To achieve immortality, I cultivate using Qi Luck

Chapter 1071: Chapter 437: Prosperity, Rendezvous Chapter 1071: Chapter 437: Prosperity, Rendezvous “This city of Great Liang has become somewhat dilapidated,”

Newly appointed Liang Prefect Song Zan and Liang Provincial Governor Li Changyu were riding on horseback through the streets, crossing one alley after another, looking at many houses and streets that had been demolished, couldn’t help shaking their heads, “It’s also gotten much smaller, we need to expand and build more.”

Song Zan’s previous position was Deputy Prefect of Baling, that is, the assistant to the Prefect of Baling, with an official rank of fourth grade.

This time, as Great Chu prepared to relocate its capital to Great Liang and move the Capital’s vicinity here, it continued to employ an official with ample experience in handling the Capital’s affairs.

Therefore, Song Zan, who had been Deputy Prefect of the metropolis of Baling with a population of three million, was selected, promoted urgently two levels at once to become Prefect of Great Liang with a rank of third grade.

It could be said he was exceptionally promoted.

As for the original Prefect of Baling, that would be the Liang Provincial Governor Li Changyu right beside him.

This man also rode the wave of fortune, using the momentum of the Northern Expedition, at a time when a large number of counties in the North needed new officials to assume office, he rose directly from the rank of third grade Prefect of Baling to that of a third grade Liang Governor, thus officially stepping into the category of a senior border official.

Similar stories to these two were continuously unfolding within the territory of Chu State.

After all, through the two Northern Expeditions, Chu State had taken down a total of sixteen prefectures, both complete and incomplete ones.

Essentially, thirty-two high-ranking civil and military official positions suddenly became vacant, and if counting the officials just below in rank, the number would be even greater, with top positions exceeding a hundred.

So many positions, more than double those in Chu State before, and still increasing.

Just think about it, with so many spots open, how tempting it must be for the throngs of Chu officials, who have been eagerly looking at their current positions for who knows how long, wanting to climb higher up the ladder.

With this opportunity, a large number of officials completed their transformation from lower-level to mid-level officials, from mid-level to high-level, from assistant officials to primary officials, and from local to capital officials.

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Song Zan and Li Changyu were just two lucky individuals among the Chu officials riding this wave of promotions.

“The expansion isn’t urgent; after all, the city of Great Liang was once the largest city in the world.

At its peak, it accommodated two million people within and beyond its walls; the foundation is still solid.

Although the last two years of war, because of the sieges, have caused many civilian homes to be demolished, used as materials for wood and stone,

the remaining houses, if tidied up, can still accommodate a million people.”

Li Changyu, hearing his former subordinate’s words, could understand his eagerness as a new official wanting to make a mark, but now wasn’t really the time for grand construction projects, and he couldn’t help but shake his head and say, “The Court has only sent about one million two or three hundred thousand Chu immigrants to Great Liang and Liang Province this time.

Of them, eight hundred thousand need to be distributed across various counties of Liang Province.

Those that can be settled in Great Liang are at most four hundred thousand people.

With just that number of people, they can easily be accommodated within the city with a bit of tidying up, there’s no need for further expansion.

Now that Liang Province is newly conquered and Chu is not yet pacified, Qingzhou is still unsettled, and His Majesty will definitely focus his energies on the Third Northern Expedition next year.

At that time, it will be the mobilization of millions of troops again, no telling how much money and food it will waste, how many civilian workers it will conscript.

Plus, with the immigrant issue at hand, there will be no spare capacity to supply us with the resources to refurbish Great Liang or expand the new city.

Our pressing task is to stabilize Great Liang and Liang Province for His Majesty, so that the migrating Chu people can settle down here and become a stable rear for the Northern Expedition army.

If we achieve just this, you and I will have made our contribution, and in the future, our prospects for joining the cabinet are promising.”

Li Changyu looked at Song Zan meaningfully, offering guidance to his junior.

As both had originated as capital officials and had successively served as the heads of Great Chu’s capital, the two were naturally political allies.

Especially now, after Song Zan’s exceptional promotion, his rank was only one level behind his, a senior border official.

Both were third-grade officials, stepping into the ranks of high officials in the court.

For a high-ranking official to rise further, aside from becoming a senior border official, there’s only the various ministerial positions in the Capital, and those that come from within the Prime Minister’s cabinet.

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Being the leader of a city or province was certainly imposing and powerful, an envy of many.

But how could that compare to being the leader of the world?

Only by sitting in the positions of Minister or chief official of the various departments and bureaus, in charge of a nation’s affairs, or even entering the cabinet as Prime Minister and directly managing the affairs of the whole nation,

could a man feel he has not traversed the officialdom in vain.

The chief officials of the bureaus are but minor second-grade; the Ministers of the departments are but second-grade; and entering the cabinet as Prime Minister is still a major first-grade rank.

Li Changyu is now of a major third-grade rank, while Song Zan is of a minor third-grade rank.

The two were only a small step away from the higher cabinet officials mentioned above.

If they could seize the current opportunity, work hard to show themselves before the Heavenly Son, gain a good impression, then with their contributions, thinking about a direct rise to the central government, wouldn’t it be a piece of cake?

With a bright future before them and accolades within easy reach, how could Li Changyu not be attentive and considerate?

So, seeing Song Zan wanting to take action and stir up waves, he immediately stepped forward to stop him.

The two of them, one as the Prefect of Great Liang, the other as the Governor of Liang Province, managed areas both in Jingji, were closely connected, almost inseparable.

Just as Song Zan had just mentioned, if they wanted to refurbish the city of Great Liang and even expand it, where would the funds and civilian workers come from?

Wouldn’t they have to come from Liang Province under his jurisdiction?

Otherwise, expecting other provincial governors to happily contribute their people and money for you, a Great Liang Prefect, to earn achievements, do they take me for a fool?

If I have those resources and labor, why wouldn’t I keep them to develop my own territory, and earn my own accolades?