Three Kingdoms: Start by buying a governor.

At exactly 7:00 AM, Liu Ce emerged.

Today he is fully armed, wearing black gold armor, with a horizontal sword at his waist, a king bow on his back, and a heavenly dragon halberd in his hand.

"Good heavens, my lord's outfit today..." Cheng Yaojin muttered from below.

Zhang Fei exclaimed, "Big Brother is so awesome!"

Guan Yu stroked his beard and nodded, saying, "My lord indeed possesses the bearing of a hegemon."

Ignoring the murmurs below, Liu Ce rode his black horse, "clack clack clack," to the foot of the makeshift platform, dismounted, and "thump thump thump" ascended the platform.

The wind was strong on the stage, and the cape was being blown around loudly.

He scanned the audience below, and more than 40,000 soldiers looked up in unison, their eyes blazing.

"Soldiers!" Liu Ce's voice echoed throughout the ranks, "Today, we set out for battle once again!"

The sound was amplified through a simple loudspeaker, which was actually just a few brass speakers, and spread throughout the venue.

The entire room fell silent.

"Our last campaign was against the Wuhuan! We won! We won spectacularly! All three Wuhuan tribes were wiped out!"

"Roar! Roar! Roar!" The soldiers struck their shields with their swords, the sound echoing across the land.

Liu Ce raised his hand to quiet the crowd, then continued, "This time, who will we fight? The Xianbei! The Goguryeo!"

He paused, scanned the room, and said, "Some might ask: What have the Xianbei and Goguryeo done to us? We're doing just fine in Youzhou, why should we go and fight them?"

Some people in the audience nodded in agreement.

"I'll tell you why!" Liu Ce's voice suddenly rose, "Because they're wolves! Insatiable wolves! If you give them a piece of meat today, they'll want a whole sheep tomorrow! If you back down today, they'll dare to take ten steps forward tomorrow!"

"The Wuhuan have just been wiped out, their bodies barely cold, and they dare to launch a joint attack! Why? Because they think we're easy to bully! They think we've suffered heavy losses in a battle and are now weak! So they think Youzhou is a piece of fat meat, and anyone can take a bite!"

Liu Ce sneered, "Then let's show them if the meat from Youzhou is really that easy to chew!"

He raised his halberd, pointing north: "The land of Youzhou was cultivated by us, hoe by hoe! The grain of Youzhou was grown by us, drop by drop of sweat! The women and children of Youzhou are our family! Anyone who tries to take it will die!"

"Roar!!!" A low growl rang out from below the stage.

"What should we do if someone tries to steal our food?"

A roar erupted from the audience: "Kill!!!"

"Someone's trying to steal our ironware, what should we do?"

"kill!!!"

"What should we do if someone tries to harm our family members?"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!!!"

The roar of more than 40,000 people shook the heavens and the earth.

"This battle isn't for my personal fame, Liu Bolue!" Liu Ce continued, "It's so your parents can sleep peacefully! It's so your wives and children can live in peace! It's so the village school, clinic, and workshops we've worked so hard to build... won't be burned down by the barbarians!"

His voice grew louder and louder: "Some people ask me if we can win this battle? I tell you—we will win! Why? Because our swords are sharper! Our armor is stronger! Our horses are faster! Our men are braver!"

"But more importantly..." Liu Ce said, emphasizing each word, "because we stand on the side of reason! It's our duty to defend our homeland! Their burning, killing, and looting are intolerable! In this battle, we must demonstrate the might of our Youzhou army! We must let the grasslands and Liaodong know—if you dare to run wild in Youzhou, be prepared to be exterminated!"

"Therefore..." he pointed his halberd to the sky, "this battle will be won!"

A brief silence.

Then...

"Victory is certain!!!"

"Victory is certain!!!"

"Victory is certain!!!"

The roar of more than 40,000 people shook the clouds in the sky.

Warhorses neighed, weapons slammed to the ground, and the entire earth seemed to tremble.

Standing on the high platform, Liu Ce looked at the excited faces below and felt a surge of excitement in his heart.

Liu Ce concluded by saying, "The old rules still apply—after the battle is over, the spoils of war, aside from the portion handed over to the prefecture, will be distributed according to merit! Whoever kills the most enemies and plunders the most will receive the most!"

"Aww!!!"

Even the most composed soldiers were excited.

What's the point of joining the army? Protecting the country is one thing, getting promoted and making money is another! Our lord is generous; he really distributes the spoils of war! Last time we fought the Wuhuan, even an ordinary soldier received a considerable amount of cattle, sheep, money, and cloth! If we win this time...

I can't even imagine it, just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

"Let's march!"

Liu Ce waved his hand.

The bugle sounded, and the drums thundered.

Xu Da mounted his horse, and 20,000 cavalrymen marched north like a torrent.

Xue Rengui pointed his halberd, and 24,000 infantry and cavalry marched eastward.

Liu Ce took one last look at the city wall of Zhuo County, nodded to Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Xun Yu, Xun You and others who were seeing him off, and then mounted his black horse.

"Dragon Soaring Camp! Let's go!"

Eight hundred elite troops sped northward like arrows released from a bow.

The eighteen riders of Yanyun had already set off, transforming into eighteen black shadows and disappearing into the northern horizon.

On the city wall, Cai Yan, Zhen Jiang, and the others leaned on the railing, watching Liu Ce's departing figure, and murmured softly, "Husband, you must return safely..."

......

In the third year of Zhongping (186 AD), on the seventh day of the seventh month.

Luoyang, West Garden.

Liu Hong is in a good mood today.

Why? Because he just received a batch of "palace repair money" yesterday—this was his own invention; anyone wanting to become an official had to pay money to repair the palace, euphemistically called "contributing to the country." In reality, the money all went into his private treasury in the Western Garden.

Liu Hong was living a very comfortable life.

A new "Nude Swimming Pavilion" has been built in Xiyuan – as the name suggests, it's a place where people can swim and play naked.

At this moment, Liu Hong was soaking in the hot spring water, surrounded by seven or eight palace maids dressed in light clothing (or rather, practically naked). In front of him floated a wooden plate with grapes, candied fruit, and a cup of "Fairy Dew"—actually distilled liquor, a tribute from Liu Ce, which Liu Hong gave a grand name.

One was feeding grapes, another was massaging shoulders, and two were frolicking and playing in the water—the scene was incredibly sensual and extravagant.

"Your Majesty, have another drink~" the palace maid on the left urged sweetly.

"Okay, okay, drink up!" Liu Hongmei took a sip with relish, squinting her eyes and humming a little tune.

Just as I was having a good time, suddenly...

"Thump thump thump thump!!!"

A series of hurried footsteps approached, accompanied by the panicked cry of a young eunuch: "Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! Urgent military news from Bingzhou and Youzhou! It's extremely urgent!!!"

"Pfft—" Liu Hong spat out a mouthful of wine, choking and coughing. "What's the panic! If the sky falls, my Grand General and General of the Cavalry will hold it up! You're disturbing me!"

That's what he said, but he was also a little apprehensive. An urgent dispatch over 800 li was no joke.

He climbed out of the pool, and the palace maid quickly draped a robe over him and helped him sit on a reclining chair.