Guo Jia put his hands behind him, fiddling with the feather fan, his steps were light and his spirit was flying. Xun You bent his hands, his expression was calm. Although his steps were not fast, he was not falling by Guo Jia. He felt a calm and gentle breeze. The green willow branches just now brushed across their shoulders, as gentle as water.

"Gongda, what do you think the court will do?"

"The factions in the court are complicated, so it's hard to say who will the emperor listen to in the end." Xun You said lightly: "Liangzhou is as strong as the golden wind, is brave and fierce, and is brave and powerful as a force. He may take the initiative to seek war."

Guo Jia raised the corners of his mouth slightly. "That's not better, you have a chance to play."

Xun You ignored him and sighed softly. "I have been struggling for a few years, but in the end, the people of Liangzhou are in power. Fengxiao, do you think we were wrong at the beginning?"

"Liangzhou native." Guo Jia pondered for a few words and his smile faded. He slowed down and looked back at Xun You. "Do you think Liangzhou natives can rule?"

"It's hard to say. Just from the perspective of military power, the people of Liangzhou are already indispensable pillars of the court. Yang Fu, Yan Wen and others are not ordinary people, not to mention that there is Jia Xu in Bingzhou. Fengxiao, I am really a little worried. If it is..." He shook his head. "This is another Qin State."

Guo Jia rolled his eyes and couldn't help laughing again. "Then you can rest assured, you won't."

"Are you so confident?"

"I have confidence." Guo Jia shook the feather fan and said earnestly: "Gongda, your eyes cannot be just staring at the opponent in front of you, but also at the companions behind you, especially scholars."

Xun You's eyes flashed slightly. "I hope so."

Guo Jia didn't say anything more. Xun You would soon have the opportunity to experience it personally. When he saw the advantages brought by technology with his own eyes, he would naturally understand. Before Sun Ce defeated Gongsun Du, he was like Xun You, only knowing that Sun Ce had technical advantages, but he didn't know how big this advantage was.

"Have you confirmed the matter of Xi Zhicai?"

"Confirmed." Xun You nodded. "He did go to Jiaozhou, but Xu Jing and Xu Shao looked down on him. He didn't get the chance until the high-ranking cavalry defeated by the General of the Cavalry and lost Panyu. Even so, he was unable to make the world come true. The General of the Cavalry is good at fighting and his subordinates are concise. The troops gathered by Liu Yao and the brothers of the Shi family are no match for them at all, and they are defeated step by step. However, you also know the situation in Jiaozhou, there are dense mountains and forests everywhere, and stalemate is inevitable."

"What if you enter Cangwu?"

"It will be better, but it is not very meaningful. You cannot form an absolute advantage in a short period of time, but you may lose the big one because of the small one." Xun You smiled and said, "We do not occupy any of the time, place, and people, so it is difficult to win quickly. Instead of doing this, it is better to slow down and solve the troubles of the Central Plains first."

Guo Jia nodded in agreement, looked at each other and smiled knowingly.

——

Three days later, Zhou Yu and Xun You left Moling, and three thousand war horses were also left with them.

With these war horses, Zhou Yu will be able to form a cavalry of two or three thousand cavalry. These cavalry will be led by Wen Chou and directly under Zhou Yu, ensuring that Zhou Yu can promptly reinforce the various departments in Jingzhou when needed.

Du Ji stayed in Moling for a few more days. He had more things to report to Sun Ce.

The seven counties of Jingzhou have a large river, with uneven population and economic development. Even the four counties in Jiangnan have a big gap. There will be conflicts, especially in recent years, Jiangnan has developed rapidly. Guanzhong and Luoyang have continuously arrived in Jiangnan, creating more wealth, and also bringing new contradictions. There are conflicts between locals and foreigners, as well as new powerful people and old families, as well as conservatives and radicals. Whether it is Guanzhong or Yizhou, the courts in Guanzhong are contacting Jingzhou families, hoping to find supporters, especially the four counties in Jiangnan. Du Ji has spent most of his energy on the four counties in Jiangnan in the past two years, and he is a little overwhelmed. Compared with when he met in Xiangyang the previous year, there was a lot more white hair on his head.

After integrating the reports between Zhou Yu and Du Ji, Sun Ce finally made a decision to strengthen the construction of the intelligence network in Jingzhou. All matters related to the Guanzhong court and Yizhou were handled by Zhou Yu. Once discovered, they would be treated as a conspiracy. Du Ji was only responsible for internal supervision tasks to ensure that the powerful families of the old and new families would not become popular and occupy the fruits of the development of Jiangnan.

Taking this opportunity, Sun Ce gave a break to Du Ji. He was preparing to separate the governor from the administrative system and strengthen the governor's original supervisory function. During the Qin and Western Han dynasties, the supervision system was originally paralleled with administration and military affairs. The central government had a censor and county, and the thirteen prefectures governors were established during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han to form an independent system. However, later, in order to divide the power of the prime minister, the emperor strengthened the administrative function of the censor's official, and the supervisory power was given to the Censor's Office. Later, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the governor's influence on the state increased day by day, and gradually became an administrative official. Finally, he changed the governor to the governor and was in charge of the military and political affairs of the state. Although the Censor's Office was responsible for the supervision of hundreds of officials and was directly controlled by the emperor, the supervisory function was constantly weakening.

