Three Kingdoms: Start by buying a governor.

Before long, these people were all "invited" to Youzhou.

Taishi Ci, Gan Ning, Gao Lan, and Xu Huang were appointed as military commanders by Liu Ce.

Xu Chu, a burly and imposing man, was appointed by Liu Ce as the deputy commander of the Longxiang Camp, serving as Dian Wei's deputy.

Qu Yi was appointed as a captain by Liu Ce and tasked with forming the "Vanguard Battalion".

The strategists Xu Shu, Xun You, Cheng Yu, and Shen Pei were assigned to Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and Xun Yu.

The talent pool in Youzhou has grown to an unprecedented size.

...

One day during that year, Liu Ce, along with Fang Xuanling, Xun Yu, Guo Jia, and others, went to inspect the fields.

It's the season for sweet potato harvesting.

The fields were bustling with activity as farmers dug up sweet potatoes, packed them into baskets, and carried them away, working with great enthusiasm.

An old man saw Liu Ce and rushed over with a basket of the largest sweet potatoes, insisting on giving them to him: "My lord, please try some! It's all thanks to you that my family harvested several cartloads of sweet potatoes this year, and my grandson even went to the village school and can write his own name now!"

Liu Ce took the sweet potato, smiling as he peeled it. The sweet potato was roasted perfectly, its sweet aroma filling the air. He took a bite and nodded repeatedly, "Sweet! So sweet!"

The surrounding people gathered around, chattering about their good life.

"My lord, my family had more grain than we could eat last year, so we sold it and used the money to build a new house!"

"My son is studying at the village school, and the teacher says he has talent and will be able to serve the Marquis in the future!"

"My cow gave birth, so next year we'll have two cows to plow the fields!"

They were all grinning from ear to ear, their wrinkles crinkling into smiles.

Guo Jia leaned close to Liu Ce's ear and teased, "My lord, I've heard that quite a few people from other provinces are secretly heading here!"

Liu Ce laughed loudly, "Let them run! Youzhou has plenty of land and grain; we can settle as many as they come! As long as they work hard, I guarantee their lives will get better and better!"

Guo Jia exclaimed, "My lord, your 'laissez-faire' management has truly brought about a peaceful and prosperous era."

Liu Ce laughed and said, "This is nothing! We have a long way to go."

Standing on the edge of the field, looking at the bountiful harvest and the happy smiles of the people, he felt a great sense of accomplishment.

This is what he wants: people living in peace and contentment, a harmonious and stable society, a strong and powerful army, and a gathering of talented individuals.

He looked westward—where the flames of war still raged in Liangzhou, the corruption of the imperial court deepened, and chaos was brewing throughout the land.

......

Now, in the fourth month of the third year of the Zhongping era (186 AD),...

The backyard of the Liu residence.

The sun was warm, the flowers were fragrant, and the music was melodious.

Liu Ce leaned back in his recliner, squinting his eyes, feeling incredibly comfortable.

That year, he farmed, trained soldiers, established schools, recruited talented individuals, and managed Youzhou in an orderly manner.

The people live in peace and contentment, the army is strong and well-equipped, and talented people gather together.

The borders are peaceful, the domestic administration is efficient, commerce is prosperous, and education is thriving...

This is a wonderful life.

"Yan'er," he suddenly said, "play one more piece. Let's play 'High Mountains and Flowing Water'."

Cai Yan smiled sweetly and plucked the strings with her slender fingers.

The music resumed, flowing like a gentle stream, rustling like a mountain breeze.

Liu Ce closed his eyes and listened quietly.

...

In 186 AD, the third year of the Zhongping era, on a certain day in April.

The council hall of the governor's office in Zhuo County, Youzhou.

The atmosphere was as lively as during the Chinese New Year.

Why is it so lively? Because today is the summary meeting for the development of Youzhou over the past year—in Liu Ce's words, it's called the "Year-End Performance Review and Commendation Meeting." Although it's in April, who says it can't be held in April?

Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Xun Yu, Guo Jia, Xi Zhicai, Jia Xu, Chen Gong, Tian Feng, Ju Shou... civil officials and strategists sat around a table with tea, fruit and snacks on it—all produced in Youzhou workshops.

The military generals were also there, but they were divided into two tables: Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Dian Wei, Lü Bu, Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Yuchi Gong, Yuwen Chengdu, Xu Chu... These people sat at one table, and they were loud and arguing about whose soldiers were trained the best.

The other table was occupied by Huang Zhong, Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, Yu Jin, Zhang He, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Luo Cheng, Xue Rengui, Xu Da... It was relatively quiet.

Everyone chatted and laughed, discussing a wide variety of topics:

"That boy from so-and-so learned pinyin at the village school, and now he can read by himself!"

"I heard that Yuyang County has had a bumper potato harvest this year, yielding sixty shi per mu!"

"The new composite bow from the arsenal is really good; it has a range of over 300 paces and is also very easy to use!"

"That fellow Shen Wansan sold his fine salt in Jiangdong, exchanging it for boatloads of grain..."

Just as they were chatting enthusiastically, Liu Ce strolled in from outside and saw this scene of a "harmonious family".

"Hey," he greeted with a smile, "what are you chatting about so excitedly? I could hear the noise from outside."

When everyone saw their lord arrive, they quickly stood up and bowed.

"My lord!"

"Please sit down," Liu Ce waved his hand, "Let's continue talking, I'm listening."

Guo Jia, being the most lively, chimed in, "My lord, we were just talking about the situation in Youzhou this year! We talked about the bumper harvest, the village schools, the business... basically, all good things!"

Xi Zhicai added, "It's mainly a feeling of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex emotion encompassing mixed feelings and reflections). A year and a half ago, Youzhou was a complete mess, but now... it's like a completely different world."

Liu Ce smiled and nodded, saying, "That's the result of everyone's joint efforts. Alright, let's start the meeting—a summary meeting of more than a year of development in Youzhou."

He walked to the head seat and sat down, glancing around.

Everyone sat down again. The audience, a mix of scholars and warriors, was full of energy, which pleased him greatly.

"Let's all speak," Liu Ce began. "A summary of Youzhou's development over the past year or so. Who wants to go first?"

Fang Xuanling was the first to stand up.

He was holding a stack of papers in his hand—this was one of the benefits of Liu Ce promoting paper. In the past, most people used bamboo slips, and a lot of them had to be carried around for a report. Now, a few pages of paper were enough.

"My lord, let me report on the population situation first."

Fang Xuanling cleared his throat and opened the account book: "Around the sixth year of Guanghe, the population of Youzhou was about 2.5 million. After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, it dropped to about 2 million. Later, thanks to the lord's resettlement of refugees and the pacification of the remnants of the Yellow Turbans, plus natural growth and immigration, the current registered population is..."

He paused, surveyed the entire room, and declared firmly, "Over four million!"

"Wow!" A collective gasp rippled through the hall.

More than four million! That's almost two million more than before the Yellow Turban Rebellion!

"How much?" Zhang Fei's eyes widened. "Over four million? I remember it was only a little over two million last year!"

Xun Yu explained, "Yide, our lord has resettled over a million refugees, recruited six or seven hundred thousand of Zhang Yan's troops, and added the more than four million who migrated from various places this year. It's not an exaggeration."

Guan Yu stroked his beard and said, "Population is the foundation. With people, there will be soldiers and laborers."

Liu Ce was also taken aback: "So many?"