Han officials

Chapter 52 Political Maneuvers
It is said that after Wei Zhe took office as the prefect of Lelang, although he attracted a group of heroes from Liaodong to join him, that was all. The brave men from other parts of the Han Dynasty had no intention of joining him.

Therefore, after a period of bustle in front of the prefect's mansion, it returned to calm.

In comparison, it was the internal affairs of Lelang County that gave Wei Zhe more headaches.

Although Lelang County has a population of more than 200,000, after Wei Zhe took the position of prefect, he found that the resources he could mobilize were not much more than before.

Among the nine counties of Lelang, excluding Daifang County, the remaining eight counties, namely Chaoshan, Handancheng, Peishui, Zhanchan, Suicheng, Zengdi, Simang and Tun, are almost all in a mess.

Relying on the Daling Mountain alone to block the Dongyi, this group of people did not seem to have much sense of crisis.

The military registers of each county are basically just for show, with only a few superficial ones left in the county temple.

By the way, Xi Zhicai originally wanted to resign from his position as Dai Fangling and continue to follow Wei Zhe.

Even though countless scholars were vying for the position of county magistrate, he still didn't care.

In Xi Zhicai's view, Wei Zhe's duty as a counselor is more important than any official position.

However, Wei Zhe persuaded him and asked Xi Zhicai to endure the grievance for a while.

After all, Daifang County is so important that it is not an exaggeration to say that it is his base.

Whether it was Wei Zhe's military farming arrangements in Daifang County or the geographical location of Daifang County that could communicate with Xianbei and the Three Han, Wei Zhe had to keep this place firmly in his own hands.

But if Xi Zhicai resigned, it is not known who the court would send.

After hearing what Wei Zhe said, Xi Zhicai had no choice but to stay in Daifang for the time being.

However, Daifang County is not too far from the Korean City, so there is no problem in communicating through letters.

However, Yuan Jun, the chief historian of Lelang, has had to be very busy recently.

After all, as he came from a wealthy family, he was the best choice to represent Wei Zhe in entertaining the powerful people in the county.

Wei Zhe asked him to come forward to reassure the powerful people in Lelang County so that they would not have any undue concerns.

Because compared to dealing with this group of powerful people, Wei Zhe has more important things to deal with.

……

……

The next day, at the county army camp.

Looking at the soldiers training in the training ground, Wei Zhe was smiling and seemed very satisfied.

After the soldiers finished their drill, Wei Zhe nodded in praise, saying, "I didn't expect Commander Gongsun to be so proficient in military training. Is this inherited from a family or learned from a teacher?"

Hearing this, the middle-aged general beside him couldn't help but smile.

"I don't deserve your praise, Lord. I've only read a few military books!"

This person is Gongsun Zhao, the prefect of Lelang County.

It is said that since the establishment of this dynasty, Emperor Guangwu abolished the post of county lieutenant.

However, the border counties are the only exception, and this position is still retained.

According to the laws of this dynasty, the number of soldiers in each county was generally set at 4,000.

The county soldiers come from the people who are serving in the county, and are generally replaced every two years.

Therefore, theoretically speaking, the Han Dynasty should have 150,000 county soldiers at that time.

However, no one knows how many there are actually, let alone their combat effectiveness.

Of course, the soldiers in front of Wei Zhe looked pretty good, at least better than those in Qingxu and other places.

And this is why he appears here.

There is no way. Although Lelang Prefect Zhang Qi has left, the county lieutenant is still the same.

Faced with such a critical position, Wei Zhe naturally did not feel comfortable letting outsiders control it.

In fact, the county lieutenant Gongsun Zhao who was standing next to him had almost guessed Wei Zhe's thoughts.

Although he was a military commander, his ancestors had also been wealthy. In fact, Gongsun Zhao was from the Gongsun clan of Beihai, a well-known surname in the county.

Although his grandfather Gongsun Li was from a humble family and made a living by farming in his early years, he was gifted.

After Gongsun Li gained some fame in his village, he was recognized by the county magistrate for his quick wit and quick thinking, and was recruited as a county official. Later, he became a village headman, bringing peace to the countryside. He was then transferred to become a county official, where he was well-received and capable. He subsequently held various positions, including county accountant and doctor.

