The Plank Doesn't Hurt Unless It Hits

Yu Fan and Jiang Wan were discussing current political issues in the rear hall when Lan Tian called for Gao Yuan to step out of the Provincial Governor's Office. They wandered around the Central Administrative District, scouting for office space for the newly established departments.

When Guangzhou City was first constructed, two extra office buildings were built in the Central Administrative District. The new departments would have to share space for now, only separating once the later phases of construction were complete.

Due to a temporary shortage of manpower, the heads of the six bureaus mostly held concurrent positions: Jiang Wan oversaw the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue; Yu Fan served as the head of the Rites Bureau while also teaching at the academy; Gao Shun led the Ministry of War; Xiahou Qi took charge of the Ministry of Justice; and Xu An managed the Ministry of Works.

A few days later, Jiao Province held its first official selection examination in the courtyard of the Provincial Governor's Office. A total of four hundred people participated in the selection, with the top two hundred qualifying for the secondary round, which was to be audited by the personnel department itself.

Of the two hundred students who participated in the secondary round, eighty were ultimately hired—twenty for each of the four bureaus: Personnel, Revenue, Rites, and Works. This was an incredibly high acceptance rate. Staff for the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Justice were primarily filled by retired personnel from the Trap-Breaking Army.

The examination process was exceptionally solemn and strict. Beyond Lan Tian's personal inspection, the papers were under the full control of the Trap-Breaking Army from the moment of printing until they reached the exam hall. Dozens of Xianzhen Soldier monitored the proceedings, and those caught