Three Kingdoms: Start by buying a governor.

Liu Ce thought to himself, "An additional three thousand households in my fiefdom, hmm, although Youzhou was already under my actual control, it's nominally an extra three thousand households' worth of tax revenue. And the authority to act as an imperial envoy, that's great! From now on, I can do whatever I want in Youzhou without even needing to ask for permission. As for that one million coins and one hundred thousand shi of grain... I'm secretly delighted: My brother the emperor is so generous! Although this amount of money and grain is a drop in the ocean for Youzhou right now, the sentiment is there."

Xu Chu rubbed his hands together, grinning from ear to ear: "A general with a nickname! Hehe, I, old Xu, am a general now!"

Dian Wei patted him on the shoulder: "Old Xu, not bad! But I still think mine is more impressive!"

Guan Yu stroked his long beard, and although he didn't speak, there was a smile in his eyes. He had already been granted the titles of Marquis of Hanshou and General of the Vanquishing Bandits, but he wasn't granted any more titles this time. However, he was happy to see his brothers promoted.

Lu Bu was somewhat dissatisfied, muttering, "A general with a miscellaneous title... I thought I'd be given the title of Four Expeditions and Four Garrisons."

Xue Rengui laughed and said, "Fengxian, don't be impatient. There's plenty of time. With your bravery, it's only a matter of time before you're ennobled and appointed as a general."

Xu Da nodded and said, "Ren Gui is right. With our lord by our side, how could we not have opportunities to make contributions?"

Liu Ce waved his hand and said, "Alright, having a title is enough. The important thing is the authority to act as an imperial envoy. From now on, we can do whatever we want in Youzhou without having to ask the court for permission for everything."

He picked up the imperial edict, looked at it, and smiled:

"This report of victory was well worth writing."

"His Majesty thinks that we are poor and miserable now, and we also have to be wary of the Xianbei, so he won't be too wary of us."

"We should take this opportunity to focus on development."

He looked at everyone and said, "The next task is to train the army, absorb the Wuhuan prisoners, develop industry and commerce... After the autumn harvest, the granaries will be full and the army will be strong and well-equipped."

Everyone stood solemnly and responded in unison.

Meanwhile, Liu Hong in Luoyang was still in the Greenhouse Palace, thinking happily: With my younger brother Liu Ce around, I can enjoy myself in peace.

...

After the meeting at the Deyang Hall of the Luoyang Imperial Palace, Liu Ce's name once again spread like wildfire throughout Luoyang.

In teahouses and taverns, storytellers pound their gavels, spittle flying as they speak:

"It is said that General Liu Bolu, the Champion Marquis, was truly a remarkable man! Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju were colluding with the Wuhuan and were about to launch a rebellion, but he saw through their scheme and captured them! The Wuhuan barbarians gathered more than 30,000 troops to invade, but he personally led his army in a fierce battle for three days outside the Lulong Pass, a battle so fierce that the sky darkened and the sun and moon lost their light! In the end, he killed the bandit chieftain in battle, annihilated the enemy army, and quelled the border troubles in one fell swoop!"

The audience listened with great interest, frequently cheering with "Bravo!" and "Amazing!"

Ordinary people in the city are also talking about it:

"Have you heard? The Marquis of Champion has performed another great service!"

"Indeed! His Majesty granted him an additional fief and bestowed upon him the power of authority—the power to execute first and report later!"

"With the Marquis of Champion guarding Youzhou, our northern border can finally be considered safe."

"If you ask me, the Marquis of Champion should be the Grand General! He's far better than that butcher He Jin!"

These words were only spoken in private; if they were to reach He Jin's ears, he would probably be furious.

However, Liu Ce wouldn't hear these discussions in Zhuo County. Even if he did, he would just smile—it's all empty fame; real benefits are what truly matter.

...

A few days later, in the study of the Liu residence.

