Chapter 597

Chen Bushi was already on the way with Hezhou's subordinate officials, but Chen Wuji couldn't just do nothing and wait for Chen Bushi to handle it.

In the following days, Chen Wuji, who disliked meetings, spent almost every day in meetings.

After Guangtongzhou was retaken, a pile of lingering issues remained.

And the most important of these were the populace and the troops.

How can the people be at peace?

Although the notice had been issued, this could not be simply resolved by a single notice.

Those detailed regulations had to be spelled out down to the county, township, and village level.

To ensure every level of officialdom in Guangtongzhou understood and steadily implemented them.

To this end, Chen Wuji spared no expense in sending troops to audit the treasuries of all counties, and he sent every official from the county offices up and down, including the clerks, to Ningyuan City to take a large-scale examination in batches.

Without knowing the details of the officials above and below, Chen Wuji simply carried out a major reshuffle.

Those who passed the examination were appointed as officials; those who failed, regardless of their former posts, were told to step aside—if they could farm, they should go home and till the land; if they couldn't even endure that, they could do whatever they wanted, but in short, they had no place left in the Southern County officialdom.

Chen Wuji's maneuver stirred up considerable resentment among many people.

Left with no choice, Chen Wuji produced the imperial edict and the seal of the Military Governor.

He had originally intended to keep these for use after taking control of Qingzhou.

But now some people think that, as a rebel prince, you not only treat low‑level officials as nothing, but also carry out such a large‑scale appointment spree—aren't you taking yourself too seriously?

How could Chen Wuji tolerate such a habit of theirs!

He hung the imperial edict on the gate of the government office, and every appointment document was replaced with the seals of the Military Governor, Inspector Commander, and Prefect of Hezhou, the inscriptions on these seals being more numerous than those on the appointment papers.

After this maneuver, the sound of gossip and idle chatter dwindled to almost inaudibility.

The Emperor had appointed Chen Wuji as Military Governor and Inspector Commander of Nan Jun; it was legitimate and proper, so even the most spiteful mouth could find no fault in this matter.

As for doubts of forgery…

Of course there are.

But such remarks dare only be whispered behind closed doors.

Chen Wuji silenced the lower‑level officials of Guangtongzhou with the imperial edict and seal, but it also left some people feeling terribly aggrieved.

Lu Ping'an had always thought Chen Wuji's title of Military Governor was self‑proclaimed, and during this period he kept cheerfully shouting "Commander!" at him.

He had never imagined that Chen Wuji's Military Governor title could be genuine.

But having handled countless imperial edicts, he saw at once that this one could not be more genuine.

This belated slap nearly drove Lu Ping'an into autistic withdrawal!

A life that had seemed perfectly clear‑cut this time got stuck in a dead end.

Everyone had been happily rebelling, and in the blink of an eye a bona fide Military Governor appeared.

And he was the first of the current dynasty.

The first in history!

Lu Ping'an even privately suspected that Chen Wuji had an affair with the Emperor.

Otherwise, even if the Emperor were utterly foolish, he could not possibly grant such a high‑ranking Military Governor and Inspector Commander to a man who was practically begging to have the words "rebel" stamped on his forehead.

This isn't simply aiding the enemy; it's blatantly encouraging Chen Wuji to rebel.

Both are rebellion, yet the gap between them is worlds apart—Lu Ping'an simply cannot comprehend it.

Having found no answer in his heart and daring not to ask Chen Wuji directly, he could only borrow the Military Governor and Inspector Commander seals to play with and admire for a couple of hours, as a token of his feelings.

The various pacification measures gradually got on track and began to be implemented steadily.

The effect of legitimacy and propriety produced an outcome that greatly surprised Chen Wuji.

Chen Wuji ordered Xu Zengyi and Wang Ce to oversee this matter, while he freed his hands to start dealing with the surrendered troops of Guangtongzhou.

Shi Dao, useless at both scholarship and martial arts, nevertheless had a real talent for recruiting soldiers; after the battle at Ningyuan City, the surrendered troops gathered together, numbering a full sixteen thousand.

Shi Dao organized them into three regiments, each under a Negotiation Colonel, with six thousand troops per regiment.

Because of the court's restrictions on official posts, the Lingnan Six Commanderies could essentially only raise the ranks of Negotiation Colonels and Guoyi Commandants without limit, making them the highest military officers.

Looking at these sixteen thousand people, Chen Wuji truly felt his head going bald.

He did not want any more troops.

If he kept taking them in, he might really have to sell himself to support the troops.

But some things are truly beyond one's control.

If these sixteen thousand are not properly handled, they will become the greatest calamity for Guangtongzhou.

If the troops are mishandled, the earlier efforts of the pacification plan may all be wasted.

On the wide drill field, the surrendered troops were arranged according to their original battalions and companies into small square formations.

Chen Wuji sat in a bamboo chair, holding a stalk of sugarcane as tall as a person and gnawing on it; behind him, the Black Armor Personal Guard stood in strict formation, with generals Chen Li, Chen Baoja, Chen Luozi, Lü Ji, Xie Fengxian, and others present.

"Let's begin." Chen Wuji spat out the dry, moisture‑less residue he had been chewing.

"The elderly, weak, sick, disabled, those too young, and anyone willing to return home shall be sent back to their native localities; order the local county offices and village chiefs to receive them and register them."

"Yes!"

The generals obeyed.

Chen Wuji bit into the sugarcane with a crack, saying, "Everyone, spend a little extra effort to persuade them to return to the countryside to farm, marry, have children, and live peaceful lives. Patiently explain to them the measures we have just decided."

"Yes!"

The generals again bowed in salute.

"Then let's get busy." Chen Wuji ordered.

"Yes!"

Chen Baoja and the other chief commanders immediately led their subordinate officers to their respective posts.

On the drill ground, tables and chairs had already been set up; Chen Baojia and the others each had a seat.

They needed to re‑register the surrendered troops, recording details down to native place, length of service, etc.

One pile for those willing to return home, another for those unwilling.

Chen Wuji thought it would be best for everyone to go home and farm, to boost Guangtongzhou's grain output and economy, but if someone insisted on not returning, he couldn't forcibly send them away; he could only accept them.

There are many reasons why these people don't want to return home; among them are those who enjoy being soldiers, enjoy fighting, and those who want to win glory on the battlefield.

If these people were forcibly sent back home, it would cause trouble.

They don't want the army, they don't want to farm the land—what else can they do?

It's fine for them to earnestly seek a Lìnglivelihood, but often these people's subconscious thought is: better to go up the mountain to become outlaws; in these chaotic times, those accustomed to brandishing Knife and spears also want to give play to their ambitions.

If another idea‑king popped up from among them, a little faction would just form again.

From the cool, breezy morning to the somewhat scorching midday, Chen Wuji had polished off a whole sugarcane, yet the registration work of Chen Baojia and the others seemed only just begun.

"Pass the order, rest, eat lunch!" Chen Wuji stretched a bit and shouted.

After sitting all morning, his bones were almost stiff.

Chen Baojia and the others received the order, carrying the fruits of their morning's work over.

Looking at the pile of documents that had risen like a small hill, Chen Wuji thanked Xiao Zong again.

Master Xiao lives up to the title of master; without him, this pile of things, if he used Bamboo Slip, would need a cart to pull and would cost nearly a hundred taels of Silver.