There were two test papers, both with content found by Ye Mo. They were very simple. The first question was to compose a poem with a self-chosen title. This was to test literacy and talent.

Then came the counting rods test, which examined whether the candidate could perform calculations.

However, the ancient and modern people have different ways of calculating. Modern people use formulas to calculate, while the ancients used small sticks or wooden objects of the same length and thickness, which they placed on a table, a kang (a heated brick bed), or the ground for counting.

Even though Ye Moxun had a photographic memory, he still had to put a lot of thought and effort into setting calculation problems to conform to the way people in the Great Jin Dynasty set their problems. The numbers were all written in uppercase, but he always habitually wanted to use Arabic numerals instead.

The last question was a long essay, mainly about policy and some views on the present, the past few years, and the next few years. There were quite a few points. To put it bluntly, it was about selecting local officials who understood how to prioritize the people, love the people, and understand the importance of farming.

Choose a prefect, then a sub-prefect, a vice-prefect, a secretary, a clerk, and so on.

These people will focus on development from now on, while Bai Pingfeng will be in charge of security. Ye Moxun decided to appoint him as a general, and his subordinates will also be appointed as deputy generals, commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, and so on.

One person should fill one position. All the officials in Xifeng are dead, so they have to be replaced. Otherwise, with so many things going unattended, when will things ever get back on track?

Besides Ye Moxun, Song Tantan, Song Zhuiyan, and Zhong Qingyi also came to review the papers. In fact, Zhong Qingyi's education level was not high, so he was just there to make up the numbers. Song Zhuiyan graduated from high school in her previous life and only learned traditional Chinese characters here, so she could barely read the papers properly.

Song Tantan is a bit stronger, but she finds traditional Chinese characters very difficult to understand, especially ancient writings with their archaic and literary style. She recognizes each character individually, but when they are put together, she has no idea what they are saying.

So she and her aunt would read through the counting rods and mark them with an X or a checkmark, so that Ye Moxun wouldn't have to look at the counting rods anymore and could directly read the poems and articles.

In the end, thirteen people were selected. These thirteen people were qualified. However, Ye Moxun planned to interview all of them again to see for himself. After all, these people were literate. Even if they could not become officials, other positions could be arranged for them. There was a real shortage of people at the moment.

At the same time, he also sent people to investigate the backgrounds of these people. Ability is not everything; character is also important. Of course, most importantly, he could not let spies from other forces infiltrate, otherwise all his efforts would be in vain.

Two days later, as expected, they found two spies sent by the Duke of Zhenguo and one sent by the Prince Xian, making a total of three spies. After they were caught, they were all imprisoned.

There were also two who had taken the exam and were already students, but unfortunately their character was bad. One of them was already married, but he was always having affairs outside. His conduct was terrible, and he was also abusive. Such people should be arrested directly.

The other student's conduct was impeccable, but he had cheated his classmates in the past. He was a selfish and unscrupulous person, and such a person should not be an official, as he was too insidious and narrow-minded.

After eliminating three more lazy, good-for-nothing individuals who only knew how to study and relied on their families for support, twenty-two people remained.

Ye Moxun met with them personally, asked a few questions, and finally decided to keep eighteen people available.

These people reported to the government office three days later to begin their official duties. They had a three-month probationary period and were not assigned positions yet, but Ye Moxun assigned them jobs based on their exam scores.

For example, there were four candidates for the position of prefect. One of them was a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination), and the other three were Xiucai (successful candidates in the county-level civil service examination). They were all very talented in literature, wrote good poems, and their policy essays were very much in line with Ye Moxun's wishes.

Therefore, these four people had a lot of work to do. They did the work of the prefect, the assistant prefect, and the sub-prefect together. Others were arranged in a similar way. They had to do everything, and their abilities were assessed based on their competence.

People were also sent from Xiangyang City; they needed a prefect, a vice-prefect, a secretary, a clerk, and so on.

There are so many things to do, and managing a province is no easy task. Ye Moxun is actually quite impatient with dealing with these things every day. He is only thirteen years old, he is still young, and he is too tired.

"Being a provincial governor is such a prestigious and impressive thing. In modern times, you'd be nothing more than a spoiled brat. You'd be better off managing a branch company, while your two older brothers manage the head office." The subtext is that he's not as capable as his two older brothers and can't accomplish anything significant.

"Song Tantan, what would happen if you didn't say a few sarcastic remarks to me?" Ye Moxun gritted his teeth and said resentfully, "Who am I doing all this for? Isn't it all for everyone to have a good life? Otherwise, I would have quit long ago. Who cares about being a prefect?"

That's right, he's temporarily acting as the prefect, but he only talks and makes decisions; the actual work is done by others.

“I know you’re working hard, but this will only take a year or two at most. Once the people you’ve trained are all capable of handling things on their own, you can retire gracefully. So just hang in there a little longer.” Seeing that her attempts to provoke him hadn’t worked, Song Tantan could only coax him gently.

Although Ye Moxun is smart and capable, he can't change his ways. Just like in his previous life, he's a bit lazy and always wants to go back to being a playboy. He only has a short attention span when it comes to serious things and can't stick to it.

As soon as he heard that he would have to work for at least a year, or even three years, he wanted to quit. But would Song Tantan give him the chance to quit? Of course not.

"Look at the long term. Didn't we agree to try our best to stabilize the world? Even if we can't achieve world-wide stability, we must at least stabilize Xifeng. This is different from making paper and cement. You have to supervise it personally. Have some sense of responsibility. Even if it's not for the people, you'll do it for yourself."

The main problem is that we don't keep a close eye on the people we select. If they turn out to be bad apples, it would harm the entire population of Xifeng. Even the most discerning person can make a mistake, let alone pass the test. A person's true character needs time to be tested.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!