Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 424 There aren't enough officials.
Li Zhi punished his three sons by sending them to fend for themselves, while publicly claiming that they were being punished by being confined to their homes to reflect on their mistakes.

However, the news that the three were not in the Prince's residence still inadvertently spread.

Ordinary officials did not know where the three had gone, but those in the palace who were well-informed had heard some rumors and knew that the emperor had punished the three by making them kneel outside the Ganlu Hall for several hours.

These kinds of news are just topics of conversation during casual conversation.

For Xu Xiaode, however, there was no time to even chat with others.

Because he's been so busy lately.

After conquering Baekje, the Tang Dynasty established Baekje as the Xiongjin Protectorate, which was divided into twelve prefectures.

Baekje was an agricultural country, and its administrative structure was originally very similar to that of the Tang Dynasty, consisting of many prefectures and counties. These prefectures and counties could be directly converted into state-level cities without any trouble.

In this respect, it was much easier than conquering Tibet, Tiele, and Khitan.

All the prefectures and counties in Baekje were classified as regular prefectures, directly governed by the Tang Dynasty. Officials were appointed directly by the Tang Dynasty, and annual taxes were paid in the same manner as other regular prefectures.

Of course, Baekje had just experienced war, its people were devastated, and everything needed to be rebuilt. It didn't have the ability to pay taxes.

Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi) has issued an edict to exempt Baekje from taxes for ten years in order to restore the people's livelihood.

These problems are all easy to solve, but the troublesome problem is that Baekje doesn't have enough officials!
Although Emperor Gaozong did appoint some local people as officials, they only accounted for a small portion. Most officials were still dispatched by the imperial court.

Most of the Buyeo and Mahan nobles who originally belonged to Baekje were dead, and Li Zhi did not trust the remaining ones.

Only by having Tang officials govern Baekje can Baekje truly integrate into the Tang Dynasty and become a part of the Tang Dynasty as soon as possible.

The court officials reached a consensus on this point.

While others only need to talk, Xu Xiaode has to run himself ragged.

In recent years, the Tang Dynasty has quelled the Turks, destroyed the Tibetans, driven out the Tiele, destroyed the Khitans, ceded nine provinces, and now has also gained the land of Baekje.

Both the nominal land holdings and the land under actual control have increased significantly.

New land naturally needs new officials to manage it.

Over the years, Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi) continuously expanded the number of officials selected through the imperial examinations. In theory, the number of officials should have increased.

However, there was a severe shortage of officials in these new territories, resulting in a shortage of officials for the Tang Dynasty!
Moreover, officials disliked these new local assignments, and the Ministry of Personnel had to expend several times more effort each time it dispatched officials.

For example, the officials in Junzhou have not yet been appointed.

Originally, Junzhou only needed to fill the official positions in the Governor's Office, but after Liu Renyuan negotiated with the leaders of the various administrative states in Junzhou, these local leaders all agreed to be divided into prefectures and counties of the Tang Dynasty.

The condition was that half of the officials in the prefectures and counties would be locals, and the other half would be dispatched by the Tang Dynasty to govern together.

As a result, the Shunzhou Governor's Office faced a significant shortage of officials.

However, whenever the Ministry of Personnel selects an official from the local area to serve in Junzhou, that person will try every means to refuse to take up the post.

Xu Xiaode's hair turned a few more white as he worked to transfer officials to Falcon Prefecture.

He specifically requested Emperor Gaozong to grant those officials who went to Junzhou a promotion.

For example, someone who was originally a county magistrate can become a county magistrate if they go to Junzhou, and someone who was originally a county magistrate can become a prefectural military commander.

Despite this situation, many people still refused to go to Junzhou to take up their posts. Xu Xiaode had no choice but to assign all the newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) of this year to Junzhou.

According to convention, newly appointed scholars who lack governance experience are sent to stable counties to hone their skills. Only during their second or third term are they sent to more challenging prefectures and counties.

Xu Xiaode had no choice but to send these newly appointed officials to Junzhou, as the Ministry of Personnel simply couldn't gather enough officials to go there.

Newcomers have their advantages; they are full of energy and high spirits, eager to make a name for themselves, unlike seasoned veterans who are used to seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages.

After these newly appointed scholars were sent to Junzhou, the problem of vacant local officials was finally solved.

However, before Xu Xiaode could catch his breath, the Tang Dynasty conquered Baekje.

This time, the shortage of officials is even greater. The Xiongjin Governor's Office alone needs eighty officials and two hundred clerks.

Xu Xiaode felt like dying.

