The Good Grandson of the Red Chamber

Chapter 101 The Way to Manage Subordinates: Nepotism or Meritocracy?

Chapter 100 The Way to Manage Subordinates: Nepotism or Meritocracy?

After Ni Er left, Xia Chengzong was about to call Xia Bei in.

He planned to have Xia Bei and Ni Er make contact, with Ni Er responsible for gathering intelligence and Xia Bei responsible for sorting out the intelligence and then compiling the useful information to hand over to him.

The moment he opened his mouth, Xia Chengzong had another thought.

Xia Bei is clever, loyal, and grateful; he is the person I rely on the most.

However, he is already in charge of most of the affairs of the Prince's Palace. If the intelligence framework is also handed over to him, wouldn't his power be too great?

Furthermore, the problem is not scarcity but inequality.

If I entrust all the tasks to Xia Bei, will the other three have any complaints?

Although we haven't received any negative feedback from them yet, if we assign this task to Xia Bei again, they might really start to complain.

Let's leave this to the other three.

Who should we give it to?

Xia Chengzong's first thought was Xia Dong, who was the second person he trusted.

Soon, Xia Chengzong couldn't help but shake his head. He couldn't act based on personal preferences, nor could he appoint relatives to positions of power!

With that in mind, he simply picked up a pen and paper and came up with ten questions.

These ten questions are specifically designed to test a person's logical reasoning ability.

The first question involves five suspects, each of whom says one sentence. One of them is lying. Based on what each person says, determine who the real culprit is.

The subsequent questions were different, but they had similarities.

Such topics will certainly not be unfamiliar to people of later generations; almost everyone has encountered them.

Xia Chengzong summoned Xia Dong, Nan, west, and Bei to his study, gave them writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, and instructed them to work on the exam paper separately.

All four of them were literate, literate, and arithmetic-skilled, and their academic performance was among the best of the young eunuchs.

When Dai Quan was selecting people, he chose the best of the best.

However, none of the four of them had ever encountered such a problem before.

When they saw the question, they all looked bewildered.

They frowned deeply and began to ponder.

The four reacted differently. Xia Bei closed his eyes and remained motionless, Xia Dong looked up at the roof, Xia Nan twisted the hem of his clothes and muttered something softly, while Xia Xi counted on his fingers.

It was rather amusing to see their predicament.

Half an hour later, Xia Chengzong put away the scroll.

After the four left, Xia Chengzong began grading the exam papers.

The first test paper was Xia Bei's, and his score was rather dismal.

He only got one of the ten questions right, and it seems he had to guess and make a combination of guessing and intuition to get it right.

Xia Dong answered three questions correctly, while Xia Nan answered five.

As it turned out, Xia Xi got all ten questions right in the end!

Xia Xi was the one he disliked the most, but among the four, Xia Xi had the strongest logical ability, which was somewhat unexpected.

After thinking it over, Xia Chengzong still called Xia Xi over.

Xia Chengzong clearly sensed that Xia Xi's face was tense and his expression was stiff after entering the study.

This shows just how nervous he was.

Xia Chengzong smiled slightly and asked him to sit down and talk.

After he sat down, Xia Chengzong asked, "Xia Xi, what do you consider intelligence to be?"

Xia Xi pondered for a while, and then said, "Your Highness, I believe that intelligence is just unintentional complaining, drunken ramblings, boasting from a patron, or trivial matters."

"Collect these minute details, analyze them meticulously, and extract the intelligence you need from them."

Upon hearing this answer, Xia Chengzong sighed inwardly.

This Xia Xi is incredibly clever.

Based on the questions from the previous test and this current question, he quickly guessed what was on his mind.

And they quickly provided a satisfactory answer.

However, this kind of cleverness is not pleasing.

After some deliberation, Xia Chengzong ultimately decided to put him in charge of intelligence work.

Was the intelligence organization he built secretive?

It's not secret.

Can it be kept secret?

There's no hiding it!

At least it couldn't escape the notice of Emperor Yonglong.

Xia Chengzong never intended to hide his secrets from Emperor Yonglong.

What he wanted to keep secret was only the spies of his father and brothers.

He didn't have a powerful maternal clan, so he had to do everything himself.

He had no experience in building an intelligence system, nor did he have any such talent under his command.

He can only train them slowly and accumulate experience gradually.

Xia Xi, though somewhat cold-hearted, lives by his own means.

Currently, they are reliable, and in terms of ability, they are the most suitable person to manage intelligence.

After thinking it over, Xia Chengzong said to him, "Xia Xi, you were the only one who answered all the questions correctly in the test just now."

Upon hearing this, Xia Chengzong clearly felt Xia Xi's breathing become heavier and his heartbeat quicken.

"This shows that you have extremely strong logical abilities. Put aside what you're doing now and coordinate with Ni Er later."

"All the intelligence that Ni Er has collected will be handed over to you. You will then filter it and send it to me."

Upon hearing this, Xia Xi exclaimed, "Yes, Your Highness! This servant promises to do this well and will not let Your Highness down!"

Xia Xi's positive emotions +10 +10 +10

Xia Chengzong smiled slightly and said, "Alright, you may leave."

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Emperor Yonglong asked, "Dai Quan, what has the Third Prince been doing every day at the Hanlin Academy these past few days?"

Dai Quan replied with a smile, "Your Majesty, the Third Prince studies history and reads books at the Hanlin Academy every day, and he is never late or leaves early."

"The Third Prince was refined and approachable. He discussed classics and composed poems with many scholars, and all of them praised him highly."

Emperor Yonglong asked, "What books is he reading?"

Dai Quan said, "The Third Prince reads all kinds of books, but as far as I know, he reads the imperial edicts from previous years the most."

The term "诏书" refers to an imperial edict, and within the Hanlin Academy, this scope was expanded further.

Some of the court's policies that were put into writing are included here, and copies of them are kept in the Hanlin Academy.

When Emperor Yonglong heard that Prince Zhongzheng was reading an imperial edict at the Hanlin Academy, he nodded slightly without showing any other expression.

However, Dai Quan felt that the emperor's nodding gesture was quite meaningful.

Every beginning is difficult, and Ni Er and Xia Xi jointly discussed the establishment of an intelligence organization.

Xia Chengzong would occasionally offer guidance.

Of course, he wouldn't be an amateur directing professionals.

He simply shared some concepts about catering and snacks from later generations, as well as some plots he had seen in spy dramas, with Ni Er and Xia Xi.

And this is for their reference only.

After hearing the prince's guidance, the two were often greatly shocked and inspired, and many ideas came to them.

The framework of the intelligence organization began to take shape little by little.

Seeing that things were gradually getting back on track, Xia Chengzong began to shift his focus to the training of the guards.

-

Intelligence organizations are important, but the military is even more important.

The first phase of training for the guards' formation movements has now been completed.

When the entire army is lined up, they are perfectly aligned, and their movements are uniform and synchronized.

More than a thousand new recruits gradually developed a resolute look on their faces and a steely aura about them.

Next, the second phase of training will focus on physical fitness, formation maneuvers, and marksmanship.

To motivate the soldiers to train, Xia Chengzong prepared a small prize.

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