The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 722 What My Father Told Me

March, the second year of Ganlu.

The snow on the distant mountains is slowly melting, but they still look white.

But beneath the white snow-capped mountains, there is emerald green.

Liu Song, the governor of Shazhou, rode a horse, gazing at the scenery in the distance, and couldn't help but sigh.

Behind him, there were many people following, including Dunhuang prefect Zheng Mo, Western Regions Chief Clerk Liu Shi, and Wu Ji School Lieutenant Deng Zhong and others.

These people are currently headed by Liu Song.

Liu Song pointed to the distance and said, "If there are immortals in the world, they probably live on the top of that mountain, right?"

Deng Zhong smiled and said, "That's probably it."

They traveled for a long time and were stuck in Wuwei due to heavy snow. After going through untold hardships, they finally arrived in Dunhuang.

There were a lot of people in their group. In addition to these main officials, there were also accompanying clerks, guards, servants, etc. All together, there were nearly a thousand people.

This journey is like marching, but the speed is much slower.

After arriving in Dunhuang, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Along the way, everyone got to know each other.

As the governor of Shazhou, Liu Song must have a certain understanding of the people under his command.

Liu Song was a rather serious person. He disliked those who relied on their father's or family's power to do evil. When he first learned the names of the people who were going to follow him, he wondered if these people might be the ones he hated the most.

After all, Zheng Mo's father was Zheng Mao, and Deng Zhong's father was Deng Ai, and many other officials also came from prominent families.

But he quickly dismissed the idea.

Shazhou is really too remote. Coming here from the Central Plains can be considered exile. There is really no need to use clan resources to become an official here.

During the conversation, Liu Song also found that these people were very good, with excellent abilities, and they did not have any bad tempers or bad habits.

He also changed his attitude towards these people and became quite polite.

Of course, if these people caused trouble again after arriving at the place, he would definitely not let them off for the sake of their clan or father. He would deal with them as he saw fit, no matter what!
This kind of character was the reason why Cao Mao wanted to place him in Shazhou.

Just as Liu Song was leading them slowly forward, a group of people appeared in the distance.

Seeing the dust and clouds in the distance, Deng Zhong hurriedly summoned the guards and prepared to form a battle array.

The security situation at the border is definitely not as good as that in the Central Plains. Although some bandits and robbers are nothing to them, this group of people is really too important. Deng Zhong does not dare to underestimate their safety for fear of something happening.

But when the person in the distance gradually revealed his identity, Deng Zhong ordered his men to put away their crossbows.

Because those people who appeared in the distance were all waving the flags of the Great Wei, and they were all soldiers from the counties and prefectures.

A chubby official, riding a fine horse, asked loudly, "But is Mr. Liu here in person?!"

Liu Song frowned, "Who are you?!"

A smile immediately appeared on the official's face. He dismounted, quickly walked up to Liu Song, and bowed. "I am the Governor of Dunhuang. Oh, it's the former Governor of Dunhuang, Yan Wen, paying my respects to Governor Liu!"

Liu Song didn't like this person very much.

It's just because this person's expression is too flattering.

But he still nodded, "Prefect Yan, please stand up."

Yan Wen smiled and went forward to help Liu Song lead the horse, but was rejected by him.

He looked a little embarrassed, but soon went to greet Zheng Mo and others.

He came to greet Liu Song and others. Liu Song's stern face and cold attitude probably made him feel difficult to approach. When they set out for Dunhuang County, he just followed the others.

"Shou Zheng, we need to talk more. I'm very happy to be able to entrust the Dunhuang affairs to you. If you have any questions, you can ask me."

Yan Wen spoke with his head bowed.

He was secretly complaining in his heart. He didn't want this to happen, but each of these people who came was more powerful than the other.

His clan had suffered a great blow in the past because of the incident of secretly harboring Hu cavalry, and now there are only a few of them still serving as officials.

But among those who came now, there was a young provincial governor, the son of the Minister of Personnel, the son of the "King of Bashu", and a chief secretary who had once served as the Minister of Personnel.
He can't afford to offend anyone.

Besides, the current situation in Dunhuang is not very good, and he is also worried that these people will talk nonsense in front of the emperor.

I am now one of the few people in the clan who is above the fifth rank. If I am also dismissed, it will be a big problem!

They made their way all the way to Dunhuang County.

The situation in the Hexi counties was not very bad at this time.

Of course, it is definitely not as good as that in the Former Han Dynasty. During the Former Han Dynasty, this was the most fertile land and the best pasture, and was known as a treasure land.

But after hundreds of years, environmental problems began to emerge here, and the once lush green land is no longer as lush as it used to be.

