The First Auxiliary Road from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 1097 Request

Sheng Yuan has been very busy recently.

Although the work of pacifying the people, reorganizing the city's official team, and supervising the rectification of the local powerful families was the responsibility of the prefectural governor Luo Buyan;

  Although the arrest, interrogation, and writing of details of the battle to annihilate the Buchen pirates were arranged by the garrison commander, General Rong;

Although the tasks of tracking down the remaining forces on the island, hunting down the remnants of the former Qi, and investigating officials at all levels and major families in the counties of Qizhou were jointly undertaken by General Lu's subordinates with the assistance of the Internal Guard.

Although the tedious tasks of counting the spoils, registering them, and making copies were taken over by the ladies who had passed the governor's examination;

Although the important task of reviewing the battle, integrating information sources, and planning for the future development of the prefectural city was undertaken by the prefect's wife Ge Qingyu and the girls who had made great contributions.

Even Yang Wennong, who returned after great difficulties, was not idle. On the one hand, he compiled the things he had experienced into a book and reported it to the court after returning to Beijing. On the other hand, he sorted out and studied the books he brought back, hoping to find more answers between the lines.

But Sheng Yuan was still so busy that he was exhausted.

"Miss, these are the visiting cards we received today... At 15:00, General Rong will come to the posthouse; at 15:00, Prefect Luo will come to pay his respects; at 15:00, Madam Ge will bring the girls to report. You will have to invite them to dinner. These are the arrangements for the dinner, please review them."

Early in the morning, Xiaoyao came to Shengyuan with the work arrangements for the day.

Sheng Yuan didn't care about etiquette. He ate a fried meat bun while checking the schedule. After confirming that there were no problems, he immediately nodded and said, "Keep a close eye on it and remind me on time!"

After saying that, he turned around and told the guard who came running over to ask for instructions: "The masters in charge of appreciation in the caravan must not sit idle. Bring them over to help count. Make sure that precious things are not covered in dust. Also, ask everyone to work harder. The escort team will set off tomorrow and there is no time to delay... Of course, as a means of motivation, good food and drink, as well as financial rewards, must be provided. If you don't have enough, ask the caravan's accountant for it."

After the guards left, another girl who had passed the exam before came to report.

"Regarding the ownership of the assets of the aristocratic families related to the island forces, this is a matter that the imperial court cabinet needs to consider. It has nothing to do with Zezhou Prefecture. If the household office of the prefecture is concerned, just ask them to come and find me!"

Sheng Yuan didn't expect that the Zezhou Prefecture government was so creative that it even dared to snatch food from Old An.

  Well, it’s fine if the money and treasures can be taken away, but for the fixed resources like shops, fields, and minerals that cannot be taken away, it would be strange if the local government didn’t envy them!

Whether it is used as government assets, to improve the welfare benefits of local officials, or auctioned off to local tyrants as a favor, it is all excellent extra income. Who wouldn't want to give it a try?

Therefore, if those who are envious of the opportunity continue to fantasize about it, Sheng Yuan will not interfere, as long as they do not actually take action to steal it.

……

Luo Buyan came to see Sheng Yuan, partly to express his gratitude, and partly to ask Sheng Yuan about the future arrangements of Zezhou Prefecture.

"Zezhou and Qizhou are mutually dependent on each other. Whether Qizhou wants to go north to the Western Regions, or Zezhou wants to go south to the east, they are the best routes for each other's journey."

"What Governor Luo said is absolutely right. Zezhou, Qizhou and the nearby states cannot be lump together with other places in Da Chu." Sheng Yuan felt that now was a good time.

As the saying goes, don't chase after a desperate enemy. If the remaining forces of the former Qi can be driven out of Da Chu, it would be great to let them compete with the people on the other side of the sea for resources. In her opinion, the court can ignore the rebellion of these local families, as long as these families give up all their fixed assets and leave Da Chu with half of their accumulated wealth, whether over mountains or across the sea, to survive in distant places.

As for the assets left by these people in Da Chu, as long as they are managed well, the funds needed for the resettlement and treatment of the local elderly, the weak, the disabled and the sick will be provided.

It is said that whoever wins the hearts of the people will win the world. A good welfare policy will not only allow the survivors of the former Qi to better integrate into the Great Chu, but also set an example for other places in the Great Chu. It may have miraculous effects!

  Of course, all of the above ideas are just Sheng Yuan’s own ideas. Even if the cabinet approves them, there will be officials who will block them at the morning court. It will be difficult to accomplish, so just take your time!

Sheng Yuan understood this clearly, but there was no need to explain it so clearly to Luo Buyan. As long as the bottom line was drawn, this man would know what to do with his intelligence.

"As for the talents I have identified... whether it is you, Prefect Luo, or your wife, if there are any who can be employed or would like to be employed, as long as the requirements are reasonable, you can apply to me. As long as these girls can have a future, I will be happy to see it happen."

……

Just after seeing off Luo Buyan, the late General Rong walked into the inn with an apologetic look on his face.

Sheng Yuan is a generous person. As long as she doesn't intend to intimidate her, postponing the meeting is not a big deal.

"I will be returning to the capital soon to report." Unlike his previous attitude, General Rong in front of him was relaxed and joking, "Haha, I just found out now that Minister Sheng is touring the South this time, and the emperor has specially granted you the power to supervise military affairs!"

“???” Sheng Yuan was almost stunned after hearing this, and looked at General Rong with a mind full of question marks.

General Rong saw the expression on Sheng Yuan's face that said "What are you talking about? Why don't I understand?" and he couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise: "Why? Minister Sheng doesn't know? Yesterday, I received an urgent imperial edict from His Majesty."

As he spoke, he took out the imperial edict from his bosom and showed it to Sheng Yuan.

Sheng Yuan immediately regained her composure. The emperor took the decree and read it quickly. To avoid being fooled, she even glanced at the seal a few more times.

As expected, the imperial edict clearly stated that Sheng Yuan was the governor of Zezhou and had the power of governor-general, and General Rong could be entrusted with military power.

"Oh, so it was the emperor who told the old general! I was wondering how the old general knew that!" Sheng Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and looked at General Rong sincerely, "It's not that I'm hiding something from you, the old general, it's mainly because the current situation is not stable yet. If I let you misunderstand because of my power as the governor, that would be bad!"

  After saying this, Sheng Yuan quietly gave himself a thumbs up, what a great patch!

General Rong didn't know that Sheng Yuan actually knew about the "power of the governor" earlier than he did!

Therefore, upon hearing Sheng Yuan's words, General Rong not only believed them without a doubt, but also laughed and said to Sheng Yuan Shengming: "Minister Sheng, you underestimate me! I am not that stingy!"

Sheng Yuan was not interested in arguing with him about the petty issue, but she was curious about the purpose of General Rong's visit.

"It is time for me to leave office. I have handed over all military affairs to my deputy general and military advisor. With them around, the next general will be able to do his job well. But the successor has not arrived yet, and I am eager to return to the capital, so I can only temporarily entrust the power of the garrison commander to you."