Chapter 171: Personnel Changes

A portion of the Patrol Guard Division's affairs relates to secret investigations, though Wen Gu does not have much contact with those matters now.

This time, he called Qiao Yuan over simply because he felt that Qiao Yuan's fellow townsman had some ability.

To be able to flee all the way to the northern grasslands after offending a person of high status, and then manage to climb up to the tribal nobility—what is even more rare is being able to secure a trade in refined Sugar! Purchasing luxury goods in bulk is no small sum of money!

Qiao Yuan's fellow townsman is quite capable.

Such talent, if it can be developed, should be developed.

After finishing his tea, Qiao Yuan left, and Wen Gu organized several documents he had just brought back.

These documents concerned personnel changes within the Patrol Guard Division, which Lao Zhao had already approved.

Lao Zhao had summoned him today to discuss some matters, so he took the opportunity to bring these documents over for Lao Zhao to sign. He finalized the list of rewards and punishments for the personnel involved in the Caishan Horse Bandits affair.

The Caishan Horse Bandits affair has been investigated thoroughly enough. Those who should be punished are punished, those who should be rewarded are rewarded, and those who should be kicked out are kicked out.

Wen Gu arrived at the study.

The two men, Fang and Lu, were buried in their work, appearing too focused to notice their surroundings, unaware of Wen Gu's arrival.

Cheng Zhi sensed movement at the door, looked up, and asked, "Deputy Envoy?"

Wen Gu walked over: "Handle these documents."

The two men, Fang and Lu, beside him acted as if they had only just heard the movement, offered a salute, and continued to bury themselves in their work.

After Wen Gu finished telling Cheng Zhi how to process those documents, he left the study.

As soon as he went out, the two men, Fang and Lu, who had been bowing their heads to handle their work, immediately stood up, curious to see the documents Wen Gu had brought.

They had heard Wen Gu giving instructions to Cheng Zhi just now; these documents concerned personnel changes in the Patrol Guard Division.

They had heard before that the Patrol Guard Division was going to kick out a portion of the derelict personnel and reward others who had rendered service, but they had never seen the specific list. Now it was finally settled!

They had only taken two steps after standing up when Wen Gu returned from outside.

Damn it! Treacherous!

The two cursed inwardly.

Clerk Lu turned his steps and very smoothly went to make tea.

Clerk Fang went to the bookshelf to pick out a case file and returned to his workstation.

Wen Gu acted as if he hadn't seen that scene just now and said:

"I forgot to ask just now. Our study has had a heavy workload recently; do we need to recruit another person?"

Clerks Fang and Lu thought Wen Gu was pointing at them and were about to express an attitude of "the tasks aren't heavy, we can manage."

But as their gazes swept to Cheng Zhi, they suddenly wondered if Wen Gu meant something else.

For a moment, they couldn't be sure and failed to reply immediately.

Yet, wasn't this silence a form of agreement in itself?

Wen Gu nodded: "Alright, I understand."

He turned and left.

Clerk Fang carefully looked outside, and seeing that Wen Gu had truly left this time, he went over to Cheng Zhi's side.

They looked at the list of rewards and punishments on the documents; it was basically the same as what they had inquired about previously.

Once they finished reading, they lost interest; what they were more curious about now was what Wen Gu's words just now meant.

"Are we going to have another colleague?" Clerk Lu said.

Clerk Fang's mood this time was completely different from when Cheng Zhi first arrived; he was looking forward to a newcomer coming to share the pressure.

The tasks Wen Gu issued every day were so numerous that every time Wen Gu came over, they would get nervous and pretend to be very busy, with no time to handle extra work.

Only Cheng Zhi was an honest man.

Clerk Fang was somewhat impatient: "When will the new colleague arrive?"

Hurry up and come share the load!

The Lishan Station in the south of Xinzhou.

Having withstood two Ghost Tide impacts, the station still stood firm, and the internal personnel were basically unharmed.

Having held out against two Ghost Tides, the mindset of the people in the station had completely changed.

After the second Ghost Tide, the atmosphere in the station quickly became relaxed and gradually gained order.

Cheng Xu stayed in his room, looking at the letter he had just received.

He and Wen Gu had been frequently exchanging letters; he needed to communicate more with Wen Gu about station matters. These were all out in the open and did not need to be hidden.

Cheng Xu was also aware of the achievements Wen Gu had made since taking office, though he felt no jealousy, only a clearer self-awareness. He just wanted to manage Lishan Station and the next station well now.

After reading the contents of the newly received letter, Cheng Xu raised an eyebrow and said to the attendant beside him: "Call Han Lian here."

Han Lian had fled here with his companions before the first Ghost Tide arrived. He used to be the manager of a preserved fruit shop and could write and calculate; Cheng Xu had arranged some writing and calculation work for him, and he had handled the matters quite satisfactorily.

Han Lian was a bit rough around the edges, but he was very spirited. The injuries and illnesses from his flight had mostly healed, and he had put on some weight, looking less frightening than before.

He was very satisfied with his current life; the little work he did every day was very easy.

There was clean grain and water—it didn't taste good, but it wouldn't starve him. Just being alive was enough!

He was very grateful to Lishan Station.

If not for Lishan Station, he and his companions would have been wiped out during the first Ghost Tide impact this year.

Now everyone just wanted to work a bit more, save some money and grain, and hire escorts to bring their relatives from the south during the winter.

Han Lian was full of anticipation as he planned for the future; hearing that Station Master Cheng was looking for him, he didn't think much of it, assuming it was about getting an abacus.

A few days ago, seeing that he had organized various account books and records well, Station Master Cheng had asked him what else he lacked for his work.

Han Lian said he wanted an abacus, and Station Master Cheng had agreed.