But even so, it is better than the situation hundreds of years later.

This place can still be considered fertile.

But the problem is still that there are few people.

The entire Dunhuang County has a population of just over 20,000.

If you go to other counties, you may not even get 10,000.

It is called a county town, but it is actually similar to a town.

Even the city walls aren't very high. It's really not easy to govern this place well.

Liu Song looked at the situation around him and was thinking about how to govern this place in the future.

He called Yan Wen to his side and began to ask him about the household registration, farmland and other information.

This person did not hesitate at all and spoke about the local situation very skillfully.

The people following behind smiled at each other, and Liu Shi said, "It seems that this Mr. Yan is not completely useless."

Zheng Mo said, "He is just timid and unwilling to take responsibility, so this is the case. However, he is a good ruler, knows how to protect the people, and is honest. He is suitable to be a county governor in the Central Plains."

Deng Zhong was stunned. "How did you know?"

"My father told me"

"Your father."

Deng Zhong immediately understood.

Liu Shi's expression softened. "I have to thank your father very much this time. If it weren't for Duke Zheng, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to leave Luoyang now."

"That bastard of mine has caused me so much harm."

Deng Zhong glanced at him and said, "Before you put all your effort into something, it's best to discipline the people around you. Otherwise, sometimes you'll give so much, but just when you're about to reap the rewards, you'll be stabbed in the back by those around you, and then you'll be left with nothing!"

Hearing this, Liu Shi's eyes lit up, "Yes! That's right! How did you know?"

"My father told me"

Deng Zhong said with a complicated expression.

Liu Shi also suddenly realized.

Their relationship quickly became closer, and they spoke to each other much more gently.

One was cheated by his son, and the other was cheated by his father. Their similar experiences gave them many common topics.

Zheng Mo looked at them calmly, as if thinking about something.

Could this be the reason why their father arranged for them to be colleagues?

He couldn't help but look up and let out a long sigh.

He tried to learn his father's ability to judge people, but he still achieved nothing. It was like some kind of talent that was difficult to inherit even as a son.

They finally arrived at the prefectural government residence.

The governor's mansion is still under construction nearby.

Several people sat down separately. Liu Song looked at them and said seriously, "Liu Changshi and Deng Xiaowei, please bear with me. You can set off today to take over the important task."

"Before I left, Lord Cheng repeatedly told me that there was a lot of friction in the Western Regions. If he, the Chief Secretary, was not around, war would easily break out. He asked us to go there as soon as possible."

"Please don't waste time, take a rest today and leave tomorrow!"

Hearing his words, Deng Zhong and Liu Shi looked at each other and quickly stood up.

"Mr. Liu, we'll go there today!"

Deng Zhong said seriously, "We can't delay our work. But if there's a war going on in the area when we go, what should we do?"

Liu Song frowned and said seriously, "We're far away. If a war really breaks out, I allow you to use all means to stop them! Even sending troops is fine!"

The two of them saluted and left in a hurry.

Only then did Liu Song look at the other officials.

"Everyone, the next thing is a very important matter. Before I left, His Majesty instructed me that some criminals would be transported here from Shu soon, and we must be prepared to welcome them."

"After these people arrive, they can be involved in many matters such as construction and land reclamation."

"At the same time, we can also promote some useful talents from among them."

No one was surprised.

It is normal for the court to exile criminals here. This is what the Wei Dynasty did in the past.

Zheng Mo was stunned. This was the first time he knew about this.

He asked, "How many criminals will come then?"

Liu Song hesitated for a moment, "It shouldn't be too little."

"About 60,000 to 70,000 people."

"what???"

Zheng Mo's eyes widened. "Our county only has a population of just over 20,000, and we're going to bring in 60,000 or 70,000 criminals?"

Can Dawei find so many criminals?
The other officials were also whispering and discussing at this moment.

Liu Song explained, "They are from a prominent clan in Shu. They disobeyed the imperial edict and defied the land reward order, so they were exiled here. You all don't need to ask too many questions. Just make preparations to welcome and settle them."

"After these tens of thousands of people arrive, many problems will undoubtedly arise. We must first consider countermeasures. Furthermore, Liang Province will soon send us a large amount of supplies. General Anxi Ma Long will dispatch his troops to take charge here. We will also need to prepare the training grounds and other facilities his troops will need."

"You must report to me as soon as possible about the various situations of the surrounding bandits. Then they will send troops to quell them."

"From now on, the road from Loulan to Dunhuang must not be interrupted, and no thieves or wild beasts are allowed to appear!!"

(End of this chapter)