Three Kingdoms: Start by buying a governor.

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui politely bowed and said, "Greetings, everyone."

Xun Yu's eyes lit up: "Could it be the two men, Fang and Du, from the 'Fang's planning and Du's decisiveness'?"

Fang Xuanling and Du Fu were taken aback and exchanged a glance. Fang Xuanling smiled and said:

"Mr. Wenruo, you flatter me. Those are all empty titles."

Liu Ce's heart skipped a beat: Oh no, these two are from the Tang Dynasty, and Xun Yu is from the Han Dynasty, so how can there be the saying "Fang's planning and Du's decision-making"?

But Xun Yu didn't seem to notice anything wrong; on the contrary, he was quite excited.

"I have long admired your reputation; it is a pleasure to meet you both today!"

Liu Ce breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the system had made some adjustments to give these summoned characters a reasonable "background" in this era (correcting the previous settings of the summoned characters).

Next, Yuwen Chengdu was introduced: "This is General Yuwen Chengdu, whose martial arts are unparalleled, possessing the courage of ten thousand men!"

Yuwen Chengdu clasped his hands in greeting: "Greetings, everyone."

The generals' eyes lit up.

Lu Bu sized up Yuwen Chengdu, then glanced at the phoenix-winged gilded halberd in his hand, eager to try it out.

"General Yuwen, your weapon... looks quite heavy?"

Yuwen Chengdu said calmly, "Three hundred and twenty catties."

"Whoa!" Dian Wei exclaimed, "Heavier than my twin halberds!"

Lu Bu also became interested: "Shall we have a friendly spar another day?"

"I'm available anytime."

The two locked eyes, their gazes sparking with tension.

Dian Wei leaned in again: "Count me in! I want to fight too!"

Liu Ce quickly smoothed things over, saying, "There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. The important thing now is to get on our way."

Finally, let's introduce the Eighteen Riders of Yanyun.

These eighteen people spoke very little, only clasped their hands in greeting, and did not even give their names. They were simply named Yan Yi to Yan Shiba.

But no one dared to underestimate them.

These people's eyes were so cold, so chilling it sent shivers down your spine. Dian Wei whispered to Zhao Yun:

"Fourth Brother, look at those people... don't they look like they crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood?"

Zhao Yun nodded: "The killing intent is very strong."

Then, he introduced the newcomers: "This is Zhao Yun, Zhao Zilong; this is Dian Wei, Dian Elai; this is Lü Bu, Lü Fengxian; this is Huang Zhong, Huang Hansheng... (a whole bunch of names omitted here)."

The scene became somewhat chaotic at one point.

After the introductions, everyone remounted and continued their journey.

There were more than twenty people in the group, but the atmosphere became even more lively.

Scholars gathered to discuss government affairs, while military officers exchanged martial arts skills. The Eighteen Riders of Yanyun silently followed at the back of the procession, like a group of black shadows.

Guo Jia leaned closer to Liu Ce, winking and making faces:

"My lord, where did these people come from?"

Liu Ce remained unfazed: "They are people I made during my travels. They heard I was going to Youzhou and came specifically to seek my help."

"Oh—" Guo Jia drawled, clearly not believing, but he didn't ask any further questions.

Liu Ce chuckled inwardly: Can I tell you the secrets of time travelers?

Ten days later, the group entered the territory of Jizhou.

The further north you go, the more desolate the scenery becomes.

Abandoned villages can be seen from time to time along the roadside, with houses burned down to ruins.

The fields were overgrown with weeds, and occasionally you could see a few emaciated farmers digging for wild vegetables.

Xun Yu frowned as he looked at the scene: "The Yellow Turban Rebellion has caused immense harm."

Fang Xuanling sighed, "The people's livelihood has deteriorated to this extent; it will be difficult to govern."

Du Ruhui nodded: "The most urgent task is to appease the displaced people and restore production."

Liu Ce didn't say anything, but he understood.

That afternoon, the team arrived in Ye City.

Five miles from the city, a scout came to report:

"My lord, Wang Fen, the governor of Ji Province, is here with his officials to greet you at the city gate!"

