Chapter 758 Guilin Sheriff

On November 6th, Ouyang Shuo finished his inspection of the three Lingnan counties and set off for Guilin County. Because all the official stations are used along the way, the speed is very fast.

Three days later, Ouyang Shuo and his party arrived at Chiyou City, the prefecture of Wuzhou.

In October last year, the army of Shanhai City defeated Chi You's army at the border of Wuzhou County and beheaded the Great Demon God Chi You. Ouyang Shuo even awakened his bloodline in that battle, and was crowned as [Barbarian King].

At that time, Wuzhou County was not calm, the hostility among the people was very strong, the barbarian nobles were domineering, the people's livelihood in the county was in decline, and the economy was directly paralyzed. It was a complete mess.

It was in such a situation that Fan Zhongyan was ordered in the face of danger, and the director of administration transferred Wuzhou County Sheriff to guard Ouyang Shuo's side and manage Wuzhou County.

Over the past year, Wuzhou County has completely changed.

As Ouyang Shuo walked along the way, what he saw was a scene of the mountain barbarians and the Han people living in harmony. When passing by a county town, Ouyang Shuo even saw with his own eyes a mountain man boy marrying a Han girl.

Wuzhou County is the pioneer of the silkworm breeding strategy implemented by the Southern Border Protectorate. There are patches of mulberry forests everywhere on both sides of the road, full of greenery.

Even the mountain barbarians accepted the farming civilization of the Han people and learned how to grow mulberry and raise silkworms.

Relying on the 100,000 mountains, Wuzhou County has vigorously developed the medicinal material planting industry and has achieved fruitful results. According to statistics from the Industry and Development Planning Department, Wuzhou County has become the largest supplier of medicinal materials to the Medical Administration.

The smooth promotion of basic medical care in the territory is due to the medicinal material industry in Wuzhou County.

The people are rich and the territory is peaceful.

For all these, Fan Zhongyan, the county guard, has made great contributions. He is like a magician, and he has caused earth-shaking changes in this place in just one year.

The role of civil servants in the territory is vividly reflected in Fan Zhongyan.

Shanhai City was able to complete the recuperation within half a year and lay a solid foundation, thanks to the contributions of the county guards.

Just like that, when passing through Wuzhou County, Ouyang Shuo naturally had to stop in Chiyou City for a day. Besides meeting Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Shuo also had to deal with the barbarian affairs along the way.

Ouyang Shuo, the [Barbarian King], was a little dereliction of duty, and he came to Chiyou City for the second time after more than a year.

…………

Chiyou City, the city lord's mansion.

Accompanied by Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Shuo inspected the people's livelihood in Chiyou City, and the people lined up to welcome him. Wherever Ouyang Shuo and his party went, it would cause a sensation.

In Chiyou City, Ouyang Shuo, the "barbarian king", has an extraordinary status and prestige. For the mountain barbarians in the city, the arrival of the [Barbarian King] is no different from a major festival.

Taking advantage of the spare time, Ouyang Shuo also met with the officials of the county government and gave some words of encouragement. According to Xiao He, the Director of Administration, the officials sent out from Wuzhou County can be ranked among the top three among the counties in the territory.

Among the hundreds of officials selected and transferred to the three counties in Lingnan this time, fifty of them were from Wuzhou County.

I also know that Fan Zhongyan, the former director of administration, must have contributed to it. In terms of cultivating young officials and discovering outstanding talents, Fan Zhongyan also has extraordinary talents.

At noon, at the largest restaurant in the city, Ouyang Shuo accepted a banquet from several big medicine merchants in the county. These medicinal materials dealers are very wealthy in the county, and they are even the giants of the territorial medicinal materials association.

A disagreement can determine the price of medicinal materials in the market.

To these Gods of Wealth, Ouyang Shuo naturally wanted to show some face.

In the afternoon, I listened to the report from the county government. The two-hour report was really tormenting. At the end of the day, Ouyang Shuo took the time to talk to Fan Zhongyan alone.

In the study, Fan Zhongyan was obviously agitated.

It's no wonder that Ouyang Shuo did not hesitate to speak highly of Fan Zhongyan and the county government in the just-concluded report to the county government. To be affirmed by the emperor is the greatest honor for a civil official like Fan Zhongyan.

"Xiwen, do you have any ideas for a change of environment?" Ouyang Shuo said surprisingly.

On the way to Guilin County, Ouyang Shuo had been thinking about the candidate for Guilin County Sheriff. Xiao He even sent a letter, asking him to make a decision as soon as possible, so that Guilin County can operate normally as soon as possible.

Pei Ju, the prefect of Guilin County that Ouyang Shuo first delineated, has been transferred to Xingzhou County. In such a key position, it was impossible for Ouyang Shuo to bring Pei Ju back.

After much deliberation, I can only find a way from other places.

The strategic position of Guilin County is even more important than Shaozhou County in Lingnan Province, and it has been governed by two major city-states for another year, so the situation is even more complicated.

Therefore, Xiao He suggested that it is best to select one of the current county guards to sit in Guilin County.

Ouyang Shuo agreed with Xiao He's proposal very much. Despite the fact that Shanhai City and the two city-states have reached a settlement, Ouyang Shuo went to Guilin County this time to sign a trade agreement with the two city-states.

The friendliness on the bright side cannot cover up the undercurrents here.

It was [Northern Sichuan City-State], which was the first to receive the olive branch from Shanhai City. The coalition forces they withdrew from Weiwu Pass did not return to their respective territories, but stationed on the southern border.

The intention is self-evident.

