Late Han Zhao Tang

Winter, October.

Inside the Chang'an Palace, Zhong Yao presented a memorial sent from Pingzhou.

"Your Majesty, the Governor of Pingzhou, Gongsun Kang, has submitted a memorial requesting to submit to the Emperor. He has ordered the closure of the Liaoze Pass and the withdrawal of the garrison troops to facilitate the entry of the imperial army into Liaodong. All officials of the counties and prefectures of Pingzhou shall obey the orders of the capital region!"

Compared to Jiaozhi, which was 6,000 li away from Chang'an, Gongsun Kang's letter of surrender from Liaodong arrived in Chang'an much earlier. Moreover, to demonstrate his submission, Gongsun Kang voluntarily withdrew his troops guarding Youzhou.

Zhang Yu flipped through the memorial and laughed, "Gongsun Kang's ability to surrender when he knew the times must be related to the persuasion of Ministers Wang and Guan."

“Your Majesty, since Pingzhou has already sent envoys to surrender, why not select generals to lead troops into Liaodong and appoint governors and prefectural officials accordingly? Because of the recent pacification of Jingzhou and Yangzhou, the county officials in Liaodong can be temporarily suspended from their posts and allowed to observe for six months. If any are found to be incompetent, they should be reported and impeached according to the law, and then virtuous officials should be appointed,” Zhong Yao said.

The two prefectures of Jing and Yang comprised two hundred counties. The officials in these counties were the chief officials of the prefectures and bureaucrats of the counties. The Ministry of Personnel could not gather enough people for the task at the moment, and there were no more candidates for the positions. Therefore, most of the county magistrates and county heads remained in their original positions.

Even including the newly surrendered Pingzhou, the Ministry of Personnel could barely muster enough officials of mid-to-high rank from Pingzhou. Therefore, in order to maintain the operation of the grassroots level in Liaodong, Zhong Yao had no choice but to make this arrangement.

"Who is the candidate for the position of Prefect of Pingzhou?" Zhang Yu asked.

"The incident happened suddenly, and there is no suitable candidate at the moment!"

Zhong Yao said, “In my opinion, Liaodong borders Goguryeo, Korea, and Xianbei. In the past, the Gongsun clan dominated Liaodong. Now, I fear that the barbarians will be tempted to plunder and invade the border if they know that the Gongsun clan has surrendered. Therefore, it would be better to appoint a person with both civil and military talents to govern Liaodong, and to take charge of military and political affairs first, and then to manage the government.”

Zhang Yu tapped his fingers lightly on the table, pondering as he asked, "Are there any suitable officers?"

"Hao Zhao was formerly in charge of military and political affairs in Jingzhou. He was a general during the reign of Emperor Dai, and he is skilled in archery and horsemanship and understands the customs of the Hu people. Your Majesty should appoint Hao Zhao as a general and send him to oversee Liaodong," Xun You recommended.

“Bo Dao values ​​martial arts more than literature, but Liaodong is infested with Hu people, so I fear Bo Dao may find it difficult to stay at ease!” Zhang Yu said with concern.

As he spoke, Zhang Yu pointed out, “Guo Boji, the Duke of Yangqu County, is well-versed in military strategy. He is now appointed as General Who Crosses the Liao River, concurrently serving as the Prefect of Pingzhou and Commander-in-Chief of the military affairs in Liaodong. He will lead Generals Pang De, Xianyu Yin, and Guanqiu Xing with 20,000 elite troops to Liaodong. The prefects of all counties will be selected by the Ministry of Personnel, and priority must be given to young heroes or outsiders who are familiar with local customs.”

"Your Majesty," Yang Jun said, "the reason why the Former Han Dynasty brought peace to the four barbarian tribes was because it entrusted them with virtuous and capable men; the reason why the Later Han Dynasty caused chaos among the barbarians was because it appointed mediocre men. Therefore, the key to bringing peace to the remote border regions lies in the method of appointing officials. If the method of appointing officials is virtuous, why worry about the country falling into chaos?"

"Do you intend to change the official law?" Zhang Yu asked in return.

"I have made a small progress!"

Yang Jun bowed and said, “Your Majesty selects officials based on their talents through the imperial examinations, but there is no way for minor officials in prefectures and counties to rise in rank. In the past, most officials in remote prefectures and counties were local people, such as the candidates for the civil service examinations and the candidates for the title of ‘Xiaolian’ from Jiaozhou, who were not suitable for official positions in the Central Plains. Therefore, in my opinion, it would be better to select minor officials to serve in remote areas every year, so as to ensure that prefectures and counties have good officials, and to reserve a special quota for promotion for officials in remote prefectures every year.”

As the Minister of Personnel, Yang Jun had previously exchanged views with Zhang Yu. Because the Eastern Han Dynasty often appointed politically unsuccessful officials to remote and inaccessible regions, these officials, seeing no chance of advancement, would turn to economic gain. Therefore, to prevent this situation, it was necessary to establish appropriate systems.

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Since I took over the empire, I have taken away the power of recruitment from prefectures and counties, except that county officials are appointed by the local authorities. According to your suggestion, the Ministry of Personnel can set up a 'selection examination' so that officials can compete to take the exam every year, such as county clerk → prefecture clerk → state clerk → and then be appointed as a secretary in the Ministry of Personnel."

"Among them, those who are outstanding in their county administration can serve as county magistrates in border areas for five years after passing the civil service examination. Those who are rated as above average in the performance evaluation can be appointed as officials in the Ministry of Personnel or as county officials in inland prefectures. As for county magistrates in inland areas, those who have served as prefects in border areas for five years and whose performance evaluation is above average will be given priority for transfer if there are vacancies in inland prefectures."

