Chapter 234 Establishing a System
Zhou Houfang took them to the government office, and Xu Zhenying received them in the conference room.
Zhou Houfang also found it strange. Xu Zhenying seemed to only have one place to receive guests: a large conference room and a small study. She never received guests at restaurants, inns, teahouses, or even at home, clearly conveying a sense of business.
A group of people came in one after another, and Qian Zhenniang arranged for them to sit down in order and served them tea. Seeing that there were no soldiers around Xu Zhenying and others, the natives who came as hostages relaxed a little.
Xu Zhenying took out the winter melon candies he had prepared long ago to treat the children. Seeing that the little one was about the same age as Mei Xiao, he felt very distressed and said to the old woman leading the group, "Grandma Tao, being here is like being at home. You can go anywhere in Jinzhou Prefecture, but you can't leave. If you need anything, just tell my fourth aunt directly. If it's not convenient to tell me, you can come to the government office directly to find me. I'm usually here."
The grandmother's face was tanned and had deep wrinkles on it. She was wearing a white headscarf and was even hunched over, looking very thin. However, she was straightforward in her words and actions.
She spoke in broken Chinese, "City Lord, we have everything we need. The conditions in Jinzhou are truly excellent. The food and clothing are much better than what we have back home in the mountains."
A young man nearby bowed and spoke fluent Chinese. "City Lord, food and clothing aren't important, but I'd like to ask, before we left, I heard that Qianzhou was about to start universal education. What's the situation with studying here?"
Sure enough, the grassroots people are concerned about only two issues.
One is eating.
One is education.
Eating is the most basic need, and education is the next level of need.
Xu Zhenying smiled. "I have to tell you about this. As I said just now, I have no restrictions on you except the rule of not leaving the city gates of Jinzhou Prefecture. Those of you who want to study can attend classes outside, or you can hire a teacher to teach you. However, I would rather recommend that you take the large classes. Although the teachers may not explain in great detail, there are more students, so you can integrate into our Jinzhou Prefecture more quickly. I think Elder Dongmiao's grandson probably can't even speak Chinese yet. A child of his age should be placed with other children. After all, the language will be learned with more speaking. As for the rest of you, you can do whatever you want, whether it's business or studying, it's up to you."
When those people heard this, their expressions relaxed a little.
Although they knew before leaving that the two families exchanged hostages in order to improve the relationship between them, they really did not expect Xu Zhenying to be so kind.
But then he thought, Xu Zhenying's mother and sister were free to come and go in the village. As long as one of the two families was willing to provide assistance and the other was willing to temporarily recognize Xu Zhenying's court, they could still maintain this superficial peace before there were any conflicts of interest between the two families.
Everyone thanked him, and Xu Zhenying ordered someone to send them to the house that had been arranged in advance.
Instead, Qian Zhenniang came over and asked, "City Lord, do you want us to send our people to keep an eye on that courtyard?"
Xu Zhenying said, "Pick some men with unremarkable facial features from the barracks and assign them to work as odd jobs in the shops near their courtyards. Keep an eye on them on a daily basis and report any signs of trouble to me."
Zhou Houfang hurried over and handed Xu Zhenying a letter. After opening it, Xu Zhenying held his forehead with his hand, a look of pain on his face.
Zhou Houfang looked at Qian Zhenniang somewhat bewilderedly.
But Qian Zhenniang seemed to be gloating.
She had just arrived and didn't know what was going on, so she could only stand quietly by.
"Oh my god, Qiu Ju-niang, that idiot, isn't even enough about dealing with cowpox and penicillin all day, and now she's urging me to come up with those medical industry management regulations." Xu Zhenying held his forehead and sighed, "Just kill me."
Qian Zhenniang laughed: "Who made some people so arrogant a while ago, spending so much time researching the recipes of pork belly and plum blossom pork. They grilled it, and then there were secret brine recipes, and they said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a good meal, which delayed them for several days. They also said that the tyrant emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty loved beauties, and you, a tyrant emperor, love barbecue-"
Xu Zhenying pulled his hair frantically, "I knew it, sooner or later you'll pay for what you did!"
Zhou Houfang on the side was stunned.
Is this still the legendary genius who holds hegemony over the southwest?
"I think Qiu Ju Niang is just too idle. Why don't I give her a few more research directions so she can develop in multiple fields and flourish in all aspects—"
Qian Zhenniang was speechless. "City Lord, are you really planning to be a tyrant? Qiu Junniang is so busy that she's become as thin as a bamboo pole. She has to attend classes during the day, do research at night, prepare lessons on weekends, and manage the medical school's logistics during the week. She does the work of five or six people alone, and you still want to exploit her!"
Zhou Houfang couldn't help but tremble after hearing this.
