"Thank you, Your Highness, for the promotion. Thank you, Your Highness, for the promotion."
Zhu Guozhang was so moved that he almost cried. He was originally just an officer in charge of a post station, and there weren't that many officials traveling back and forth here, so he only had three people under him.
Now he has instantly become the governor of Jiaozhou. Even if I were to dream, I would not dare to dream of such a thing!
Although Ruan Yuanjia felt a little jealous, he had no choice but to accept the bad fate of his rebirth. It was because he was not a Han Chinese. Even though his mother was a Han Chinese, his father was indeed a Jing Chinese.
If you want to blame someone, blame your mother for not thinking it through. Why didn't she decide to marry a Han Chinese? If she had married a Han Chinese, with my resume, how could the governor be satisfied?
In the past, when the imperial court selected officials, they would arrange a suitable official position for you without considering your ethnic group. But now that the Crown Prince has come, it seems that the previous system is no longer useful. They have to look at your background first.
"Don't feel inappropriate. If you can achieve results in your position, you will have opportunities for promotion in the future."
Li Xiang knew that Ruan Yuanjia must be thinking a lot, so Li Xiang had to comfort him at least a little.
Ruan Yuanjia naturally knelt down to show his loyalty. If he had not followed His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, just look at the patriarchs of the major families in the city and you will know. Their bodies would probably be cold by now.
"From now on, your two tasks will be separate. Ruan Yuanjia will be primarily responsible for gathering intelligence on Zhenla, especially the military situation in the border areas, as well as information about their court. I'll give you three months, and I need to see a complete report."
After Li Xiang said this, Zhu Guozhang still didn't understand what was going on. After all, this guy's political sense was a little poor. He used to be in charge of livestock. It was estimated that he would not be able to sit in this position after three months.
But Ruanruanjia was different. This guy was a graduate of the imperial examination system and had been a governor for a long time, so he could clearly understand Li Xiang's meaning.
"Your Highness, do you intend to attack Zhenla?"
Ruan Yuanjia asked bravely. If it were in the past, he felt that he did not have much chance of winning, mainly because the two sides often fought each other and they lost more than they won.
"Yes, do you have any ideas?"
Li Xiang did not hide his strategic purpose. After all, a large number of troops and various supplies would arrive in the next half month. By then, even if Li Xiang did not say it, his purpose would be obvious.
"I will conduct a thorough investigation and gather all the intelligence Your Highness requires. If there are more troops like this, capturing them will be a piece of cake."
Ruan Yuanjia had not been idle before and was also aware of the troops outside the border.
"but……"
This guy first looked up and glanced at Li Xiang. Some things cannot be said directly. If he makes Li Xiang unhappy, he will probably have to go down and accompany those family heads.
"You must correct this bad habit in the future. If you have something on your mind, just speak it directly. As long as it involves military and national affairs, whether you are right or wrong, I will pardon you first."
These people were meeting Li Xiang for the first time, so they didn't understand many things. After hearing what Li Xiang said, they all breathed a sigh of relief and knew how to report to Li Xiang in the future.
"If we were to fight in the coastal plains, our chances of victory would be greater. Your Highness would only need 5,000 troops to destroy their border defenses. But if we were to enter the mountains, I'm afraid..."
Ruan Yuanjia got into the role very quickly. He now considers himself one of Li Xiang's people and wants to show off in front of Li Xiang. Otherwise, Li Xiang is surrounded by so many talented people, how could he think of him in the future? And from what Li Xiang said, it seems that he will leave here soon and will not stay here for too long.
"Don't worry, even these men under my command can fight in the mountains and forests. But since you brought this up, I'll give you another task. Try to find out their main combat methods in the mountains and forests."
Although Huo Qubing has already led people to investigate, it would be a good idea to take this opportunity to try Ruan Yuanjia. Moreover, Ruan Yuanjia seems to be a smart man. If there are unexpected gains, it will be more beneficial to our war.
"Please rest assured, Your Highness. I will do my best."
Ruan Yuanjia said this very confidently, and Zhu Guozhang next to him also made up his mind. Although this task was not given to him, he would still send his men to investigate.
Although he had few subordinates before, he has been the governor of Jiaozhou for three months. Even if it is three months later, he will be the chief officer of Jiaozhou, and there will definitely be people who will come to him for surrender.
"Your mission is different from his. You need to renovate the port. The current port is definitely not suitable. A special person will contact you later. We will recruit 3,000 civilian workers from all over Jiaozhou and have them repair the port properly. Funds will also be allocated specifically for this."
One was responsible for gathering information, and the other was responsible for repairing the port. When the real fighting started, it would basically be impossible to rely on land supplies. Li Xiang saw this very clearly along the way. Even if they traveled light, it would still take a lot of effort.
"Please rest assured, Your Highness. I will also do my best."
When Zhu Guozhang heard that this was his mission, he felt relieved. If it came to the relationship between him and the local people, he would definitely not be as good as Ruan Yuanjia. After all, this guy was a local, while he was Han Chinese.
But when it comes to building a port, Ruan Yuanjia may not be as good as us. When he was the director of the post station, he also knew a lot about these things. Now with the support of His Highness and the funding from above, many local people are unable to eat enough. Wouldn't it be easy to find 3,000 laborers?
In this day and age, as long as you can feed these laborers, you will be given any kind of work to do. Not to mention repairing the port, even rebuilding it is no problem, but you have to provide them with food and pay them.
Li Xiang didn't need to ask the court for money to repair the port. Several major families had already had their property confiscated, and there were many valuable things in their homes. He only needed to take out half of it, and the money for repairing the port would be more than enough. Li Xiang could also save the other half for military expenses...