For Shanhai City, the two major city-states are still full of vigilance. Everyone knows that the current so-called "reconciliation" is just an expedient measure for both parties, and is forced by the situation.

Once there is a disturbance in the future, Guilin County will once again become the place of the Fourth World War. It is not an exaggeration to say that Guilin County is the center of the northern border of the territory.

For such a strategic location, it is natural to select a strong county guard to cooperate with the Leopard Army stationed here to do a good job in the overall military defense of the northern border and related combat preparations.

Fan Zhongyan, Tian Wenjing and Bao Shuya, several veteran sheriffs, naturally came into Ouyang Shuo's sight. To choose one of the three, Ouyang Shuo needs to make a decision.

Needless to say, Fan Zhongyan is competent enough.

Tian Wenjing, the model governor of the Qing Dynasty, is also a suitable candidate. Speaking of which, Tian Wenjing was the first county sheriff to be serious in the territory, with the oldest seniority and strong ability.

Qiongzhou County in Nuoda is well-organized by Tian Wenjing.

Relying on industries such as shipbuilding, salt, timber, and spices, Qiongzhou County is the richest county in the territory. The county's fiscal revenue even exceeds that of Lianzhou County, which was just abolished, and is second only to Shanhai City.

The rise of ocean trade pushed Qiongzhou County to a new height.

Under the mediation of Tian Wenjing, the Li people in Qiongzhou County stepped out of the mountains one after another and lived on the plains. As the first barbarian affairs negotiator, Tian Wenjing's ability to handle ethnic affairs was even stronger than that of Fan Zhongyan.

Besides these two, Bao Shuya, governor of Xunzhou County, is also a suitable candidate. The person recommended by Xiao He, the director of administration, was Bao Shuya.

Bao Shuya served as the governor of Leizhou before he became the governor of Xunzhou. Transferred to Xunzhou, he was also ordered to take charge of a large county that was ravaged by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

In less than half a year, Bao Shuya basically wiped out the remaining poison of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which shows his ability. In addition, Xunzhou County is adjacent to Guilin County, so Bao Shuya is familiar with the local conditions and cooperates tacitly with Bao Tao's army.

These two points are the reason why Xiao He recommended Bao Shuya.

The three sheriffs are all suitable candidates, and it is really difficult to choose among them.

After inspecting Wuzhou County, Ouyang Shuo finally made up his mind to formally detain Fan Zhongyan. Not for anything else, just because among the three counties, only Wuzhou County no longer needs Fan Zhongyan to sit in the town in person.

All the government affairs in Wuzhou County have been on the right track, and there are no difficult problems, any other county guard can handle them properly.

On the contrary, whether it is Qiongzhou County or Xunzhou County, Tian Wenjing or Bao Shuya cannot be separated for a while. The ocean trade in Qiongzhou County has just started to pick up. It is a critical period, and Tian Wenjing needs to check it.

Xunzhou County bears the heavy burden of connecting Shanhai City with the southern Sichuan Province, and is also the rear of the Leopard Army. It also needs Bao Shuya, the old county guard, to continue to sit in charge.

Based on this point alone, Fan Zhongyan won this round of competition.

…………

Fan Zhongyan couldn't help but tremble in his heart when he heard Jun Shang's question, if it wasn't for his high concentration and deep energy cultivation skills, he might show an excited expression immediately.

It's not that there is anything wrong with Fan Zhongyan, it's that the post of Guilin County Sheriff is deeply involved.

Fan Zhongyan had heard about the dystocia of Guilin County Sheriff.

After all, Fan Zhongyan was the first administrative director of the territory, the former chief civil officer of the territory, and well-informed. He vaguely heard rumors that when the emperor annexed Kunming County, he first proposed the idea of ​​a provincial governor.

Among the three major provinces in the territory, the Governor of Yunnan Province need not think about it, but Bai Hua is none other than Bai Hua. The remaining two Governor positions are attractive enough.

Especially the future governor of Southern Sichuan Province, that is the governor of Zhili, the head of the governors.

Recently there have been rumors in official circles that the future Governor of Southern Sichuan Province is likely to be selected from among the prefects of the various counties in Southern Sichuan Province.

Because of this, the appointment of Guilin County Sheriff touched the nerves of some people for no reason.

The situation is very obvious. Guilin County has the most critical strategic position among the counties in southern Sichuan Province; if Guilin County can be managed well, it will undoubtedly be a strong official capital.

In this way, when competing for the position of governor in the future, he will have the upper hand.

There were even rumors that the candidate for the governor of Guilin prefecture chosen by the emperor was, nine out of ten, the best candidate for the future Governor of Southern Sichuan Province.

No matter how calm Fan Zhongyan was, when he heard these rumors, waves would inevitably rise in his heart. It's not that he is greedy for power and position, but an instinct of civil servants from the Song Dynasty.

Serving as an official will benefit one party.

Fan Zhongyan said in "Yueyang Tower": If you live in a high temple, you will worry about your people; if you live far away from the rivers and lakes, you will worry about your ruler. The higher the official position, the better the benefit of the people.

"But it depends on your majesty's arrangement!" Fan Zhongyan said.

Ouyang Shuo glanced at Fan Zhongyan with inexplicable meaning. Ouyang Shuo would not know about these rumors about the territory. Shen Buhui suggested to investigate the rumor-monger long ago, but he stopped him.

The post of governor of Zhili is related to the lifeblood of the territory, how could Ouyang Shuo allow others lightly. Those rumors are a bit naive and cannot be taken as true.

But Ouyang Shuo is happy to see the results of healthy competition between the county guards.

Therefore, Ouyang Shuo neither interfered nor expressed his opinion.