Chapter 518 Carrot and Stick

On October 30, Chiyou City.

After several days of trekking, Fan Zhongyan and his party finally arrived at Chiyou City under the guard of the army.

Ouyang Shuo got the news and greeted him personally at the gate of the city.

Fan Gong is the only one who enjoys such an honor.

There are more than 300 officials who accompanied Fan Zhongyan to the post this time, which can be described as a huge lineup. Among them, there are not only officials drawn from the various departments of the Southern Border Protectorate, but also officials recommended by various prefectures and counties.

In addition, there are more than fifty Southwest University students who graduated early.

There are more than three hundred people, and the biggest characteristic is that they are young.

According to the statistics of the Administrative Office, the average age of officials in Shanhai City is less than 30 years old. The average age of the officials who came with Fan Zhongyan was even younger, only 27 years old.

Leading such a young team to manage a county, Fan Gong has a long way to go.

At noon, Ouyang Shuo hosted a banquet in the City Lord's Mansion to entertain Fan Zhongyan and his party.

The accompanying officials, seeing that the monarch and marquis valued them so much, were all grateful, and they would not do their best to assist Fan Zhongyan in governing Wuzhou County.

In the afternoon, Ouyang Shuo met Fan Zhongyan alone in the study.

After staying in Chiyou City for a week, Ouyang Shuo naturally had nothing to do. He already had a general understanding of the situation in Wuzhou County.

Therefore, before Fan Zhongyan formally took office, it was necessary for Ouyang Shuo to explain himself.

Ouyang Shuo only set up four prefectures in Wuzhou County due to its vast land and sparse population. The specific personnel arrangements were jointly agreed upon by Fan Zhongyan and Xiao He, the newly appointed administrative director.

With the expansion of the territory, Ouyang Shuo has gradually handed over the appointment of the magistrate to the administrative office.

Unless there are some special talents that need to be placed by Ouyang Shuo himself, otherwise, he will not interfere in the appointment and removal of personnel in the Administration Department.

There is no doubt that the seat of Wuzhou County is located in Chiyou City.

Fan Zhongyan suggested that in order to eliminate Chiyou's influence in the county, the city of Chiyou could be renamed.

Ouyang Shuo thought about it, but still declined the proposal.

Now that Chi You has been buried in Mowangpo, all grievances and hatreds have disappeared. Chiyou City has a special status and affection for Shanman.

As the [Barbarian King], Ouyang Shuo had to take their feelings into consideration.

This kind of open-mindedness is still necessary.

Since Ouyang Shuo didn't mind, Fan Zhongyan naturally couldn't say anything more.

Along the way, Fan Zhongyan also had a sensory perception of the situation in Wuzhou County. Although the situation is worse than he expected, Fan Zhongyan is confident that Wuzhou County will develop.

The two monarchs and ministers talked in the study for a whole afternoon.

In this conversation, the future development framework of Wuzhou County was fixed.

During the conversation, Ouyang Shuo found that choosing Fan Zhongyan as the governor of Wuzhou was indeed a very wise choice. Fan Zhongyan's many development plans for Wuzhou County caught Ouyang Shuo's eyes.

For example, in order to break the frozen interpersonal relationship between the Han people and the Shanman in Wuzhou County, Fan Zhongyan proposed to move some of the Shanman to Zhaoqing County next door.

Correspondingly, some people moved from Zhaoqing County to settle in Wuzhou County.

In this way, not only can the population structure of Wuzhou County be greatly improved, but the newly arrived Han people will also help to break down the gap between the two ethnic groups, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

Ouyang Shuo greatly appreciated this move.

After sending Fan Zhongyan away, Ouyang Shuo heaved a sigh of relief.

Early tomorrow morning, Fan Zhongyan will officially take office. The more than 300 officials he brought will also be placed in various prefectures and counties, becoming the backbone of Wuzhou county government.

The arrival of Fan Zhongyan finally freed Ouyang Shuo from the heavy government affairs.

Next, it was time for Ouyang Shuo to consider the formation of the Wuzhou County Security Division.

Whether it is the Imperial Guard Division or the four Shanman independent divisions, it is impossible to be permanently stationed in Wuzhou County. In order to maintain the stability of Wuzhou County, it is imperative to form a local garrison division.

Within a week, Lin Yi led the imperial guards and had completely plowed Wuzhou County. The tyrants in all places have been wiped out.

The ethos of the whole Wuzhou County is positive.

Taking this opportunity, they captured another group of mountain barbarians.

Inspired by Fan Zhongyan's population policy, Ouyang Shuo decided that the Wuzhou County Garrison Division would also adopt a mixed organization of various ethnic groups to achieve the goal of mutual checks and balances.

Immediately, Ouyang Shuo sent letters to the Military Affairs Administration and the Lingnan Theater respectively.

According to Ouyang Shuo's idea, two brigades were drawn from the Zhaoqing County Garrison Division in the Lingnan War Zone and assigned to the Wuzhou County Garrison Division. The vacancies in the Zhaoqing County Garrison Division were filled by Taiping Army prisoners from Mulan Fortress.

In addition, a brigade was reorganized from the soldiers of the Taiping Army and assigned to the Wuzhou County Garrison Division. The remaining two brigades were organized by the newly recruited mountain barbarian prisoners of war.

