Three Kingdoms: Start by buying a governor.

Zhang Fei grinned from ear to ear: "Hahaha! I, Old Zhang, am a general now! The Fierce General! What a prestigious title!"

Dian Wei scratched his head: "General of the Vanguard... that title sounds so imposing! What does it mean?"

Xun Yu explained in a low voice, "Zhechong means to repel the enemy army; it is a title for a brave and valiant general."

Dian Wei grinned: "Alright! I love fighting!"

Cheng Yaojin patted his stomach: "General Fubo! What a great name! From now on, when I fight, I'll be like waves, one after another, drowning the enemy!"

……

Qin Qiong was quite composed, but his eyes also gleamed.

Zhao Yun remained unperturbed by the honor or disgrace, only casting a grateful glance at Liu Ce.

The hall was filled with congratulations once again.

Liu Ce felt satisfied watching this scene.

These brothers have risked their lives for me, and now I'm finally getting my reward.

Although it was just a general with a miscellaneous title and no official rank, it was still a legitimate general's rank, which would make it right for him to lead troops into battle in the future.

And... this is just the beginning.

With the matter of bestowing official titles settled, it's time to get down to business.

Prefect Zhao Peng stood up and began to report on the situation in Youzhou.

He held a thick scroll of bamboo slips, his expression solemn:

"My lord, my colleagues, the situation in Youzhou... is not optimistic."

He listed them one by one:

"The population has plummeted. Before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Youzhou had a registered population of about 2.7 million. Now there are less than 2 million left. Of those who lost their population, 30% fled to other provinces. Fortunately, 70% of them flocked to Zhuojun. This was the foundation laid when Liu Ce was the governor, and the people felt safe here. This is also the reason for the population surge in Zhuojun."

The economy collapsed. Agriculture essentially came to a standstill. Apart from Zhuojun, farmland in other areas was either burned down by the war or abandoned. Border trade was completely cut off.

Military weakness was evident. Both local and border troops suffered heavy losses. During the suppression of the rebellion, forces from various prefectures were diverted to quell the Yellow Turban Rebellion, leaving the borders virtually undefended. The Xianbei and Wuhuan took advantage of this, raiding south as if they were in an empty field.

Then there are the counties:

Guangyang Commandery was originally the seat of a prefecture. The governor and the prefect were killed by the Yellow Turban army at the same time, and the county seat of Ji fell. Now the administration is completely paralyzed, and there is not even anyone in charge.

In Yuyang County, all resources were plundered. The salt fields within the county were burned down, the iron mines were sealed off, and the people either fled or were abducted and enslaved.

During the suppression of the rebellion in Youbeiping Commandery, over three thousand border troops were transferred out, leaving only a thousand or so elderly and weak to guard the border. Seeing their opportunity, the Xianbei launched a large-scale southward invasion, looting the entire commandery. The prefect abandoned the city and fled; his whereabouts are now unknown.

The situation was similar in the border prefectures of Liaoxi and Liaodong. The prefects either fled or died, rendering the border defenses virtually nonexistent.

After Zhao Peng finished speaking, the hall fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone looked somber.

They knew the situation in Youzhou was bad, but they didn't expect it to be this bad.

This isn't a state; it's a complete mess.

Liu Ce sat in the main seat, expressionless.

He picked up a scroll of bamboo slips from the table—it contained detailed data that Zhao Peng had just presented.

I glanced at it a few times, then glanced at it a few more times.

then……

"Bang!"

He slammed the bamboo slips to the ground.

"Damn it!!!"

A roar.

Everyone was startled.

Xun Yu frowned, Fang Xuanling shook his head, and Guo Jia stroked his chin, seemingly lost in thought.

Liu Ce usually has a good temper, speaks humorously, and rarely gets angry. But this time he was truly furious.

He stood up and paced back and forth in the hall, cursing as he went:

"These useless fools! The governor abandoned the city? The border troops were transferred away and they're no longer defended? Are the Xianbei their fathers? They just let them in like that!"

