The Three Kingdoms: The Oath of the Peach Garden, the Rise of the Han Dynasty

After returning from the Guangzong memorial ceremony, the four of them immediately plunged into a mountain of official duties.

They expand their territory quickly, but they also accumulate a lot of messes.

Jizhou suffered from drought and locusts for years, as well as from war, leaving large areas of farmland barren and people displaced.

Although Qingzhou nominally submitted, fortified villages and strongholds were scattered throughout the various prefectures. Powerful families took advantage of the chaos to seize land and hide people, and everything had to be sorted out from the beginning.

Liu Bei issued a special order: to transfer Ju Shou from Youzhou back to Jizhou, appoint him as the Chief Administrator of Jizhou, and put him in charge of post-disaster resettlement and land survey.

Upon receiving the order, Ju Shou remained silent for a moment, then sighed:

"The Duke of Jin has shown me such great kindness!"

To trust someone so implicitly and then disobey is utterly inhuman!

After paying respects to Yuan Shao at home, he wrote a letter to Liu Bei, hoping that he would treat Yuan Shao's descendants well and quickly move south to Ji Province.

Liu Bei then transferred Yang Biao from Luoyang to Ye City, giving him real power to lead the review of the policies of the aristocratic families and the verification of the land registers in the two prefectures.

These two men, one familiar with border affairs and civil administration, and the other prestigious and knowledgeable about rules, are perfectly suited to manage the intricate situation in Jizhou.

Liu Bei returned with his army with peace of mind, first going to Jinyang and then back to Luoyang.

After taking office, the two men, along with a hundred or so officials, plunged into the prefectures and counties, working tirelessly for over a month.

Some aristocratic families, seeing that Yuan Shao's power was waning and Liu Bei's power was growing, took the initiative to return the official fields and unclaimed lands they had seized during the chaos, and cooperated with the land registration.

Some clans, relying on their large size and numerous members, as well as their disciples and former officials throughout the prefectures and counties, concealed their land holdings and population, and refused to hand over their land.

……

Jinyang.

Lu Zhi's Tomb.

This old man, even in his old age, guarded the north gate for Liu Bei, and never returned to his hometown before he died.

Liu Bei personally went to Lu Zhi's tomb, poured wine, and burned a roll of paper.

"Dear teacher, your disciple has come to see you."

Ji Province was pacified, and Qing Province was also secured. Yuan Shao was defeated.

Your words about restoring the Han Dynasty are etched in my memory, and I am working towards them step by step!

Liu Bei spoke for a long time, until it gradually grew late.

Then he summoned Lu Zhi's eldest and second sons.

At this time, the two men were serving as magistrates in two counties surrounding Jinyang. Their conversations were clear and logical, and the counties under their jurisdiction had a thriving population, orderly land reclamation, and even a backlog of cases were handled clearly.

"My esteemed teacher has a successor," Liu Bei sighed privately to Li Chang.

"With these two brothers here, I feel at ease about the northern part of Bingzhou."

He didn't linger in Jinyang for long and went to pick up Liu Yu.

This former governor of Youzhou had been in poor health for many years due to various accidents. After recuperating in Jinyang for the past two years, he has finally recovered somewhat.

Liu Bei then took him with him back to Luoyang.

Another month has passed.

As the large group of people arrived at Kaiyang Gate, located directly south of Luoyang, they could see a group of officials standing under the city gate in the distance.

At the head of the group was an old man with half-white hair and beard, and a slightly hunched back, who led the officials in waiting.

Li Chang, mounted on his horse, squinted and stared for a long time, but still couldn't recognize it. He blurted out:

"Who is that old man? He looks very familiar."

Before the guards beside him could answer, the old man, who didn't seem like an old man at all, had already heard them!

He raised his head and said irritably, "The Grand Commander really has a bad memory."

"I am Sima Fang. It's only been a few years, and you don't recognize me?"

"Lord Sima?!" Li Chang abruptly reined in his horse, nearly falling off. He quickly dismounted, took two steps forward, and looked utterly shocked.

"It's only been a little over three years, right? How come you've aged so much?"

Indeed, when I first met Sima Fang in Hanoi, he was a refined and handsome middle-aged man!

His back was straight and his beard and hair were jet black.

In just a few years, most of his hair has turned white, the wrinkles around his eyes are so deep that he looks ten years older, and even his back is hunched!

