The Three Kingdoms: The Oath of the Peach Garden, the Rise of the Han Dynasty

Besides Zhuge Xuan, Zao Zhi, Han Hao, and Ren Jun also arrived one after another.

As soon as they arrived in Bingzhou, they experienced the same feeling as Bi Lan!

It wasn't like the north wind was blowing; they couldn't believe this was the bitterly cold Bingzhou!

Everyone exclaimed in admiration, "Liu Bingzhou was truly a capable minister in a prosperous era!"

Upon receiving the news, Liu Bei made preparations. After the assessment, it was another set of procedures.

They stroll arm in arm, sleep side by side.

After they finished sleeping, Li Chang immediately arranged for them to be treated like cattle and horses.

They even said thank you!

Zhuge Xuan directly became the Prefect of Taiyuan, in charge of the Prefect of Taiyuan, and liberated Liu Bei.

Liu Bei immediately appointed Zao Zhi as the Military Commander of the Agricultural Settlement Army to assist Qian Zhao in agricultural settlement affairs. However, since Qian Zhao was not present, he became the overall commander of agricultural settlement affairs throughout Bingzhou.

Han Hao became a military commander and went to Xihe County, west of Fangshi.

Ren Jun became a granary official, assisting in the management of grain and logistics transportation throughout the prefecture.

After taking office, the four immediately demonstrated their remarkable talent.

When Zao Zhi saw Li Chang's land reclamation policy, he was amazed and thought it was a perfect match for him!

Many of his strategies and methods were exactly what he had in mind! Having a boss who understands me so well was definitely the right decision!

He barely needed to get used to it; he picked it up immediately!

Ren Jun then reorganized Bingzhou's grain transportation and storage system and established a comprehensive emergency grain dispatch mechanism.

The last one to arrive was Zhang He.

Zhang He, courtesy name Junyi, was a native of Mo County, Hejian. Hearing that Liu Bei was recruiting talented people in Bing Province, he brought his fellow townsmen with him.

After going through the entire process, he became a military commander and was assigned to Zhang Fei's command.

at the same time.

Yanzhou, the home of Xi Zhicai.

He lay on his hospital bed, holding the conscription order, coughing several times: "Is this all ordained by fate?"

He came from a poor family and considered himself exceptionally intelligent. He finally met someone who appreciated him, but unfortunately, that person was in Bingzhou! And to make matters worse, he fell ill!

"Besides Liu Bingzhou, are there any other people who can employ talent without being bound by convention?"

Left with no other option, he could only write a letter to inform him of his health condition.

……

Besides these high-ranking talents with names and identities, there were many more people who came to Bingzhou without leaving their names.

A strong regime needs more than just a few top talents; it also needs tens of thousands of grassroots officials.

These lower-level officials cannot rely solely on recommendations from aristocratic families.

Therefore, Li Chang proposed to Liu Bei to hold the first selection examination for officials in Bingzhou.

"take an exam?"

Liu Bei was taken aback: "How will we test you?"

"It's very simple," Li Chang explained.

"Regardless of background or social status, whether from a poor family or a collateral branch of a prominent family, as long as one is literate and willing to serve the people of Bingzhou, one can sign up to participate."

"The exam consists of three subjects: Confucian classics, arithmetic, and policy essays. The Confucian classics test your knowledge of Confucian texts, arithmetic tests your knowledge of financial calculations, and policy essays test your views on current affairs."

"Those who rank according to their exam scores will be selected based on merit. Those with good scores will be directly appointed as county magistrates or county lieutenants; those with slightly lower scores will be appointed as village officials or village heads."

This proposal immediately caused a huge uproar in Bingzhou.

Cheng Yu was the first to express his support:

"Mingdao's plan is brilliant! In the past, officials were recommended by aristocratic families, which led to nepotism and numerous problems. Selecting officials through examinations, based solely on merit, will truly select capable people."

Jia Xu nodded and said, "That's right, Zhongde is right."

Only Xun Chen hesitated:

"However, there is no such logic in history. For 400 years, our Han Dynasty used the recommendation system."

How can an examination that only assesses talent guarantee moral character?

"We really don't have enough people. If it really doesn't work, Brother Youruo, would you mind doing us a favor?" Li Chang asked in return.

Xun Chen immediately changed his tune, sincerely bowing and saying, "Prefect Li is truly talented!"

Li Changdu laughed and continued, "If they lack virtue, it's because they don't cherish this opportunity. There will be better jobs for them!"

Liu Bei finally made the decision: "Let's do as my fourth brother says."

The news spread, and the entire Bingzhou was in an uproar.

Countless children from impoverished families spread the news and wept with joy.

After years of hard study, they finally have a fair chance to compete!

Even some unsuccessful scions of collateral branches of aristocratic families signed up to participate.

For a time, Jinyang City was overflowing with people.

Everywhere you look, there are scholars carrying their books and heading to take the exam.

"Finally, I have a chance! I must pass the exam!"

"Prefect Li is truly a savior to us poor folks!"

"Even if I don't pass the exam, I'll have no regrets just for being able to participate!"

Not only students from poor families in Bingzhou, but also students from poor families in surrounding prefectures and counties flocked to Bingzhou to take the exam.

Jinyang City was suddenly overflowing with people.

Li Chang, along with Xun Chen, Yue Yin, and Jia Xu, personally set the questions!

This is the first exam. Li Changke isn't just selecting talent; he also wants to take advantage of the current shortage of people to cultivate a habit of using exams to select talent!

Otherwise, it will be difficult to make changes when the territory becomes larger in the future!

At the same time, the educational work led by Xun Chen and Yue Yin also yielded its first fruits.

After more than half a year of effort, Bingzhou has established more than 50 county schools and more than 300 township schools.

Even if most of them only have a thatched hut and a teacher who knows a hundred or so characters, it is still a very good start!

Some children aged seven and above, regardless of gender or ethnicity, can attend school for free.

Xun Chen and Yue Yin handled government affairs while also being in charge of education in the entire state, and personally taught a group of children to develop their intelligence!

Sometimes, when they get really angry, they'll curse, "This piece of wood is beyond redemption!"

Those children would open their innocent, big eyes and ask what it meant!

Only those who truly work in grassroots education understand the difficulty of educating people at the grassroots level!

But their names gradually spread from Bingzhou. Some people were disdainful, some admired them, and some even took the initiative to come to Bingzhou to become teachers.

.........

The Northern Xianbei.

He Lian finally brought stability to the Xianbei. Because the Bingzhou army frequently went north to raid for supplies, the Xianbei's power was further consolidated under his rule, and they gradually achieved the same level of prosperity as his father.

But... the more he thought about it, the angrier he got!

Historically, it was always them who went south to raid for supplies, but now it's the other way around!

Youzhou.

Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun were eager to make their move and secretly contacted the Wuhuan.