Chương 208: Taking Control of the Ji Province Military Power

Looking at the room full of beautiful women, Liu Ce sighed inwardly. Before transmigrating, he was a single man; after transmigrating, he became a playboy. What a life!

"Please sit down, please sit down," he invited.

"Perfect timing, could you help me check this academy's layout? Is there anything I've overlooked?"

The women gathered around and started discussing it animatedly.

Zhen Jiang pointed to the section on business management: "Husband, the Faculty of Arts should add a course on 'The Art of Commerce,' so that if students go on to serve as local officials, they will also need to know how to develop commerce."

Cai Yan nodded: "One should also have the skills of playing the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, to cultivate one's character and temperament."

Zhang Ning smiled and said, "The Taiping Dao has some medical prescriptions that might be useful to the medical school."

Zou Yu and Du Xiuniang stood by, laughing and occasionally chiming in.

...

"Oh, right," Cai Yan suddenly remembered something, "Empress He sent someone over today, a pair of jade ruyi, saying it was to congratulate my husband on pacifying the Wuhuan."

Liu Ce said calmly, "Accept it. Return the gift as is customary. Have Lu Bing's men keep an eye on things."

Cai Yan nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

After the women left one by one, Liu Ce sat back down at his desk and continued to refine his blueprint for the academy by candlelight.

...

He suddenly remembered that he hadn't retrieved the three thousand Jingsai Iron Cavalry from the system space. This cavalry was renowned during the Song-Liao period, their heavy armor making them virtually invincible in battle.

"Let's wait until after the autumn harvest," Liu Ce thought, "and find a suitable opportunity to take it out."

As he was writing, he suddenly stopped and went to the window.

A gentle breeze blows through the night in Youzhou in May.

In the distance, the faint sound of bugles from the military camp could be heard—the whistles of night patrols. Further away, scattered lights still shone in the streets and alleys of Zhuoxian County, indicating that the night market had not yet completely closed.

Four million people.

Liu Ce recalled the devastation that greeted him when he first transmigrated.

"Zhang Jiao said I'm from the Ziwei Star..." Liu Ce muttered to himself, "Ziwei Star my ass, I'm just a transmigrator who wants to survive."

But now that we're here, now that we have this starting point, now that we have so many capable people under our command, now that... the world is about to descend into chaos.

"Let's do something big then." He grinned at the moon.

"Not for anything else, but so that those who follow me can make the people suffer less and end this chaotic world sooner."

In the study, the oil lamp crackled and popped.

On the desk, there was a thick stack of the "Draft Plan for Youzhou Academy".

The structure, curriculum, faculty, admission methods, and assessment standards of the School of Arts and the School of Martial Arts are still very rough, but the framework is already in place.

Liu Ce sat back down at his desk and added a final line:

"Our mission is to establish a moral compass for the world, to secure a future for the people, to continue the lost learning of the sages, and to usher in an era of peace for all generations."

After finishing writing, he let out a long sigh of relief.

...

In his dream, he saw the scene on the first day of school at Youzhou Academy: The students from the Faculty of Arts held the "Illustrated Manual of Industrial Machinery" with furrowed brows: "What the hell is this?"

The students at the martial arts academy were running laps on the track, chanting, "One, two, one! One, two, one!"

Medical students stared blankly at a diagram of acupuncture points: "This stuff is harder to memorize than the Treatise on Febrile Diseases..."

And he, Liu Bolue, stood on the podium, facing the sea of students below, and cleared his throat:

"Class, today we're going to have our first lesson—the art of slacking off..."

...

repair: The excitement of pacifying the Wuhuan hadn't even died down when the powerful families in Luoyang couldn't sit still any longer—the Yuan family, the Yang family, the Cui family... these powerful families huddled together and whispered for half the night: Liu Ce, this kid, first quelled the Yellow Turbans, then destroyed the Wuhuan, and he still holds military power in Youzhou and temporarily leads the Jizhou army.

With strong troops, plenty of horses, and ample supplies, if things continue like this, he might overshadow the power of these powerful families!

So, a few days later, at the morning court session, as soon as the civil and military officials finished their salutations, Yuan Wei led a group of aristocratic officials out of the ranks, their faces etched with wrinkles of "concern for the country and its people."