Liu Ce nodded: "Understood."

...

Outside Ye City.

Governor Wang Fen stood at the city gate with a group of his subordinates.

The scene resembled a student being punished by the teacher, standing ramrod straight with a serious expression, but with trepidation in their eyes.

Wang Fen is in her forties, not very tall, and a little overweight. Her official robes fit her tightly.

The copper seal hanging from his waist swayed back and forth, and he held a scroll in his hand, his knuckles white from gripping it so tightly.

This is no trivial book; it is "Memorial on Civil Administration of Jizhou," which he wrote overnight. He spent three whole days writing it, and his eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion.

Right now, his mind was still racing: "537,600 refugees... no, 537,800? 800,000 shi of grain... 70% of the post roads have been repaired... I can't be mistaken!"

An official nearby whispered, "Sir, don't be nervous. Although the Marquis of Champion is a General of the Cavalry, he is still a reasonable man."

"Reasoning?" Wang Fen smiled wryly. "Only those without power need to reason."

Another subordinate wiped his sweat: "I heard..."

"Enough with the nonsense!" Wang Fen glared. "Stand still, all of you! Anyone who's rude later will have three months' salary docked!"

The officials quickly straightened their backs.

Dust billowed in the distance.

Someone with sharp eyes exclaimed, "They're here! They're the Marquis of Champions' men!"

Wang Fen's heart pounded. She quickly straightened her official robes, but no matter how she tried to straighten them, the clothes were still taut.

Three fast horses led the way, followed by a large and impressive procession.

The most eye-catching thing was the black carriage, which was large and imposing, with the three big characters "Champion Marquis" on the banner shining brightly in the sunlight.

Beside the carriage, military officers rode tall horses, each one looking imposing and majestic.

The strategists' carriages followed behind, numbering at least a dozen.

"My goodness..." Wang Fen's legs went a little weak. "This lineup is so impressive."

After walking for a while, they indeed saw a large group of people standing outside the city gate of Ye City.

Liu Ce couldn't help but laugh: "This guy... is pretty enthusiastic."

Guo Jia teased from the side, "How could I not be enthusiastic? The Marquis is now the Marquis of Champion, General of Chariots and Cavalry, and also leads the military of Ji Province. He's practically his superior."

As the group approached, Wang Fen quickly stepped forward.

Liu Ce's carriage came to a stop, and the curtain was lifted.

Wang Fen took a deep breath, bowed deeply, and performed a standard bow, her waist almost touching the ground.

"Wang Fen, Governor of Ji Province, respectfully welcomes the General of the Vanguard, Marquis of Champion! With the General personally leading the military affairs of Ji Province, the people of this province will no longer be troubled by war; this is truly a blessing from heaven!"

The voice was loud, but if you listened carefully, it trembled slightly.

Liu Ce sat in the carriage, dressed in a magnificent robe, which Cai Yan insisted he wear, saying that one should maintain a respectable appearance when meeting local officials.

The jade pendant at his waist jingled, and he held a fan in his hand as if to put on airs.

He didn't rush to get out of the car; he first looked Wang Fen over.

Wang Fen remained bent over, her back aching, and she inwardly groaned:

"Why won't this gentleman let me up? Is it because I'm impolite? Or is my clothing inappropriate?"

Finally, Liu raised his hand and said, "Prefect Wang, please rise."

His voice was flat, revealing no emotion.

Wang Fen felt as if she had been granted a pardon. She slowly straightened up, not forgetting to rub her lower back, as she was getting old and her back was not good.

While rubbing her lower back, Wang Fen said, "Oh, Marquis of Champion, General of the Cavalry! You've finally arrived! With you here, all this trouble in Jizhou finally has a pillar of support, and the people no longer need to fear the Yellow Turban Army!"

These were well-spoken words, but Liu Ce sensed something else in them: they were implying that Ji Province was in chaos and needed to be governed.

After Wang Fen finished speaking, she quickly handed over the scroll in her hand, as if handing over an exam paper, her hand trembling slightly.