"Officials stationed in border regions were called 'officials outside the official system,' and they were given priority for promotion. However, those wishing to become officials outside the official system could only be appointed if they excelled in their examinations. For example, they could serve as county clerks for five years or county magistrates for five years." During the Han Dynasty, the distinction between clerks and officials was not so significant. For instance, prefectural and county officials, having the power to recruit and appoint officials, often recruited local notables. However, with the advent of the imperial examination system, officials at all levels were brought under the central government's control, and special positions were often granted to those who passed the palace examination.

Therefore, the Tang Dynasty, which inherited the tradition of recruiting officials from the Han Dynasty, established a system that distinguished between the "pure" and "impure" officials. At that time, county officials could still become county lieutenants even in their old age. However, in the Ming Dynasty, due to Zhu Yuanzhang's political philosophy, there were many restrictions on officials, almost cutting off their upward mobility.

Learning from the shortcomings of the Ming system, the Qing Dynasty implemented a special "official service examination system" during the reign of Emperor Qianlong. Officials served for five years, and after completing their service, they had to pass an examination to be granted an official position. This system served as a transition between official service and official position.

Zhang Yu knew that the officials were a mixed bag, with good and bad people mixed together. However, in order to provide a channel for the promotion of officials and to connect with the border prefectures and counties, he specially created the concept of "officials outside the capital". This would give officials in the border areas better opportunities for promotion, and thus they could shift their attention from exploiting the people to governing the local areas.

If a county official is ambitious, he can first participate in the civil service examination and be promoted to a prefectural official. After serving as a prefectural official for five years and achieving a passing grade, he can either continue to participate in the civil service examination and be promoted to a position in the prefecture. Alternatively, he can apply to the imperial court to serve as a county magistrate in a remote area. After serving five years and achieving a passing grade, he can be directly promoted to a high-ranking official.

If there are outstanding officials among them, it takes about fifteen years to be promoted to the Ministry of Personnel. Although this takes longer than the imperial examinations, because they have risen through the ranks from clerk to official, they have rich experience in governance, are pragmatic, and can handle the administration of inland counties with ease. Based on their accumulated experience, they may be able to rise faster than scholars who came from the imperial examinations.

After a moment's thought, Yang Jun said, "Since a prefectural official is promoted to county magistrate, and a county magistrate is transferred to prefectural governor, may I ask Your Majesty how state officials should be promoted?"

Zhang Yu frowned slightly and said, "If a prefectural official wants to become an official outside the capital, he must serve the same five-year term as a county official and be rated as above average. Local officials should not serve short terms; except for those who violate the law, they can only be transferred after at least five years."

Being a county magistrate in a remote area is no easy task. In fact, because the local people are often uncivilized, magistrates who travel to the frontier to take up their posts often risk their lives. Those without great ambitions would most likely choose to remain in the Central Plains as provincial officials rather than trek through mountains and rivers to assume their posts.

These policy guidelines, at best, offer low-level officials a chance for promotion. Even if they achieve success in remote areas, they will likely remain county magistrates until retirement if they return to the Central Plains. Only if they are lucky enough to become governors of border prefectures and achieve great things will they have any hope of returning to the Central Plains.

After a pause, Zhang Yu reminded, "From now on, those serving in the capital region must attend to the affairs of the prefectures and counties. Those who pass the imperial examinations and remain in the central government must take up local posts if they wish to be promoted. Minister Yang, draft this document according to my wishes, submit it to the Prime Minister for my review, and then promulgate it throughout the land."

"The minister obeys the order!"

The Ming Dynasty placed excessive emphasis on the imperial examination rankings, leading to a peculiar phenomenon: only those who passed the highest level of the imperial examinations could enter the Hanlin Academy, and only those who were members of the Hanlin Academy could enter the Grand Secretariat. Most low-level officials remained in local areas, and being promoted to the position of Minister of the Six Ministries was considered a stroke of good fortune.

Therefore, Zhang Yu had to learn from this lesson: those who had not served in the prefectures and counties should not be allowed to hold positions in the central government. He even encouraged officials to serve in remote prefectures and counties to prevent the dynasty from becoming self-limiting.

"correct!"

Zhang Yu recalled a matter and said, “Pingzhou was the name of the prefecture that Gongsun Du requested. Now that it has submitted to our dynasty, it should be renamed. The Book of Documents records that there are nine prefectures. Qingzhou was separated from Qi by the sea and became Yingzhou. Qingzhou was separated from Liaodong by the sea, so Pingzhou was renamed Yingzhou.”

"promise!"

Du Ji cupped his hands and said, “Since Yingzhou has already surrendered, Jiaoling will likely submit within a few months. Therefore, in my opinion, Your Majesty should first begin the process of surrender and select officials from the prefectures and counties in advance.”

Zhang Yu looked at Zhong Yao and said, "Jiaozhou is inhabited by barbarians, but there are no arrogant barbarians on the border. Therefore, the priority for Jiaozhou is to pacify rather than conquer. Thus, Gao Shun led troops to quell the rebellion in Jiaozhou, and those who manage Jiaozhou need to be carefully selected. They should be selected in the same way as the governors of other prefectures."

Although both Jiaozhou and Yingzhou were remote border regions, their conflicts were different. Yingzhou's governance issues were external, while Jiaozhou's governance issues were internal.

"Yes, sir!" (End of Chapter)