"Your Majesty, we have a memorial to present!" Yuan Wei cleared his throat and said in a steady voice, "Now that the Marquis of Champion has pacified the Wuhuan, Youzhou is at peace, and the remaining Yellow Turbans in Jizhou have been wiped out. The people are living in peace and prosperity. This is a blessing for the Han Dynasty!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Hong chuckled and said, "Of course!"

Yuan Wei changed the subject: "Your Majesty is wise! However, we have been thinking that Ji Province is currently peaceful and the prefects of each prefecture are capable of handling things independently. It may be inappropriate for the Marquis of Champion to temporarily hold military power in Ji Province."

Yang Ci, standing nearby, quickly chimed in: "Youzhou has just suffered a major battle and is in dire need of reconstruction. The Marquis of Champion is both the Governor of Youzhou and the General of Chariots and Cavalry, he's so busy he barely has time to spare. How could he possibly have the energy to manage the affairs of Jizhou? It would be better to take back the military power of Jizhou and distribute it among the prefects of the various counties.

This way, the Marquis of Champion can concentrate on governing Youzhou, and the officials of Jizhou can also focus on their duties. It's a win-win situation!"

Upon hearing this, the aristocratic officials below nodded in agreement and chimed in with their own opinions:

"Yes, Your Majesty, the Marquis of Champion has rendered great service; he deserves a rest!"

"The governors of all the prefectures in Ji Province are eager to show their skills!"

"Too much concentration of military power is not a good thing for the country or its people!"

The group of people were talking back and forth, but the core message was the same: strip Liu Ce of his military power in Ji Province and prevent his influence from expanding further!

Listening to the ministers' seemingly reasonable arguments, Liu Hong thought to himself, "They seem to make some sense. Liu Ce is indeed very busy. He has such a large territory in Youzhou, and now he also has to manage Jizhou. I hope he doesn't overwork himself."

But then I thought, Liu Ce has just made a great contribution, so wouldn't it be a bit too inhumane to strip him of his military power now?

He stroked his chin, hesitatingly saying, "But... but Liu Bolue just helped me quell the Wuhuan and wipe out the Yellow Turbans in Ji Province. If I remove him from his military command now, won't that discourage meritorious officials?"

Yuan Wei had anticipated Liu Hong's words and immediately bowed, saying, "Your Majesty is overthinking it! We have no intention of belittling the Marquis of Champion; we are simply concerned for his overworked state! Besides, even if the military power in Ji Province is revoked, the Marquis of Champion will still be the Marquis of Champion and General of the Cavalry. Your Majesty's rewards will be exactly the same. How could he not know Your Majesty's compassion?"

Yang Ci quickly added, "Your Majesty, rest assured, we guarantee that after regaining military power, there will be absolutely no problem with the security of Ji Province! If any remnants of the Yellow Turbans cause trouble again, we are willing to guarantee it with our lives!"

A group of powerful officials patted their chests and gave their assurances, speaking as if it were the truth.

Liu Hong was completely fooled by them. Then, thinking about the cattle, sheep, horses, gold and silver treasures that Liu Ce had sent after pacifying the Wuhuan, his hesitation disappeared instantly. Anyway, Jizhou was at peace, so it didn't matter who managed it!

He waved his hand and made the decision: "Alright! Do as you say! Issue my decree to reclaim the military power of Ji Province temporarily held by the Marquis of Champion and hand it over to the prefects of the various counties of Ji Province! In addition, reward Liu Ce with one hundred bolts of brocade and one hundred taels of gold as a token of my appreciation!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Feng and the others were overjoyed and bowed in unison, saying, "Your Majesty is wise!"

...

After reading the imperial edict, Liu Ce threw the silk scroll on the table and laughed so hard he almost fell over: "These old foxes from the aristocratic families are afraid we'll become too powerful, so they resort to these underhanded tactics! But it's fine, we never had the mind to deal with the mess in Ji Province anyway, so this gives us time to deal with the Xianbei and Goguryeo!"

Guo Jia laughed and said, "My lord is wise! These people think they can control us by stripping us of military power? Little do they know, the soldiers and grain of Youzhou are already ours! The more they cause trouble, the more opportunities they give us!"

The people in the tent laughed heartily, not taking Luoyang's petty schemes seriously at all—after all, in the face of absolute power, any conspiracy or trickery is just a paper tiger!