After settling the matters in Zhenhai City, Ouyang Shuo was free for the time being.
Reorganizing the army and reorganizing Zhaoqing County were carried out by both the military and the government at the same time. Even so, it would take at least a month before there would be any results.
Taking advantage of this rare free time, Ouyang Shuo prepared to set off and patrol Zhaoqing County.
Although Zhaoqing County had been pacified, the people's hearts were still unsettled. The announcement posted by the government could not calm the people's fear.
The lords had died in battle, and the territorial armies had either died in battle or surrendered. For the people of the various territories, the past month had been filled with the flames of war. It was truly a period of time that they could not bear to look back on.
The entire Zhaoqing County was shrouded in fear and unease.
The sky of Zhaoqing County was dark, filled with death and despair.
According to the Black Snake Guards, some cities had already begun to lose their citizens.
In the wilderness, population was the greatest strategic resource.
Ouyang Shuo was very distressed by the loss of population in Zhaoqing County. He could not sit back and watch the situation worsen. He instructed the internal affairs department to strengthen the control measures while preparing to personally go into battle.
At this time, Ouyang Shuo naturally had to stand up and calm the people.
Other than the imperial guards, the first brigade of the imperial guards also accompanied him. Although Zhaoqing County had been pacified, Ouyang Shuo still did not dare to take the risk alone.
With the imperial guards accompanying him, he could only rest easy.
Of course, on the night before he set off, Ouyang Shuo booked the largest restaurant in Wulong City and held a grand thank-you banquet to entertain the representatives of the aristocrats, merchants, and prestigious elders in the city, thanking them for their support of the Shanhai City army.
This thank-you banquet was what Ouyang Shuo had promised when he first entered Wulong County. Therefore, before he patrolled, he naturally had to fulfill his promise.
He also used this opportunity to send Song Wen and the others off.
Tomorrow, Song Wen would also go to Zhaoqing City to take up his post. Similarly, the people of the Song Family would also be teleported to Shanhai City. Song Jia would be in charge of receiving them and preparing to settle down in Shanhai City.
Ouyang Shuo had already instructed Zang Wenzhong to allocate a piece of land for the Song Family in the West District.
Not long ago, after the basic framework of Shanhai City's construction and the roads within the city were completed, the construction department conducted a redesign of Shanhai City's urban area.
Before this, Shanhai City was divided into five big districts: Royal City, Inner City, Pool City, Friendship City, and Outer City. The size of each district was completely different and didn't match at all.
This was especially true for the Outer City, which occupied two-thirds of the entire city. Its tentacles extended to every corner of the city. It could not be called the Outer City at all.
As Shanhai City grew more prosperous, merchants and scholars came to visit. Shanhai City's status in China grew more and more important. Precisely because of this, it was imperative to plan the city reasonably. Otherwise, he would be laughed at by others.
In the end, Shanhai City adopted the most classic method of dividing the city into nine districts, and it was orderly and pleasing to the eye.
The nine major districts were located at the junction of the Friendship River and the Qiushui River, the central district of the entire city, the east, south, west, and north districts, as well as the northwest, northeast, southwest, and southeast districts.
After the planning, the original Friendship City was now the North City District; the original Inner City was now the Southwest City District; the original Qiushui City was now the Southeast City District.
In addition, the original Royal City and the Inner City were merged into one, and they were collectively known as Royal City. After the merger, the original residential and commercial districts of the Inner City would be moved to the West City District directly above Royal City.
As the territory expanded, the original Royal City was too small and didn't match the status of the Protectorate of the Southern Border. The expansion of Royal City was naturally imperative.
Other than the planning of the districts, there was also a detailed division of the functions of each district.
The central district, where the waterways intersected and the choke point of traffic, was defined as the dock district. The East City District and West City District on both sides were defined as the commercial district, connected by waterways to the docks.
The South City District below was defined as the research district, where the military workshops and research bases were located.
The original Friendship City District was now the North City District, and the original Qiushui City District was now the Southeast City District. These two old districts were defined as the residential district.
Finally, the Northwest City District and the Northeast City District were defined as the military district. The two divisions of the City Guard Regiment would each be stationed in a district to protect Shanhai City.
This was why Ouyang Shuo had placed the Song Family in the West City District.
Song Wen had taken up his post, but the Divine Martial Guards stationed in Seaport City couldn't return for the time being. They had to wait until the Garrison Division prepared for Sea-suppressing City was fully organized, fully equipped, and ready for handover before they could return.
Therefore, the Divine Martial Guards had to stay in Seaport City for a period of time.
The First Formation of the North Bay Fleet had already begun to return under Ouyang Shuo's orders.
Beihai City was the gateway to Lianzhou County, so it couldn't be lost. The North Sea Bay Fleet could not leave for long periods of time. If there was a day when some pirates attacked, they would be in big trouble.
As for the First Formation of the Cliff Mountain Fleet, it was temporarily stationed at the Jiaozhou Port.
Cai Mao would instruct the Fireworks Freak to prepare for the formation of the Jiaozhou Fleet, including the selection of soldiers and the remodeling of the Port.
