Chapter 103 Lack of Weakness
In Xiangyang city, the county governor’s mansion.

This county governor's mansion was rebuilt by Cai Mao using his own residence in the city when he moved here from Jiangling, with the main part being the gatehouse.

Guo Jia's head was wrapped in yellowed, low-quality coarse silk, which looked like grass and trees hit by frost in late autumn.

He really didn't expect that Black Bear would just let someone shave his hair!

It seems that shaving the hair was a lenient punishment for the sake of Wen Pin and Liu Qi's face.

Otherwise, you will most likely face the death penalty.

But he had already found out that the military officers captured at Bowangpo were not executed by Hei Xiong.

The Qingzhou soldiers and officers were not killed, so was it necessary to execute an envoy like myself directly?
It is no secret that envoys from all parties move around privately.

While Guo Jia was waiting, Wen Pin went in to see Liu Qi.

These two days were too long for Liu Qi personally. He didn't even have time to go home to visit his wife and children.

Since breakfast he has been receiving visits from all sorts of people.

The only time he could catch his breath was now during lunch, but Wen Pin came again.

In the small dining room, Liu Qi raised his glass to drink after dinner and listened to Wen Pin's report.

"Since the military advisor is in charge, it's not easy for me to interfere."

Liu Qi was already busy enough and didn't want to be distracted and waste his energy dealing with the envoys from Xu Du.

But Wen Pin hurriedly advised that he had been transferred to Liu Qi by Liu Biao, and the master-servant relationship between him and Liu Qi had changed.

"If you are in need of a reliable confidant, why don't you borrow Wang Lingshi from the old lord?"

Wen Pin pointed in the direction of Xudu and said, "There are also people in Xudu who are loyal to the Han Dynasty. The world is in chaos now, with treacherous and virtuous people on the same stage, and the current situation is even more unclear. If we make more contacts, the loyal people will show up after a long time."

"That makes sense."

Liu Qi immediately summoned a close follower and ordered him to go to the Zhennan Shogunate to invite Wang Can.

It is indeed as Wen Pin said, the current situation is too chaotic and no one dares to easily reveal their true position.

Working for Cao Cao does not necessarily mean you are a die-hard Cao clan member.

Many people just muddle through and endure, and when they get the chance, they will deliver a fatal blow.

Afterwards, Liu Qi began to discuss the recruitment of new soldiers with Wen Pin.

Liu Biao had set up seven large camps, but Liu Qi only had half of the troops now, and he wanted to recruit new soldiers for the remaining vacancies.

Wen Pin will be responsible for recruiting and training the infantry, while Wu Chen, a native of Changsha, will be in charge of the navy.

As for recruiting new soldiers, there is naturally a mature system.

Liu Qi and Wen Pin don’t actually need to worry about the selection of soldiers at the grassroots level. What they need to worry about is the soldiers’ place of origin.

The areas for conscription are selected and the quotas are allocated to them. The military historian of each county is responsible for keeping track of the data on the number of able-bodied men in the county.

The military historian recruits soldiers according to the conscription requirements, and the job is done once the new soldiers pass the written acceptance.

After the employment acceptance, the families of the new recruits will receive corresponding policy support.

Every citizen has his or her own rank, and below the county level there is a set of operating rules. The families of soldiers will be taken care of by the county and township.

The order in Jingzhou still exists and it remains the same as it was during the Later Han Dynasty.

But this is just conscription, recruiting soldiers is also required.

Recruiting soldiers is very simple. Just post a recruitment notice and wait for various active groups to recruit.

The cost of recruiting soldiers is high, but combat effectiveness can be quickly formed.

The cost of recruiting soldiers is low, they can receive more rigorous training, they are attached to their hometowns, and their morale in external long-distance operations is low.

The Fu Bo Army was established to deal with Zhang Jin, the governor of Jiaozhou, so it needed a sufficiently high recruitment rate to ensure that there would be troops with high morale when garrisoning in Lingling and Guiyang.

The good thing about Liu Qi was that he lacked experience in command and leadership. He raised questions and asked questions, and then acted according to Wen Pin's suggestions.

