The officials immediately agreed with Chu Qian's proposal.

Hu Guang also stepped forward: "Your Majesty, I believe we can also allow them to enter various factories and workshops to teach those foreign slaves!"

Liu Hong nodded: "What Minister Situ and Minister Chu said is very much in line with my wishes, so this matter will be jointly handled by the two of you!"

"promise!!"

Chu Qian and Hu Guang accepted the order at the same time and then returned to their respective ranks.

Liu Hong then said, "As for the 400,000 prisoners, they can be demoted to hard labor and put in charge of the post-war reconstruction of various states for five years. Those who perform well can be restored to civilian status!"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

The officials all echoed Liu Hong's proposal.

Liu Hong then stood up and said, “Gentlemen, although the internal strife has been quelled for now, in order to prevent the emergence of any more people with ulterior motives in the future…”

I intend to re-establish and expand the major military camps of Chang'an, Liyang, and Xiangshan, and supplement them with the newly formed 20,000 Luo Army, 40,000 Jizhou Army, 40,000 Hejian Army, 30,000 Yanzhou Army, and 30,000 Qingzhou Army.

The original Youzhou, Bingzhou, and Liangzhou armies were reorganized and integrated, and the Yuyang, Duliao, and Dunhuang camps were re-established, with the standing forces of each camp increasing from 100,000 to 150,000.

Under the above three battalions, new auxiliary battalions were established to recruit foreign soldiers who surrendered. Each auxiliary battalion had a quota of 50,000, for a total of 150,000.

The Imperial Guard was expanded to 30,000 men, the Northern Army's five battalions were expanded to 50,000 men, and the White Horse, Blazing Fire, Black Edge, and Yellow Wind battalions were expanded to 40,000 men.

At the same time, 150,000 new local troops were established and stationed in various prefectures and counties of the Han Dynasty.

What do you gentlemen think?

"this....."

The emperor's sudden addition of over a million troops, such a large-scale expansion and sweeping military reforms, shocked the officials.

Although many officials felt this was inappropriate, none dared to voice their opposition. The army that had just won the victory in suppressing the rebellion was at the height of its power, and there was also the threat of a rebellion involving 400,000 troops from three prefectures.

Furthermore, increasing the number of troops would indeed greatly enhance the influence of the Han Dynasty and the court's say.

Furthermore, with the Han Dynasty's finances improving, it is not impossible to support an army of over one million.

Ultimately, Liu Hong's proposal to expand the army was unanimously approved by all officials.

Of course, regarding the emperor's expansion of the army, in addition to ensuring the stability of the Han Dynasty, the officials also understood the emperor's intentions.

Now that the internal problems have been largely eliminated, the next step is to deal with the external issues.

The wealth in the Northeast, the Western Regions, and the grasslands had already given the officials a taste of its benefits, so they naturally supported territorial expansion.

Liu Hong then began discussing with his officials the details of expanding the army and stationing troops in the inner prefectures.

According to Liu Hong's plan, each prefecture's capital would be garrisoned with between five thousand and ten thousand men, and the garrison personnel could not be local officers or soldiers.

For example, the soldiers stationed in Xuzhou could be generals and soldiers from Jizhou or Liangzhou, but not from Xuzhou.

Furthermore, the garrison operates on a rotation system, with the garrison in each state rotating its location every three years.

Furthermore, the garrison's pay and supplies were directly provided by the imperial court, and the garrison was not allowed to interfere in any local government affairs except for disaster relief and suppression of rebellions.

The group discussed until sunset before finally coming up with a rough framework.

Its content first establishes the emperor's absolute power in the army. The appointment, dismissal, and reward of all generals are subject to the authority of the battalion commanders, who have the right to report to the emperor. The final decision rests entirely with the emperor.

To ensure the reliability of the army, the selection of its recruits must be strictly vetted, and only those whose families have no history of criminal activity within three generations can be selected for the army.

After the court session ended, the Ministry of Personnel issued several edicts regarding reorganization and recruitment of soldiers.

Thus, Liu Hong's long-planned military reforms officially began.

Soon, the contents of several imperial edicts were published in newspapers and spread far and wide, causing an uproar.

Revoke tax-free privileges, reorganize the military, and expand the military on a large scale.

The imperial court's series of major moves made many people feel that something was amiss.

Of course, apart from the scholars whose interests were harmed, these decisions of the imperial court received the firm support of officials at all levels and the common people.

At the same time, Kong Rong also stood up on behalf of the Kong family to strongly support these policies of the imperial court.

According to the Confucian idea of ​​education for all, scholars and commoners are no different and do not need special privileges. The court expanded the army to better protect the safety of the people. The Kong family and the scholars who perished in the three prefectures serve as a warning.

With the Kong family speaking out, the scholars who were originally dissatisfied with several of the court's decisions had no choice but to shut their mouths and obediently cooperate with the court and the government.

Most importantly, Dong Zhuo, Gao Shun, and Huangfu Song were leading troops in Yuzhou to search for scholars who might be connected with the rebels. Those scholars who were imprisoned were well aware of the principle of sacrificing wealth to save their lives, and they all expressed their support for all the court's decisions.

Of course, there's a saying that goes, "If I'm suffering, you won't be doing well either."

Seeing that they could not resist the imperial court, the scholars turned their attention to the regional princes.

On the other hand, the officials at all levels appointed by the imperial court to the three prefectures of Ji, Yan, and Qing have basically taken up their posts.

Most of these officials came from humble backgrounds and had received several months of training at the three colleges. They were already quite adept at handling basic government affairs.

In addition, with the local forces in the three states now largely eliminated and no longer hindered, these newly appointed officials were able to easily organize manpower to measure land, count the population, and perform other tasks.

More than 400,000 rebel prisoners were also dispersed to various counties to begin repairing the infrastructure of the three prefectures.

While implementing the court's five-year plan and various reforms, these officials also cooperated with the court's investigators to investigate the people, land, books, and various assets hidden by scholars and powerful families.

All factories and workshops in Luoyang have resumed their previous production.

At the same time, the Royal Merchant Guild, together with fifteen other merchant guild members including Zhao Ning and the Zhen family, also began to organize manpower to build factories in Weijun, Bohai, Donglai, Taishan and other places.

Wang Yue, Xun Shuang, Li Ying, Huang Zhong, Ma Teng, Gongsun Zan, Gongsun Du, and others also led their troops to withdraw from Qingzhou and return to Luoyang.

The long-delayed Han Dynasty Games were put back on the agenda, and Luoyang City once again returned to its former liveliness and prosperity.

The massive rebellion in the three states has become a topic of conversation among the people.

Just when everything was going well, a rumor reached the ears of the people of Luoyang.

It is said that the princes of Zhongshan, Changshan, Dongping, and Rencheng were dissatisfied with Liu Kui's death, suspected that Yang Qiu had secretly poisoned his relatives, and were preparing to rebel.

Originally, everyone scoffed at this rumor. After all, the imperial court had just quelled the rebellion and was expanding its army on a large scale. It was at the height of its power, so who would dare to offend the imperial court at this time?

But with someone stirring things up behind the scenes, the rumors spread like wildfire.

Officials and the people of Luoyang could no longer sit still and petitioned for the removal of the feudal lords.

Whether you've considered rebelling or not, let's get rid of you first.

February 10th.

After three consecutive petitions from officials, Dou Miao had no choice but to order the complete abolition of the feudal domains and the formal implementation of the prefecture-county system.

The primary target for abolishing the feudal domains was chosen to be Yuzhou.