Han officials

Chapter 197: Those who do not plan for eternity are not qualified to plan for the moment [22]

[The previous chapter has been modified]
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In the afternoon, in the main hall of the shogunate.

Wei Zhe said with a sharp look, "I want to divide the area east of Youzhou into Liaozhou and appoint a Liaozhou governor."

As soon as these words were spoken, both the civil and military officials in the hall began to ponder inwardly.

Indeed, if another governor were set up in Liaodong, government orders would be transmitted much more quickly.

Thinking of this, Xi Zhicai immediately asked curiously, "I wonder how the Andong Protectorate will be governed?"

"Of course it is under the direct jurisdiction of the shogunate!" Wei Zhe said bluntly.

Wei Zhe then ordered his attendants to unfold the map of Youzhou and pointed to Liaoze Lake, saying, "The seven counties west of Liaoze Lake, namely Liaoxi, Yuyang, Youbeiping, Guangyang, Shanggu, Dai, and Zhuo, will be the new Youzhou, with Ji County as the provincial capital."

Then, he pointed his finger from Liaoze Lake to the easternmost tip of the Haidong Peninsula and said solemnly, "East of Liaoze Lake, Lelang County, Dongming County, Liaodong County, Xuansuo County, and the Liaodong vassal state will be used to establish Liaozhou. Xiangping County will be the seat of the Liaozhou governor."

Upon hearing this, Xi Zhicai, Shi Yi and others were speechless.

Although the east-west distance between the two states is still two thousand miles after the redivision, it is much better.

But soon all the civil and military officials felt warm in their hearts and began to look forward to it secretly.

After all, having an extra provincial governor position is a good thing for them.

However, to everyone's disappointment, Wei Zhe did not choose anyone present.

Because he actually appointed Bing Yuan, who was still teaching scriptures in Liaodong County, as the governor of Liaozhou.

When these words were spoken, many officials in the hall were a little surprised, because Bing Yuan's presence was really too low.

But after thinking about it carefully, everyone had to admit that Wei Zhe's move was indeed ingenious.

First of all, in terms of seniority, Bing Yuan can be said to be an undoubted veteran minister of the Yuan Dynasty.

As early as when Wei Zhe was still the magistrate of Fang, Bing Yuan had already followed him and reorganized the county school.

Although Bing Yuan has always been noncompetitive and focused on teaching, his contributions are indeed not small.

Apart from anything else, Bing Yuan played an indispensable role in ensuring that the various military farming departments had so many qualified grassroots officials.

Moreover, the prefects of the Liaodong counties are now either the envoys of the civilian settlements to encourage agriculture or the Sima of the military settlements, and they are all students of the Military Academy.

Bing Yuan had been working with them for a long time and was the most suitable candidate for the governor of Liaozhou.

Besides, the Liaozhou counties have become the real rear base. Choosing an aggressive governor for Liaozhou would only make things worse. They need a great scholar like Bing Yuan to educate the people, change customs, and allow the country to recuperate.

In time, Liaozhou may become the cultural heritage of the north.

When the refined scholars from the Central Plains met the Confucian scholars from Liaodong who were skilled in archery and horsemanship, the result must have been exciting.

……

With the selection of the Liaozhou governor, the officials of the shogunate thought that today's meeting was about to end, but they did not expect that this was just an appetizer.

Dividing Youzhou into two equal parts was just a small test. What Wei Zhe really wanted to do was to split Jizhou.

After all, the combined population of Bohai County and Hejian State is nearly two million, exceeding that of Bingzhou, Liangzhou, and Jiaozhou.

Even the population of these two counties is similar to that of Youzhou, which took away the five counties of Liaozhou.

So, in the surprised eyes of the civil and military officials, Wei Zhe used his finger as a pen to divide Bohai County into two parts, north and south.

"From today onwards, the area north of Nanpi City will be Zhangwu County, and the area south of Nanpi City will be Bohai County." Wei Zhe said solemnly, "Bohai County will continue to be governed by Nanpi County, and Zhangwu County will be governed by Zhangwu County."

Without waiting for everyone to digest the news, he attacked the Hejian State on the map.