The country won a great victory, expanded its territory, and the whole nation celebrated. Some were promoted, and others received salary increases. Only the officials in the Ministry of Personnel were like miserable old men, constantly flipping through the roster of local officials, trying to find another group of people to transfer to Baekje.

This time, he tried to find remote prefectures and counties, such as Lingnan and Jiannan.

These county towns have small populations and few affairs, so one county magistrate is enough, and the county assistant magistrate can be transferred away.

He figured that Jiannan and Lingnan were also remote places, and if he transferred a few county clerks to be county magistrates and registrars to be county clerks, they probably wouldn't refuse.

Unexpectedly, after these officials arrived in Chang'an to report on their duties, they made various excuses to shirk their responsibilities. Some claimed to be ill, while others said that their parents had died and they had to observe mourning for them, which greatly angered Xu Xiaode.

Baekje isn't an island like Japan, where you won't die on the way due to storms. It's not necessarily any worse than Lingnan, so why doesn't anyone want to go?
Xu Xiaode was truly driven to desperation, so one morning he went to the Ganlu Palace to see the emperor and prepare to complain to him.

After Li Zhi heard that he had met with the emperor, he summoned him to an audience in the main hall.

When Xu Xiaode, with a pained expression, recounted his difficulties, Li Zhi laughed and said, "If you, Minister Xu, were having difficulties, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Xu Xiaode sighed, "If I had any other way, I wouldn't have bothered Your Majesty. It's truly..."

Li Zhi raised his hand and said, "I know that Minister Xu has always been hardworking and conscientious. I have never heard you complain to me before. This matter is actually not difficult to resolve. We can set up a special examination to select talents and supplement the shortage of officials. What do you think?"

Xu Xiaode happily replied, "This old minister agrees."

The special imperial examinations were irregular examinations established by the imperial court to select "extraordinary talents." Whenever the emperor felt that there were too few talented people around him, he could hold special imperial examinations to select talents.

Li Zhi has been in the Tang Dynasty for so long, but he has never held an imperial examination before. If he were to announce this now, there should be no resistance from the court or the public.

Sure enough, three days later at the regular court session, Li Zhi announced the opening of the imperial examination system, which was immediately unanimously agreed upon by the ministers.

Li Zhi then ordered the Ministry of Personnel to post notices in various prefectures and counties, and the imperial court held a special examination in Chang'an on the tenth day of the sixth month to select 500 talented individuals.

The number of 500 people already exceeds the annual quota, and some officials believe that the number is too high and have proposed to reduce it to 300.

Li Zhi, however, did not agree.

Five hundred men may seem like a lot now, but after conquering Goguryeo, the court will have a large number of vacancies in officials. Selecting more talented people this time will prevent a shortage in the future.

The news that the imperial court had specially opened the special examination quickly spread throughout the country, and many people heard that the court had opened the special examination because it lacked officials, so as long as one passed the examination, one could be immediately appointed to an official position.

In addition, the admission requirements for the science program are relatively loose. There is no strict requirement that at least six out of ten questions must be answered correctly. It is based solely on the order of the questions. The top 500 students are directly admitted, and even if the 500th student submits a blank paper, they will still be admitted.

This was a chance to snag a bargain, so students from all over flocked to Chang'an like a tidal wave upon hearing the news.

Some students who originally planned to study diligently for ten years before taking the imperial examinations couldn't resist trying their luck early.

Du Shenyan was one of them.

He had been studying for five years and originally planned to study for another five years before coming to Chang'an to take the imperial examination. However, his family was unwilling to let go of this opportunity and urged him to come to the capital ahead of schedule.

His father even went to see Du Yijian's father in person. They were from the same clan, so how could he not help him out at this time?
Du Yijian's father did not refuse, and wrote a letter to his son, asking him to take care of his younger cousin, Du Shenyan.

Therefore, as soon as Du Shenyan entered Chang'an, Du Yijian invited him to stay at his home.

The following evening, he took him to Mojiaxuan, booked a private room on the second floor, and invited Lu Zhaolin and Gao Youdao to introduce his younger brother to them.

Du Shenyan, with the reserved nature typical of people from Xiangyang, quickly stood up and performed a grand salute upon hearing that Lu Zhaolin was from the Lu family of Fanyang and was the imperial son-in-law of the current emperor.

Lu Zhaolin laughed and said, "Brother Du, there's no need to be so polite. You should pay your respects to Brother Gao, not me. He was the top scholar in the seventh year of the Yonghui era. If you can get his guidance, you will surely pass the imperial examination!"

Du Shenyan hurriedly bowed deeply to Gao Youdao.

