Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The days of rest are pleasant.

Lu Bu, who had not enjoyed family happiness for several months, finally got what he wanted after returning home. He played with his two daughters and one son during the day and played in the water with his three concubines at night. Perhaps due to insufficient water distribution, the three Wu Qing daughters looked more and more beautiful, and their already beautiful faces looked even more watery.

As the initiator of the night water play, Lu Bu looked pale, probably because of the long journey and felt a little tired.

The next day, when the three women got up at noon, this man got up, pounding his waist, and muttered something like "It seems that I am still too depressed. Next time, we can't have three people at the same time." Then he went out to eat.

But he didn't want to go out, so he once again sat at home playing with his children during the day. When night fell, Wu Qing said he was tired and went to bed.

There was no conversation that night, only the sound of cats' meowing could be heard, and there was an atmosphere of harmony in the Prince of Qi's mansion.

Tomorrow, there are still political matters to deal with.

……

Wuwu, the weather is clear and there is a gentle breeze.

Lu Bu, who got up a little late, frowned, washed his face with cold water, put on his clothes and hurried out of the room. Yu Cheng was already waiting outside dressed neatly. When he saw him coming out, he hurried forward to greet him.

"Why don't you wake me up?" Lu Bu walked past him without stopping and went to the study: "Is the military advisor here?"

"Here we are. Several doctors from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel are also here." Yu Cheng did not dare to refute and hurriedly followed behind.

"Why are you all here? I was too lazy this time."

The figure in front immediately quickened his pace after hearing this, and Yu Cheng and several guards quickly followed.

Hot steam swirled above the teacup and gradually dissipated into the air.

Several people sitting in the hall were drinking warm tea and occasionally eating a snack on the table. In addition to the sound of insects chirping from somewhere in the yard, there was also the voice of a member of the Ministry of War named Shi Gugong speaking in the house, and someone stopped outside.

"The number of soldiers each army is short of has been reported, but whether to recruit soldiers according to the old law is a big question. If the system of the previous dynasty's soldiers is promoted, it may temporarily reduce the combat effectiveness of the army. The good thing is that as long as it lasts for a period of time, the source of soldiers and food can be solved, and a large amount of military expenses can be saved."

Wang Zheng stroked his chin and said, "The History of the Marquis of Ye says: When the government soldiers were first recruited, they were from households of six or more, and if there were three male adults in a household, one of them would be selected and exempted from rent and labor service. The county governor would train and examine him during the farming off-season. The soldiers' weapons, clothing, pack animals, donkeys, and grain were all stored by the government. The six households shared the resources and raised and trained them like their own children."

He looked up at the others and said, "This method may work in the southern military states, but the Jurchens, Xi people, and Bohai tribes in the east and north are all engaged in fishing and hunting. There are many poor people, and they are dominated by tribal leaders, just like the Yidian tribe. If you really say it, it is similar to the rural militias of the Northern Wei Dynasty. If the unified prefectural soldier system is implemented, the first to oppose it will be the leaders of the tribal soldiers."

"We can't just stay the same." Fang Xuedu sipped his tea and squinted his eyes. "These tribes must also be included. We can't let them have power outside the law. Otherwise, if they become restless and are dissatisfied with the king's actions and rebel in the future, wouldn't that be bad?"

"We have to take it slow." Wang Zheng shook his head. "The people of Liaodong are all different, but they all have one thing in common: they are used to living in separate tribes. If we go too far, I'm afraid the good situation will be overturned in an instant."

"Then keep it up."

As he was speaking, Lu Bu walked in. Everyone present stood up immediately and bowed to greet him: "Greetings, Your Majesty."

"Okay, this isn't a court meeting, relax a little in private." Lü Bu said as he walked inside and sat down. He glanced at Wang Zheng and Fang Xuedu who were sitting down and said, "I heard everything you said outside. I called you here today to discuss how to proceed. Let's continue. I also want to know how to resolve the chaos in Liaodong."

Fang Xuedu, Li Zhu and others remained indifferent. Li Yu, the deputy director of the Ministry of Personnel, who was sitting in the back, took out a notebook and a pen to take notes. Shi Gugong opened his mouth, then closed it and looked at Wang Zheng over there.

"Your Majesty." Wang Zheng straightened his sitting posture and bowed his hands: "I think the situation in Liaodong cannot be resolved in a short time. It is better to first confer official positions on some tribal leaders and let us use them. It will be much easier to target their people." He pondered for a moment and said: "Ningjiang Prefecture is going to be closed, and the villages outside the city are deserted. It is better to migrate some smaller tribes there. In this way, they will leave their homeland. They will fight in a strange place, but they will also keep each other warm. In the end, they will become local people and integrate into Ningjiang Prefecture or other military prefectures."

Lu Bu frowned and pondered: "Is it that simple?"

“Time is the key to success. If you don’t see results in three to five years, you will see results in ten to twenty years.”

Lu Bu nodded slowly. Time flies. No one feels it more than him. The familiar scene is no longer there. The dynasty has become just words in a book. Even the hatred has faded in the past few years. He even misses those people from time to time. It's a pity for his wife and others...

His eyes were distracted for a moment, then he turned his attention to Shi Gugong who was standing aside: "Does Yuanwailang have anything to say?"

Li Yu was startled at first, then he followed Lü Bu's gaze to the scholar beside him, and then he relaxed and heard Shi Gugong's voice: "Your Majesty, the military advisor is right. The eastern and northern parts of Liaodong are mostly wild and barbaric. The Jurchen tribes living there are mostly people who only know how to be brave and have no knowledge of etiquette. So I have some thoughts on this."

He smiled at Wang Zheng and continued, "When we were in the mountains, the king had opened a martial arts hall, and many generals in the army had gathered together to study. The results were very good. Many generals went from being illiterate to being able to read some military books. Therefore, why not find some old scholars to teach the Jurchens writing and etiquette, so that they know that they should fight for Qi and for the king in the future."

"Very good." Wang Zheng's eyes lit up. "The Jurchens don't have their own writing system. They often use Khitan characters, but more often they use Chinese characters. It's just that most of these are learned by the nobles. If a school can be opened, they will definitely be willing to send their children to school."

Li Zhu at the side also straightened up and said: "In this case, we should train some scholars, so that the next generation of Jurchen nobles will only know about Qi and not about tribes. Isn't it better?"

Licking her chapped lips, she said, "In extreme cases, we can make them only know that you are here."

Lu Bu tapped the table with his hand, looked at Li Zhu, and shook his head: "Filial piety is still necessary." A slight sound of fingers hitting each other came from the table: "But what you said is very much in line with my opinion, Shi Gugong, Li Yu."

"The minister is here."

The two of them stood up quickly.

He pointed at the two of them and said, "You two will be in charge of this matter. Li Zhu and Qiao Lie will help you." Lu Bu turned to Fang Xuedu and Wu Jiao and said, "Set up the Zhechongfu quickly. Let's start with Liaoyangfu and Huanglongfu."

"Yes!"

The few people whose names were called stood up and received orders.

"Yu Cheng, send someone to the Ministry of Works to ask Tao Zongwang to come over." Lu Bu slapped the table and said to the others, "Wanyan tribe is too desolate, I want to build a city there."

The guards outside quickly found someone to go to the Ministry of Works.

"Build a city?"

Several people hesitated for a moment, and Wang Zheng nodded: "That's right. That was where the Jin Kingdom started. Although there are fortresses, they are mostly scattered. In addition, the Wanyan tribe lost a lot of people in this war. If there is a city, it will be convenient to migrate the rest of the tribe there in the future." (End of this chapter)