A few days later, everyone arrived in Ye City, and even Dong Zhao and Qu Yi specifically rushed over.
Apart from Zhang Chen's subordinates, others naturally didn't know about Dong Zhao's defection. Dong Zhao's trip was just a congratulatory visit, to cover his tracks.
After all, Zhang Chen had lifted the siege of Yingtao County, so saying this was quite reasonable.
On the other side, Steward Wu also arrived with all the servants from the Zhang Residence. As soon as Ping'er entered the Prefect's Residence, she was immediately shocked by the grand mansion. The Zhang Family was considered wealthy in Guangping County before, but the Zhang Residence's house compared to this Prefect's Residence was like comparing stars to the bright moon.
The Prefect's Residence is divided into a front office and a back residence. The front hall is where the Prefect handles official business and receives colleagues, while the back courtyard is the living quarters. Normally, people in the back residence are not allowed to enter the front hall casually and can only enter and exit through the back door, not the main gate.
On this day, after Zhang Chen settled all the servants in the back residence, he summoned Ju Shou and Dong Zhao to the study for a discussion.
As soon as the two entered the door, they bowed to Zhang Chen with joyful expressions and said, "Your subordinates pay respects to our Lord. We haven't congratulated our Lord yet, so we congratulate our Lord on his promotion to Prefect."
Zhang Chen smiled wryly and said, "Gongyu, Gongren, there's no need for such formalities between us. Governing a commandery is much more complex than governing a county. I've only been in office for a few days and am already overwhelmed and quite tired. That's why I specifically called you two today to discuss what we should do next?"
After Zhang Chen finished speaking, Ju Shou said, "Your subordinate would like to hear our Lord's plans first."
Zhang Chen said, "Wei Commandery is a major stronghold in Ji Province, governing thirteen counties. Besides Guangping County, which we have managed for a long time, and Cheng'an and Linzhang County, where Generals Qian Zhao and Fang Ping are currently stationed, the officials in the remaining counties mostly obtained their positions through buying them."
"When Lord Li was in office, although he imposed many restrictions, these people bought their positions primarily to accumulate wealth. While they didn't dare to be blatant, they privately created various pretexts, engaged in unfair business practices, monopolized markets, and exploited the people, which was repeatedly forbidden but never stopped. This has caused chaos in various counties, and the people have deep grievances. I plan to dismiss all these corrupt officials and replace them with people of pure ambition and loyalty. What do you two think?"
After Zhang Chen finished speaking, Ju Shou and Dong Zhao exchanged glances and couldn't help but smile at each other.
Ju Shou said, "My Lord, while this action is good, it might be a bit too hasty."
"Oh? What do you mean?" Zhang Chen asked doubtfully, "Are we just going to let these parasites continue to harm the people?"
Ju Shou smiled and said, "Our Lord detests evil as much as he detests enemies, so naturally he cannot bear to see these corrupt officials oppress the people. But these people bought their positions with real gold and silver, so how could they give them up easily? Furthermore, according to the laws of this dynasty, although a Prefect can appoint and dismiss officials within the commandery, the position of County Magistrate is not included and still requires appointment and dismissal by the imperial court."
Zhang Chen nodded, "Although that is true, as the Prefect, I still have the authority to deal with officials under my jurisdiction if they act illegally."
Hearing this, Dong Zhao smiled and said, "Since our Lord has the authority to deal with them, Lord Li also had the same authority back then. Does our Lord know why Lord Li never dismissed all those people?"
"This..." Zhang Chen pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized, and sighed softly, "Dismissing them would only mean another batch would come..."
Dong Zhao said, "Exactly, my Lord. His Majesty is currently selling official positions in the Western Garden, which can be said to have legitimized the practice of selling offices and titles. Those who spend money to buy positions, which one isn't from a wealthy family with a strong background? They bought their positions from the Emperor, which is perfectly legitimate. Does the Emperor not know that once these people buy positions, they will recoup their costs from the people?"
"Gongren is right," Ju Shou also said, "It is perfectly reasonable for our Lord to dismiss them today, confiscate their property, or even execute them. But the ones who come next will have empty pockets. Can the people still endure that?"
Zhang Chen nodded and said, "Rather than doing that, it's better to maintain the status quo for now and then defeat them one by one!"
Ju Shou continued, "Exactly. Does our Lord still remember the 'Three-Step Strategy' your subordinate once spoke of with our Lord?"
Zhang Chen nodded and said, "Of course I remember. Gongyu, you said the first is 'Appease'. When you haven't secured a commandery, you should befriend powerful families and gentry, and must not touch their interests, in order to accumulate strength and bide your time. The second is 'Weaken'. After you control a commandery, you can win over usable people, divide and isolate opponents, instigate conflicts of interest among them, and reap the benefits. The third is 'Ally', which is to befriend influential families and use their power to strengthen yourself."
