As a country, it is not a big problem to designate Cheshi as a county. There are no other small countries near Cheshi anyway. Because there is a large area of ​​Gobi Desert over there, it can almost be said that Liu Tan can enclose land at will.

In order to trick a county governor from Chang'an to come here, Liu Tan even gave the place a name: Yiwulu County.

Yiwulu is a transliteration of the Western Region language, meaning gate.

This place is indeed the gateway for the Han Dynasty to the Western Regions.

In fact, it is not only Yiwulu County that needs a county governor, but other places in the Northern Border Kingdom also need county governors. He has long disliked some county governors, such as the county governor of Yanmen County.

Before, when Wu Shilu plundered Shanggu County, the neighboring Dai County and Zhuo County sent troops to help. Although they were unable to resist, at least they sent troops.

As a result, the governor of Yanmen County was afraid of death and refused to send troops to help on the grounds that the King of the Northern Territory had not given the order.

Liu Tan didn't know about it at the time, but he almost exploded with anger after he found out.

The prefect of Yanmen County never wrote a letter or petition to him from beginning to end, so how could they just put the blame on him?

If you try to put the blame on him, I'll make you lose your head!

Liu Tan immediately wanted to have someone bring him the dog head of the Yanmen County Magistrate, but Huo Guang stopped him and prevented him from acting impulsively.

Apart from shifting the blame to His Royal Highness the King of the Northern Border, there was nothing wrong with the behavior of the Yanmen County Magistrate. Indeed, he could not send troops without the order of the princes. What if others misunderstood that the Northern Border Kingdom was going to rebel after he sent troops?

Under Huo Guang's persuasion, Liu Tan did not kill the prefect of Yanmen County, but he also refused to let him continue to serve as prefect.

Now the position of county governor is vacant, and he plans to slowly replace the others.

After Liu Tan finished writing the letter, he thought about it and felt that he should inform Huo Guang. If someone really came from Chang'an, it would not be a good idea for Huo Guang to remain unaware of it.

Huo Guang was surprised when he learned of Liu Tan's plan: "Your Highness doesn't want to use the talents he has trained?"

Yan Xingsheng, who was sitting behind Liu Tan, secretly pricked up his ears.

Now Zhu Shanfu has been sent out, and it is said that he has done a good job as a county magistrate. It seems that he will be promoted to the position of county governor in the future after he has accumulated some experience.

Originally, Yan Xingsheng and Xiao Cheng thought that their route should be similar to Zhu Shanfu's, but if Chang'an sent someone to airdrop, it would be hard to say.

Liu Tan said sullenly, "We can't wait any longer. The imperial examinations won't be held again until next year. If we meet someone with talent, it might only take four or five years, but if not, it's hard to say how many years it will take. I really... can't stand those bastards anymore."

Huo Guang was silent for a while after hearing this. He had no way to talk about this matter. Now the sense of division in the entire Northern Border Country was particularly serious.

The western half, headed by Shuofang City, is particularly efficient. In the past, only the governor of Dunhuang County was particularly motivated, but since the opening of the customs market, Wuwei County, Jiuquan County, and Zhangye County have begun to show new vitality.

The county governors who had been living a life of mediocrity seemed to have found their life goals and began to emulate the county governor of Dunhuang County.

But the counties in the east are obviously lagging behind.

Huo Guang did not want all counties to keep in step with each other, as this was unrealistic. There would always be places that developed quickly and places that developed slowly. He was not afraid of slow development, but the county governors of these counties would not do anything unless they were urged. Not to mention that Liu Tan could not stand them, even Huo Guang could not stand them.

But he still said: "Don't change too much at once."

Liu Tan nodded: "I know, and there aren't that many ambitious children of officials in Chang'an."

Huo Guang felt something was amiss: "Wait a minute, Your Highness, why does he want the son of an official?"

Liu Tan has always been open-minded when hiring people. No matter your background, as long as you have the ability, you can come.

Why are you targeting the children of officials now?

Liu Tan didn't shy away from him and directly told him about Liu Qumao's situation. After he finished, he said with deep emotion, "It's easy to avoid an open attack, but it's hard to guard against an arrow from the dark. Liu Qumao is so persistent in targeting me. I'm far away in the Northern Border Kingdom, so I can't reach him. My father and the Crown Prince also need to ensure some notarization. If it weren't for the Grand Minister of Agriculture and if our battle against the Cheshi Kingdom hadn't been so smooth, he might have succeeded."

You know, the most disgusting thing about this guy is that he stirs up trouble under the guise of worrying about the Northern Kingdom and the Han Dynasty.

Huo Guang looked at Liu Tan expressionlessly: "Your Highness, as long as you don't do so many outrageous things, there will be no problem."

Liu Tan was immediately displeased. "Do you believe what you're saying? Liu Qumao has been keeping an eye on us. Even if we're careful, he might find something to hold against us. Do you believe that the next time I come to meet him, he'll accuse me of squandering state funds and using sweet words to flatter us?"

Huo Guang was speechless for a moment. This was indeed possible. Everyone in the Northern Border Kingdom knew that every time the King of the Northern Border received the emperor and bought something, he spent his own money. Not only did he not touch the money from the national treasury, he even had to pay taxes - construction projects first required buying land, and of course this money was basically negligible. In addition to this, he would also buy other things, which could even boost the economy of the Northern Border Kingdom.

But the people in Chang'an may not know this. In everyone's impression, the taxes of the vassal states are all the money of the princes, and the princes would rather not give a penny to the people to spend. How could anyone take the initiative to pay taxes to the national treasury?

However, after Liu Tan said this, Huo Guang understood his idea. To put it bluntly, he wanted to keep a few hostages in the Northern Border Kingdom, so that these people would stand up and take sides at the critical moment.

Huo Guang asked, "Your Highness, are you sure someone will come? The Northern Border Kingdom isn't exactly a good place."

Liu Tan chuckled. "Although the tax revenue in the Northern Border isn't the highest in the country right now, it's catching up to the average, so it's not that bad. Furthermore, some people are currently stuck in a rut. They're unworthy of being county magistrates, but not qualified enough to be county governors. These aren't problems in the Northern Border. The Northern Border can definitely make special promotions."

Huo Guang glanced at him and said, "Your Highness, it's up to you to decide on this matter."

Liu Tan said, "Do you have anyone to recommend? I haven't finished writing the letter to the emperor yet. If you think someone is suitable, I will write it directly. I will ask first to see if it works."

After all, Huo Guang grew up in Chang'an and came into contact with many children from aristocratic families. If he thought someone was good enough, he would think he was worth luring away.

Huo Guang pondered for a moment and said, "Yes, there are, but they may not meet your highness's requirements."

Liu Tan was a little puzzled: "If you have the ability, why don't you meet my requirements?"

Huo Guang said, "Because their father died under false accusations, they cannot speak for Your Highness in the court."

Liu Tan choked: "I just said that. Even if they really sent their son over, they might not really speak for me. Tell me who it is first."

Huo Guang hesitated for a moment and said, "I still have to say that these two people may not be suitable. Of course, whether it succeeds or not depends on your Highness's opinion."

Liu Tan raised his eyebrows: "It's rare for you to be so fussy, hurry up and speak."

Huo Guang said, "There are two men who are both quite capable. They are brothers. The elder one is suitable to be a prefect, and the younger one can also be a county magistrate. They are Zhang He and Zhang Anshi."

Liu Tan was slightly startled when he heard these two names. They sounded particularly familiar to him. After a while, he realized what was happening and asked in surprise, "It's them?"