Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 173: Heroes are as numerous as the fish in the river

An hour passed in a flash, and forty-two scholars were brought by officials to the courtyard where the desk was set up.

Dozens of armed soldiers stood motionless in the courtyard. Their solemn expressions made everyone dare not look at them for any longer and they quickly looked away.

Five Hu chairs were placed twenty steps in front of the desk, but the chief clerk in charge of the examination had not arrived yet.

The scholars who were being examined did not dare to talk anymore after entering the courtyard, nor did they dare to sit down at the table first. The backs of some people's loose robes were already soaked with sweat, and they hoped to delay the examination as long as possible.

The officials were seated according to their ranking, with Liu Ye, Bu Zhi and Wei Jing sitting in the front row.

Liu Ye looked around as if nothing had happened, thinking to himself, "Envoy Liu's way of recruiting subordinates is unusual. He did not directly recruit local nobles and nobles, but instead had all the scholars from Yuzhou, Xuzhou, and Huainan take a unified assessment. Finally, he posted the list on Caihou paper in front of the county government, and wrote the top three in red at the top..."

This undoubtedly made him feel very interesting. It was rumored that this method of appointing officials for auditing had become a common practice in the counties of Qingyan, and no one had noticed it.

It also made Xuande's reputation of being able to select and employ talented people spread far and wide, and even Liu Ye, who was far away in Yangzhou, had often heard of it over the years.

He was a descendant of Liu Yan, Prince of Fuling, son of Emperor Guangwu. He was famous in Huainan when he was young. Xu Zijiang of Runan once commented that Liu Ziyang had the talent to assist the country. Yuan Shu also thought of recruiting him, but for some unknown reason, there was no news of him later.

Liu Yao, the governor of Yangzhou appointed by the imperial court, and Cao Cao, who was appointed by Yuan Benchu, both wrote letters to recruit Liu Ye, who was living in Jiujiang County.

Thinking that Liu Yao was also a relative of the Han royal family, although his power was not as great as that of Yuan Gonglu and Cao Mengde, he was a governor appointed by the imperial court after all. Liu Ye was preparing to go to Yuzhang County to serve, when suddenly a piece of news from the north spread throughout Yangzhou.

Liu Xuande, who recovered Luoyang, was recommended by Tao Qian as the governor of Xuzhou, and asked Liu Ye to bury the letter that Liu Yao had secretly sent to him.

With Liu Shijun's choice, who would care about the three princes of Yangzhou in the south? A true hero should be one who dares to compete with Yuan Shao for Hebei and sweep the world like his ancestor Guangwu.

The three of them would decide the winner. Lord Xuande might have led the Han army south if one of Cao Mengde and Yuan Gonglu occupied Yangzhou.

Liu Jingsheng, the governor of Jingzhou, was also a relative of the Han family and controlled the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. If he surrendered the whole state, the natural barrier of the Yangtze River in Jiangdong would instantly collapse.

The navy of Jingzhou will go down the Yangtze River and advance by both land and water to directly capture the four counties of Jiangdong.

Liu Ye thought about it, but could not find a place in Yangzhou alone that could resist the Han army coming from the north.

Now the Guanzhong area has been devastated by the scourge of the Liangzhou bandits, and many people have fled. The most populous areas in the world are in the Heshuo states, where there is an abundance of grains and millet, which are inexhaustible and can be used by the army to fight wars every year.

If he wanted to join a local lord, why did he not join the famous Liu Shijun, but instead join the weak Liu Zhengli? I heard that Lord Xuande's wife was also from the Yin clan of Xinye...

They both rose in troubled times, they both competed for supremacy in Hebei, they both led powerful armies to travel across the country, they both had their emperors trapped in Guanzhong, and they both fought in Dali Field.

Liu Ye was a little excited and didn't dare to think about it anymore.

If the concept of reincarnation had not yet become popular at that time, Liu Ye could not help but suspect that Liu Xuande was the reincarnation of Emperor Guangwu. It cannot be said that they were too similar, but only that they were exactly the same.

