Chapter 264: The capable are promoted, the mediocre are demoted
"That is to say, except for Yanmen, Yunzhong and Daijun were not greatly affected by the snow disaster. At least it will not be a problem for the people to survive this winter safely." Zhao Kuo said after listening to Kong Bin's report.
What Kong Bin said was almost the same as what Liu Ping reported. Li Mu and the three county governors also responded in the letter. After mutual confirmation, Zhao Kuo had a comprehensive understanding of the snow disaster.
Nearly a thousand people died in the three counties combined, most of them were old, weak, sick and disabled. If this number is considered in later generations, it will definitely be a huge disaster, but in this era, it is nothing at all.
Zhao Kuo can guarantee that the death toll in Yan, Xiongnu, Donghu and other places is definitely ten times or even dozens of times that of Zhao.
"When I arrived in northern Xinjiang, the governors of the three counties had already begun organizing disaster relief. In fact, I only played a role in calming the people's hearts." Kong Bin said with a smile.
"The snow disaster is easy to save, but the people are uneasy." Zhao Kuo said with emotion.
No matter how severe the snowstorm is, as long as officials don't cheat, don't line their own pockets, and can rescue people in time, it won't cause too much damage. The hard thing is to do this.
The vast majority of people never expect the government to do many good things for them. As long as they don't commit evil, they are good officials in the hearts of most people.
If you can have some conscience and lead everyone to build a canal, a road, and a dam, the people will definitely build a temple for them next to the canal, road, and dam.
During the four solar terms, the whole village will worship.
Ximen Bao once led the people of Yecheng to dig canals and control floods, turning the saline-alkali land into thousands of acres of fertile farmland. Now the people still offer sacrifices to him every year.
However, more than 90% of officials cannot meet this requirement alone.
In this snow disaster, if officials from various places could launch rescue operations as soon as possible, instead of taking action only after receiving orders for fear of taking responsibility, the losses could be reduced to one-tenth.
Fortunately, Zhao State is not rotten to the core. Although it has many minor problems, it is generally good.
"Compile a list of officials who have performed well and give them rewards. Officials who perform poorly will be given warnings, and in serious cases, they will be dismissed directly. This is not only the case in the three northern counties, but also in other places. In our country of Zhao, the capable ones are promoted and the mediocre ones are promoted.
"Mediocre people don't need to stay in the officialdom of our Zhao country." Zhao Kuo said loudly.
If it was six months ago, Zhao Kuo would not have the confidence to say such a thing. At that time, as long as one-tenth of the officials gave up their jobs, the Zhao State would begin to be paralyzed. If three-tenths of the officials gave up their jobs, Zhao Kuo would be paralyzed.
The country can declare bankruptcy.
But now that Zhao State is under Zhao Kuo's control, talents from all over the world have gathered in Zhao State, and Handan has become the world's economic and cultural center.
If those officials don't do their job, someone will replace them at any time. Now Zhao State has no shortage of grassroots officials.
Zhao Kuo has been soft for so long just to be tough in the future.
"Your Majesty, isn't this bad?" Kong Chuan said.
Since ancient times, there have been officials who have been caught committing crimes, and officials who have run away because they were displeased with the king, but there have never been officials who have been demoted for "inaction."
In the eyes of most people, inaction is never wrong, let alone an official.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, no one had ever said the phrase "ruling the world with the scholar-bureaucrats", but in fact, this kind of thing had already existed.
From ministers, to officials, to scholars, to ordinary people, to savages, this is a full chain of contempt.
The upper level of the contempt chain will always have privileges towards the lower level.
It is undeniable that there has been no shortage of good officials who truly serve the people since ancient times. But it is also undeniable that such good officials have always been in the minority.
Zhao Kuo doesn't care whether they are doing it for money, fame or power, as long as they do things well.
What's wrong with being an official for money? There's no shame in it. I don't steal or rob. All the money comes from legitimate sources. What's the problem?
But he doesn't do anything every day and talks about benevolence, justice and morality. Sorry, get out of here.
In Zhao Kuo's view, even if he does something wrong, it is a hundred times better than doing nothing at all.
"What does Kong Qing think is wrong?" Zhao Kuo looked at Kong Chuan.
Next to him, Kong Bin quickly winked at Kong Chuan: You can't defeat the king, and there's no need to oppose the king over such a trivial matter.
"No...it's nothing. I support the king." Kong Chuan hesitated for a moment and said quickly.
"By the way, people who perform well should also be rewarded. If there are vacant positions, they can be filled as appropriate. If they don't do well, they will be removed." Zhao Kuo said.
"No." This time, no one objected.
"How much armaments are left in Northern Xinjiang?" Zhao Kuo looked at Kong Bin.
The armaments in northern Xinjiang were prepared for the attack on the Xiongnu. They started to stock up a few months ago. In addition to food, they mainly included weapons, armor, medicinal materials, linen, liquor, and other items.
Spirits are alcoholic beverages that have been purified.
Zhao people like to drink, and they are addicted to alcohol. If spirits are circulated in the market, they can definitely make a lot of money. However, because it consumes too much food, Zhao Kuo does not open the trade. It is only used for disinfection and occasionally used to reward ministers.
"50% of the food is left, 80% of the medicinal materials and linen are left, 50% of the spirits are left, and other supplies are almost untouched," Kong Bin said.
Zhao Kuo looked at Wei Wuji, and before asking, Wei Wuji handed over his hand and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, as long as the war ends within a year, there will definitely be no food and grass problems."
"Okay, generals, hurry up and train your soldiers. When the ice and snow melt, it will be the day of Zhao's Northern Expedition." Zhao Kuo slammed the table and ordered.
"No." Lian Po, Le Yi and Pang Nuan said with fists clasped.
…
For the next period of time, Zhao Kuo basically stayed in the palace to accompany his family, teasing little Zhao Zheng when he had nothing to do. Little Zhao Zheng was now not only able to walk, but also able to speak some simple words.
There was the sound of playing and playing not far away. It was Bin and a few friends playing Cuju. There were Feng Ting's grandson Feng Jie, Yang Qi's son Dingtian, and the grandsons of Wei Wuji and Zhao Sheng.
Yang Qi lost the key Baili Stone Great Wall in the Battle of Shangdang, causing Zhao Jun to be surrounded.
According to regulations, all titles and military merits should be removed. Zhao Kuo did not change this decision, but he took great care of his family. He not only moved them to Handan, but also arranged for teachers to teach them.
Little Zhao Zheng kept struggling in Zhao Kuo's arms, wanting to run over and play together.
"You can go play when you grow up, but not now." Zhao Kuo said with a smile, holding onto little Zhao Zheng tightly with both hands.
At this time, Liu Ping suddenly walked in, raised his hands and said: "Your Majesty."
"Go to the study and talk." Zhao Kuo handed Xiao Zhao Zheng to the palace maid, "What's wrong?"
"That group of people really wanted to kill Zhao Tang." Liu Ping said.
"Did you catch it?" Zhao Kuo asked calmly, not surprised at all.
After realizing that there was someone behind Wang Ti and Zhao Tang, Zhao Kuo understood that the other party would not give up easily, and Zhao Tang was still their best target.
So Zhao Kuo ordered Zhao Tang to be used as bait to fish out the person behind it.
"Two people were caught, and the rest are dead." Liu Ping said, "But... these two people don't know much. They said they just received money and didn't know the identity of the other party."
"As long as you are still in Zhao Kingdom, you can't escape." Zhao Kuo sneered, "Continue to investigate. Once you find out, don't move and send a few people to sneak in."
Tarsal maggots must be uprooted, otherwise they will become a disaster.