After cursing for a while, he stopped, took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself down.

In his mind, however, he was furiously cursing: "Thank you so much, Liu Hong! What a mess you've left me with! The Governor of Youzhou? This is a total rip-off!"

But he knew that getting angry now would be useless.

The problem needs to be solved.

He sat back down in the main seat and looked at Zhao Peng: "Continue. What about the situation in Zhuojun?"

Zhao Peng wiped his sweat and continued to report on the situation in Zhuojun.

The good news is that Zhuojun is being managed well.

Zhao Peng said, "The 'work-for-relief' program implemented by our lord has been very effective."

We organized 100,000 able-bodied young refugees to participate in building city walls, digging irrigation canals, and constructing bridges and roads.

Meals were provided, and there was a daily wage of 5 copper coins. The city wall of Zhuoxian has been raised by three feet, and the moat has been widened by five feet. The main roads in all counties have also been repaired.

"The registration of refugees has been completed. A total of more than one million refugees have been received—most of them came from Ji Province, as well as Yellow Turban prisoners sent by our lord."

They have been dispersed and resettled in various counties. Of these, over 500,000 are able-bodied men, and 30,000 have been recruited into the army and are currently training. The current population of Zhuojun is estimated at over two million.

Liu Ce nodded: This is starting to look more like it.

But the numbers Zhao Peng then reported made his smile vanish.

"During this period of time, in order to settle these people, more than 700,000 shi of grain and more than 20 million coins were consumed."

Liu Ce's heart skipped a beat.

"The remaining grain is over 800,000 shi—this is the original 300,000 shi, plus what can be collected from Zhuojun this year. In terms of money, there are over 270 million coins, 10,000 gold, and 30,000 silver."

A murmur of discussion arose in the hall.

More than 800,000 shi of grain sounds like a lot, but it's not enough to support more than one million refugees and an army of more than 40,000 (30,000 new soldiers, 15,000 old soldiers, and 1,000 Xuanjia Iron Cavalry). It won't last long.

We have a lot of money, but money can't put food on the table.

Liu Ce began to do the math in his mind:

The Yellow Turban Rebellion's legacy included over one million shi of grain, over five hundred million coins, and thirty thousand jin. (Silver has been removed; it was not used in the Eastern Han Dynasty.)

There are still 100 million coins in the system space.

In total, there were about two million shi of grain, about eight hundred and seventy million coins, and forty thousand taels of gold.

It seems like a lot, but Youzhou is in such a mess right now... there are too many places where money will be spent.

Rebuilding cities, recruiting armies, resettling displaced people, restoring production... none of these things are free.

Liu Ce cursed himself inwardly: I was too hasty! Why did I take in so many refugees in the first place! Now look what's happened, over a million people are waiting to be fed!

Despite his criticism, he knew that this matter had to be done.

In times of chaos, population is a resource. Although these more than one million people are a burden now, once they are properly resettled, they will become a source of labor, soldiers, and capital for future conquest of the world.

However... the pressure on food supplies is too great.

We need to find a way to get food as soon as possible; if all else fails, we'll have to use our "backup hidden energy."

Liu Ce silently calculated in his mind:

"Instant noodles: One person, one day, two packs; one million people, feeding them for a month would require 60 million packs, one pack costs about two yuan, totaling over one hundred million."

Sweet potatoes: ...approximately 1 million, X

Rice: ...approximately 0.7-0.9 billion, X

Plain porridge: ...approximately 0.3-0.4 billion, that's acceptable.

"understood."

Liu Ce waved his hand, his voice calming down, "You did a good job, sit down."

Zhao Peng and his two companions felt as if they had been granted a pardon and quickly sat back down, wiping away their cold sweat.

Liu Ce looked at everyone and began the appointment process.

This is a big deal.

The structure of the General of the Cavalry's headquarters and the Governor's Office of Youzhou determined how his team operated.

No matter how impressive the team is, it needs to be placed in the right positions to be effective.