"Got the goods so quickly?"

Han Lian thought to himself that he hadn't seen any deliveries arrive in the last few days.

With some misgivings in his heart, he went inside the room.

About half an hour later, Han Lian came out.

His whole person was floating and drifting, his face full of a flushed glow from suppressed excitement, his eyes shining.

Seeing his companions all drinking water and resting nearby, he walked over with unsteady steps, lowered his voice, but his tone still couldn't help being hurried:

"Everyone! Your brother here is going to take a step ahead!"

A companion asked: "What does 'take a step' mean?"

Han Lian couldn't hold back the smile on his face: "I'm being transferred to Xinzhou City! Hahahahaha!"

It wasn't that he was being transferred immediately; the Station Master had told him

that he had to train two apprentices, and once the apprentices could handle the affairs, he would be able to leave.

If this were in the past, taking on apprentices would require charging money, and some experience and techniques would not be easily taught to others.

But now, who could care about all that?!

Learn!

Hurry up and learn for me!!

Don't wait three days for a technique that can be mastered in one!!

Han Lian picked two companions who had decent arithmetic skills and knew a few characters, wishing he could immediately stuff all the knowledge he possessed into them. Then he hurriedly packed his bags to go to Xinzhou City to work!

"Patrol Guard Division, what a great place!"

Although Han Lian could only start as a clerical handyman there, it was the Patrol Guard Division!

How many times had he heard about it during his time staying at the post station!

There were even monthly stipends and allowances!

Han Lian's companions were incredibly envious, and they had more expectations for Xinzhou as well.

Everyone had fled here together as refugees, so who didn't know who?

Han Lian had personally proven that as long as one had ability and did a good job, one could be promoted!

The news that Han Lian was to be transferred to the Patrol Guard Division soon spread throughout the post station.

The place was not big to begin with, news traveled fast, and there were no other recreational activities here, so this topic quickly soared to the number one hot topic. However, Han Lian himself did not have much time to chat with everyone.

He was too busy.

Busy training apprentices.

Busy enriching himself.

The place he was going to was the clerical office of the Patrol Guard Division.

The clerical office!

Just hearing the name, one knew it must be an extremely elegant place!

He had to pick up those few literary skills he had as soon as possible!

He also had to tidy up his own image.

It had to be elegant!!

While Han Lian was struggling at the post station, Xinzhou City began personnel adjustments.

Not to mention the City Defense Army and the Xianshou Army, the Patrol Guard Division disciplined more than thirty people, including both regular staff and handymen. Nearly twenty of them were kicked out of the Patrol Guard Division directly.

Lao Zhao agreed to it.

Nowadays, supplies were scarce; he had taken so much money and grain to support the army and had given the Patrol Guard Division so many privileges, not for this bunch of people to occupy a spot and slack off every day!

If you can't do the job, then don't do it!

Wasting food!

There were also rewards.

On the day the horse bandits appeared, the Mu Family brothers discovered suspicious individuals and chased after them as they left.

Although bandits entered later, the main responsibility did not lie with them; they were only in the warehouse counting goods, and the people originally responsible for guarding the gate had been drugged, so it could only be said that the Mu Family brothers lacked experience, but their merits outweighed their faults.

The young lady of the Mu Family who stopped the bandits also had merit.

However, generally speaking, the three of them were still a little short of being confirmed in their positions.

If their skills had been a bit stronger and they had captured the horse bandits on the spot, perhaps that little bit of missing qualification would have been made up.

Now all three were at the Mu Family wringing their hands in regret, training extra every day.

However, in this personnel change, those who were rewarded didn't have much presence, while those who were punished sparked quite a lot of discussion.

The Patrol Guard Division kicked out more than twenty people at once, and most of these people had connections and ways, so naturally, there would be people pleading for them.

Some felt that this punishment was too heavy and wondered if they could be given another chance.

But more people, upon hearing that more than twenty positions had opened up in the Patrol Guard Division, immediately took action as well.

When positions opened up, they naturally had to be filled. One radish for one hole; since the people occupying the holes were gone, then their own people had a chance, right? The current state of the world was difficult, and most families were relatively strapped for cash. Having one more person earning a monthly stipend would reduce the pressure on the family.

What a great position the Patrol Guard Division was!

As for those who neglected their duties and made mistakes, be self-aware and quit, you lot!

Regardless of whether they were kicked out or wanted to run over to fill the spots, everyone started leveraging relationships and building connections.

There was no perfect selection system for the time being, and everyone's abilities were about the same, so whether one could snatch a spot depended on one's own ability.

Every day, one could see soldiers cursing and fighting each other.

Most of the people in the Patrol Guard Division came from the Border Army, so naturally, they looked for connections among those from the Border Army as well.

One of the three powerful figures in the Patrol Guard Division—

Pei Jun, an old-school noble, a scion of a prominent family.

Wen Gu, a scholar from the South, not familiar.

Only Fu Pian came out of the Border Army, and his local network of connections was larger and tighter.

But then...

"Damn that little bird Fu for running off to Cai Mountain to raid a thief's den!"

Someone held their breath and cursed.

Fu Pian was indeed anxious to get the credit into his own hands, and besides that, he was truly impatient with dealing with things, so he ran off decisively.

He slipped away so fast!

So much so that now, when a bunch of people want to pull strings, they can't find anyone!

By the time the personnel changes in the Patrol Guard Division finally ended, those who made mistakes had been kicked out, and those filling the positions had firmly occupied their spots.

Fu Pian returned after raiding the thief's den.

Going out for a stroll, avoiding trouble, earning merit, and even getting to stretch his legs.

Fu Pian looked as if the gloom had dispersed from him, and he even gave himself a thumbs up:

I am truly witty!