On the sixth day of the eleventh month, Ouyang Shuo ended his inspection of the three counties of Lingnan and departed for Guilin County. Because they had used official courier stations along the way, their speed was very fast.
Three days later, Ouyang Shuo and his party arrived at Chiyou City, the administrative center of Wuzhou County.
Last October, the army of Shanhai City had defeated Chiyou's army at the border of Wuzhou County and killed the Great Demonic God Chiyou. Ouyang Shuo awakened his bloodline in that battle and was crowned the [Barbarian King].
At that time, Wuzhou County was not peaceful. The hostility of the people was very strong. The mountain barbarian nobles were tyrannical and tyrannical. The people in the county were destitute, and the economy was directly paralyzed. It was a complete mess.
It was under such circumstances that Fan Zhongyan, in the face of danger, received the order to transfer the governor of Wuzhou from the Chief of Administration to guard Ouyang Shuo's side and govern Wuzhou County.
A year had passed, and Wuzhou County had completely changed.
Along the way, Ouyang Shuo saw scenes of mountain barbarians and Han people living in harmony. When passing by a county town, Ouyang Shuo even saw with his own eyes a mountain barbarian young man marrying a Han girl.
Wuzhou County was the vanguard of the silkworm breeding strategy carried out by the Southern Border Protectorate. Mulberry forests could be seen on both sides of the road, exuberant with greenery.
Even the mountain barbarians had accepted the Han farming culture and learned to plant mulberry and raise silkworms.
Wuzhou County relied on the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains to vigorously develop the medicinal herb planting industry, which was fruitful. According to the statistics of the Department of Industry and Development, Wuzhou County had already become the largest supplier of medicinal ingredients to the government hospital.
For the territory's basic medical treatment to be successfully promoted, the contribution of Wuzhou County's medicine industry could not be ignored.
The people were rich, and the country was peaceful.
All of these could be attributed to Fan Zhongyan, the county governor. He was like a magician, using just a year's time to turn the place upside down.
The role of a civil official in a territory was vividly demonstrated by Fan Zhongyan.
For Shanhai City to be able to recuperate and strengthen its foundation in half a year, the various county governors had contributed greatly.
Precisely because of this, when passing through Wuzhou County, Ouyang Shuo naturally had to stop at Chiyou City for a day. In addition to seeing Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Shuo also wanted to deal with the Barbarian Race's affairs.
Ouyang Shuo, the Barbarian King, had neglected his duty. It had been more than a year since he came to Chiyou City.
…
Chiyou City, City Lord's Mansion.
Accompanied by Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Shuo inspected the daily life of the people of Chiyou City. Wherever Ouyang Shuo's group went, it would cause a commotion, and the streets would be packed with people.
In Chiyou City, Ouyang Shuo, the Barbarian King, had an extraordinary status and prestige. For the mountain barbarians in the city, the arrival of the Barbarian King was no different from a major festival.
Ouyang Shuo took the opportunity to meet with the officials of the prefecture and gave them some words of encouragement. According to the Chief of Administration, Xiao He, the officials sent out by Wuzhou County could be ranked in the top three of all the counties in the territory.
Of the hundreds of officials selected to be transferred to the three counties of Lingnan this time, fifty would be from Wuzhou.
It was obvious that Fan Zhongyan, the former head of the administration, had played a part in this. In terms of nurturing young officials and unearthing outstanding talents, Fan Zhongyan also had extraordinary talents.
At noon, Ouyang Shuo was invited to a banquet by several big medicine merchants in the county in the biggest restaurant in the city. These medicinal herb merchants were the wealthiest people in the county, and they were the leaders of the medicinal herb association in the territory.
A single disagreement could determine the price of medicinal herbs in the market.
Towards these gods of wealth, Ouyang Shuo naturally had to give them some face.
In the afternoon, he listened to the report from the prefecture. It was a full two hours of torture. Finally, Ouyang Shuo took the time to talk to Fan Zhongyan alone.
In the study, Fan Zhongyan was clearly somewhat excited.
It was no wonder that in the report from the prefecture, Ouyang Shuo did not stint on praising Fan Zhongyan and the prefecture. To be able to obtain the Emperor's approval, for a civil official like Fan Zhongyan, was the greatest honor.
"Sven, do you have any thoughts of changing the environment?" Ouyang Shuo's words were shocking.
On the way to Guilin County, Ouyang Shuo had always been thinking about the candidate for the governor of Guilin County. Xiao He had even sent him a letter, asking him to make a decision as soon as possible so that Guilin County could operate normally as soon as possible.
The governor of Guilin County that Ouyang Shuo had first chosen, Pei Ju, had already been transferred to Xingzhou County. In such an important position, Ouyang Shuo naturally could not transfer Pei Ju back.
After thinking about it, he could only think of other ways.
Guilin County's strategic position was even more important than Shaozhou County of Lingnan Province. Furthermore, it had been governed by two large cities for a year, so the situation was even more complicated.
Therefore, Xiao He suggested that it would be best to choose one of the current governors to oversee Guilin County.
Ouyang Shuo completely agreed with Xiao He's suggestion. Although Shanhai City had already reached an agreement with the two large cities, Ouyang Shuo had personally gone to Guilin County to sign a trade agreement with the two large cities.
On the surface, they were friendly, but it could not conceal the undercurrent surging here.
Even the [North Sichuan City State], which was the first to accept Shanhai City's olive branch, did not return to their respective territories after withdrawing from Weiwu Pass. Instead, they were stationed at the southern border.
The intention was self-evident.
