Chapter 42: Seeking Talents
The soldiers of the Western Zhou army were all made of local people (slave owners and civilians in and around the capital), and slaves could only perform menial tasks in the army.
The largest organization of the Zhou royal army was the division!
"The Book of Zhou: Xiaguan" states: Whenever the army is organized, every 2,500 men form an army. The king has six armies, the big country has three armies, the medium-sized country has two armies, and the small country has one army. The generals of the armies are all appointed by the ministers.
Two thousand five hundred men form a division, and the division commanders are all middle-ranking officials. Five hundred men form a brigade, and the brigade commanders are all lower-ranking officials.
A hundred men form a soldier, and the leaders of the soldiers are all senior officers.
Twenty-five men form a pair, and both Simas are middle-ranking officers.
Five people form a group, and each group has a leader.
From this perspective, the military system of the Zhou royal family consists of six levels: army, division, brigade, soldier, squad, and squad!
Qingji decided to reform the military organization of Wu State, which was divided into seven levels.
From low to high, they are: sergeant, platoon leader, sergeant, captain, colonel, lieutenant general, and general.
Five people form a squad, with a squad leader.
Ten people form a group, with a group leader.
Fifty men form a squad, with a squad leader.
One hundred people form a du, and there is a duwei;
Five hundred men form a school, with a captain appointed;
A thousand men form a division, with a Zhonglangjiang appointed;
An army consists of 5,000 men and has a general.
In the position of general, Qingji also specially set up "Four Towns" and "Four Expeditions" and increased the title of commander-in-chief. Above the general was the Grand Marshal, who was under the jurisdiction of the King of Wu!
At this moment, in the court, the ministers and officials could not help but tremble in fear as they listened to the decrees and articles on reforming the official system and the military system read out by Sun Wu.
Qingji is determined to implement new policies in the State of Wu!
Reforming the official system and the military system is only the first step. What will follow is likely to be an even stronger storm!
Not to mention the military system , as for the official system, won't Qingji be able to appoint and dismiss ministers at will in the future?
This made the ministers and officials, who had always relied on the protection of their ancestors, feel fear in their hearts.
Among them, there are many who are not worthy of their positions, or are not talented enough to hold their positions, and are just sitting there doing nothing.
Once Qingji really invites talented people from all over the world to join Wu and lets them each get their positions, how can these people live in peace?
But Qingji doesn't care about that.
If it weren't for the principle of gradual progress, Qingji would have gone a step further and promulgated more new policies one by one!
…
Wu State, Yunyang.
At the city gate!
At this moment, people in clothes of all colors gathered here, and the place was so crowded that no one could get through.
I saw a notice posted on one side of the city gate, with two soldiers in armor and a minor official standing on the left and right.
Looking at the notice that suddenly appeared, passers-by couldn't help but come over, puzzled.
"What does this notice say?"
"It should be about national affairs."
"This is a call for talents. The King of Wu issued it to the world, inviting scholars from all countries to come to Wu and implement the new policy!"
The people in the audience were all talking about the contents of the notice.
Among them, there were merchants traveling between countries, scholars traveling around the world in search of knowledge, and illiterate peddlers.
People of all kinds were looking at the notice and pointing.
Since Qingji knew that most of the people in Wu State could not read a single word, he specially appointed an official to read out each notice!
The clerk coughed lightly and said to the people below the stage, "My dear fellow villagers, this notice is the king's decree to recruit talented people!"
"The content is as follows: Wu inherited the Zhou Dynasty's mandate and originated from Jianghan. From Taibo to the present day, Wu has enjoyed a reign of more than 600 years."
"I am grateful for the hardships of my ancestors who fled to the Jingman tribe, cut their hair and tattooed their bodies, and made their way from scratch until Shoumeng became king. Zhufan, Yuji, Yumei, all the brothers, sang for the world, and my father Wang Liao, all opened doors for future generations. It is so glorious!"
"But there was an unfilial son, Sun Guang, who stabbed King Liao, murdered the king and usurped the throne. The disaster started from the palace walls. There is no greater shame than this."
"Since ancient times, the rulers who received the Mandate of Heaven and restored the country have always been unable to find virtuous and noble people to rule the world with them."
"When he found a virtuous man, he never left his own neighborhood. How could it be a lucky encounter? The superiors were seeking him out!"
"You two, help me to promote the humble. I will not ask about background, but only talent. If you have a skill, I will employ you!"
After reading out the contents of the notice, the clerk used easy-to-understand vernacular to inform the people one by one.
Under the instruction of Qingji, such orders seeking talents were posted in various cities of Wu State, and announced to the world through word of mouth!
Many scholars in Wan, a faraway place in Chu State, had learned about Wu State's order to seek talents.
At this moment, on the shore of a remote and quiet lake, two young men with luxurious clothes and extraordinary bearing were fishing.
"Shao Bo, I heard that the new king of Wu, Qingji, is eager to seek talents and has issued a decree to recruit talents. Anyone with a special skill can be employed."
"You have the talent to rule the world. You can command the army and govern the country. If you offer the King of Wu a good strategy for governing the country, you will be valued and realize your ambitions in Wu!"
The young man on the left caught a carp and then looked at his best friend with a smile.
The young man named Shao Bo did not comment, and said slowly: "Since ancient times, there have been many kings who have sought talents, but how many of them can do what Cheng Tang, King Wen of Zhou, Duke Huan of Qi, and Duke Wen of Jin did?"
"Hahahaha! Shao Bo, you are still too arrogant."
The young man shook his head and said, "The wisest kings in ancient times are King Cheng Tang and King Wen of Zhou. The most powerful rulers in ancient times are Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin!"
"However, how many of them are Yi Yin and Jiang Shang? How many of them are Guan Zhong and Zhao Shuai?"
Hearing this, Shao Bo was not angry, but smiled calmly and said, "Ziqin, do you think I think highly ?"
"That's not the case."
Ziqin sighed and said, "How could I not know your talent? It's a pity that in our great Chu, there are only villains sitting in the government, playing tricks, so that people's talents and things cannot be put to good use!"
"In the State of Chu, people who are not nobles cannot enter the government. This really buries your talent, Shaobo."
"Now that the King of Wu is seeking talents, why don't you go to Wu and help him achieve his ambitions? You will leave your name in history and be praised by future generations!"
After hearing this, Shao Bo hesitated for a moment and said, " Ziqin, I know you are doing this for my own good. But how can I know whether the King of Wu is really seeking talents or just pretending to do so?"
"Or maybe the King of Wu doesn't have the courage to reform to enrich the country and strengthen the army?"
"Shao Bo, you have misjudged the King of Wu!"
After throwing the hook into the lake, Ziqin said loudly: "I heard that the King of Wu intends to implement a new policy, and Wu has now reformed its official and military systems, in order to attract talented people to Wu, so that everyone can get their positions and make full use of their talents."
"With such a Wu king, how can Shao Bo say that he does not have the courage and determination that a ruler of a revived country should have?"
"Moreover, the King of Wu was indeed eager to recruit talented people. It is said that in order to recruit talented people from all over the world, the King of Wu built a platform for recruiting talented people on Xiang Lake outside the capital of Wu. It was also called the Golden Platform because it was filled with 250 taels of gold (5,000 taels) for the talented people to share."
"The King of Wu also set up a talent recruitment hall on one side of the palace. The buildings are just like those in the palace and are specially provided for the scholars who come to Wu to live in. Their daily meals are the same as those of the ministers!"
"The Golden Terrace and the Hall of Recruiting Talents were both built under the personal supervision of the King of Wu. No carelessness was allowed. This shows his sincerity in seeking talents!"
