ushernet Chapter 195 Irresponsible
Chapter 195 Irresponsible
Man Chong naturally understood this principle. It wasn't that Chen Er looked down on the water organization he had formed, but rather that their missions had different focuses. Man Chong cupped his hands and replied, "Your subordinate understands."
Chen Er explained in this way so that Man Chong wouldn't have any lingering doubts. Seeing that Man Chong understood his meaning, Chen Er was very happy and said to Man Chong, "With Bo Ning in the Southern Organization District, I can rest assured."
"You flatter me, my lord."
Upon hearing Chen Er's praise, Man Chong quickly replied modestly that Man Chong played a crucial role in the stability and development of the Southern Organization District. However, the two states under the Southern Organization District were still in the stability maintenance phase. Since Man Chong took office, the county-level officials in the two states had not yet been fully replaced.
It must be said here that the mess left by Yuan Shu was truly enormous. A large number of local officials were directly appointed by the local gentry and clans, and the foundation for Yuan Shu's establishment of the Chen Kingdom was far too shallow.
Yuan Shu's rule in Yangzhou was particularly weak. In order to win over the local gentry, he adopted a policy of directly appointing them as local officials. This would not only quickly stabilize the local situation, but also bring the local gentry into a group of interests with them.
This would make the situation more stable. However, this model was not applicable to the region that Chen Er governed, because he did not follow the same path as the Han Empire.
The reason why the Han Empire became what it is today is because it gave too much power to local powerful families, especially in the later period. The practice of directly selling official positions gave those powerful families and even big merchants an excellent opportunity to become officials of the empire.
Chen Er said to Man Chong, "I do not exclude members of the aristocratic families from continuing to serve as local officials in the districts I govern, but the premise is that these people must have sufficient ability. I do not welcome those who are not capable. It is irresponsible to the people and also irresponsible to the future development of the districts I govern."
"Understood, Your subordinate." Man Chong replied affirmatively. In the years he had worked in the district he was in charge of, he was very clear about Chen Er's principles for employing people. In fact, it was very simple, just four words: meritocracy.
Led by Xiahou Dun and Man Chong, Chen Er and Zhao Yun arrived at Man Chong's office, the administrative office of the Southern Organization District. The office was bustling with people coming and going.
After sitting down in the reception room, Chen Er picked up his teacup and said to Man Chong, "Bo Ning, do you know what the biggest problem I discovered during my trip south is?"
"This subordinate is unaware, please enlighten me, my lord," Man Chong replied cautiously. In fact, with Wang Hui's reminder, Man Chong probably already understood, but he could not appear too clever in front of Chen Er or betray Wang Hui. So, while preparing his answer in his mind, Man Chong had to pretend to be very confused and unaware.
Watching Man Chong's performance, Xiahou Dun wanted to laugh, but he dared not laugh out loud at this moment, otherwise his previous actions would be exposed. Xiahou Dun had no choice but to hold back for now and wait until Chen Er left before he could extort a good beating from Man Chong. During the time he had been working with Man Chong, the two had gotten along quite well. Making some harmless jokes or teasing each other would not damage their relationship. On the contrary, it could strengthen their relationship and bring them closer.
Chen Er was not surprised by Man Chong's reaction. People in this world have not yet fully realized the enormous impact of transportation. Although the convenient transportation in the northern region of the district he had managed, especially in Youzhou and Jizhou, has made everyone feel the great benefits of smooth roads, it is not enough to make everyone understand those six words.
Chen Er said to Man Chong, "During my time traveling south, the most striking thing I noticed was the huge gap between the transportation conditions in the south and those in Youzhou and Jizhou, especially within Yangzhou. The transportation conditions in many areas are truly terrible. Some areas are still using temporary roads built by the large organization that suppressed the Yellow Turban Rebellion. These roads are full of potholes and uneven. They're barely passable on sunny days, but as soon as it rains, they become muddy and impassable, severely hindering Yangzhou's development."
Chen Er took a sip of tea and continued, "I know Yangzhou has convenient water transport, but water transport can't solve all the problems. Furthermore, the docks and areas without rivers still need smooth roads for connection. Boning, you spent some time in Youzhou, so you must know about Youzhou's official road plan. My only requirement for the two prefectures under the Southern Organization District for the next two years is that at least convenient transportation between each county must be guaranteed, and there must be at least one official road that is easily passable even in rainy weather."
Upon hearing Chen Er's words, Man Chong recalled the routes between Youzhou and Jizhou, and then considered the current situation in Yangzhou. After careful comparison, he realized that organizing and dispatching merchant teams between Youzhou and Jizhou was indeed much faster than that between Yangzhou and Jizhou.
Seeing that Man Chong was still thinking, Chen Er didn't continue. He wanted to give Man Chong some time to think. On the other hand, Xiahou Dun was also deep in thought. Convenient transportation would have a huge impact on the team, but they hadn't paid much attention to this issue before. After all, they didn't travel in the rain before, so they wouldn't have thought about it so much.
Seeing that the two were deep in thought, Chen Er gave a simple example: "Imagine you are now the village chief of a mountain village. If your village has unique products that are not available to the outside world, and these products are very valuable, but your village is very poor, the only way to make the village prosperous is to sell those products. However, your village is deep in the mountains, making it difficult for outsiders to come in, and it is also difficult for you to go out. Even if you do go out, it is difficult to take the goods out. In this situation, what is the first thing you should do?"
"Build the road!" Xiahou Dun and Man Chong said in unison.
“That’s right, it’s about road construction.” Chen Er nodded: “The principle is actually very simple. You hadn’t noticed these things before because you hadn’t connected all the aspects. So, Bo Ning, the most important thing for you to do in governing the two southern states right now is to build roads, understand?”
"Reporting to my lord, I had considered this before, but there is a serious shortage of able-bodied men in Yangzhou. Spring plowing is about to begin, and the road conditions weren't too bad during the winter, so I overlooked this matter. Now that you have reminded me, I realize the importance of this matter."