"Sir, the list has been checked." Tao Anchun handed over a document. "A total of two hundred and forty-nine people."
Zhao Xing took the list without looking at it and walked straight into Tuquan Palace, burning the document in front of Dai Zong’s divine statue.
He asked for it to be sent to Chongming Prefecture.
Indeed, Zhao Xing did not have the authority to dismiss seventh and eighth-grade officials.
The hiring and firing of lower-grade officials were solely the prerogative of the prefecture city.
Middle-grade officials needed to be reported to the central authorities for approval. If they were military officers, the decision was made by the Military Department of the Military Realm.
High-grade officials could only be decided by Emperor Jing.
Such matters did not need to trouble Princess You Ruo; just reporting to Chongming Prefecture would suffice.
On the third day after reporting, a ship arrived from Chongming Prefecture.
They took away all the officials on Zhao Xing’s reported list, dismissing and investigating them.
The speed was so fast that even Sun Shizhao on Bay Island was terrified.
"More than two hundred seventh and eighth-grade officials, all dismissed with a single word from him?"
"The power of this Marquis Yuan Rang is greater than I imagined," Sun Shizhao murmured to himself.
Such efficiency made him worry that Zhao Xing could dismiss him without any problem.
Unless he was an unblemished, incorruptible official, even a slight mistake in his administration could be enough reason.
If it was a minor error, it wouldn’t result in complete removal, but being transferred from his position, demoted secretly, or directly downgraded were consequences he couldn’t afford.
"Go, ask Marquis Yuan Rang if the Dragon Horse Guard needs more personnel now."
"If more staff is needed, we can temporarily transfer some from the Bay Island Minister of Agriculture Supervision."
The document officer beside him asked: "Sir, should we bring a gift?"
Sun Shizhao kicked the document officer in the leg: "Idiot, are you trying to get me killed? This Marquis Yuan Rang clearly wants to be a good official; how could he accept gifts?"
"He can accept the transfer of personnel, but as the County Venerable, I must not give a gift. He would even suspect I have ulterior motives!"
"Yes, my words were wrong," the document officer scurried out.
The backbone of the Dragon Horse Guard was reduced by half, but it wasn’t a big problem because the Dragon Horse Guard had few tasks to handle.
Even with half the personnel, it could still operate smoothly.
However, Zhao Xing still had to prepare for future plans.
That day, Zhao Xing gathered the four Sixth-Rank officials Tao Anchun, Dong Yuanqiu, Cao Jiang, and Bao Shiqiu.
"Currently, the Dragon Horse Guard barely has enough staff, and various operations have not yet been streamlined."
"But in the future, there will be significant changes."
"To achieve results, the Dragon Horse Guard will need the assistance of all of you."
"Now, I will clarify everyone’s responsibilities."
Zhao Xing opened the document.
"Mr. Cao, you are still in charge of Tuquan Palace. If any palace buildings are damaged, report for repairs immediately. I need all eighty-one palaces in Tuquan Palace to be in use."
Cao Jiang was shocked: "Sir, only three palaces are currently in use on Tuquan Palace. Isn’t it too hasty to activate all eighty-one palaces?"
Zhao Xing laughed: "I will let you in on a little secret. These eighty-one palaces are not enough. By the end of the year, the Dragon Horse Guard will receive ten thousand young beast cubs."
"After the New Year, it will increase to fifty thousand. Calculate how many more palaces need to be built."
Fifty thousand young beast cubs, this was an explicit number promised by Princess You Ruo.
While she didn’t directly hold government authority, she could privately sponsor, and Twin Islands was her domain, making the sponsorship entirely legitimate.
"Fifty, fifty thousand?" Cao Jiang’s voice trembled; with a base of fifty thousand, the numbers could multiply several times in ten years!
When had the Twin Dragon Horse Supervisor ever seen such a scale? One had to look back to the Cheng’an Period!
"Yes, sir." Cao Jiang got up from his desk, knelt on the ground, and said, "I will do my utmost to ensure these young beasts have well-constructed residences, even if I have to put my bones into it."
Zhao Xing joked: "Mr. Cao, your bones are still useful to me; I can’t let them be used as beams for the palaces in Tuquan."
After Cao Jiang took his seat, Zhao Xing then looked at Dong Yuanqiu.
"You are in charge of Chenghua Bureau, but in the short term, you won’t have much to do. I hear your Four Methods of Self are quite remarkable; is that so?"
Chenghua Bureau dealt with ceremonial performances, not much applicable business in Twin Dragon Horse Supervisor right now.
It might only get involved in showcasing Heavenly Horses during festivals in Bay Island County, essentially for amusement.
Might as well have Dong Yuanqiu do something else.
Dong Yuanqiu respectfully said: "Not worth mentioning compared to you, sir."
Zhao Xing then looked at Bao Shiqiu: "Mr. Bao, your Ksitigarbha Returning to Origin Skill has reached High Order First Transition. I heard that the establishment of the Heavenly Horse Lake pasture was all managed by you."
"I only did my humble best."
Zhao Xing nodded: "Both of you, develop the wasteland on Land Island, aiming for fertile land above level five, the more, the better. I will evaluate your performance based on this."
"You were originally in charge of Divine Feeding Supervision, but now you will not only oversee the Divine Feeding Supervision but also assist me. Next year, I will start establishing the Divine Chosen Department."
This statement made all four officials, including Tao Anchun, shiver.
Tao Anchun remained silent for a long time.
They were genuinely terrified by their previous supervisor.
The Dragon Horse Guard originally had more than these four Sixth-Rank officials; there were thirty-eight in total!
But following the previous supervisor’s failure to qualify for the Thousand Beasts Arena preliminaries, the other thirty-two Sixth-Rank officials were either demoted or transferred.
The previous supervisor was even exiled to Minghuang Island.
Heavenly have mercy, Tao Anchun and the others couldn’t even find ’Minghuang Island’ on the map!