Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 130: Lu Bu: I am afraid of my brothers’ suffering, and I am also afraid of my brothers…

Upon hearing that Liu Bei was about to issue a proclamation to attack the three Heluo counties, the Henei governor Zhang Yang, the Baibo bandits in Hedong, and the Xiongnu Chanyu all made unusual moves.

In Henan Yin and Hongnong Commandery, the governors were either killed by the Liangzhou Army or they had abandoned their posts and fled due to the war. The government orders in each county were in chaos, and it didn't matter whether the Qingzhou Army came or not.

The people who were not massacred had already fled to other places. Nine out of ten houses in the countryside were empty, with only the ruins and weeds growing everywhere.

The three counties in the capital area reacted differently, and even Lu Bu, who was stationed in Liyang, was at a loss.

When he was infected with the plague and became seriously ill, his wife wrote a letter to Liu Bei on his behalf, which led Xuande to praise his wife for her talent and insight. Lu Bu then consulted her on almost everything, after all, he had no reliable staff under his command.

They are all warriors from Bingzhou. They are very skilled in leading troops to charge into battle and kill the enemy. It is undoubtedly a fantasy to ask them to offer strategies and plan the way forward for Lu Bu.

Lu Bu could no longer listen to the numerous suggestions coming from all sides.

Some people said that Liyang was not a place to stay for a long time. The population of this county was too small, and the taxes and food were not enough to support more than a thousand infantry, not to mention the hundreds of cavalry.

In order to support hundreds of cavalry, Lu Bu reduced the number of infantry by more than half, and he was barely able to make ends meet.

So someone suggested: "Why not lead the army to attack Dongjun? If there is a county to settle down, why is it so difficult?"

Lü Bu quickly shut him up and said solemnly, "Xuan De and I have a very close relationship. Besides, how can I, Lü Fengxian, be a covetous person who seeks the possessions of others?"

"Besides, Xuande has elite soldiers and strong generals. His soldiers are as fierce as wolves and tigers. The princes of Guandong cannot defeat him. I only have a few hundred cavalrymen. Fighting with him for Yanzhou is like fighting an egg with a stone. It will be crushed to pieces. Do you want all the soldiers of Bingzhou to die without a burial place?"

"Yuan Shao and I have been enemies for a long time. If I start a war with Xuande, Hebei and the Central Plains will have no place to stand. Do I have to seek refuge in Jingzhou?"

Lu Bu's words not only blocked the short-sighted Cheng Lian.

Zhang Liao, who was about to speak up to advise him, was suddenly speechless. He could only cup his hands and say, "Marquis Wen is right."

From that day on, Lu Bu suppressed the restless hearts in the army.

Later he heard that Liu Bei was going to attack three counties and had already controlled two states, while he was still trapped in one county. He felt frustrated and confused and often drank to relieve his sorrow.

At this moment, Liu Bei's manifesto to attack the Huns and Li and Guo reached Liyang, which caught Lu Bu off guard, but also sobered him up.

Sitting in the hall, breathing heavily with alcohol, he said to his wife, "At that time, Liyang was out of food. If Xuande hadn't allocated food to help, I'm afraid I wouldn't have survived until now."

"We fled from Chang'an to Henei earlier. If it weren't for Uncle Zhang Zhi asking me to station troops there for a rest, the soldiers would have already fled. Xuande and Uncle Zhang have a dispute, which really puts me in a dilemma. What should I do?"

After that, Lü Bu said with dissatisfaction, "Xuan De acknowledged that I was the Inspector General of the Imperial Guard in his previous letter. Why didn't he inform me of this expedition in advance? Is he teasing me like Yuan Shao did?"

Just as he complained a few words, he heard footsteps outside, and a military officer came to report: A letter from Lord Xuande has arrived.

Lü Bu took it, opened it and took a casual look. He suddenly smiled and said happily, "I almost blamed Xuande wrongly. Madam, look, Xuande said that I was the lieutenant of Sili, and that all the generals of Zhang Yang's army were recruited by Li Jue and Guo Si, and that they had an old grudge against me. He invited me to attack the Liangzhou bandits together, and asked the emperor to transfer Zhishu to be the prime minister of Yanzhou and Dongping. He also promised to give me half of the horses, cattle and sheep if I defeated the Xiongnu."

The woman couldn't help but ask, "General, the city is running low on food and grass, how can we keep the horses?"

