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Chapter 484: 241: Setting up Counties and Recruiting Talents

Lu Yuan and Lan Cai’er had no choice but to temporarily part ways.

The reason was simple.

According to etiquette, the bride and groom should not see each other before the wedding.

Previously, Lu Yuan led the army on the Northern Expedition, which was a special situation, so no one cared for him wandering around with Lan Cai’er.

But now that the wedding was approaching, they should at least follow the rules for a few days, right?

So Lu Yuan could only reluctantly give up the idea of taking advantage of this opportunity to tease his queen.

Instead, he started to concentrate on handling the affairs of the state after his return.

As for the wedding, there were professionals in charge of preparations, and it was not his turn to manage it, nor did he know how to.

“Your Majesty, since the beginning of the Hongdao seventh year, the twelfth lunar month, Your Majesty has continuously won battles, expanding the territory, gaining great achievements, and your reputation has spread throughout the world.

Up to now, our Changsha kingdom has recovered Tianmen Prefecture in the north of the river.

Furthermore, four prefectures in Xiangyang, Xicheng, Fangling, and Guining of Xiangyang Prefecture, and three prefectures of Wushan, Linjiang, and Yuzhong in Xichuan Prefecture have been opened up. The territory has been expanded by thousands of miles, and the martial arts are extremely successful.

All these are Your Majesty’s achievements.”

Upon saying this, Cui Changqing bowed to Lu Yuan, looking at him admiringly.

For a monarch, the greatest achievement is victory in external affairs and the expansion of territory.

And Lu Yuan had achieved this perfectly.

For his subordinates, seeing their own country’s power growing stronger and the territory expanding was undoubtedly an inspiring matter.

This was because it meant that the country was in an upward phase, with unlimited possibilities in the future, and there were great hopes for being an official here.

Take the most basic example.

The opening up of the seven prefectures meant that there were more than a thousand new official positions, which meant that many officials in the country had the opportunity to be promoted, right?

Did the many scholars at the bottom also have the opportunity to become officials?

When all these factors come together, they are not just empty fame but real benefits.

So, for this compliment, Lu Yuan accepted it with an open heart, a smile appearing on his face, and feeling quite proud in his heart.

But before he had time to feel proud, after saying these good things and praising him, Cui Changqing changed the tone and said, “However, the opening up of these seven prefectures is indeed a good thing. However, how to govern these prefectures needs urgent attention and cannot be delayed.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Yuan asked, “What does the prime minister mean?”

Cui Changqing said, “The newly opened seven prefectures across the river in the north are divided into Xiangyang and Xichuan Prefectures, with mountains and rivers in between, making transportation inconvenient or even non-existent.

As a result, these seven prefectures cannot be incorporated into a single administrative unit and governed as a single prefecture.

But if they are not incorporated into a single administrative unit, the seven prefectures can be divided into Xiangyang and Xichuan Prefectures, each with its own governing Prefecture and Counties.

Or, they can be directly managed by the imperial court, which would directly manage the local Prefectures and Counties.

Also, if a new prefecture is to be set up, should Dongting Prefecture also have its own prefecture, or should it continue to be directly managed?

All of these need your Majesty’s decision.”

The division of Prefectures and Counties, the determination of jurisdiction, and the clear division of power between the imperial court and the local government — all these were the urgent matters that Cui Changqing pointed out needed to be dealt with after Lu Yuan had opened up the seven prefectures.

These matters were indeed important.

So after listening to them, Lu Yuan couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

Seeing this, Cui Changqing didn’t press him, but stood below and waited.

After a while, Lu Yuan came back to his senses, looked up and said, “My decree states that this time, the two newly acquired prefectures in Xiangyang and Xichuan are to be set up. Xiangyang Prefecture includes the four original prefectures and Xichuan Prefecture includes the three original prefectures.

The imperial court will select Prefecture Governors, Commandants, and local officials for these two prefectures, and each prefecture will establish its own local county soldiers to be stationed there.

As for Dongting Prefecture, it will not be set up for the time being and will continue to be directly managed by the imperial court.”

In fact, setting up prefectures in Xiangyang and Xichuan was inevitable.

Without setting up a new administrative and military center in the area to govern all the resources there, how could they resist enemies from both sides?

Therefore, it was a must to set up prefectures in these two places.

Setting up prefectures in Xiangyang and Xichuan not only made administrative sense but also implied some of Lu Yuan’s ambitions.

Is it possible that one day, they could completely occupy Xiangyang and Xichuan Prefectures and restore their original territories?

Lu Yuan kept this hidden intention in his heart and never told anyone.

However, the condition to occupy Xichuan and Xiangyang Prefectures now or even in decades was not ripe.

It would take many years to accomplish this goal.

At this time, in public, he set up these two prefectures with no other intentions, just following the old ways.

As for Dongting not being set up as a prefecture, the answer was even simpler.

This place was where the country’s capital was located, the heartland of the kingdom.

Setting up a prefecture here, when there was already a political center, would only have meant dividing one’s own power.

That was not a wise move, and only someone with a brain glitch would do that, right?

So Lu Yuan’s arrangement now was the most appropriate one under these circumstances.

At least Cui Changqing could not find any flaws in it.

After hearing Lu Yuan’s decision, he immediately replied, “Your Majesty’s arrangement is indeed wise, and I have no objections. However, when setting up these two new prefectures, the choice of governors and commandants should be made carefully by Your Majesty, selecting capable and virtuous ministers.

Moreover, if we count the newly recovered Tianmen Prefecture, we now have a total of eight prefectures and two counties.”