Chapter 811: Cabinet Grand Secretary
Translator: ryangohsff Editor: Nora
2nd month, 10th day, Xinan University.
The previously desolate little island was now blooming with flowers after a period of care. The only thing that did not change was the little wooden hut and the bamboo forest in front of it.
Although it was winter, Shanhai City was not cold. Fallen Star Island was affected by the climate, so it was warm like summer, and the bamboos were jade-like. The fresh bamboo that Bing’er fed Qiyi came from this bamboo forest.
Under this forest was a game of go.
Ouyang Shuo was sitting opposite to Jiang Shang, playing go in the breeze.
Xinan University had long gotten on the right track, and the daily duties were well handled by the various deans. Consequently, Jiang Shang as the principal did not need to worry about much.
Ouyang Shuo placed down a black go stone and suddenly asked, “Taigong, are you willing to come out and help me?”
The matter of establishing the cabinet had spread out in the territory. Normally, there would be one Grand Secretary and zero to six assistants.
The choice for Grand Secretary was up to Ouyang Shuo.
The other ministers all felt that it was best to ask Jiang Shang to become the Grand Secretary. They felt this way for two reasons. One, Jiang Shang was righteous and morally upright; secondly, he was once an imperial tutor, so he was a natural fit for the role.
Possessing both morals and skills were requirements for the Grand Secretary.
Ouyang Shuo agreed, so he came to Fallen Star Island once more.
Jiang Shang was not surprised, putting down a white go stone casually. The result was much more effective than an amateur like Ouyang Shuo. However, the white pieces were surrounded by the black pieces.
“I’m old already, so I’m afraid I’ll disappoint.”
Ouyang Shuo laughed, “Taigong’s body is brimming with energy; how are you old?” The game was different from history, and the biggest difference was the presence of secret manuals.
Although Jiang Shang’s cultivation was not overpowered, he was still decent and his internal cultivation was rather deep, comparable to Ouyang Shuo.
It was not easy for Gaia to create these saints, so how could she bear to let them be defeated by time?
Jiang Shang saying that he was old was just referring to his body.
When the Saint Rank figures turned into androids in the future, their bodily qualities would be insanely strong.
Jiang Shang smiled, “Since the Monarch has asked, I cannot decline.” After facing many setbacks, Ouyang Shuo had finally invited this Saint Rank master out. … Name: Jiangshang (Saint Rank) Title: Martial Saint, Ancestor of Philosophers Dynasty: West Zhou Identity: Xinan University Principal Occupation: Distinguished Citizen Loyalty: 85 Command: 88 Force: 75 Intelligence: 98 Politics: 100 Specialty: Rule the Country (Raises administrative efficiency by 55%, raises politics index by 15%, raises military index by 15%, raises people sentiment by 45%) Books: Liutao Evaluation: Taigong ruled a country, establishing culture and rules. Through merchants and crafts, he made fishing and salt common, gathering people from different backgrounds to form a country.
The stats of a Saint Rank person were overpowered, and even his occupation was a unique: Distinguished Citizen. His four stats were similar to Sun Wu, and there was not a single weak point. His politics stat was even maxed out.
However, in contrast to Sun Wu who was not fully working in Shanhai City, Jiang Shang had officially pledged his loyalty, which revealed his specialty.
His specialty was overpowered, two out of the four effects could actually raise territory indexes, and it was a total all rounded upgrade. … Looking at his stats, Ouyang Shuo smiled happily, and the speed at which he placed the pieces also quickened.
Jiang Shang followed as he placed the pieces and smiled, “Monarch you lost.”
People just could not be too gleeful. In the blink of an eye, the black pieces were cornered and could not move.
“I admit defeat.” Ouyang Shuo surrendered. Looking at the corner of the board, a black piece was surrounded by more than 10 white pieces. He took this chance to ask, “Taigong, if Shanhai City was this black piece and the enemy is the white piece, what should I do?”
Ouyang Shuo thought back to the threat of the Silver Hand.
Jiang Shang obviously knew the Monarch was thinking about a problem. He could see that the Monarch was different from before. He had something on his mind; it was like he was facing a tough problem.
“Monarch, please elaborate!” Since Jiang Shang had agreed to work in Shanhai City, he would obviously utilize all his knowledge.
Ouyang Shuo nodded and introduced the situation of Silver Hand to Jiang Shang.
Jiang Shang sighed and said slowly, “Monarch choosing to join the academic action is correct. But it is not enough. Even as a chess piece, we need to be the piece that people will not easily give up on. It has to be so that the moment a chess master gives up on the piece, the chess master would definitely lose. Hence, this piece would be linked to the fate of the chess master.”
