Stroking the seal that had been passed down through generations of Buyeo, Liu Hong's lips curled up slightly, and then he handed it to Zhang Rang beside him.
“Send someone to Luoyang and order the Ministry of Personnel to draft an edict to confer the title of Marquis of Anle on Wei Qiutai. All Fuyu nobles and officials will retain their original titles and receive rewards!”
The former Buyeo Kingdom was renamed Jilin Prefecture, and Muzha City was renamed Changchun. The imperial court was ordered to select officials to serve there.
(Note: To make it easier for everyone to understand, the names of newly conquered areas by the Han Dynasty will be used for familiar cities, whether ancient or modern, whichever sounds better.)
"promise!!"
Zhang Rang respectfully accepted the seal and then quickly retreated.
"Your Majesty, we are deeply grateful for Your Majesty's divine grace!!"
The Buyeo nobles and officials kneeling in the hall were overjoyed to hear that the emperor had retained their titles, and they all kowtowed and bowed again.
As for Wei Choutai, although he was demoted from a king to a marquis, he at least retained his life and wealth, and he was not particularly resentful.
Liu Hong looked at everyone in the hall and said loudly, "Get up, all of you!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!!"
After everyone stood up, Liu Hong looked at the group of Buyeo officials and asked, "Where is the Right Chancellor of Buyeo?"
"Your subject is here!"
An official of about forty years old responded loudly and stepped forward.
Liu Hong said in a deep voice, "Tell me about the situation of the Fuyu national treasury."
"promise!!"
As if he had been prepared, the Right Chancellor of Buyeo took out a list and read aloud: "Your Majesty, there are 100,000 taels of gold in the national treasury."
There were 300 boxes of various jade and jewelry, 100 fine mink pelts, and 1,000 other rare furs such as tiger skin, deer skin, and musk skin.
Various rare medicinal herbs, such as deer antler and ginseng, weighing over 500 jin.
......”
The Right Chancellor of Buyeo read a long list, and finally said, "These items, according to the five-zhu coin of the Great Han Dynasty, are worth approximately 30 billion coins."
Having said that, the Right Chancellor of Buyeo bowed and stepped forward, handing the list to Liu Hong.
Looking at the densely packed records on the list, even Liu Hong was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected that such a small country as Buyeo would be so wealthy.
However, considering that this was the culmination of many years of accumulation by a nation, Liu Hong felt relieved.
After handing the list to Xi Zhicai, Liu Hong looked at Wei Choutai.
"Lord Anle, tell me about the situation inside the city!"
Wei Choutai hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, there were originally 10,000 garrison troops and 100,000 civilians in the city. However, due to prolonged food shortages and the starvation of many people, coupled with several major battles, the number of garrison troops in the city has now decreased to less than 5,000, and the number of civilians has dwindled to only 70,000."
After saying this, Wei Choutai immediately knelt down and cried out, "Your Majesty, I beg you to release grain and save those people."
Liu Hong said solemnly, "Get up. Now that Fuyu has returned to Han, those people are also my subjects, and I will naturally provide relief to them."
"Thank you for your mercy, Your Majesty!"
After kowtowing to Liu Hong, Wei Choutai stood up with a grateful expression.
Seeing Wei Choutai's patriotic and concerned appearance, Liu Hong not only showed no appreciation, but also frowned slightly.
A person like Wei Choutai must have extremely high prestige in Buyeo, so it is absolutely impossible to leave him here.
Having made up his mind, Liu Hong then looked at Zhou Yi beside him and asked in a deep voice, "How much food and fodder does our army still have?"
Zhou Yi respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, our army still has 150,000 shi of provisions, enough to feed our army and the people in the city for two months."
Liu Hong nodded: "Your Excellency should immediately send someone to take one-tenth of the money from the Fuyu national treasury and purchase grain from the people of Xuantu, Liaodong, Liaoxi, Liaodong Prefecture, and Youbeiping, and transport it here as soon as possible."
In addition, the local merchants were notified to bring grain, cloth, and pottery to purchase the goods from the Buyeo people.
"promise!!"
Zhou Yi respectfully acknowledged the order and then quickly left.
"Zhicai, you shall take the people of the Military and Political Affairs Department and immediately distribute grain to the people of Fuyu. Each person shall receive only three catties, no more."
"promise!"
Xi Zhicai nodded, then turned and left.
Then Liu Hong looked at Tian Feng and Ju Shou: "Yuan Hao, Gong Yu, you two can lead people to organize the people in the city and lead them to build the road to Xuan Tu and the local water conservancy."
"The able-bodied men pay sixty coins per day, and the elderly and weak pay forty coins per day, so that they can purchase grain from our army."
"promise!!"
Tian Feng and Ju Shou also accepted the order and left in unison.
These Fuyu people currently have little sense of belonging to the Han Dynasty. Even if they are given food, they will at most receive a word of thanks in return.
Therefore, Liu Hong adopted the work-for-relief approach, which not only provided relief to them but also helped them lay the foundation for the development and expansion of Northeast China.
Of course, the most important thing is not to let them be idle, but to subtly educate them while they are working.
After handing over all the government affairs in the city, Liu Hong turned to look at the group of Fuyu officials.
Who commands the garrison inside the city?
Upon hearing this, Wei Choutai immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I shall take command."
"Marquis Anle has worked hard defending the city; he should take a good rest in the future."
Upon hearing this, Wei Choutai was slightly taken aback, but quickly realized that they were going to take away his military power. The hesitation on Wei Choutai's face flashed by, and then he bowed.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Although reluctant, given the circumstances, Wei Choutai had no choice but to respectfully agree.
Seeing that Wei Qiutai was so sensible, Liu Hong smiled and said, "Alright, you may all leave now!"
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