Late Han Zhao Tang

May, Chang'an.

"Your Majesty, a report has arrived from the southeast!"

Xun You said, "The two commanderies of Danyang and Kuaiji have surrendered after sending out proclamations. Now Cao Cao is besieged in Jinling and wants to fight like a cornered beast. However, Generals Wen Yuan and Gong Ming are leading troops to attack from the east and west, building camps and fortifications and not engaging the enemy in battle, in order to force Cao Cao to come out of the city for a decisive battle."

"This is the best strategy!"

After reviewing the memorials submitted by the civil and military officials of the south, Zhang Yu said, "Cao Cao's wings have been completely broken, and he has coerced the people into besieging Jinling. After besieging the city for several months, the Cao family can be completely exterminated!"

As he spoke, Zhang Yu looked at Zhong Yao and asked, "How is the selection of officials for the various counties and prefectures in Yangzhou progressing?"

To Zhang Yu, Cao Cao was nothing more than a grasshopper in autumn, not going to last long. Therefore, Zhang Yu was more concerned about the subsequent arrangements for governing Jiangdong.

“Your Majesty, within a year, more than ten prefectures and more than a hundred counties have been demoted, leaving many vacancies in official positions. I have already selected virtuous officials to serve in the southeast, and have asked the governors and prefects to select good local officials, but there are still many vacancies!” Zhong Yao said, “For example, there are no prefects to be appointed for the newly appointed prefectures of Kuaiji and Luling.”

When the country was first at peace, the rentier class of the new dynasty had not yet taken hold, and with the continuous expansion of the territory, the officialdom was a blue ocean for Chinese scholars. Any official with a little ability had the opportunity to rise to prominence.

For example, Zhong Yao almost emptied out all the well-regarded local officials in order to select prefects and magistrates. If someone was lucky enough, becoming a county magistrate in two years, a county official in three years, and a prefect in five years was not a dream, but a real reality.

Of course, if one wanted to go even further, a promotion to governor in five years would depend on whether Zhuge Liang was favored by the emperor. Zhuge Liang's appointment as governor of Jingzhou at the age of twenty-something has become a hot topic in the court, especially since many of the civil officials who followed Zhang Yu had only recently been appointed as prefects.

Zhang Yu opened Zhuge Liang's memorial and asked, "If I remember correctly, Sima Yi, the Privy Councilor, led an imperial edict south. Is he still in the army?"

"Your Majesty, Sima Yi was sent back to the capital to report on his duties five days ago!" Xun You said.

"No need!"

Zhang Yu said, "Let Sima Yi go to Kuaiji Commandery and take up the post of governor. Jian'an Commandery, which Cao Cao separated, is no longer suitable to be returned to Kuaiji Commandery. You can select virtuous officials from among the surrendered people and send them to the southeast."

Sima Yi's talent and achievements need no further explanation; Zhang Yu was well aware of them. However, because all of Sima Yi's brothers were talented individuals, Zhang Yu did not fear them too much and treated them as ordinary officials.

He would only occasionally intervene to suppress the Sima brothers. For example, arranging for Sima Yi to serve in Kuaiji Commandery was an attempt to sideline Sima Yi for a few years.

"promise!"

As he spoke, seeing that Zhuge Liang had recommended Jiang Wan in his memorial, Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Let He Kui, the current governor of Wuling, be transferred to the position of governor of Luling, and appoint Jiang Wan, a native of Lingling, as governor of Wuling."

"Jiang Wan?"

Zhong Yao hesitated for a moment, then said, “I have heard of Jiang Wan. He used to serve under Liu Bei, but because he was indignant that Li Yan had defected to Cao Cao, he claimed to be ill and returned to his hometown, no longer serving Cao Cao. As for He Kui, he values ​​virtue and upholds the law, and has served as an official in various prefectures and counties, and has a good reputation for virtue in the court.”

"Wuling is a large prefecture in Jingzhou, while Luling is a small prefecture separated from Yuzhang. Your Majesty should appoint Jiang Wan as the prefect of Luling and order He Kui to govern Wuling."

He Kui, courtesy name Shulong, was a native of Yangxia in Chen Commandery. His family was a prominent clan in the commandery and had a long-standing relationship with the Yuan family. He Kui was initially coerced into serving Yuan Shu, but later, taking advantage of Zhang Yu's southern campaign, he immediately joined Zhang Yu's forces. He served as magistrate of Yingyang County for three years before being promoted to governor of Shanyang.

During his tenure in Shanyang, He Kui actively restored production, recruited displaced people back to their hometowns, and persuaded bandits who had taken up residence in the mountains to surrender. Therefore, He Kui had a good reputation for virtue during his tenure. Now that the counties of Jingzhou were short of people, Zhong Yao selected He Kui to serve as the governor of Wuling.

Zhang Yu remained calm and said, “Although Wuling is large, half of it is divided into Wuxi County; although Luling is small, it has tens of thousands of households. Jiang Wan is from Jingnan and used to serve Liu Bei. He governed a region well and the people were harmonious. He is suitable to be the governor of Wuling County. However, Luling County has just been surrendered, and there are many Yue tribes living in the mountains. There are often rebellious soldiers. I believe that only He Kui can be competent for the job!”

