Three Kingdoms: Start by buying a governor.

Liu Ce covered them one by one.

Each time a power is established, it's equivalent to officially seizing control of that power.

After stamping it, he carefully put away the imperial seal and smiled at everyone:

"Alright, now we have a legitimate reason to surrender. We should persuade those who need to surrender to surrender, fight those who need to fight, and close the net when necessary."

"promise!"

...

Half a month later, in Jiaozhou, at the governor's mansion.

The humid heat of Lingnan, combined with the cicadas chirping outside the window, made one feel suffocated.

In the main hall of the governor's mansion, Zhu Fu was pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back, his feet almost blistered from walking.

His brow was furrowed, and his forehead was covered in sweat; it was hard to tell whether it was from the heat or from anxiety.

On the table was a pile of military reports sent from the north.

From Liu Ce's conquest of the north to the capture of Jingzhou, and then to the subjugation of the four states of Guandong and the pacification of Liangzhou... each one more frightening than the last, keeping him up at night and causing him to lose a lot of hair.

His position as the governor of Jiaozhou, though seemingly in charge of a large area in Lingnan, was in reality just a figurehead.

Jiaozhou was remote and plagued by miasma, and local powerful clans and barbarian tribes caused trouble every day.

He has less than 20,000 troops at his disposal, and controls only a few counties.

Let alone contend with Liu Ce's hundreds of thousands of troops, even the troops from neighboring Jingzhou could easily crush him.

"Sigh, what a mess..." Zhu Fu stopped, picked up the military report on the table, and looked at it again.

Of the thirteen provinces in the land, Liu Ce has already conquered ten. Only Yi Province, Yang Province, and his remote Jiao Province remain to be conquered.

Fight? We simply can't win.

He could be crushed with a single finger.

Surrender? But he was afraid that Liu Ce would go back on his word, not only stripping him of his power but also imprisoning him in the Gongdelin Forest like Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, which would be the end of him.

He had heard of Gongdelin, a place where people carried manure every day and ate cornbread; life was miserable.

Zhu Fu was, after all, the dignified governor of Jiaozhou. If he were to fall to that state, he might as well be dead.

Just as he was restless and pacing back and forth like an ant on a hot pan, the guards outside the door tumbled in, shouting at the top of their lungs:

"My lord! Great news! A messenger from Luoyang! He's from the Zhu family in Luoyang, and he carries a letter personally written by the old master!"

"What?! A letter from my father?!"

Zhu Fu's eyes lit up instantly, as if he had seen a savior. He rushed out in three steps, almost tripping over the threshold.

His father, Zhu Jun, was in Luoyang, and his biggest worry was his father's safety, followed by his own position as governor.

He hadn't received a letter from his father for several months, and he was constantly worried, fearing that something might have happened to his father in Luoyang.

The messenger was a close confidant who had served Zhu Jun for over a decade. He was travel-worn and looked exhausted, but he was in good spirits.

Upon seeing Zhu Fu, he bowed respectfully, took out several tightly sealed letters from his robes, and handed them over with both hands:

"My lord, the old master is doing well in Luoyang. His Highness the Prince of Yan treats him with great respect and has not suffered the slightest grievance. This is a letter from the old master himself. He instructed that you must open and read it personally and do as it says."

"Good, good, good! You've worked hard! Go and rest, then collect your reward!"

Zhu Fu took the letter, his hands trembling slightly, and quickly turned back into the hall.

He closed the door, took a deep breath, and hurriedly tore open the envelope.

The letter was written by Zhu Jun himself, each stroke strong and powerful, the handwriting neat and tidy, without a trace of empty politeness, all heartfelt and straightforward, clearly explaining the pros and cons.

Zhu Fu read on, word by word, and the more he read, the clearer things became in his mind.

"To my son Zhu Fu: "

Your father is doing well in Luoyang. His Highness the Prince of Yan is kind and wise, and has treated me well. You can rest assured.

You should be aware of the current state of affairs in the world.

His Highness the Prince of Yan slew Dong Zhuo, quelled the internal strife, and pacified ten provinces. The whole world was united in his loyalty, and the people supported him. The restoration of the Han Dynasty was entirely due to His Highness.

This world will belong to His Highness sooner or later; it's not something you or I can do to stop him.

Don't be foolish, kid. Don't think that just because Jiaozhou is remote and plagued by miasma, you can shut yourself off and become a local tyrant.

Your Highness has hundreds of thousands of troops, enough to wipe out Dong Zhuo and the warlords of Guandong. Your troops in Jiaozhou are nothing compared to them.

If we wait for the army to attack, not only will you lose your position as governor, but the entire Zhu family will also perish.

Let me show you the right path: immediately write a letter of surrender and submit to His Highness the Prince of Yan. His Highness has already promised that as long as you open the city gates and submit, you will have a position in Luoyang. He will treat you well and will never harm a single blade of grass or tree in Jiaozhou.

Your father has spent his whole life fighting, hoping for peace and stability for the people.

If you still consider me your father, then listen to me and submit to me as soon as possible. Don't do anything stupid that shows you don't know what's good for you!

"If you dare disobey, I'll personally go to Jiaozhou and have you kidnapped and taken to Luoyang!"

Zhu Fu held the letter and read it over and over again three times.

The more I looked at it, the more relaxed I felt; the more I looked, the more my heart, which had been hanging in suspense for months, settled down.

He never intended to fight head-on; he just needed a way out, a clear answer.

Now things are much better; his own father wrote a letter and paved the way for him.

Not only will his life be saved, but he will also have a position in Luoyang. What is there to hesitate about?

"Hey! What was I worrying about before!" Zhu Fu slapped his thigh and burst into laughter, his previous gloomy expression instantly vanishing.

He laughed so hard tears almost streamed down his face, and he slammed his fist on the table, shouting:

"My father sees things clearly! Why give up a perfectly peaceful life and insist on going against His Highness Prince Yan? Isn't that like lighting a lamp in the outhouse—it's courting death?"

He immediately summoned his personal guards and shouted, "Go quickly! Summon the chief clerk and the deputy prefect of the mansion! Tell them I have urgent business to discuss! Hurry, hurry!"

Before long, all the officials from the Jiaozhou Prefectural Governor's Office arrived.

They all looked worried, just like Zhu Fu before, constantly worried about the northern army attacking, and couldn't sleep soundly.

Zhu Fu slammed his father's letter in front of everyone and said with a smile:

"Stop looking so gloomy! My father sent a letter from Luoyang! We're going to submit to His Highness Prince Yan! My father has already spoken with him, and after we submit..."

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned for a couple of seconds.

Immediately, the hall erupted in cheers, with everyone beaming and nearly jumping for joy.

"Excellent! The governor is wise! We should have submitted long ago!"

"Exactly! With our meager resources, fighting against His Highness Prince Yan would be like throwing an egg against a rock. Now, with the elder brother vouching for us, we can finally sleep peacefully!"

"Your subordinate will obey your orders! I will immediately prepare the household registers, treasury ledgers, and troop deployment maps in preparation for receiving His Highness's decree!"

The gloomy atmosphere in the hall instantly dissipated.

The crowd discussed surrendering, and no one objected. No one wanted to give up a peaceful life to fight a war they were destined to lose.