The gentry and wealthy families in the south, as well as the princes and Liu clan members felt that Liu Bei was like Emperor Guangwu and Liu Xiu, which made the wealthy families in Nanyang County feel regretful and secretly contacted the Yingchuan gentry without telling Liu Biao.

The northern lord Yuan Shao and his staff all felt that Liu Xuande was as difficult to deal with as if Emperor Gaozu were still alive.

"Zheng! Zheng! Zheng!" A clear bell sounded.

The county government hung copper bells in the corners of each courtyard, and specially arranged minor officials to guard them. When an official encountered an urgent matter, he would ring the bell, and someone would come running to deal with it. Now the copper bells are used to remind scholars to take their seats and prepare for the examination.

"Greetings, Lord Xuande!"

"Greetings to Chen Gongcao and all the senior officials."

Liu Bei brought Chen Deng and the clerks to the school to ask about policy questions. When the scholars saw them, they bowed and saluted.

"No need to be polite, everyone please take a seat."

Liu Bei laughed.

Seeing the envoy's gentle smile, many people felt less nervous and relaxed.

A scholar thought to himself, "It seems that Lord Xuande is not as terrible as the Xuzhou officials said. He is cold and frosty and dismisses his subordinates at will. He is actually quite kind and approachable."

Everyone found that the Caihou paper distributed by the officials was of uniform thickness, fine texture and bright color, making it easier to write on.

Seeing everyone was stunned, Liu Bei explained, "This is not Caihou paper. It was improved by Zuo Ziyi, Zuo Bo of Donglai. He used more hemp and mulberry bark to make the paper more flexible, easier to preserve, and cheaper."

"The counties of Qingzhou have begun to use Zuo Bo paper to replace bamboo slips and wooden tablets. The documents, registers, and correspondence of the counties of Yanzhou and Xuzhou will gradually be replaced by paper, which will be more convenient for official ships and horses to transport to various places."

Bu Zhi touched Zuo Bo paper, which was much improved than Cai Hou paper. The Han Dynasty ruled the world with documents, so that orders from counties and prefectures could be carried out and prohibitions from above could be stopped. With this thing, the household registration, reclaimed land, money and grain taxes of each county could be checked quickly at the end of autumn and winter.

The various archival documents recorded in the states and counties can now be consulted much faster than before.

"Lord Xuande is already far ahead of the other princes."

Bu Zhi muttered to himself.

Could this be the accumulation of small victories into a big one? !

At this time, a voice came from the front: "You all asked for advice today. I wanted to ask you one by one in person, but time was suddenly changed, so I gave you Zuo Bo paper and asked you to write on it, and then submit it to me for review. Those who pass can choose their own officials in various departments. The top five can be recruited as county officials, counselors, scribes, and miscellaneous officials."

Bu Zhi's heart tightened. He had to be among the top five no matter what. As long as he was an official beside Lord Xuande, no matter how small the subordinate was, he could do it.

Not only him, but many scholars present, including Wei Jing and Liu Ye, all wanted to be among the top five in the examination. Although they had to write documents, it was far better than being a clerk in the Household Department, Agricultural Department, Warehouse Department, and Gold Department, unless the people in these departments were the chief and deputy chief officials and historians of government offices.

However, it is almost a dream for these scholars to want to become clerks and officials as soon as they arrive.

Things are different now than in the past. As Liu Bei's power grows, there are too many scholars coming to join him, so he set up a threshold and started screening.

A few years ago, Liu Bei still envied Yuan Shao, who had three generations of officials, and had talented people coming to him in an endless stream. Now, when he issued an order to recruit talents, scholars from Yuzhou and Yangzhou came to him. This is the benefit of being famous.

Liu Bei looked at the scholars below, paused for a moment on Liu Ye and Bu Zhi, and said in a delighted tone: "Xu Yang is full of heroes, just like the carp that cross the river. I will catch them all with my net."

Meng De, Zhong Mou, you don't have the strength to control this powerful world, so let me do it.

(End of this chapter)