Ju Shou stroked his beard and smiled, "Exactly. Although our Lord has now succeeded as Prefect, he cannot yet be considered to control a commandery."
"Oh?" Zhang Chen asked doubtfully, "All thirteen counties of Wei Commandery are under my jurisdiction, how is that not controlling a commandery?"
Ju Shou smiled slightly, "The thirteen counties of Wei Commandery are only under the jurisdiction of the Prefect of Wei Commandery, but not under our Lord's jurisdiction."
Hearing this, Zhang Chen suddenly realized.
That's right. The chaotic era hasn't fully emerged yet, and the appointment of officials in each province is still controlled by the imperial court. Higher officials can only recommend, but not directly appoint. Although the county officials are his subordinates, their loyalty is not to him, but to the imperial court.
However, this situation won't last long, because in three more years, a major event will occur. At that time, everything will change.
In the fifth year of Zhongping, Liu Yan submitted a memorial suggesting the restoration of the Prefect system. Prefects could not only raise their own troops but also held administrative power over a province, making them effectively "local emperors".
By then, he would be able to appoint officials without any reservations.
He was determined to secure the position of Governor of Ji Province!
But for now, all he could do was gradually expand his strength and slowly seek advancement.
At present, Zhang Chen nodded and said, "Gongyu is right. But how should we proceed? Please enlighten me, both of you."
Ju Shou further said, "It goes without saying that the people of Guangping County are loyal. Cheng'an and Linzhang County have experienced war, and the officials have fled. Now, Generals Qian Zhao and Fang Ping are in charge, and the people's hearts are gradually settling. Your subordinate believes we should start with these three counties. On one hand, implement benevolent governance to appease the people, and on the other hand, expand military preparations and strengthen our power, firmly grasping control of these three counties."
After hearing this, Zhang Chen nodded repeatedly.
Ju Shou continued, "Once the people of the three counties are fully loyal and life is prosperous, the populations of the other counties and surrounding refugees will migrate and gather in these three counties. At that time, whether it's population, military strength, or people's livelihood, the three counties will be preeminent, and the military and political power of the entire commandery will effectively be firmly in our Lord's hands. Won't it be easy for our Lord to deal with those people then?"
After hearing this, Zhang Chen began to ponder carefully.
The meaning of Ju Shou's words was to focus on Guangping County, Cheng'an, and Linzhang County, making these three counties the most prosperous within Wei Commandery. This way, the people in the other counties would naturally seek advantages and migrate there. Furthermore, Cheng'an and Linzhang County had just experienced major battles, providing a legitimate reason to recruit soldiers and horses and expand military strength.
These newly recruited soldiers would naturally obey him. With troops in hand, would he still fear dealing with those corrupt officials?
Zhang Chen thought for a while and felt that what Ju Shou said was excellent, but there were also hidden dangers.
Because he didn't have the authority to appoint and dismiss officials. Now that he had been promoted to Prefect, the positions of County Magistrate in Guangping County, Cheng'an, and Linzhang County were all vacant. Once the imperial court appointed new officials, would they be of the same mind as him?
As Zhang Chen pondered, he couldn't help but furrow his brows.
Ju Shou seemed to have seen what Zhang Chen was thinking and said, "Is our Lord thinking about what to do once the imperial court appoints officials to come?"
"You understand me, Gongyu," Zhang Chen couldn't help but sigh, "That's right. Currently, I only have the power to recommend, not to appoint or dismiss. If the County Magistrates of these three counties are not our own people, what we just discussed will be difficult to accomplish! The imperial court's practice of selling offices and titles is very prevalent now, and most of the new officials who come in the future will likely have bought their positions. Won't they make my jurisdiction a mess?"
As soon as Zhang Chen finished speaking, Dong Zhao, who was beside him, smiled and said, "My Lord, when your subordinate arrived yesterday, I saw General Zhang He. I heard that our Lord led troops a few days ago to eliminate a bandit stronghold and rescued two young women. And these two young women are the Miss and her maid from the Zhongshan Zhen family. Is that true?"
"That is true. That Miss Zhen is Zhen Yi's eldest daughter, Zhen Jiang. That day, they were kidnapped by bandits, and the coachman came to report it. So I led troops with Junyi, eliminated the bandits, and rescued the two of them."
"Haha, good! If that's the case, the major matter can be accomplished!" After Dong Zhao finished speaking, he exchanged glances with Ju Shou, and the two smiled at each other.