Lü Bu took the wine and drank it all, then said with a smile, "Madam, you don't know anything about military affairs or business. If you have horses, cattle and sheep, you can sell some to Yanzhou and Qingzhou, and then buy some beans and orange stalks to help me with my urgent needs."

"The Huns have been plundering Guanzhong for many years, so their tribe must be rich. I am not strong enough alone, but with Xuande's Qingzhou army, we will definitely wipe out the Huns and replenish my wealth."

"First, select the sick and weak horses and sell them cheaply to Jingxiang. Jingzhou is located in the south and there is little experience in raising horses. It can be said that the water and soil are different. Then sell the Xiongnu servants who grew up grazing and are good at raising horses to the wealthy families at a high price. Bu has seen many horse traders in Bingzhou for many years, and they all sold horses to the Central Plains in this way." The pretty woman was speechless. She didn't expect that her husband, who was busy with paperwork as a chief clerk in Bingzhou, could also learn about the horse traders.

I remembered the rumors I heard by accident.

The woman couldn't help but ask, "Captain Zhang often goes to Puyang and has a close relationship with Governor Guan. Does the general know about this?"

Lu Bu did not care, but comforted him, saying: "Madam, don't worry. Wenyuan stayed in Dongjun for a few days on his way to Qingzhou and back, and became familiar with Guan Yu. Guan Yu is from Hedong near Bingzhou. He is a talented general and a loyal man. He is Xuande's sworn brother, and he is like Lu Bu's younger brother. It's okay for Wenyuan to have a close relationship with him."

The lady saw that Lu Bu seemed to have forgotten that he had been very close to the princes from his hometown, and even conspired with him to kill the thief Dong.

I wanted to remind you that you should still be cautious, but I finally stopped.

When Yuan Shao attacked Yin'an and Fanyang last year, Lu Bu personally led the cavalry to station near Fanyang to intimidate Yuan Shao.

Later, when Yuan Shao withdrew his troops, Guan Yu held a banquet and invited him and Zhang Liao to the city for a drink. As a result, Lu Bu also developed a great liking for Guan Yu.

Guan Yu remembered his help and Lu Fengxian's contribution in killing Dong Zhuo, so he took good care of Liyang, which made Lu Bu feel that Yunchang was indeed a man of loyalty and righteousness.

Even though Zhang Liao often went to Dongjun, he did not take it to heart, because he knew the characters of Wenyuan and Yunchang and they would never plot to murder him.

"Madam, what do you think? Should I help Xuande or Zhishu, or neither?" When the time came, Lu Bu was a little undecided.

The woman sighed in her heart. She was indecisive and unwilling to humble herself to please Envoy Liu. What should she do in the future?

"Since the general took office as the Inspector of the Imperial Guards, has Governor Zhang lost his former enthusiasm?"

Lu Bu nodded, and their friendship had indeed become much weaker.

He once used the seal of the Inspector of the Imperial Capital to write a document and stamp it, asking Zhang Zhishu to transport some food and grass to Liyang, but in the end there were very few. The other party wrote a letter to make excuses, saying that the harvest in Henei County had been poor recently and hoped that Fengxian would forgive him.

Lu Bu was instantly annoyed. He was right next to Henei County. How could he not know whether the fertile farmland in Henei had a good harvest?

After all, he was the Inspector of the Imperial Guards, Zhang Zhishu's superior.

Fortunately, Zhang Yang still gave face and transported 5,000 hu of millet, so that the friendship could be maintained.

"In my humble opinion, General Liu has two states, and he has repeatedly defeated General Yuan Benchu, and his talents and tactics are better than Yuan's. Even if the general helps, Governor Zhang will not be able to win if he fights against Qing and Yan with three counties.

It would be better to write a letter to persuade Governor Zhang to surrender, which would not only avoid the disaster of war but also save the need to meet friends on the battlefield. If Envoy Liu can recover the ancestral temple and welcome the emperor to Luoyang to establish great merits, the emperor will surely reward him, and only a great general can reward his merits.

If the general were to surrender now and leave in the morning and arrive in the evening, the crime of abandoning the emperor and leaving Chang'an would be forgiven if you are here, and it is not too late to support the Han Dynasty."

"Madam is right."

After hearing this, Lu Bu slammed the table and stood up, his eyes full of excitement.

Then he shouted: "Come and ask Wenyuan, Bu wants to do something big, there is something urgent to discuss!"

(End of this chapter)