Chapter 239: New Officials Taking Office

"Greetings, Your Highness."

The Prince's Mansion Council Hall.

Zhu Tuo, Qu Lu, Zhuang Jiande, Tian Wenhao, Ge Tong, Ding Man, and Wei Ji, these seven men, bowed to Zhao Xu.

These seven were the seven Commandery Governors of Yanzhou selected by him and Liu Fu.

On the third day after the results were posted, he summoned them.

Among them, except for Zhu Tuo who was not from Yanzhou, the other six were selected from the fourteen County Magistrates of Yan Commandery and Shanggu Commandery.

The holding of the Official Examination was naturally to look after scholars from humble backgrounds.

But he also could not chill the hearts of his old subordinates.

He could not let the seven Commandery Governors be selected entirely from the successful scholars.

Otherwise, his old subordinates would certainly be dissatisfied.

Furthermore, many of the successful scholars had no experience in officialdom.

They must be allowed to gain experience at the grassroots level; after all, theory and practice are equally important.

If they truly had ability, they would naturally gain the recognition of the Yanzhou officials.

Only then, when they were promoted to high positions like Commandery Governor, would the officials not gossip.

"Rise." Zhao Xu's gaze swept over the seven men one by one.

At the very beginning, he only controlled Yan Commandery, and Liu Fu held the post of Commandery Governor concurrently.

Adding Shanggu Commandery, the Government Office could barely manage.

But now that there were suddenly five more commanderies, Liu Fu could not be without Commandery Governors to help him manage the affairs of Yanzhou.

"At present, the seven commanderies of Yanzhou are in ruins and waiting to be rebuilt. You must be diligent in your official duties upon arriving at your respective posts. At the same time, you must actively implement the government decrees issued by the Prince's Mansion; do not shirk or procrastinate. Remember, the official caps on your heads were given by this Prince, and this Prince can also take them off," Zhao Xu said slowly.

"Yes, Your Highness." Zhu Tuo and the others responded, each with a solemn expression.

Zhao Xu nodded; he had spoken the ugly truth first.

However, he also had to give them some sweetness later.

So he gave Liu Fu a look.

Liu Fu understood and immediately brought over the official robes and official seals for the Commandery Governors.

"Zhu Tuo, Commandery Governor of Yan Commandery." Zhao Xu came before Zhu Tuo.

The position of Commandery Governor was only below the Prince's Tutor.

As the Yan Wang, he felt it necessary to personally bestow the official robes and seals upon them.

Firstly, to show his regard for them, and secondly, to make the relationship between him and the Commandery Governors more harmonious.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Zhu Tuo's voice trembled slightly.

He had never imagined that one day he could become a Commandery Governor.

In his consciousness, in the Great Song, for a scholar of humble origin like him to reach the position of County Magistrate was already rare and commendable.

Commandery Governor was a position reserved for the children of Rich Clans.

"Do well." Zhao Xu patted Zhu Tuo on the shoulder.

Zhu Tuo was speechless for a moment, only nodding heavily.

"Qu Lu, Commandery Governor of Shanggu Commandery." Zhao Xu came before a tall, thin official.

He was formerly the County Magistrate of Wuan County and had performed actively and bravely in the war to resist the Northern Di.

Zhao Xu handed the items to him and likewise patted his shoulder.

However, Qu Lu was much calmer than Zhu Tuo; although excited, he was, after all, an old hand in the Government Office.

"Zhuang Jiande,

Commandery Governor of Dai Commandery."

"Tian Wenhao, Commandery Governor of Guangning Commandery."

"Ge Tong, Commandery Governor of Ping County."

"Ding Man, Commandery Governor of Liaojun."

"Wei Ji, Commandery Governor of Fanyang Commandery."

Next, he bestowed the official robes and seals upon the others in turn.

Liu Fu stood to one side, looking at them with a full face of smiles.

With the seven Commandery Governors decided, the administrative system of Yanzhou was basically perfected.