She seemed to see her future self through the unfamiliar name Qiu Ju Niang.
"Alright, alright." Xu Zhenying helplessly spread his hands. "It's only a matter of time anyway. Arrange for her and the people from the military camp to come over sometime so we can all discuss the details of the management. Oh, and have them draft a draft before they come, so they don't have any direction when the discussion begins."
Qian Zhenniang immediately took out a notebook and wrote down the tasks to be done.
Zhou Houfang followed suit and immediately took out a notebook to record it.
Xu Zhenying was very satisfied to see that Zhou Houfang, despite being a new secretary, was acting without panic. She glanced at Qian Zhenniang again, feeling rather reluctant to let her go. "Zhenniang, which position do you want to take? Let me know. Once our administrative system is finalized, there will be a major personnel change. If you have any ideas, please let me know first."
Qian Zhenniang stared at her and smiled. "Alas, do we old people have any choice? Anyway, I'll go wherever you tell me to go. Someone has to take on the toughest tasks, right?"
Zhou Houfang was somewhat surprised at the sisterly-like relationship between the two, and at the same time, she discovered another side of Xu Zhenying.
If you say Xu Zhenying is difficult to serve, it doesn't seem to be difficult, as long as you do your job well.
But if you say she is easy to serve, that is absolutely impossible.
In the past two days alone, Xu Zhenying had given her several impromptu tests, which had left her terrified. She kept checking her booklet to see if she had missed anything.
But more of it is panic.
Qian Zhenniang is actually going to go to another position?
Then won't she have to take on all the work alone?
A feeling of suffocation and pressure that made it hard to breathe suddenly came over me.
On the day of the actual meeting, Zhou Houfang met nearly every core member of the Xu family. Besides Xu Yinxi, who was far away in Qianzhou, the Fang siblings, Liu Dazhuang, Ming Xiaoshuang, Mo Jinchun, and others also showed up. Even Wang Xingye, from as far away as Ye County, made the long journey to attend, demonstrating the scale of the meeting.
Zhou Houfang had already deeply understood that Xu Zhenying's favorite thing to do was hold meetings. She had to contact everyone in advance, prepare the meeting schedule, organize the speeches, and create the necessary paperwork for the various meetings, which had become her main focus these days.
Maybe it was because the secretary was a close minister to the emperor and had an extraordinary status, so everyone would look at her appearance first when they walked in, and some even took the initiative to greet her.
However, compared with the mutual flattery and fawning in the officialdom of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Zhou Houfang still felt that the atmosphere on Xu Zhenying's side was better. They came to talk purely for work exchanges, mostly asking about the weather, whether they were used to it, etc. in a caring manner, which made Zhou Houfang feel warm in his heart and gave him a deeper understanding of this group of rebels.
No wonder people outside call them the Green Head Gang. Look at them one by one, no matter male or female, except for the elderly, the women all have shoulder-length hair, and the men even have a buzz cut, and from a distance they look like monks in a temple.
Zhou Houfang also discovered that Xu Zhenying's people attached great importance to time. She had just learned to recognize the clock in the lobby and noticed that everyone had already arrived before 9 o'clock.
Soon, the large conference room was full of people.
Xu Zhenying even invited serious scholars from Lan County, such as Liu Jianlin and others.
Xu Zhenying appeared on time with five bodyguards. As soon as she took her seat, the whispers in the conference room stopped immediately.
At Qian Zhenniang's signal, Zhou Houfang quickly sat down at the small table behind Xu Zhenying.
Then, everyone opened the booklets they carried with them.
The movements were unified, which amazed Zhou Houfang.
"As our business grows, some pressing matters arise, such as the administrative system. What are your thoughts? Should we follow the Zhou Dynasty's system of three provinces and six ministries, the previous system of three dukes and nine ministers, or perhaps develop a system of our own that better suits us? I understand that we're a small, grassroots team, and many people may not have encountered administrative systems before and don't fully understand them. I don't expect everyone to speak out, I just ask that you listen and reflect."
Having said that, Xu Zhenying clearly felt that someone was secretly relieved.
Alas, this is too difficult for them.
Who would have thought that they couldn't read a single word more than half a year ago, but now they have to formulate a national administrative system. They may have never heard of it in their lives. Xu Zhenying really can't force them, so he can only put his hopes on Fang Xun, Hu Wei, Mo Jinchun, Wang Xingye and others who have received the traditional exam-oriented education of the Zhou Dynasty.
Even people as smart as Ming Xiaoshuang, Liu Dazhuang and others obviously had no idea what was being discussed today.
Only a few scholars' eyes lit up, and they clearly understood the importance of attending today's meeting.
The administrative system is now being discussed. Does this mean that Xu Zhenying will soon expand his territory?
Does it also mean that they are powerful enough to have to consider administrative structure?