The shipyard had already received the news and would arrange for a batch of warships to be sent to the Port.
Before the First Formation of the Jiaozhou Fleet was completed, the Cliff Mountain Fleet led by Cai Mao wouldn't leave. Seaport City still had to rely on them for protection.
Other than the Song Family, Xiao He also had to return to Shanhai City.
Xiao He didn't dare to delay Ouyang Shuo's orders. Xiao He had already handed over the matters of Zhaoqing County to the four division chiefs. He had to return to Shanhai City to draft a reorganization plan for the Science, Education, Culture, and Health Bureau.
After that, it would be submitted to Ouyang Shuo for approval.
The next morning, Ouyang Shuo didn't bother anyone and quietly set off with his troops. His itinerary and patrol route were highly confidential. No one knew except for the Mountain Sea Guards and the Black Snake Guards.
Ouyang Shuo patrolled the entire Zhaoqing County at the speed of one city a day. Everywhere he went, he would meet with the gentry and citizens. It was both to declare his sovereignty and to appease the people.
Other than that, he would also inspect the local officials.
After a long period of training, Ouyang Shuo's eyesight had become quite extraordinary. When he met a person, especially an official, he could get a general idea of the situation after a few words.
Ouyang Shuo would also meet with some of the local officials who were supported by the people alone.
Every day, Ouyang Shuo would write letters about the inspection and send them to Fan Zhongyan for his reference. There was no doubt that the officials that Ouyang Shuo liked would be put in an important position.
Even so, Ouyang Shuo didn't make arbitrary decisions. He left the final decision to the Administrative Bureau. However, the Administrative Bureau would be especially meticulous in their inspection of the people that Ouyang Shuo specially mentioned.
Ouyang Shuo was doing this to establish the authority of the Administrative Bureau in inspecting officials.
The title of Marquis of Lian Province and Protector-General of the Southern Region was a great deterrent to the people.
Everywhere Ouyang Shuo went, the people would line the streets to welcome him. The gentry would fight to befriend him, and the merchants with a keen sense of smell would rush over like rats that had smelled honey.
Ouyang Shuo could deal with all kinds of people with ease. He maintained the dignity of a lord and explained the governance of his territory to the people.
During the conversation, Ouyang Shuo would also vaguely reveal the changes that were about to take place in the fields of education and medicine. It was tantamount to letting people know about Xiao He's changes in advance.
In this way, the people would have a concept in their hearts, and the resistance to the changes in the future would be much smaller.
In addition, Ouyang Shuo also wanted to use this opportunity to incite the people to sincerely support the Protector-General of the Southern Region. He wanted them to clearly see that their future life would be even better than under the rule of the lord.
The people cared about practical benefits. They would support whoever was good to them.
When they heard that their children would be able to go to school for free in the future, that the government would help them when they fell sick, and that they wouldn't have to worry about medical expenses in the future, the crowd burst into cheers.
Thus, Ouyang Shuo's inspection was more effective than any announcement to calm the people.
In addition to appeasing the people and inspecting the officials, Ouyang Shuo also gave himself another task, which was to inspect the industries and resources of the various regions.
The officials of the Finance Bureau were not as sensitive to new industries and unknown resources as Ouyang Shuo.
For example, when he was passing through the Ying Mountain Range, Ouyang Shuo discovered a strange stone that the locals called 'Ying Stone'.
Ying Stone was formed from limestone after thousands of years of weathering and deposition. It was exquisitely carved and had the characteristics of being 'thin, wrinkled, leaky, and transparent'.
However, this kind of strange stone wasn't valued.
On the same day, Ouyang Shuo sent a letter to Ying You, asking her to arrange for the Ministry of Industry to mine the 'Ying Stone' on a large scale to open up the market for strange stones. Whether it was used as a decoration or to be placed in a garden, Ying Stone was an excellent existence.
Once, when Ouyang Shuo passed through a city, he heard the local people mention that someone had dug up a strange crop outside the city, but didn't know what it was.
When Ouyang Shuo heard the news, he immediately ordered people to bring the crop.
When he took a look, it was a type of wild ginger.
Although ginger had existed in ancient China, it wasn't widely eaten. It was no wonder that the local people didn't know about this kind of wild ginger.
There was no doubt that Ouyang Shuo had found a new specialty for the territory.
There were many kinds of things.
For the development of the territory, Ouyang Shuo, the lord, could be said to have put in a lot of effort.
This inspection was also an opportunity for Ouyang Shuo to broaden his horizons.
As the saying goes, reading ten thousand books is not as good as walking ten thousand miles.
Along the way, he crossed mountains, waded through rivers, passed through forests, and camped in the wilderness.
In the wilderness, although there weren't many people, it had a different flavor.
In the great desert, smoke rose, and the sun set.
This famous saying that described the great desert was also very suitable to describe the wilderness.
Rough, wild, this was the most true portrayal of the wilderness.
Because of this, Ouyang Shuo missed the countless experiences of sleeping in the wilderness in his previous life.
Now that he thought about it, it was also very precious. (To be continued.)
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