“Taigong, what you’re saying is?”
Jiang Shang asked, “Who is the Silver Hand up against?”
“The academic faction?”
“No.” Jiang Shang shook his head, “No one can confirm that the academic faction would not become the next Silver Hand once it destroys Silver Hand. It is both a war of ideals and a war of interests.”
“Silver Hand is against hundreds of millions of normal people. The Monarch needs to unify the masses and tie their interests to that of Shanhai City. At that time, even if the academic faction wants to abandon you, it would be impossible.”
Ouyang Shuo’s eyes lit up, “Just like the Four Seas Bank?”
Jiang Shang nodded, “That’s right, the Four Seas Bank follows this theory. However, this is far from enough. Since the Monarch wants to make it big, you need to bring out the magnanimity of the emperor and learn how to accept and control players and not reject them.”
“I understand.” Ouyang Shuo’s eyes were determined.
Jiang Shang smiled.
“That’s right.” Ouyang Shuo suddenly thought about a matter and asked, “Regarding the country title, what thoughts does Taigong have?”
After a few days of discussion, the main idea was to inherit one from Xia Shang and Zhou as the strong country titles from the Warring States Era were already taken and the remaining ones were not strong enough.
Only those three ancient titles held enough weight. As for which to choose, everyone was still split.
Xia Dynasty was the first regime recorded in China and was the start of the country concept. The meaning of Xia was the Chinese people. Huaxia, which was the old name of China, came from the Xia Dynasty.
Legends had it that the starter of the Xia Dynasty was the last descendent of the Zhuan Xu tribe, the last descendent of the Yellow Emperor.
The Shang Dynasty was the first regime that was recorded by the people of that time and was a period where slavery was very common. However, there was a Shangding within Shanhai City’s sky altar, so they had a little relation to the Shang Dynasty.
The ancestor of the Shang people were called Qi, and they helped stopped the flood and was given the title of Shangyi. Hence, he called his tribe Shang, and the country title was known as Shang.
Qi was the grandson of the Yellow Emperor, so the Shang tribe was also a descendent of the Yellow Emperor. However, the Shang Dynasty was in the middle of the three ancient dynasties, so it had little support.
Zhou Dynasty, similar to the above two, was a hereditary style dynasty. Moreover, it was also the place where the philosophers came out from. Hence, many people supported this country title.
If Shanhai City chose to inherit this title, many people would immediately choose to return.
The Yellow Emperor lived in Jishui, with the Ji as his people and the Zhou people succeeding the surname.
The Zhou people were invaded and forced away from their homes. They went through a lot of hardship, going past the Ju, Qi, and Ling Mountains, going past rivers to get to the Zhou plains. As a result, the concept of Zhou was born.
However, the Zhou Regime was in truth West Zhou and East Zhou, and the birth of the philosophers was during the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period. Hence, the presence of the Zhou Dynasty was weak and that point alone made it not a definite choice.
The above three ancient empires were descendants of the Fire and Yellow Emperors and were all traditional.
Even Ouyang Shuo was hesitating between Xia and Zhou.
Jiang Shang’s expression suddenly turned a little complicated, but he said after a long time, “I helped Zhou destroy Shang to avoid suspicion, so I should not participate in this. How to choose is up to you Monarch.”
Ouyang Shuo nodded, understanding Jiang Shang’s stance. Ouyang Shuo suddenly remembered that during the Battle of Muye, the Zhou King had died under his hands.
Thinking of which, he felt a chill run down his spine.
Ouyang Shuo tossed aside the thoughts in his mind and asked the last question he had on his mind at the moment, “Since Taigong is moving to the cabinet, who will replace you in the university?”
Xinan University was one of the pillars of the territory and was where the philosophers gathered. As long as Jiang Shang lived, Ouyang Shuo could not randomly find someone to replace him.
Jiang Shang had thought about this long ago and said, “Kong Qiu can do it.”
Ouyang Shuo was stunned, “Confucius is willing to work for Shanhai City?” If Confucius replaced Jiang Shang as the principal no problem would arise.
However, he was currently engrossed in the remodeling of Confucianism, so it would not be so easy to invite him.
“Do not worry Monarch, I’ll invite him personally.”
Ouyang Shuo smiled, “That would be the best.”
With Jiang Shang, who could be considered half Confucius’s teacher, there would be no problems.
This helped solved one of Ouyang Shuo’s big problems.
Seeing that the sky was dark, Ouyang Shuo took his leave, “Tomorrow, I’ll wait at the Governor-General Manor for your arrival.” He still needed to discuss with Jiang Shang, Xiao He, and the like about the organizational structure of the dynasty.
Jiang Shang nodded, standing up to see his guest out.