Chapter 464: Government Reform

The atmosphere in the Qingzhou government office was now somewhat relaxed and cheerful.

Three consecutive military orders had finally eased the financial strain of the territory, much to the relief of the administrative officials led by Pang Yukun.

One thousand five hundred cannons and twenty-eight thousand flintlock guns—these arms orders would bring in more than ten million taels of silver in supplies.

“Don’t celebrate too early,” Xiao Ming reminded them. “These supplies haven’t arrived in our hands yet. You need to coordinate with the court, Zhao King, and Liang King to properly handle the transfer of materials.”

Just like the previous deal with King Chu, in these trades silver, gold, and copper were only part of the payment. Most of the money was offset with materials.

In Great Yu, Zhao King had the most warhorses. After discussion, he contributed 100,000 taels of gold, 1 million taels of silver, 120,000 jin of brass, 92,000 jin of iron, 1 million shi of wheat, 5,000 jin of silk, 50,000 bolts of cloth, 300,000 strings of currency notes, and 20,000 warhorses.

Liang King’s territory was rich in open-pit coal mines, so he offered 50,000 taels of gold, 900,000 taels of silver, 62,000 jin of brass, 108,000 jin of iron, 1.2 million shi of wheat, 1 million jin of coal, and 600,000 strings of currency notes.

Compared to Zhao and Liang Kings, the court’s materials were the most diverse, including 200,000 jin of saltpeter and 160,000 jin of sulfur.

Though the quantities sounded huge, when converted, they were not so large. For example, Liang King’s 1 million jin of coal was only 500 tons; his 62,000 jin of brass was about 31 tons.

One cast-iron cannon alone weighed at least 500 jin; heavy siege cannons weighed over a thousand jin.

“Yes, Your Highness, I will have the Qingzhou treasuries prepare to receive these materials,” Pang Yukun said.

Compared to silver, Pang Yukun preferred tangible goods like food, iron, and copper, which were real hard currency during wartime. Having silver didn’t guarantee purchasing power in war.

Also, even if paid in silver, they still had to exchange it with merchants for these goods. Bartering was more convenient and quicker, but the quality of materials had to be strictly controlled.

Xiao Ming nodded and continued, “Our arms trade will only grow. The Qingzhou treasury will likely be insufficient, and the old way of piling everything together needs to change. We need specialized warehouses for different materials.”

Before, Pang Yukun hadn’t thought much about this. But as trade increased daily, the government warehouse was indeed getting full. He said, “Your Highness is right. Speaking of which, I recently read some of Your Highness’s governance books from Bowen Academy. They were quite insightful. I think it’s time to reform the government affairs of our territory. With growing tasks, governance should be refined and modeled after the court’s official system.”

“Official system?” Xiao Ming smiled playfully. It seemed Pang Yukun had really learned some advanced governance ideas from Bowen Academy.

Pang Yukun’s usually expressionless face showed slight embarrassment. Though he hadn’t cared much about those books before, after reading them he found many useful ideas and reviewed Xiao Ming’s governance books from Bowen Academy again.

“Yes, Your Highness. I believe we should reform the government office so that the prefectures and counties under our territory can implement your policies from top to bottom while handling various local affairs,” Pang Yukun said firmly.

“Hm, you’re right. I’ve been busy with Dengzhou affairs lately and neglected this. Since that’s the case, put it on the agenda,” Xiao Ming said.

Overall, his territory was a vassal state, and as such it needed a complete official system. Only then could he manage it effectively.

Also, establishing a full official system would allow him to take control of newly acquired lands at any time, like the Ryukyu Islands now.

In the future, Xiao Ming would have more colonies, so the ability to establish government offices quickly in unfamiliar places would be crucial. A mature official system was essential.

Because it was not just for managing the current territory but to prepare and reserve officials for future needs.

With that settled, Pang Yukun ordered the chief officers of all prefectures and counties to come to Qingzhou government office for a meeting. Meanwhile, he and Xiao Ming spent several days drafting the structure and responsibilities of the new institutions.

Five days later, all the chief officers arrived in Qingzhou for the meeting.

At Qingzhou government office, Xiao Ming sat at the main seat, with officials arranged below him like a court session.

Pang Yukun, as the head official, stood at the front, followed by the prefects of Qingzhou (Zhan Xingchang), Dengzhou (Yang Chengye), Cangzhou (Chang Yuchun), Yizhou (Yan Changhao), Yunzhou (Kong Yong’an), Laizhou (Wei Changming), and Youzhou (Han Jin).

Below the prefects were their respective county magistrates—over a hundred officials in total.

Some officials were appointed by Pang Yukun, some promoted locally, and others assigned from Bowen Academy.

Looking at the gathered officials, Xiao Ming smiled faintly. At this moment, he somewhat understood Xiao Wenxuan’s obsession with imperial power.

Imagine so many officials standing before you. Anyone would feel a bit like ruling the world.

“Everyone has come to discuss government reform. You must have heard about it. Our territory’s affairs are increasing and changing rapidly. Each prefecture and county office must prepare to adapt for future development. This meeting is also to clarify the official system so that in the future, everyone knows who handles which affairs, preventing shirking responsibility.”

Seeing everyone present, Xiao Ming spoke loudly.

“Yes, Your Highness,” the officials bowed immediately.

Xiao Ming continued, “In that case, I hereby inform you of the governance and official system of our territory. From today, I appoint Pang Yukun as the Chief Minister of the Vassal State Cabinet, which will be established immediately. The cabinet will have nine ministers, including the Chief Minister, responsible for reviewing prefecture and county affairs and discussing matters with me. Under the cabinet, six departments will be set up, with responsibilities like the six ministries of the court. Additionally, a Supervisory Court will be established independent of the six departments, overseeing judicial and criminal matters and supervising officials…”

Recalling the official system design, Xiao Ming explained his ideas one by one. From now on, his vassal state would escape chaotic governance and have a thorough management system like a small court.