Gao Youdao laughed and said, "Don't listen to Brother Lu's modesty. His literary talent far surpasses mine. Otherwise, how could he have won the favor of Her Highness the Princess?"

Du Shenyan thought about it and agreed. He then turned around and bowed to Lu Zhaolin, bowing repeatedly like a chick pecking at rice.

Du Yijian glared and said, "That's enough! Do you think we Xiangyang people are easy to bully? Are you never going to stop?"

Du Shenyan was taken aback, thinking that Du Yijian was really angry. Fearing that his cousin might fall out with his two friends because of him, he quickly said, "Cousin, it's alright."

Du Yijian ignored him and launched into a tirade against Lu and Gao. The two men weren't angry; instead, they smiled and apologized to Du Shenyan.

Du Shenyan then realized that his cousin had a close relationship with the two men and was just joking around.

Du Yijian slammed his hand on the table and said, "Why isn't the food served yet? Waiter, where did everyone go?"

Du Shenyan quickly said, "Cousin, it's alright. Maybe there are just too many people today and they can't handle it all."

Du Yijian glared at him and said, "Why are you so cautious? Have some backbone, okay? We Xiangyang people are no worse than anyone else, there's nothing to be afraid of!"

Du Shenyan lowered his head.

Gao Youdao laughed and said, "Brother Du, your elder brother is right. The current Vice Minister of the Chancellery, Zhang Jianzhi, is also from Xiangyang. Nowadays, people in Chang'an dare not underestimate the scholars from Xiangyang."

Du Shenyan said happily, "I know, Minister Zhang is the person I admire most."

Just then, a loud bang was heard as the door was kicked open.

A person staggered in, looking clumsy and almost dropped the tray in his hands.

The man was a boy of about fourteen or fifteen years old. His face was dark and covered in dust. He walked to the table with his head down, placed the dishes on the table, and said in a low voice, "Please enjoy your meal."

Du Yijian snorted, "Why is it so slow? Are you really that busy today?"

The young man lowered his head and said, "There are indeed more guests today than usual."

Du Shenyan looked at the boy and sighed in his heart, "He's not much younger than me, but he's already working outside. It's really pitiful."

Gao Youdao said gently, "Young man, you're so young, why are you working here? Is there some kind of difficulty at home?"

The young man didn't reply, but said, "Please enjoy your meal," and then turned and left.

Du Yijian snorted, "This kid has no manners at all. Lao Gao, don't bother with him."

Lu Zhaolin suddenly said, "Don't you think this young man is a bit strange?"

Du Yijian asked, "What's so strange?"

Lu Zhaolin frowned and said, "I can't quite put my finger on it, but I feel like he's different from the average shop assistant."

Du Yijian laughed and said, "You're overthinking it. He's just a waiter at a restaurant. Who cares if it's strange or not? Come on, everyone, let's drink. This meal is on me!"

In the backyard of Mo Jiaxuan, Li Lian, holding a tray, chased after Li Yong, ready to hit him, and said angrily, "Third brother, why did you push me in? I almost fell, do you know that?"

Li Yong walked around the well with agile footwork and laughed, "Who told you not to go in? I'm just helping you, aren't I? Besides, Uncle Lu didn't recognize you, did he?"

Because of Princess Changshan, Lu Zhaolin frequently attended banquets for members of the imperial family, and thus became familiar with all three of them.

When Li Lian delivered food to the three men, he was afraid of being recognized, so he asked Li Yong and Li Xiao to help him deliver it.

However, both of them were afraid of being recognized and refused to agree. During the pushing and shoving, Li Yong pushed Li Lian inside.

At this moment, Li Xiao burst open the curtain connecting the front hall and the backyard and shouted, "Stop playing around! I'm exhausted from working up front, come and help me!"

The three returned to the front hall to work. Li Yong was serving drinks to a table of guests when he suddenly saw a group of people enter from outside, and he froze on the spot.

The group of people were all dressed in fine clothes and scholarly attire, with many servants following behind them. Judging from their demeanor, they were clearly from a prominent family.

Among the group was a sixteen-year-old boy holding a Sichuan fan; despite his young age, he possessed a certain air of elegance.

However, the moment he saw Li Yong, he was as if struck by lightning. His mouth was wide open, big enough to fit an egg, and he stood there motionless.

Li Yong hurriedly lowered his head, placed the wine on the guest's table, and turned to walk quickly to the backyard.

The boy stood motionless.

A middle-aged man standing nearby noticed this and asked him, "Bo'er, what's wrong?"

Wang Bo forced a smile and said, "It's nothing." He then followed the others upstairs.

(End of this chapter)