There are many reasons for doing this, but one thing that cannot be ignored: Confucianism emphasizes education and neglects the rule of law. It does not mean that Confucianism does not speak of the law, but Confucianism attaches obviously insufficient importance to the rule of law. Interpreting the law based on Confucian classics also gives more vague space for legal provisions and rapidly declining its binding force on local forces. The governor, the power of the prefect is too great, which is also one of the reasons why local separatist can be realized.

Before this, Sun Ce had gradually rebuilt his post at the county level and divided the military powers of the prefect. Now he plans to restore the establishment of the prison, strip the prefect of the prefect of the supervision, and realize the separation of administrative, military and supervision powers in the county and county powers, and form three basic independent systems, no longer confusing.

In other words, Du Ji was promoted to the prefect afterwards, but was directly promoted to the Nine Ministers. Of course that was a later story. For now, the most practical problem was to establish a county supervisor. The county-level supervisor was originally an inspector, and he was a subordinate of the prefect, reporting to the prefect. The establishment of a county supervisor and the promotion of the supervisor's rank and salary was still retained, but it was separated from the prefect's office and was responsible for the county supervisor.

In other words, Du Ji will add a large number of subordinates, and most of these subordinates are recommended by him, which is a great opportunity to make private graces. Sun Ce cannot examine everyone, and who can be a county supervisor is basically up to Du Ji to decide.

Du Ji was not ecstatic, but was a little worried. Sun Ce first tried it in Jingzhou, which was a trust in him and a test of his ability. If he did it well, his future would be self-evident. After Sun Ce established a new dynasty, he would be the first censor. If he failed, it would not only affect Sun Ce's restructuring, but also affect the stability of Jingzhou. Jingzhou cannot be in chaos now.

Du Ji thought about it for a long time. "Lord, it is related to the stability of Jingzhou. I think the risk is too high, so it is better to try it out by other states."

Sun Ce smiled. He knew very well that there was great resistance to changing the system. Choosing to reform at this time and to trial it in Jingzhou was not an impulse, but a result of careful consideration.

If the emperor wants to gather prefectures and counties, establish alliances, and encircle him on three sides, facing Guanzhong and Yizhou Jingzhou is naturally the most critical frontline, and strengthening control over Jingzhou is the top priority. Strengthening control requires increasing officials, especially increasing officials who have no feelings for the court and basically have no chance of promotion under the old system. Only if such officials are spread across the grassroots can Jingzhou be truly controlled.

However, increasing officials will have an impact on current officials, and it is inevitable that they will be rejected. If they are not done well, they may even cause rebellion. To avoid such a situation, it is necessary to increase the troops in Jingzhou and take response measures. Increased troops requires appropriate reasons to deal with possible attacks by the court, implement military control in Jingzhou, and station heavy troops, which is a very suitable reason. Whoever dares to emerge and directly suppresses is just like cleaning up the aristocratic families in Jingzhou on the charge of collusion with the enemy. It is legitimate and righteous. In peacetime, it cannot be so rough. Emperor Guangwu personally promoted the field as the emperor but failed by the aristocratic families. This is an example that is close to the present.

In addition, Du Ji was from Guanzhong and had never had many suspicions and rumors about him. Du Ji came to report on his work, expressed his loyalty, and reciprocated his favor. At this time, he chose to reorganize in Jingzhou and promised his first censorship to be the return of loyalty to him, killing two birds with one stone.

"Mr. Bo, I have discussed this with Gongjin. He will communicate with the prefects of each county and cooperate with your work. There will be no problem with Zhang Changshi. Jingzhou is now on the front line, and most of the prefects of each county are military personnel. Their combat tasks are very heavy and they need people to share administrative and supervisory affairs. If they have military achievements, they will not refuse. The other states do not have such conditions, and it will easily cause trouble. If you are still worried, I will take charge of Jingzhou myself."

Seeing that Sun Ce had made up his mind, Du Ji did not say anything else and bowed to accept the order. He immediately put forward a suggestion: select a group of students from the Nanyang Government Affairs Hall to enrich them in various counties. These officials have received basic government affairs training, but are not polluted by official habits. They have the ambitions of scholars, are vigorous, and are not afraid of offending others. They are most suitable for carrying out supervision tasks.

Sun Ce smiled. Du Ji was very cautious, but instead tried his best to avoid suspicion. The Nanyang Government Affairs Hall was in charge of Zhang Hong, who was considered Zhang Hong's disciple. Moreover, it was mainly children of ordinary people in Nanyang. He enjoyed the benefits brought by the new policy and supported the new policy the most. Replenishing these people at the grassroots level is like adding veterans to the grassroots level to serve as pavilion chiefs, and naturally has a centripetal force beyond ordinary people.

"Bohou, you are cautious and unwilling to attract suspicion. This is good, but everything has its pros and cons. It is difficult for you to use your skills without a few trustworthy people. Those people have followed you for several years and have worked hard, so they can't let them see any hope."

"What the lord said is, but I..."

Sun Ce raised his hand. "The seven counties of Jingzhou need seven county supervisors. These people are not qualified for students in the Government Affairs Hall, so you recommend them. Just talk fairly and don't have too many concerns. I only have one requirement, taking into account Guanzhong and Luoyang. At least one of the seven people should have Guanzhong and one Luoyang. Otherwise, the newly moved people will be uneasy. Are you right?"
Chapter completed!