In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 759: The Power of the Dragon

"Everyone."

Wei Zijie stared at everyone and said, "I know that you have no choice but to serve General Yang. But now that you have joined the Yang family army, you are considered traitors by the court and there is no possibility of turning things around."

For us rebels, the better the Yang family army performs, the better we will be! Now that Commander Yang controls two prefectures, he may very well unify the nine provinces in the future. You may very well be able to achieve merit by supporting the emperor and bring glory to your ancestors!

Upon hearing this, the officials couldn't help but breathe a little faster. The merit of following the emperor has always been one of the most tempting achievements. If Yang Zheng could really unify the nine provinces, then those of them who had followed Yang Zheng from the very beginning to conquer the world... might all be able to be ennobled and appointed as prime ministers!

"The future is bright, and the prospects are promising."

Wei Zijie continued meaningfully, "Gentlemen, a bright future lies before you, but I must remind you not to lose sight of the bigger picture for the sake of small gains!"

These words immediately sent a chill down everyone's spine.

Whether it's Wei Zijie in front of them or Yang Zheng in Qingzhou, what they hate most are corrupt and incompetent officials.

Wei Zijie's words were undoubtedly a warning to them, telling them to put away their petty thoughts and not to lose their bright future or even their lives for some trivial gains.

"Lord Wei, rest assured, we may not claim to be as incorruptible as water, but we will certainly not be as corrupt as the officials of the Xia Dynasty."

"Indeed, the people of Liangzhou are suffering so much, how can we bear to embezzle?"

"Although I also like money, I know the principle that a gentleman loves money but acquires it in a proper way. I disdain to take the people's hard-earned money."

"..."

Everyone assured Wei Zijie that they would never embezzle.

Just kidding. With the prospect of being ennobled and appointed as prime minister right in front of them, how could they possibly be blinded by greed and give up the opportunity to be ennobled and appointed as prime minister and make a name for themselves in history just to embezzle a little money?

"very good."

Seeing this, Wei Zijie nodded in satisfaction. He handed the military intelligence report to everyone and said, "When General Yang sent back this message, in addition to informing us of the military situation, he also requested that we quickly dispatch officials to Qingzhou to fill the many vacant official positions there. I wonder if any of you have anyone to recommend?"

Upon hearing this, everyone frowned.

Because Yang Zheng was a rebel, very few scholars were willing to serve him. Even in Liangzhou, there were many vacant official positions. Those who served Yang Zheng had to do the work of three or four people.

In this situation, if more officials were to be transferred to Qingzhou, the administration in Liangzhou would likely come to a standstill.

"This matter is probably a bit tricky."

An official in his forties pondered for a moment and said, "Liangzhou is already short of officials. If a large number of officials are transferred to Qingzhou, the operation of government offices in various parts of Liangzhou will probably come to a standstill."

Upon hearing this, everyone present nodded in agreement, because Yang Zheng's massacre of landlords and powerful figures had made them extremely disgusted with him, both in Liangzhou and other states.

As is well known, the vast majority of scholars in the Xia Kingdom come from wealthy families. Under these circumstances, the only ones willing to serve Yang Zheng are scholars from humble backgrounds, and there are relatively few scholars from poor families...

This resulted in Yang Zheng having very few scholars who could serve as officials. Even with just Liangzhou, Yang Zheng didn't have enough officials to go around, and now he had Qingzhou as well...

For a time, the officials were at a loss. Sending officials to Qingzhou would cause problems with the operation of the Liangzhou government, but if they didn't send them, they wouldn't be able to govern Qingzhou and bring it completely under Yang Zheng's rule. It was a dilemma.

"Actually, this is not difficult."

Just when everyone was at a loss, a young-looking official said, "Although there are few poor scholars in Liangzhou, it doesn't mean there aren't any! Lord Wei only needs to post a notice to inform the people of Liangzhou about General Yang's selection of officials, and it will surely attract many scholars."

Upon hearing this, Wei Zijie's eyes lit up immediately: "You mean, select officials from among the common people?"

"No."

The young official shook his head and said, "Officials are selected from among the scholars in the common people."

While it's true that there are relatively few scholars from humble backgrounds in Liangzhou, even a small percentage is still a significant number in a city with tens of millions of inhabitants.

These scholars may not necessarily not want to be officials, but they simply lack the connections to do so. If Wei Zijie were to inform the entire Liangzhou of Yang Zheng's selection of officials, a large number of scholars would surely come seeking office.

"Wonderful!"

After a moment's thought, Wei Zijie's eyes lit up even more.

Previously, the selection of officials in Liangzhou had always been conducted through recommendation. For example, Wei Zijie, as well as most of the officials present, were recommended by others to serve under Yang Zheng.

The idea proposed by this young official was completely different from the recommendation system; it was more like the imperial examination system of the court!

First, spread the news of Yang Shuai's selection of officials widely, and then let all the scholars in Liangzhou come to apply for official positions. This plan is brilliant!

"That's it."

Wei Zijie immediately made the decision: "Announce the news of the selection of officials. The scholars who are attracted will only need to pass the examination to be granted official positions and go to Qingzhou to take up their posts."

And so, the matter was settled.

The next day.

A notice was posted outside the government office, and even in the cold winter, it still attracted a large number of people to come and see it.

The people gathered in front of the notice board looked at each other, mostly bewildered.

Because... they recognize the characters on the screen, but the characters on the screen don't, so they can only guess.

Left with no other choice, they could only turn to the scholars at the scene for help.

"Lu Xiucai".

Everyone turned to look at the man in the scholar's robe in the crowd and urged, "Quickly tell us what's written on it."

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiucai parted the crowd and walked to the notice board. While reading the contents, he explained to everyone, "It says that Commander Yang led his troops to conquer Qingzhou and has now captured the prefectural city. He will soon occupy the entire territory of Qingzhou!"

As soon as he finished speaking, cheers erupted from the crowd.

"That's great! Commander Yang is really amazing, he actually captured Qingzhou."

"Doesn't that mean Qingzhou is already Yang Shuai's territory?"

"Nonsense, Yang Shuai has already occupied Qingzhou Prefecture City, so the entire Qingzhou is definitely in his pocket."

"Yang Tianwang is mighty!"

"..."

The onlookers cheered enthusiastically. They undoubtedly loved Yang Zheng very much, so everyone was overjoyed to hear that Yang Zheng had conquered Qingzhou.

Because conquering Qingzhou meant that Yang Zheng had more territory, could support more troops, and would no longer be easily wiped out by the imperial court. They could also continue to live their peaceful lives.