Fei Ze took his registered disciple Zeng Jian with him, and the two of them ran to Yanling County.
"Teacher, why are we here?" Zeng Jian had been holding this question in his mind for a long time.
"Don't you find anything special about Yanling County?" Fei Ze did not directly answer the disciple's question.
"Well, we encountered a lot of roadblocks when we came here and paid a lot of tolls." Zeng Jian has never been to Yanling County, so he can't say what is special.
"This is one of the reasons. The roads are not smooth, and the number of business travelers between Nanqiu County and Yanling County has dropped significantly. Considering the recent domestic situation, it is not difficult to guess that the Yanling County Governor is hostile to us.
Secondly, the Security Bureau has a report that some people in Yanling County are spreading malicious slanderous remarks about the Lord and his wife, instigating hostility against the people and the Ding family, and are also discouraging businesses from going to Nanqiu County."
Fees have the right to access some reports and files of the Security Bureau.
"Oh, can't we just let the security bureau investigate? It's a little conspicuous for us to ask." Zeng Jian found that the people here were dressed in distinctive ways, which were different from other places.
"You don't understand. There are masters here planning the situation. The agents of the Security Bureau can easily be exposed if they are not careful. Not all of them have the skills of Director Ding. They are very dangerous in the territory of hostile forces."
Fei Ze saw many problems from the report and immediately suggested that the Security Bureau stop its activities in Yanling County. This time he came to help the Security Bureau deal with the enemy's hidden masters.
…
The side hall of the Princess Mansion is now similar to the headquarters of the Red Army protecting the country. Ding Kui and several scribes are processing the military reports sent back by Zhong Wei.
Mu Heng walked in and glanced at the map of Nanqiu County hanging in the middle of the side hall. "Haha, let's attack Kada City first." He clearly saw the red mark on the map.
"Mulao, I was just looking for you." Ding Kui was still holding a document in his hand.
"What? Kada City, Shun'an City and Jiefang City have never fallen when foreign enemies invaded. Are you in trouble on the front line?" Mu Heng came wandering in without saying hello in advance.
"No, the special operations team is familiar with the situation in Qatar City. Fu Ming is dead and the city is leaderless. Zhong Wei will not be in trouble. I just received a message here. Nanping County Governor Meng Luo asked me about the tax revenue for the second half of the year.
Where should I send it?”
Ding Kui raised the document in his hand, but had no intention of showing it to Mu Heng, because the document used a password that Mu Heng could not understand.
"Nanping County." Mu Heng found a map of Nanma Prefecture on the wall, "Tunchang County, Dongxing County, Daling County, with three counties in between, and so on. The 20th Army Corps is in the middle. Congratulations, young master!
One of the generals surrendered."
He wished Ding Kui good luck but had nothing to do with Nanping County.
"What do you mean?" Ding Kui didn't understand, "Meng Luo didn't promote Yi Sheng."
"Haha, think about it, Mengluo is just a county guard, and there are border troops stationed in the administrative area. If he wants to join you, he must ask for your protection. He will not directly ask where the tax revenue is sent. This shows that he knows that the 20th Legion has no
threaten.
If he had talked to you about Yi Sheng, you wouldn't have come to me and told me the news you just received. Obviously you were hesitant about how to treat him. He may have known through some channel that Yi Sheng supported you, so he ignored Nanping.
The barrier from the county to Nanqiu County."
Mu Heng was very thoughtful and based on a few clues, he came up with a result that was almost the same as the truth.
"How should I reward Yi Sheng and Meng Luo?" Ding Kui believed it and did not doubt the reasoning of his grandfather's staff.
"Meng Luo is not in a hurry to reward you for now. Send a letter to tell him that the tax revenue will be collected and kept in the treasury. You can send someone to collect it when the time is right. The Nanping County Sheriff should give priority to governing the place. As for Yi Sheng, you can consider sealing him.
The title is hereditary Viscount, and a city is entrusted to him."
Ding Kui's question couldn't trouble Mu Heng. Granting a hereditary military honor was a bold move, but giving a city to the commander of a legion as a fief was nothing. Twenty legion commanders only had twenty cities, which was just one county in total.
If you can buy the entire military with one county, that would be really cheap!
"Very good!" Ding Kui clapped his hands and shouted.
He was not familiar with the operation of the Senate and did not understand the titles and rewards, so he did not dare to entertain such an idea casually. Now that Mu Heng proposed it, it was exactly what he wanted.
"Other legions will definitely be interested when they find out. The hereditary viscount may give it to the rebel king, but the Zhenjing City will definitely not give it." What he values is that this matter can bring a demonstrative effect.
Mu Heng smiled slightly, knowing that Ding Kui could understand.
"I came here today to learn about the measures you just introduced. Local officials below the city lord level will be selected through examinations. Those who have passed the test will be interviewed and selected, regardless of gender." This was the reason why he came to Ding Kui.
Ding Kui nodded and said: "Yes, I just decided yesterday and now I am starting to build a question bank. Officials in different positions have special test questions."
This is a civil service examination borrowed from Earth China, mainly because there are not many selectors and few recommenders in Nanqiu County, so he wants to establish his own official selection system.
"On the surface, this will touch the interests of the nobles, but there happens to be no nobles in the place you govern, and there are not many nobles who rely on you. You can meet their needs.