The two large cities were still full of vigilance against Shanhai City. Everyone knew that the current so-called "reconciliation" was only an expedient measure of both sides, and was forced by the situation.
In the future, once there was a slight disturbance, Guilin County would once again become a battlefield. It was not an exaggeration to say that Guilin County was the center of the northern territory.
Such a strategic location naturally needed to select a powerful governor to cooperate with the Leopard Tao Army stationed there to do the overall military defense and relevant combat preparations of the northern territory.
Fan Zhongyan, Tian Wenjing, Bao Shuya, and the other veteran governors naturally entered Ouyang Shuo's line of sight. With three choices, Ouyang Shuo needed to make a decision.
Needless to say, Fan Zhongyan was qualified.
The model governor of the Qing Dynasty, Tian Wenjing, was also a suitable candidate. Speaking of which, Tian Wenjing was the first official governor of the territory. He had the most experience and was also the most capable.
The vast Qiongzhou County was well managed by Tian Wenjing.
Relying on shipbuilding, salt, timber, and spices industries, Jingzhou County was the most prosperous county in the territory. Its revenue even surpassed that of the recently abolished Lianzhou County, and was second only to Shanhai City.
The rise of the ocean trade pushed Jingzhou County to a new height.
Under Tian Wenjing's mediation, the Li Clan people of Jingzhou County walked out of the mountains and lived on the plains. As the first negotiator for the affairs of the Brute Race, Tian Wenjing's ability to deal with ethnic affairs was even better than Fan Zhongyan's.
Apart from these two, the governor of Xun Prefecture, Bao Shuya, was also a suitable candidate. The person recommended by the chief of the administration, Xiao He, was Bao Shuya.
Before becoming the governor of Xun Prefecture, Bao Shuya had been the governor of Thunder Prefecture. When he was transferred to Xun Prefecture, he had also been in charge of a large county that had been harmed by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
In less than half a year, Bao Shuya had basically purged the remnants of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. His ability was evident. Furthermore, Xun Prefecture was adjacent to Guilin County. Bao Shuya was familiar with the local situation and had a tacit understanding with the Leopard Tao Army.
These two points were the reasons why Xiao He had recommended Bao Shuya.
All three governors were suitable candidates. It was truly difficult to make a choice among them.
After inspecting Wuzhou County, Ouyang Shuo finally made up his mind to officially designate Fan Zhongyan. For no other reason than that of the three counties, only Wuzhou County did not need Fan Zhongyan to personally oversee it.
The various government affairs of Wuzhou County were already on the right track, and there were no more thorny problems. Any other governor would be able to handle it.
On the contrary, whether it was Jingzhou County or Xun Prefecture, they could not do without Tian Wenjing or Bao Shuya for the time being. Jingzhou County's ocean trade had just picked up. It was a crucial period and needed Tian Wenjing to oversee it.
Xun Prefecture bore the heavy responsibility of connecting Shanhai City and South Sichuan Province. It was also the rear of the Leopard Tao Army, so it also needed Bao Shuya, the old governor, to continue holding down the fort.
Just based on this point, Fan Zhongyan took advantage of the situation and won this round of competition.
… …
When Fan Zhongyan heard the Lord's question, his heart couldn't help but tremble. If it weren't for the fact that his willpower was high enough and his ability to maintain his composure was deep, he probably would have immediately revealed an excited expression.
It wasn't that there was something wrong with Fan Zhongyan. It was just that the position of governor of Guilin had deep implications.
Fan Zhongyan had heard of the governor of Guilin's difficult childbirth.
After all, Fan Zhongyan was the first chief administrative officer of the territory and had once been the chief civil official of the territory. He was well-informed. He had faintly heard rumors that when the Lord was annexing Kunming County, he had first proposed the idea of a provincial governor.
Of the three major provinces of the territory, the governor of Yunnan Province was, without a doubt, Bai Hua. The remaining two governor-general positions were tempting enough.
Especially the future governor of South Sichuan Province. That was the governor of Zhili, the head of all the governors.
Recently, there had been rumors in the officialdom that the future governor of South Sichuan Province was likely to be selected from among the governors of South Sichuan Province.
It was precisely because of this that the appointment of the governor of Guilin affected the nerves of some people for no reason.
The situation was very clear. Guilin County was the most strategic of all the counties in South Sichuan Province. If Guilin County could be governed well, it would undoubtedly be a strong capital for the officialdom.
In this way, when the future governor position was contested, they would have the upper hand.
There were even rumors that the candidate for the governor of Guilin that the Lord had drawn up was most likely the best candidate for the future governor of South Sichuan Province.
No matter how calm Fan Zhongyan was, when he heard these rumors, it was inevitable that waves would rise in his heart. It wasn't that he was greedy for power and position, but it was a kind of instinct that came from being a civil official of the Song Dynasty.
As an official, he would bring prosperity to the people.
Fan Zhongyan had a saying in the 《Yue Yang Tower》: When one is high in the temple, one worries about the people. When one is far away from Jianghu, one worries about the ruler. The higher the official position, the better it would be for the people.
"I will follow the arrangements of the Lord!" Fan Zhongyan said.
Ouyang Shuo looked at Fan Zhongyan with an indescribable meaning. How could Ouyang Shuo not know about these rumors in the territory? Shen Bu Hai had long suggested to investigate the rumor-mongers, but he stopped him.
The position of Zhili Governor was related to the lifeline of the territory. How could Ouyang Shuo easily allow others to take it? Those rumors were a little childish and could not be taken seriously.
However, Ouyang Shuo was happy to see the healthy competition between the County Governors.
Therefore, Ouyang Shuo neither interfered nor expressed his position.
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