entire structure of the Southern Border Protectorate was single-handedly established by the Marquis. Before this, he had been skeptical, thinking that Fan Zhongyan and the others were just being humble.
Now that he thought about it, he had no choice but to accept it.
Although the Marquis was young, he had the insight of a king. It was no wonder that even famous officials like Fan Zhongyan and Du Ruhui did not dare to be arrogant in front of the Marquis.
In truth, Wei Yang was not the only one who was shocked.
Xiao He's heart was in turmoil. This was the first time he had seen the Marquis plan the future of his territory. Such a performance was that of a natural king.
In comparison, Liu Bang, who he had followed before, was much more lackluster.
"The most important task of the Internal Affairs Bureau is to establish a complete system of investigation, investigation, and investigation. In the future, the power to investigate the cases of the various prefectures and counties will be handed over to the head of the Internal Affairs Bureau, not the prefectures or county magistrates. "
This move was breaking the shackles of ancient times.
In ancient times, the magistrates who investigated cases were known as the Just Lord.
In Ouyang Shuo's view, this was absurd.
The magistrate of a county should be in charge of the overall situation and should not overstep the rules and judge cases. Ouyang Shuo's move was to turn the Internal Affairs Bureau into the political and legal committee of the real world.
The Internal Affairs Bureau had the Public Order Bureau responsible for maintaining order and arresting criminals, the Punishment Bureau responsible for investigating and investigating cases, and the Inspection Bureau responsible for supervising officials and prosecuting lawsuits.
What Ouyang Shuo needed to do was to fully delegate power and have it truly operate. Removing the jurisdiction of the magistrates and prefectures was the first step of Ouyang Shuo's authorization.
Just this step was earth-shattering.
Wei Yang's blood surged when he heard this. He felt a great sense of accomplishment. (To be continued.)
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