Chapter 408: Subsequent Appointment
At the court meeting three days later, Qiao Yan read out the appointment.
Although some people present still had doubts about Cao Cao's arrangements, they thought that all of Cao Cao's subordinates had already been dispatched to various places and the trouble they could cause was quite limited, so no one questioned it.
The only special thing is——
Your Majesty favored Man Chong, who performed particularly well during the transfer of power in Yanzhou, and appointed him as the Governor of Yuzhou two years later. Because Yanzhou was already located on the front line of the war with the court in Yecheng, Your Majesty summoned Yuan Huan to the north to assist Guo Jia in pacifying the people's livelihood in Yanzhou as soon as possible.
So, who will be in charge of Yuzhou?
Although Yuzhou can be considered to be located in the hinterland and is close to Sili, the necessary chief official in charge of government affairs must still be appointed.
"In your opinion, is Cui Zhouping qualified for this position?"
Cui Zhouping, Cui Jun?
Qiao Yan looked at the ministers below and said, "Since the establishment of Hongwen Academy four years ago, Cui Zhouping has been among the selected candidates. In order to make talents that meet the needs of the court, he should be familiar with all the government orders and measures. Let him rush to Yuzhou to start rebuilding order and implement the government orders of our Great Yong. What do you think?"
This reason is indeed convincing.
What's more, before Cui Jun came to Chang'an, he had assisted Cui Lie in handling Bingzhou's political affairs for a period of time, and could be regarded as Qiao Yan's direct team.
And in Qiao Yan's unfinished words, everyone could not help but see another signal.
Just like the selection of the four directors of the Hongwenguan back then had to take the regional factions of the scholars from all sides into consideration, the same is true today!
Cui Jun, who came from the Qinghe Cui family, was appointed to such a high position as the governor of Yuzhou. When Qiao Yan was about to lead his troops into Hebei, it was another friendly signal to the scholars in Hebei!
The generals of Jizhou, represented by Zhang He, will be entrusted with important tasks by her.
The famous scholars in Jizhou were represented by Cui Jun and Tian Feng, who were either governors of a province or counselors and commanders.
This is a favor.
The combination of rewards and severe punishments in Yanzhou leaves no doubt as to whether Qiao Yan would make an overly merciful decision when her target turns to Yecheng. Her relentless attack on Yuan Shao at this time is precisely for this purpose.
In addition, Cui Jun's aristocratic origin was undoubtedly a response to the recent turmoil in Chang'an.
Those who can stand out from the changed rules can still rise to prominence under the command of the Emperor of Dayong. This is the current rule!
Whether to go with the flow or stick to the old ways is up to all parties to decide.
"This trend of resistance will not stop just because the children of the Yanzhou noble families set an example. It will only be temporarily curbed by the combination of kindness and force, so..."
"Your Majesty cannot take any wrong step." Cai Zhaoji, who was beside Qiao Yan, replied.
"Yes, it is easy to conquer a country but difficult to keep it. This was the case in the early Han Dynasty and it is still the case today."
Qiao Yan walked forward slowly with his hands behind his back.
Before and after she ascended the throne, the Gui Palace only repaired the palace gate that had collapsed due to explosives bombing, and did not make any additional construction or renovations to the palaces inside. It was even less magnificent than the imperial city in Luoyang.
It was not that the Chang'an court could not afford the cost of repairs, but that, although she succeeded to the throne in Chang'an, between Chang'an and Luoyang, she still preferred to choose Luoyang as the capital, where the water network was more developed, and to use Chang'an as a key place to control the western throat.
However, Yanzhou had just been settled, Jizhou had not yet been conquered, and the world had not yet completely accepted that Dayong had replaced the Han Dynasty. A rash move to move the capital might not be the courage of the emperor who was at the front line, but would instead bring all kinds of trouble.
Even the appointment of officials had to be calculated in this way, for fear of any problems, let alone such a major event as changing the capital.
Don't be in a hurry for now.
"By the way, which general does Your Majesty plan to station in Hanoi?" Cai Zhaoji asked curiously, causing Qiao Yan to think about the future relocation of the capital.
For these officials in the court, they should have carefully considered who Qiao Yan would use to fight in the process of conquering the world. Based on the principle of specialization, they really don't need to comment too much. Instead, they might have made some inappropriate suggestions.
But Zhao Ji saw that Qiao Yan had a more cheerful look than usual because of the adjournment of court, so she asked.
Among Cao Cao's former military generals, only Cao Chun and Cao Ang who were related to him were finally stationed in Henei County. Those who were not related to him almost all remained in Yanzhou, so a few more generals should be assigned to them.
Unfortunately, there don't seem to be many people who can be dispatched here at the moment.
