With the matter of establishing an heir settled, everything else went much more smoothly!

The Grand Commandant, Minister of Works, and Minister of Education, along with other officials from various departments, all had important matters to report.

This year's spring plowing, water conservancy, disaster relief, and other matters.

General He Jin, who was also the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, was given additional troops to suppress rebellions in various prefectures.

Finally, there were adjustments to some officials at the central and local levels, as well as replacements for vacant positions due to retirement, illness, or death of some officials.

Of course, Liu Wei's purchase of the title of General of the North for fifty million coins was also brought up by Liu Hong during the court meeting.

Despite the objections of others, he remained steadfast and bypassed He Jin's appointment of Liu Wei by the General's Office, instead appointing him as a Gentleman Attendant.

This also led He Jin to acknowledge Liu Wei's military control over the four regions of Hetao, Hexi, Western Regions, and Mobei.

Furthermore, the General of the North's Mansion is subject to orders but not summons, and has its own independent power over personnel, military and political affairs.

They can appoint military officers below the rank of Lieutenant General, as well as prefects within their jurisdiction.

At the same time, this also strengthens the power of the clan.

Of the five clan-based governors, it is estimated that only Liu Biao and Liu Yan have a certain degree of control over Jingzhou and Yizhou.

Although the brothers Liu Yao and Liu Dai were appointed, how could they possibly control Yangzhou and Yanzhou?

Even Liu Yu, the governor of Youzhou who concurrently served as the Minister of the Imperial Clan Court, found Youzhou extremely troublesome.

Internally, there were restless powerful figures like Gongsun Zan, and externally, there were foreign tribes such as the Wuhuan and Xianbei.

In addition, Liu Wei, the General Who Guards the North in the borderlands, also controlled a large territory and population, but these were all on the periphery of the Han Empire, and their economic foundation was incomparable to that of the Central Plains.

The population of Luoyang and its surrounding areas alone is greater than the total population of Liu Wei's vast territory.

In this era, it's not about how much territory you have, but more importantly, about your population!

Later, Yuan Shu was able to support an army of 200,000 in such a large area as Huainan!

Zhang Xiu, with only Wancheng under his control, dared to challenge Cao Cao.

This is determined by the population you control in this era.

Having a population means you have tax revenue, labor force, and military personnel!

If Liu Wei didn't have the system that creates one person per second, even with such a large territory, he would probably only be able to develop in the borderlands with difficulty.

The Xiongnu, Xianbei, Jie and other non-Han ethnic groups in the south could crush him. It was already extremely difficult for him to survive!

Neither He Jin's General's Office nor Grand Commandant Zhang Wen objected.

They knew that this was Liu Hong's compensation for Liu Wei's earlier proposal to establish Liu Xie as emperor, which was seen as going against the opinions of the court officials.

Wang Lang and Qiao Xuan spoke in the morning and received a reply.

One of them went to Kuaiji to serve as governor. Qiao Xuan was already old, so his son went to Dongjun to serve as governor.

Local officials are now more sought after than officials in the central government.

The two men also received corresponding benefits for speaking up for Liu Xie in secret.

In addition, there were adjustments and promotions on He Jin's side, and Yuan Shao's family, who acted as the vanguard this time, also benefited a lot.

Their protégés and former associates filled many important positions.

Some are happy, some are sad.

A grand court assembly on New Year's Day, with various important new events, seemed to have given this terminally ill empire a dose of poison.

The fact that powerful relatives of the empress and eunuchs hold sway remains unchanged!

However, problems such as corruption, decadence and extravagance, rebellion, disasters and refugees, and internal and external troubles remain acute, even under the enthusiastic embellishment of the court assembly.

Of all the high-ranking officials in the imperial court, how many truly care about the plight of the poor and suffering people?

Soon, the morning was over.

Liu Hong ordered the imperial kitchen to send some food to the ministers to satisfy their hunger, and then continued the court discussion.

Anyone who has ever attended a court meeting knows that such meetings, though seemingly arduous, are actually quite demanding.

Even Liu Wei, who was once summoned by his boss to hold all-night meetings after get off work in his previous life, admitted that he couldn't stand it.

Liu Hong also dragged his sick body through the whole day, only going to the toilet once or twice.

Until dusk.

Officials with a salary of less than 1,000 shi (a unit of grain measure) were finally able to leave.

Despite their exhaustion, they couldn't hide their excitement.

The events of today's court meeting will soon spread throughout the streets and alleys of Luoyang, and even to Guanzhong and the Central Plains, through their mouths.

Ministers of the rank of 1,000 shi (a unit of grain measure) were invited to stay and participate in the grand banquet at the palace.

Liu Wei, Liu Yu, and other members of the imperial family were naturally among those invited, and the three eldest princesses and Princess Wannian would also attend the banquet.

With money now at his disposal, Liu Hong's palace banquet tonight will surely be quite different.

After the banquet, there will be a fifteen-day rest period until the Lantern Festival.

During the Qin and Han dynasties, there was no such thing as the Spring Festival.

From the mid-Han Dynasty onwards, the beginning of the year was on the first day of the first lunar month, which was called the first day of the first lunar month, the first day of the first lunar month, or the first day of the first lunar month.

The beginning of the year in the first month was established after the royal family set up the calendar, so the Records of the Grand Historian, Book of Celestial Offices, says: "On the first day of the first month, the king begins the year."

January 1st was an important celebration day for the Han Dynasty imperial family.

In addition to holding large-scale court assemblies, the imperial court also received congratulations from civil and military officials.

At the same time, all officials also received gifts at the New Year's banquet.

Because half the day had been spent discussing the matter of establishing an heir, Liu Hong and his ministers were so enraged that they threatened to die in their remonstrance.

In the second half, while discussing the situation, everyone also offered their blessings to Liu Hong.

At this moment, Liu Hong rediscovered a long-lost feeling.

As evening fell, Empress Dowager Dong and Empress He, surrounded by palace maids and eunuchs, arrived at the main hall to participate in the banquet.

Princesses Liu Hua, Liu Jian, and Liu Xiu, along with Princess Wannian, also appeared one after another.

Just as Liu Hong issued the decree designating Liu Bian as the crown prince, Empress Dowager Dong, Empress He, and Princess Liu Hua all had their own spies and received the news immediately.

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