In this way, the Wuzhou County Garrison Division will form a tripartite check and balance. Neither the Han people nor the mountain barbarians can take advantage of this to dominate Wuzhou County.

The division commander of the garrison division, Ouyang Shuo ordered to promote one person from the Shanman heavy infantry brigade of the Elai division. The deputy head of the division was promoted by a brigade commander from the former Zhaoqing County Garrison Division.

In this way, it is tantamount to firmly controlling the Wuzhou County Guard Division.

After the formation of the Wuzhou County Guard Division is complete, Ouyang Shuo will be able to lead his troops to advance into Xunzhou County from the east and completely settle the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Calculated according to the time, there will be no conflict with the plans of the Longxiang Army and the Baotao Army.

***********

On November 1, Fan Zhongyan officially took office.

The huge government machinery began to run at high speed.

Only then did the people in Wuzhou County truly realize that Wuzhou County has really changed.

The mountain barbarians who previously occupied the key parts were ruthlessly swept out one by one. Only Shanman approved by the Military Intelligence Department and the Black Snake Guard can continue to serve in the new government system.

Seeing the officials of Shanhai City stationed in Chiyou City, all the key departments in the city were replaced by people from Shanhai City, all the mountain and barbarian tribes were completely panicked.

In just one morning, they went to the City Lord's Mansion repeatedly to deliver invitations, asking for an audience from Ouyang Shuo.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Ouyang Shuo finally agreed to meet the patriarchs in the side hall in the afternoon.

In fact, Ouyang Shuo did not intend to suppress the mountain barbarians to the end.

Shanhai City's alien policy also applies in Wuzhou County. What Ouyang Shuo wanted to do was to cut off the privileges enjoyed by the Shanman clan in Wuzhou County.

From now on, the Han people and mountain barbarians in the county will be treated equally.

The Shanman who was dismissed this time can apply for a new job. As long as he passes the inspection of the Wuzhou County Administrative Office, he can take up his post again and perform his duties.

Of course, Han people in the county can also participate in similar applications.

Wuzhou County is so big, if only the 300 officials brought by Fan Zhongyan are enough to maintain the operation of Chiyou City.

Therefore, in accordance with the framework of territorial unification, the re-established government requires a large number of grassroots officials.

It is a pity that the Han people living in Wuzhou County seem to be ordinary people, and the real scholars and students are basically invisible.

This situation also surprised Ouyang Shuo, but he couldn't figure it out.

Seeing that Marquis of Lianzhou didn't want to kill them all, the patriarchs felt a little lucky while feeling disappointed.

"Meet the king!"

In the side hall, all the patriarchs knelt down and formally recognized Ouyang Shuo's status as the [Barbarian King].

Looking at the patriarch of the mountain barbarians kneeling down in the hall, Ouyang Shuo's expression was inexplicable. He used a series of methods before and after, and finally he completely subdued this group of unruly mountain barbarians.

One piece, one piece, one big stick and one sweet date, Ouyang Shuo became more and more adept at playing tricks.

Within the territory, only Ouyang Shuo can enjoy the privilege.

Others must obey Ouyang Shuo's rule in order to survive in the territory.

This is the bottom line set by Ouyang Shuo and cannot be challenged.

Starting today, the privileges of Shanman in Wuzhou County have really disappeared. Of course, due to the existence of Chiyou City, Wuzhou County will still be the stronghold and largest gathering place of the Shanman clan in the future.

In fact, the barbarians in China are not limited to the mountain barbarians in the southern Sichuan province and Lingnan province, there are other barbarians in other regions.

At least in Shu, there are a large number of barbarians living there.

I just don't know if Ouyang Shuo's title of [Barbarian King] can deter those unknown barbarians in the future.

Barbarians are indeed born fighters.

No matter which clan it is, it is enough to make Ouyang Shuo's heart flutter.

"Everyone please stand up!"

Ouyang Shuo sat at the head, his voice was not angry but mighty.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The patriarchs stood up one by one, looking at Ouyang Shuo with different expressions.

In the respect, there is also a hint of intimacy.

Their expressions were exactly the same as those of the mountain barbarians before.

In any case, the mountain barbarian clan has a new leader, so it won't really fall apart.

"Why is there no Han official in Wuzhou County, do you know the reason?"

Looking at the Shanman standing in the hall, Ouyang Shuo suddenly thought of a question.

Before Chi You's defeat, these patriarchs were all high-level figures in Chi You City. They should have some understanding of this weird phenomenon.

Sure enough, Ouyang Shuo was asking the right person this time.

The patriarchs looked at each other and exchanged glances with each other. In the end, one of the most respected patriarchs came out and replied respectfully: "My lord, we really know."

"Say!"

"Because Chi You doesn't like Han people, the civil servants in the county are all locked up in a secret prison alone."

"What?" Ouyang Shuo didn't know what expression to make when he heard the words, he couldn't help but startled, and asked anxiously, "These civil servants are still alive?"

"Alive." The old patriarch thought for a while, but decided to tell the truth, "It's just that their situation is not good. As far as I know, some civil servants no longer exist in the world because they couldn't bear it."

"..."

To Chi You's actions, Ouyang Shuo was really speechless.