Chapter 329: Chapter 188: Governor’s County South_2
Translator: 549690339
By that time, when they are sent out, they could hold an official position and have a decent background.”
Catch officers and Inspectors are ranked as Regular Ninth Rank officials. Chief Catch officers and Chief Inspectors are ranked as Regular Seventh Rank Officials.
Although these positions are considered military, they mainly deal with local security and thief apprehension; hence, they are the direct armed forces that Prefects and County Magistrates can command.
These are the official positions that Sun Siwen has the authority to appoint and recommend.
Other positions such as County Captain and Commander-in-Chief, which are the heads of the military positions in a region, belong to the military system. It has always been Lu Yuan who chooses military personnel and assigns them to local positions.
Local civil officials cannot interfere with these military positions.
Nevertheless, having an official identity is quite exciting for many attendants.
Therefore, everyone exclaimed, “It is truly our fortune to follow Master.”
Sun Siwen pointed at them with a smile, “It seems to me that you consider it fortunate to be able to hold an official position.”
However, this was just a joke, after which he didn’t mention it again.
After this episode, all the attendants had increased confidence in the future of their Master.
On the way back, they were more positive than ever, putting in twelve times the spirit and effort into their work.
Sun Siwen watched them secretly and constantly observed who among his attendants and guards could be selected for an official position outside.
As the head of government affairs in the three counties, he naturally needs trustworthy people to help him. Therefore, cultivating some confidants at the local level is actually a common practice.
On the contrary, not doing so would be considered strange.
How can you supervise officials, promote policies, and achieve political accomplishments without a single trustworthy person?
Not forming cliques may sound like an upright and decent thing, but it often means failing to achieve anything.
For the state, that may not necessarily be a good thing.
It’s okay to form cliques, but don’t be overly self-interested; being able to do this much already makes one a good official.
After three days of non-stop travelling, Sun Siwen finally returned to Luyang City.
Then, after taking a rest for one night in his mansion without much time to spend with his wife and children, he gathered the officials of Fu City the next day and announced Lu Yuan’s order.
A large selection would be carried out among officials in Shaoyang and Luyang prefectures.
Those who are outstanding and selected can be promoted by two ranks and transferred to the newly recovered Southern Three Prefectures, taking on important positions.
The exam, which lasts for a month, will combine past political achievements, reputation, and personal written tests to finally select qualified candidates.
Upon hearing the news, many officials were extremely excited.
This is a chance to get promoted two ranks higher.
According to the normal promotion speed, even if an official achieves excellent results every year, it would take at least six years to advance two ranks.
However, in reality, without a background and opportunities, there are very few officials who can achieve two promotions within six years.
And not to mention, in the newly recovered Southern Three Prefectures, where everything still needs to be built, a little effort could easily lead to political achievements.
With these accomplishments, wouldn’t future promotions be much easier?
So, if one could pass the exam, it would undoubtedly be a great opportunity to change one’s destiny and rise rapidly.
Even for those with a background, saving six years at once is an opportunity that is hard to come across in normal days.
As a result, upon learning of this news, more than a hundred officials from Luyang Prefecture couldn’t help but praise the benevolence of Pingxi General.
Around the same time, Cui Changqing, who had received Lu Yuan’s orders in Shaoyang Prefecture, also gathered local officials after a long sigh and announced the selection.
Then, upon receiving expressions of gratitude, officials in the two prefectures began to prepare for the selection with great enthusiasm.
The selection of officials this time mainly targets positions of Eighth Rank and above in the Southern Three Prefectures.
With this rank, there are no more than a hundred officials in the entire Southern Three Prefectures.
However, there are more than three hundred officials participating in the selection.
This means that out of nearly four officials, only one may be chosen to advance two ranks.
The competition can be considered fierce.
Of course, when the selected people are transferred to other prefectures, some positions will naturally be left vacant within the two prefectures, and other unsuccessful candidates may still have a chance to advance.
In general, everyone benefits in some way.
But can these small benefits compare to larger ones?
Therefore, all those with a bit of ambition have now begun to work harder.
What is the direction of their efforts?
Naturally, it is making use of this one-month period to achieve more, improve their reputation, become more familiar with government affairs and prepare for the examination.
As a result, the local gentry and commoners in Shaoyang and Luyang quickly noticed that the once-highly aloof officials had become surprisingly diligent.
Original procrastinated local projects were suddenly like donkeys whipped into action, with the officials racing forward at full speed.
Long-neglected cases were suddenly handled by county officials addressing the grievances of the common people.
Local petty thieves and criminals were met with a severe crackdown, and within a short time, countless prisoners were captured, filling the jails to the brim.
The list simply goes on.
It just goes to show how attractive the prospect of promotion is for these officials.
The officials in the two prefectures, hung by Lu Yuan’s carrot of promotion, immediately turned into fast-moving machines, racing forward at full speed.