Hu Wei stroked his beard and spoke slowly, "City Lord, the Great Zhou Dynasty's system, by removing its flaws and retaining its essence, is a relatively complete administrative structure. The existing three provinces and six ministries are able to cooperate and check and balance each other, improving efficiency while avoiding excessive concentration of power and ensuring the stability of imperial authority. It's not impossible for us to use them directly."
Fang Xun said, "The Three Departments and Six Ministries system was designed to constrain the power of the prime minister. It dispersed the prime minister's authority and established three departments to check and balance each other. However, this would lead to multiple positions exercising prime ministerial power, resulting in redundant and complex organizations, mutual buck-passing, or centralized power, leading to inefficiency. Since we are a new court, we naturally need to consider adopting a new administrative system."
Xu Zhenying said, "The Great Zhou Dynasty's system has been able to survive for so many years, so it naturally has its own advantages. As a new force, we must establish our own administrative structure, and it is inevitable that we will learn from the Great Zhou Dynasty. However, the Great Zhou Dynasty's system has its advantages and disadvantages, and where there are people, there are also rivers and lakes. No matter how good a political system is, it ultimately depends on the people. Therefore, it depends on how we can avoid risks. I think that to reform the Great Zhou Dynasty's political system, there are nothing more than the following points."
Now, everyone held their pencils and started writing.
Only Fang Xun, Hu Wei and others looked at Xu Zhenying with interest and anticipation, as if they really wanted to hear her opinions.
Now they don’t find anything Xu Zhenying says strange.
They also don't take Xu Zhenying's age and experience into consideration at all.
After all, Xu Zhenying could come up with so many prescriptions, and in their eyes he was no different from a fairy from outer space.
"First, it depends on the core leadership. This leadership, of course, includes not just me but you as well. This requires strong decision-making capabilities and the ability to oversee the country's direction. Second, power must be constrained. A single dominant power is impossible. Power must be dispersed and cannot be concentrated in a single emperor, individual, or department. I believe this is also a lesson from history. Third, we must advance the reform of the departmental system based on the foundation of the Zhou Dynasty. The biggest problem caused by decentralization is the buck-passing, which affects administrative efficiency. Therefore, I believe that a well-functioning administrative system must have a sound decision-making system, selection system, supervision system, and execution system. Finally, it must stand the test of time."
Fang Xun, Hu Wei and others nodded frequently after listening to this. Even Zhou Houfang on the side felt that it made sense. It seemed that as long as they listened to Xu Zhenying's words, the fog in front of them would disappear.
Yes, after all, it is people who are responsible for execution, and people make mistakes, so the system for selecting people is very important.
This selection not only includes the emperor, but also all officials and even the lower-level clerks.
I don’t know what Xu Zhenying was thinking about, but there seemed to be a glimmer in her eyes, and she ordered Qian Zhenniang to push a huge blackboard over.
Oh, blackboard, this is also a new product of their research institute. It is said that it was developed in cooperation with a certain merchant. Now the merchant has made a lot of money by relying on this blackboard, and it is even sold to Xingyuan Prefecture, Henan Prefecture and other places.
Of course, the institute is state-owned, so it is said that most of the profits will be turned over to the national treasury, and a small portion will be distributed within the institute.
Zhou Houfang couldn't help but sigh at Xu Zhenying's way of doing things.
Xu Zhenying was also involved in the royal business, yet he was able to thrive so well. With just a small blackboard and a small pencil, which cost only a few dollars, he was able to make huge profits.
If the merchants of the Zhou Dynasty had such a brain, there wouldn't be no money in the emperor's private treasury, and the concubines would often cry poor. Last year, when the young emperor was in power, the money for cosmetics for the concubines was cut by more than half.
Of course, the people still agree with it.
Some people even said privately that the old emperor had been dead for so long, who were the concubines dressing up for?
Although it sounds a bit vicious, it is the truth.
But it was hard for those officials who were sent from outside the palace and had to go to the palace to make connections. Once the concubines and officials in Bianliang City became poor, the phenomenon of corruption and extortion would only become more serious.
She heard from her father that it used to cost only about five thousand taels of silver to go to Beijing to report on one's work, but now it would cost even ten thousand taels, which was threatening to drain the family's wealth.
Zhou Houfang thought somewhat unkindly, no wonder the Great Zhou Dynasty fell into decline. Look at how far-sighted they were. Even if they had to tighten their belts, they had to first promote universal education. Only when the base of educated people was increased could a real influx of talented people emerge.
While Zhou Houfang was thinking, she saw Xu Zhenying writing on the blackboard with a white charcoal pencil.
Her handwriting is really average, just enough to be readable.
Everyone in the Xu family has this style. They don’t care about the beauty of the font, they only care about being readable.
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