While the generals of Xuzhou, Bingzhou and Youzhou were eyeing Jizhou and Qingzhou covetously, Yizhou was at the end of suppressing an internal rebellion and would not make any random deployments.
Lu Lingju has returned to Liaodong as Qiao Yan had instructed, and continues to deal with the Wuhuan tribes to wait for Qiao Yan's August arrangement for her; Zhao Yun also temporarily stays in Guanzhong because of his position as Guanglu Xun; Xu Huang has entered Yanzhou with Guo Jia to balance the power of the generals originally under Yanzhou and the newly appointed garrison generals...
Looking at it this way, there are only a few people left who can be used.
What surprised Cai Zhaoji was that she heard Qiao Yan reply immediately: "You said this at a good chance. I was thinking yesterday that this matter had something to do with you."
"With me?" Cai Zhaoji asked while looking at her arm. She felt that she did not have the talent to join the army. She could not let herself use her pen as a sword and go to the front line.
Fortunately, Qiao Yan's next sentence solved her confusion. "In the April issue of Leping Monthly, in addition to Xu Ziyuan's biography of Yuan Benchu, leave a page to publish a piece of news saying that there is a vacancy for a general in Henei County. Those who are interested in this position can go to Guanglu Xun to recommend themselves."
"Just think of this as... a selection of military commanders."
"Now that we are not short of military commanders, I don't want a reckless man with only brute strength. After all, it is impossible for him to surpass Lü Fengxian in bravery. What I want is someone who has his own understanding of the current situation, who is at least proficient in literature and knows how to seize opportunities at this time."
Cai Zhaoji was keenly aware that this would probably not be the only time Qiao Yan would select military commanders in this way, and the fact that Henei County was located on the front line adjacent to Jizhou and Wei County would surely make her first selection extremely attractive to the military commanders who had not yet made their mark!
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I know how to write this recruitment document."
Cai Zhaoji couldn't help but smile again and said, "I originally thought that since Your Majesty has ascended the throne, I would have to be more careful with the words I choose in the Leping Monthly Report. The pressure is really great. Now it seems that I don't have to think about 30% of the content myself."
Qiao Yan muttered, "Maybe more than 30%..."
She spoke in a low voice, so Cai Zhaoji could not hear clearly what she was saying.
However, Qiao Yan had changed the subject, so she didn't have to worry about whether she had missed any important news for the time being.
"I have two more things I want you to do."
"First, it has been half a year since Chang Yan appeared in the world. Although the top priority right now is to compete with Yuan Benchu, the publication of classics is related to the operation of the printing industry, so there is no need to stop for this. I will not give a standard answer this time. You can choose three or two suitable books to be published later."
"This selection of books must be submitted to the court in the form of a memorial. It is also the first test for you after taking office as the Minister of the Imperial Household. Don't let me down."
Cai Zhaoji nodded heavily when she heard this.
In order to let her sit in the position of Shaofu and serve her against all odds, Qiao Yan even simplified the official duties of Shaofu. Cai Zhaoji would never let this good intention down.
While papermaking and book printing technologies were still advancing at a rapid pace, book publishing and distribution was a long-term undertaking, and Qiao Yan could not always decide on when and what book to publish in order to best adapt to the times.
"The second is that I want to find two helpers for you."
Different from the situation when he promoted Shanhelu, this time Qiao Yan did not want Fu Shou to co-compile a book with Cai Zhaoji again based on the flood control matter she was responsible for.
"Two days ago, Cao Mengde sent me a letter, asking to send his family to Chang'an. Whether this can be considered as a hostage or not is not the point. It just so happens that Zihuan is in Chang'an with Mr. Bo Ji, and he can be reunited with his family. What I care about is another matter."
"Zhao Ji might as well pay a visit to Madam Ding in her spare time."
"During the turmoil in Yanzhou, Man Boning suggested that Madams Ding and Bian stay in Puyang while Cao Mengde was still not back. The two ladies shocked the wealthy families in Puyang and Mengde's subordinates on the spot, so that Puyang did not cause unrest due to the mobilization of troops from all directions. They are truly women who are as talented as men."
"Why not let them take up a position as an official in the Ministry of Personnel and try it out for a while. If they are really capable people, then we can promote them."
Cai Zhaoji: “…”
To be honest, having two assistants with good eyesight and action ability joining the team is definitely a good thing for her who is about to face a series of heavy tasks.
But she didn't know if it was her illusion. When Qiao Yan said this, she thought about the fact that Cao Cao was now half a commander without troops, and she couldn't help but find it a little funny.