Liu Ce was hunched over his desk, sketching and writing, outlining the blueprint for the famous "Youzhou Academy." He had been thinking about this for a long time. The Academy of Arts would teach politics, agriculture, and economics... the Academy of Martial Arts would teach military strategy, archery, and reconnaissance... Once completed, it would be a continuous production line for talent.

Just as he was drawing..., Lu Bing appeared like a ghost.

"My lord." The voice was still so low.

Liu Ce said without looking up, "Wenfu, could you knock next time? My heart can't take it."

Lu Bing said expressionlessly, "I'm used to it. My lord, as you instructed, the brothers sent to the grasslands have returned."

Liu Ce paused, then looked up and said, "Oh? Tell me quickly!"

Lu Bing took out a sheepskin map from his pocket and spread it on the table. The map was drawn in great detail, with mountains, rivers, tribal settlements, and water sources marked one by one, and even troop estimates written in small cinnabar characters.

"The brothers disguised themselves as salt traders, shepherds, and fur traders... and spent several months on the grasslands, thoroughly understanding the Xianbei people's true nature!"

He pointed to the map and said, "These are all the places with water sources on the grassland, marked out. The Xianbei people live by following the water and grass; whoever controls the water source controls their lifeline."

Liu Ce's eyes lit up: "Well done! Go on to tell me about the Xianbei."

Lu Bingqing cleared his throat and began his report to the director:

"Back in the day, Tan Shihuai was so powerful, uniting all the Xianbei tribes together, and they'd raid our Han people all the time. And what happened? He kicked the bucket, and his son and successor... hey, that kid's really a damn 'talent'!"

Liu Ce listened with great interest: "What kind of 'talent' are you referring to?"

Lu Bing curled his lip and said, "That kid! His talent is far inferior to Tan Shihuai's. He's greedy for money and lustful, and he's unfair in his judgments. It's said that this guy has robbed women from his own tribe more times than he has robbed Han Chinese, causing the tribe to fall into disarray, and half of them have run away."

As Lu Bing got into the conversation, he imitated the Xianbei elder's chest-beating and stamping-foot manner, saying, "Those old guys all say in private: 'Tan Shihuai was a hero for a lifetime, how could he have given birth to such a thing!'"

Liu Ce was delighted to hear this and laughed, "The decline of a dynasty after two generations has always been the case."

"In the fourth year of Guanghe (181 AD)," Lu Bing continued, "He and his troops wanted to march south to attack Beidi County. Guess what? He was riding a tall horse and showing off in front of the battle, when an unknown archer from Beidi County shot him right in the throat with an arrow! He died on the spot! He died a very humiliating death."

Liu Ce clicked his tongue and shook his head, saying, "That's why I say, showing off will get you struck by lightning."

"After his death, his son Qianman was too young to manage the situation. So the tribesmen supported Helian's nephew, Kuitou, to succeed him. Later, Qianman grew up and refused to accept the position... 'This position should have been mine!' He was dissatisfied and fought with Kuitou for power. This struggle caused the Xianbei's resources to be completely scattered, and the Xianbei tribal alliance was completely split. Now the tribes are fighting each other, and it's like a pot of porridge."

Liu Ce nodded and said, "It's good that there's a division. If we were still as united as we were during the Tan Shihuai era, we would be in trouble."

Lu Bing pointed to the map and explained in detail:

"The Xianbei are now roughly divided into five groups."

"The western Xianbei, led by Rilu, Yanliyou and others, had their sphere of influence extending from Shanggu County to Dunhuang County."

"The central Xianbei, led by Ke Zui, Que Ju, Murong and others, had their sphere of influence in the area from Youbeiping to Shanggu County."

"The Eastern Xianbei, led by Mi Jia, Que Ji, Su Li and others, have their sphere of influence in the three commanderies of Liaoxi, Youbeiping and Yuyang beyond the Great Wall—right next to the territory of the Wuhuan that we just conquered."