Three Kingdoms: Start by buying a governor.

Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao were arm wrestling in the military camp.

A group of soldiers surrounded them and started making a fuss.

"General Zhou, keep it up! Don't lose to General Pei!"

"General Pei, give it your all! Take him down!"

The two men, their faces flushed and necks red, were locked in a fierce argument when a guard rushed in, saying, "General Zhou, General Pei, the King summons you! Please proceed to the council chamber immediately!"

Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao released their grip and exchanged a glance.

"The council chamber?" Zhou Cang scratched his head and asked, "Why does the King want to go to a meeting with his advisors?"

Pei Yuanshao's eyes darted around, and he grinned, "I bet... something 'good' is about to happen to us."

The two men dusted themselves off and followed the guards outside.

On the way, the guards briefly explained the imperial edict and the contents of the meeting.

Zhou Cang laughed and said, "Are you going to deal with the powerful clans of Ji Province?"

Pei Yuanshao rubbed his hands together and said, "Hey! This is our old trade! Haven't done it in years, my hands are itching!"

The two understood each other without saying a word, and their steps became lighter.

Upon entering the council hall, one is immediately greeted by a room full of civil and military officials, all looking at them.

The two men entered, clasped their hands in greeting, and said, "Your humble servants Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao pay their respects to Your Majesty and all the gentlemen!"

Liu Ce beckoned them over and asked with a smile, "You've heard about it on the way, haven't you?"

"I've heard! I've heard!" Zhou Cang grinned. "Your Majesty, are you suggesting we go to Ji Province to 'stretch our muscles'?"

Liu Ce nodded, his smile widening. "That's right. You two, take your old brothers from the Yellow Turban Army, those three thousand Yellow Turban Warriors, put on their 'clothes,' and go to Ji Province to give those disobedient powerful families a good 'welcome.'"

He emphasized the word "hospitality" and winked, saying, "Anyway, no one will suspect us. Didn't Wang Fen report to the court that the remnants of the Yellow Turban Army were invading the counties of Jizhou? We're helping him cover up his lie. See, there really are Yellow Turban Army soldiers, right? It makes perfect sense and confirms the matter."

Everyone in the hall laughed.

Guo Jia slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Brilliant! The Yellow Turban remnants' crimes have nothing to do with our Youzhou. After those aristocratic families are robbed and crying for their mothers, we can then enter Jizhou under the pretext of 'suppressing bandits and pacifying the people,' which will be perfectly legitimate!"

Jia Xu stroked his beard and added sinisterly, "After you've robbed them, you can leave some 'clues' pointing to other powerful families, letting them fight amongst themselves."

Cheng Yu added ruthlessly, "It would be best to kill a few of the most heinous criminals and display their heads as a warning to others."

Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao's eyes lit up when they heard this.

Zhou Cang patted his chest and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured! Although we haven't done this kind of work for several years, we're experts! We guarantee those powerful families will feel right at home, begging and pleading to hand over their entire fortunes!"

Pei Yuanshao added, "That's right! Although our old brothers from the Yellow Turban Warriors have settled down in Youzhou these past few years, they haven't lost their skills! Robbery... no, I mean 'requisitioning,' and we're professionals at requisitioning!"

Liu Ce suppressed a laugh and said, "Be careful. Don't touch the families of Ju Shou, Shen Pei, and Tian Feng, or those reputable families that haven't done anything wrong. As for the others—those who bully men and women, are rich but heartless, and resist the new policies... we'll see how they handle that."

"Understood!" the two replied in unison.

Pei Yuanshao patted his chest and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured! We're experts at this! We'll make sure they feel right at home, begging and pleading to hand over their entire fortune!"

Zhou Cang laughed and said, "Your Majesty, just you wait and see! We guarantee we'll handle things perfectly, and make the whole world believe it's just the remnants of the Yellow Turbans rising from the ashes, and has nothing to do with Youzhou!"

Liu Ce patted the two men on the shoulders with satisfaction and said, "Good! Go! Remember, be quick and make a big show of it, but don't actually kill anyone. We only want money, grain, and land, not lives. Also, bring back every single book from those aristocratic family libraries! That stuff is worth more than gold and silver!"

"Yes, sir!"

The two men eagerly accepted the order and left.

In the council hall, Xun Yu suddenly realized what was going on, shook his head and smiled bitterly, "So you all had a plan all along... I was overthinking it."

Liu Ce patted him on the shoulder and said, "Wenruo, you're a good person in every way, except you're too upright. Sometimes you have to use a little underhanded tricks to deal with bad people."

Xi Zhicai said slowly, "Sometimes, it's better to use force than reason."

Guo Jia chimed in, "Exactly! Trying to reason with those ruthless aristocratic families? It's better to let Zhou Cang and the others use 'physics'—forceful persuasion, or simply physics."

Everyone laughed again.

Xun Yu watched their retreating figures, still somewhat worried, and said, "My lord, isn't this... going too far?"

Liu Ce sat down and said in a relaxed tone, "Wenruo, to deal with evil people, you have to use evil methods. We try to reason with them, but they act like scoundrels; we want to reform, but they band together to resist. Instead of wasting time with them, we might as well just overturn the table. Anyway, the Yellow Turban Army will take the blame."

Fang Xuanling smiled and said, "Although this plan is risky, it is indeed the fastest way to break the deadlock. Once the powerful families of Ji Province are severely weakened, there will be much less resistance when you implement new policies, my lord."

Du Ruhui concluded: "In times of chaos, severe punishments are necessary; in extraordinary times, extraordinary measures must be taken."

...

Three days later, the "Yellow Turban Warriors" quietly left Zhuoxian County.

They were dressed in tattered clothes, but with soft armor underneath, and were well-equipped with weapons and strong horses, although their manes were dyed messy, making them look like a ragtag army.

Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao, the team leaders, looked at the "professional robbery team" behind them and felt incredibly pleased.

"Old Pei, which one should we go with first?" Zhou Cang asked.

Pei Yuanshao pulled out a list; the Embroidered Uniform Guard had long since thoroughly investigated the backgrounds of the powerful families in Ji Province: "In order. The Cui family of Qinghe, the Gao family of Bohai, the Wei family of Julu, the Zhang family of Anping... a dozen or so families in total, all top-tier."

"Alright! Let's go!"

...

In July, the grand spectacle of "the Yellow Turban Rebellion" began to unfold in various parts of Jizhou.

A group of "Yellow Turban remnants" appeared and disappeared mysteriously, specifically targeting powerful and influential families.

These people are well-trained, act swiftly, and run away as soon as they grab something, without any hesitation.

What's even stranger is that they only robbed wealthy and unscrupulous families, never harming ordinary people. Sometimes they would even beat up the evil servants who bullied the people.

The Cui family of Qinghe was the first to be affected.

The Cui family was a prominent family in Jizhou, with three high-ranking officials among their ancestors, and their disciples and former officials were spread throughout the court and the country.

The Cui Family Manor covers a thousand acres, with walls higher than those in the county town, and two stone lions at the entrance baring their teeth, looking quite frightening.

On this day, Master Cui was embracing his newly acquired eighteen-year-old concubine, drinking wine and listening to music in the garden pavilion.

The steward rushed in, panicking, and said, "Master! Something terrible has happened! A lot of people have come outside the manor, carrying yellow flags and shouting Yellow Turban slogans, saying they want... they want us to hand over our money and grain!"

Master Cui scoffed and slammed his wine cup on the table: "Yellow Turban Army? Weren't those peasants wiped out by the imperial court long ago? Where did they come from? They're probably just some refugees pretending to be Yellow Turbans, trying to scare people and scam some food and drink."