Li Chang said earnestly, "Take care of yourself!"

Sima Fang almost laughed out of anger, and flicked his sleeves: "How dare the Grand Commander say that?"

In the past few years of major battles, I have been in charge of the entire logistics, the transportation of grain and fodder in various places, the household registration and auditing, and the construction of workshops.

The burden of supplying provisions, weapons, and laborers for the front lines rests entirely on my shoulders.

You're doing great, fighting a war outside and then sending back a bunch of errands!

Selling horses for grain, printing and selling books—one thing after another piled up on my head.

My salary hasn't increased much, but my workload has tripled! No wonder I'm getting old!

But he only complained a little. He knew that without Li Chang, it would have been impossible to win this battle so easily!

As he spoke, he couldn't help but laugh.

That being said, he has been really busy these past few years.

Guanzhong had just recovered from the chaos caused by Dong Zhuo, and everything was in need of rebuilding, with countless domestic affairs to handle.

He led a group of officials to manage the affairs day and night, including land reclamation, water conservancy construction, and the restoration of markets, and he had to worry about every single thing.

Fortunately, due to the complexity of affairs, the prominent families in Guanzhong were busy coordinating with the government, scrambling to print books, sell grain, and send their children to school.

Instead of having time to fight for power and profit, they were relatively peaceful.

However, such a large-scale logistics operation is not something that an ordinary person can handle alone!

It seems the official system needs to be improved again.

This is no longer the land of the three states it once was.

Liu Bei laughed upon hearing this and quickly stepped forward to help Sima Fang up.

"Mr. Jian Gong, you've worked hard. Thanks to you holding the rear these past few years, we've been able to fight with peace of mind at the front."

Sima Fang shook his head: "It is my incompetence that makes me even less capable than Marquis Zan."

If it weren't for the exceptionally high quality of Liu Bei's officials and the extraordinary abilities of his subordinates, he would have collapsed long ago.

The group talked as they entered the city.

Luoyang is a completely different city from the one Dong Zhuo burned down.

The streets were smooth and lined with shops. The sound of reading aloud could be heard from half a street away at Taiji School, but there were always discordant sounds mixed in with the sound.

When the people on the street saw Liu Bei's entourage, they all bowed and smiled happily.

Upon arriving at the Duke of Jin's residence, everyone took their seats according to their status as hosts and attendants.

Sima Fang, Zhong Yao, Xun Zhan, and officials from various departments, carrying stacks of ledgers, began to report one by one.

Local government affairs, such as grain production and household registration, horse farms and military settlements in Bingzhou, and the resettlement of Qiang and Hu peoples in Liangzhou.

There are also reports on water conservancy, industrial workshops, and the latest reports from Jizhou and Qingzhou.

One by one, the news scattered in various places was finally gathered together in this mansion to form a complete picture.

The books on the table were stacked high, like small mountains.

Sitting in the main seat, Liu Bei looked at the civil and military officials below and sighed in his heart: Conquering the world is difficult, but governing it is even more difficult!

But as long as these people are there, and as long as the direction is right, there is no road that cannot be traversed.

The candlelight shone brightly in the council hall of the Duke of Jin's mansion until late at night.

One state after another, one issue after another.

As all the civil and military officials listened, their minds gradually became clear.

Unbeknownst to them, they had already seized control of six provinces: Si, Bing, You, Liang, Ji, and Qing!

After accepting the surrender of Yuan's former troops and incorporating the troops of various prefectures, he now commanded more than 200,000 armored soldiers, making him virtually the most powerful warlord in the land!

But after the initial joy, a heavy burden of problems arose.

The six prefectures suffered from war, drought, and locusts, resulting in widespread poverty, abandoned fields, and a desperate need for food and manpower.

The official system was still the same old structure as the Jin Marquis's government, with power concentrated in the hands of a few people. Everyone was so busy that they couldn't keep their feet on the ground, yet they still couldn't attend to everything.

What's more important is the official status.

Liu Bei was still the Duke of Jin, and the Commander-in-Chief of all military affairs, both inside and outside the capital.

But now that the territory is larger, there are more officials and more soldiers, and if he still rules the four directions in the name of Duke of Jin, his status is somewhat diminished.

Everyone wants to improve, but Liu Bei needs to improve first!

The Han Dynasty still doesn't have an emperor!

Liu Yu, leaning on his cane, stepped forward.