Wenpin is not responsible for recruitment, only for acceptance.

If conscription is carried out, local authorities will be held accountable if the quality of the soldiers provided is poor.

Recruiting soldiers is even simpler. If the recruits fail, they can just be eliminated.

The most troublesome thing is conscription. Every conscription is a game between the county government and local powerful people.

The powerful have more resources, and the powerful clans themselves are high-quality soldiers. The tenants, slaves, and knights who depend on them also eat well and are strong, and are all good soldiers.

This conscription was also a chance for the new county governor Liu Qi to get on with the work and coordinate with the county officials.

Therefore, Liu Qi attached great importance to it. He not only consulted Wen Pin, but also planned to find Wang Can for the final discussion.

Wang Can soon arrived at the county magistrate's mansion, which had changed its owner. He and Liu Qi strolled in the back garden of the mansion, where Cai Mao's dozen concubines and dozens of female servants had been packed up and sent back to Cai Zhou.

Wang Can also got the team of the prefectural governor drafted by Liu Qi, and immediately shook his head: "It's not appropriate. Giving the post of Gongcao to Xu Si is a waste of talent and also disrespectful to Lumen Mountain."

"Zhongxuan meant to recruit Pang Tong?"

"Well, now that the various posts in the county government are vacant, there is no rush to appoint Gongcao."

While speaking, Wang Can stopped and saw a big tree five or six steps away. He immediately rolled up his arms and walked quickly over to water the tree.

Liu Qi was not surprised at all. What could he not do if he took his beautiful maid with him to travel around the mountains and rivers?
Wang Can finally shuddered, raised his hand and wiped it on the bark before walking back and said, "First recruit Pang Tong. He is currently competing with Kong Ming, and he will definitely refuse. In this way, you will have the reputation of seeking talents, and he will have the reputation of being pure and honest." "Xu Si also said so. Let me recruit Pang Tong as Gongcao first. If Pang Tong refuses, then recruit Xi Zhen and Ma Liang. If he can get one of these two, he is willing to be an idle official in the prefecture."

This is not an idle job, as you are responsible for various special official duties.

Those without power can only receive a salary, while those with power also have great authority.

Unlike other positions, the scope of work is limited.

Liu Qi continued, "There is also the chief clerk. Cai Mao recruited Yang Lu from Zhonglu but was rejected. Xu Si and others also recommended Yang Lu, hoping that I can recruit him again."

Seeing this, Wang Can nodded and said: "Xu Si's talent and reputation are enough to lead a large county. With his assistance, he can be made the governor of Changsha County next year. In this way, when the Jiaozhou troops attack, we will be able to deal with it calmly."

Changsha is the heart of the four counties in southern Jing.

Liu Qi immediately agreed and used his people to gradually replace the heads of the counties and prefectures in Jingzhou. After a few years, everything went smoothly.

There is nothing to be shy about with this kind of thing. If he restrains himself, others may be wary of him, but Black Bear will definitely laugh at him in person.

Jingzhou is his Jingzhou.

Liu Qi increasingly felt that he needed the recognition of the Xudu court. If the Xudu court issued an edict to appoint Xu Si as the governor of Changsha County, the mentality of the old stubborn people in southern Jing would collapse.

He believes that things should be done step by step and follow the rules.

For example, at this moment, Liu Qi said: "Next spring, when I present tribute to Xudu, I would like to appoint Xu Si as my deputy envoy."

Historically, the chief envoy and deputy envoy who came to the court to offer tribute would be granted official titles by the court. They would either be appointed as court officials to stay in Xu Du, or be appointed as officials to govern a county in Jingzhou.

Those who were appointed as court officials would resign and return to Jingzhou after a few days. His resume and family background would record the appointment and resignation of the official position.

If you return to Jingzhou after improving your family's reputation, Liu Biao will reappoint you to an official position.

If Liu Biao does not object to the person who is appointed as the governor of Jingzhou and returns, he will be the real new governor of the county.

If this kind of county magistrate does not meet Liu Biao's expectations, he will resign after serving for a few days.

The previous Changsha prefect Zhang Xian just went too far.

