The Xiao Clan

The Yan Kingdom, of course, belongs to the Si family bloodline. However, the Imperial Family can intermarry with the Three Great Families for generations, and the Yan Kingdom naturally has its own allies.

Northern Liao is a vassal state, a bloodline of the Barbarians. Their tribes sought refuge with the Great Jin, engaging in trade and marriage, thereby obtaining considerable benefits.

Then, they turned around and did business with the Barbarians, accumulating their own strength. They played both sides, benefiting from both groups.

The Xiao Clan of Northern Liao and the King Yan's family have had intermarriages every generation. The men of King Yan's family, of course, all bear the surname Si, so they don't even need to bother with the rules of changing their surname to Yuan or Bai. The Imperial Clan Court can't do anything about them.

(This once again illustrates the necessity of curbing the power of feudal lords.)

The Xiao Clan had always been powerful. They possessed Barbarian bloodlines and traditions themselves, and they also learned Central Plains culture.

The relationship between the two sides was one of mutual dependence. The daughters of King Yan's family had always taken their mother's surname from the very beginning.

Fan Jin certainly didn't recognize the County Princess from before, but he recognized the carriage and the insignia. Especially since he had heard of their family's style of doing things.

So, he preferred to yield. To swallow his pride.

He couldn't afford to offend them. He could only avoid them!

In fact, Fan Jin had not only received a letter from Li Jixu but also one from his academy teacher, who had guided him on some subsequent arrangements. Of course, the most important thing was to follow Li Jixu's arrangements, as the two of them needed to cooperate well.

Li Jixu's first meeting with Fan Jin was certainly to discuss various administrative affairs. Ming Shu, of course, was not qualified to join them, so he was invited to the backyard to rest.

Because the existing rules of the world were suddenly beginning to collapse rapidly, it was foreseeable that the imperial examinations for the entire realm could not be held normally in the new year.

For the vast number of scholars under the Academy system, the North and South would conduct their own examinations separately. At that time, it would no longer be the various academies and families discussing and allocating quotas according to the old rules.

This would be a rare opportunity for students from the lower classes like Fan Jin and Xiao Shiyi, who possessed certain talents and abilities. The exams would be based on true talent and practical skills! Everyone would have to fight with all their might to secure a spot.

Otherwise, after a few more terms, the gap between the North and the South would become increasingly wider.

Li Jixu was now considered part of Qi Lu Academy, but he was also part of the Li Clan. Therefore, his stance was quite complex, but at least he was not on the Sacred Reign Emperor's side. Seeing that he could be promoted smoothly in this region, it was likely that his relationship with the Zhao Clan was also somewhat ambiguous.

"The imperial examination task this year is very heavy. It's not pressure from His Majesty; he hasn't even thought about this aspect yet. It's mainly because the academy will first send some of our local scholars back," Li Jixu said directly, getting straight to the point after brief pleasantries.

"There has been such a precedent before," Fan Jin replied, nodding.

"This year is different. These people will not only return to their native places to take the examinations, but some of them will be directly placed into our yamen. Do you understand?"

"Are you talking about those low-level clerk positions that don't need to be reported to the court?"

"Not just that. When necessary, positions like County Lieutenant, Assistant County Magistrate, and key roles in the six departments will also be given to them. It depends on the academy's arrangements," Li Jixu said, shaking his head and sighing helplessly. "The academy's opinion will be the primary one. If they don't listen or cooperate, you can ask the academy to handle it."

He was afraid that Master Fan wouldn't understand, so he added the last sentence.

"This means you're not planning to follow the original rules?" Fan Jin was also very troubled. He wasn't a strong or particularly capable person.

He had only reached this point due to good luck and enduring hardship.

It was precisely because he wasn't particularly outstanding that his colleagues didn't fear him competing for anything, allowing him to remain in this position for so many years.

Li Jixu nodded, looking at him meaningfully. Before their meeting, he had also collected a lot of information about Fan Jin and had a certain understanding of him.

Knowing that he was an indecisive person, he let Fan Jin digest the information first and rest, planning to continue discussing other matters later.

After asking Fan Jin to leave, Ming Shu was invited in.

There were only three of them, and they were all trustworthy individuals. Together, they went to pay their respects to Prefect Li Jixu.

Little Zhao had met him a few days ago. Prefect Li was also aware of Chong Li's other identity, so he didn't say much when she accompanied Ming Shu to the meeting.

Little Zhao presented Ming Shu's gift. Li Jixu showed no signs of disdain and personally accepted the small gift box.

Inside were a few relatively large pearls seized from pirates.

They contained abundant spiritual energy.

For female cultivators, long-term wear had good effects.

"I've just taken office and have many affairs to handle. Let's keep this brief. This winter, the Barbarians will definitely move south. The northern defenses are all preparing for war. Our pressure isn't from the north, but from the south."

"Whether by sea, by the Grand Canal, or other waterways, King Chu has the capability to invade this area. Therefore, we must face pressure from the north, east, and south simultaneously."

"Your Baishi Town is in a special location; it's the eastern gateway of our prefecture facing the sea, and it also borders Langya Prefecture to the north. Therefore, with my authority, I can provide you with the provisions and salaries for one hundred militia. There are no soldiers, so you'll have to find them yourself. The equipment is also only fifty sets of discarded old goods; please don't be picky."

Li Jixu briefly explained to Ming Shu the difficulties he might face next.

Receiving such great benefits for no reason, Ming Shu naturally had no complaints and expressed his gratitude on the spot, attributing it to the care of his superiors.

He had to deal with pirates anyway, so facing an unknown enemy from the south was just another situation to handle.

He could recruit and train soldiers himself slowly. The existing soldiers certainly wouldn't obey him, and there were many places in the prefecture that required troops.

Padding payrolls was the most common practice. They directly told him to find soldiers himself, which essentially meant pocketing a portion of the payroll. It was uncertain how much of the provisions and salaries would actually be given.

And they didn't specify how long it would be provided; perhaps only for a year.

Ming Shu understood all of this, but he didn't say much. He diligently took notes and stated, "If the Prefect needs me anywhere, please don't hesitate to command!"

"It hasn't been long since we last met, and you've already learned to use colloquialisms like 'us', 'this monk', and 'this old man'!" Li Jixu laughed heartily.

"Young people have strong learning abilities. The future world belongs to you young people."

Ming Shu quickly waved his hands, saying he didn't understand anything and needed his elder to teach him more.

Seeing that there was nothing else, Li Jixu let Ming Shu and the others go to collect their supplies and then head back early.

No need to wait for County Magistrate Fan Jin on the way back.

Ming Shu, along with Little Zhao and Chong Li, took the prepared slips and found the clerk in charge. Little Zhao went over to communicate, slipped him some silver, and they successfully obtained a cartload of grain and another cartload of weapons and armor. Although damaged, they were barely usable.

The two carts were accounted for separately, considered purchased. They definitely wouldn't have the time to deliver them back, so additional payment was required.

In any case, the money all went into the pockets of these minor officials. It would be easier to handle matters here in the future if they were on good terms with them.

Chong Li didn't spare them a second glance; given her status and background, she certainly didn't need to be polite to them. But Ming Shu and Little Zhao were different; they might need to bother these people frequently in the future, so it was definitely better to maintain good relations.

With this aid, the financial difficulties were greatly eased. As long as they could get through this year, with the harvest from the fields, the problem of food for the next year wouldn't be too significant.