After accumulating connections for many years, Gongsun Li was finally appointed as the mayor of Shangyu County. He then traveled to many places and made great achievements in managing local areas. After several decades of this, he finally became the prime minister of Rencheng State.

He was lucky as the government was in turmoil at that time.

In the first year of Jiankang [144 AD], Emperor Xiaoshun passed away, and Empress Liang Nü became the Empress Dowager and ruled the country.

From then on, the Liang family monopolized power and successively supported Emperor Chong Liu Bing, Emperor Zhi Liu Zun, and Emperor Huan Liu Zhi.

Empress Dowager Liang even presided over government affairs three times, and "all the people in the world hoped for peace," which earned her praise from Confucian scholars.

However, although Empress Dowager Liang was virtuous, she was unable to restrain her relatives by marriage. Her brother, General Liang Ji, was even more domineering. He even poisoned Emperor Zhi because of his careless words.

At one time, countless officials in the court were dismissed and removed from office.

It was in this context that Gongsun Li, who had no background, was fortunately promoted to the position of Grand Herald.

Gongsun Li's experience of rising from a farmer to a high official is truly legendary.

However, Gongsun Li was not proud of this.

After realizing that the government was becoming increasingly chaotic, he predicted that chaos was coming, so he resigned from his post on the pretext of illness and kept himself out of trouble.

If nothing unexpected had happened, the Gongsun family of Beihai should have become a noble family like the Yuan family of Runan.

Unexpectedly, Gongsun Li's eldest son Gongsun De, whom he had high hopes for, and his intelligent and clever second son Gongsun Ang both contracted the disease and died. Only the dull-witted youngest son Gongsun Feng survived.

As a result, the rise of the Beihai Gongsun family came to an abrupt end, and no one served as an official until Gongsun Li's death.

However, although Gongsun Feng was a corrupt scholar, he managed to keep the family business.

Although he did not learn much from his studies, he raised his children well.

The eldest daughter, Gongsun Yu, married the second son of the Jiangdong Lu family.

The eldest son, Gongsun Zhao, also studied hard since he was young, and was determined to revive the family business.

However, no one from the Gongsun family has served in officialdom for nearly thirty years, and the influence and connections left by Gongsun Li have long been scarce because there is no one to take over.

Under such circumstances, Gongsun Zhao could only start as a county official. He once served as the chief clerk of Jiaodong County, and later served as an assistant official in many prefectures and counties.

However, due to his humble family background and being trapped in a local area for a long time, he was unable to take charge of a region and become a local leader.

That was why Gongsun Zhao sought a post in a frontier county, hoping to achieve success and be promoted.

As it turned out, his choice was indeed a good one.

Gongsun Zhao had a smooth career in the border counties. He served as the magistrate of Goguryeo County in Xuanqiao County and the magistrate of Xiangping, and was considered a capable official.

However, it is precisely because of this that Wei Zhe feels difficult.

He was not afraid of encountering mediocre or corrupt officials like Huang Xiong, but was more afraid of encountering capable and competent officials like him.

Because the former can be solved with money, but the latter often requires something extra.

After returning to the general's tent, Wei Zhe looked at Gongsun Zhao standing solemnly beside him. After thinking for a moment, he asked directly, "How many vacancies are there among the county troops?"

Unexpectedly, Gongsun Zhao said bluntly, "The military register lists 4,886 soldiers, but there are actually 3,192. Less than half of them are fit for use, and the rest are old and weak hired as substitutes."

In other words, the two thousand people Wei Zhe just saw were actually all the available combat forces.

After saying that, the man actually took out an account book and placed it in front of Wei Zhe.

"Your Majesty, please allow me to present all the regular payments I have received since taking office. I have not touched a single cent of the valuables, which are all in the great tent. If you require them, I will bring them to you immediately."

After these words were spoken, Wei Zhe now looked at Gongsun Zhao in a completely different light.

It seems that he really wants to make progress...

(End of this chapter)