Therefore, presenting tribute to the court twice a year was a valuable opportunity for the big families in Jingzhou, the Zhennan Shogunate, and the provincial officials to enhance their reputation.

There was nothing wrong with Liu Qi's idea, which was in line with the operating rules under Liu Biao's rule.

Wang Can frowned after hearing this: "It's not right. Xu Si once led the Yanzhou people with Chen Gong and Zhang Miao to fight against Lu Bu, and later followed Lu Bu to negotiate between Xuzhou and Huaihai. If such a person goes to Xudu, Cao Cao doesn't need to do anything, because there will be villains who will secretly harm Xu Si to please Cao Cao."

Seeing Liu Qi thinking, Wang Can went further and said: "Now it is Cao Cao who is begging us, not us begging him. With Xu Si's reputation, it is more than enough for him to lead the large county of Changsha."

"Okay, let's follow Zhongxuan."

Liu Qi smiled and asked, "I am busy all day now. Could Zhongxuan be willing to serve as my assistant?"

There will be two chief clerks around him, one is the county chief clerk who is responsible for the confidentiality of the county government documents, and the other is the chief clerk of the Fubo Army who is involved in military planning.

The former can only be locals, while the latter has no restrictions on place of origin.

Seeing Liu Qi's happy agreement, Wang Can also smiled and said, "I can give it a try. If you don't have reliable help before you go to Jiangling, I will go to Jiangling with you. But I have to make it clear that I can only help you for a year or so."

His cousin Wang Kai was the chief clerk of the Zhennan Shogunate, and Wang Kai was also Liu Qi's brother-in-law.

Wang Can could not stay in Jiangling for too long. His main work was still in the official school in Xiangyang. His real status came from the official school and his influence among scholars and students.

When this group of scholars who graduated from official schools go to serve as officials in various places in the future, it will be the time when Wang Can's influence explodes.

After Wang Can finished speaking, seeing that Liu Qi believed it, he smiled along with Liu Qi.

Are you kidding me?
How could he go to Jiangling?
If he could decisively abandon the influence of official schools, would Liu Biao dare to let him go to Jiangling?
The two walked side by side, and Wang Can turned and asked, "What does Black Bear think of the northern envoy going to Wanshan?"

"According to Wen Pin, the emissary was nearly killed."

Liu Qi felt that Black Bear still respected him very much, and said, "He said that I have no use for this messenger here, and I will execute him."

Wang Can raised his hand and pinched the short beard on his chin, narrowing his eyes: "Kuai Yue is asking for trouble. Whether he knows it or not, Black Bear will take revenge on him."

We can't use ignorance as an excuse. The three thousand Qingzhou soldiers already proved their fighting power yesterday.

As a result, the northern envoys hurried to Wanshan early this morning. Who would believe you if you said you were not going there to instigate rebellion?
Black Bear was able to restrain himself and not kill the messenger on the spot, which really showed his respect for Liu Qi.

Liu Qi asked, "How does Zhongxuan think Kuai Yue will respond?"

"If he wants to ask Black Bear to forgive him, you can act as a middleman. But in order to persuade Black Bear to calm down, Kuai Clan will have to provide some food and fodder."

Wang Can didn't think that Black Bear's revenge could work on Kuai Yue and Kuai Liang. Killing these two people would be equivalent to declaring war on Liu Biao.

This was a provocative act that shook Liu Biao's ruling prestige, and Liu Biao had to fight back.

However, the Kuai clan has developed rapidly in the past ten years or so, as evidenced by the ferocity displayed by the Qingzhou soldiers.

In a few days, a group of Jingshan bandits might run to Zhonglu and burn and kill people in Kuai’s manor.

Don't use the same methods you use to deal with ordinary people to deal with black bears, because black bears grow and expand very quickly.

At the same time, the black bear can adapt to this expansion, which shows that the black bear's attitude towards life is similar to that of people like Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shao.

If I want to take revenge on you, I won't wait overnight.

Even Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao and his ilk had weaknesses like clans.

The black bear changes his name frequently as he travels around the world, showing that he really has no weaknesses or scruples.

How could Kuai Yue not be afraid?
(End of this chapter)