However, this has a profound impact on ordinary people. They have an additional way to become officials, and you can screen out a large number of qualified talents." Mu Heng analyzed carefully.
"Originally, I planned to recruit even the city lord in this way, but there are not many vacancies for the city lord, and it is not enough to distribute to the subordinates. Let's just think about it." Ding Kui did not hide his ambition to change the official selection system of Shaodian Kingdom.
"You really think so?" Mu Heng was a little excited.
If he had encountered such a thing when he was young, he would definitely take the exam, and maybe he could become a high official without having to work as a staff member for others.
"Of course! There are probably not many city lords in Shaodian Kingdom who are willing to take the initiative to join me. When I expand my territory, I will have to replace a large number of city lords. Where will I find so many suitable talents?" This time there is no cover-up of the expansion.
Ambition.
Mu Heng approached a round table and picked up a cup of tea with slightly trembling hands. When he raised it to his mouth to drink, a lot of water droplets splashed on his beard. After drinking, he wiped his beard with a handkerchief for a while.
He calmed down and continued his analysis: "There is no distinction between high and low in the selection process. As long as the people being assessed are fair, I think this is the best system."
"What are the disadvantages?" Ding Kui was worried about the adverse effects.
He understood the practicality of the examination system, and the imperial examination system achieved certain success in ancient China.
"It weakens the authority of the nobles over the common people! Ordinary people can become officials without taking the path of the nobles, and the nobles are no longer so important to the common people.
The big nobles are better off. They have enough strength to cultivate talents. The stronger nobles can arrange more people to serve as officials. The examination system will only affect them temporarily.
The small and medium-sized aristocrats are relatively affected. They do not have the strength to retain talents and may lead to the loss of their subjects. They should be the backbone of the opposition to the examination system."
As expected of someone from the Senate, Mu Heng answered after a little thought.
"I don't know many small and medium-sized nobles. If you offend them, just offend them. I will find a way to compensate them in the future."
Ding Kui could count the small and medium-sized nobles he knew, including the fellow villagers in Pingzhong County, but there were not many small and medium-sized nobles in Nanma Prefecture, so he didn't take it to heart.
"The kingdom can be defeated by the big nobles, but long-term peace and stability requires small and medium-sized nobles. They can restrict the people from forming factions and causing chaos. This is the experience passed down by various countries in the mainland for thousands of years." Mu Heng could see through Ding Kui's thoughts at a glance.
"Wouldn't small and medium-sized nobles form cliques and cause chaos?" Ding Kui didn't understand.
"Yes! But the scale is not big. People are always selfish. Interests can break alliances. The Senate has plenty of means to deal with small and medium-sized nobles." Mu Heng did not explain much and only brought his words to the point.
To restrict people from forming parties and causing chaos?
Ding Kui pondered.
The modern experience of the earth is not useful. They are willing to form cliques and cooperate with the people of this world with force, which will definitely cause a lot of trouble.
In ancient China, local officials were used to suppress people, but the effect was not very obvious. They could not use it to cause rebellion when it was necessary to cause rebellion or to rebel when it was necessary to rebel.
It seems effective for the nobility to take the lead in safeguarding national sovereignty, but society is divided into different classes, especially the privileged class. Inequity can never be eliminated, and it is not a good way.
After much deliberation, I didn't come up with a good result.
"I don't mean to eliminate the small and medium-sized nobles. Their interests are damaged but their privileges are still there, so I won't force them to go to a dead end." He could only give up thinking for the time being.
"Perhaps you can consider adding or subtracting points to the nobles and giving them some discounts as appropriate." Mu Heng's mind was spinning quickly.
"Let's talk about it later. Anyway, there are no small or medium-sized nobles in Nanqiu County, ah! There is one, and that's me. I almost forgot." Ding Kui was joking to liven up the atmosphere.
There are other people in the side hall. Among the several scribes are members of the Kong family. This topic will have a great impact on the Kong family.
The Confucius family is undoubtedly the biggest beneficiary of the examination system. It is foreseeable that most of the people who pass the examination are from the Confucius family. The Confucius family will be the largest faction. There will definitely be a large number of Confucius children coming to Nanqiu County.
"Although your system is good, many people don't know about it. I'm afraid not many people will take the first exam." Mu Heng knew about the weekly newspaper, but he didn't think it would be a common reading book.
"It's okay, my propaganda department has already gone to the countryside."
"Propaganda Department?" Mu Heng heard this for the first time.
Ding Kui pictured Widow Hu in his mind and said with a smile: "Hey, I have a capable person who is responsible for publicity. She can quickly spread my decision to the people. Don't worry, she can take care of it in Nanqiu County."
"Since the young master is so confident, why bother asking for trouble? One thing I have to remind you is that your wedding to Your Excellency Li Fei is approaching. A large number of guests have arrived in Juyang City recently. If there is nothing important, you should go back. Some
You must receive the guests personally."
Even though Juyang City is so remote and Ding Kui is a thorn in the side of the Prince Regent, his marriage to Li Fei still attracted many people, including VIPs with high status and status.
On the Tongyuan River, a medium-sized fleet quickly headed south, and its size and speed even alarmed the Nanzhao Prefecture navy.
"What? Did you read that correctly? Is it really the banner of Shuanglong City?" Hua Song asked the scout.