Chương 130: Slapping Someone in the Face

He paused, then looked around at everyone and said, "Those prefects and officials who abandoned their cities and fled Youzhou, get out of here!"

These words were spoken crisply and decisively, and everyone's spirits lifted.

Liu Ce looked at the ten second-rate talents and said, "You ten, pair up, one civil official and one military officer. The civil official will serve as governor and the military officer as commandant, and go to take up your posts in those prefectures."

He counted on his fingers: "Guangyang County, Yuyang County, Youbeiping County, Liaoxi County, Liaodong County... exactly five counties. You will go in five groups. Each group will bring a thousand soldiers."

Wenyi and Wuyi exchanged a glance. Wenyi cautiously asked, "My lord, we... we've just arrived and we're already being appointed as governor and commandant. Will that...?"

"What if?"

Liu Ce laughed, "If I say you can do it, then you can! Who dares to disagree?"

He continued, "When you go to take up your post, carry the appointment letter from the governor of this prefecture. Once you arrive in the area, if anyone objects—such as former subordinates or local powerful figures—ignore all the rules, just go up and slap them across the face!"

"Slap... slap him across the face?" Wu Yi was stunned.

"right!"

Liu Ce spoke with righteous indignation, "Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Youzhou is in such chaos now, why bother reasoning with them? It's pointless! We must suppress them with force!"

He looked at Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao: "You two, lead two thousand Yellow Turban warriors and keep a close eye on things. If any powerful clans oppose the new policies, you'd better 'treat' them properly."

Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao's eyes lit up: "My lord, how shall we entertain you?"

Liu Ce laughed: "Aren't there still remnants of the Yellow Turbans roaming around Youzhou? Anyone who opposes the new policies will be 'visited' by the Yellow Turban army. They'll rob some food and money, burn some houses..."

Zhou Cang scratched his head: "But my lord, we're not the Yellow Turbans anymore..."

"fool!"

Pei Yuanshao patted him on the shoulder.

"Why don't we just wear Yellow Turban clothes? We can fight and run, then who will know it's us?"

"Oh, oh!" Zhou Cang suddenly realized.

Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao then exchanged a glance and grinned maliciously: "Rest assured, my lord! We'll make sure they feel right at home!"

Liu Ce added, "Remember, this is only aimed at those stubbornly opposed powerful families. Ordinary people and small landowners should be appeased. Our goal is to implement the new policies, not to create panic."

He then looked at Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui: "You two should oversee the overall situation and assist them in formulating specific policy plans. Coordinate with Xun Yu and expedite the recovery of Youzhou."

Fang Xuanling nodded: "Rest assured, my lord. We have already combined the policies you previously implemented in Zhuojun with a preliminary plan: the first thing each new magistrate will do upon taking office is to conduct a land survey—measuring all the land in the entire magistrate from top to bottom!"

Du Ruhui continued, "All uncultivated wasteland, black land illegally seized by powerful figures, and ownerless land obtained through the confiscation of traitorous property should be registered and distributed to landless refugees and local poor farmers according to the number of people."

"Second, we implemented the 'work-for-relief' program. We organized displaced people to build city walls, dig irrigation canals, repair bridges and pave roads, providing them with meals and wages."

"Third, rectify official corruption. Corrupt officials should be dismissed and investigated; capable and competent officials should be promoted and given important positions."

After listening, Liu Ce nodded in satisfaction: "Do it this way. Remember, be quick and ruthless. I want to see some results within three months."

Everyone answered in unison, "Yes, sir!"

In his words, "Professionals should do professional things. I'm the leader, so I just need to grasp the general direction and leave the specific execution to my subordinates."

Back in the backyard of the Liu residence, his "experimental base" was already taking shape.

To the east is the salt-making area: several large earthenware vats, a bunch of filtration equipment, and large pots for boiling salt. Next to them are piles of refined fine salt, white and pleasing to the eye.

To the west is the brewing area: a dozen large earthenware jars are lined up in a row, all wrapped in thick linen. A faint aroma of wine can be smelled as you get closer—it's been fermenting for seven or eight days, almost ready.

To the south was the papermaking area: stone mortars, bamboo mats, and paper drying racks were all there. Several sheets of freshly made paper were pasted on the wall; although rough, they were usable.

To the north is the printing area: jujube wood type blocks are piled up like a small mountain, next to which are ink mixing tables and printing tools.

Cai Yan, Zhang Ning, and Ren Hongchang were helping out in the papermaking area. Cai Yan, being skillful, was in charge of scooping the pulp; Zhang Ning, being strong, was in charge of pounding the raw materials; and Ren Hongchang, being meticulous, was in charge of drying the paper.

When they saw Liu Ce return, all three of them smiled.

"Is my husband finished with his work?" Cai Yan wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"I'm done with work."

Liu Ce walked over and looked at their work.

"How's it going? Is the papermaking going smoothly?"

"smoothly!"

Zhang Ning held up a piece of paper that had just dried.

"Look, this one's thinner than yesterday's!"

Ren Hongchang whispered, "It's just a bit brittle... it breaks easily with the slightest pressure."

"normal."

Liu Ce picked up the paper and examined it.

"This is just rough paper, so it's naturally brittle. To make good paper, we need better raw materials, such as tender bamboo shoots and mulberry bark. Once Youzhou is stable, we'll build a paper mill to specialize in this."

He walked to the brewing area and patted each of the earthenware jars.

"This... is about right."

He pointed to a jar, "The aroma of the wine is coming out; we can open it and taste it tomorrow."

He then walked to the salt-making area, grabbed a handful of fine salt: "The salt is good too, clean and fine enough. When the Zhen family moves here, we'll teach them the salt-making method, build salt fields, and start large-scale production."

Finally, we arrived at the printing area and arranged several character blocks: "幽", "州", "繁", and "荣".

Dip in ink and press.

Upon lifting it up, the four characters were clearly and neatly written.

"Once the paper is made, we'll print books."

Liu Ce said with a smug look on his face, "First, we'll print the 'Thousand Character Classic' so that all the children in Zhuojun will have books to read. Then we'll print agricultural books to teach people how to farm. There will also be medical books, arithmetic books..."

Cai Yan asked in confusion: "Husband, what book is the Thousand Character Classic? I've never heard of it before."

Liu Ce said: This is the kind of book I've been conceiving for children's early education.

Cai Yan's eyes sparkled: "My husband is amazing! You really want to start a school?"

Liu Ce said resolutely, "We must do it! We must do it! Not only must we build schools, but also libraries. We must ensure that all the children in Youzhou can study and that all the people have access to education!"

Zhang Ning laughed and said, "How many books would that require printing..."

"Print! Print it hard!"

Liu Ce exclaimed with boundless pride, "We have printing technology, printing books is a piece of cake for us. In the future, I'll also print newspapers—just one sheet of paper every day with the latest news: where there's a bumper harvest, where roads are being repaired, where there's a victory on the border... so that the people know that Youzhou is getting better!"

The three women listened, their eyes filled with admiration.

This man is not only good at fighting and governing, but also at inventing and has so many novel ideas.

Marrying him was worth it.