Chapter 2822 The Prince's Advice
The prince walked out of the Taiji Hall and was about to return to the East Palace, but halfway through he thought about it and turned around to go to the duty room of the Secretariat.
Bai Shan and Lord Fang were reading memorials inside. Clerks were bringing memorials in, while others were taking memorials to the Ministry of Personnel and the Taiji Hall. When everyone saw the Crown Prince come in, they stopped what they were doing and stood up to greet him. "Greetings, Crown Prince."
The prince nodded and pointed directly at Bai Shan and said, "Mr. Bai, I have something to tell you."
Bai Shan gathered up the things on the desk and went out with the prince.
It was a very cold day, and the prince was too lazy to invite anyone to the East Palace to talk, so he walked directly to the White Jade Bridge outside.
The two of them stood on the bridge, talking while enjoying the breeze. The advantage of this was that there was open space everywhere, and no one could hear them unless someone was hiding under the bridge.
The prince asked Bai Shan, "Do you want to be sent out?"
Bai Shan was stunned for a moment and then responded.
The prince asked, "Is there a place you like?"
Bai Shan thought for a moment and said, "Jiannan and Jiangnan are both good areas."
The prince laughed and said, "You are quite good at choosing. You deliberately avoided the Central Plains."
The Central Plains area is rich in resources and has a large population. The local gentry is prosperous and the people live a stable and contented life. Without major disasters, the people and officials will not think of changing. It is not easy to achieve results in the Central Plains.
Therefore, the Beidi, Jiannan and Jiangnan areas are the best. You can tell from Yang Heshu's choice that he chose Jiannan at first. Luojiang County was poor and had just experienced a flood. There were many wastelands and a lot of population had been lost.
Talented people can easily display their talents and achieve success in such places.
The second place he chose was Xiazhou.
Xiazhou is connected to the grassland, and one-third of the land is inhabited by nomadic people. The people are tough and can attack when advancing and defend when retreating. It is also a good place to accumulate experience and make achievements.
Of course, the prerequisite is that those who go there can hold on. Otherwise, those with mediocre talents and less confidence may end up becoming tools of the local powerful families.
The prince looked at Bai Shan with admiration and said, "Your Majesty has designated three places for you: Jiazhou in Jiannan. The magistrate of Jiajiang County in Jiazhou passed away last October. This year, you must choose someone to take over as magistrate."
"The second place is Taizhou in Jiangnan Dao. The magistrate of Shifeng County there was promoted. The third is Qingzhou. During last year's campaign to conquer the east, the magistrate of Yidu County was escorted to the capital. The magistrate of Beihai County took over, leaving the position of Yidu County vacant."
Bai Shan's heart moved, and he asked, "Where does Your Highness want me to go?"
Since these are the places designated by the emperor, it is obvious that he can go to any of these three places. But what about the prince?
Bai Shan was just a small secretary of the Secretariat, and the position he wanted to be transferred to was just that of a county magistrate. However, the emperor was so concerned that he personally selected a place for him to choose from, and told the prince about it, asking him to arrange it. He knew the intention behind this even with his toes.
The Crown Prince had pondered this on the way here and said, "Taizhou is too far away, and the climate difference between north and south is too great. You've never been to Jiangnan, and His Majesty intends to send Zhou Man out as well. Currently, medical offices are only established in the north and the Central Plains, not in Jiangnan. Therefore, Shifeng County can be disregarded."
"Jiazhou is good, but I think Qingzhou is better," the prince said bluntly, without hiding anything. "Qingzhou is vast and rich in resources, but the population is small. Beihai County is close to the sea, and most of the people there are fishermen, so it's very poor. But Beihai County also has one advantage. It borders Laizhou. Last year, during the Eastern Expedition, Shangshu Feng sailed from Laizhou Bay to Beisha City. At least one-third of Laizhou Bay lies within Beihai County."
The administrative structure of Qingzhou has undergone several changes. Before, Qingzhou was not called Qingzhou, but Beihai County. The current Laizhou and Dengzhou were originally under the jurisdiction of Beihai County. During the reign of the previous emperor, Beihai County was changed to Qingzhou. There was a period of unclear division in the middle. Beihai County once included the current Laizhou area. Until today, eight or nine years ago, it was further subdivided and the current division was achieved.
But the Crown Prince had heard from Minister Feng that there were still some problems with the division of land there, just as the former Wannian County Magistrate, Guo, had been secretly trying to grab land from the neighboring Yongzhou Liyang County, and Beihai County had always wanted to grab Laizhou and squeeze across to become the provincial capital, which was indeed ambitious.
But Laizhou has always rejected Beihai County, and even refused to merge with the county. Although the name Beihai sounds nice, and there are many wealthy families and businessmen in Beihai County, the proportion of poor people is larger, and the arable land they occupy is not much, so Laizhou does not like Beihai County.
But the crown prince thought this was a good place. He said, "The Liaodong area is now under the control of the Great Jin. It's a long way to get to the Andong Protectorate by land, but it's very fast by sea. Silla and Baekje are both vassal states, and there are many merchants traveling between them. If you are ready, it is not impossible to seize Laizhou Bay from Laizhou."
Bai Shan was still very kind and said, "That's not good. If we take it away, can we still call it Laizhou Bay?"
The prince said calmly, "You can change its name to North Bay."
He said, "If you can do this one thing well, you will be able to rise to prominence when you return."
Bai Shan thought about it and agreed, "I will go back and think about it."
He had to go back and ask his husband and Manbao.
The prince nodded and said, "New officials take office in March and April. You have one month to consider and another month to prepare."
Bai Shan said: "I will give your Highness a reply as soon as possible."
The prince nodded and turned to leave.
Bai Shan himself also has his eyes on Qingzhou and asks Mr. Zhuang.
Mr. Zhuang stroked his chin and said, "The Crown Prince has indeed thought of a good idea for you, but officials are supposed to serve the people. If you're only focused on achieving success from the start, you've lost your original intention."
He continued, "You robbed Laizhou Bay, but it was just icing on the cake. Laizhou can do it on its own. This is a good thing for Beihai County, but for the entire Dajin, it's just a transfer of left hand to right hand. What's the point?"
Bai Shan nodded. "I think so too, but Qingzhou is vast and rich in resources. Considering the distance, it's not very far from the capital. Most importantly, it can directly communicate with Silla and Baekje, so I still prefer it."
Mr. Zhuang nodded, "Then go ahead and ask Manbao if she likes Qingzhou. You two can just decide."
Bai Shan agreed, then said, "Sir, His Majesty wants to give me to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Mr. Zhuang nodded and said, "I have noticed this too. What do you think?"
Bai Shan said, "I am a minister of the Great Jin, a subject of Your Majesty. Protecting the orthodoxy is my duty as a minister. It does no harm to the country. I don't mind being close to the Crown Prince."
He paused and then said, "But Your Highness has been impatient lately."
Bai Shan said, "Your Majesty is strong and prosperous this year, and you value the Crown Prince. There is really no need for the Crown Prince to cultivate his own ministers and confidants so quickly."
Mr. Zhuang nodded approvingly, but then said, "Isn't this also what Your Majesty meant?"
"Your Majesty can have this plan, but the Crown Prince cannot."
Mr. Zhuang nodded and said, "I have a class tomorrow and I will answer the prince's questions."
Bai Shan was relieved. The court was very stable now, and he didn't want to stir up unnecessary disputes.
See you at 6pm
(End of this chapter)
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