After giving a few more instructions, Zhao Xu let the seven Commandery Governors return.

"The officials for the Government Offices of each commandery have also been selected, right?" Zhao Xu asked Liu Fu.

These Commandery Governors naturally could not be lone commanders.

When they went to take up their posts, they had to bring their own set of officials for their Government Offices.

"Everything is ready," Liu Fu said.

These past few days, he and the officials of the Government Office had been working day and night to staff the commanderies.

It could be said that as soon as these seven Commandery Governors arrived at their posts,

and their accompanying officials went down to the counties of each commandery, the administrative system throughout Yanzhou would be unobstructed.

Whatever the Yan Wang wanted to do next, a single decree would suffice.

Hearing this, Zhao Xu breathed a sigh of relief.

The matter of the administrative system had finally come to an end.

Next, he would be able to carry out major reforms in Yanzhou with bold strokes.

"Go back and tell them that after taking office, the first thing is to replicate the model of Yan Commandery: one is taxes, one is the distribution of farmland, and the other is the Village Heads and Village Security Chiefs in the countryside, as well as the Rural Militia System." After taking control of Yanzhou, Zhao Xu issued his first major decree.

"Yes, Your Highness," Liu Fu said, bowing.

Yan Commandery was built single-handedly by Yan Wang.

It was precisely these basic policies that made the commoners of Yan Commandery deeply support Yan Wang.

After being implemented in Shanggu Commandery, it likewise won the hearts of the commoners.

This proved that this set of policies was successful, and it was entirely possible to replicate them in the other five commanderies.

Zhao Xu nodded and waved his hand, signaling for Liu Fu to go back to his work.

Liu Fu turned to leave, but suddenly remembered something and said, "By the way, Your Highness, these past few days many scholars who failed the Official Examination have wanted to enter the Three Great Academies; this matter..."

Zhao Xu smiled; this was the charm of the Official Examination.

He was effectively opening a window for these scholars to change their destinies.

Those who came out of the Three Great Academies would certainly work under the Prince's Mansion in the future.

Naturally, they were scrambling to get in.

To Zhao Xu, this was also a good start.

These scholars were at least literate, making them much easier to teach and saving the time it would take to teach them to read.

"The Technology Academy will only recruit one hundred people, the Government Academy will recruit five hundred, and the Military Academy will also recruit five hundred," Zhao Xu said.

He paused, then said, "However, you must make the conditions for entering the academies clear to them, especially for the Technology Academy; once they enter the Armory Bureau, they won't be able to go wherever they please in the future."

Zhao Xu was very clear that his greatest advantage was the knowledge in his brain.

If he taught a star pupil, and that pupil were to join the enemy's ranks, it would be a nuclear-level threat.

Therefore, they would implement very strict surveillance on these students.

If they had any intention of betraying him, he would certainly make them disappear from this world.

As for the Military Academy, he was not recruiting these students to march and fight in wars, but specifically to be responsible for the education of soldiers.

He was not a proponent of "Weapon-only" theory.

In his view, the most important things for an army were discipline, training, and ideology.

After all, in this era, the power of various weapons did not have an absolute generational gap.

As for the Government Academy, it was naturally secondary.

Because the policies that could be implemented in Yanzhou could not be implemented at all in places outside of Yanzhou.

After all, in Great Song, Yanzhou was the only place without a Rich Clan.

Therefore, he was not afraid of students from the Government Academy leaving Yanzhou.

Of course, even so, he still hoped that the talent he cultivated would remain in Yanzhou to serve.

After solemnly stating the requirements for the Three Great Academies to Liu Fu, Liu Fu acknowledged the order and left.

Once Liu Fu's figure disappeared, Zhao Xu stretched and stood up.

Coming before the map of Yanzhou, he looked at his fief and a smile appeared on his face.

Although his fief was still dilapidated and everything was waiting to be rebuilt.

But before long, it would surely be the most prosperous place in Great Song.