Besides Zhang Yu's stated reasons for appointing Jiang Wan as the prefect of Wuling and transferring the original prefect, He Kui, to Luling, the more important reason was that He Kui had violated Zhang Yu's political taboo during his visit to the capital before heading south to take up his post. During his meeting with Zhang Yu, He Kui raised objections to the system of selecting officials based on the imperial examinations.

He Kui believed that rewarding people based on merit would encourage them to join the army and achieve great things. Conversely, selecting officials based on virtue would inspire people to uphold virtue. Therefore, instead of examinations, selecting talent should prioritize assessing character to encourage the people to value virtue and to reward those with outstanding moral character.

By assigning the responsibility of appointing officials to the recommended positions, the recommenders can be assessed for their integrity, and the waste of resources and manpower can be avoided. A nation that selects talent based on virtue will naturally have a higher moral standard than a nation that selects talent based on examinations, thus enabling its people to live and work in peace and contentment.

He Kui's old rhetoric of recommending officials based on filial piety and integrity greatly displeased Zhang Yu. Selecting officials based on morality could be considered a noble ideal of early rulers, but once people are bound by self-interest, all sorts of ugly faces will be revealed.

However, history has proven that He Kui's words were completely contrary to reality. His son, He Zeng, served as a high-ranking official in the Western Jin Dynasty and lived a life of extravagance, spending ten thousand coins a day on food. His descendants, He Shao and He Zun, enjoyed even more extravagant lifestyles than He Zeng.

If we follow He Kui's advice and select officials based on morality, how could the Western Jin Dynasty have allowed a group of extravagant and dissolute descendants to become officials? The result undoubtedly proves that selecting talent based on morality only yields a group of morally corrupt individuals. In contrast, selecting officials through examinations at least produces a group of intelligent officials.

Although He Kui's policies displeased Zhang Yu, Zhang Yu did not hold it against him due to He Kui's effective governance of the prefecture. After all, if He Kui was an idealist, it would be quite suitable for him to serve in local government for the rest of his life.

Luling Commandery is located south of Yuzhang and north of Jian'an Commandery, and is considered a semi-barbarian territory. Rather than having He Kui serve in Wuling, it would be better to appoint him as the governor of Luling, and to appoint the more suitable Jiang Wan as the governor of Wuling.

As for Zhuge Liang recommending Jiang Wan, it was simply because after Zhuge Liang first arrived in Jingzhou and took office, he knew that southern Jingzhou was the main area of ​​governance. After arriving in Gong'an, he learned of Jiang Wan's reputation through inquiries among scholars and thus invited Jiang Wan to meet with him.

When the two met, Zhuge Liang examined state affairs, and Jiang Wan answered truthfully, analyzing the many problems in Jingzhou from multiple perspectives and providing corresponding governance solutions. Zhuge Liang was greatly pleased and submitted a memorial requesting an official position for Jiang Wan.

"I accept your order!"

Seeing that Zhang Yu had made up his mind, Zhong Yao didn't say anything more and simply replied.

How is the spring planting season going this year?

After approving the memorial, Zhang Yu looked up at Du Ji and asked, "Especially in Hebei, is there a drought like last year?"

"Return to your majesty!"

Du Ji cupped his hands and said, "In recent years, Hebei has enjoyed favorable weather for spring planting and has not suffered from severe drought. Moreover, based on last year's experience, this year the counties and prefectures intend to build large-scale canals and ponds to prepare for future disasters."

Zhang Yu put down his brush and said, "Last year, the Prime Minister presented the Xingguo Water Conservancy Law. Hebei wants to build water conservancy projects this year, and their actions must comply with the Water Conservancy Law. They cannot be built by the prefectures and counties without authorization. If they want to build water conservancy projects, they must report to the higher authorities for auditing."

"More than 100,000 soldiers have been dismissed and returned to their hometowns. Now, the manpower in the rural areas is gradually replenished. After the autumn harvest, when there is no farming in winter, we can have the Chinese counties build water conservancy projects."

“The Water Conservancy Law is currently under review and will be submitted to Your Majesty in a few days!” Zhong Yao hurriedly said. “I intend to promulgate it to all prefectures and counties during the summer and autumn so that local counties can survey water conditions in winter and start water conservancy projects as soon as possible.”

Zhang Yu looked at the ministers at the table and instructed them: "The Tang Code has been delayed for many months. It can be promulgated this month to gradually replace the old law. Local county officials must learn the new law, and the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review will work together to teach local legal officials the new law."

"promise!"

Since the start of spring plowing, there have been many political affairs to attend to, and Zhang Yu could not ignore them.

For example, the water conservancy law is fundamental to agriculture; if implemented well, it can greatly boost national agriculture and ensure the absence of minor disasters year after year. While the promulgation of the Tang Code, drafted by Wang Chen, was not difficult, its implementation among the people required first training local officials. Only when local officials understood it could its implementation be truly effective. (End of Chapter)