Your Majesty was not even satisfied with just taking away the generals and counselors from him, nor did he stop at cultivating Cao Pi in accordance with the training system of Leping Academy, he even set his sights on his wife.
This kind of sharp method of plucking feathers from a passing goose is really...
As expected, Your Majesty!
"Your Majesty, rest assured. Taking advantage of the opportunity that my father has brought Zihuan to the Cao family, I will make an invitation."
The appointment of four women among the Nine Ministers, together with the female officials who had previously served as generals, provincial governors, and grand historians, had already sent a signal to Chang'an and even the world - those who are talented and courageous can rely on their own abilities to step out of their families and strive to rise to a high position.
This trend of competing for the upper class is even freer than in the early Qin and Han dynasties.
It’s just because there has never been an emperor who is a woman at any time before.
If Madam Ding and Madam Bian were really as capable as Qiao Yan said, they would not miss such an opportunity.
"Then I'll have to trouble Zhaoji." Qiao Yan finally finished explaining the matter, and there was no need to adopt any official attitude. "I'll go help Zhu Tan digest his food."
Cai Zhaoji paused and said, "Your Majesty, you don't have to be so roundabout in explaining that you want to go out for a horseback ride."
Zhu Tan is the emperor's mount, and the person taking care of the horse would never let it stand.
But before she could finish her words, there was no trace of Qiao Yan in front of her.
The emperor who conquered the world on horseback has long since disappeared.
When Qiao Yan was running on the Guanzhong official road in a tight outfit, the speed of the Wei River in this fertile plain sandwiched between the Wuguan, Tongguan, Sanguan and other passes had become several times faster than before due to the melting of the ice on the Niaoshu Tongxue Mountain upstream.
The people in the Guanzhong area also tacitly chose to draw water from the Wei River or its tributaries to irrigate their fields, so as to give the underground water source that had been exploited for two years a chance to recuperate.
The novelty when Dayong was established has also been transformed into an excited spirit among the people of this land along with the start of spring ploughing. The change of ownership of Yanzhou and Yuzhou has made these people closest to the emperor more and more convinced that their decision to send Qiao Yan to the throne of emperor with the support of the masses was not wrong!
In the first year of Yuan Zhao, there were already signs of the four seas coming together as one.
All they had to do was to plant crops in the fields at this time and use the taxes to supply the Chang'an granary so that they could add more income during the autumn harvest this year.
In March last year in Chang'an, this "golden city of a thousand miles" with four barriers gave people the illusion of seeing the sun setting in the west, but now it is full of joy and the horses' hooves are brisk.
At the galloping speed of the horse, Qiao Yan had crossed the wilderness on the outskirts of Chang'an and arrived at Tongguan, the end of the Qiaohan Road.
As the gateway to Chang'an, when Qiao Yan stopped at the roadside and looked in that direction, he saw that the number of people entering Chang'an through this place seemed to be a little more than last year, and it was no longer the case that most people came from Wugu Pass in the south.
This is also a good phenomenon.
Among these people, there must be those who entered Luoyang via Yanzhou and Yuzhou, and then came to Chang'an. Among them, how many potential talents are there?
Just as Qiao Yan was thinking about this, she saw a group of people heading towards Chang'an City. However, they suddenly noticed her presence and said in a tone that only a few people nearby could hear: "Your Majesty?"
Qiao Yan looked back and saw that there was a man in the team who had the temperament of a general looking at her, with a look of scrutiny in his eyes.
However, this look does not make people feel uncomfortable. On the contrary, because it contains admiration, people's first impression of him is not bad.
Seeing Qiao Yan's gaze, the man who recognized her said quickly, "This is General Zhang He, Zhang Junyi. He came to Chang'an to listen to the arrangements of the Marquis under the order of His Majesty. The one behind him is Mr. Xin Pi, Xin Zuozhi."
Qiao Yan suddenly realized.
It turned out that they had arrived.
"There is one more thing." The man carefully looked at Qiao Yan's face and saw that she seemed to be in a good mood because of the tour. He hesitated whether to take out the things.
But thinking that this matter was an urgent military situation, there was no benefit in hiding it. "When we were leaving for Chang'an, we passed through Luoyang. There happened to be a letter delivered here. Xun Sili ordered us to bring it to His Majesty as soon as possible."
"It was sent from Yecheng."
Of course it was impossible to send this kind of thing, which was only available now, to Qiao Yan by means of carrier pigeons. Anyway, they had come all the way here at full speed, so it was just right to bring it along.
"Give it to me."
Qiao Yan took the tightly wrapped letter and unfolded it, and saw a few words written on the first line:
"An Edict to Punish the False Emperor on Behalf of the Han Emperor"
The person who wrote this letter was Chen Lin!
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