"The same rule applies to Hejian State. The area south of Shu County is Hejian State, with Lecheng County as its county seat. The area north of Shu County is Gaoyang County, with Gaoyang County as its seat."

At this point, Wei Zhe smiled proudly and said, "I would like to establish Yingzhou with four counties: Bohai, Hejian, Zhangwu, and Gaoyang, and appoint a governor for Yingzhou. What do you think?"

Wow, today's big news comes one after another.

Ju Su, who was participating in the shogunate's political discussions for the first time, couldn't help but glance at Xi Zhicai across from him. "Have you always been playing so big?"

Although Ju Su didn't say anything, his wide eyes said it all.

In response to this, Xi Zhicai could only smile bitterly.

After all, it was his first time seeing such a scene. One could only say that Wei Zhe was indeed an extraordinary person.

However, Ju Su soon came to his senses and understood Wei Zhe's intention.

After figuring everything out, Ju Su looked at Wei Zhe with a look that was half shock and half admiration.

Even though he had previously looked up to Wei Zhe, he still had to admit that Wei Zhe and Yuan Shao had different perspectives, so that the two of them considered issues from very different angles.

As the ruler of a state, Yuan Shao only thought about how to capture cities and unify the world; but Wei Zhe was already planning for the situation after the unification of the world.

Those who do not consider the overall situation are not qualified to consider a specific area.
Those who do not plan for the eternity cannot plan for the moment.

Although Wei Zhe never said this, he has been doing it all the time.

Of course, it was easy for Wei Zhe to draw lines on the map, but it was a headache for the officials in the shogunate.

After all, how to divide the boundaries of the eight counties in Bohai and the eleven counties in Hejian is a problem. It cannot be solved by drawing a straight line in the middle according to the size of the area.

According to the Chinese system:
The world is divided into counties, townships, pavilions, and villages.
Today, the population of a county in Bohai County is comparable to that of a border county, and a township in Bohai County is equivalent to that of a county.

In this case, how to separate local institutions still requires administrative means.

But these are all later stories. What concerns all civil and military officials most at the moment is the appointment issue.

Wei Zhe did not continue to keep the secret. After glancing around the hall, he slowly spoke:

"Sun Shao was appointed as the Grand Administrator of Zhangwu; Guan Xiu was appointed as the Governor of Hejian; Ren Jun was appointed as the Grand Administrator of Gaoyang; and Ju Su was appointed as the Grand Administrator of Bohai."

Upon hearing this, Ju Su was stunned. He didn't expect that there was a name for himself.

For a moment, Wei Zhe's attention instantly ignited Ju Su's fighting spirit.

He believed that he was not inferior to Xi Zhicai, Guo Yuan and others, but was inferior to them because he came late.

Now that Wei Zhe is willing to give him a platform to display his talents, Ju Su naturally does not want to miss this opportunity.

At the same time, Wei Zhe finally revealed the candidate for the governor of Yingzhou, and that was Shi Yi.

Upon hearing this, Shi Yi remained calm and just bowed solemnly to accept the order.

He knew that if Xi Zhicai had not been lazy and intolerant of mundane affairs, he would have been able to obtain the position of governor long ago.

In comparison, Shi Yi felt that being the governor of Yingzhou was not an easy job.

Based on his understanding of his lord, he believed that Yingzhou would continue to expand in the future.

As for whether to invade Jizhou's territory or occupy Qingzhou's counties, it depends on Wei Zhe's thoughts.

Under such circumstances, he, as the governor of Yingzhou, obviously has a heavy responsibility.

After all, although military generals can lead armies to capture cities and seize territories, civil officials like them are still needed to govern the local areas.

If these provincial and county governors cannot digest the local areas and make use of them, then they will be derelict in their duty.

Let’s not talk about what Shi Yi was thinking.

As the shogunate's political meeting ended, Wei Zhe quickly submitted a memorial to the court in Chang'an in accordance with the procedure.

However, the world is in chaos now and the roads are blocked. He cannot guarantee whether the court can receive the memorials.

Anyway, for the sake of the overall situation, he just assumed that the court agreed.

It wasn't long before the news about Liaozhou and Yingzhou spread throughout Youzhou and Jizhou...

(End of this chapter)