Volume 4 is in the ascendant Chapter 390: Western Tour
Upon learning that Bai Tu wanted to become sworn brothers with him, Cao Bang was very moved and... laughed at him.
Bai Tu didn't force me - well, it's because you didn't give me the opportunity to send hostages to each other, so you can't blame me!
"Thank you for your kindness, King Chu. I hope you will treat my younger brother well in the future. Zihuan is already grown up, and it is time for him to consider marriage. His parents are not around, so I need more help from you, King Chu." Cao Bang mentioned Cao Pi.
"Zihuan? Isn't he only sixteen years old?" Bai Tu said in surprise.
Sixteen years old, or in Chinese age! In Bai Tu's opinion, he is still a little brat. In the future, he would be criticized for dating at such an age.
"It's too early, too early." Bai Tu thought and shook his head.
Cao Bang: ...
She had forgotten that the King of Chu in front of her was not married until he was twenty-seven or twenty-eight!
However, Cao Bang only mentioned it. In the common people, especially in small families, most people might have been married at the age of sixteen. But in the wealthy families and the direct descendants of the gentry, getting married at the age of sixteen is actually a little early. Usually they are just engaged or start looking for a target.
If Cao Pi really couldn't leave for the time being, helping him arrange a marriage was what Bai Tu, as a landlord, should do.
"If Zihuan has any ideas, you can come and talk to me, but... at this age, you still have to express your feelings and restrain yourself from etiquette. You should take care of your health. It's not good for your brain too early. But Anguo... if you have someone you like in Jinling, I can make the decision for you!" Bai Tu said seriously.
Cao Bang is almost reaching adulthood, but he is a little skinny...
"The King of Chu doesn't need to worry about the foreign ministers. Although Nanjing has many talented people and beautiful scenery, it's all very good, but I just don't like it." Cao Bang curled his lips.
"Well, in that case, then An Guo should also get ready and set off with me the day after tomorrow. We will probably reach Wancheng in three months. By then, you can reach Xu Du in one day on a fast horse." Seeing that his attempt to win him over had failed again, Bai Tu had no choice but to give up the idea for the time being.
Bai Tu's western tour to Jingzhou is about to take place. Although it is a public trip, Bai Tu will still need to be busy during the trip.
It was mainly to provide a source of support for local officials in Jingzhou, to appease and promote the gentry in Nanjun, and to "expand" the talent pool in Nanyang.
Although many officials from Yangzhou were directly assigned to Jingzhou after it was incorporated into the State of Chu, considering that Jingzhou had only been under the control of Chu for a short time, most of the grassroots officials were still of local origin.
Even though Bai Tu has begun to downplay the concept of "zhou", at least in the short term, he cannot erase the distinction between "Jingzhou" and "Yangzhou" in the minds of people in the two places.
During this western tour, pacifying grassroots officials was also an important goal.
In Nanjun, many civil and military officials who had previously served in Jingzhou Prefecture, even if they did not cause any trouble, have now retired to their homes...
They were a little embarrassed to directly submit to the Chu State, as it was impossible for them to be accepted into the Hall of Talents... maybe in a few years they would be "recommended" to come out one after another.
Of course, if Bai Tu goes to invite them personally, many of them will come out reluctantly. Otherwise, if they are left alone for too long, they may stay at home and become evil!
For matters like this that are just for the sake of face, Bai Tu doesn't mind solving them.
In addition, in Nanyang, there are many big men and talented people who live in seclusion, such as Pang Tong's uncle Pang Degong, Mr. Shuijing Sima Zheng, and a group of their students, including Xu Shu, Meng Jian, Cui Jun, Shi Tao... and the most famous "Nanyang Zhuge Lu" - Zhuge Liang also lives in Nanyang now!
Even if Bai Tu went to invite these people, he might not be able to do so. For example, Pang Tong had warned Bai Tu before that he should not expect to be able to invite his uncle to come out...
But you have to ask for it in order to have a chance. And if you don’t ask for it, if he goes to someone else in the future, people who don’t know him will think that Bai Tu doesn’t know how to judge people!
If it was when Bai Tu had just arrived in Qu'a, no matter how many famous and talented people left Yangzhou, no one would think that this had anything to do with Bai Tu, the nominal governor of Yangzhou.
But now in the State of Chu, if some talented people leave and are reused by other princes, it will be an invisible blow to Bai Tu.
So this trip to Baitu must go...
It would be best if you can recruit them, but if not, you should try to use connections and confer honorary titles on them - this is what Cao Cao and Cao Pi did in history. However, if you meet someone who is stubborn, he will really refuse to accept the honorary title.
Bai Tu didn’t think that he could be admired by everyone, nor did he think that his charm was really that much higher than Cao Cao’s.
Therefore, Bai Tu did not have the intention to recruit anyone, but he had made up his mind that if he failed to recruit anyone, he would always say afterwards, "It's a pity that someone will not help me in the future." If someone surrendered to another household in the future, he would also say, "God gave birth to someone, and God helps him."
In short...if you can't recruit new officials, then confer them with honorary titles. If you don't accept the titles, you should remind local officials to remember to greet them during the New Year and help them with their life difficulties. For those who really have to leave... make sure they are well fed!
As long as the milk is in place, these people will make achievements in other princes in the future, and others will think that Bai Tu has the ability to judge people. If he does not make any achievements... others will also think that it is because the other party does not have the ability to judge the leader, which leads to his being buried.
This is also a means to enhance one's own attractiveness, which is a huge profit.
In addition to talent and people's hearts, Bai Tu also plans to do some field research , and will then gradually start to improve the local official system.
The county system that began in the middle and late Warring States period did benefit the Warring States heroes who carried out reforms one after another, as well as the Qin and Han dynasties.
However, times are changing. The faster productivity increases, the faster the county system becomes outdated. This is also one of the reasons why Bai Tu wanted to stabilize the country after establishing it.
We can’t be too impatient, but we can also be too slow, because the speed of industrialization will not slow down…
Two days later, Bai Tu's western tour started, which was specially scheduled for half a month after the "personal welcoming ceremony", that is, on the first day of May.
It was another day off, so the officials from the six ministries came to see him off, which would not take up any working time...
In addition to Lü Lingqi, the Queen of Chu, there were also Privy Councilor Lü Bu and Huang Chengyan, who was serving as the prefect of Nanjun - two of the five grand secretaries of the palace were present.
The other six ministries also selected assistant ministers or chief clerks to assist Bai Tu in conducting county inspections.
This refers to important people. As for unimportant people, such as secretaries... that is, Shangshu Lang Zhang Chunhua, and the friend who saw him off Cao Bang, no one cared about them.
Although only a small part of the cement road has been paved and the main roads are not covered, signal towers are already everywhere.
As long as Bai Tu doesn't go to Zhangling or Jingnan, even on the road, the speed at which important information is transmitted to him will not be much slower, and may even be faster than sitting in Jinling and waiting for news when there is no signal tower!
Bai Tu tried to keep the ceremonial guards and escorts simple, and issued strict orders to the counties along the way not to disturb the people, but the team still had thousands of people.
This is one of the "disadvantages" of becoming the King of Chu. When he was in Qu'a, Bai Tu could still take a dozen people out of the city.
and……
Although there are plenty of horses and war horses now, the team's speed cannot be increased.
Because every time he passed through a county, Bai Tu had to show his face, otherwise the King of Chu passed by but did not enter the city... Did he have any opinions about the local officials?
Fortunately, before cement appeared, various places had been persistently building roads, and there was also the convenience of water transportation, which allowed Bai Tu to arrive in Jiangxia in early June...
