Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 53: Talents Are in My Reach
The county seat of Beihai, Ju County, is no smaller than Linzi in Qi County.

The king here is from the line of Brother Guangwu. After years of enthronement, Ju County continued to expand and became a big city.

Even the roads have become much wider.

Now that the people are confined in their homes, it makes it easier for Liu Bei's army to enter the city without causing any unrest.

After the military officers came to report that the chief official Wang Xiu had led his soldiers to guard the key points in the city and completely control Ju County, Liu Bei finally felt relieved and had some sense of security.

When Liu Bei heard that it was his acquaintance Wang Xiu who was leading the way, he couldn't help but chuckle.

Following Kong Rong who was leading the way, he went to the county prime minister's residence. At the same time, the royal palace also sincerely invited Liu Bei to be a guest, but he temporarily refused.

The front hall of the Beihai County mansion and many of the courtyards in the back were given to Kong Rong to handle official business and to check the counties' grain and fodder stores, fields, household registration lists, and other matters.

Originally, they were required to submit accounts to the prefecture once a month. It just so happened that the envoy came to Beihai this time, so they handed all the accounts over to the clerks of the prefecture for verification.

Qian Zhao watched as dozens of servants came in carrying baskets of documents, which soon piled up like a small mountain.

I can't help but feel my scalp tingling.

These accumulated books and records have not been reported to the state for at least half a year.

Qian Zhao glanced at Liu Bei, as if praying for something.

But Liu Bei didn't see it. He was asking the official and historian in charge of the Household Department of Beihai about the population changes before and after the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

The governor sat in front of the hall holding documents, asking questions sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, and the two men were sweating slightly on their backs.

After all, how many people can face a provincial governor head-on, withstand his momentum, remain calm and speak fluently?

It is good to have answers to questions. The chief clerk often pauses to think, while the middle-aged historian is confident and although he answers slowly, he is not speechless.

On the surface, the historian undoubtedly puts more effort into government affairs than the clerk and knows more than him.

Liu Bei nodded slightly, raised his head and asked casually: "Is the historian also from Beihai?"

The scholar with a thin yellow figure and a mustache wearing a Jinxian crown greeted him and said, "Reporting to Lord Xuande, I am a native of Beihai."

"Can you tell me the name of the official?" Liu Bei asked again after he took back the bamboo slips.

This person has a strong sense of responsibility and he is quite satisfied with it.

"How dare I disobey your order? I am Sun Qian from Beihai, and my courtesy name is Gongyou." Sun Qian said respectfully.

Liu Bei was a little surprised. He didn't expect that Sun Qian was working as an official in Beihai at this moment and had not yet gone to Xuzhou.

Come to think of it, it’s a good idea, so I don’t have to go to Xuzhou to find him.

He turned around and smiled at Kong Rong beside him and said, "I admire this official more and more every time I see him. I wonder if Wen Ju is willing to part with him?"

"There are also Wang Xiu and Wang Shuzhi who came to Pingyuan to seek help in the past. Liu Bei also likes them very much and wants to take them into the state. What do you think, Wen Ju?"

Kong Rong was still wondering why Xuande valued the historian. After hearing this, he finally understood that Xuande was looking for a reason to accept Wang Xiu.

In fact, he admired Wang Xiu quite a bit and planned to nominate him as the Xiaolian of Beihai this year.

But since Xuande had spoken, I had to give him some face and let him go as he said.

Kong Rong said, "Xuan De can appoint anyone he likes in the palace. You are recruiting talented people for the governor for the sake of the state's governance and peace. It is no different in Beihai or Pingyuan. I will cooperate with him."

As he spoke, he started laughing himself.

Sun Qian was a little stunned. He was just reporting on the affairs of the Household Department, but the Qingzhou Governor took him seriously and even went to the county mayor to ask for it in person.

This made him wonder, is he really that talented?
What if I go to the provincial government and Lord Xuande finds out that I am just an ordinary person, will he directly dismiss me and drive me back to Beihai?
Wouldn't it be even more miserable if I couldn't even be a historian? As he was thinking, he caught a glimpse of the envious look from the clerk next to him.

I sighed quietly, you only see that I am appreciated by the noble, but you didn't know that it is a blessing rather than a curse.

Liu Bei clapped his hands and laughed, two more people have fallen into my trap.

He asked again, "I heard that Duke Zheng has returned to Beihai and is preparing to send troops. My teacher has repeatedly asked me to visit Duke Zheng. I wonder if Wenju would be willing to introduce him to me?"

After hearing this, Kong Rong shook his head apologetically and said, "Although Duke Zheng has returned to Beihai, he is too old to meet guests easily. It would not be too late for Xuande to visit him after he has defeated the Liaodong bandits."

Liu Bei had no choice but to give up and nodded in agreement.

Zheng Xuan's academic research focused on ancient text classics, but he also incorporated modern text classics. He annotated Confucian classics throughout the book and had thousands of disciples. He was a famous Confucian scholar of his time, respected by everyone.

In terms of academic knowledge, he was more famous than his teacher Lu Zhi, and they were also from the same school.

When Liu Bei arrived in Beihai, it was impossible for him not to pay a visit.

But since he is not feeling well, it is not a good idea to visit him again. It is best to wait until he recovers.

Although Liu Bei had some knowledge of herbal medicine, he did not dare to show off at this time. If the wrong medicine was used for the disease, it would be a big trouble.

Even his teacher couldn't protect Liu Xuande's reputation.

Suddenly, a minor official outside the hall wanted to ask to see Prime Minister Kong but was stopped by a soldier. He came in and reported: A minor official said that the invited Confucian scholars and nobles have arrived outside the mansion.

Kong Rong then remembered and clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Oh no, I almost forgot."

He immediately said to Liu Bei, "Hearing that you, Xuande, will be coming, all the nobles and scholars in Ju County want to come and pay you a visit, but since you are not a county official, I did not take them to greet you."

"Now that you have come to visit me, how about meeting me?"

This kind of matter still requires Liu Bei's opinion, as he is currently the person in charge of Ju County, and we are here to see him.

After some thought, Liu Bei nodded in agreement and sent a military officer to take the guests to the courtyard at the back, and he would follow later.

Kong Rong said that he wanted to take half a step forward to greet him.

Liu Bei followed his wish, then walked to Qian Zhao's side and patted him on the shoulder.

He said seriously, "Zijing, I'll give these books to you first. You are already very familiar with handling county affairs, so I don't think it will be difficult for you."

"I will assign more officials to you later. Wen Ju and I will go to meet the local nobles and scholars, so we will leave first."

"After you check, just show me the total. It's still early today, so take your time."

Qian Zhao's face turned pale. Liu Bei left as soon as he said he would. His movements were extremely fast. Before Qian Zhao could even say no, he had already disappeared.

Following Kong Rong, they went to the courtyard guarded by soldiers, where many Confucian scholars and wealthy families from Ju County were paying them a warm welcome, making it quite lively.

Kong Rong introduced them one by one for Liu Bei, saying, "Envoy Liu, this is the head of the Teng family in Ju County. His family has produced two thousand stone officials for generations, and they have great prestige in Beihai."

"This is the descendant of Duke Wen of Wei during the Spring and Autumn Period. He lives in Bilu Village, Ying, Chuqiu. This is also a big family in Ju County."

Kong Rong explained in detail that two of the old men with white hair and beards were the most prestigious nobles in the local area.

There is no detailed introduction of other Confucian scholars, as they are probably not that important, they just come along to make themselves familiar to Lord Xuande.

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(End of this chapter)